crcs€¦ · not only our economy, but the way we live. it will help us tackle and adapt to climate...

In ThIs Issue

CARe• tackles world arsenic problem

nerve regeneration• by stem cells and nanotechnology

Plant breeding prediction• saves time and money

Prestigious award• for Poultry science

Antibiotic native plants• cure sheep illness

Tooth Mousse Plus• is a winner

Killing ticks• … naturally

China honours• Spatial’s earthquake analyses

CRC’s celebrate• a wealth of excellence

Minister Carr’s • CRCA 2008 speech

Dual winning • sTARs

Goodbye• to the puffer?

smart’s boost• to services sector

World first• driver fatigue headwear

Construction research • a lifesaver

eWater’s• new ecosystem database

In June, I led the 450-strong Australian delegation to the BIO 2008 International Convention in San Diego. Our aim was to promote Australia’s biotechnology capabilities.

Biotechnology is one of several platform technologies that have the power to transform not only our economy, but the way we live. It will help us tackle and adapt to climate change, increase food supplies, manage pests and diseases, reduce chemical use, and develop healthier products. Australia has a lot to gain from this transformation.

Biotechnology is one of several platform technologies that have the power to transform not only

our economy, but the way we live.

We also have a lot to contribute. Our biotechnology sector is ready and willing to do business globally. The size and quality of the Australian presence in San Diego was proof of that. Seventy per cent of all biotech alliances announced in 2007 were with international companies.

The Australian Government supports biotechnology development through a host of initiatives, including the Australian Stem Cell Centre (our biotechnology centre of excellence), CSIRO’s 600-plus biotech projects, the Pharmaceutical Industry Strategy Group, project grants from the Australian Research

Council, and the twenty or more Cooperative Research Centres doing major biotechnology research.

Just before heading off for BIO 2008, I had the pleasure of attending the CRC Association’s annual awards in Sydney. The winners included the CRC for Molecular Plant Breeding, the CRC for Oral Health Science, and PhD students David Nisbet of the CRC for Polymers and Emily Piper of the CRC for Beef Genetic Technologies – all of them doing outstanding work in biotechnology.

Their awards are detailed in this edition of Success Through Innovation. Other biotechnology successes are reported from the Future Farm Industries CRC, the Poultry CRC, the eWater CRC and the CRC for Contamination Assessment and Remediation (CRC CARE), which has discovered a pollution-busting microbe to eat arsenic-affected soils and waters.

It is great to see the CRC Program driving biotechnology innovation and enterprise, not only in agriculture, but also in environmental science, medicine, mining and manufacturing. This work is critical to our future.

senator the hon Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, science and Research

Foreword:

Growing Innovation Capability

CRCs success Through InnovationWinter 2008

As many as 100 million people worldwide are facing slow poisoning and risk of death from arsenic in their drinking water and food supply. That is the conclusion of scientists from the CRC for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the environment (CRC CARe) following a global review of the health effects of arsenic on people in affected countries, including China, India and Bangladesh.

In Australia, arsenic poisoning is mainly man made. The residues from old arsenic sheep dips, mines, railway lines and past factory sites all contribute to toxins in soils. The situation becomes doubly serious for human health when suburbs are eventually built over these soils as towns and cities expand.

CRC CARE scientists are working on a range of arsenic problems, and are well on the way to finding some novel solutions. CRC CARE scientist Professor Megharaj Mallavarapu, of the University of South Australia, has discovered a naturally occurring soil bacterium that oxidizes the toxic arsenite to the less toxic form, arsenate.

CRC CARE Managing Director Professor Ravi Naidu said: “this is a truly momentous discovery by Professor Mallavarapu and his team, as it addresses one of the most intractable contamination problems facing almost all societies. They are to be congratulated on this important advance for Australian remediation science.”

“The beauty of this organism is that it performs the breakdown of toxic arsenite very efficiently,” said Professor Mallavarapu.

“We isolated hundreds of arsenic-tolerant species—but this one breaks down the most toxic form of arsenic in a very efficient manner,” he said. The microbe is completely harmless to humans, animals and the environment. It also tolerates other toxins such as cadmium and lead.

“We can cultivate these microbes on a large scale and then put them into the contaminated soil or water. This would be an efficient and low-cost way to make them much safer for people living nearby, growing crops on contaminated land or drinking water that passes through it.”

The CRC team is currently engaged in more detailed genetic screening to see if they can assess the potential to develop even more efficient pollution-busting organisms. The scientists aim to develop tools that provide a rapid test for the presence of arsenic in soil or water. This would greatly accelerate the process of finding out which soils and groundwaters are most in need of remediation, and checking drinking water supplies to ensure they are safe.

More Information at www.crccare.com

Arsenic poisoning is a global problem

CARe tackles world arsenic problem

2

CRCs SUCCESS THROUGH INNOvATION WInTeR 08

Mr Nisbet said “the scaffold is generated from plant seeds and provides a three-dimensional platform and anchor point for the nerve cells. It functions in a similar way as the temporary scaffolding in building construction. After the nerve scaffold has served its purpose, it degrades away leaving the cells to exist on their own natural matrix,” he said.

The 3D scaffold is a ‘smart’ material which is injected into the body as a liquid and only forms a solid scaffold when it reaches body temperature. This work intersects with nanotechnology and stem cell research, “which is a very exciting combination”, said Mr Nisbet. This scaffold repair of nerve pathways, “took us by surprise and we are very excited about the therapeutic outcomes that could be obtained from our research”.

“My scaffolds are also being investigated by colleagues at the Howard Florey Institute and the Mental Health Research Institute of victoria. Within these Institutes, I am currently investigating the performance of these nanomaterials within the body, and the preliminary results are encouraging. We have demonstrated an ability to control inflammation once the materials are introduced into the body, and have managed to encourage native nerves to extend and grow through the scaffold,” Mr Nisbet said.

Repairing damaged neural pathways within the brain or spinal cord will be a long and iterative process. Mr Nisbet currently collaborates internationally and locally with leaders in nerve regeneration, and recently presented the findings of his work at a World Biomaterials Conference in Amsterdam.

Mr Nisbet recently won an Early Career Scientist award for his presentation of the ground-breaking polymer research at the CRC Association’s annual conference in Sydney, in May 2008.

More information at: www.crcp.com.au

CRC for Polymers is conducting ground-breaking research which involves developing a technique which

has the potential to revolutionise nerve cell regeneration using stem cells and ‘smart’ nanomaterials.

CRC PhD researcher Mr David nisbet, with supervisor Dr John Forsythe from Monash university’s

Department of Materials engineering, has constructed a scaffold that supports neural stem cells and

which provides important signals to assist nerves to regrow. This major advance in stem cell research

provides a boost to the search for treatments for crippling conditions, particularly Parkinson’s Disease

and spinal cord injury.

“We have demonstrated an ability to control

inflammation once the materials are introduced

into the body, and have managed to encourage

native nerves to extend and grow through the scaffold” Mr David Nisbet and team are very excited

about the therapeutic possibilities of the nerve scaffolds.

Parkinson’s disease sections of the brain

Parkinson’s breakthrough utilises stem cells and nanotechnology

3


Cross Outcome Prediction lead researcher, Dr Howard Eagles, in the field

Australia’s Poultry Cooperative Research Centre has won the prestigious World Poultry Association’s Industry/Organisation Award, making it the leading poultry research centre in the world.

Poultry CRC CEO, Professor Mingan Choct, accepted the $A18,000 award at the World’s Poultry Congress in Brisbane on 4 July 2008.

“This is a very satisfying award to receive, particularly at this point in the CRC’s lifecycle, with a lot of people working very hard in the last five years to achieve practical outcomes for the Australian poultry industries,” said Professor Choct.

The Armidale-based Poultry CRC involves researchers, educators and support staff from twenty-three participating organisations. The Centre’s research

programs focus on sustainability for the egg and chicken meat industries which make it a stand out contributor to world poultry research. In 2007, for example, a Poultry CRC PhD student overturned a thirty-year dogma that alpha-toxin caused necrotic enteritis, a disease that costs the global poultry industries an estimated US$2 billion annually.

“It is great to see the Poultry CRC receiving this level of international recognition,” said Mr. Bob Ingham, owner of Inghams Enterprises, Australia’s largest chicken meat producer.

“We saw great benefit in having an organisation like the CRC and that’s why Inghams has been with the Poultry CRC from day one,” Mr. Ingham said.

More information at: www.poultrycrc.com.au

Plant breeding prediction saves time and money

Prestigious international award for Poultry science

After many years of persistent and innovative work, a research and collaboration project team led by Dr howard eagles of the CRC for Molecular Plant Breeding (MPB) has won a CRCA 2008 Innovation in excellence award in recognition of their ‘Cross Outcome Prediction’ technology work.

Plant breeding is a time-consuming

process taking as long as fifteen years

from initial cross to final release to

farmers. The new technology allows

breeders to quickly assess the success of

crossing different varieties of wheat and

to reduce the total number of crosses.

The technology is now used routinely by

many of the largest Australian breeding

programs.

MPBCRC CEO Dr Glen Tong explains,

“wheat breeding is an expensive process

which tries to use genetics to improve

grain yield, disease resistance and the

processing quality of wheat. Over ten

thousand combinations of genes can

be predicted by the new tool, allowing

breeding programs to focus on improving

the international competitiveness of

Australian wheat,” Dr Tong said.

The prediction technology uses genetic

information and complex mathematics to

generate information on the success of

cross breeding of plant varieties.

Dr Bertus Jacobs of Longreach Plant

Breeders said the technology enabled, “the

number of mainstream crosses [in their

breeding program to be] reduced from

300 to 150 per annum resulting in a more

focused and targeted crossing program”.

In exchange for access to the cross

prediction technology Longreach has an

agreement with MPB to pay royalties on

any varieties developed as a result of using

the technology. Longreach has also agreed

to provide access to quality data on its

own proprietary cultivars so that MPB can

further refine the predictor technology.

“There will be two major advantages for

us, the first being the higher success rate

for germplasm developed and the second

would be the accumulated saving in not

generating germplasm destined not to

achieve the required quality classification,”

Dr Jacobs said.

“The ultimate winner will be the Australian

growers and grain merchants - they will be

able to access better varieties more often,”

Dr Jacobs said.

More information at: www.molecularplantbreeding.com.au

4

Tooth Mousse Plus is the world’s first product to combine fluoride with Recaldent™ for a deeper, more effective remineralisation of decay-damaged teeth. Recaldent™ and its predecessor, Tooth Mousse, are innovation revolutions in themselves and both form the science foundations of the latest ‘Tooth Mousse Plus’ breakthrough.

The scientific research that led to Recaldent™ began in the 1980s when Professor Eric Reynolds, head of the School of Dental Science at the University of Melbourne embarked on a project to discover whether calcium and phosphate from cows milk could be delivered to teeth in a way to repair damaged tooth enamel. After almost twenty years of research into milk casein protein they identified a complex that carries calcium phosphate and they called it ‘CPP-ACP’ (casein phosphopeptide—amorphous calcium phosphate). Trials of the new CPP-ACP complex found that it could deliver calcium and phosphate ions into the teeth and repair and strengthen areas of enamel previously damaged by the action of plaque bacteria

—remineralising the enamel.

‘Tooth Mousse’ was the first oral health product to

contain the CPP-ACP peptide complex—a water based crème produced and distributed by the Japanese company GC Corporation. It was developed by

researchers from both the School of

Dental Science and

GC Corporation into a topical application for teeth and gums—the only clinically-proven technology other than fluoride to slow the development of tooth decay.

The ‘Tooth Mousse Plus’ story began when researchers from the CRC for Oral Health Science (CRC-OHS) decided to investigate if CPP-ACP (Recaldent™) could be combined with fluoride. Fluoride has long been recognised as an effective tooth decay preventative and has been added to water, toothpastes and other oral health products. Early experimental and modelling work delivered promising results that if fluoride and the CPP-ACP complex were combined in specific ratios, the health benefits of each ingredient could be retained. Further studies revealed that the peptide-complex-plus-fluoride penetrated deeper into the tooth than it did when it was applied on its own. In addition, studies found that the remineralising power of the CPP-ACP complex was accelerated by the addition of fluoride.

CRC-OHS member GC Corporation then worked closely with the CRC team at the University of Melbourne to develop the new fluoride nanotechnology into a topical crème formulation. The new product, Tooth Mousse Plus, is now recommended to patients by dentists in 35 countries. It is an effective decay remedy, more effective than fluoride-only preparations or CPP-ACP-only preparations.

The CRC of Oral Health Science team was awarded a prestigious Excellence in Innovation award at the CRC Association’s 2008 Conference for their research and application success of Tooth Mousse Plus (see p11).

More information at: www.crcoralhealthscience.org.au

Tooth Mousse Plus is a winner

3D molecular model of the new fluoride CPP-ACP

Tooth Mousse Plus is a decay fighter

5


Antibiotic native plants cure sheep illness

Peter Hutton and a friendly patient

Acacia saligna, one of the Australian plants with antibiotic properties

Lactic acidosis is a serious sheep illness caused by the bacterial break down of cereal grains to produce lactic acid, which can cause a severe decline in animal health and death if left untreated. Traditionally, acidosis has been controlled through the inclusion of antibiotics in grain feed. However, Australia, like the Europe Union, will soon ban these supplements as their prolonged use can create resistant bacteria that could be passed on to humans,” Peter Sutton said.

“About 50 per cent of all antibiotics used in Australia are added to stock feeds which create a substantial overhead for farmers,” he added.

However, some Australian plants could offer a cheap, clean and green alternative to antibiotics because they contain chemical compounds that inhibit acidosis-causing bacteria. Peter’s research is the first time that Australian plants have been tested for

bioactive properties to prevent the condition. “As part of my research, I created chemical extracts taken from native legumes and a selection of rangeland shrub species and these were tested on a range of bacteria known to cause lactic acidosis with up to five plants producing positive results,” Peter said. “One of the plant extracts produced a level of acidosis protection comparable to the protection gained through the use of antibiotics.”

The fodder shrub Acacia saligna has also shown potential to protect against lactic acidosis. “At this stage we have identified the chemical compounds in one plant that inhibits the acidosis-causing bacteria. Extracts from this plant have also been tested in animal feed trials to monitor its effectiveness inside a sheep’s stomach,” Peter said.

More information at: www.futurefarmcrc.com.au

The Future Farm Industries CRC (FFICRC) has discovered that some Australian native plants have antibiotic properties. university of Western Australia PhD graduate Peter hutton, funded by the FFICRC, has shown that these native plants have the right chemical properties to stop sheep suffering from a debilitating stomach condition known as lactic acidosis, and may eventually be used as green alternatives to replace current antibiotic feed supplements for sheep.

6


Killing cattle ticks… naturallyCRC for Beef Genetic Technologies PhD student Ms emily Piper from the university of Queensland is researching cleaner, greener ways of controlling cattle ticks. Currently, synthetic insecticides are used to control the cattle tick (Rhipicephalus microplus), but emily says these synthetics are costly to producers and their use could possibly leave residues in food products and the environment.

The blood sucking cattle tick is found in tropical and subtropical environments worldwide and costs Australian cattle producers more than $175 million per year in control costs and lost production. Heavy tick infestation can kill animals if they are left untreated.

Emily’s work focuses on identifying the mechanisms responsible for ‘natural’ host resistance against cattle ticks. “Some breeds of cattle such as the Brahman are naturally more resistant to cattle ticks. However European breeds such as the Holstein-Friesian and Hereford become heavily infested when there are many ticks in the field,” she said.

Emily is trying to discover which types of immune cells (and the products they produce), are responsible for the high levels of tick resistance observed in Brahman animals and some cross-bred animals. “So far, I’ve shown that Brahman animals have a different profile of immune cells to that of the susceptible Holstein-Friesian animals.”

Brahman cattle have more B cells and helper-T cells in their blood.

She said once they know what kind of immune response is important for high levels of tick resistance, they’ll be one step closer to developing an immune assay to predict tick resistance or susceptibility. Producers in tick-endemic areas of Australia will then be able to make breeding decisions based on resistance. “Additionally, by understanding how tick resistant cattle reject ticks, we can develop an improved tick vaccine for the cattle industry therefore reducing the dependency on chemical control,” Emily said.

Emily won the CRC Association’s Early Career Scientist ‘three-minute’ presentation award for her research on cattle ticks at the CRC Association’s annual conference in May 2008.

More information at www.beefcrc.com.au

Emily Piper and the Brahman Holstein trial

7


China honours Spatial’s earthquake analyses team

Researchers from the CRC for spatial Information (CRCsI) and university of nsW have been honoured by Chinese authorities for their rapid response in providing highly-detailed satellite image analyses to assist rescue operations, and assess infrastructure damage, after the massive 12 May 2008 earthquake in sichuan, China.

The magnitude 8.0 earthquake and ensuing human disaster prompted CRCSI project leader and deputy-director of CRCSI-CEODE Joint Centre for Spatial Information (JoCSI), Associate Professor Linlin Ge of the University of New South Wales, to pool expertise from Australia and Japan, in a race around the clock to acquire satellite imagery and generate ground displacement maps of the quake zone (and 300km long fault line).

The ground displacement mapping was vital to assess the degree of landslips and land movement to support rescue missions, as well as to assess damage around buildings and bridges and the potential for further landslips and damage to structures. The larger the ground deformation, the more likely that structures would be damaged.

Thanks to close collaboration with Japan’s Earth Remote Sensing Data Analysis Centre (ERSDAC), and Kochi Women’s University of Japan, the joint CRCSI/UNSW, and NSW Department of Lands InSAR team (radar interferometry team), were the first in the world to supply the China Earthquake Authority with the vital information about the level of earthquake damage to support rescue operations. Their high-resolution ‘interferogram’ maps showed ground lifting by up to 5m in areas in the quake rupture zone of Sichuan province.

The China Earthquake Authority were then able to combine the displacement maps with other geographic and satellite maps to assist in disaster mitigation. The CRCSI/UNSW analyses were also shared with other Chinese agencies including the National Disaster Reduction Centre of China, the Expert Group for Earthquake Rescue and Disaster Mitigation under the State Council, as well as with numerous research institutions.

Early in June, officials from the Chinese Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Sydney, Counsellor BAI Gang and Consul GUO Liang, visited the UNSW Image Analysis Laboratory at the School of Surveying and Spatial Information Systems, to thank the team for their joint efforts in supporting the rescue operation in China. Mr Bai presented the joint team with a special gift to symbolise the close collaboration between CRCSI, UNSW, China and Japan.

On 15 July, an honours banquet was held at the Chinese Embassy in Japan in order to thank ERSDAC and CRCSI/UNSW.

In 2007, the CRCSI entered into a landmark agreement negotiated by Professor Ge, with China’s Centre for Earth Observation and Digital earth, at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, to strengthen China’s capacity for earth observation, mapping and monitoring of ground displacement. Radar satellites to be launched by China in the future, coupled with inSAR (radar interferometry techniques), are expected to be able to monitor slight ground changes and predict potential slope failures for quake and aftershock early warning and evacuation.

More information at: www.crcsi.com.au

Interferogram of ground displacement in the quake zone

8


CRCA 2008 showcases a wealth of CRC achievementThe Cooperative Research Centres Association (CRCA) annual conference is the premier gathering of CRCs, stakeholders, CRC program staff and future participants of the CRC Program. This year it was held at Australian Technology Park, in Eveleigh, Sydney during 21–23 May, under the theme ‘Cooperative Research—The Engine of Innovation’. Once the largest industrial complex in Australia and a world class rail and electrical manufacturing facility (including munitions during WW2), Australian Technology Park is now home to 100 companies involved in technology innovation, including the CRC for Environmental Biotechnology and the CRC for Smart Services. It was a fitting venue to host the CRC gathering whose interests range from cutting-edge biotechnology and agribiotechnology, to advanced materials, mining and energy.

International speakers included the CEO and President of supercomputer company, CRAY Inc, and Ms Lynette Tan, Centre Director of the Singapore Government’s Economic Development Board. CRCA 2008 also attracted, during this important year of the Government’s National Innovation System (NIS) review, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR) Patricia Kelly, to speak on ‘Changes within the Department’; as well as Professor Mary O’Kane, chair of the CRC Program review, to speak on ‘’What is the future of the CRC Program’.

Oral Health Science CRC receives a national award for Excellence in Innovation for Tooth Mousse Plus.

Left to Right: Bernie Hobbs (Tv Personality, ABC Science), Hon Tony Staley (Chairman, CRCA), Mr. Michael Hartmann (CEO, CRCA), Prof. Eric Reynolds AO (CEO, Oral health Science CRC), Mr. Stephen Haynes (GC Corporation), Senator the Hon Kim Carr (Minister, Department of Innovation, Industry Science & Research) and Dr. Geoff Garrett (Chief Executive CSIRO)

CRCA Conference delegates in networking fervour

9


honouring excellence at CRCA 2008Edited transcript of speech delivered by Senator the Hon Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, at the CRC Awards for Excellence in Innovation Gala Dinner on 22 May 2008

It is easy to find examples of innovation excellence in Australia. We have our world-changing inventions, from the bionic ear, to the black box flight recorder, and all the way back to the stump-jump plough. We have our long history of successful adaptation to a difficult natural environment – a history that begins millennia before Europeans arrived in this country. These are all things we can be proud of. But pride should never give way to complacency. We’ve chalked up some fantastic achievements in innovation, but we can always do better. In the face of rising economic, social and environmental challenges, we have to do better. That’s why fostering a pervasive culture of innovation is so important. That’s why the work of our CRCs is so important.

The CRC Program is being evaluated as part of the broader national innovation system review. The aims of the NIS review are simple. We want to increase innovation capacity – in industry, universities, public research organisations and government. We want to concentrate energies and resources – to achieve critical mass and global impact. We want to improve connections – between individuals, disciplines, institutions and sectors. We want to foster creativity – by building an innovation system that recognises talent, rewards originality, and accepts a degree of risk. We want to promote diversity – which is why I have acted to safeguard research freedom and why our mission-based compacts will give universities a greater say in setting their own priorities.

And we want to achieve excellence. Australia is a small country with finite resources. We can’t afford to support every conceivable research project and we can’t afford to support research that isn’t world-competitive. We need to focus on what we do best.

The response to the review has been overwhelming. More than 1,000 people attended public consultations in March and the review panel has received over 630 written submissions. Forty-eight per cent of the written submissions came from industry, 25 per cent from the research and education sectors, 13 per cent from private individuals, 10 per cent from government and 3 per cent from others. We couldn’t ask for clearer evidence of how seriously Australians take innovation and how important they think it is to our well-being.

The NIS review panel has been specifically asked to consider the CRC Program, and a special working group chaired by Professor Mary O’Kane has been established for this purpose. It would have been necessary to review the program anyway – this is a routine requirement – but we now have the chance to consider not just how well it is performing, but how it fits into the innovation system as a whole. The CRC Program is now in its seventeenth year. It has evolved continuously during that time, and produced some brilliant work.

That said, I believe the shift under the previous government away from public-interest research and long-term capacity-building in favour of private-interest research and short-term commercialisation was a mistake. People often talk about innovation as a value-adding process. It is more accurate, in my view, to think of it as a problem-solving process, and it is essential that we have innovation programs and infrastructure that can solve the widest range of problems – social and environmental, as well as economic.

We went into the election promising to restore public interest as one of the CRC Program’s core criteria, and that will happen. This is a government that delivers on its promises. Beyond that, I am looking forward to the findings of the review. It will tell us what’s working, what isn’t, and how we can improve things to get the best possible return on our investment.

The review is investigating (i) how big the program should be; (ii) the relationship between basic and applied research; (iii) the relationship between public interest and commercial research; (iv) governance arrangements; (v) funding arrangements, including how long individual CRCs should be funded for; (vi) industry engagement; (vii) and how we should handle the IP generated by CRCs.

Let me stress that this is not a hostile review. Over $182 million is available for the CRC Program in 2008-09, and we have set ourselves the target of supporting forty-five CRCs this financial year (plus four CRCs that have been granted extensions).

The review panel will prepare a green paper by the 31st of July and the government will respond with a policy white paper before the end of the year.

senator the hon Kim Carr

Minister Kim Carr addresses delegates at the CRCA Conference Innovation in Excellence Gala Awards Dinner10


A highlight of the Conference was the presentation, by Senator Carr, of the CRC Awards for Excellence in Innovation. This marks the tenth year of the awards, which recognise outstanding examples of the transfer of research results, knowledge, processes and technology from the researcher to the research user and in so doing help deliver innovation for Australia. The 2008 winners chosen for application and use of research included: the CRC for Molecular Plant Breeding, the CRC for Greenhouse Gas Technologies, and the CRC for Oral Health Science. The Education award for innovation in education, training and outreach activities went to the CRC for Sustainable Resource Processing.

2008 Awards went to:CRC for Molecular Plant Breeding for their ‘Cross Outcome Prediction’ Project. The cross prediction technology developed by the CRC allows breeders to reduce the time required for plant breeding and is now used routinely by many of the largest Australian breeding programs, delivering significant cost savings to breeders.

CRC for Greenhouse Gas Technologies for ‘The CO2CRC Otway Project’. The Otway project of the CO2CRC is an Australian first and a world-leading greenhouse gas technology demonstration project, which will geologically store 100,000 tonnes of CO2 at a depth of 2km in western victoria. CO2CRC has taken the concept of carbon capture and storage in Australia from a fringe idea to one that is now a vital component of government and industry greenhouse policy nationally and internationally.

CRC for Oral health science for ‘Tooth Mousse Plus’ Project. Tooth Mousse Plus is the world’s first commercially available product to improve the effectiveness of topically-applied fluoride for teeth and gums and is now recommended to patients by dentists in 35 countries.

CRC for sustainable Resource Processing for innovation in education, training and public outreach activities for their Teacher Professional Development Program. Their program is an effective tool in addressing the decline in the number of young people studying the physical sciences.

More information at www.molecularplantbreeding.com www.co2crc.com.au www.oralhealthscience.org.au www.csrp.com.au

CRCA 2008 excellence in Innovation Awards

Left to Right: Mr Ken Seymour (Extractive Metallurgy, Murdoch University), Dr Dan Churach (Education Manager, CSRP) and Dr Nicholas Welham (University of Ballarat) with their award for leading the CSRP Teacher Program. Photo courtesy of CSRP.

11


Dual winning sTARsTwo Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs) received the prestigious CRC sTAR Award at the CRC Association annual conference ‘Gala night’ awards, 22 May 2008. This is the first time the award has been presented to two CRCs for their high level achievement in helping to build successful small to medium enterprises through the transfer of CRC research and innovation.

Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry Science and Research presented the CRC STAR Awards to the CRC for Greenhouse Gas Technologies and the CRC for Advanced Composite Structures.

“Not only have these CRCs created opportunities for their small to medium enterprise partners to flourish, but they are also helping to provide solutions to make Australia and the world cleaner and safer for all,” said Senator Carr.

CEO of CRC for Advanced Composite Structures, Professor Murray Scott, with the STAR award

CRC for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC) CEO, Dr Peter Cook, receives the STAR award from Senator the Hon Kim Carr

CRC for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC) The CO2CRC received its STAR for innovative collaboration with the Process Group Pty Ltd and CanSyd Australia Pty Ltd. These SMEs have tackled the CO2 greenhouse gas reduction challenge by developing several innovative carbon capture and storage (CCS) and measuring technologies that are technically and environmentally safe and have the potential to make deep cuts into Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. The technology was first tested in April 2008 at CO2CRC’s Otway Project in south-western victoria, Australia, where partner SME Process Group supplied the gas processing equipment and developed a unique capture and injection methodology. CanSyd Australia designed and built the Otway’s CO2 atmospheric and soil monitoring instruments that give early warning in the unlikely event of CO2 leakage.

CRC for Advanced Composite structures (CRC-ACs)CRC-ACS received its STAR for a new fire resistant technology called a fire-retardant veil. This new technology possesses greater resistance to the ravages of fire and its potential incorporation into a variety of products offers manufacturers and consumers alike, improved fire safety and protection. Regina Glass Fibre Pty Ltd, a SME based in Ballarat, victoria, recognised the broad commercial opportunities presented by the fire-retardant veil as well as manufacturing value added synergies with its current product line. Initial discussions quickly led to mutual acknowledgment that there were significant opportunities to apply the fire-retardant veil material across the general composites market, including marine and ground transport, where fire standards continue to challenge the use of regular composite materials.

More information at: www.co2crc.com.au and www.crc-acs.com.au

CRC Program’s New STAR Trophy

12


early Career Scientists showcase

The CRCA Conference 2008 ran a highly successful ‘Showcasing CRC Early Career Scientists’ presentation competition in the main theatre of Australian Technology Park, on 22 May. Eight PhD students, candidates and new-doctoral speakers from across the CRC sectors, spoke on topics ranging from future digital coffee tables, and more digestible forms of supergrass for livestock, to new contact lenses and biogas energy plants. The winning presentation, after a competitive judging process, went to CRC for Polymers PhD student Mr David Nisbet from Monash University for his 10 minute presentation on Parkinson’s disease treatment called ‘New Stem Cell Strategies for Nerve Regeneration’. (See p3 for the full story on David’s CRC for Polymers research).

The winner of the three minute speaker award went to the CRC for Beef Technologies PhD student Ms Emily Piper for her presentation on improving cattle tick resistance called ‘Australian Cattle Producers are Ticked Off’. (See p7 for the full story on Emily Piper’s research).

Goodbye to the puffer?

Breathing exercises reduce asthma symptoms

Mr David Nisbet of CRC for Polymers receives the Early Career Scientist Showcase award from CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Geoff Garrett, accompanied by Tv personality Bernie Hobbs, ABC Science.

Breathing exercises can reduce asthma symptoms and even lessen the need for asthma medication, researchers from the CRC for Asthma and Airways have discovered. This remarkable breathing study, published in Thorax, in March 2006, has received so much asthma community and media interest, that the CRC for Asthma has created a 40-minute presentation video on breathing exercise management, available to the general public for free from its website www.asthmacrc.org.au.

The ground-breaking research was conducted by researchers and doctors at Sydney’s Woolcock Institute of Medical Research and Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital, and showed that asthmatics who undertook regular breathing exercises reduced their ‘preventer’ medication requirements by up to half and ‘reliever’ use by up to 86%.

The new media presentation demonstrates the breathing exercise techniques used in the study and features thoracic physician Professor Christine Jenkins, Head of Asthma Research at the Woolcock Institute and CRC Project Leader of the research study, as well as Dr John

D’Arcy. In the presentation, two different groups of breathing techniques are demonstrated. One set is for practicing daily and one set is for relief of asthma symptoms.

Professor Jenkins says, “the research study was designed to measure the effect of two very different exercise regimes on a person’s asthma symptoms, lung function, use of medication and quality of life. However the study found no evidence to favour one breathing technique over the other. Instead, both groups of exercises were associated with a dramatic reduction in reliever use and in reliever medication. And in some patient cases, doctors may be able to reduce the amount of preventer medication requirements”.

The video presentation advises a person to do the exercises twice a day and also whenever they experience asthma symptoms.

“We hope that people with asthma will avail themselves of the information, presented in this easily understood format, and see it as a complementary approach to their asthma management,” Professor Jenkins says.

More information at: www.asthmacrc.org.au

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smart boost to services sector

Smart Services will develop new digital services

The new CRC for smart services, based at Australian Technology Park, sydney, was launched on 3 July 2008 by senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, science and Research.

The new CRC succeeds its predecessor, the Smart Internet Technology CRC, and receives $30.8m of Federal Government funding over seven years for the objective of significantly increasing productivity in Australia’s services industry and enhancing its global competitiveness.

The Smart Services CRC will focus its research in three sectors - finance, media, and government – to develop high-value, sophisticated digital services delivered over internet and mobile platforms.

“In an advanced knowledge intensive country like Australia, a strong and competitive services sector is fundamental to our well being,” Senator Carr said.

The Smart Services CRC will work in six strategic areas: global services futures, user-focused services, service aggregation, multi-channel content delivery, trust and privacy issues, and collaborative service interfaces.

The CRC will also help Australian service industries to evolve new business models as they undergo transformation driven both by consumer involvement with service creation and by competition with new providers. The services economy is commonly known as the largest contributor to Australia’s industry value-added and employment, and a growing contributor to exports.

The predecessor, Smart Internet Technology CRC, had developed a Collaborative Services Network technology with operability across multiple service economy sectors. This technology will be used by the Smart Services CRC in trials involving health services and other government and finance service delivery areas.

“The new business models will result in new ways of doing business and will enable Australian service industries to increase the export of digital services by capturing and utilising the knowledge of their highly skilled workers,” Senator Carr said.

Smart digital services will enable service providers to use their human resources more productively, delivering larger volumes of service and higher profitability. Businesses will be able to increase the productivity of their internal operations by using external services selectively.

“The government recognises the services sector’s importance to the national innovation system and to overall productivity of the economy. The latest aggregate data for the services economy indicates it represents around 77 per cent of industry value added; around 85 per cent of employment; and around 23 per cent of Australia’s exports.

“I wish the SSCRC every success as a centre of synergy and multi-disciplinary enterprise where ideas, people and resources meet for an innovative Australia,” Senator Carr said.

More information at: www.smartinternet.com.au

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Researchers at the Cooperative Research Centre for Mining (CRCMining) have devised a world-first technique for detecting if mining equipment operators are getting sleepy.

The Centre’s researchers have created the ‘SmartCap’, a lightweight, non-restrictive, non-intrusive, electro-encephalogram (EEG) recording system that resembles a typical baseball cap, with no exposed wires or straps. The cap contains a number of ‘dry’ sensors, which measure high-fidelity brain wave activity through a person’s hair, eliminating the need for scalp preparation.

Fatigue related incidents on mine sites cause numerous injuries and deaths, and cost the industry hundreds of

millions of dollars annually in lost productivity and accidents. This breakthrough addresses a problem to which, prior to this project, there had been no effective solution.

Once in use, the cap will relay data wirelessly using a secure Bluetooth connection to a computer inside the operator’s cab, or to a mobile phone. The fatigue level is displayed as a single digit number, allowing the operator to be warned by either a flashing display or audible alarm.

Although developed as a solution for the mining industry, this technology has potential wider application, including usage in the commercial aviation and public transport industries.

Other applications include the use of the sensor technology to detect when

an infant stops breathing. The intention is that such a technology will alert parents or carers of such an event, potentially reducing the mortality rate of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or ‘cot death’.

More information at: www.crcmining.com.au

The Smart Cap system: a baseball cap with flexible circuitry completely concealed within a customised lining;

and mobile phone showing operator feedback display

Construction research a lifesaver

CRC for Construction Innovation research is tackling the issue of safety on construction sites.In a historic, industry-wide agreement, the CRC for

Construction Innovation has launched The Guide to Best Practice for safer Construction in order to tackle the appalling safety record for workers in Australia’s building and construction sector.

On average one worker dies every week on construction sites around Australia and 20-24 year olds are four times more likely to suffer a fatal accident than those in other industries.

Construction Innovation CEO Keith Hampson said a consistent national safety framework was difficult to implement in the industry because of the ongoing movement of sub-contractors and workforce between construction companies, projects and sites.

“The workforce is mobile, so this makes it difficult for any one company to consistently influence the attitudes and behaviours of its mobile workforce,” Professor Hampson said.

The CRC, in collaboration with Engineers Australia, worked with key industry associations, including architects, builders, engineers and constructors and the Commonwealth Government’s Office of the Federal Safety Commissioner to develop a framework for improving safety performance at all levels of a construction project.

“The Guide to Best Practice for Safer Construction tackles the safety issue from the planning stage, through to the design of a building, construction and post-construction,” Professor Hampson said.

Professor Hampson said the CRC played a crucial role in liaising between the industry sectors to achieve the historic industry-wide agreement and sign-off on the Guide.

More information at: www.construction-innovation.info

World first driver-fatigue headwear

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Disturbances to river ecosystems are varied

eWater’s new ecosystem database

People who manage and make decisions about shared natural resources (such as water) commonly find that, while they know there is scientific evidence that X affects Y, they cannot quickly locate the scientific publication where they saw the details. Such managers and decision makers are likely to encounter public, political and legal challenges to the science behind environmental policies—and in the past such challenges have delayed and hindered progress.

Those in the front line, dealing with competing interests of stakeholders, will now be able to quickly access the scientific studies relevant to contentious issues at hand. For organisations involved in natural resources management (NRM), the database will improve corporate memory and enhance staff development through better understanding of the science behind decisions. For research organisations, the causal evidence database is an effective pathway for delivering knowledge to industry, and also for reviewing information relevant to further research in progress. For the water industry as a whole, the database will facilitate the wider dissemination of research outcomes.

Dr Stewardson says, “if you are interested in the effect of some stressor (say, clearing of riverbank vegetation) on an ecological response (such as diversity of insect larvae in the water) you can search the database for evidence of a causal link. The database will output a list of all the studies that deal with this combination of action and effect, along with any ‘meta-data’ that has been entered for each study,” he says. The meta-data describes the study’s (i) location, (ii) methods and (iii) results.

The eWater CRC database team are working with NRM agencies in Australia to review the areas of science they want to see in the database, and to catalogue current knowledge.

This database product, when fully populated with studies and information, will make it much quicker to build rigorously accurate conceptual models. Conceptual models are the primary pathways that connect scientific knowledge with decision-support for managers, and such models are the bread-and-butter of knowledge transfer for organisations such as eWater CRC.

The knowledge-management tool will be particularly useful if it is adopted

widely by agencies across Australia, or even overseas.

Dr Stewardson says, “at a workshop in Salt Lake City (USA), in June this year, we received strong endorsement for what we are trying to do. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is very interested in adopting it for their knowledge base.”

It looks as if this knowledge-management tool has a promising future.

The database results from collaboration between staff based at the University of Melbourne and University of Canberra, both of which are partner organisations in eWater CRC.

More information at: www.ewatercrc.com.au

eWater CRC is creating a new online database which catalogues scientific studies and information that examine human impacts on river systems. Called the ‘Causal Criteria Database’, the new online ‘knowledge-management’ tool will make it “easier to produce evidence-based conceptual models to support management of river ecosystems,” says Dr Michael stewardson, leader of the database project.

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CRC awards

About this newsletterCRCs Success Through Innovation aims to keep you informed about news and events that may be of interest to you. Contributions are always welcome.

More information on the CRC program is available from:

Cooperative Research Centres ProgramDepartment of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research GPO Box 9839, Canberra ACT 2601

Phone: (02) 6240 5011 Email: [email protected] Website: www.crc.gov.au

About the Program

The CRC Program commenced in 1991 and is an Australian Government funded initiative that is actively boosting collaboration and innovation-focussed science research and development. Since the Program’s inception, the Australian Government has shown its commitment through funding of almost $3 billion.

The close interaction between academic researchers and business people fostered by the CRC Program is turning Australia’s scientific breakthroughs into successful new products, processes, services and technologies – many of which are entering international markets.

The Program’s success was ratified by Insight Economics’ Economic Impact Study of the CRC Program (2006) that showed CRCs generated economic benefit well in excess of the investment made by the Australian Government. Insight Economics conservatively found that for every $1 invested by the Australian Government CRCs generated an additional $1.16 towards GDP.

Currently there are 49 CRCs operating across six broad sectors: Agriculture and Rural Based Manufacturing, Environment, Information and Communication Technology, Manufacturing Technology, Medical Science and Technology, and Mining and Energy.

CRC for Wood Innovations (CRCWI)

CRCWI CEO, Professor Tom Spurling of Mt Waverley, victoria, was appointed a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours (June 2008), for service to chemical science through contributions to national innovation policies, strategies and research, and to the development of professional scientific relationships with Asia. Professor Spurling became CEO for CRC for Wood Innovations (CRCWI) in October 2005. He has overseen the research and commercialisation programs of CRCWI’s new flagship research centre, the Australian Centre for Advanced Wood Processing (ACAWP), at Creswick, victoria. Professor Spurling has been instrumental in instituting many commercialisation outcomes for CRCWI, including such highlights as the prototyping, testing and licensing of ‘green chemistry’ timber preservation technologies, advanced microwave treatments and processes, and value-adding wood bending technologies for furniture and wood products.

More information at: www.crcwi.org.au

Desert Knowledge CRC

The Desert Fire Research Team of the Desert Knowledge CRC has won a 2008 Northern Territory Government Research and Innovation Award for its five-year old Desert Fire project. The award pertains to research on the impact of fire in the central deserts and its management to conserve plants and animals and protect indigenous traditions and desert communities. The team is lead by CRC project leader Glenn Edwards.

More information at: www.desertknowledgecrc.com.au

The Vision CRC

The vision CRC myopia project will soon have the addition of a winning graduate. Biomedical engineering graduate Stephanie Marie Delgado, from the University of Miami, was awarded a prestigious 2008 Whitaker International Fellowship, to support a one year research experience at the vision CRC and Institute for Eye Research in Sydney. Stephanie will participate in the international collaborative study on the prevention and treatment of myopia (nearsightedness).

Bascom Palmer Eye Institute biomedical engineering PhD student Noel Ziebarth, from the University of Miami Medical School, was recently awarded a Bausch and Lomb Annual Student Innovation Award. This award recognizes innovative research work and its promising utility in the area of vision science and eye health. Noel received the award for her research on the origin of presbyopia, which is part of the vision CRC Dynamic vision project. Her research involves the application of the Atomic Force Microscopy to measure mechanical properties of cells and tissues at the nanoscale.

More information at: www.visioncrc.org

Stephanie Delgado from the vision CRC

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