30 July 2020
Support of more than $1.5 million has been awarded to two new Future Fellows at UniSA to progress research in nanomaterial surface structures for applications in health and environmental contexts, and the development of intelligent photonic sensors for applications across the energy and manufacturing sector.
Drs Melanie Ramiasa-Macgregor and Stephen Warren-Smith have been named Australian Research Council Future Fellows in the 2020 round of funding.
In a project to discover and map how nano objects adsorb or stick to larger surfaces but with features of comparable size, Dr Melanie Macgregor hopes to make discoveries that will benefit industries from manufacturing and energy production to biology and biomaterials.
Funding of more than $790,000 will support the development of more reliable nanoengineered biosensors and biomarkers for the health and medical sector and improve the sustainability and efficiency of the energy industry through a greater understanding of surface interactions at the nanoscale.
With the commencement of his Future Fellowship, Dr Stephen Warren-Smith will take up a position at UniSA’s Future Industries Institute to develop the next frontier in photonic waveguide sensing where machine learning will play an important role in transforming conventional photonic waveguide systems.
The almost $780,000 research project will employ machine learning to develop new photonic sensing systems able to measure and monitor extreme temperatures in harsh industrial settings such as power plants and smelters to contribute to greater safety and energy efficiency.
Congratulating the new Future Fellows, UniSA Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Marnie Hughes-Warrington says the successful applications are an indication of the excellence of their research and its responsiveness to industry challenges.
“The work both Melanie and Stephen will spearhead will have a significant industry impact and contribute to our goals for more sustainable and healthy societies.”
Media contact: Michèle Nardelli phone: +61 418 823 673 or +61 8 8302 0966 email: michele.nardelli@unisa.edu.au
