Members of the Research School of Biology will participate in three new ARC Centres of Excellence.

The new ARC Centre of Excellence for the Translational Photosynthesis, administered by ANU, received $22M; the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, administered by the University of Western Australia, received $26M; and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrated Coral Reef Studies, administered by James Cook University, received $26M. The funding will support new research for the next seven years.

Professor Murray Badger, Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, said the $22 million in new funding will pay for research into plant productivity and help to overcome global food shortages in the future.

“A new boost to plant productivity is needed to feed the expected increase in world population and to provide world food security,” Professor Badger said.

“Improvements in photosynthesis are now widely recognised as the new frontier for increasing crop yields and this Centre seeks to harness new developments in this area and launch a golden revolution in increasing yield and securing global food security.” The Centre will collaborate with The University of Queensland, The University of Sydney and University of Western Sydney along with the CSIRO and International Rice Research Institute.

The RSB members of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis are Murray Badger (Director), John Evans, Graham Farquhar, Dean Price, Susanne von Caemmerer, Spencer Whitney (PS) and others.
The RSB members of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology are Barry Pogson, Owen Atkin, Justin Borevitz,(PS) and others.

The overarching aim of the third Centre, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrated Coral Reef Studies, is to provide the scientific knowledge necessary for sustaining ecosystem goods and services of the world's coral reefs, which support the livelihoods and food security of millions of people in the tropics. The RSB member is Sylvain Foret.

Related links

• Research funds to help ANU tackle issues of global importance, ANU Media
• 450m in grants for the new ANU Centres of Excellence, ABC Online News

Photo by Jeff Wilson, ANU