University researchers’ success in ARC Linkage Projects scheme

Image credit: Michael Kai Photography
Image credit: Michael Kai Photography

A project aiming to develop alternative and sustainable models for the design, economics, policy settings and delivery of First Nations communities is among five collaborative research initiatives that will benefit from almost $2.3 million in funding.

This is part of the 2025 Round 1 Australian Research Council’s (ARC) Linkage Projects scheme.

University of Melbourne Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Mark Cassidy said collaboration with government, industry and the community was key to delivering impact.

“By combining the strengths of interdisciplinary research and industry expertise, we can develop innovative solutions to address national and global challenges,” Professor Cassidy said.

The following projects were funded:

  1. Dr George Chen, Professor Sandra Kentish, Associate Professor Stefano Freguia will collaborate with partner organisations to develop processes for separating milk sugars and minerals from whey, currently an underutilised process which has environmental impacts.
  2. Associate Professor Rory Hyde, Professor Rebecca Bentley, Associate Professor David O'Brien, Dr Hannah Robertson, Professor Alan Pert and Professor Dan Hill will collaborate with partner organisations to develop an alternative and sustainable model for the design, economics, policy settings and delivery of housing for First Nations communities. The method will ensure co-design and strategic design in collaboration with First Nations communities in Shepparton, Victoria, seeking to overcome a critical research gap in this field, while addressing shortcomings in housing provision, which has failed to make meaningful progress against the Closing the Gap targets.
  3. Dr Anson Koehler and Professor Robin Gasser will collaborate with partners in the water industry to establish Australia’s first advanced genomics–bioinformatics platform to investigate a waterborne parasite that threatens water security, agriculture and environmental management. This research will support sustainable water management, reduce contamination risks, improve environmental monitoring and position Australia as a leader in parasite genomics and water research.
  4. Professor Guillermo Narsilio, Professor Mahdi Disfani and Professor Wenbin Fei will collaborate with partner organisations to develop innovative energy pile technologies to harvest geothermal energy. Outcomes include low‐cost, efficient construction of energy screw piles and strong industry collaboration for commercialisation, which will benefit Australia by delivering sustainable energy and reducing carbon emissions when coupled to ground source heat pumps for space heating and cooling.
  5. Associate Professor Xingliang Yuan will collaborate with partner organisations to address data privacy risks and intellectual property protection challenges in stream data analysis by developing a scalable and secure learning-based analytics system. This research is anticipated to deliver significant benefits, including increased operational security and enhanced public trust in energy infrastructure.

A total of $22 million was awarded to more than 40 new collaborative initiatives in the ARC Linkage Projects scheme. View the full list of recipients here.