Linking research to international networks
by Geraldine Hinter
Producing hydrogen energy from biomass wastes and using music as a
pathway to social acceptance for marginalised youth worldwide will be the aim of
Australian Research Council Linkage – International Fellowship winners at UniSA.
The International Fellowships, awarded by the Commonwealth government, enable fellows from overseas research institutions to work in Australia with UniSA researchers on specific projects for up to one year, giving UniSA academics the chance to build strong ongoing collaborations with international researchers and centres of excellence.
Director of Research Services, Dr Mark Hochman, says the University’s success in winning a total of $156,988 for the two applications submitted (out of 46 applications received from universities Australia-wide), places UniSA in ninth position among universities nationally.
The University’s chief investigators for the research fellowships are Dr Bo Jin, senior research fellow and head of the Water Environment Biotechnology group in the School of Natural and Built Environments; and Dr Gerry Bloustien and Dr Margaret Peters, senior lecturers from the School of Communication, Information and New Media.
Dr
Jin will research techniques for generating hydrogen energy from biomass
materials in waste streams. Biomass waste is food and agricultural industry
wastes, or any organic wastes from various industries. He will support
visiting fellow Dr Zhihui Bai from the Research Centre for Environmental
Ecology Sciences, one of China’s top research institutes funded by the
Chinese Academy of Science.
UniSA’s Dr Bloustien, Dr Peters and Dr Sarah Baker with Dr Shane Homan (Newcastle University) are investigating how music, media and arts practices of marginalised and indigenous youth facilitate pathways to socioeconomic inclusion. This fellowship builds on a successful collaborative project already in place that compares how youth from different countries engage in popular music using cultural resources outside of formal schooling.
The international partners include Surrey and London Universities, UK; Brown University, US; as well as international fellow Dr Bruce Cohen from Germany’s Humboldt University, who will work in Australia with the UniSA team at research sites in both the northern and southern suburbs.