The Australian Research Council (ARC) has provided $9.2 million to the University of South Australia for the establishment of two new national training centres.
The Surface Engineering for Advanced Materials Centre (SEAM) will collaborate with Swinburne University and RMIT to integrate hi-tech research into the manufacturing sector.
The centre’s main aim will be to create a high-quality manufacturing workforce and focus on research in key areas such as biomaterials, graphene layering, high temperature coatings, laser metal deposition for materials repair and Industry 4.0 manufacturing processes.
The new ARC Training Centre for Future Energy Storage Technologies (FEST) will be led by Deakin University and will focus on creating new and advanced energy materials, batteries and battery-controlled systems for the development of new technologies.
“By harnessing the expertise of researchers and industry partners, both projects aim to deliver benefits for our economy, the community, and our environment,” said Dr Christiane Schulz who along with Associate Professor Colin Hall and Associate Professor Nikki Stanford from the Future Industries Institute (FII) will be lead researchers at the Surface Engineering for Advanced Materials Centre.
UniSA FII researcher Associate Professor Drew Evans and a PhD student at the ARC-FEST Centre will join forces with SA sensor technology company Sentek Pty Ltd to assist in the development of the company’s remote sensing applications with a materials science focus.
At SEAM, the primary industry partner will be Adelaide surface engineering company LaserBond.
