Ian Wark Research Institute
ARC Special Research Centre
ARC Special Research Centre
On 12 December, the South Australian Minister for Science, the Hon Paul Caica, presented a microscopic cheque for $2 million to Wark Director, John
Ralston for the new Microfluidics and Nano-Fabrication Facility at UniSA
which will be housed at The Wark. This was a novel way to highlight the role
this new Facility will have in the design and manufacture of microchips for
chemical, biological and clinical applications.
The South Australian
Government’s contribution formed part of the total $8 million in funding for
the Facility, with $2 million funded through the National Collaborative
Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) and a $4 million investment by
UniSA. Pictured at the funding handover (from left-to-right) Mr David
Klingberg, Chancellor of UniSA, Hon Paul Caica, Laureate Prof John
Ralston and Prof Peter Høj, Vice Chancellor & President of UniSA.
The Facility, which will open in early 2009, will enable the prototyping and
replication of channels and networks at the micro-scale. This new capability
will fit closely with the already extensive minerals processing and
interfacial science research infrastructure in place at The Wark.
The Facility at The Wark will form part of the Australian National
Fabrication Facility (ANFF) which links seven complementary university-based
nodes to provide researchers with access to state-of-the-art fabrication
facilities.
