With a further $761.4 million added to the Australian Research Council funding by participating organisations, that adds up to a total of $1.04 billion.

That's a big cash splash for science.

The 2017 ARC funding round has seen backing for diverse projects, including research into predicting climate extremes, quantum computing, gravitational waves, biodiversity, solar conversion and the origin of matter.

The University of NSW Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation has won a third round of ARC funding, twice as a centre of excellence.

The centre's director, Professor Michelle Simmons, said: "This will bring together eight Australian universities and more than 35 international partners in quantum computing – technology that will prove to be totally disruptive over the next decade and beyond."

The announcement on Thursday by federal Minister for Education and Training Simon Birmingham was a big win for quantum computing. The University of Queensland's Centre for Engineered Quantum Systems (EQuS) also had its funding renewed, meaning a total of $230 million in funding over seven years for quantum computing research, $65.6 million coming from the ARC.

The University of Sydney launched Australia's first hub for nanoscience and quantum technology this year where EQuS investigators are building quantum devices and running quantum simulations.

Sydney University's Professor David Reilly is a chief investigator at both quantum centres. He said: "Harnessing the unique physics of the quantum world will lead to nothing short of a technological revolution that impacts all areas of modern society.

"Its incredibly exciting to be living in a time when this is really happening and in Australia, where we are at the forefront."

Professor David Reilly is a chief investigator at two ARC centres of excellence for quantum computing. Photo: Nick Moir

The establishment of a centre of excellence for research into climate extremes was another big win for UNSW.

The centre director, Professor Andy Pitman, said: "We see average temperatures rising but why do they translate into heatwaves? This, for instance, will be a focus of our research."

The funds, $30.05 million over seven years, will allow the centre to attract additional money and talent.

The Centre for All-Sky Astrophysics, whose oversight shifts from Sydney University to the Australian National University, has also had its funding renewed.

"We will be investigating how the universe formed its first matter in the moments after the Big Bang and how the stars created the chemical elements in the universe," said Professor Lisa Kewley, an ARC Laureate Fellow.

Swinburne University was successful in gaining support to investigate the recently detected gravitational waves, predicted a century ago by Albert Einstein.

But alongside the nine winners were 11 final-round losers.

The Centre of Excellence for Particle Physics, based at the University of Melbourne, failed to have its funding renewed. The CoEPP was involved in the science at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland that led to the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012.

At Sydney University, the ARC Centre for Ultrahigh bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems, CUDOS, which reapplied as the Centre for Electronic, Photonic and Phononic Integration Centre, failed to have its funding renewed.

The Australian Research Council has established nine centres of excellence with $283.5 million in funding.

• All-Sky Astrophysics, ANU Origin of matter & element formation, and ionisation of the early universe. ARC funding $30.3m
• Biodiversity & Heritage, Wollongong Uni Understanding our biodiversity and Indigenous heritage, while inspiring Australian children to engage with science. Arc funding $33.75m
• Climate Extremes, UNSW Revolutionise our capability to predict climate extremes. ARC funding $30.05m
• Engineered Quantum Systems, Queensland Uni Building sophisticated quantum machines for health, economy, environment, security. ARC funding $31.9m
• Gravitational Wave Discovery, Swinburne Uni To understand the extreme physics of black holes and warped spacetime. ARC funding $31.3m
• Excitation Science, Melbourne Uni Manipulating light, how it is absorbed and developing materials for solar energy conversion. ARC funding $31.85m
• Low-Energy Electronics, Monash Uni Developing the foundations for low-energy electronics. ARC funding $33.4m
• Population Ageing, UNSW Social and economic responses to population ageing. ARC funding $27.25m
• Quantum Computation, UNSW Using quantum processors to potentially transform all industries dependent on computing. ARC funding $33.7m

ARC LOSERS

There were 97 applications to the ARC with 20 making the final short-list. Here are the 11 unsuccessful final-round applicants.

• Particle Physics Beyond the Higgs, Melbourne University
• Advanced Framework Materials, Monash University
• Centre for the Developing Mind, Macquarie University
• Advanced Organic Semiconductors, University of Queensland
• Electronic, Photonic and Phononic Integration Centre, University of Sydney
• Indigenous Thriving Futures, Australian Catholic University
• Translational Data Science, University of Sydney
• Human Resilience, Macquarie University
• Market Design, University of Technology, Sydney
• Transformational Biomimetic Interfaces, UNSW
• Transformational Technologies for Mineral Processing, Newcastle University