ARC Fellowships advance human rights research and ‘greener’ belt conveyor technology
The University of Newcastle’s Associate Professor Amy Maguire and Professor Craig Wheeler have been awarded prestigious Australian Research Council (ARC) Mid-Career Industry Fellowships. More than $2.2m combined will fund their respective projects to support national human rights law reform; and to halve the energy used to convey Australia’s most valuable export commodities.
The Mid-Career Industry Fellowship Program aims to drive research collaboration, translation and commercialisation outcomes across a range of industry settings.
$1.14m to develop a national human rights index
With a commitment to human rights reform – including the development of a world-class national human rights index – a project led by University of Newcastle Associate Professor Amy Maguire has been awarded a $1.14m ARC Mid-Career Industry Fellowship. Professor Maguire is Director of the Centre for Law and Social Justice at the University of Newcastle School of Law and Justice.
The project seeks to address core challenges for human rights reform identified by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). It aims to deliver new knowledge about law reform in Australian and international systems, and a first ever study of human rights indices – forming the evidence base for Australian policy and law-making.
Along with the world-class national human rights index to measure Australia's human rights performance, the project will deliver best-practice human rights education programs, and an AHRC Research Alliance to promote continuing cross-sector collaboration.
The project aims to enhance protections, especially for the most vulnerable, and help establish a more preventive approach to rights, making Australian society fairer and more cohesive.
Industry partner: Australian Human Rights Commission
$1.13m to engineer more energy efficient bulk material transportation systems
Every ton of bulk material (iron ore, coal, copper) exported from Australia, is at some stage transported by belt conveyors. A $1.13m ARC Mid-Career Industry Fellowship has been awarded to Professor Craig Wheeler, of the University’s School of Engineering, to improve efficiencies in this process.
This project will deliver a step change improvement to conveying technology and halve the energy used to handle and transport Australia’s most valuable export commodities.
The new technology merges the benefits of both belt conveying technology and rail to produce a continuous low rolling resistance bulk material transportation system. Advanced models and novel experimental equipment will be developed to model this new innovative system to ensure safe, efficient and reliable design.
Industry partner: FLSMIDTH PTY LTD
Contact
- Communications Coordinator, Penny Harnett
- Phone: (02) 4921 6779
- Email: penny.harnett@newcastle.edu.au
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