UQ and North-East Asia

Reducing greenhouse gasses

UQ Professor Yusuke Yamauchi, in collaboration with Associate Professor Toru Wakihara from the University of Tokyo (UTokyo), have been awarded the first Rio-Tinto Australia-Japan Collaboration Program Grant. The Program encourages collaboration between Australia and Japan in science, technology and innovation, awarding $150,000 to the joint project. The UQ and UTokyo researchers will design and alter raw materials with a unique nanoscale structure to enable inexpensive, highly efficient adsorption of high volumes of greenhouse gasses. The Project will develop new nanostructured materials to extract harmful greenhouse gasses out of the atmosphere and convert them into useful fuels.

Pioneering vision saves lives

Collaborating with Emeritus Professor David Doddrell at UQ’s Centre for Advanced Imaging, Professor Stuart Crozier co-invented a signal correction technology that corrected magnetic field distortions to produce faster, clearer and more accurate images, without adding to the cost of the MRI machines: Magnetica. Magnetica’s research and innovation in magnet design also led to the development of small 1.5T extremity magnets used in systems sold by US company, GE Healthcare. These were developed in collaboration with Japan Superconductor Technology, Inc (Jastec), and supported by grant funding from the Queensland Government. About 220 of these units have been sold for ~US$110 million.

Sweet revenge against superbugs

A special type of synthetic sugar could be the latest weapon in the fight against superbugs. A team of scientists from UQ and Queensland biotechnology company Alchemia have discovered a potential new class of antibiotics inspired by sugar molecules produced by bacteria. The team – led by Institute for Molecular Bioscience Professor Matt Cooper and Dr Johannes Zuegg, and involving researchers from Taiwan's Academia Sinica – examined hundreds of versions of Alchemia’s modified sugar molecules to find those that will kill bacteria and are non-toxic to human cells. The development is a huge step forward in the global fight against superbugs.

Supporting Mongolia's golden resource

Mining is critically important to the Mongolian economy, and UQ's Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI) has a long history of ensuring it remains sustainable, safe, and viable. The Mongolia Research Hub – the first forum for cross-disciplinary research into the responsible development of mining in Mongolia and Central Asia – was established at UQ's Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (SMI-CSRM) in 2013. Since then, UQ has engaged with Mongolian collaborators, including the South Gobi Aimag Government and the Mongolian Ministry of Mining, on a range of mining and resources issues, such as social responsibility, environmental management, and health and safety.

Food, farming, and financialisation

The growing presence of financial firms in contemporary economic relations is an increasingly important, yet poorly understood, concept. Through interviews and document analysis, Korea University Sociology Professor Chul-Kyoo Kim and UQ School of Social Science Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Lawrence are examining the ways financialisation is transforming agri-food industries in Australia. By investigating which foreign firms are purchasing food companies and farmlands, and why, the research intends to ascertain the place of financialisation in the emergence of a third food regime. Ultimately, the project aims to clarify issues of ownership and control regarding Australia's agri-food resources.

New look on traditional medicine

Research collaboration between UQ's School of Pharmacy and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is investigating how toad by-products could treat cancer. The Chinese have used Chan Su – a substance derived from the venom of toads – to treat heart failure, sore throats, and skin conditions for hundreds of years. Now, the research is focused on developing a soluble formulation of purified bufalin steroid, a key component of Chan Su that doesn’t dissolve easily, making it difficult to administer as a medicine. Working together, the research teams hope to show bufalin’s anti-cancer effect in cell-based laboratory tests. PolyU will lead the patent prosecution process, in collaboration with UniQuest.

Mongolian student funding

More than 40 Mongolian students have studied at UQ via a scholarship since 2010, the majority of whom have been funded by the Australian Government’s Australia Awards Program. In addition, 3 students have been funded by the Mongolian Government’s Ministry of Training & Education, and 1 has been funded by Oyu Tolgoi LLC – a copper-gold mine in the South Gobi region that is being developed as a joint venture between Turquoise Hill Resources and the Mongolian Government.

Tourism scholarship to Macau SAR

Each year, the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law (BEL) supports an undergraduate student from UQ to undertake an exchange semester to the Institute for Tourism Studies in Macau SAR. The value of the Overseas Study Assistance Scholarship is MOP20,000 (more than A$3000).

Hong Kong SAR-Thailand exchange

Students within the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law (BEL) can study at 2 UQ partner institutions – the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Mahidol University, Thailand – and gain credit towards their degree. Commencing in the second half of 2017, the New Colombo Plan-funded exchange opportunity enables students to gain a new perspective on their studies and broaden future employment opportunities. Study at both institutions is compulsory.

Lawrence Au

Hong Kong SAR

Former Head of Asia Pacific, BNP Paribas Securities Services (retd); author and expert on Asia's finance industry (MBA 1982)

Paul Accornero

Hong Kong SAR

Group Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) for De'Longhi SpA and CEO of De'Longhi Kenwood Ltd (Bachelor of Commerce 1990)

Lily Chan

Hong Kong SAR

Executive Director, Goldman Sachs (Bachelor of Commerce 2006)

Tim Usasz

Hong Kong SAR

Vice President - Institutional Equity Sales, Credit Suisse; professional rugby union player (retd) (Bachelor of Commerce 2004, MBA 2013)

Prof. Kin-Man Ho

Hong Kong SAR

Kingsford Environmental founder, International Alumnus of the Year 2012 (PhD 1995)

Prof. Natalis Yuen

Hong Kong SAR

Medical professional, International Alumnus of the Year 2010 (MBBS 1965, Doctor of Medicine 1995)

Ben Toh

Hong Kong SAR

Chief Financial Officer, Shangri-La Asia Limited (MBA 1998)

Prof. Lawrence Ma

Hong Kong SAR

Practicing trusts law expert, Adjunct Professor at Nankai University, China (BCom 1992, LLB 1994, LLM 1998)

A/Prof Yuichi Murakami

Japan

Researcher and educator (Bachelor of Arts (Honours) 1994; PhD 1999; International Alumnus of the Year 2011)

Mark Davies

Japan

Partner, King & Spalding (Bachelor of Arts 1998; Bachelor of Laws 1999)

Melanie Brock

Japan

Chair Emeritus of Australia and New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Japan (Bachelor of Arts 1989; Master of Literary Studies 1990)

Dr Yoshitaka Hosoi

Japan

Senior Advisor for Natural Resources, Japan International Cooperation Agency (PhD 2009)

Dami Im

South Korea

Singer-songwriter and winner of X Factor Australia 2013 (Bachelor of Music (Honours) 2009)

Blair Williams

South Korea

Marketing strategist and panellist on Korean TV show Abnormal Summit (Bachelor of Business/Arts 2013)

Usukhbayar Sainjargal

Usukhbayar, from Mongolia, was an Australia Awards scholar. She recently graduated with a Master of Laws from UQ.

Chun-Sing Chan

Chun-Sing Chan, from Hong Kong, recently graduated with a Master of Commerce from UQ. He was chosen as a Brisbane International Student Ambassador in 2013.