announcement out, page-2

norwood wins award
Monash and Norwood Abbey were joint winners for the best research and development collaboration award for ‘Rebuilding immunity for better health”.

Monash collaborations scoop B-HERT awards
Monash academics have been awarded two of the six
Business/Higher Education Round Table (B-HERT)
awards presented by the Federal Minister for Citizenship
and Multicultural Affairs, Mr Peter McGauran, last month.
Monash was joint winner with Norwood Abbey Limited for
the best research and development collaboration award
for the project ‘Rebuilding immunity for better health’. It
was also part of a collaboration that received the award
for best collaboration involving a cooperative research
centre – research and development or education and
training, for the Ceramifying Polymers project. The other
members were CRC for Polymers, Olex Australia Pty Ltd,
the University of NSW, RMIT University, CSIRO
Manufacturing Infrastructure and Technology and the
Dr Suzanne Lipe, Chief Operating Officer,
Norwood Immunology
Associate Professor Richard Boyd and Defence Science and Technology Organisation.
The university was also part of a collaboration – comprising Griffith University, CSIRO Land and Water, the
University of Melbourne, Melbourne Water, Brisbane City Council, NSW Environment Protection Authority,
Victorian Environment Protection Authority, Ecological Engineering Pty Ltd, WBM Oceanics Pty Ltd, Sinclair
Knight Merz and EarthTech Pty Ltd – that received an honorable mention for the project ‘Fast-tracking advances
in urban stormwater management’.
Associate Professor Richard Boyd, from Monash’s Pathology and Immunology department, and his team have
been working with Norwood Abbey since 2000 to identify methods for rejuvenating the immune system for the
treatment of cancer, infectious diseases, autoimmune conditions, transplantation and other areas of immune
deficiency.
The original intellectual property was developed by Associate Professor Richard Boyd and licensed to Norwood
Abbey in a transaction negotiated by Dr David Lyster of Monash Commercial.
Dr Boyd said the award recognised the importance of partnerships in the transition from research to marketready
products.
“The interface between research and commercialisation is a fundamental issue,” he said.
“This award recognises the role of the university, commercial partners and government agencies in translating
university research into practical applications for public consumption.”
Dr Yi-Bing Cheng and Dr Don Rodrigo, from Monash’s School of Physics and Materials Engineering, were part of
the collaboration that developed the ceramifying polymer – a plastic material that transforms into ceramic when
subjected to extreme heat.
The material has been used to make electrical cabling which enables emergency services to continue operating
in the event of a fire.
“It is a great feeling to see that the research at Monash has led to a useful commercial product, and it is
particularly rewarding to be involved in the development of the fire performance cables that could save lives in a
fire situation,” Dr Cheng said.