2019 ARC Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellow
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The Hawkesbury Institute confirms its place in world research excellence:
10 March 20120
Researchers at Western Sydney University and The Australian National University have discovered new chemical communication pathways that determine how a plant changes when it emerges from darkness in the soil to light.
25 February 2020
Assoc Prof Matthias Boer at the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment found that the area burned in Australia during the 2019-2020 forest fires far exceeds historic records worldwide.
11 February 2020
The alarming rate of carbon dioxide flowing into our atmosphere is affecting plant life in interesting ways – but perhaps not in the way you’d expect.
20 January 2020
White‐nose syndrome has recently decimated bat populations across North America. While the fungal pathogen currently doesn’t occur in Australia, the fungus is virtually certain to jump continents in the next decade.
14 January 2020
The Federal Government has announced new funding for Western Sydney University researchers to develop a system for reliably forecasting the potential for bushfires...
Prof Brajesh Singh is developing microbial engineering tools that could sustainably increase agricultural output to produce food for a rapidly increasing population....
Dr Paul Rymer is searching for genetic features that contribute to trees’ adaptation to climate change, so that they can be taken into account for forest management...
Professor Belinda Medlyn and colleagues have been developing models of forests that can be used to predict how they will be affected by changes in temperature, rainfall and carbon dioxide...
Assoc Prof Matthias Boer and colleagues are developing a computer tool that maps where prescribed burning may be most effective...
Prof James Cook is leading a five-year, $19 million research push to better understand bees’ role in crop pollination, so that when Varroa arrives, Australia is prepared to minimise the damage...
“It has been very rewarding to be at the forefront of climate change science and see that this work has been valuable to scientists and citizens alike.” - Distinguished Prof David Tissue
The international Quacarelli Symonds Subject Rankings are a worldwide ranking of major disciplines. The criteria for designating a ranking are:
Western Sydney University is ranked in the top 2% of universities in the world by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. Our research was rated at 5 Stars for Ecological Applications, Soil Sciences, Ecology, Plant Biology, Forestry Sciences by the 2015 Excellence In Research Australia rankings conducted by the Australian Research Council (ARC).
Western Sydney University is ranked among the top 20 Australian universities for achievements in the prestigious Australian Research Council major grants. Nearly a third of the University's ARC grant income is achieved by the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment. Find out more...
Our Soil Biology and Genomics theme focuses on how environmental change influences the amazing diversity of life in soils, including its fungi, bacteria and animals... Read more about Soil Biology And Genomics
Our Plants, Animals and Interactions theme explores how these changes affect the ecology and physiology of plants and animals... Read more about Plants, Animals and Interactions
We explore how changes in climate, land use and cover affect the exchanges of carbon, nutrients, water, and energy. Using models, we integrate processes at scales ranging from leaf to globe. Read more about Ecosystem Function and Integration
