Research | Discovery & Innovation

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Our work is helping drive positive change for our people, our partners and our planet.

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Group of people admiring the land at sunset

A researcher setting up consumer research biometric tracking equipment on a participant in the consumer research lab

Male and female chemical science researchers in a lab setting

Fly-through Animation of the MWA Radio Telescope

Mining truck driving through the Australian outback

Three agriculture students and researchers working together with plant samples

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Higher degrees by research

A higher degree by research is your chance to pursue a specialist area in your field and build knowledge in your profession.
Research degrees

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Commercialisation

The Commercialisation team at Curtin works with researchers, investors and industry partners to take Curtin innovations, assess their commercial potential and find the best ways of bringing them to market.
Commercialisation services

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Centres, institutes and facilities

Excellence and impact

Curtin’s Research Excellence and Impact Awards recognise researchers whose work has contributed to a brighter future for our people, our partners and our planet. These are the 2025 winners.

Senior Researcher of the Year, Professor Mohamed Shahin has pioneered bio-cementation, using bacteria as a green alternative to bind and self-repair road materials. This research has potential annual savings of $200 million to Australia’s road and pavement industries, reducing carbon footprints and contributing to Australia’s 2030 net-zero goals.

Mid-Career Researcher of the Year, Professor Morten Allentoft is using environmental DNA (eDNA) to understand present-day biodiversity, and DNA extracted from ancient samples to understand past biodiversity. By joining the genomic dots, his team can understand the fundamental mechanisms of evolution.

Early-Career Researcher of the Year, Dr Chloe Maxwell-Smith’s research seeks to understand how we can improve quality of life for people living with cancer, and their families, carers and health care professionals.

Research Team of the Year, Art of Peace is an art exhibition and multidisciplinary research project exploring how art, creativity and community partnerships can advance peacebuilding and positive social change in the wake of war and genocide.

Indigenous Researcher of the Year, Dr Cass Lynch, is a Koreng Wudjari Noongar researcher at Curtin University who works at the intersection of culture and ecology to protect WA’s unique species and preserve Noongar knowledge.

Sustainability Researcher of the Year, Professor Michele John edited The Routledge Handbook of Global Sustainability Education and Thinking for the 21st Century: a book featuring more than 50 authors from around the globe.

Researchers from the Curtin University node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) won the award for Most Outstanding News Story for their story, “Cosmic mystery deepens as astronomers find object flashing in both radio waves and X-rays”.

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Explore our areas of research