New hubs sharpen cutting edge
The Federal Government may have funded the next big technological leap.
Millions in federal funding has been released to establish the Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Hub for Graphene Enabled Industry Transformation.
The funding announcement includes money for 5 new high-tech research hubs worth $15.7 million.
The centres, their locations and goals are as follows;
- ARC Research Hub for Integrated Device for End-user Analysis at Low-levels – a $3.7 million hub at Sydney’s University of Technology for improving detection of biological materials at medical points of care, ordinary workplaces and centres of activity
- ARC Research Hub for Advanced Manufacturing of Personalised Medical Devices – a $2.8 million project at the University of Queensland to transform Australia’s $10.8 billion medical technology sector by developing technologies for the rapid production of personalised medical devices
- ARC Research Hub for Advanced Solutions to Transform Tall Timber Buildings – a $1.5 million hub at the University of Queensland that aims to develop engineering solutions to address crucial barriers to the use of structural timber in the fast growing and extensive medium-rise tall buildings market
- ARC Research Hub for Nanoscience-based Construction Material Manufacturing – a $5 million hub at Monash University designed to develop new construction materials including binders, cement additives, high-performance concrete materials, concrete structural systems, polymer composites, and pavement materials
- ARC Research Hub for Graphene Enabled Industry Transformation – a $2.6 million University of Adelaide-based hub aimed at overcoming fundamental scientific barriers and developing fit-for-purpose graphene products with and for its partners
For many futurists, the most exciting of these hubs is the last one.
Graphene is a material made of a single layer of carbon that holds unrivalled material properties.
The thinnest, strongest (100 times stronger than the strongest steel) and lightest material known, graphene also has the highest surface area – one gram can cover the size of a football oval – and the best conductive and thermal properties than any other material, which makes it particularly attractive for use in electronics and energy storage.
“Never has a material exhibited more potential to change the industrial world than graphene,” says the University of Adelaide's Professor Dusan Losic, Director of the new ARC Research Hub.
“Our new national research hub will develop advanced materials, provide fit-for-purpose products and innovative solutions to a range of industries, such as advanced manufacturing, mining and minerals technology and services, medical technologies and pharmaceuticals, and defence.
“The aim is that our research will transform industry and support Australian businesses to embrace cutting-edge innovation and technologies that deliver high-value returns,” Professor Losic says.
The University of Adelaide will lead the new ARC Research Hub for Graphene Enabled Industry Transformation, with the University of Melbourne, Monash University and the University of South Australia all participating as collaborative partners in the program.
Other national and international collaborators include industry and research leaders from Australia, China, the US, UK, France and Spain, spanning mining and minerals, steel manufacturing, defence, and nanotechnology.