Robert and Maude Gledden Visiting Fellowships
The Gledden Fellowships are part of the estate bequeathed to The University of Western Australia by the late Robert John Gledden (1855-1927) to promote and encourage education and research at the University in the fields of applied science, engineering, mining or cognate subjects. The purpose of this Fellowship is to support global research collaborations by providing funding to bring outstanding researchers to UWA to conduct research with a UWA host.
Gledden Visiting Fellowships are open to researchers who have doctoral degrees or equivalent qualifications or experience, and who are mid-career or senior researchers. Previous Fellowships have been awarded to researchers in diverse research fields, including chemical and material engineering, soil science and mining restoration, freshwater ecosystems, urban and development geography, and geophysics.
Remuneration
The Gledden Visiting Fellowship offers up to $35,000 for a maximum 16-week residency.
The award provides funding support to assist with:
- a round-trip economy class airfare (capped at $6,000),
- cost of Visa for travel to Australia, and
- a living allowance of AUD$1,540 per week, inclusive of accommodation expenses.
2026 Applications
- Applications Open: 18 May 2026
- Submission Deadline: 5pm AWST, Monday, 3 August 2026
Apply
Applications must be lodged by a UWA-based Academic who will act as the Gledden Visiting Fellow's host for the duration of their visit to UWA.
For detailed information about eligibility, selection criteria, and application form, please download the documents below:
History of the Gledden Visiting Fellowship
In 1927, the University received about £55,000 from a public benefactor, Mr Robert John Gledden (1855-1927). Mr Gledden moved to Australia in 1890 and was licensed as a surveyor in Queensland. He came to Perth in 1892, and after practising for a few months as a surveyor, was asked by the then Minister of Lands, W. Marmion, to take charge of mining surveys at Coolgardie. He made a preliminary survey there and about a year later laid out the site of Kalgoorlie. He retired in 1900 and spent much time travelling with his wife Maude, before settling at Caulfield, near Melbourne.
After his wife died in 1921, he continued to travel but kept his interest in Western Australia. He was a good businessman and made money largely out of investing in land in Western Australia. He died in Perth on 5 November 1927.
With no heirs, Mr Gledden's will provided that the whole of his residue estate should go to the University in trust to provide scholarships beginning ten years after his death. As far as it is known, he had no previous contact with the University before his death.
Robert Gledden stipulated that the income from his estate should be used "for the promotion and encouragement of education at such University to provide for scholarships in applied science, more particularly relating to surveying, engineering, mining or cognate subjects". He also expressed the hope that "one at least of such scholarships will be a travelling scholarship". The bequest initially provided for two annual travelling science fellowships of £750. They were named the Robert and Maude Gledden Travelling Fellowships in honour of himself and his wife. The first Gledden Fellowship was awarded in 1939. It would not be awarded again until 1945 due to the Second World War.
Robert and Maude Gledden Visiting Fellows Awarded in 2025
10 Gledden Visiting Fellowships were awarded in September 2025 by the Gledden Committee.
Gledden Visiting Fellow |
UWA Hosts |
|
Professor Ikuro Abe, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Science, The University of Tokyo |
Professor Yit Heng Chooi, UWA School of Molecular Sciences |
|
Dr Guillaume Duclaux, Deputy Head of Geoazur Laboratory, Université Côte d’Azur |
Associate Professor Nicolas Thebaud and Professor Mark Jessell, UWA School of Earth Sciences, Centre for Exploration Targeting |
| Professor Xue Feng, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo-Engineering, University of Minnesota | Professor Sally Thompson and Dr Caitlin Moore, UWA School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering; Centre for Water and Spatial Science |
| Dr Marie Forget, Associate Professor of Geography, Savoie Mont Blanc University | Associate Professor Kirsten Martinus, School of Social Sciences, Planning and Transport Research Centre and Natalie Brown, UWA Law School, Centre for Mining, Energy & Natural Resources Law |
| Professor Marlene Harter, Institute for Unmanned Aerial Systems (IUAS), Offenburg University of Applied Sciences | Professor David Huang, UWA School of Engineering |
| Professor Henry Jeffrey, Head of The Policy and Innovation Group, The University of Edinburgh | Professor Christophe Gaudin, Director, UWA Oceans Institute and Associate Professor Paul J. Maginn, Director, UWA Public Policy Institute |
| Dr Magdalena Kobielarz, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology | Professor Adam Wittek and Professor Karol Miller, Intelligent Systems for Medicine Laboratory, UWA School of Engineering. |
| Professor Yves-Alain Peter, Department of Engineering Physics, Polytechnique Montréal | Professor Lorenzo Faraone and Professor Dilusha Silva, UWA School of Engineering, Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering |
| Professor Osvaldo Sala, Director of the Global Drylands Center, Arizona State University | Dr Qiaoyun Xie and Associate Professor Sally Thompson, UWA School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering; Centre for Water and Spatial Science |
| Dr Merita Tafili, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Ruhr University Bochem | Professor Britta Bienen, UWA School of Earth & Oceans |