DSTO announced the collaboration with the Adelaide-based university to support the Australian Defense Force in an effort to expand on its study of the chemistry of energetic materials including "improved explosives, pyrotechnics and propellants and methods for their handling and storage," the Australian Ministry of Defense reported.

"DSTO already does a great deal of research into explosives, but this collaboration with Flinders University will provide DSTO and the ADF with additional capabilities," DSTO Deputy Chief Defense Scientist Warren Harch said in a statement. "The center's focus will be on defense and national security and will enable us to undertake further fundamental and specialized research with an emphasis on the chemistry of energetic materials.

"The venture brings together the energetic materials expertise and infrastructure of DSTO with the synthetic and characterization capabilities of Flinders University. This research is not just about explosives, but all energetic materials including pyrotechnics such as those used in flares, and propellants used to fire weapons from small arms to artillery."

Officials say the new center will be based within Flinders University's School of Chemistry, Physics and Earth Sciences. (OTCBB:ESCI)