Aug 19 2013
For the second consecutive year, Swinburne University of Technology has been ranked as one of the world's top 400 universities by the prestigious Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).
Swinburne has also improved its standing within Australia in the field of Physics, as one of only two universities ranked among the top 100 universities for this discipline, alongside the Australian National University.
Swinburne entered the ARWU top 400 rankings for the first time in 2012, having been in the top 500 since 2009.
"This result reinforces our standing as an internationally recognised university with depth of expertise in key research areas in which we have made significant investments in recent years," Vice-Chancellor, Professor Linda Kristjanson, said.
"Given the rapid rise of many universities around the world, this year's outcome is an affirmation of our strong focus on research, our investment in research capacity and infrastructure, and the dedication, talent and commitment of our people."
As an example of Swinburne's world-leading physics research, this year:
- Swinburne astrophysicists, led by Professor Matthew Bailes, were part of an international team that discovered Fast Radio Bursts, a new class of astronomical phenomena, the origins of which could bring new insights into the mass and evolution of the Universe.
- Researchers, led by Professor Min Gu, developed a new technique to enable the data capacity of a single DVD to increase from 4.7 gigabytes up to one petabyte (1,000 terabytes), the equivalent of 50,000 full high-definition movies.
Swinburne is ranked equal tenth among Australian universities and in the top three per cent of universities in the world.
With our top 100 ranking in the field of Physics, Swinburne is the only Australian university outside of the Group of Eight to be ranked in the top 100 in the world for a broad or specific subject field.
This year's ARWU ranking builds on outcomes from the Australian Government's Excellence in Research Australia 2012, which ranked Swinburne's research as at or above world standard in Astronomical and Space Sciences, Maritime Engineering, Optical Physics, Computer Software, Communication and Media Studies, Psychology, Sociology, Historical Studies, Urban and Regional Planning, Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing, Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physical Chemistry, Quantum Physics and Distributed Computing.
Source: http://www.swinburne.edu.au/