Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140100433
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$395,220.00
Summary
Optimising light harvesting using quantum transport. Observations of wavelike energy transport in photosynthetic systems have exposed the role of quantum mechanics in natural light harvesting. This project is a study of how light harvesting functions for an incoherent source like sunlight. In sunlight, energy transport occurs at steady state, a dramatically simpler regime than when a coherent source like lasers are used. This project will exploit this simplification to develop new methods for tr ....Optimising light harvesting using quantum transport. Observations of wavelike energy transport in photosynthetic systems have exposed the role of quantum mechanics in natural light harvesting. This project is a study of how light harvesting functions for an incoherent source like sunlight. In sunlight, energy transport occurs at steady state, a dramatically simpler regime than when a coherent source like lasers are used. This project will exploit this simplification to develop new methods for treating light harvesting in sunlight and apply them to a variety of natural and artificial systems. It will clarify how bacteria and plants harvest sunlight and lead to design principles that will enable artificial light harvesting to take advantage of quantum effects.Read moreRead less
Fluid Transport in Materials of Nanoscale Dimensions. This project aims to transform the modelling of fluid transport in materials of nanoscale dimension by determining the coupled interfacial heat and mass-transfer barriers, which critically influence the transport. The outcome will not only be new knowledge on the effects of inherent structural distortion and of the barriers on the fluid flow, but also cutting-edge techniques to estimate system size-dependent transport coefficients in nanoscal ....Fluid Transport in Materials of Nanoscale Dimensions. This project aims to transform the modelling of fluid transport in materials of nanoscale dimension by determining the coupled interfacial heat and mass-transfer barriers, which critically influence the transport. The outcome will not only be new knowledge on the effects of inherent structural distortion and of the barriers on the fluid flow, but also cutting-edge techniques to estimate system size-dependent transport coefficients in nanoscale systems. These will be achieved through a combination of targeted molecular dynamics simulations and experiment, and will have far-reaching implications for nanotechnology and emerging processes in catalysis, gas separation, human health and nanofluidics, and enable design of more efficient systems.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100112
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$275,000.00
Summary
A Raman facility for advanced research supporting Australia’s natural gas, oil, coal and minerals industries. This modern Raman Spectroscopy facility will support the science and engineering that underpins the production and processing of Australia’s natural resources. Using high-pressure fibre optics, novel lasers and advanced imaging, the facility will enable the monitoring and improvement of processes and materials under extreme conditions.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE110100064
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$150,000.00
Summary
Optically controlled containers for experiments in soft matter. Nanotechnology has a promising future in the fabrication of small machines but exactly how these machines work is far less certain as they defy fundamental, classical thermodynamics. This equipment will allow Australian researchers to probe the energy dissipation of, and the work done by, small systems, including those of single molecules, colloidal crystals and membranes.
Positron Nano-Dosimetry: Fundamental Measurements of Positron Interactions and their use in State-of-the-Art Modelling of Positron Transport. This proposal will provide unique experimental and theoretical information on how positrons, the electron antiparticles, interact with matter, in particular with biologically important molecules. This data will be used in a unique set of modelling approaches which will provide, for the first time, an insight into how positrons are transported through gases ....Positron Nano-Dosimetry: Fundamental Measurements of Positron Interactions and their use in State-of-the-Art Modelling of Positron Transport. This proposal will provide unique experimental and theoretical information on how positrons, the electron antiparticles, interact with matter, in particular with biologically important molecules. This data will be used in a unique set of modelling approaches which will provide, for the first time, an insight into how positrons are transported through gases, liquids and ultimately, soft matter. It will thus have important ramifications for diagnostic tools such as Positron Emission Tomography. The fundamental research will also shed light on one of the key 'mysteries' of life - why the biological building blocks of life possess a definite " handedness", or chirality.Read moreRead less
Understanding dissipation, thermal conduction and diffusion in superionic conductors using ab initio nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulation. Lithium ion batteries are widely used in computers, cars and more recently in aircraft. However they may exhibit thermal runaway leading to fire. Recently these problems have grounded the fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft, worldwide. Understanding superionic conduction is of thus of considerable technological importance. The project will focus on understa ....Understanding dissipation, thermal conduction and diffusion in superionic conductors using ab initio nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulation. Lithium ion batteries are widely used in computers, cars and more recently in aircraft. However they may exhibit thermal runaway leading to fire. Recently these problems have grounded the fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft, worldwide. Understanding superionic conduction is of thus of considerable technological importance. The project will focus on understanding mass and heat flow in superionic conductors using a new molecular simulation technique that the team has recently developed. This technique combines nonequilibrium statistical mechanics and ab initio molecular dynamics simulation. The project will learn how heat is generated and conducted through these materials and how temperature influences these processes, and how heat and mass flow couple together.Read moreRead less
Improving nanostructured supercapacitors through computational insight. This project aims to understand the mechanism of charge and discharge in nanostructured supercapacitors to guide in the development of better energy storage systems. This will be achieved using molecular computations of the structure and diffusion coefficients in supercapacitors with various electrodes of different nanostructure and chemical composition. A statistical mechanical definition of the local diffusion coefficien ....Improving nanostructured supercapacitors through computational insight. This project aims to understand the mechanism of charge and discharge in nanostructured supercapacitors to guide in the development of better energy storage systems. This will be achieved using molecular computations of the structure and diffusion coefficients in supercapacitors with various electrodes of different nanostructure and chemical composition. A statistical mechanical definition of the local diffusion coefficient will provide important information on the mobility of ions in different regions near the electrodes. Knowledge on how nanostructured electrodes affect supercapacitor function will allow advances in energy storage systems that are of great significance for our future energy needs.Read moreRead less