November news items
21st November - ARC success confirms national leadership in GeoScience
Southern Cross GeoScience's recent ARC success has confirmed the special research centre as a national leader in the field of earth sciences. November has been an outstanding month for the Centre, with a number of large, prestigious grants being awarded to Southern Cross GeoScience.
Amongst the successful projects, was a highly prestigious ARC Future Fellowship awarded to Dr Scott Johnston. The award was presented at a special function in Canberra by the Minister for Science and Innovation, Senator Carr. The highly sought after award identifies Dr Johnston as an 'outstanding Australian researcher in their mid-career.' Dr Johnston will receive a very large grant of $709,000 to conduct his project 'Sea-level rise as a driver for arsenic mobilisation: unravelling the fundamental hydrogeochemical controls".
Dr Johnston was also successful a few weeks earlier, in being awarded an ARC Linkage Project with his Southern Cross GeoScience colleague, Assoc. Prof. Ed Burton. The project was one of only five ARC Linkage Projects awarded in the Earth Sciences field of research, and will be delivered in partnership with Port Macquarie-Hastings Council and Great Lakes Council. $250,000 was awarded to reveal how major re-flooding will influence the cycling of iron, sulphur and carbon in re-flooded acidic, freshwater wetlands. The project will generate the necessary knowledge to underpin wise long-term management of these sensitive and unique landscapes.
Development of a cutting-edge analytical laser is another successful ARC project awarded to Southern Cross GeoScience. The laser - called a high-resolution laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer - is being developed by Southern Cross GeoScience. The laser, when up and running, will enhance the Centre's reputation as a leader in its field not only in Australia but also the world. This project has been awarded $200,000 through the ARC LIEF program.
Assoc. Prof Andrew Rose was also a recipient of an ARC Discovery Grant during November, through collaboration with colleagues at the University of NSW. The project was awarded $450,000 to explore iron bioavailability and contaminant mobility in aqueous environments.
And finally, Dr Renaud Joannes-Boyau, one of Southern Cross GeoScience's newest research associates was a recipient of an ARC Discovery Grant through collaboration with colleagues at the University of Queensland. The project, which is an exciting inclusion to Southern Cross GeoScience's research areas, will explore several new methodologies to date fossils to determine the chronological sequence and the timing of extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna. The project was awarded $115,000.
Updated: 20 May 2013