The Effect of Fuel Type on Health and Environmental Risks Caused by Motor Vehicle Emissions. Motor vehicles constitute one of the most significant sources of air pollutants but the state of knowledge on the quantity of some of these does not permit for projection of the risk they create. This project aims at quantification of emissions of pollutants contributing to deterioration of health, ozone formation, global warming and acid rain as a function of fuel type, using a novel on-road sampling m ....The Effect of Fuel Type on Health and Environmental Risks Caused by Motor Vehicle Emissions. Motor vehicles constitute one of the most significant sources of air pollutants but the state of knowledge on the quantity of some of these does not permit for projection of the risk they create. This project aims at quantification of emissions of pollutants contributing to deterioration of health, ozone formation, global warming and acid rain as a function of fuel type, using a novel on-road sampling method. Resultantly, a holistic picture of integrated health and environmental risk will be developed that will build a scientific foundation for future fuel,transport and land use to protect the community and the environment.Read moreRead less
Characterising Nuclei Far from Stability With a Novel Recoil Spectrometer. A high sensitivity detector system for use in conjuction with a superconducting solenoidal transporter will be developed for gamma-ray and conversion spectroscopy of neutron-deficient nuclei. The technology will be optimised for near-symmetric heavy ion reactions and applied initially to the characterisation of shape co-existence in the light lead isotopes. These provide a major testing ground for the development of mean- ....Characterising Nuclei Far from Stability With a Novel Recoil Spectrometer. A high sensitivity detector system for use in conjuction with a superconducting solenoidal transporter will be developed for gamma-ray and conversion spectroscopy of neutron-deficient nuclei. The technology will be optimised for near-symmetric heavy ion reactions and applied initially to the characterisation of shape co-existence in the light lead isotopes. These provide a major testing ground for the development of mean-field theories used to predict the stability of heavy nuclei.Read moreRead less
Developing and exploiting a beam of exotic neutron halo nuclei: probing quantum coherence and decoherence at the femtoscale. Developing an Australian rare isotope beam capability with unique features will be a breakthrough in Australia's capability in science. It will create new opportunities for local research with radioactive isotope beams, a field being vigorously developed world-wide, as new access to short-lived radioactive isotopes will open up many opportunities in fundamental research an ....Developing and exploiting a beam of exotic neutron halo nuclei: probing quantum coherence and decoherence at the femtoscale. Developing an Australian rare isotope beam capability with unique features will be a breakthrough in Australia's capability in science. It will create new opportunities for local research with radioactive isotope beams, a field being vigorously developed world-wide, as new access to short-lived radioactive isotopes will open up many opportunities in fundamental research and applications. The experience and strong international linkages from this project will facilitate the longer-term use of future large-scale international facilities. This project will also build links with other areas of research strength in Australia, and keep us at the cutting-edge in research and training in nuclear science, a matter of national importance.Read moreRead less
Scanning Probe Microscopy for Fabrication and Analysis of Polymer Photovoltaics. Australian economic growth will depend increasingly on the provision of devices using materials designed at the molecular level. Scanning probe microscopy, which uses tips placed very close to surfaces to analyse or modify the surfaces with molecular precision, is an indispensible tool in designing such materials. In this project, scanning probe microscopy will be used to analyse and build structures on polymer sola ....Scanning Probe Microscopy for Fabrication and Analysis of Polymer Photovoltaics. Australian economic growth will depend increasingly on the provision of devices using materials designed at the molecular level. Scanning probe microscopy, which uses tips placed very close to surfaces to analyse or modify the surfaces with molecular precision, is an indispensible tool in designing such materials. In this project, scanning probe microscopy will be used to analyse and build structures on polymer solar cells in order to maximise the efficiency of the cells and build prototype nanoscale polymer devices. This will lead to the improvement in devices delivering sustainable energy production - a technology which has the promise of producing energy cheaply from sunlight.Read moreRead less
Radiation protection for space, aviation, and terrestrial applications: the development of novel radiation detectors and computational techniques. Personnel in space, aviation, and terrestrial applications may be exposed to potentially harmful levels of densely ionising radiation. This project will produce improved radiation detectors and computational techniques, addressing needs in the prediction and assessment of equivalent dose in these applications. The "preventative healthcare" priority go ....Radiation protection for space, aviation, and terrestrial applications: the development of novel radiation detectors and computational techniques. Personnel in space, aviation, and terrestrial applications may be exposed to potentially harmful levels of densely ionising radiation. This project will produce improved radiation detectors and computational techniques, addressing needs in the prediction and assessment of equivalent dose in these applications. The "preventative healthcare" priority goal of the National Research Priority "Promoting and Maintaining Good Health" will be addressed, serving to reduce the risk to personnel involved in such activities. This research will also enhance Australia's international reputation in this field, stimulate local expertise, and create a critical mass of researchers in this field. Read moreRead less
Elucidating the mechanisms by which Scribble, Discs Large and Lethal Giant Larvae regulate epithelial polarity. Discs Large (Dlg) and Scribble are proteins that regulate cell shape by concentrating at particular regions within the cell and recruiting other proteins to that region. It is thought that the two proteins interact with each other, and with other proteins involved in protein trafficking and cell architecture, but it is not known how these events coordinate to produce a net outcome on ....Elucidating the mechanisms by which Scribble, Discs Large and Lethal Giant Larvae regulate epithelial polarity. Discs Large (Dlg) and Scribble are proteins that regulate cell shape by concentrating at particular regions within the cell and recruiting other proteins to that region. It is thought that the two proteins interact with each other, and with other proteins involved in protein trafficking and cell architecture, but it is not known how these events coordinate to produce a net outcome on cell shape. To answer these questions, the dynamic events involved in localization of Dlg, Scribble, and associated proteins will be determined, in mammalian cells and in whole organs of the vinegar fly.Read moreRead less
Quantum magnetometry on the microscale. This proposal will create a microscope for magnetic fields by measuring the quantum spin of a Bose-Einstein condensate at temperatures near absolute zero. Classical measurements of spin have underpinned transforming technologies, from magnetic resonance imaging to terabyte-scale hard-disc storage. We will make a truly quantum measurement of spin which will create a magnetic field microscope one million times more sensitive than the current state-of-the-art ....Quantum magnetometry on the microscale. This proposal will create a microscope for magnetic fields by measuring the quantum spin of a Bose-Einstein condensate at temperatures near absolute zero. Classical measurements of spin have underpinned transforming technologies, from magnetic resonance imaging to terabyte-scale hard-disc storage. We will make a truly quantum measurement of spin which will create a magnetic field microscope one million times more sensitive than the current state-of-the-art. The magnetic field microscope will be sensitive enough to measure fields from single biological cells and from superconducting nanosurfaces, giving critical new perspectives in biomedical research and next-generation electronics.Read moreRead less
Probing the Universe with gravitational waves: from cutting-edge technology to astronomy. The direct detection of Einstein's elusive gravitational waves will not only confirm one of the most important theories in physics, it will unleash a new form of radiation (in addition to electromagnetic) with which to study the Universe. Our participation in this quest continues Australia's role in the vanguard of new astronomy and its exploitation. This proposal will produce scientists highly trained in ....Probing the Universe with gravitational waves: from cutting-edge technology to astronomy. The direct detection of Einstein's elusive gravitational waves will not only confirm one of the most important theories in physics, it will unleash a new form of radiation (in addition to electromagnetic) with which to study the Universe. Our participation in this quest continues Australia's role in the vanguard of new astronomy and its exploitation. This proposal will produce scientists highly trained in areas of national priority, including frontier technologies such as photonics and smart information use through GRID computing. Developing ways to build instruments of almost unimaginable sensitivity fosters innovation leading to spin-offs into other areas of optical sensing - fundamental research resulting in economic benefit.Read moreRead less
Gamma-ray burst astronomy in the Swift era and beyond. The study of gamma-ray bursts is one of the most active and exciting fields in astrophysics, and touches on subjects that are of interest to all humans: e.g., to what extent was life on Earth shaped by cataclysmic explosions in our Galaxy? Australia's ROTSE-III telescope is the only facility in the southern hemisphere capable of rapidly (within 10 seconds) finding optical light from gamma-ray bursts. It will provide Australian astronomers ....Gamma-ray burst astronomy in the Swift era and beyond. The study of gamma-ray bursts is one of the most active and exciting fields in astrophysics, and touches on subjects that are of interest to all humans: e.g., to what extent was life on Earth shaped by cataclysmic explosions in our Galaxy? Australia's ROTSE-III telescope is the only facility in the southern hemisphere capable of rapidly (within 10 seconds) finding optical light from gamma-ray bursts. It will provide Australian astronomers with a competitive advantage in this high-profile field. The project will involve and inspire some of our best physics and engineering students.Read moreRead less
Searching for Supersymmetry in the Universe with the A Toroidal Lagre Hadron Collider ApparatuS (ATLAS) experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Australian researchers have been involved with the A Toroidal Lagre Hadron Collider ApparatuS (ATLAS) experiment at the Large Hadron Collider since the early 1990's. They have had significant roles in ATLAS hardware design and construction, software development, and in the deployment of a data computing grid, thereby paving the way for groundbreaking di ....Searching for Supersymmetry in the Universe with the A Toroidal Lagre Hadron Collider ApparatuS (ATLAS) experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Australian researchers have been involved with the A Toroidal Lagre Hadron Collider ApparatuS (ATLAS) experiment at the Large Hadron Collider since the early 1990's. They have had significant roles in ATLAS hardware design and construction, software development, and in the deployment of a data computing grid, thereby paving the way for groundbreaking discoveries surrounding the fundamental laws and origin of our universe. By performing a search for Higgs bosons, required in many models of particle physics but which have so far not been observed, this research embodies the final step on this road to discovery. The huge publicity surrounding the discovery potential at the Large Hadron Collider will raise the international awareness and stature of basic research in Australia.Read moreRead less