One of Australia’s leading research and science facilities, the Australian Synchrotron today congratulated researchers from several major research organisations on their successful  LIEF funding application and the part their work will play in further enhancing  Australia’s international reputation in synchrotron science.

Led by Professor Peter Lay of the University of Sydney, which is the administering institution, the grant, together with financial contributions from many Australian institutions and the Photon Factory in Japan will over the next two years see over $1.4 million dollars go towards improving researchers’ access to leading synchrotrons around the world.   

The funding will enable a continuation of the Australian National Beamline Facility at the Photon Factory and the International Synchrotron Access Program through grants administered by the Australian Synchrotron to complement experiments that are performed on its beamlines.

Australian Synchrotron Head of Science, Professor Ian Gentle, said the recent approval of the project application by the Federal Government’s Australian Research Council (ARC) would have a significant impact on research developments in many areas of science.

“The partner organisations involved in the application process, of which the Australian Synchrotron was one, worked extremely hard to build the case for funding, so we are naturally excited by the result,” said Professor Gentle.

“Synchrotron science will continue to have a dramatic and profound impact on Australia and the world due to the scientific, industrial and medical research outcomes it produces.”

The Federal Government, under its Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LIEF) scheme will inject more than $30 million into 78 science and research projects, including the program to further improve Australia’s international position in synchrotron science.

Professor Ian Gentle added that under the recent announcement by the Federal Minister for Innovation, Kim Carr, the funding agreement would provide Australian scientists with increased access to the Australian National Beamline Facility in Japan and cutting-edge beamlines at other leading facilities around the world, which would in turn provide researchers with  the opportunity to progress their work, and ultimately better understand  issues as significant as climate change, cancer and bacterial infection. 

The LIEF scheme fosters collaboration through its support of the cooperative use of national and international facilities.

Under collaborative arrangements set up by higher education, industry and government organisations in Australia and as far afield as Denmark and Korea, scientists from across the world will now share infrastructure, equipment and facilities to which they would not normally have had access.

In the case of this most recent funding grant, the LEIF Scheme will provide a total of $800,000 in funding ($400,000 in 2011 and $400,000 in 2012) to be supplemented by over $600,000 in contributions from partnering organisations, and the provision of  a beamline and staff by the Photon Factory to support large-scale scientific programs.

The ARC is a statutory authority within the Australian Government’s Innovation, Industry, Science and Research portfolio, which manages the National Competitive Grants program (NCGP) of which the LIEF scheme is part.  

As a statutory body, the ARC's chief mission is to deliver policy and programs that advance Australian research and innovation at a domestic and global level. It is also the primary source of advice to government on investment in national research. 

Funding for the successful LIEF projects will commence in January 2011.

A summary of the 78 successful projects is available on the ARC website at http://www.arc.gov.au/ncgp/lief/lief_outcomes.htm

For more information contact Nick Green at the Australian Synchrotron on (03) 8540 4289 or 0405 825 181.