NSSN Grants awarded to support impactful research
NSSN Grand Challenges span across ageing, bushfires, clean tech, water, and smart places & buildings. Photo: Pexels.
NSSN Grand Challenge Fund successful teams for 2023 are represented from member universities across NSW.
The NSW Smart Sensing Network (NSSN) has announced the five successful research teams that have secured funding through this year’s NSSN Grand Challenge Fund.
Collaborative teams across NSSN’s member universities will share $318,534 of funding to develop innovative solutions to NSSN Grand Challenges, including ageing, water and clean technology.
Five R&D projects have secured funding including:
The MOSAIC Study: Motion Optic and Sound Sensors to Assess Interactive Communication led by Macquarie University, partnering with Western Sydney University and industry partners Cochlear and Google
Smart sonar and accessible hydrography led by Macquarie University, partnering with Wollongong University and industry partner CEE Hydrosystems
Novel testing methodologies for deployable detection of water pathogens led by UNSW, partnering with UTS and industry partner BioPoint LTD
High-speed counting of black soldier flies for optimised waste recovery led by Western Sydney University, partnering with Macquarie University and industry partner ARC EntoTech
Improved operational flood intelligence for western NSW catchments led by UNSW, partnering with UTS and industry partners Schematic Intel and NSW SES
The NSSN Grand Challenge is now in its third year and allows member universities from across New South Wales and the ACT to compete for funding that will foster innovative research that collaborates with industry to address some of our most complex challenges.
NSSN co-director Professor Julien Epps congratulated this year’s successful teams who were among an outstanding field of applicants.
“The NSSN Grand Challenge Fund is one of the highlights of the year, giving us a taste of some of the most innovative and exciting research that is taking place across our network.
“Once again, we have been impressed by the high quality of projects from all of our universities and I am excited to see the impact these projects will have.”
NSSN co-director Professor Benjamin Eggleton said that the five successful teams will each work collaboratively to provide answers to complex issues.
“The NSSN Grand Challenge Fund is designed to address a wide range of complex issues, and this year was no different. The successful teams are working in compelling areas such as ageing, water, flooding and the environment.
They are combatting real-world challenges that affect Australians every single day. The teams are working across our university network and with industry and government partners to ensure the world-class research that is taking place in our universities is having an impact in society.”
The Successful Teams
The MOSAIC Study: Motion Optic and Sound Sensors to Assess Interactive Communication is led by Dr Kelly Miles from Macquarie University. Dr Miles will partner with researchers from Western Sydney University and industry partners from Cochlear and Google. The team plan to revolutionise how people wearing hearing devices listen and communicate using sensor networks that will detect conversational difficulties and prevent communication breakdowns.
Smart sonar and accessible hydrography is being led by Dr Matthew Roberts from Macquarie University. Dr Roberts will partner with Wollongong University to aid the commercialisation of easily deployable and reliable hydrographic data collection equipment for use in inland and estuarine water courses and storage. The team’s industry partner will be CEE HydroSystems.
“Novel testing methodologies for deployable detection of water pathogens” is being led by Professor Ewa Goldys from UNSW. Professor Goldys will work with UTS and their industry partner BioPoint to enhance rapid automated testing systems for pathogens in wastewater and water.
High-speed counting of black soldier flies for optimised waste is being led by Dr Alexandre Marcireau from Western Sydney University. Dr Marcireau will work with Macquarie University and Arc Ento Tech. Arc Ento Tech has developed an innovative way to treat waste that relies on the production of black soldier flies. Dr Marcireau and his team will utilise smart sensors to enable high-speed counting of the flies to enhance Arc Ento Tech’s commercial processes.
Improved operational flood intelligence for western NSW is being led by Associate Professor Fiona Johnson from UNSW. Working with UTS, the team will use machine learning methods to provide the SES with extra flood intelligence from a range of sensors to significantly enhance their planning capabilities for operations teams.
The Grand Challenge Fund
Launched in 2020, the NSSN Grand Challenges Fund promotes the development of innovative, collaborative research projects that advance smart sensing solutions to the five NSSN Grand Challenges in ageing, bushfires, clean tech, water and smart places and buildings.
Through the NSSN Grand Challenge Fund, grants of up to $100,000 per project support the development of R&D projects that link industry or government partners with NSSN member universities to translate world-class research into impactful smart sensing solutions, either through commercialisation or operationalisation.
The next round of the NSSN Grand Challenges Fund will be offered in late 2023
Media: Jonathan Drennan | NSSN | 0468 765 816 | jonathan.drennan@nssn.org.au