Qld to join synchrotron

The Queensland government and a consortium of Queensland universities will together invest AUD$5 million in the Melbourne-based Australian Synchrotron.

Partnering with the University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology, Griffith University and James Cook University, the Queensland government is the first state government to commit to the synchrotron.

The Queensland consortium will also participate in developing a Queensland-based "virtual synchrotron" where scientists will be able to monitor experiments in Melbourne through a computer network, as well as capture and analyse data in real time. It may also be possible to control automated experiments from Queensland.

Other foundation funding partners who have contributed $5 million to the synchrotron are New Zealand, Melbourne University, Monash University, the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes, CSIRO and ANSTO.