Key industry representatives converged on Rockhampton this week (Dec 03) to hear from the talented researchers who will help drive the region's growth over the next 20 years...
 
A range of industry reps and researchers attended the inaugural conference of postgraduate researchers who are part of CQUniversity's new Institute for Resource Industries and Sustainability (IRIS). The event was held at Rockhampton Campus.

IRIS Director Dr Anna Thomas introduces guest speaker Dr Dave SwainResearchers presented innovations across the areas of energy, metals, waste, native wildlife, alternative fuels, railways, tourism and food crops.

LINK HERE to STUDENT PRESENTATION PRIZES

IRIS Director Dr Anna Thomas said Central Queensland had more than $30 billion of resource-related projects on the books but faced challenges as the economy moved towards a ‘zero carbon' future.
 
"Adoption of new technologies and processes and ongoing learning are imperative to ensure environmental sustainability and ongoing competitiveness ... the Institute is looking to become a trusted industry partner," Dr Thomas said.

Guest speaker Dr Dave Swain, a new Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Environmental Management (part of IRIS), addressed new approaches to natural resource management and sustainability.

Guest speaker  Dr Matt Schembri from the Mining Technology Innovation Centre spoke about research lessons from an industry R&D organisation, based on his extensive experience in the sugar and coal industries.

Participating researchers L-R Lilian DeTorres, Rajkumar Devadoss and Marie-Josee Belanger