Facilities
At UWA, our emphasis on academic curiosity sets us apart from other universities.
For more than a century, the teaching and research priorities of UWA have been aligned with the needs of the State of Western Australia to support economic and social development.
We operate more than 75 research and training centres and receive roughly 80 per cent of all research funding to Western Australian universities annually.
Over the next 40 years alone, minds and projects that started their journeys at UWA are expected to bring about $60 billion to our State’s economy (ACIL Allen Consulting 2010).
Check out some of our key research facilities.
Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems
The Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems (COFS) provides solutions to worldwide offshore foundation projects through its modelling and experimental facilities. The world-leading centrifuge facility at COFS is among the most active in the world, providing crucial geotechnical data and prediction models that enable the development of safe, economical and robust geotechnical structures for the offshore energy sector. The centrifuge has a 10m diameter and is capable of spinning 2400kg of soil at a G-level of 100, which is a force 10 times greater than an astronaut experiences during training.
Pawsey Supercomputing Centre
The Pawsey Supercomputing Centre supports researchers in the State and from around the country with a range of capabilities encompassing supercomputing, data and visualisation services. The Centre operates multiple supercomputers, data-intensive machines and storage systems that use the most advanced technologies available. The Centre houses ‘Magnus’ which is the most powerful supercomputer in the Southern Hemisphere and a top 100 supercomputer in the world. The internode communications in the supercomputer are nearly 10,000 times faster than the National Broadband Network.
Berndt Museum
The Berndt Museum holds one of the most significant collections of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural material in the world, manifesting in art, objects, archives, manuscripts, film and sound and photographic collections. The Museum is focused on research, teaching and outreach programs that directly relate to its collections.
Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis
The Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis provides world-class microscopy and microanalysis facilities and expertise to publicly funded researchers and industry. CMCA supports research across the University, Australian community and internationally in natural, agricultural, physical, life and biomedical sciences and engineering. CMCA's electron ion, light imaging and microanalysis facilities are world-class and feature a unique ion probe facility and MRI facility.
Future Farm 2050 Project
Run by the UWA Institute of Agriculture, the Future Farm 2050 Project is based at UWA Farm Ridgefield, a 2.5-hour drive from UWA’s Perth campus, holding 1600 hectares near Pingelly. The project is using crop and livestock science, resource economics, architecture and landscape architecture, electronic engineering, solar energy, water management, and animal and plant ecology to imagine the best-practice farm of 2050 and build and manage it now.