Director's Message 

It is my pleasure to introduce you to IRIS, the Institute for Resource Industries and Sustainability. Established in 2009 as a federation of five research centres and associated research groups, the Institute has an ambitious mission to drive the development of a knowledge-based economy in Central Queensland.

Central Queensland is emerging today as a fast growing industrial region in Australia with the total value of new resource-related projects in excess of $30B. While commercial opportunities are enormous, there are many challenges confronting resource-based industries and related communities as the economy is moving toward a ‘zero carbon' future. Adoption of new technologies and processes and ongoing learning are imperative to ensure environmental sustainability and ongoing competitiveness of Australian industries. The Institute is looking to be become a trusted industry partner in achieving these goals.

Over 50 academic staff, 32 full-time researchers and 100 higher degree students contribute to IRIS research, aligned with needs of resource sector industries. The IRIS Centres are led by outstanding researchers internationally recognised in their areas of professional expertise: Professor John Rolfe, Director of the Centre for Environmental Management (CEM), Professor David Midmore, Director of the Centre for Plant and Water Science (CPWS), Professor Colin Cole, Director of the Centre for Railway Engineering (CRE), Professor Qing-Long Han, Director of the Centre for Intelligent and Networked Systems (CINS) and Professor Richard Clegg, Director of the Centre for Process Engineering and Light Metals (PELM). The Institute has also strong research expertise in the areas of power engineering, OH&S and business needs and is well positioned to help you with resolving the problems that require involvement of a multidisciplinary team. 

The quality, impact and value of IRIS research is well demonstrated by an impressive list of customers and an extremely high proportion of research income generated from industry-sponsored projects. Queensland Alumina, Rio Tinto, Queensland Rail, ACARP, Anglocoal, Horticulture Australia Limited, QLD Resource Council and Alcan International Ltd are just a few names from the list of IRIS customers. Facilitating the transformation of the university into the ‘most engaged' educational and research provider, IRIS is looking to enhance the value of its services by strengthening existing links and establishing new forms of cooperation with customers. 

I would like to use this opportunity to invite your organisation to open a dialogue with IRIS. With the amount of technical and scientific information doubling every two years, corporate learning and knowledge management, the key factors of global competitiveness, have become a challenging task, and we are here to help you to stay competitive.

Professor Kerry Walsh
Acting Director