Western researchers secure more than $4.5 million in ARC funding

Western Sydney University researchers have secured four prestigious Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowships, attracting more than $4.5 million to support innovative research set to advance Australia's capabilities in future manufacturing, healthy ageing, sustainable agriculture and digital innovation.

The ARC Future Fellowships scheme supports outstanding mid-career researchers to undertake high-quality research in areas addressing major national challenges and opportunities. The funded projects span advanced manufacturing, healthy ageing, sustainable agriculture and cognitive neuroscience, highlighting the breadth and impact of research excellence across the University.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation), Professor Ian Anderson, welcomed this significant funding.

"Outstanding research is built on strong culture, meaningful collaboration and the ability to connect researchers with the right opportunities. These Future Fellowships are an excellent example of that vision in action, supporting researchers whose work has the potential to change their fields, challenge convention and deliver lasting benefits for society.

"This funding success reflects both the quality of our researchers and our commitment to creating conditions that enable research excellence, collaboration, innovation and impact. I congratulate all researchers funded as well as those who assisted in their application,” said Professor Anderson.

Dr Zhongpu Zhang, from the School of Built Environment and Design, was awarded $1,073,063 for his project, Fracture-Guided Design for Intelligent 4D-Printed Adaptive Structures. The project aims to establish a fracture-guided design framework for adaptive structures fabricated through 4D printing. By combining advanced structural optimisation, embedded sensing technologies and smart manufacturing approaches, the research will enable structures that can detect damage and respond in real time by adapting their shape or behaviour. The outcomes have the potential to strengthen Australia's capabilities in aerospace and biomedical industries.

Associate Professor Celia Harris, from the MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, was awarded $1,321,105 for her project, Beyond reminiscence: Benefits of familiarity vs. novelty for older people. Her research will generate new insights into how familiar and novel experiences influence mood, identity and cognition across the lifespan. The findings will inform evidence-based recommendations for aged-care providers, program designers and technology developers, helping tailor initiatives that enhance engagement for older Australians.

Dr Adam Frew, from the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, was awarded $989,844 for his project, Mycorrhizal matchmaking: predicting the right place, practice, and plant. This project advances sustainable agriculture by predicting and testing beneficial partnerships between crops and mycorrhizal fungi—soil organisms that enhance plant nutrition, growth, and stress tolerance. Using advanced molecular and statistical techniques with national-scale spatial mapping, field studies, and glasshouse experiments, the project will identify which fungi are suited to which regions and crops, and which deliver the greatest benefits. The project’s outcomes are set to strengthen environmental and economic resilience in Australian farming under a changing climate.

Dr Tijl Grootswagers, from the MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, was awarded $1,167,141 for his project, Seeing by Choice: How the Brain Recognises and Remembers in a Digital World. His research will explore how people recognise and remember information while scrolling through digital content, now one of the most common forms of information consumption. Using neuroimaging, behavioural measures and computational models, the project will advance understanding of attention and memory, with applications across education, digital health and wellbeing.

The full list of successful ARC Future Fellowship projects across Australia is available through the Australian Research Council's 2026 Future Fellowships funding outcomes.

ENDS.

9 September 2026
Media Unit