Four outstanding early-career researchers from the University of Newcastle have secured more than $2.1 million in the highly competitive Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Researcher Awards (DECRA). Their projects will strengthen Australia's research capability across engineering, environmental science, reproductive biology, and Indigenous-led space policy.
The DECRA scheme supports the next generation of research leaders to build world-class expertise and deliver new knowledge with economic, social, cultural and environmental benefits for Australia.
Identifying the best land for forest restoration to boost carbon, biodiversity and economic outcomes
Dr Brooke Williams
$530,079
Restoring forests is one of the most powerful ways to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss but choosing the right land is crucial.
Dr Brooke Williams will create a decision-support tool that identifies the most effective land for forest restoration, ensuring projects increase carbon storage, protect native species, and support economic benefits without unintentionally pushing agriculture into other vulnerable areas.
The tool will be used to design the best restoration strategies within Australia's growing environmental markets, and to inform market expansion internationally.
Innovative design of stretchable structures for next-generation technologies
Dr Chi Wu
$529,186
Dr Chi Wu will develop powerful new computational tools to design materials and structures that can stretch, flex and bend in controlled and predictable ways, far beyond what is currently possible.
These stretchable structures are essential to emerging fields such as soft robotics, wearable health devices, advanced biomedical tools and protective energy-absorbing systems. By creating faster, smarter ways to design these structures with tailored deformative behaviours, the project could accelerate technological innovation across multiple engineering sectors.
Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge in Australian space policy
Dr Lara Daley
$528,491
Guided by Yolngu and Gumbaynggirr Custodians, Dr Lara Daley's project will help shape culturally respectful and environmentally responsible space exploration.
Learning from songlines, creation stories and deep cultural connections between people and sky Country, the research will develop intercultural guidelines to help inform space policy, public education and industry practice. The project aims to broaden Australia's understanding of space by recognising long-held Indigenous knowledge systems and their relevance to sustainable human activity beyond Earth.
How environmental change alters sperm RNA — and what this means for future generations
Dr Natalie Trigg
$514,524
Environmental changes — from pollution to shifting ecosystems — can influence fertility and affect the health of future offspring. Dr Natalie Trigg, a postdoctoral researcher with the University and a member of HMRI's* Infertility and Reproduction Research Program, will investigate how environmental exposures reshape the RNA carried in sperm and delivered at conception.
By understanding how these changes occur and how they influence resilience in offspring, the research will provide vital insights for conservation efforts, agricultural species, and broader reproductive biology. The project will contribute new global knowledge on how non-genetic inheritance helps animals adapt to rapidly changing environments.
*HMRI is a partnership between the University of Newcastle, Hunter New England Health and the community.
