September 19, 2017

UOW joins international partners in South American study

Collaboration the first as a member of the University Global Partnership Network

Researchers from University of Wollongong’s (UOW) School of Earth and Environmental Sciences will work alongside colleagues from Brazil, Germany, South Africa, Canada, India, Argentina and Uruguay in a five-year, $1.75 million project to study the geology of the Rio De La Plata Craton and the eastern Gondwana assembly.

It is the first collaboration to come under the umbrella of UOW’s membership in the University Global Partnership Network (UGPN) and recently signed agreement with the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), the most prestigious state-based research and development funding agency in Brazil.

The project, led by University São Paulo (USP), runs from August 2017 to August 2022. UOW’s involvement is led by Professor Allen Nutman, the head of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences in the Faculty of Science Medicine and Health.

“I've been working at this proposal with Professor Miguel Basei from University São Paulo for several years, prior to finally getting success this year. This is part of a long and productive collaboration I have had with USP - starting in 1992 - and including throughout 2000 living in São Paulo and working at USP,” Professor Nutman said.

“This is a great start to our involvement with UGPN and FAPESP. There is the potential with this project for joint PhD students.”

The Río de la Plata Craton is a continental block found in Uruguay, eastern Argentina and southern Brazil. In its geological past it interacted with a series other continental blocks and is considered important for the understanding of the amalgamation of West Gondwana. Gondwana was a supercontinent in the Southern Hemisphere which incorporated several modern landmasses, including Antarctica, South America, Africa, Madagascar, and Australia, as well as the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian subcontinent.

Established in 2011, UGPN is an international consortium of selected research-intensive universities focussed on turning ideas into action by developing sustainable world-class research, education and knowledge transfer.

UOW joined in November 2015, alongside founding partners North Carolina State University in USA, the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil and the University of Surrey in the UK.

A delegation led by UOW Deputy Vice-Chancellors Professors Judy Raper and Joe Chicharo visited South America in April for the UGPN Annual Meeting at University São Paulo, where the agreement with FAPESP was signed. Professor Chicharo said the collaboration was an excellent example of the opportunities that membership of UGPN brought.

“Membership in this network increases UOW’s global impact, strengthens the quality of our research and teaching programs and opens the door to new opportunities for both students and staff,” Professors Raper and Chicharo said.

“It enables us to share ideas, knowledge and resources, to work together on areas of common interest, and to collaboratively address real world challenges.”