News Alerts

Thin pickings for R&D in budget

This year’s Federal budget had little new money for research and development, and two significant programs were terminated or reduced.

The International Science Linkages program is to be terminated at the end of next year, having not received continuing funding in this year’s budget. The program has provided $94.5 million over nine years to support international scientific collaboration, funding scientists from both the public and private sectors.

All money available under the program has been allocated and there will be no further calls for applications. The program is under consideration by the currentParliamentary Inquiry into Australia's International Research Collaboration that will report later this year.

Other outcomes include:

• The Green Car Innovation Fund, which received $133 million in 2009-10, has been cut by $50 m in 2011, by $75 m in 2012 and $75 m in 2013, cutting a total of $200 million from the original $1.3 allocated to the fund.
• The new Cairns Institute Tropical Innovation Hub, announced in December last year, will receive $15 million this year in capital costs, and $4.5 million in 2011-12. A further $8.75 million has been promised for research infrastructure. The institute will be located at James Cook University’s Cairns Campus, which will contribute a further $15.8 million.

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R&D Tax Credit legislation introduced

Legislation to create the new R&D Tax Credit and replace the R&D Tax Concession has been introduced to Parliament.

The new scheme, which will come into effect from July 1, will provide two levels of tax credit for R&D expenditure:

• a 45 per cent refundable tax credit (the equivalent to a 150 per cent concession) for eligible entities with an aggregated turnover of less than $20 million per annum;
• a non-refundable 40 per cent R&D tax credit (the equivalent of a 133 per cent deduction) for all other eligible entities.

Innovation Minister, Kim Carr, claims the R&D Tax Credit is a simplified system compared with the R&D Tax Concession, and will reduce red tape and provide a better incentive for business to invest in research and innovation.

The new R&D tax incentive is contained in the Tax Laws Amendment (Research and Development) Bill 2010 and the Income Tax Rates Amendment (Research and Development ) Bill 2010, available at www.aph.gov.au

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New president for Academy of Science

Professor Suzanne Cory has been elected President of the Australian Academy of Science, taking over from outgoing President, Professor Kurt Lambeck. Professor Cory is the first woman to be elected to the position, the only other female president being Professor Dorothy Hill, who stepped into the role when the President, Dr David Martyn, died in 1970.

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New company to develop Alzheimer's drug

A new Melbourne-based company, BACE Therapeutics, will undertake research to develop a drug to block the enzyme beta secretase that is present at elevated levels in the brain cortex of patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

The company is made up of scientists from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI), the University of Melbourne and the Mental Health Research Institute. It has secured $650,000 in investment funds through the Medical Research Commercialization Fund, a collaborative venture fund established with support from the Victorian and NSW Governments.

The BACE Therapeutics investment and research program builds on the findings of Dr Brian Smith from WEHI who discovered two compounds that bind to beta secretase (also called BACE1). Further development of these compounds was done in collaboration with Dr Genevieve Evin, Dr Kevin Barnham and Dr Vijaya Kenche from the University of Melbourne.

Dr Evin, who was the first in the world to demonstrate that beta secretase is increased in the brain cortex of Alzheimer's patients, has already shown that the two compounds identified by Dr Smith are effective at inhibiting beta secretase.

The market for Alzheimer’s disease therapeutics is growing at around 13 per cent each year and is expected to be worth $7.2 billion in 2010.

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Bioelectronics lab to focus on bionic eye

Victoria is establishing a bioelectronics laboratory that will play a lead role in the development of an advanced bionic eye.

The laboratory, being set up by NICTA’s Victoria Research Laboratory– Australia’s Information and Communications Technology Research Centre of Excellence – will design and test the advanced electronics included in the bionic eye, enabling patients to recognise faces and read large print.

The new facility, to be located at NICTA’s Victoria Research Lab at the University of Melbourne, will become the leading bioelectronics laboratory in the Asia Pacific region.

The facility’s first project will be to design the advanced electronics behind the second prototype device to be developed by Bionic Vision Australia.

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Victoria funds sustainable science projects

The Victorian Government has announced funding totalling $12 million for seven sustainable science projects under the Science Agenda Investment Fund.

Projects that will receive the sustainability grants are:

• Victorian Centre for Advanced Materials Manufacturing (VCAMM) Limited – bushfire shelter project ($400,000);
• Polymers CRC Pty Ltd – environment friendly systems for suppressing evaporation in water storages ($1.5 million);
• Swinburne University – Victoria-Suntech Advanced Solar Facility for nanoplasmonic solar technology ($3 million);
• Monash University – Harvesting water in cities as water supply catchments ($3 million)
• Halcrow Pacific Pty Ltd – Development of low carbon emission fibre reinforced geopolymer concrete ($300,000);
• Melbourne University – Victorian Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and Management for pollution detection and monitoring of inland waters ($2.98 million);and
• RMAX – Biodegradable replacement for expanded polystyrene foam products ($800,000).

More information about the Victorian Science Agenda isVicotirVictoria funds sustainable sicen at www.business.vic.gov.au/vsa

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Funding for Australia-India collaborative research

Funding of $2.4 million has been awarded to eight collaborative projects between Australian and Indian scientists under the fourth round of the Indo-Australian Biotechnology Fund. Matching funding will be provided by the Indian Government.

The Indo-Australian Biotechnology Fund is part of the $65 million Australia-India Strategic Research Fund, which is Australia's largest bilateral research fund.

Details of the awards are at https://grants.innovation.gov.au/AISRF/Pages/Outcomes.aspx

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Construction of Queensland's Translation Research Institute set to begin

Construction is set to begin on the $354 million Translational Research Institute (TRI) in Brisbane following the awarding of the contract to Watpac Construction.

The TRI was the vision of Professor Ian Frazer, his Diamantina Institute and the Mater Medical Research Institute (MMRI). It is being developed as a joint venture between the Queensland Government, the University of Queensland (UQ), the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), the Princess Alexandra Hospital and the MMRI. It will evenutally house more than 700 researchers from PAH, UQ’s Diamantina Institute for Cancer, Immunology and Metabolic Medicine, QUT’s Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, and MMRI. The Biopharmaceuticals Australia (BPA) facility will also be located at the TRI, operated by international drugs contract manufacturer DSM Biologics to manufacture drugs and vaccines developed by researchers at the Institute as well as other local researchers and companies.

The Queensland Government has contributed $107 million, the Federal Government contributed $150 million, and American billionaire Chuck Feeney last year pledged $50 million towards it through his Atlantic Philanthropies organisation. UQ and QUT are also making significant financial contributions. The TRI will be built adjacent to the Pharmacy Australian Centre of Excellence.

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Announcements

The Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science

Nominations now open for 2010
Closing date: 21 May 2010, AEST 5.00 pm

The Australian Government awards five prizes annually for outstanding scientific achievements and excellence in science teaching.  These awards are the most prestigious and significant of their kind in Australia.  Each award comprises a solid embossed gold/silver engraved medallion, with matching lapel pins, and tax-exempt cash components totaling A$500,000.

• The Prime Minister's Prize for Science;
• The Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year;
• The Science Minister's Prize for Life Scientist of the Year;
• The Prime Minister's Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Primary Schools; and
• The Prime Minister's Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools.

Nominations are now invited for these awards, which are offered to Australian citizens or those who hold permanent residence status in Australia.  Nominations must be made by nominators who are personally knowledgeable of the nominated achievements and who can offer expert opinions on its worth. Self nominations will not be considered.

Online Nominations: www.innovation.gov.au/scienceprizes

Expression of Interest: pmprize@innovation.gov.au

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Commercialisation Australia — Volunteer Business Mentors

Are you experienced in management, commercialisation or have particular technical/domain expertise? Do you feel you have the skills and knowledge to give back to the Australian business community?

Commercialisation Australia is looking for experienced business people to share their knowledge, skills and experience to help Australia’s promising innovators successfully take their ideas to market.

Commercialisation Australiais a $196 million program which aims to help Australian researchers, entrepreneurs and innovative companies turn their ideas into internationally competitive commercial realities, by providing hands-on, tailored support throughout the commercialisation process.

Volunteer Business Mentors are an important part of Commercialisation Australia, allowing participants to learn from the experience and knowledge of those who have been through the process.

Commercialisation Australia is looking for Volunteer Business Mentors with technical and commercialisation experience, and an understanding of the challenges faced by innovators.

If you:

• have experience in commercialising a product, process or service,
• have a genuine interest in helping researchers, individuals and innovative companies take their ideas to market,
• are a leader in your specific technology field,
• have the ability to communicate and win the confidence of others, and
• are willing to offer your time and experience freely to benefit Australia’s commercialisation performance and long term economic prosperity;

then visit the mentor page on the Commercialisation Australia website (www.commercialisationaustralia.gov.au) to complete an expression of interest form or to obtain further information about the program.

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The Innovation Patent System

Australia’s unique Innovation Patent System came into force in 2001. Recently an increasing number of patentees have been relying on the innovation patent system to enforce their rights, as it provides strategic advantages. Importantly, an innovation patent provides the same exclusive rights and remedies as a standard patent, but with a lower threshold for inventiveness.

Main Features

The distinguishing features of an innovation patent are:

• a maximum eight year term;
• a maximum of five claims;
• a lower level of inventiveness than for a standard patent: inventions are only required to have an ‘innovative step’ rather than an ‘inventive step’; and
• no pre-grant opposition.

Innovative Step Test

The most important feature of the innovation patent is the lower threshold test for ‘inventiveness’. Unlike a standard patent, an innovation patent need not involve an inventive step, only an ‘innovative’ step.

An invention is taken to involve an innovative step unless the invention would - to a person skilled in the relevant art - vary from prior art only in ways that make no substantial contribution to the working of the invention. It has recently been confirmed by the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia that the test for ‘innovative step’ is a different and less onerous test than the test for an ‘inventive step’ (obviousness): Dura-Post (Aust) Pty Ltd v Delnorth Pty Ltd [2009] FCAFC 81. Importantly, the Court indicated that obviousness has no relevance in determining whether the invention involves an innovative step. Basically, provided an invention is novel and differs from the prior art in a significant respect, then it is also likely to involve an innovative step.

Strategies for Filing Innovation Patents

• File and certify a divisional innovation patent while the parent application is still pending in order to have an immediately enforceable right.
• Make the claims of the innovation patent as broad as possible (i.e. just novel over the known prior art), and pursue the more “realistic” claims in the parent application.
• File a (or another) divisional innovation patent just before the parent application is granted
• the innovation patent’s claims can be tailored to capture an infringer at a later stage.

Significance for Enforcement Strategies

We have recently acted for numerous clients who have taken advantage of the innovation patent system when seeking to enforce their rights. The advantages include:

• an innovation patent can be divided out of a pending standard application and, once certified, can immediately be enforced;
• unlike standard patents, there is no pre-grant opposition which means a potential infringer cannot commence an opposition in order to delay enforcement;
• the lesser standard of inventiveness may mean an innovation patent is more likely to survive a cross-claim for invalidity by the infringer.

Want to know more? Griffith Hack Patent and Trade Mark attorneys and IP lawyers are always pleased to provide direct support with the secure protection for your IP. Griffith Hack’s aim is to partner you through the provision of clear, commercially relevant and cost effective IP advice to help you achieve your commercial goals. For more information, visit the Griffith Hack website: www.griffithhack.com.au

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Conferences & Events

AIRG 2010 Winter Conference

“The National Importance of Industrial R&D:

Measuring and Communicating the Impact in Australasia”

Hotel Realm, Canberra

Thursday 2 September, 2010

The meeting will describe identified best practices in the conduct of industrial R&D in Australia and New Zealand. It will consider metrics as applied to “take-up” of Industrial R&D outputs; point to how industrial R&D is best leveraging public sector research and R&D resources; understand the primary drivers for companies to conduct their R&D in Australasia, both today and into the future; and ask AIRG members what they would like to see as a future role of government that might best assist them to sustain and grow the role of Australasian industrial R&D.

Program Summary:

Wednesday 1 September

Dinner with invited Members of Parliament

Thursday 2 September

Session One:

What are the primary drivers that cause companies to decide to conduct industrial R&D in Australasia today? Does the R&D in SMEs and its impact on the technology supply chain to larger companies have an effect? What are likely future impacts?

Session Two:

How is Australasian industrial R&D best leveraging public sector research and R&D resources?

Session Three:

What use is made of metrics as applied to the “take-up” of Industrial R&D outputs in Australian and New Zealand industrial R&D, and elsewhere?

Session Four:

Discussion including considerations of what AIRG members would like to see as a future role of government that might assist the sustenance and growth of Australasian industrial R&D, and how AIRG should advocate these positions.

Please visit www.airg.org.au or email airg@atse.org.au for further details

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Australian Irrigation Conference & Exhibition 2010

What: Australian Irrigation Conference & Exhibition 2010

When: 8-10 June 2010

Where: Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour

Program, registration brochure & more information: www.irrigationaustralia.com.au

If you haven’t already done so, register now for the Conference or put the Exhibition in your diary as the place to see all aspects of irrigation hardware and services under one roof. You don’t have to be a conference attendee to visit the Irrigation Expo. It’s open to all, free, and will feature over 100 companies from Australia and overseas showcasing a vast range of irrigation equipment, technology and knowledge.

If you have registered or intend to register for the Conference, you won’t want to make an early getaway. The final conference session is a Question and Answer session on the theme of What should irrigation policy and practice look like in 2020 when we have spent $30 billion dollars of public and private money?

Confirmed panellists include Senator Bill Heffernan; conference keynote speaker, Sandra Postel, a leading authority on international water issues, who will be providing an environmental perspective; Richard Stirzaker, scientist and author of ‘From the Scientists Garden’, a new CSIRO publication that looks at how food and water interact and the conundrums of modern food production in settings ranging from the domestic vegetable garden to subsistence plots or crops on vast irrigated plains. Also on the panel is Matthew Stott, a young irrigator from Griffith in the NSW Riverina district; Murray Smith, an expert on catchment water supply and a yet–to-be-confirmed policy maker.

Panel host Ticky Fullerton is longstanding ABC journalist with roles that included presenter for Lateline, investigative reporter for Four Corners, and presenter for Landline. She won the Australian Government Peter Hunt Eureka Prize for Environmental Journalism and is the author of ‘Watershed’, one of the first comprehensive books on the future challenges facing Australia in water and the tensions between the many stakeholders in our water future. Ticky is not without her distracters, and she is never meek or quiet, so we might just get a few fireworks in this finale.

Take a look at the full Conference program for the irrigation industry’s premier event, bringing together irrigators, suppliers, equipment manufacturers, researchers, water supply organisations, consultants, advisors and policy makers. The program contains something for everyone, so register NOW.

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3rd Victorian Sustainable Development Conference

The 3rd Victorian Sustainable Development Conference is to be held on May 25-26, 2010, at Zinc, Federation Square, Melbourne.

The Conference will be solution-oriented, bringing together key decision-makers from the private and public sectors, industry leaders, local government, scientists, conservationists and others to discuss ways in which to achieve real and lasting change in areas such as:

• Water
• Waste and resource recovery
• Energy efficiency
• Climate change response
• Planning and urban design
• Land remediation
• Air quality
• Human health
• Sustainable workplaces

Speakers include:

• Dr Kate Auty, Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability
• Anita Roper, Chief Executive Officer, Sustainability Victoria 
• Rob Freeman, Chief Executive, Murray-Darling Basin Authority
• Professor Chris Davis, Commissioner, National Water Commission
• Dr Deborah Peterson, Deputy Secretary, Policy & Strategy, Department of Primary Industries
• Kevin Love, Deputy Secretary, Department of Sustainability and Environment
• Clare McArdle, Executive Director, Melbourne @ 5 Million Integration Unit, Department of Planning and Community Development
• Fiona Calvert, Director, Sustainable and Active Transport Policy, Department of Transport
• Professor John Thwaites, Chairman, Monash Sustainability Institute
• Stuart McConnell, Director, Future Focus, EPA Victoria
• Brendan Sydes, Principal Solicitor, Environmental Defenders' Office
• Peter Williams, Chief Executive Officer, Deloitte Digital 
• Carl McCamish, Executive General Manager, Origin Energy
• John Hunt, Technical Manager, Thiess Services
• Louise Hicks, Partner, DLA Phillips Fox
• Dave Appels, Economist, Frontier Economics
• Erin Simpson, Sustainability Services Manager, Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Professor John Wilson, Deputy Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Swinburne University/Spokesperson, Engineers Australia
• Professor John Fien, Innovation in Leadership Programme, RMIT
• Professor Ralph Horne, Director, Centre for Design, RMIT
• Dan Atkins, Managing Director, Shaper Group
• Chris Newman, Manager, Councils Reforming Business, Local Government, Department of Planning and Community Development
• Phil Hughes, Principal Consultant: Sustainability and Water Management, Halcrow
• Jennifer Williams, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, Corporate Express 
• Mike Lloyd, IP Management Consultant, Griffith Hack Patent and Trademark Attorneys
• Donavan Marley, Research Scientist, CSIRO Land and Water

The Conference will also feature best practice case studies in the above areas, as well as addressing challenges of sustainability, and provide advice on how state and local government and business can truly achieve social, environmental and economic sustainability.

The price for registering to attend the two-day Conference is just $695.

To view the Agenda or to register, go to www.halledit.com.au/vsd2010 or contact Denise McQueen on (03) 8534 5021 or denise.mcqueen@halledit.com.au

Platinum Sponsor    

Gold Sponsor

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Training Opportunities

Science Writing Workshops

Writing Clear Science is offering writing workshops in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Adelaide throughout 2010. Writing Clear Science operates from the fundamental premise that writing produced by scientific professionals should be accurate, clear and succinct.

Our writing workshops:

• Teach the skills that are essential to effectively design and write high quality research reports, technical and industry reports, peer-reviewed papers and theses.
• Are relevant to individuals from all science backgrounds and with different levels of academic achievement.
• Involve a flexible rotation of lectures, writing exercises and discussion sessions.

Science professionals benefit from our writing workshops by:

• Refreshing their writing skills (punctuation, sentence and paragraph structure).
• Dramatically improving their ability to write clearly and succinctly.
• Improving their editing and critical evaluation skills.
• Developing a clear understanding on how to rapidly structure their reports and papers.

Open Workshops

We offer Open Workshops where staff can enrol individually.

• Day 1: The Nuts & Bolts of Writing
• Day 2: Writing Reports & Papers (optional)
• Day 3: Writing Your Thesis (optional)

Open Workshop Calendar

• Sydney: 8th - 10th June; 10th - 12th November 2010
• Melbourne: 15th - 17th June; 8th – 10th December 2010
• Canberra: 7th - 9th July 2010
• Brisbane: 13th - 15th July; 17th - 19th November 2010
• Adelaide: 3rd - 5th August 2010.

Cost: $300 per day (G.S.T Incl.) minus 10% for early bird and group discounts.

In-House Writing Workshops

Writing Clear Sciencealso offers In-House Writing Workshops that can be held in your department, institution or facility. These workshops are designed for staff and students from science-based industries, consultancies, State and Federal Government science-based departments and research institutions. We can offer a 1-3 day workshop that is tailored to your needs.

For further information, including course details, please refer to our website www.writingclearscience.com.au or contact Dr Marina Hurley: 0416-097-979; fax +61-3-9421-3472; info@writingclearscience.com.au

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Positions Vacant

ResearchJobs

ResearchJobs is an email and website based service that lists advertisements for vacant research-related positions, scholarships, and fellowships, within the research and development, scientific and academic industries.

It is distributed straight to the desk top of over 11,000 researchers and management professionals within universities, CSIRO, research agencies and institutes, government departments and the private sector.

It is free to receive, with only a small cost to advertise.

For further information about advertising a position, contact Blake Duggin on 03 8534 5012 or blake.duggin@halledit.com.au

To subscribe or to view current positions go to www.researchjobs.net.au

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