Seven UNSW researchers recognised with ARC Future Fellowships

The mid-career researchers received more than $8.2 million for a wide range of projects that will benefit the nation.

Seven UNSW Sydney researchers have been awarded Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowships for 2025. The mid-career researchers from the faculties of Arts, Design & Architecture, Engineering, Science and UNSW Canberra have received more than $8.2 million to advance projects in fields spanning from cybersecurity to street planning.

UNSW Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research & Enterprise Professor Bronwyn Fox congratulated the University’s Fellows.

“We are immensely proud of our UNSW researchers awarded ARC Future Fellowships,” said Prof. Fox. “This recognition reflects UNSW’s commitment to impactful research that delivers solutions for communities, industries and the economy.

“It’s particularly exciting to see a wide variety of projects recognised, from enhancing protections in software to modelling that can cut transport emissions, which demonstrates the broad range and practical benefits of UNSW research.

“We congratulate our researchers on this remarkable achievement and look forward to seeing the continued impact of their work.”

The ARC Future Fellowships scheme supports outstanding mid-career researchers by assisting them to conduct high-quality research in areas of national and international importance. Under the 2025 scheme, 100 researchers from across Australia will share in more than $114 million in grants.

ARC Chief Executive Officer, Professor Ute Roessner, said the ARC Future Fellowships played a vital role in building Australia’s research and innovation pipeline.

“By investing in research capability, we enable the development of new knowledge and innovations that can translate into real-world impact, from improving education and environmental management to driving economic and social benefits,” Prof. Roessner said. “The research funded in this round of Future Fellowships showcases the breadth of outstanding work being undertaken by talented researchers to address national and international priorities.”

Advancing research in pivotal sectors

Professor Tema Milstein from the School of Humanities & Languages at UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture received $1,286,884 for the project ‘Environmental Communication for Whales, Dolphins, and Restorative Futures’. The project aims to explore why wildlife and nature tourism, despite their promise to increase environmental understanding, often fail to reach their full potential. In particular, it will reveal new national and global insights for promoting sustainability awareness through whale and dolphin watching and develop communication strategies that help viewers engage meaningfully and restoratively with marine species, their habitats and biodiversity protection.

Associate Professor Alina Ostafe from the School of Mathematics & Statistics at UNSW Science received $1,274,832 for the project ‘Arithmetic Statistics, Dynamics and Quantum Chaos’. The project will explore how families of important algebraic and number-theoretic objects, such as matrices and polynomials over integers, behave and the randomness they exhibit. Developing new methods for detecting and extracting this randomness has far-reaching consequences for number theory and its applications, including cryptography and mathematical physics.

Associate Professor Meead Saberi from the School of Civil Engineering at UNSW Engineering received $1,243,232 for the project ‘E-VeloCity: Designing Car-Reduced Urban Street Networks’. The project will develop models to reallocate street space from cars to walking, e-bikes and other micromobility options, helping to reduce transport emissions and improve accessibility. It will provide practical solutions for city planners and policymakers to develop resilient, low-emission urban environments that support Australia’s net-zero goals.

Dr Siqi Ma from the School of Systems & Computing at UNSW Canberra received $1,131,588 for the project ‘Advanced Protection Techniques for Secure Code Reuse’. This project aims to improve protection and develop countermeasures against known vulnerabilities in reused code, a phenomenon that has become increasingly common in software development. This will greatly benefit developers and researchers by promoting safer code reuse practices.

Dr Peter Wich from the School of Chemical Engineering at UNSW Engineering received $1,130,708 for the project ‘Enzyme Nanoparticles as Biotechnological Tool for Reprogramming Cells’. The project will develop next generation ‘enzyme nanoparticles’ that can operate within living cells and perform complex chemical reactions, with applications beyond medicine into industries such as food processing, agriculture and biomanufacturing. This will boost the production of high-value products, such as antibodies and biofuels, thereby strengthening Australia's leadership in nanotechnology and sustainable materials.

Dr Miriam Matamales from the School of Psychology at UNSW Science received $1,111,567 for the project ‘Understanding the neural mechanisms underlying adaptive behaviour’. Cognitive inflexibility – that is, difficulty adapting to change – can develop with age. This project will explore how different neural circuits within the mammalian brain interact to integrate new experiences with pre-existing knowledge, enabling the modification of behaviour in our ever-changing environments. The findings could significantly improve how we help individuals who struggle to adapt to change.

Dr Xin Cao from the School of Computer Science & Engineering at UNSW Engineering received $1,091,272 for the project ‘An Intelligent Spatial Data Management System for Smart Query Processing’. Managing spatial and location-linked data is crucial for enabling better decision-making and analysis across sectors such as public health, transportation, urban planning, cybersecurity and emergency management. This project aims to develop an intelligent spatial database system for smart query processing utilising innovative machine-learning techniques and large language models to help advance geospatial analytics.