Choosing the right uni for a technology-related degree

When choosing a university for postgraduate study, it’s important that you first find out the research strengths of the department you’ll be joining.

Each year the Federal Government provides funds to university researchers through the Australian Research Council. These grants are awarded on a competitive basis, so they’re an excellent indicator of the research strength and prestige of individual departments, and can also directly result in scholarships for postgraduate research students.

The Government recently announced that Macquarie University will receive more than $13 million in National Competitive Grants Program funding for 45 new research projects to start this year. Fourteen of these projects will be undertaken by the University’s Division of Information and Communication Sciences, including:

Communication technologies

Four grants in the exciting and dynamic field of communication technologies: developing new broadband and multiband antenna systems for wireless communications; creating antennas using metamaterials; improving broadband transistor circuits; and using next generation nitride materials for high-speed mobile communications and photonic applications. Macquarie is also the lead organisation in a Linkage project (worth $1,350,000) involving three technology companies, which will aim to develop a single-chip, short-range, 1Gigabit/second, wireless network for consumer applications.

Lasers

If lasers are more your thing, then three new projects at Macquarie will appeal: using ultrashort, high-repetition, high-precision laser pulses for manufacturing components for biomedical, aerospace and industrial products; developing chaotic semiconductor lasers that can be integrated into existing optical communications networks; and designing narrowband coherent light sources for spectroscopic sensing in science, industry, medicine, agriculture, community security, and the environment.

Mathematics

Macquarie is also very strong in pure mathematical and computational theory, which underpins many  technological advances. This year new projects at Macquarie will aim to improve the algebraic reasoning of probabilistic transaction systems; develop new mathematically-solid security solutions for wireless and embedded consumer applications; and two separate projects will study Higher Category Theory and Higher Dimensional Homological Algebra, which are ultimately behind the laws of Nature.

Computing

Two research projects in data formatting will result in secure and trustworthy computing technologies that will enable secure e-commerce applications and on-line services and trusted interactions between users over the Internet, as well as enhance information protection. Another project will perform risk management (for example for terrorism prevention) using agent-based virtual environments.

According to Federal Education Minister Dr Brendan Nelson, ARC-funded researchers are “not only highly innovative and creative, their work is of a world-class standard”, so before you commit to a research degree do some research of your own!

For more information visit the Division of Information and Communication Sciences website at http://www.ics.mq.edu.au/

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