Future Fellowships awarded to ANU big thinkers »

ANU has secured five prestigious Future Fellowships for research into the origins of the stars, the origins of farming, fighting infectious diseases and effects of climate change on wildlife. ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Young AO said the four-year Fellowships from the Australian Research Council reward the nation's best and brightest mid-career researchers. "To win five Fellowships in such diverse areas shows the breadth of world-class research leadership at ANU," Professor Young said. "I congratulate the recipients of the Fellowships and look forward to the contribution they will make to ANU and to Australia." The ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics (RSAA) was especially successful, winning two Future Fellowships. Professor Naomi McClure Griffiths' research into how stars form will make use of Australia's ambitious new radio telescope, the $170 million Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder. "It's a great opportunity to do more research so we can fully understand why some galaxies produce stars slowly, and others are fast," Professor McClure-Griffiths said. "ANU is one of the best places in the world to study astronomy." Dr Elisabete da Cunha from Swinburne University will also take up a Future Fellowship at the RSAA.