Australia’s world-leading Cooperative Research Centres program will be celebrating 25 years of science impact and achievement at its annual conference in Canberra on 25 May. Here are 10 of the coolest things they have achieved in that time!

1. The Hearing CRC produced the cochlear hybrid system which has restored hearing to more than 140,000 people.

2. The CRC for Oral Health invented tooth mousse, a paste that remineralises tooth enamel and reduces dental decay. It’s now sold in more than 50 countries.

3. The Capital Markets CRC has developed technology to detect fraud, abuse and waste in Australia’s private health insurance markets. The technology has been used to date in over 16 million claims, to a value of more than $28 billion.

4. The Australian Biosecurity CRC has produced the world’s first diagnostic test for equine influenza.

5. The Vision CRC developed extended wear soft contact lenses, first commercialised as the Focus® Night & Day™ lens, which has generated over US$20 million a year in patent royalties.

6. Dairy Futures CRC’s researchers have developed a way for farmers to breed cows that eat less to produce the same amount of milk. The new Feed Saved ABV (Australian Breeding Value) lets farmers identify bulls that can save at least 100 kg of dry matter per cow per year, while maintaining milk production.

7. The CRC for Remote Economic Participation has created a network of over 90 Indigenous researchers who advise industry and governments on business investment, environmental and cultural issues.

8. The Future Farm Industries CRC developed three new farming systems using perennial plants such as native saltbush that will make farms more drought resilient and increase the nation’s farm profits by $1.6 billion by 2030.

9. The Young and Well CRC researched and published Growing Up Queer, Australia’s first report on the psychological impacts of homophobia on young people.

10. The CRC for Advanced Composite Structures designed and manufactured more fuel efficient wing surfaces for the Boeing long-range twin engine aircraft, the Dreamliner.

Details of the conference program can be found at http://australia2040.com.au/