The 2019 Marsden Fund Te Pūtea Rangahau gave the greenlight to twelve research projects that are led by New Zealand’s University of Canterbury.
According to a recent press release, a total of NZ$ 6.54 million will be given to diverse fields of research, which covers four of the University’s five colleges.
It includes research in engineering, management, computer science and software engineering, linguistics, political science and te reo as well as physical, chemical and biological sciences.
The University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor shared that the latest Marsden Fund grants include six Fast-start grants of NZ$ 300,000 each and six standard grants of between NZ$ 530,000 and NZ$ 960,000 over three years.
This move recognises the University as a world-class research-led teaching and learning university.
The University is a place where world-class research happens, as these 12 grants attest.
The students will benefit greatly for they are being taught by academics, who are world leaders in their fields.
Some of the Marsden-funded research from the University includes the following:
- Understanding the human experience of intelligent user interfaces
A project by Professor Andrew Cockburn from Computer Science & Software Engineering, UC Engineering, it is awarded NZ$ 530,000.
- Issue mapping and analysing the lethal autonomous weapons debate
A project by Dr Jeremy Moses and Associate Professor Amy Fletcher from Language, Social & Political Science, UC Arts, it is awarded with NZ$ 842,000.
- Could airborne microplastics play a role in climate change?
A project by Dr Laura Revell from Physical & Chemical Sciences, UC Science, it is awarded with NZ$ 300,000.
- Engineering defect-free metal organic framework membranes in tubular ceramic supports
A project by Dr Matthew Cowan from Chemical & Process Engineering, UC Engineering, it is awarded NZ$ 300,000.
- Molecular wiring of graphene with organic films: optically transparent charge selective electrode materials for efficient solar energy conversion
A project by Dr Paula Brooksby from Chemistry, UC Science, it is awarded NZ$ 960,000.
Marsden Fund
- Marsden Fund supports excellence in science, engineering, maths, social sciences and the humanities in New Zealand by providing grants for investigator-initiated research.
- It was established by the New Zealand Government in 1994 to fund excellent fundamental research. It is a contestable fund administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand on behalf of the Marsden Fund Council.
- It operates under the Terms of Reference issued by the Minister of Science and Innovation.
- Marsden Fund research benefits society as a whole by contributing to the development of researchers with knowledge, skills and ideas.
- The Marsden Fund Standard Grants are open to established researchers as well as emerging researchers. Funding is for three years and the amount of funding is flexible, depending on project needs.
- Meanwhile, Marsden Fund Fast-Start grants come from a special pool of funds set aside for emerging researchers up to seven years after the conferment of their PhD. Funding is set at NZ$ 100,000 per year for three years.