Unlocking even greater potential from wind energy and helping oysters adapt to a changing climate are some of the possibilities that could flow from the Gillard Labor Government’s $310 million investment in research.

Announcing the funding for over 1,000 national research projects, Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr said our changing climate was one of the great challenges facing Australia today, and investing in research was the key to helping our country create a clean energy future.

“Many of the projects being funded will help us create a richer, fairer and greener future for all Australians”, Senator Carr said.

“Researchers at Macquarie University will use a $285,000 grant to study how oysters are able to survive in the warm and acidic ocean conditions that are expected to exist at the end of this century. This will lead to deeper knowledge of the metabolic processes which may be passed from one generation to the next to survive climate change.

“The Australian National University will use a $210,000 grant to establish a wind monitoring network that will help us understand the effects of the lower atmosphere on climate. This will help better predict cyclones and in the efficient production of wind energy.

“And researchers at the University of Queensland will use a $490,000 grant to reconstruct the recent biological and physical history of reefs in the southern Great Barrier Reef to better understand how they may react to future environmental changes.”

The research projects were announced as part of the Australian Research Council’s 2012 Major Grants Announcement, with $310 million announced for over 1,000 research projects nationwide. Funding will begin in 2012 and be administered over a period of up to five years under the Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development, Discovery Projects, Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities Projects and Linkage Projects schemes. 

To view the summaries of all funding outcomes and information on the funding schemes, visit www.arc.gov.au/media/major_announce.htm.

For more information on the ARC and the Innovation, Industry, Science and Research portfolio, including the research grants available, visit www.arc.gov.au and www.innovation.gov.au.

A printable version of the media release [PDF 53 KB] is available.