Technologies for space-based optical interferometry. Gravitational waves are ripples in the curvature of space-time produced by the motion of massive celestial objects. Gravitational waves provide a different kind of information about the universe and their measurement will lead to an entirely new type of astronomy. The quest to detect gravitational waves is entering a new era with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) now under development. LISA is a two billion dollar joint NASA/ESA de ....Technologies for space-based optical interferometry. Gravitational waves are ripples in the curvature of space-time produced by the motion of massive celestial objects. Gravitational waves provide a different kind of information about the universe and their measurement will lead to an entirely new type of astronomy. The quest to detect gravitational waves is entering a new era with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) now under development. LISA is a two billion dollar joint NASA/ESA deep space mission to build a gravitational wave observatory in space. This research will develop Australian technologies critical to the success of LISA and other future deep space missions.Read moreRead less
Super-resolution in microscopy and optical recording. The classical resolution limit imposes severe restrictions on the performance of optical instruments, especially in optical microscopy and optical recording. Improved understanding of the fundamental principles involved in super-resolution should allow substantial increases in resolution to be achieved. We aim to explore theoretically and experimentally the performance of different super-resolution schemes alone and in combination, including ....Super-resolution in microscopy and optical recording. The classical resolution limit imposes severe restrictions on the performance of optical instruments, especially in optical microscopy and optical recording. Improved understanding of the fundamental principles involved in super-resolution should allow substantial increases in resolution to be achieved. We aim to explore theoretically and experimentally the performance of different super-resolution schemes alone and in combination, including optical masks, near-field optics, detector arrays, multi-photon imaging and digital deconvolution. Selected methods will be demonstrated with practical examples in multi-photon microscopy. Applications in super-high density optical recording will also be studied.Read moreRead less
The emergence of logic in child language. This project investigates the development of logical expressions in Chinese and English. The project will promote intercultural awareness by establishing the degree to which typologically diverse languages share core logical properties. The findings are relevant for theories of language acquisition and logical reasoning, and will inform research in Linguistics, Philosophy and Psychology. The Neurosciences will benefit from data obtained using the brain i ....The emergence of logic in child language. This project investigates the development of logical expressions in Chinese and English. The project will promote intercultural awareness by establishing the degree to which typologically diverse languages share core logical properties. The findings are relevant for theories of language acquisition and logical reasoning, and will inform research in Linguistics, Philosophy and Psychology. The Neurosciences will benefit from data obtained using the brain imaging technique, Magnetoencephalography (MEG), for the first time with children, and these data will establish benchmarks for assessing early intervention in treating hearing disorders. The project will enhance collaborative research with Australia's neighbours in East Asia.Read moreRead less
Intelligently Activated Sensor Clusters for E-Commerce Applications. This project will investigate intelligent management of large sensor clusters installed in mechanical structures for use in Electronic Commerce applications. Finding algorithms for optimised placement of remotely controlled power supply and the communication unit in each sensor cluster is the first aim. Development of a sensor management algorithm that process user inputs submitted through the Internet and that exploits past se ....Intelligently Activated Sensor Clusters for E-Commerce Applications. This project will investigate intelligent management of large sensor clusters installed in mechanical structures for use in Electronic Commerce applications. Finding algorithms for optimised placement of remotely controlled power supply and the communication unit in each sensor cluster is the first aim. Development of a sensor management algorithm that process user inputs submitted through the Internet and that exploits past sensor data is the second aim. Since there is no such system available in the market, the project will have strong impacts in E-Commerce applications and bridge instrumentation systems useful to a wider community also advancing the research in clustering and expert systems.Read moreRead less
Compact Low-Cost Tunable UV Lasers for Biosensing Applications. Detection and characterisation of micro-organisms such as airborne biological agents, parasites in domestic water supplies and micro-organisms used in the food and beverage industry, is of national importance. All biological systems have rich absorption signatures in the UV enabling detection of biological specimens with high sensitivity and selectivity using optical methods. For these applications compact and inexpensive tunable U ....Compact Low-Cost Tunable UV Lasers for Biosensing Applications. Detection and characterisation of micro-organisms such as airborne biological agents, parasites in domestic water supplies and micro-organisms used in the food and beverage industry, is of national importance. All biological systems have rich absorption signatures in the UV enabling detection of biological specimens with high sensitivity and selectivity using optical methods. For these applications compact and inexpensive tunable UV lasers are required; however to date tunable UV lasers have been limited to bulky and expensive systems. We propose to engineer novel, low cost, compact, tunable UV cerium lasers and demonstrate their applicability to selective optical detection of micro-organisms.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0228799
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,602,000.00
Summary
Australian Membership of the International Gemini Partnership. The International Gemini Partnership is an intergovernmental consortium formed to construct and operate two 8-metre optical/infrared telescopes, one in Chile, and the other in Hawaii. Australia joined the IGP in May 1998, taking approximately 5% of the partnership. The Gemini telescopes have been carefully engineered to exploit the superb atmospheric conditions at both sites, allowing users to address key astronomical problems in way ....Australian Membership of the International Gemini Partnership. The International Gemini Partnership is an intergovernmental consortium formed to construct and operate two 8-metre optical/infrared telescopes, one in Chile, and the other in Hawaii. Australia joined the IGP in May 1998, taking approximately 5% of the partnership. The Gemini telescopes have been carefully engineered to exploit the superb atmospheric conditions at both sites, allowing users to address key astronomical problems in ways not previously possible. Through membership of Gemini, Australian astronomers have access to the world-class facilities necessary to maintain their high international profile and great public visibility in Galactic and extragalactic astronomy, and also to enhance the national capacity to construct advanced scientific instrumentation. Australia has already won a contract to build one of the instruments.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0453817
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,849,438.00
Summary
Australian Membership of the International Gemini Partnership. The International Gemini Partnership is an intergovernmental consortium formed to build and operate two 8-metre optical/infrared telescopes, one in Chile and the other in Hawaii. Australia joined the IGP in May 1998, taking approximately 5% of the partnership. The Gemini telescopes have been carefully engineered to exploit the superb atmospheric conditions at both sites, allowing users to address key astronomical problems in ways not ....Australian Membership of the International Gemini Partnership. The International Gemini Partnership is an intergovernmental consortium formed to build and operate two 8-metre optical/infrared telescopes, one in Chile and the other in Hawaii. Australia joined the IGP in May 1998, taking approximately 5% of the partnership. The Gemini telescopes have been carefully engineered to exploit the superb atmospheric conditions at both sites, allowing users to address key astronomical problems in ways not previously possible. Through membership of Gemini, Australian astronomers have access to the world-class facilities necessary to maintain their high international profile and the great public visibility in Galactic and extragalactic astronomy, and also to enhance the national capacity to
construct advanced scientific instrumentation. Australia is currently building one of the instruments.
Note: in A7.1 GAMS incorrectly forces integer days/month. In full operation Australian astronomers will receive approximately 25 nights per year.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0560761
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,458,000.00
Summary
Australian Membership of the International Gemini Partnership. The International Gemini Partnership is an intergovernmental consortium that operates two 8-metre optical/infrared telescopes, in Chile and Hawaii. Australia joined the IGP in 1998, with 4.76% of the partnership. The Gemini telescopes have been carefully engineered to exploit the superb atmospheric conditions at both sites, allowing users to address key astronomical problems in ways not previously possible. Through membership of Gemi ....Australian Membership of the International Gemini Partnership. The International Gemini Partnership is an intergovernmental consortium that operates two 8-metre optical/infrared telescopes, in Chile and Hawaii. Australia joined the IGP in 1998, with 4.76% of the partnership. The Gemini telescopes have been carefully engineered to exploit the superb atmospheric conditions at both sites, allowing users to address key astronomical problems in ways not previously possible. Through membership of Gemini, Australian astronomers have access to the world-class facilities necessary to maintain their high international profile, and also to enhance the national capacity to construct advanced scientific instrumentation. Australian institutions are currently building two new instruments.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0347237
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,855,121.00
Summary
Australian Membership of the International Gemini Partnership. The International Gemini Partnership is an intergovernmental consortium formed to construct and operate two 8-metre optical/infrared telescopes, one in Chile and the other in Hawaii. Australia joined the IGP in May 1998, taking approximately 5% of the partnership. The Gemini telescopes have been carefully engineered to exploit the superb atmospheric conditions at both sites, allowing users to address key astronomical problems in ways ....Australian Membership of the International Gemini Partnership. The International Gemini Partnership is an intergovernmental consortium formed to construct and operate two 8-metre optical/infrared telescopes, one in Chile and the other in Hawaii. Australia joined the IGP in May 1998, taking approximately 5% of the partnership. The Gemini telescopes have been carefully engineered to exploit the superb atmospheric conditions at both sites, allowing users to address key astronomical problems in ways not previously possible. Through membership of Gemini, Australian astronomers have access to the world-class facilities necessary to maintain their high international profile and the great public visibility in Galactic and extragalactic astronomy, and also to enhance the national capacity to construct advanced scientific instrumentation. Australia is currently building one of the instruments.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0668351
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,983,525.00
Summary
Australian Membership of the International Gemini Partnership. No science better captures public attention than astronomy. Through its membership of the international Gemini consortium that operates the Gemini telescopes, Australia has assured its astronomers of access to two of the finest large ground-based telescopes. Located in Hawaii and Chile, the telescopes enable Australian astronomers to pursue major questions such as how the universe evolved, the nature of dark matter and dark energy, h ....Australian Membership of the International Gemini Partnership. No science better captures public attention than astronomy. Through its membership of the international Gemini consortium that operates the Gemini telescopes, Australia has assured its astronomers of access to two of the finest large ground-based telescopes. Located in Hawaii and Chile, the telescopes enable Australian astronomers to pursue major questions such as how the universe evolved, the nature of dark matter and dark energy, how galaxies formed, and how stars and their planets formed. Australia has long been known for 'punching above its weight' in astronomy, and membership of Gemini is a vital step in assuring that this prominence in the field is maintained.Read moreRead less