Richmond. State-of-the-art research facilities

The Federal Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research, Senator Chris Evans, has officially opened state-of-the-art research facilities at the University of Western Sydney’s Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, at Richmond. The unique research facilities, which are among the largest and most complex in the world, allow scientists to create future climatic conditions, including elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, higher temperatures and changed rainfall patterns. The institute’s research facilities were developed as a result of a $40 million grant from the Australian Government as part of its Education Investment Fund, together with funding from the University of Western Sydney.

Region. UWS wins $3.9m in research grants

The University of Western Sydney has received funding worth $3.9 million in the latest round of research grants announced by the Australian Research Council (ARC). A total of 18 projects received highly sought-after ARC Discovery and Linkage grants to tackle issues that are critical to the prosperity, health and educational future of the nation, UWS said The grants were awarded across the disciplines of business, urban environment, psychology, nursing and public health, engineering, education, computing and mathematics, and cultural research. "This result is a clear demonstration that UWS research ranks among the nation's best,” said Professor Andrew Cheetham, pro vice-chancellor (research).

Parramatta. Feeding Sydney research project

The Parramatta-based UWS Urban Research Centre (URC) is concerned about the future of produce production in the Sydney basin will undertake a long-term, interdisciplinary project designed to deliver the research needed to address this and other food supply issues. “The time has come to re-examine the wisdom of sacrificing agricultural lands adjacent to our cities to new residential sub-divisions. These lands may well be critical in the delivery of sustainability, quality of life and health outcomes in the decades ahead,” said Professor Phillip O’Neill, URC director. The centre said the Sydney basin produced in 2001 an estimated $1 billion worth of agricultural output, and supplied over 80 per cent of Sydney’s total perishable vegetable requirements.

Hawkesbury. Study to boost forensic standards

A new University of Western Sydney research venture, to be undertaken by a staff member awarded a 2008 Churchill Fellowship, would ensure that Australia's forensic scientists and crime scene investigators are of a global standard, the university said. Jennie Nelson, from the School of Natural Sciences, will travel to the United Kingdom and Canada, in 2009, to investigate the best practice procedures of forensic investigation. As part of the study, Ms Nelson would analyse the procedures used to induct staff, manage professional development, and supervise occupational health and safety, in various universities and forensic institutions. The UWS Hawkesbury campus is the base for the only 'crime scene house' in NSW – a dedicated training facility which allows students to practice forensic science skills such as detecting and analysing footprints, fingerprinting, blood spatter and glass evidence.