$8.4 million worth of Marsden research grants have been donated to Victoria University researchers for 2010. The grants include nine standard grants and six Fast Start grants.
This year’s largest standard grant in the country and Victoria’s largest ever, $1.04 million, was awarded to Professor Sir Paul Callaghan for his research into magnetic resonance. Callaghan will also be presented with an honorary Doctor of Science at the December graduation ceremony.
Some of the other prominent Marsden investments include a standard grant of $885,000 for Jeff Sigafoos’ research into communication intervention for autistic children and a standard grant of $830,000 for Dr Monica Handler’s isotope tracing research.
The Marsden Fast Start Grants are all of $300,000 value, and were awarded to a very diverse group of research initiatives.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Pat Walsh was extremely pleased with the wide range of faculties that received Marsden grants for this year.
“We had research funded right across the University. Of particular note were grants to researchers in the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Architecture and Design, both of which received Marsden funding for the first time.”
The Marsden Fund invests annually in research in New Zealand. This year more than 100 research projects received $60 million in grants.
All grants, despite their difference in value, are distributed over the course of a three year period.