International Research Workshop

The Indian cohort is the largest national group of scientists in the new UNSW International Fellowship program, which brings top researchers from 10 Asian nations together in areas such as cancer, HIV, immunology, nanotechnology, sustainable engineering, renewable energy and information technology.

While Australia has long established research ties with Western universities, rapid development in Asia means common regional challenges are emerging.

UNSW Dean of Medicine, Professor Peter Smith, said the rapidly rising standard of living in Asia meant health issues such as malnutrition were being replaced by challenges familiar to Western societies, such as ageing populations, cancer, new infectious diseases and obesity related complaints.

At the same time, industrialisation and growing consumer incomes are putting acute pressure on Asia's environment, prompting keen interest from Asian universities in UNSW’s world class competency in renewable energy technologies, waste water management and sustainability. New regional expertise is emerging in sustainable engineering and carbon accounting to reduce energy use across industrial processes.

“We know that dealing with environmental problems by pushing dirty industries into developing countries won’t work - we all have to clean up in a global village,” said one of the new Research Fellows, Dr Priyangshu Manab Sarma, of India’s Energy and Resouce Institute (TERI).

“National based solutions aren’t good enough. We have to share knowledge across borders,” he said of India’s growing problems of air and water pollution and energy shortfalls.

Indian researchers are developing innovative environmental solutions, such as water filters manufactured from industrial waste and biodegradable plastics. In medicine, co-operation is expected in areas such as cancer research, genetics, viral diseases and minimally invasive surgery.

Full list of new Indian Visiting Research Fellows:

Professor Amit Kumar Dinda, All India Institute of Medical Scientists

Professor Ashok M. Raichur, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

Professor Balaji R Jagirdar, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

Professor Har Mohindra Chawla, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi

Dr Rajesh Khanna, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi

Assoc Professor S. Sundar Kumar Iyer, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur

Dr Asokan Thondiyath, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras

Professor Devarajan Karunagaran, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras

Dr Susy Varughese, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras

Professor K. Satyamoorthy, Manipal University

Professor Satish Rao B. S., Manipal University

Dr Malini Balakrishnan, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)

Dr Priyangshu Manab Sarma, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)

Professor B.K. Thelma, University of Delhi

Professor K. Sreenivas, University of Delhi

Professor Pandit Vidyasagar, University of Pune

Professor Prakash W. Wani, University of Pune