The decisions highlight the increasing uncertainty confronting science and engineering researchers who collaborate with overseas partners, amid heightened concerns that their work could be stolen or used for nefarious purposes.
The rejected and delayed projects mostly involved physics, chemistry, materials science and nanotechnology research, with potential applications in fields including communications, energy, mining and medicine.
The episode highlights the opacity of Australian research funding, with researchers often left in the dark about the fate of their grant applications and the criteria by which they have been judged.
