Australia gets new research centre to solve OCE issues

With the opening of a new national research and innovation centre focused on finding solutions for operating in chemical, biological, radiological, as well as nuclear environments (OCE) issues, the Australian Defense Force’s capacity to do so safely is being improved.

The University of Melbourne’s CADRE-OCE, a centre for advanced defence research and enterprise, was formally inaugurated today.

The CADRE-OCE will create and present innovative ideas and technology to protect military personnel, first responders, and civilians by bringing together the top academic and business organizations.

The chief defence scientist, Professor Tanya Monro, stated that CADRE-OCE would mobilize the national science, technology, and innovation ecosystem around scalability concerns.

“CADRE-OCE is bringing together some of the best and brightest minds in academia and industry so we can protect our warfighters in Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear threat environments,” Professor Monro stated.

“By investing in our future researchers and innovators, we are not only investing in new ideas but also deepening sovereign skills and building the STEM talent pipeline.”

The University of Melbourne has signed a CADRE-OCE collaboration agreement with the Commonwealth under the Defence Science Collaboration Deed, and it will spearhead a tight partnership with the Universities of Adelaide, Queensland University of Technology, and New South Wales.

Thirty-four industry partners from various sectors and eight other academic institutions will support CADRE-OCE.

Director of CADRE-OCE Professor Jia-Yee Lee stated that members would work together based on their unique abilities and form cross-functional teams to achieve desired results.

Professor Lee added, “We will combine essential components of the innovation life cycle, from lab research to prototypes to productization and ultimately translating to Defense end-user capability.

The OCE Science, Technology and Research (STaR) Shot, which has been established by Defense to address the most ambitious OCE challenges that Australian warfighters are currently and in the future facing, will closely collaborate with CADRE-OCE. CADRE-OCE is funded for $4.25 million over the next five years.