Centres Secretariat
Research Strategy Office
UNSW is involved in almost one hundred and twenty Research, Teaching Program and Community Centres and Institutes. These Centres and Institutes are made up of multidisciplinary teams established to work across traditional school, faculty or institution boundaries. Internal Centres and Institutes operate solely within, and are controlled entirely by, UNSW while External Centres and Institutes involve partnerships with other universities, government departments, commercial organisations and funding agencies. Some External Centres and Institutes are led by UNSW, while others, most notably the Medical Research Institutes associated with the Faculty of Medicine, are affiliated independent organisations that play major roles in the national research effort.
Centres and Institutes range in scale from relatively small groupings of specialists contributing to an area of common interest, through to large, stand-alone structures such as Cooperative Research Centres and Institutes which may involve the collaboration of tens or hundreds of researchers and dozens of organisations across Australia and overseas.
A listing of all Centres and Institutes is available below. This list was last updated on 8 May, 2012.
The Research Strategy Office, through the Centres Secretariat, coordinates discussions, workshops and forums on subjects of interest to Centre Directors and their colleagues to support their unique and often complex function at UNSW.
For all queries about Centres and Institutes, or to lodge documents with the Centres Secretariat, please contact:
Associate Professor Peter Krug
Senior Research Development Manager (Centres and Consortia)
Research Strategy Office
Phone: 02 9385 9736
Fax: 02 9385 6545
Email: p [dot] krug [at] unsw [dot] edu [dot] au
National Research Centres
Australian Solar Institute - ASI
Executive Director: Mr Mark Twidell
Centre for International Finance and Regulation - CIFR
Interim Director: Mr John Trowbridge
Dementia Collaborative Research Centres - DCRC
Director: Prof Henry Brodaty
The Kirby Institute (Formerly: National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research - NCHECR)
Director: Prof David Cooper
National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre - NCPIC
Director: Prof Jan Copeland
National Centre of Excellence in Desalination - NCED
CEO: Mr Neil Palmer
National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training - NCGRT
Director: Prof Craig Simmons
National Centre in HIV Social Research - NCHSR
Director: Prof John de Wit
National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre - NDARC
Director: Prof Michael Farrell
National ICT Australia - NICTA
Director: Prof Hugh Durrant-Whyte
Co-operative Research Centres
Advanced Manufacturing CRC - AMCRC
Managing Director: Mr Bruce Grey
Australian Poultry CRC
CEO: Dr Mingan Choct
Capital Markets CRC - CMCRC
CEO: Prof Alex Frino
CRC for Advanced Composite Structures - CRC-ACS
CEO: Prof Murray Scott
CRC for Cotton Catchments Communities
CEO: Mr Philip Armytage
CRC for Environmental Biotechnology - EBCRC
Executive Director: Mr Ross Graham
CRC for Greenhouse Gas Technology - CO2CRC
CEO: Dr Richard Aldous
CRC for Low Carbon Living - CRC-LCL (new Centre - no URL yet)
CEO: Prof Deo Prasad
CRC for Polymers - CRCP
CEO: Dr Ian Dagley
CRC for Spatial Information - CRCSI
CEO: Dr Peter Woodgate
Smart Services CRC
CEO & Director: Mr Warren Bradey
ARC Centres (Including Centres of Excellence)
Director: Prof Michelle Simmons
ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science - CoECSS
Director: Prof Andy Pitman
Director: Prof Stuart Cunningham
ARC Centre of Excellence for Design in Light Metals
Director: Prof Xinhua Wu
ARC Centre of Excellence for Functional Nanomaterials - ARCCFN
Director: Prof Rose Amal
ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematics and Statistics of Complex Systems - MASCOS
Director: Prof Tony Guttman
ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research - CEPAR
Director: Scientia Professor John Piggott
NHMRC Centres of Research Excellence (established 2010 onwards) and
NHMRC Centres of Clinical Research Excellence (pre-2010)
Centre of Clinical Research Excellence in Aboriginal Health: Sexually Transmitted and Bloodborne Viral Infections
Director: Prof John Kaldor
Centre of Clinical Research Excellence in Anxiety and Neuroscience
Director: Prof Richard Bryant
Centre of Research Excellence in E-health (New Centre, no web site yet)
Director: Prof Enrico Coiera
Centre of Research Excellence in Immunisation in Understudied and Special Risk Populations
Director: Prof Raina MacIntyre
Centre of Research Excellence in Primary Health Care Microsystems
Director: Prof Claire Jackson
Centre of Research Excellence in Traumatic Brain Injury Psychological Rehabilitation
Director: Prof Skye McDonald
UNSW Research Institutes
Australian Energy Research Institute - AERI
Director: Prof Vassilios Agelidis
Australian Institute for Population Ageing Research - AIPAR
Director: Prof John Piggott
Australian Institute of Health Innovation - AIHI
Director: Prof Jeffrey Braithwaite
Brain Sciences UNSW
Director: Prof Phil Mitchell
National Institute for Experimental Arts - NIEA
Director: Prof Jill Bennett
UNSW Research Centres
Director: Assoc Prof Pradeep Ray
Australian Centre for Astrobiology
Director: Prof Malcolm Walter
Australian Centre for Commercial Mathematics - ACCM
Director: Prof Tony Dooley
Australian Human Rights Centre - AHRC
Director: Assoc Prof Andrea Durbach
Australian Centre for NanoMedicine - ACN
Co-Directors: Prof Maria Kavallaris & Prof Tom Davis
Australian Centre for Perinatal Science - ACPS (New centre - no website yet)
Director: Prof Alec Welsh
Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research - ACSER
Director: Prof Andrew Dempster
Australian Centre for Study of Armed Conflict and Society - ACSACS (New centre - no website yet)
Director: Prof Richard Kingsford
Australia-Pacific Tsunami Research Centre - APTRC
Co-Directors: Prof James Goff & Assoc Prof Dale Dominey-Howes
Centre for Accounting and Assurance Research - CAAR
Director: Prof Ken Trotman
Centre for Advanced Macromolecular Design - CAMD
Director: Prof Tom Davis
Centre for Applied Economic Research - CAER
Director: Prof Kevin Fox
Centre for Clinical Governance Research in Health
Director: Prof Jeffrey Braithwaite
Centre for Contemporary Art and Politics
Director: Prof Jill Bennett
Centre for Energy and Environmental Markets - CEEM
Joint Directors: Dr Regina Betz and Dr Iain MacGill
Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research - CHSSR
Director: Prof Johanna Westbrook
Centre for Health Informatics - CHI
Director: Prof Enrico Coiera
Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing - CHeBA (New centre - no website yet)
Co-Directors: Prof Perminder Sachdev and Prof Henry Brodaty
Centre for Interactive Cinema Research - iCinema
Director: Prof Dennis Del Favero
Centre for Infrastructure Engineering and Safety - CIES
Director: Prof Stephen Foster
Centre for Law, Markets and Regulation
Director: Prof Justin O'Brien
Centre for Marine Bio-Innovation
Joint Directors: Prof Staffan Kjelleberg and Prof Peter Steinberg
Centre for Modernism Studies in Australia
Director: Prof Julian Murphet
Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity
Executive Director: Prof Mark Harris
CEO & Director: Assoc Prof Gawaine Powell Davies
Centre for Refugee Research
Director: Dr Eileen Pittaway
Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology - SMaRT Centre
Director: Prof Veena Sahajwalla
City Futures Research Centre - CFRC
Director: Prof Bill Randolph
Climate Change Research Centre - CCRC
Co-Directors: Prof Matthew England and Prof Steve Sherwood
Connected Waters Initiative - CWI
Director: Prof Ian Acworth
Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre
Executive Director: Mr David Vaile
Academic Director: Prof Graham Greenleaf
Evolution and Ecology Research Centre
Director: Prof Rob Brooks
Gilbert + Tobin Centre for Public Law
Director: Assoc Prof Andrew Lynch
Indigenous Law Centre
Director: Assoc Prof Megan Davis
Industrial Relations Research Centre - IRRC
Director: Prof Michael Quinlan
Injury Risk Management Research Centre - IRMRC
Director of Transport and Road Safety Research Group (TARS): Prof Ann Williamson
Director of Falls and Injury Prevention Group (FIPG): Assoc Prof Jacqui Close
Institute of Global Finance
Director: Prof Fariborz Moshirian
John Hume Institute for Global Irish Studies - JHIGIS
Director: Prof Rónán McDonald
Journalism and Media Research Centre - JMRC
Director: Prof Catharine Lumby
Korea Research Institute - KRI@UNSW
Director: Dr Chung-Sok Suh
Lowy Cancer Research Centre
Director: Prof Phil Hogg
Research Centre for Integrated Transport Innovation - rCITI
Director: Prof S. Travis Waller
Sino-Australian Research Centre for Coastal Management - SARCCM
Director: Dr Xiao Hua Wang
Social Policy Research Centre - SPRC
Acting Director: Prof Peter Whiteford
UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology - CMST
Director: Assoc Prof Vicki Chen
UNSW Cancer Research Centre
Director: Prof Phil Hogg
Water Research Centre - WRC
Joint Directors: Prof Richard Stuetz and Dr Bill Peirson
UNSW Community Centres
Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship - CIE
Director: Dr Martin Bliemel
Centre for Gender-Related Violence Studies
Director: Dr Jan Breckenridge
NSW Cancer Survivors Centre - NSWCSC
Director: Prof Andrew Lloyd
UNSW Program Centres
Gifted Education, Research, Resources and Information Centre - GERRIC
Director: Prof Miraca Gross
Institute of Environmental Studies - IES
Director: A/Prof John Merson
Nura Gili Indigenous Programs Centre
Director: Prof Martin Nakata
Joint Research Centres
UNSW Co-Director: Prof Graham Greenleaf
Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute - AHURI
UNSW Director: Prof Hal Pawson
Technical Advisory Commitee Chair: Prof Aibing Yu
Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute
Executive Director: A/Prof John Merson
Centre for Vascular Research - CVR
Director: Prof Levon Khachigian
Clive and Vera Ramaciotti Centre for Gene Function Analysis
Director: Prof Marc Wilkins
CEO: Mr Peter Croser
Securities Industry Research Centre of Asia-Pacific Limited
Director: Assoc Prof Michael Briers
Sydney Institute of Marine Science - SIMS
Director and CEO: Prof Peter Steinberg
Joint Community Centres
Centre for Eye Health
Director: Prof Michael Kalloniatis
Affiliated Medical Research Institutes and Centres
Black Dog Institute
Executive Director: Prof Helen Christensen
Children's Cancer Institute Australia for Medical Research - CCIA
Executive Director: Prof Michelle Haber
Garvan Institute of Medical Research
Director: Prof John Shine
The Health-Science Alliance - HSA
Chairman: Mr Peter Joseph
National Centre for Immunisation Research & Surveillance
Director: Prof Peter McIntyre
Neuroscience Research Australia - NeuRA (Formerly Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute)
Director: Prof Peter Schofield
Skin and Cancer Foundation Australia
CEO: Dr Lynleigh Evans
Simpson Centre for Health Services Research
Director: Prof Ken Hillman
Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute
Executive Director: Prof Robert Graham
Affiliated Community Centres
Diplomacy Training Program
Director: Mr Patrick Earle
Kingsford Legal Centre
Director: Ms Anna Cody
National Children's and Youth Law Centre
Director: Mr Mathew Keeley
National Pro Bono Resource Centre
Director: Mr John Corker