Innovations from dairy farming, mallee tree harvesting and tools for detection of hearing loss were among the winners at the Excellence in Innovation Awards dinner at the Cooperative Research Centres Association’s annual conference on Thursday 16 May.
The CEO of the CRC Association, Tony Peacock said “the judges were impressed by the high quality of entries for this year’s Awards and were delighted at the breadth of innovation that continues to be delivered by the CRC Program”.
The CRC Association Awards for Excellence in Innovation celebrate collaborative research that makes a difference to our society. Three awards were made in the Innovation in Research category.
Dairy Futures CRC has delivered game-changing genomic technology to the dairy industry through a massive collaboration involving the entire dairy industry supply chain.
Future Farm Industries CRC recognised the cost of harvesting trees was a major impediment to developing a viable industry based on farm trees, so the CRC and Biosystems Engineering developed a mallee harvester to overcome this impediment.
Based on evidence from the HEARing CRC’s long-term outcomes studies, HEARLab® has been developed to deliver new tools for detection and better remediation of hearing loss in infants, young children and in the elderly.
Two awards were made in the Innovation in Education or Outreach category, sponsored by Westpac.
The Invasive Animals CRC developed a PestSmart Toolkit and organised and delivered the National PestSmart Roadshow, involving regional, state and national events, factsheets, case studies, guides, videos and technical reports.
The Australian Feral Camel Management Project was established to reduce the environmental damage being caused by 750,000 feral camels across central Australia. The project, managed by Ninti One Limited, created skills, jobs and services in Aboriginal communities in two key areas: the supply of camel meat to niche markets and the environmental monitoring of remote waterholes.
A highlight of the dinner was the winner of Showcasing Early Career Researchers 2013, sponsored by CSIRO. Caroline Le from Cancer Therapeutics CRC impressed the delegates with her lively presentation of her research into the effects of stress on cancer, winning $6000.
The Excellence in Innovation Awards dinner was sponsored by the Department of Innovation, Industry, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education.
Media contacts:
Jen Bladon-Clark, Dairy Futures CRC, 0421 708 309
Peter Zurzolo, Future Farm Industries CRC, 0458 099 040
Jane Sewell, The HEARing CRC, 03 9035 5351
Glenn Conroy, Invasive Animals CRC, 0406 376 648
Linda Cooper, Ninti One Limited, 0419 331 119
Caroline Le, Monash University, 0400 588 030
Tony Peacock,CRC Association, 0402 036 110
For more information on all winners and shortlisted entries visit http://crca.asn.au/annualconference/excellence-in-innovation-awards/excellence-in-innovation-awards-2013/