Curtin University

Australia

Curtin University is Australia’s most collaborative higher education provider and a prominent name in the Nature Index. Established in 1986 in Western Australia, a state rich in land, minerals and biodiversity, the university has campuses across Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Dubai and Mauritius. It leads major international projects in astronomy, sustainability and interconnec-tivity, with a particular focus on solving real-world problems.

Curtin is renowned for minerals and energy research. Groups from across the university undertake fundamental and applied research into mining, materials, fuel technologies and mineral economics.

Curtin is a key partner in the world’s biggest astronomy projects. The Curtin-led Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is a low-frequency radio telescope capable of reaching deep into space and far back through time, making the night sky visible with better resolution than ever before. The array is a precursor project to an even larger telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), to be built in Western Australia and in South Africa. When completed, the SKA will give scientists a better understanding of the nascent Universe.

Fast and effective communication is a major challenge for large data-intensive projects like the MWA. Together with the Cisco Internet of Everything Innovation Centre, a partnership between Cisco, Curtin University and Woodside Energy, Curtin is constructing a direct data-transmission line from the radio telescope’s remote location to central Perth. The partners are also building a long-range, low-power network of sensors that can provide farmers with essential information for improved crop management.

Agriculture and sustainable development are critical research programmes for Curtin University. In April 2016, Curtin joined an initiative to establish the world’s first zero-carbon solar-powered neighbourhood.

Committed to urban renewal, the university’s Greater Curtin Master Plan will transform its 114-hectare Perth campus into a major Asia-Pacific innovation precinct by 2030. The plan will drive collaboration and commercialisation, positioning Western Australia at the forefront of the knowledge economy.

As Curtin heads towards 2020, we will position ourselves as a leading global university. For more information on our Strategic Plan for 2017-2020, please visit our website.

1 June 2017 - 31 May 2018

Region: Global
Subject/journal group: All

The table to the right includes counts of all research outputs for Curtin University published between 1 June 2017 - 31 May 2018 which are tracked by the Nature Index.

Hover over the donut graph to view the FC output for each subject. Below, the same research outputs are grouped by subject. Click on the subject to drill-down into a list of articles organized by journal, and then by title.

Note: Articles may be assigned to more than one subject area.

AC	FC
111	23.71

Outputs by subject (FC)

Subject	AC	FC
Chemistry	17	5.52
Earth & Environmental Sciences	50	13.64
Physical Sciences	38	5.24
Life Sciences	16	1.98

Highlight of the month

Another piece of the geological puzzle

By analyzing rock samples from Western Australia, Norway and Canada, scientists have discovered the missing piece that led to the formation of the Earth’s crust.

The Earth’s crust has a highly evolved chemical composition and is one of the most accessible parts of our planet for studying geological history . However, current crustal formation models are based on magmatic processes, in which igneous rocks melt and fuse together to form the crust, and do not fully account for its chemical composition.

Now, a team of scientists, including researchers from Curtin University in Australia, has shown that the weathering of ultramafic rock, igneous rocks, high in nickel and chromium, that make up the Earth’s mantle, become part of the continental shelf, compensating for the imbalance in nickel and chromium in current models, and is the missing piece of the puzzle the formation of the Earth’s crust.

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