GRANTS

Professor Mark Alfano, from the School of Humanities and the Ethics and Agency Research Centre, has been awarded an ARC Future Fellowship for the project ‘Building robust networks of trust in the Anthropocene.’ This project aims to inform an evaluation of discourse about global warming. Social media data will be collected to construct an international network that discusses global warming. Using both social network analysis and natural language processing to identify climate sceptics and anti-immigrant sentiment, the project examines trust-related language in the network, enabling tracking of changes in discourse, identification of vectors of mistrust, and collocations of terms, hashtags, and emoji. From this empirical basis, interventions to foster better patterns of trust will be proposed. This will result in better policies and regulations for social media communication about controversial topics. Funding awarded: $1,258,732

Associate Professor Charles Butcher, from the School of International Studies, has been awarded an ARC Future Fellowship for the project ‘(Dis)Integrating the Past: How old states shape new wars.’ This project aims to model how precolonial states have shaped internal borders and the flow-on impacts for conflict using new spatial data on the evolution of boundaries in Asia and Africa from 1750-2020. Discontinuities between precolonial states, colonial regimes, and postcolonial governance have destabilised countries in Australia's region, such as Indonesia, and remain a source of tension. This project provides scientific knowledge on the mechanisms through which precolonial institutions can be peacefully incorporated into stable, democratic governments. Results will help policy makers anticipate the fault lines along which new conflicts in Australia's region might erupt and tools to prevent their onset. Funding awarded: $1,279,427

Associate Professor Madeline Taylor, from Macquarie Law School, has been awarded a federal Department of Agriculture Future Drought Fund grant ‘Novel Energy and Evaporative Storage Technologies for Irrigators (NEESTI)’. Macquarie University has been awarded $618,594 for a project period of up to five years (2025 – 2030) with partners AgEcon (lead) and the University of Southern Queensland. Macquarie will lead the regulatory study of the case study floating photovoltaic pilot studies in Mackay (sugarcane and floating PV), Wee Waa (cotton and floating PV), Darlington Point (pecan and floating PV), and Conargo (rice and floating PV). Australia faces a critical trilemma securing water, food, and energy. This project analyses economic, environmental, regulatory, and policy opportunities to enhance drought resilience in five irrigated agricultural sectors by incorporating floating solar photovoltaics (FPV) on storage dams across cotton, sugarcane, pecans, ginger, and rice.

Associate Professor Kathleen Tait, from the Macquarie School of Education, Dr Susan Silveira, from the NextSense Institute, and Dr Meredith Prain, from Able Australia, have been awarded $82,851 in funding from the 2025 National Disability Research Partnership scheme for the project ‘Exploring the mobility safety concerns of Australians with deafblindness.’ People with deafblindness (PWDB), both hearing and vision loss, are amongst the most marginalised and isolated individuals in society. Deafblindness impacts communication, mobility, socialisation, education, employment, finances, and independence. The researchers from Able Australia, Macquarie University and NextSense will explore the mobility safety concerns of PWDB in Australia in collaboration with deafblind organisations across New South Wales, Western Australia, and Victoria.

Dr Camilla Di Biase-Dyson, from the School of Humanities, has been awarded a Mercator Fellowship at Ruhr-Universitat Bochum, Germany. The fellowship is part of the German Research Council’s CRC 1475 'Metaphors of Religion' at the Centre for Religious Studies. Dr Di Biase-Dyson will be researching how ancient Egyptians described their experience of divine power in texts, working across metaphor analysis and emotion studies.

Dr Paul Mason, from the School of Communication, Society and Culture, has been awarded the Engaged Anthropology Fund by the Australian Anthropology Society. This grant supports the development of Ludo Êmica, an educational board game designed to introduce anthropology students to core concepts and methodologies. The game invites players to explore topics such as cultural relativism, kinship, rituals, and ethnography through problem-solving, critical thinking and teamwork, all in an engaging and informative format.

Associate Professor Jaap Timmer, from the School of Communication, Society and Culture, has been awarded £16,287 by the British Museum’s Endangered Material Knowledge Programme for the project, 'Securing Cosmic Balance in an Uncertain World: Documenting Asmat Longhouse (Jee) Construction in Papua, Indonesia.' This project will document the intricate process of constructing Asmat longhouses, structures central to Asmat cultural life. Through the creation of a film and photographic archive, public exhibition, educational resources, and scholarly publications, the initiative aims to preserve important rituals, revitalise cultural traditions, and reaffirm the longhouse as a vital site of memory and heritage. The project is a collaboration with respected cultural leader David Jimanipits and the Asmat Museum of Culture and Progress, and incorporates a strong gender perspective through the contributions of Rosa Dahlia. Together, the team seeks to honour and safeguard the enduring legacy of the Asmat people for future generations.

AWARDS

Macquarie Law School student, Ziyan Tejani, has been named as a finalist for the prestigious Law Student of the Year Award at the 2025 Australian Law Awards, hosted by Lawyers Weekly. Macquarie University alum, Bronte Sellers, has also been named as a finalist in the Rising Star of the Year (In-House) category for her work with Energy Corporation of NSW (EnergyCo). With 25 years of recognition, these awards celebrate those who work tirelessly to make the legal industry thrive. Winners will be announced on Thursday 14 August 2025.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Professor Surya Deva, from the Macquarie Law School, has been cited in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ landmark 3 July 2025 decision on “climate emergency and human rights”—the first ruling of its kind by a regional court. Professor Deva's reports contributed to the Court’s reasoning and the articulation of the obligations of states and businesses, in a judgment expected to have global impact.

Dr Jennifer Williams, from the Macquarie School of International Studies, has represented the Faculty of Arts at the 2025 Defence & National Security Workforce Awards for the second year in a row. In a highly competitive field, Jennifer was named a finalist in the Best Cyber-Security Technician or Specialist Under 35 and Best Female Technician or Specialist Under 35 categories. She was the 2024 winner of the Best Cyber-Security Technician or Specialist Under 35 award. These national awards recognise emerging and established talent contributing to Australia’s defence and national security sectors across government, industry and academia.