Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowships reflects the Australian Government’s commitment to excellence in research by supporting excellent mid-career researchers to undertake high quality research in areas of national and international benefit.
Dr Gross is working on the next generation of fibre optics, to help create new, better optical fibre systems that can overcome the inherent limits that the massive increase in internet use has exposed. His research involves working on ways of enabling the vast amounts of data travelling though our land and undersea cabling, thus avoiding a capacity crunch that, with our reliance on the internet, could have catastrophic consequences.
Dr Gross says, “Capacity crunch and distortion of data on the internet is a big, and urgent problem. This grant will help to develop new collaborations, and just as importantly, train new students in cutting-edge photonics research areas.”
Professor Trueck will conduct research on the economic analysis of energy markets. He will examine the use of new financial products for funding clean energy and the transition of electricity markets from fossil-fuel fired power generation to a higher share of renewable energy. The research will help market participants to better ensure the long-term economic sustainability and reliability of the electricity sector.
Professor Trueck says, “The fellowship will allow me to spend a significant amount of my time on this important area and to work with an excellent research team and partners from academia, regulatory bodies and industry. I also believe that the project will help to answer key questions and provide solutions for some pressing problems in electricity markets.”
The University placed fourth among NSW universities for funding received in this round, seventh among this cohort for success rate, and fourth for the number of successful applications.
Macquarie University Vice-Chancellor, Professor S. Bruce Dowton says he was pleased to see Macquarie’s researchers acknowledged in this way. “This is important work, needed at a time which is particularly critical. This research funding has the capacity to impact the community and our nation directly,” he says.
Dr Simon Gross and Professor Stefan Trueck
