Seven researchers from The University of Western Australia have received prestigious fellowships to explore questions including how Indigenous peoples used fire over millennia, post-pandemic vaccination resistance, how the first black holes formed and grew, and the costs and benefits of ‘presenteeism’ in the workplace.
The researchers have received four-year fellowships under the Australian Research Council Future Fellowship 2026 scheme to support mid-career researchers to undertake high-quality research in areas of national and international benefit.
Their projects are among more than 290 across the country to share in $344 million in funding under the scheme, announced by the ARC this week.
Professor Katie Attwell from the School of Social Sciences has received $1,327,420 to explore post-pandemic threats and opportunities for vaccination governance.
The project aims to understand how governments react and prepare, focusing on approaches in Australia, France, Italy and the US, and builds on research Professor Attwell already leads through VaxPolLab.
“The goal is to develop a framework for interpreting threats, opportunities, and responses,” Professor Attwell said.
“This supports researchers and policymakers to address emergent problems including right-wing resistance; non-implementation of policies; and governments leading anti- vaccination activities.”
Dr David Gozzard from the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) at UWA has received $1,161,356 to explore quantum telescopes for extremely high-resolution imaging.
The project will apply world-leading Australian quantum technologies to astronomy to produce telescopes of unparalleled resolution.
“Bigger telescopes are more powerful and allow us to peer into deeper reaches of our Universe,” Dr Gozzard said. “New quantum technologies will allow us to build bigger telescopes able to study deep space in greater detail, which will allow us to learn more about black holes, and stars and planets outside our solar system.”
The project aims to show how quantum telescopes can enable imaging resolution more than 20 times better than any existing telescope, providing significant outcomes for astronomy, space situational awareness, and defence.
Dr Marcus Korb from UWA's School of Molecular Sciences has received $1,168,316 for his project titled The Quantum Smithy: Crafting Iron into molecular FeQubits, which aims to build a better type of quantum computing building block – fundamental particles known as Quantum bits or Qubits – using cheap and abundant iron instead of the rare-earth materials currently being used.
“Quantum computing promises a revolution by solving complex problems beyond the reach of classical computers,” Dr Korb said.
“However Qubits are extremely fragile and suffer from short Qu-lifetimes. They rely on geopolitically sensitive rare-earth elements and require handling under bulky cryogenic conditions, limiting real-world use.”
The project seeks to develop 'FeQuBits' as a more stable, practical molecular solution, providing a solution that brings quantum computing from laboratory to everyday use.
Professor Claudia Lagos from ICRAR has received $1,285,831 for her project which aims to reveal how the first black holes formed and grew alongside their galaxies in the early universe.
Accessing supercomputers and unique datasets, the project will use cutting edge software developed in Australia to simulate how black holes produce light and how this connects to the galaxies that host them.
“These predictions aim to explain striking discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope, such as overly massive and numerous bright, actively growing black holes, that challenge our current theories,” Professor Lagos said.
The results are expected to change our understanding of how galaxies and black holes evolved, create open software for global use, and strengthen Australia’s leadership in astrophysics and digital research.
Dr Bruce Lu from UWA’s School of Physics, Mathematics and Computing, Computer Science and Software Engineering has received $1,124,239 for a project that aims to help artificial intelligence (AI) better understand real-world three-dimensional (3D) data.
It will develop an AI framework that can remove noise, reconstruct and learn from unlabelled 3D point cloud data – digital 3D models made up of millions of tiny dots that are increasingly used in urban mapping, infrastructure inspection, and creating digital representations of the real world.
“This project will generate new knowledge in 3D spatial intelligence through innovative machine learning methods designed to understand complex, real-world 3D data,” Dr Lu said.
Associate Professor Aleksandra Luksyte from the UWA Business School has received $1,322,733 to explore the costs and unexpected benefits of sickness and motivational ‘presenteeism’ at work.
Presenteeism, which affects around 58 per cent of Australian employees, describes employees who are at work but not working at maximum capacity due to ill-health or low motivation.
“This project aims to explore why this is the case, particularly among women and racially diverse workers, many of whom are overqualified,” Associate Professor Luksyte said.
The project will examine why presenteeism may increase ostracism of minority employees but may decrease loneliness, and how organisations can minimise costs and maximise the potential benefits of presenteeism.
Associate Professor Sven Ouzman from the School of Social Sciences has received $1,295,779 to
explore how Indigenous people used fire to create, mark and maintain Country and rock art estates from deep time until today.
“By braiding Archaeology, Indigenous Knowledge and GIS Story Mapping at six rock art landscapes in northern Australia and southern Africa I will reposition our perception of fire as a growing global threat, to being an artefact, ally and ancestor,” Associate Professor Ouzman said.
The project is expected to produce interactive fire archaeology maps, oral knowledge recording apps, micro-credentials and public outreach.
Image above: (L-R) Dr Marcus Korb, Associate Professor Sven Ouzman, Dr David Gozzard, Dr Bruce Lu, Associate Professor Aleksandra Luksyte, Professor Claudia Lagos, Professor Katie Attwell