Research news

Research Productive has been updated to reflect the 2021–2023 reporting years, with dashboards now reflecting staff employed as of 1st September 2024. Quartile and FWCI metrics have also been refreshed.

You can find the Research Productive Definition here, and more information about Research Productive is accessible via this link: Research Productive - Southern Cross University

Please take a moment to familiarise yourself with the updated information and format.

Coming in 2025, ReDBox helps the research community describe and share information about research data collections. This platform will provide researchers with essential tools for managing data, alongside integrated storage and collaboration options.

ReDBox has been designed to assist in the management of research metadata to meet the Australian Code for Research Data Australia, the national research data discovery system. ReDBox features easy-to-use workflows and data entry forms, simplifying data management for institutions. Stay tuned for more updates as the launch approaches!

We’re excited to announce the launch of our new Research Budgeting Assistant, coming in early 2025. This tool will provide researchers with an efficient way to manage the financial aspects of externally funded research projects, ensuring transparency and accuracy in costing and pricing. It’s designed to help streamline budgeting processes and align with the university's financial sustainability goals.

Stay tuned for further updates as we approach the rollout and prepare for the introduction of this valuable resource!

Circular Timber is a pilot project that repurposes timber from flood-affected homes in Northern Rivers. In collaboration with the NSW Reconstruction Authority, the project aims to salvage and reuse materials that would otherwise go to landfill. Local artisans will craft objects from salvaged wood, with an exhibition set for early 2025. This initiative is part of the Resilient Homes Program.

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As North Lismore undergoes Australia's largest residential buy-back program, Living Memory will capture the stories and history of its residents. In collaboration with the community, researchers will create portraits and reflections that celebrate the suburb’s transformation. Events will be held from October to November 2025.

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Tracing the Past, Shaping the Future explores Indigenous Knowledge in contrast with European land management systems. This exhibition, running from October to February 2025, examines environmental changes from pre-colonial times to today through a cultural lens, addressing the community’s vision for the future.

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As part of the Flood Recovery Project Scheme, researchers are collaborating with the community to study the Richmond River, aiming to reduce flooding impacts and regenerate the landscape. This ongoing research will be discussed at Richmond Riverfest 2024 on 17 October.

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The Canada Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC) and Canada’s Tri-agency Institutional Program Secretariat recently invited the Faculty of Science and Engineering’s Dr Ali Reza Alaei to serve as a Selection Committee member for the full application stage of the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) 2024 Transformation Competition.

Dr Alaei will lend his professional expertise to assessing applications for the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF), which supports world-leading interdisciplinary, international high-risk/high-reward, transformative and rapid-response Canadian-led research. The process occurs in two stages: individual assessment, followed by a one-week face-to-face deliberation by all Selection Committee members in Ottawa.

The NFRF supports specific goals through three streams – Exploration, International and Transformation – and can also launch Special Calls for research not covered by any of the three principal streams.

It’s great to see Dr Alaei’s knowledge and experience being recognised on the global research stage.

Congratulations to the Faculty of Science and Engineering’s PhD students Melissa Naugle and Hugo Denis on the publication of their research into the distribution and drivers of heat tolerance in reef-building corals across the Great Barrier Reef. Their findings show considerable variation in the experimental thermal thresholds among hundreds of corals among and within reefs, which may be important for climate change adaptation and restoration, provided it has a heritable basis.

Hugo’s paper Thermal tolerance traits of individual corals are widely distributed across the Great Barrier Reef was recently published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, and Melissa’s paper, Heat tolerance varies considerably within a reef-building coral species on the Great Barrier Reef was recently published in Nature communications – Earth and Environment, with an article in The Conversation also covering the findings.

Hugo’s and Melissa’s projects are supported by the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program funded by the partnership between the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, and supervised by Dr Emily Howells (HD, MN) and Professor Steven Purcell (HD) at the National Marine Science Centre.