In a high calibre field, the work of 10 early-career researchers has been acknowledged by Flinders Vice-Chancellor Awards.

The quality and diversity of research at Flinders is reflected in its position in the top 2% of research universities worldwide and repeated in a range of world rankings,  Vice-Chancellor Professor Colin Stirling said.

“Our success in research rankings is fantastic and it’s driving our international and national reputation,” Professor Stirling said.

“It’s also reflected in our perceived attractiveness to recruitment because students want to enrol in a place that’s discovering important stuff.

“Our commitment to research, discovery and new knowledge is unshakeable.”

The research fields in this year’s awards covered organic chemistry, hydrology, mechanical behaviour of materials, mental health, dementia and telehealth, clinical sleep research, health sciences, palaeontology, English language and applied economics.

Real-world applications among the 2015 VC’s Awards for Early Career Researchers include research which could benefit the environmental, health and social development.

The awards by faculty are:

Science and Engineering

Dr Justin Chalker School of Chemical and Physical Sciences

Dr Hugo Gutiérrez-Jurado Environment

Dr Matt McDowell Biological Sciences

Dr Reza Hashemi Oskouei Computer Science, Engineering and Mathematics

Social and Behavioural Sciences

 Dr Kate Fairweather-Schmidt School of Psychology

Dr Rong Zhu National Institute of Labour Studies

Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

Dr Kate Laver School of Health Sciences

Dr Amanda Muller Nursing and Midwifery

Dr Andrew Vakulin Medicine

Dr Annabelle Wilson Health Sciences