Owen Atkin on using satellites to benefit agriculture
Professor Owen Atkin recently gave an interview to ANU media on the role satellite technology plays in providing a greater capacity to quantify the performance of plants growing across the entire surface of the Earth over long periods of time. See Owen’s full interview here.
August update from Prof. Owen Atkin, Director, CEAT
A major feature of CEAT is its focus on helping Canberra-based agri-tech businesses grow, with that growth providing employment and training opportunities for our students and early career researchers. It was with this in mind that we established the CEAT Innovation Hub in the Gould Building – a building that is ideally placed on the ANU campus
ANU-Agrifutures Australia: Space technologies for Australia’s rural sector virtual workshop
On August 18 -19 and 26-27 CEAT and ANU hosted an interactive virtual workshop on behalf of AgriFutures Australia to assess the future of space technologies in the rural sector and co-design an Industry Issues report to be distributed by AgriFutures. The workshop included participants from agriculture, fisheries, and the forestry industry, as well as
CEAT welcomes Quantum Brilliance to the Innovation Hub
Quantum Brilliance is a start-up company building quantum computers with the ultimate goal of developing ‘QPUs’ that are the size of an accelerator card. Quantum Brilliance’s work has a range of applications in the agri-sector. This includes increasing our ability to ‘replicate’ the natural world through highly complex models of relevance to agriculture that account for processes such as photosynthesis,
Farewell to FluroSat
After 18 months as members of the CEAT Innovation Hub, award-winning agri-tech start-up company, FluroSat are leaving the hub to move on to the next phase of their business journey. In recent years, FluroSat have grown into a highly successful, internationally recognised business. CEAT is pleased and proud to have been part of their journey,
July update from Prof. Owen Atkin, Director, CEAT
Last week, Bob Furbank (Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis) and I were lucky enough to be at the National Press Club to hear an address from the President of the National Farmers Federation, Ms. Fiona Simson. Her speech focused on how national economic recovery can be achieved, in part, through reform and
Read the latest from AgriFutures evokeAG. newsletter
Data driving profits, farms and Australian agriculture. How farmers collect, use and store data is what will drive Australian agriculture in the future, and everyone has a view on what opportunities are available. Economist and entrepreneur, Ros Harvey, is the Founder and Managing Director of one of Australia’s most successful startups, The Yield Technology Solutions (“The Yield”).
June update from Prof. Owen Atkin, Director, CEAT
With the winter solstice having just passed, I was surprised last week to find a near-ripe plum on one of the trees in my backyard! With the drought, heatwaves and hail events having limited fruit production during the summer, my favorite plum tree decided to take advantage of a wet late summer and autumn to
That’s a wrap on the H2O Hack
During the week of 15-19 June, the Centre for Entrepreneurial Agri-Technology (CEAT), at The Australian National University, in partnership with The University of Canberra’s Centre for Applied Water Science (CAWS), Bridge Hub, CSIRO and Charles Sturt University, with the Canberra Innovation Network (CBRIN) as a delivery partner ran the ‘H2O Hack: technology to drought-proof the
Working together to solve global water challenges
The recent ‘black summer’ of bushfires and the devastating drought that preceded it has made evident the water management challenges facing Australia. 2019 was the driest year on record with nationally averaged rainfall 40% below the long term average. Fires over the summer of 2019/20 burned nearly 19 million hectares of forest and killed at
An update from Mandy Nguyen, CEAT Chief Operating Officer
I am so delighted to have the opportunity to join the CEAT team as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO). As this is my first blog for CEAT, I thought I should share with you some personal background. Growing up in a family home surrounded by rice fields, I have always had a strong passion
Innovate to Grow with CSIRO
Do you have a drive to understand how new technologies could create value for your business? CSIRO is currently offering a new, complimentary, Innovation Enabled Growth professional development program to a select group of Agrifood small-medium enterprise (SME) leaders. This 12 week applied, online program will: Provide insights into emerging technologies reshaping your industry. Support
An update from Prof. Owen Atkin, CEAT Director
Well, what a wild start to 2020. Nature has reminded us how challenging the Australian environment can be, with a three-year drought and heat waves creating the conditions for a bushfire season that affected rural and metropolitan communities alike. Here in Canberra and surrounding regions, the arrival of desperately needed rain was preceded by an
Wheat breeding tool set to optimise energy use efficiency
Researchers report important progress in developing a new tool to realise the next generation of wheat yield gains. The tool takes the form of an index that rates wheat’s energy use efficiency (EUE). It can be used to exploit genetic diversity in a wheat plant’s ability to use energy from photosynthesis to optimise yield. The breakthrough
Citizen science to aid bushfire recovery
CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, is working with key agencies and community groups to support research underway throughout bushfire impacted areas. The Citizen Science Bushfire Project Finder website allows members of the public to contribute to projects ranging from air quality, to identifying and confirming animal and plant sightings while maintaining safe social distancing practices. People can
Untapped potential for animals to help reduce bushfire risk
A new study led by The Australian National University (ANU) has found that animals may be an “untapped” resource to help manage fuel loads for bushfires. Lead author Dr Claire Foster said Australia’s recent summer has shown that wildlife can be severely impacted by bushfires, but the report found that animals can also influence bushfires in surprising ways. “Large grazing animals – including cows, kangaroos and rhinos – eat large amounts of
Positive Impacts of COVID-19 on the Illegal Wildlife Trade
If you told me a few months ago that the world would have literally gone into lockdown because of a global pandemic – I probably wouldn’t have believed you. But here we are. At Wildlife Drones we have been working from home for over the past two weeks. Like many other organisations around the world, this has
Looking after yourself during COVID-19
Many people are now working from home to help stem the tide of COVID-19. While this measure is both reasonable and necessary, it does present us as a community with numerous challenges, not least of which is how to stay sane when only essential excursions outside the home are allowed. With this in mind, we have compiled
CEAT staff get remote
Due to new protocols in place to reduce the spread of COVID-19, CEAT staff will be working remotely for the next few months. Don’t worry – you can still stay up to date with our news via our Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn channels, as well as our website. We will update these channels regularly so you
CEAT events postponed
Due to rising concerns surrounding the COVID-19 virus, CEAT is suspending all planned events for the time being. This is in line with government requirements to cancel all non-essential gatherings. We hope to deliver virtual and remote activities over the coming months, and will keep this page updated. For more information contact cea[email protected]
evokeAG wrap up
Tickets sold out to evokeAG 2020, held in Melbourne and the biggest agri-food tech event in the Asia Pacific region. Well over 1000 delegates came together to discuss how innovation and technology can help solve the biggest challenges in agriculture, both in Australia and globally. Speakers included John Hartnett of SVG Ventures and THRIVE, Frank
Introducing Jessica Fearnley
Jessica Fearnley is a CEAT Emerging Leader, and received a scholarship to attend evokeAG 2020. Jessica’s love of agriculture developed in Year 8, when agriculture became part of her curriculum. She says that she had a fantastic teacher who was very passionate and it was hard to not to catch his enthusiasm. Jessica continued to
Meet Bobby Wen
Bobby Wen is a CEAT Emerging Leader, and received a scholarship to attend evokeAG 2020. In 2019, Bobby completed his Bachelor of Economics/Bachelor of International Security Studies at The Australian National University, and is about to begin an Associate role at Deloitte. During his undergraduate career, Bobby has participated in a number of student exchange
EvokeAG scholar, Amellia Redfearn
Amellia Redfearn is a CEAT Emerging Leader, and received a scholarship to attend evokeAG 2020. Growing up in Sydney, there were few opportunities for Amellia to experience agriculture firsthand. However, her uncle had a farm, which is where Amellia’s passion for agriculture was born. She then attended an agricultural high school, where she discovered how
5 minutes with Matt Champness
Matt Champness is a CEAT Emerging Leader, and received a scholarship to attend evokeAG 2020. Matt’s interest in agriculture arises from the challenge Australia and the world now face to sustainably produce more food for a growing population using less land, water, labour and resources. Having graduated in 2018 with a Bachelor of Agricultural Science
Meet Bryce Cronin
Bryce Cronin is a CEAT Emerging Leader, and received a scholarship to attend evokeAG 2020. In 2020 Bryce will complete a Bachelor of Engineering in Network and Software Engineering at the University of Canberra. He is interested in the industrial applications of software engineering to the agriculture sector, with a particular desire to explore the
Introducing Jana Dixon
Jana Dixon is a CEAT Emerging Leader, and received a scholarship to attend evokeAG 2020. Growing up on a farm, Jana has always been exposed to and interested in agricultural life. This has led to a natural transition into agronomic consulting following her completion of a Bachelor of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Adelaide
Meet Professor Owen Atkin, Director of CEAT.
In his role as Director, Owen is passionate about expanding the career options of young researchers, particularly in the agriculture industry. He is also committed to building stronger relationships between ANU, CSIRO, industry and government. In March 2019, Owen was named the ANU Vice-Chancellor’s Entrepreneurial Professor in recognition of his work in creating an innovation
Emerging leaders to attend evokeAG 2020
Six emerging leaders in agri-tech have been selected to attend evokeAG. 2020 – Asia Pacific’s largest agrifood tech event held in Melbourne on 18–19 February. Sponsored by the Centre for Entrepreneurial Agri-Technology (CEAT), the scholarship recipients will have the chance to immerse themselves in innovation, connect with industry leaders and explore hot topics in global agri-tech.
CEAT supports Emerging Leaders to attend evokeAG
This year the Centre for Entrepreneurial Agri-Technology (CEAT) is partnering with evokeAG to bring six emerging leaders from across Australia to the two-day agri-food tech event in Melbourne on the 18–19 February 2020. CEAT is providing six young people interested in agri-tech, agri-food, and sustainable agriculture with a scholarship going towards travel costs, accommodation, and
Wildlife Drones helping to protect endangered species
In a world first, drones have been used to successfully radio-track critically endangered Sunda Pangolins in Vietnam. In November 2019, technology start-up Wildlife Drones collaborated with Save Vietnam’s Wildlife and the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Saving Species project, using technology that is revolutionising the way animals are tracked. Based at the Centre for
Resources for bushfire awareness and safety
The current bushfire season is one of the worst on record. Disasters of this magnitude can have wide-reaching impacts on physical and mental health. For this reason, CEAT have compiled a list of resources about the best actions to take to keep yourself and your family safe this fire season. Smoke Hazardous smoke from fires
