Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100291
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$414,000.00
Summary
Conferring life-like functions to protocells. For life to have arisen, simple self-assembled chemicals must have performed key life-like functions. This project aims to generate new knowledge in the fields of soft condensed matter physics and astrobiology by understanding how primitive life could have obtained nutrients and completed “cell” division without proteins. This ambitious goal is expected to not only contribute towards understanding the origins of life, one of the grand challenges in s ....Conferring life-like functions to protocells. For life to have arisen, simple self-assembled chemicals must have performed key life-like functions. This project aims to generate new knowledge in the fields of soft condensed matter physics and astrobiology by understanding how primitive life could have obtained nutrients and completed “cell” division without proteins. This ambitious goal is expected to not only contribute towards understanding the origins of life, one of the grand challenges in science, but also to elucidate principles in membrane biophysics and self-assembly. The fundamental scientific findings will be applied to making responsive capsules that can confer advanced functionalities to soft materials. Several international collaborations are anticipated.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE180100037
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$223,039.00
Summary
Cryogenic quantum microscope facility. This project aims to establish a cryogenic, quantum microscope facility in Australia. Quantum sensing is a new field that harnesses the properties of individual quantum systems to realise new types of detection and imaging with unprecedented combination of sensitivity and spatial resolution. The potential innovations, applications and benefits to society are far reaching across the full spectrum of scientific and engineering activity, from the development o ....Cryogenic quantum microscope facility. This project aims to establish a cryogenic, quantum microscope facility in Australia. Quantum sensing is a new field that harnesses the properties of individual quantum systems to realise new types of detection and imaging with unprecedented combination of sensitivity and spatial resolution. The potential innovations, applications and benefits to society are far reaching across the full spectrum of scientific and engineering activity, from the development of atomic-scale imaging of protein structures for drug discovery, to the study of chemical, physical, and biological processes and materials for advanced technology and manufacturing.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL130100119
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,110,000.00
Summary
New views of life: quantum imaging in biology. This project will create and apply new technology, based on the quantum properties of diamond, to attack important problems in biology; from how cells differentiate at the beginning of life, to understanding brain function. The results of this project will directly benefit society through the development of new technology for nano-medicine and drug discovery.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE140100162
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$300,000.00
Summary
Ultrafast Science Facility: manipulating and probing matter on fs timescales with microscopic resolution. Ultrafast science facility: manipulating and probing matter on femtosecond timescales with microscopic resolution: Knowledge of dynamics that occur on femtosecond timescales is essential for a detailed understanding of many important processes in physics, chemistry and biology. This facility will enable unprecedented insight into the mechanisms driving such processes through complementary ca ....Ultrafast Science Facility: manipulating and probing matter on fs timescales with microscopic resolution. Ultrafast science facility: manipulating and probing matter on femtosecond timescales with microscopic resolution: Knowledge of dynamics that occur on femtosecond timescales is essential for a detailed understanding of many important processes in physics, chemistry and biology. This facility will enable unprecedented insight into the mechanisms driving such processes through complementary capabilities to manipulate and probe matter on femtosecond time scales at microscopic resolution. Such processes include photosynthetic energy transfer, efficient operation of organic electronics, redox reactions in biological systems and the manipulation of material properties by intense femtosecond-laser pulses. The unique capabilities of this facility will also allow the development of novel device structures and the limits of the characterisation techniques to be pushed.Read moreRead less
Meta-microscopy of insect tissue: How nature grows bicontinuous nanosolids. Several butterfly species grow a complex nano-sculptured matrix whose chiral network structure confers remarkable optical properties, including jewel-like reflections. The formation process remains mysterious and a spectacular case of bottom-up self-assembly at far larger scales than accessible in the lab. The project aims to decipher this process, by (a) tomography of a species where arrested growth sites represent time ....Meta-microscopy of insect tissue: How nature grows bicontinuous nanosolids. Several butterfly species grow a complex nano-sculptured matrix whose chiral network structure confers remarkable optical properties, including jewel-like reflections. The formation process remains mysterious and a spectacular case of bottom-up self-assembly at far larger scales than accessible in the lab. The project aims to decipher this process, by (a) tomography of a species where arrested growth sites represent time-frozen snapshots of the development, and (b) by a combination of micron-resolved in-vivo microscopy of a developing butterfly wing with a growth model to infer nanometer-scale information. This insight will lead to blueprints for self-assembly strategies and shed light on function and form of inner-cellular membranes. Read moreRead less
Single spin molecular microscope. This project aims to create a new tool for imaging and analysing material at the atomic level. The tool is based on individual quantum coherent spins in diamond which can be manipulated and optically read. The project expects to generate knowledge in quantum metrology and an understanding of molecular dynamics at the nanoscale. The expected outcome is a new type of device capable of imaging complex physical systems at the level of their individual constituent co ....Single spin molecular microscope. This project aims to create a new tool for imaging and analysing material at the atomic level. The tool is based on individual quantum coherent spins in diamond which can be manipulated and optically read. The project expects to generate knowledge in quantum metrology and an understanding of molecular dynamics at the nanoscale. The expected outcome is a new type of device capable of imaging complex physical systems at the level of their individual constituent components. This has significant benefits in improving designer materials, energy production, information storage, and drug design.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100186
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$370,000.00
Summary
Advanced biophysical characterisation centre (ABCC). The Advanced Biophysical Characterisation Centre shared between RMIT and the University of Melbourne will provide a comprehensive suite of techniques for the study of problems in membrane biophysics, protein and biomolecular assembly and the nanosciences, with applications to health, environmental science and advanced technologies.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180101635
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$343,450.00
Summary
DNA origami functionalised nanoscale surfaces. This project aims to combine the strengths of top-down and bottom-up nanofabrication to build hybrid structures. In traditional top-down nanofabrication, large systems pattern a semiconductor substrate to build up sophisticated devices. In contrast, in the emerging field of bottom-up nanotechnology, clever design of molecular interactions drives the self-assembly of smaller building blocks into more complex structures, with smaller features. This pr ....DNA origami functionalised nanoscale surfaces. This project aims to combine the strengths of top-down and bottom-up nanofabrication to build hybrid structures. In traditional top-down nanofabrication, large systems pattern a semiconductor substrate to build up sophisticated devices. In contrast, in the emerging field of bottom-up nanotechnology, clever design of molecular interactions drives the self-assembly of smaller building blocks into more complex structures, with smaller features. This project aims to bridge the gap between these two technologies to build functional devices. These devices will be applied, for example, to understand biological problems such as why blood clots form on implanted medical devices - their main cause of failure.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100081
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$600,000.00
Summary
Combined scanning tunnelling microscope system for materials characterisation and manipulation at nano scale. The proposed facility is unique in Australia and will substantially enhance national research capabilities in nano-materials, nanotechnology and biotechnology. The proposed infrastructure project will bring more than 20 leading Australian research groups from 10 institutions together to create an outstanding platform to underpin close collaborations among members in a broad field. The pr ....Combined scanning tunnelling microscope system for materials characterisation and manipulation at nano scale. The proposed facility is unique in Australia and will substantially enhance national research capabilities in nano-materials, nanotechnology and biotechnology. The proposed infrastructure project will bring more than 20 leading Australian research groups from 10 institutions together to create an outstanding platform to underpin close collaborations among members in a broad field. The proposed facility will provide significant benefits to Australian researchers in drug design and delivery, nano-material design and characterisation at nano scale for advanced materials, and promotion of renewable energy. This represents a great opportunity to make discoveries and breakthroughs in frontier science and technology in Australia.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100146
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$860,000.00
Summary
Pulsed Electron Paramagnetic Resonance: an enhanced capability for research in quantum physics, materials science, chemistry and biological sciences. By improving our ability to investigating materials which impact fields ranging from disease and ageing to renewable energy and quantum information, the pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometer provided will allow the project to address some of the fundamental questions facing society.