$10m Funding Boost For Reef Research
Thursday, February 26th, 2009 by LianneBrownThe ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies based at James Cook University will receive almost $10 million from the Australian Government.
The funding will extend the operations of the Centre until at least the end of 2013.
In her letter outlining the additional funding of $9.8 million over 3½ years, the ARC’s CEO, Professor Margaret Sheil, said that the Centre had established “a strongly collaborative interdisciplinary team leading to research outcomes of very high quality and international relevance”.
JCU’s Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research and Innovation) Professor Chris Cocklin said today that the ARC had commended the Centre for becoming a focal point for Australian and international research.
He said JCU was very proud to host the centre and have so many of its academics, researchers and students involved in its activities.
“Since it began its work in 2005, the Centre has actively pursued its goal to be the global leader in the provision of the scientific knowledge necessary for coral reef managers to sustain the ecosystem goods and services of the world’s coral reefs,” he said.
“Collectively, the Centre creates the world’s largest concentration of coral reef scientists.”
The Centre’s primary node is at James Cook University with two other nodes at collaborating institutions – the Australian National University and the University of Queensland.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) and the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), both based in north Queensland, are also partners and like the three universities provide additional funding to that provided by the Government’s Australian Research Council (ARC).
The Centre is headed by JCU’s Professor Terry Hughes, a dual ARC Federation Fellow and recipient of the 2008 Darwin Medal of the International Coral Reef Society – an award made only every four years.