Science academy proposes powerful ‘downward-looking telescope’

Australia’s hidden mineral wealth could be revealed by a “downward-looking telescope” which could peer 300km beneath the earth’s surface.

Geoscientist Sue O'Reilly says a “downward-looking telescope” would transform Australia’s mineral sector.

In today’s Higher Ed Daily Brief: new “telescope”, entrepreneurship prizes

Rewards of looking inwards

Australia’s hidden mineral wealth could be revealed by a “downward-looking telescope” which could peer 300km beneath the earth’s surface, according to the Australian Academy of Sciences.

Sue O’Reilly, chair of the academy’s National Committee for Earth Sciences, said it would
“transform our minerals sector by making deep Australia visible” and “allow us to direct our mineral exploration efforts in the two-thirds of Australia that aren’t currently cost-effective to explore”.

Professor O’Reilly said Australia needed to prepare for the massive increase in demand for specialty metals such as copper, cobalt, gold and rare-earth elements that are used in new technologies such as mobile devices and efficient batteries.

The “downward-looking telescope” is not a single device, but a combination of techniques including seismic, electrical, gravitational, magnetic and other types of sensing. It would look not only under Australian land surfaces, but also under the surrounding ocean.

The telescope is part of a ten year plan for geoscience launched this week by Professor O’Reilly’s committee.

Farrell Cup face-off

Ten teams of student-led entrepreneurs will vie for prizes worth $20,000 in tonight’s final pitch session for the Peter Farrell Cup. The competition, which is run by the UNSW Business School, will be held at the NSW parliament.

The ideas that teams are pitching in the finals include:

●A smart phone screen protector which helps colour blind users differentiate between different colours.

● An on-demand marketplace for clothes ironing services.

● Lockers to allow people to securely store their goods in public places that are operated, and paid for, through an internet app.

● An online marketplace to help find homes for animals in shelters, aimed at reducing the numbers of animals which are destroyed.

The competition is named for entrepreneur Peter Farrell, the founder of ResMed.