Smart materials from semi-soft particles. This project will combine precision polymer chemistry to material science to develop structured nanoparticles for applications in photonics and shape memory materials.
Advanced adsorbents for gas separations. Efficient purification of natural gas and separation of similarly-sized molecules in gas mixtures is increasingly important in our drive to develop a more sustainable way of living in an energy-constrained world. This project will develop a new class of adsorbents to deliver a level of separation efficiency much higher than that currently in use.
Making plants better, making Australia better? A history of genetic modification science, policy, and community attitudes in Australia. This project will document and analyse the history of the development of genetic modification (GM) science and policy, and the associated community attitudes and activism efforts in Australia over the last 40 years, with a focus on the development of GM for food and agricultural purposes. In addition to producing a rich historical narrative of critical scientifi ....Making plants better, making Australia better? A history of genetic modification science, policy, and community attitudes in Australia. This project will document and analyse the history of the development of genetic modification (GM) science and policy, and the associated community attitudes and activism efforts in Australia over the last 40 years, with a focus on the development of GM for food and agricultural purposes. In addition to producing a rich historical narrative of critical scientific and policy developments associated with GM in Australia. This project will explore how Australians respond to new scientific ideas and technologies, and use this evidence as the basis for a case study of prospects for future community involvement in the development of science policy particularly in association with emerging technologies.Read moreRead less
Beyond Scenarios: Testable Models of the Evolution of Norms. The aim of this project is to investigate the evolution of social norms, and their causal role in social life and its breakdown. It expects to generate new knowledge in this area through the application of new formal techniques to existing hypotheses; especially causal analysis, evolutionary game theory, and phylogenetic cross-cultural testing for empirically plausibility. Expected outcomes include theory development, improved research ....Beyond Scenarios: Testable Models of the Evolution of Norms. The aim of this project is to investigate the evolution of social norms, and their causal role in social life and its breakdown. It expects to generate new knowledge in this area through the application of new formal techniques to existing hypotheses; especially causal analysis, evolutionary game theory, and phylogenetic cross-cultural testing for empirically plausibility. Expected outcomes include theory development, improved research infrastructure and training in collaboration with international partners, and theoretical recommendations for policy intervention. This should allow greater insight and control over the levers of peaceful social life, both in traditional societies, and in large, open, multi-cultural nations like Australia. Read moreRead less
Tibet's rivers in the Anthropocene: history and present trajectories. This project aims to produce a multifaceted history of the eastern Tibetan Plateau's rivers, focusing on the increasing human impacts during the Anthropocene. It will combine data from archival, cultural and oral sources in multiple languages with the results of scientific studies of river flow, water quality, and sediment, ice, and tree-rings analysis. The project will produce both historical narratives and graphic representa ....Tibet's rivers in the Anthropocene: history and present trajectories. This project aims to produce a multifaceted history of the eastern Tibetan Plateau's rivers, focusing on the increasing human impacts during the Anthropocene. It will combine data from archival, cultural and oral sources in multiple languages with the results of scientific studies of river flow, water quality, and sediment, ice, and tree-rings analysis. The project will produce both historical narratives and graphic representations that model past land and water usage. The results of the project will underpin environmental policy for this hydrologically and ecologically crucial region, including the development of a paradigm of care based on the region's indigenous cultural resources.Read moreRead less
Finding equivalence between natural and artificial intelligences. This project aims to investigate the ways in which artificial intelligence is equivalent to human intelligence. Computers outperform humans in many domains, yet it is clear that computers often don’t perform tasks the way humans do. Developing innovative methods for evaluating claims of equivalence by drawing on simpler, well-understood model systems like the honeybee brain, the project expects to fill this existing knowledge gap. ....Finding equivalence between natural and artificial intelligences. This project aims to investigate the ways in which artificial intelligence is equivalent to human intelligence. Computers outperform humans in many domains, yet it is clear that computers often don’t perform tasks the way humans do. Developing innovative methods for evaluating claims of equivalence by drawing on simpler, well-understood model systems like the honeybee brain, the project expects to fill this existing knowledge gap. Expected outcomes include a framework that provides powerful, nuanced criteria for comparison of natural and artificial intelligences. Benefits are expected to include enhanced guidance for the development of AI systems both in everyday contexts and as exploratory tools in comparative and cognitive neuroscience.Read moreRead less
Organisms and Us: How Living Things Help Us To Understand Our World. How do researchers learn from and 'think with' non-human organisms? This project seeks to develop a comprehensive historical and philosophical exploration of the changing roles and understandings of research with organisms in 20th and early 21st century science. Advances in the content and technologies of the biological and biomedical sciences have resulted in new understandings of what we can know and learn from organisms, par ....Organisms and Us: How Living Things Help Us To Understand Our World. How do researchers learn from and 'think with' non-human organisms? This project seeks to develop a comprehensive historical and philosophical exploration of the changing roles and understandings of research with organisms in 20th and early 21st century science. Advances in the content and technologies of the biological and biomedical sciences have resulted in new understandings of what we can know and learn from organisms, particularly with regard to human functioning, health, and well-being, yet we have no integrated scholarship examining these developments across a range of fields. This project seeks to produce useful scholarship relevant for humanities scholars, scientists, clinicians and policy-makers.Read moreRead less
Culture, cognition and mental illness. This project aims to establish conceptual foundations for studying cultural variation in mental disorders and their implications for cognitive and behavioural science. Mental disorder contributes to the burden of death and disability around the world, but modern psychiatric theories must also deal with non-Western forms of mental illness. Do non-Western individuals suffer from the same conditions as Westerners, but in a different form, or do they suffer fro ....Culture, cognition and mental illness. This project aims to establish conceptual foundations for studying cultural variation in mental disorders and their implications for cognitive and behavioural science. Mental disorder contributes to the burden of death and disability around the world, but modern psychiatric theories must also deal with non-Western forms of mental illness. Do non-Western individuals suffer from the same conditions as Westerners, but in a different form, or do they suffer from distinctive local conditions? This project intends to discuss the foundational issues raised within psychiatry. This will contribute to a greater understanding of the mental health of non-Western populations.Read moreRead less
Organic-inorganic hybrids via a combination of ring opening metathesis polymerisation, Thiol-Ene Click chemistry and Sol-Gel reactions. The research aims to develop a fast and efficient process for the preparation of advanced organic-inorganic materials. The successful completion of this research will yield new materials that may be exploited in advanced specialty applications including in biomedical and fuel cell areas.
Consciousness in the predictive mind. The project aims to provide a unified approach to the nature of consciousness. Neuroscience and philosophy are still unable to explain how the brain gives rise to our conscious experience. Competing theories of consciousness are piecemeal, difficult to test and compare, and mostly formulated without much regard to a general theory of brain function. This project takes a different approach: it front-loads a new and influential general theory of brain function ....Consciousness in the predictive mind. The project aims to provide a unified approach to the nature of consciousness. Neuroscience and philosophy are still unable to explain how the brain gives rise to our conscious experience. Competing theories of consciousness are piecemeal, difficult to test and compare, and mostly formulated without much regard to a general theory of brain function. This project takes a different approach: it front-loads a new and influential general theory of brain function, and aims to use this theory to determine which theories of consciousness can be defended and which rejected. The anticipated outcome is a unified scientific and theoretical approach to consciousness, achieving a deeper and more integrated understanding of a major field of contemporary neuroscience and philosophy research.Read moreRead less