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Media Release

December 17 2007

UniSA science funding a premier achievement

Professor Rob ShortThree major projects with significant long-term benefits for SA’s mining, resource, defence and manufacturing sectors and regional community have been awarded more than $2.5 million from the Premier’s Science and Research Fund announced by Science Minister Paul Caica today.

The State’s manufacturing capability and capacity will be enhanced through the research and development of a cutting-edge technology that could position SA as a world leader in advanced manufacturing.

Led by the Director of UniSA’s Mawson Institute for Advanced Manufacturing, Professor Robert Short, a consortium from the Ian Wark Research Institute, Flinders University, the CSIRO, Research Laboratories Australia, Schefenacker Vision Systems Australia, Carl Zeiss Vision, Bio Innovation SA and the Electronics Industry Association will explore how micro-cavity plasma discharges (MPDs) could provide a new generation of products and services across a range of industries.

MPD technology, which manipulates electrically excited gas in a low-pressure environment, is behind exciting new products such as “lab-on-chip” devices, in which an entire chemical plant can be scaled-down to a laboratory bench, and the next generation of electronics.

“This funding will ensure the development of MPD technology is firmly anchored in South Australia, creating new jobs and attracting new industry into the State,” Prof Short, an international expert in MPD research, said.

“Plasma technology is highly engineering-friendly and may be readily accommodated into existing manufacturing processes. It also offers a ‘green’, virtually pollutant-free surface chemistry.

“It allows us to modify the surface properties of substances, such as their hardness or adhesion, and to deposit new materials in them in any pattern. It’s of immense benefit in electronics, life sciences, health and both niche and large-scale manufacturing.”

The MPD research project, which has a total value of $2.3 million, will receive $910,000 from the PSRF over three years. It builds on the International Science Linkage funding awarded to Prof Short and colleagues at the Universities of Liverpool and Illinois earlier this year, and involves a collaboration with the new $8 million Microfluidics and Nanofabrication Facility at UniSA’s Ian Wark Research Institute. The State Government also invested $2 million in the facilty which received $2 million from the Federal Government and a $4 million investment from UniSA.

A new Regional Sustainability Centre, to be based at UniSA’s Whyalla campus, will initially focus on solar power and water desalination for the Upper Spencer Gulf to help meet the enormous energy, water and infrastructure needs of the State’s booming mining and resources industry in the region.

Director of UniSA’s Institute for Sustainable Systems and Technologies (ISST), Professor Wasim Saman said the establishment of the Centre will help regional economic development that is environmentally sustainable.

“One of the potentially negative aspects of the expansion of mineral exploration, production and processing is the environmental consequences,” Prof Saman said.

“UniSA’s ISST, with our partners at Wizard Power, Onesteel, the Whyalla Economic Development Board and the Whyalla City Council, will support local organisations in developing an integrated and environmentally sustainable approach to economic development in the region.”

The $3.3 million Regional Sustainability Centre will receive $660,000 through the PSRF and will work collaboratively with UniSA’s Centre for Regional Engagement and the Centre for Rural Health and Community Development, both based in Whyalla.

The third project, the South Australia Networking Laboratory (SANLAB), to be jointly undertaken by the Centre for Defence Communications and Information Networking at the University of Adelaide and UniSA’s Institute for Telecommunications Research (ITR), together with Tenix Defence and Aerospace and Cisco Systems, has been awarded $900,000 through the PRSF.

The SANLAB will provide experimentation facilities and research expertise for the development of Defence Mobile Ad Hoc Networks, an emerging communication technology that holds great promise for the Australian Defence Forces.

The ITR’s Director, Professor Alex Grant said SANLAB would enhance South Australia’s reputation as the defence State and support future needs of the defence industry.

In congratulating the funding recipients, the University of South Australia’s Vice Chancellor Professor Peter Høj said the Premier’s Science and Research Fund support is crucial to South Australia’s sustainability, manufacturing and defence research capability.

“The PSRF is an invaluable investment in science research and infrastructure in the State,” Prof Høj said.

“This announcement caps off a fantastic year of research performance and achievements for the University of South Australia.”

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