Griffith rises to the top of Australia’s research efforts

Addressing how to make our future more inclusive for people with disabilities has seen Griffith University take the top spot in a new research ranking.

This year, The Australian newspaper’s Research supplement added a new feature, naming the top five universities and research institutions that are best equipped (by their research capacity and recent research achievements) to tackle Australia’s top 10 research challenges, which The Australian selected as being: climate change, renewable energy, quantum technology, indigenous research, healthy ageing, food and agriculture, cybersecurity, disability and rehabilitation, media technology, and medical technology and devices.

Griffith was named in the top five in two areas: quantum technology, and disability and rehabilitation – and is the leader in disability and rehabilitation.

Professor Elizabeth Kendall, Director of Griffith’s Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability Beacon, said the ranking validated Griffith’s brilliant work in the sector.

Professor Nam-Trung Nguyen.

“The recognition will help us to achieve our goals, which is to improve inclusive futures, and make inclusive futures for people with disability,” she said.

“We can do that if we’re recognised as a place that can achieve. So I think it’s incredible, I’m so pleased.”

The Australian’s Research supplement also named the top Australian researchers and research institutions in 250 fields of research over eight disciplines, with the aim of highlighting the excellence and relevance of Australia’s research effort.

The selection was made objectively based on the number of citations given by peers to research published in top journals.

Griffith researchers were the top researcher in six fields and Griffith University was the top institution in six fields.

Professor Nam-Trung Nguyen, Director of Griffith’s Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, said it was exciting to again be recognised for his research in the microfluidics field.

“This is also a recognition for the field of microfluidics that enables faster and more accurate diagnosis of diseases,” he said.

“Microfluidics technology allows for precise handling of small amount of samples and reagents.

“I’m currently working on advancing this technology beyond the state of the art, integrating microfluidics into flexible wearable and implantable devices. This new research field is called micro elastofluidics.”