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11 October 2006: Micro-robots take off as ARC announces funding

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|Transmission Electron Microscopy photograph of an Escherichia ||coli bacterium with flagella. The micro-robots are being |
|developed to mimic the swimming behaviour of E.coli. |
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Micro-robots that can 'swim' through the vascular and digestive systems of the human body to perform medical tasks via remote control and, in many cases, avoid invasive major surgery, are beingdeveloped at Monash University following today's announcement that the project has been funded through the Australian Research Council's Discovery Projects scheme.

The Minister for Education,Science and Training, the Hon Julie Bishop today announced the recipients of funding through the Australian Research Council's two major schemes - Discovery Projects and Linkage Projects.

MonashUniversity was awarded more than $17.5 million to pursue 52 Discovery projects, and a further $4,685,524 from the ARC plus $10,366,752 from partner organisations to pursue 18 Linkage projects - where theuniversity collaborates on research with industry.

It was also awarded seven Australian Postdoctoral Fellowships, three Australian Research Fellowships, one Queen Elizabeth II Fellowship and oneAustralian Professorial Fellowship.

Other Discovery projects being pursued at Monash include an examination of the impact of US foreign policy on nation-building in Iraq and Afghanistan, understandingthe intense small-scale cyclones of the Australian and Antarctic regions, and how genetics influences how plants are constructed.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Edwina Cornish said theARC funding announced today would support a broad range of projects that underpin the future competitiveness of the Australian economy.

Dr James Friend, senior lecturer in the Department of...