Bureau of Meteorology upgraded in national water plan

The Prime Minister's $10 billion, 10-point water management plan, released on 25 January, includes a $480 million upgrade of the role of the Bureau of Meteorology to provide water data in support of government and industry decision-making.

The funding will be used by the Bureau to:.

• hold and manage all of Australia’s water data;
• report on the status of Australia’s water resources, patterns of water use and forecasts of future water availability;
• maintain a comprehensive set of water accounts for the nation;
• set national standards for water use metering and hydrologic measurements;
• influence and support state-based investments in water monitoring and water use metering programmes; and
• commission strategic investigations and procure special data sets to enhance understanding of Australia’s water resources.

Another key measure of the plan is to address over-allocation of water, and CSIRO is currently assessing the sustainability of allocations catchment by catchment. Final results from this work for all catchments are expected by the end of the year, and the government will use this information to respond to over-allocation of water in rural Australia, particularly in the Murray-Darling Basin..

Mr Howard also announced the formation of a special taskforce chaired by Senator Bill Heffernan to examine the potential for further land and water development in northern Australia where the majority of the continent's surface runoff occurs. The taskforce will be informed by a Northern Australia Land and Future Water Assessment, which will have as a key focus identifying the capacity of northern Australia to play a larger role in agriculture.

Details of the National Plan for Water Security are here

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CSIRO funding increase rejected

Federal Science Minister Julie Bishop has announced CSIRO will receive baseline funding of $2.56 billion over the next four years.

The funding is about 2% up on the current funding level of around $600 million annually, but is believed to be considerably less than was requested. According to CSIRO sources, an additional $100 million a year was requested for national flagship programs.

The Shadow Minister for Industry, Innovation, Science & Research, Kim Carr, said the funding was "far less than the rate of inflation".

"The Minister must explain why CSIRO’s Budget bids for additional funding for the Flagship programme and for urgently needed building and plant renewal appear to have been rejected out of hand. How will CSIRO fund these important priorities? What will have to be shelved or postponed?

"There is now a real fear that this four year budgetary straight-jacket will lead once again to redundancies and to the abandonment or postponement of research of national importance," Mr Carr Said.

In future, CSIRO will receive its baseline funding on a four-yearly basis instead of the current three-year funding terms.

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New innovation grants for South Australia

The South Australian Government has established two new grants programs, the Innovation and Commercialisation Grant and the Innovation Development Grant, to help local businesses develop new products and services and get them to market. A total of $1.65 million over four years is available for the grants.

The Innovation and Commercialisation Grant is a one-year initiative while the Innovation Development Grant will operate over four years.

The SA Centre for Innovation will manage both programs, with support from the Department of Trade and Economic Development.

The Innovation and Commercialisation Grant will provide up to $50,000 to help develop a product or service to the market-ready stage. This may include helping in commercialisation or creating a market advantage and the company must match funding.

The Innovation Development Grant will provide up to $25,000 for companies with a clearly identified business opportunity that is past the start-up phase but is in need of external financial support to go to market.

Application for both grants close on 1 March 2007. More information is at www.centreforinnovation.org.au

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Aquifer recharge research funded

The Western Australian government has recently announced a $3 million project to investigate the suitability of aquifers across the Swan Plain for managed aquifer recharge schemes.

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) involves a process whereby water is injected into underground aquifers to be stored for future use. The main benefit of the technique is that it provides a water source for irrigation while displacing unusable salt water within the aquifer.

The research will include a three-year pilot trialling program to assess the eligibility of aquifers to be fitted out with the MAR technology.
The research will be undertaken by Water Corporation and CSIRO in conjunction with the WA Premier’s Water Foundation, the University of Western Australia and the Centre for Groundwater Studies.

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Queensland invests in cloud seeding research

The Queensland government has allocated $7.6 million for a four year research program into cloud seeding technology .

The Government is looking at conducting a pilot project in collaboration with the Bureau of Meteorology and the United States National Centre for Atmospheric Research.

The project will:

• study relevant atmospheric information, processes and conditions in Queensland that assist cloud seeding;
• use radar technology to research cloud physics and increased rain associated with cloud seeding;
• using the research results, conduct cloud seeding operations over southern Queensland;
• inform rural and urban populations likely to be affected by the cloud seeding process; and
• provide a full scientific report to the Beattie Government on the results of the study.

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Medical Research Commercialisation Fund launched

A new Medical Research Commercialisation Fund has been unveiled at the Melbourne International Venture Capital Conference.

The fund, founded by Dr Chris Nave, Director of Commercialisation at the Baker Heart Research Institute, has signed on 15 medical research institutions and has raised $30 million in initial capital from State government superannuation firms.

Investment of up to $2 million will be made for open-ended investment periods, and will focus primarily on phase II clinical trials. The fund will begin operations on 1 April .

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Position Vacant: Research Officer (Postdoctoral Fellow)

The Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute has an established record of national and international research leadership in the neurosciences. Over 150 scientists, clinicians, students and allied staff support its mission to advance the knowledge, treatment and cure of neuroscience related disorders through excellence in research.

Prof George Paxinos has produced a series of mammalian brain atlases that have become international standards. One of these atlases is ranked in the 50 most cited publications of all time. Prof John Morley has an outstanding reputation in the field of sensory neurophysiology. The two scientists are part of a team awarded one of the three Thinking Systems grants in Australia, a grant whose aim is to emulate brain architecture in robotic design. A postdoctoral position is available that will provide an outstanding doctoral graduate a chance to establish an international reputation under the supervision of Professor Paxinos, in collaboration with Prof Morley.

This position will provide opportunities to master the fine detail of brain anatomy and electrophysiology, learn the techniques of brain mapping, apply molecular marker and gene expression techniques in mapping the brain, especially the cortex, and carry out other experimental neuroscience projects. The objectives of the position will be to create a detailed anatomical map with a focus on the sensorimotor cortex and other motor regions of the brain, with an additional objective of providing homologous mapping of these systems between humans and other mammalian species.

The successful applicant will have demonstrated outstanding capacity for neuroscience research, including ability to complete and publish major projects. They will be required to work across disciplines such as neurophysiology or computational modelling to further the aims of the Thinking Systems grant. A strong collaborative attitude is essential.

Enquiries to: Prof George Paxinos g.paxinos@unsw.edu.au  +61-2-93991094

Please forward your application to Lee Hilton l.hilton@unsw.edu.au. Fax: +61-2-93991026.

Mail: PO Box 82 St Pauls NSW Australia 2031.

Closing: Friday 16 February, 2007

www.powmri.edu.au  

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AIRG Annual Conference 2007

The AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH GROUP (AIRG) will be holding its 2007 Annual Conference in Melbourne from 18-20th February, 2007 . The venue will be Quay West, Southgate Avenue, Southbank, Melbourne. The theme of the conference will be:

“Challenges and Opportunities for the Next Decade”

Australia faces a changing world – economically, technologically, socially and environmentally. We see the rapid growth in the Asian economies especially in China and India and the decline in manufacturing in western countries and the rapid development of new technologies. The baby-boomers who have powered the world over the past 40-50 years are reaching retirement age presenting the demands of a large elderly population and the loss of considerable skills and knowledge from the workforce. Finally, we have the changing climate presenting potential threats to large regions of the planet. Charles Darwin said that the species that survive are not necessarily the strongest or the fastest but the ones that are most adaptable to change. This changing world represents a significant challenge for Australia and we must use our R&D expertise across all sectors to demonstrate our ingenuity and adaptability and to seize the opportunities to remain competitive and prosperous.

We are fortunate to have leading speakers from Europe, Asia and Australia who will focus on the following topics:

• Development of a perspective of the changes from various regions – Australia, the USA, Europe and Asia.
• Focus on new science and technology likely to have an impact over the next decade
• A view of the changes we might expect
• The changing demographics and the ability to meet the demands and the opportunities that these changes present to both the Public and Private sectors.
• Understanding the environmental changes occurring and our responses to them.
• What Australia has to Offer
• Workshop/Discussion sessions for input from all delegates

The conference will provide delegates with a unique forum to:

• Learn more about these key issues and their likely impact
• Develop their professional network of peers through sharing experiences and challenges.

We invite those people interested in the role that Australian R&D can play in providing Australian industry with a competitive advantage to attend this important conference.


For further information please contact Dr. Errol McGarry, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Industrial Research Group ( Ph. 61 3 9439 0075 or e-mail airg@bigpond.net.au)

We hope that you are able to join us from 18th to 20th February 2007 in Melbourne for this important conference.

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A Practical Guide to Managing Intellectual Property in the Public Sector

Friday, 30 March 2007, Novotel, Canberra

Spruson&Ferguson, together with Learning Network Solutions will be holding a practical one day seminar on Managing Intellectual Property in the Public Sector. The seminar, which is designed to be highly interactive, will look at key issues specific to IP management in the public sector including identifying, recording, managing and commercialising IP.

For more information or to request a seminar brochure, please contact Learning Network Solutions on (02) 9585 2304 or email info@learningnetworks.com.au  

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Are you a clinician involved in NEUROSCIENCE?

The School of Enterprise, University of Melbourne, in association with the NHMRC - funded Centre of Clinical Research Excellence in Neurosciences and the Brain Research Institute, are pleased to announce that they will be holding a 4 day short course on Clinical Neuroscience Research: Methodology and Disease Applications Part 1, at the Austin Repatriation Centre on March 19, 20, 22, 23. 2007

NUMBERS ARE LIMITED, so be quick!

This course has been specifically designed for people already in clinical practice, who want to understand and interpret the existing research, or to think about the research questions before embarking on clinical research studies. Experienced clinicians who are in their first years of conducting clinical research will also benefit by consolidating their research methods and skills. In addition, this course will provide basic orientation in various clinical research methodologies applied to neuroscience for other professionals who are unfamiliar with the field of neuroscience or clinical research.

Specialist Certificate in Clinical Research (Neuroscience)

The 25 points specialist certificate is a Masters level award and is achieved by completion of the two four day subjects, Methodology and Disease Applications Part 1 & 2, with associated assessment. It provides full credit into the Masters program in Clinical Research.

NEED TO KNOW MORE? CHECK OUT INFORMATION AT:

www.soe.unimelb.edu.au/neuroscience  

Cost: $2,000 + GST

When: March 19, 20, 22, 23

Where: Neurosciences Building
Austin Repatriation Campus
Banksia Street Gate10)
West Heidelberg

Express your interest in this course and related courses by contacting:

• Kathy Lefevere on (03) 9496 2290 or email lefevere@unimelb.edu.au  
• Brad Atkins on (03) 9810 3185 or email b.atkins@soe.unimelb.edu.au  

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Specialist Certificate in Clinical Research (Biomedical Research Management)

Thinking of Further Education?

Enrol now for the April 2007 intake in Biomedical Research Management (But hurry as places are restricted to 20 places)

With the longer term goal of creating clinical outcomes for projects in human and animal health, including medical devices and dentistry, this course has been designed for professionals who are involved with running biomedical research projects, those seeking a more senior project management role on such projects and research managers who would like to transfer their project management skills to biomedical projects. This may include staff working in CCRE’s, research organisations, universities, start-up companies, as well as research fellows and postgraduate students.

This course covers all the important areas that effective biomedical research managers need to be conversant with, and make decisions about, to develop sound biomedical research project plans and budgets. The focus is then on developing skills for the proactive management and communication projects where uncertainty is the norm. Finally, assessment is built around demonstrating the ability to apply skills learned to a real work based project.

PART 1 – April 16, 17, 19 & 20
PART 2 –May 21, 22, 23 & 25

NEED TO KNOW MORE? Check out more information at;

http://www.soe.unimelb.edu.au/biomedicalresearchmanagement  

Express your interest in this course or related courses by contacting;

Elise Strande on (03) 9810 3136 or email e.strande@soe.unimelb.edu.au  

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Pathways to Commercialisation

The School of Enterprise, University of Melbourne are pleased to announce the upcoming 5 day course Pathways to Commercialisation.

Who is this course for?
This program is for anyone working in the technology commercialisation and new product development area that is required to put together effective business cases for investment projects for both internal and external funding. Designed to enhance practical experience gained in the workplace, the principles learned on the program are applied immediately into a team project that runs throughout the week, culminating in each team giving a presentation to an independent panel in a “pitch” for fund.

What will I get out of this course?
- Enhanced ability to commercialise new technologies, products and services 
- Business case development skills and capabilities 
- Enhanced capacity to build a business case to attract investment finance

Numbers are limited, so be quick!

Cost: $2,995 + GST per person
10% discount for 3 registrations from the same organisation when registered and paid for together.
When: 26th to 30th March 2007.
Where: Graduate House, Carlton

NEED TO KNOW MORE?
Click here for more information.

Express your interest in this course or related courses by contacting;
Elise Strande on (03) 9810 3136 or email e.strande@soe.unimelb.edu.au

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