Outstanding mid-career researchers to conduct research for the benefit of Australia

11 August 2021

Outstanding mid-career researchers to conduct research for the benefit of Australia

One hundred researchers are set to receive Australian Government funding to focus on finding solutions for key industry challenges and training the next generation of researchers under the ARC Future Fellowships scheme.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Australian Research Council (ARC), Professor Sue Thomas, has welcomed today’s announcement by Minister of Education and Youth the Hon Alan Tudge MP of $93 million in funding for the new Future Fellows for 2021.

Professor Thomas said the ARC Future Fellowships scheme is designed to attract and retain the best and brightest mid-career researchers who will undertake research in areas of critical national importance.

'These new Future Fellowships are awarded to outstanding mid-career researchers, who will receive funding support for the next four years to undertake their innovative research in Australia,' Professor Thomas said.

Some of the 2021 Future Fellows and their projects include:

• Professor Lisa Alexander from The University of New South Wales will conduct research to provide an in-depth assessment of the climate model simulations used to support regional climate change impact evaluations with a focus on rainfall.
• Professor Corneel Vandelanotte from Central Queensland University will develop, train and evaluate a physical activity chatbot, using artificial intelligence and machine learning, to improve workplace productivity in sedentary office workers.
• Professor Seth Lazar from The Australian National University will use grounded philosophy to make Australia a global leader in the study and design of legitimate artificial intelligence (AI) and to make fundamental progress in the new field of the Political Philosophy of AI.
• Dr Romina Rader from The University of New England will research the role that insect pollinators play in the quantity and quality of food crops production, with the aim of synthesising global datasets and developing new methodological tools for an integrated approach to pollinator resource management.

For full details of the 2021 ARC Future Fellowship funding outcomes, please visit the ARC website. 

ENDS

Media contact: ARC Stakeholder Relations 0412 623 056 or communications@arc.gov.au