Cloudiness over the Southern Ocean: reducing a key knowledge gap and source of climate model uncertainty. Southern Ocean clouds are key ingredients of the global climate system and yet are only poorly understood and poorly represented in climate models. Through the use of advanced observational analysis techniques this research will provide a deep understanding of key Southern Ocean cloud regimes and improve their representation in models.
The Southern Ocean boundary layer: winds, turbulence, sea spray and clouds. Both satellite products and climate models have large biases in the energy and water budgets over the Southern Ocean (SO). This is a direct consequence of a poor understanding of the structure and dynamics of the SO atmospheric boundary layer, which has arisen from an inability to make the necessary observations in this harsh environment. Due to the availability of new Australian research infrastructure, large steps forw ....The Southern Ocean boundary layer: winds, turbulence, sea spray and clouds. Both satellite products and climate models have large biases in the energy and water budgets over the Southern Ocean (SO). This is a direct consequence of a poor understanding of the structure and dynamics of the SO atmospheric boundary layer, which has arisen from an inability to make the necessary observations in this harsh environment. Due to the availability of new Australian research infrastructure, large steps forward are now possible with modest investment. This project will conduct and combine observations from the recently acquired marine vessel, RV Investigator, and the collocated airborne and surface observations to understand the structure and evolution of the unique, pristine SO boundary layer and to evaluate satellites and climate models.Read moreRead less
GBR as a significant source of climatically relevant aerosol particles. Every cloud drop is formed from a microscopic aerosol particle, known as a cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). In unpolluted environments the CCN particles originate from biogenic sources. Determining the magnitude and driving factors of biogenic aerosol production in different ecosystems is crucial to the development and improvement of climate models. This project aims to determine the mechanisms of new particle production fro ....GBR as a significant source of climatically relevant aerosol particles. Every cloud drop is formed from a microscopic aerosol particle, known as a cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). In unpolluted environments the CCN particles originate from biogenic sources. Determining the magnitude and driving factors of biogenic aerosol production in different ecosystems is crucial to the development and improvement of climate models. This project aims to determine the mechanisms of new particle production from one of the biggest ecosystems in Australia, the Great Barrier Reef. It is expected that the project will establish whether marine aerosol along the Queensland coast is coral-derived and show that this aerosol can affect the CCN concentration and therefore cloud formation and the hydrological cycle.Read moreRead less
Decimetre-level indoor positioning on Wi-Fi. This project aims to exploit both spatial and frequency diversities based on the multiple-input, multiple-out and frequency hopping techniques to achieve the goal of decimetre-level position accuracy by significantly increasing Wi-Fi bandwidth. Wi-Fi positioning is utilised in locations where GPS is blocked, typically this is within a structure. The project will design a set of mechanisms to facilitate Wi-Fi positioning, discover key principles to gui ....Decimetre-level indoor positioning on Wi-Fi. This project aims to exploit both spatial and frequency diversities based on the multiple-input, multiple-out and frequency hopping techniques to achieve the goal of decimetre-level position accuracy by significantly increasing Wi-Fi bandwidth. Wi-Fi positioning is utilised in locations where GPS is blocked, typically this is within a structure. The project will design a set of mechanisms to facilitate Wi-Fi positioning, discover key principles to guide practical design, and develop advanced algorithms to push the performance limit to decimetre-level accuracy. The project will develop key fundamental technologies which are expected to promote innovative, practical, and cost-effective applications to local industry and service sectors and contribute to Australia's long-term economic growth.Read moreRead less
University learning in the digital age: Investigating how students learn online. Learning in higher education has become more complex since much of the founding research 40 years ago, with online technologies increasingly used to engage a diverse university student population in student-centred learning. The proposed study aims to update our understanding of student learning to this contemporary university context. The project will focus specifically on how students interpret online tasks set by ....University learning in the digital age: Investigating how students learn online. Learning in higher education has become more complex since much of the founding research 40 years ago, with online technologies increasingly used to engage a diverse university student population in student-centred learning. The proposed study aims to update our understanding of student learning to this contemporary university context. The project will focus specifically on how students interpret online tasks set by their teachers, how they complete those tasks by tracking their activities in real-time, and what outcomes they achieve. This study will advance fundamental understanding of these inter-related processes, and provide the stimulus to change thinking about educational design, teaching practices, and support for students.Read moreRead less
Distributed Estimation and Control under Communication Constraints. Sensor networks will be an important technology for Australia's future. Applications range from monitoring water quality to controlling complex defence systems. This project will lead to a better understanding of the fundamental limits of wireless sensor networks. Above and beyond the creation of new theory and algorithms, the national and community benefits will include: (i) enhancement of Australia's reputation for innovative ....Distributed Estimation and Control under Communication Constraints. Sensor networks will be an important technology for Australia's future. Applications range from monitoring water quality to controlling complex defence systems. This project will lead to a better understanding of the fundamental limits of wireless sensor networks. Above and beyond the creation of new theory and algorithms, the national and community benefits will include: (i) enhancement of Australia's reputation for innovative Engineering research through quality publications and international collaborations; and (ii) improvement of the research and development capability in the information and communications technology sector through high level training of postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows in this important technology.Read moreRead less
Self-healing maps: Protecting maps through automatic updating processes. This project aims to expand our ability to automatically integrate real-time data in map databases of high integrity. Our ability to sense the environment in real-time dramatically exceeds our ability to automatically and reliably integrate mapped data. The quality assurance of map data is a lengthy process, leading either to outdated or low integrity maps. Emergency responders, traffic services and the public then act on m ....Self-healing maps: Protecting maps through automatic updating processes. This project aims to expand our ability to automatically integrate real-time data in map databases of high integrity. Our ability to sense the environment in real-time dramatically exceeds our ability to automatically and reliably integrate mapped data. The quality assurance of map data is a lengthy process, leading either to outdated or low integrity maps. Emergency responders, traffic services and the public then act on map data that cause delays and disturbances. This project intends to deliver self-healing mechanisms inspired by the human immune system, which protect maps from erroneous or malicious data, and detect and correct inconsistencies.Read moreRead less
Principles, practice, and pragmatics of measurement in experimental computer science. The project team's confidence in scientific knowledge is partly due to the robustness of the systems of measurement used in experiments. The project aims to develop principles of measurement in Computer Science, where it is critically important that we have high confidence in the methods used in applications such as medicine, finance, and internet search.
Data-smart schools: enhancing the use of digital data in secondary schools. This project aims to investigate the use of digital data in schools to identify ways to improve its capture and use. Masses of digital data are generated within schools every day, but despite its potential, this data remains poorly used and understood. The project intends to work with school communities in order to develop innovative data tools and techniques that make more effective use of the data. The project will pro ....Data-smart schools: enhancing the use of digital data in secondary schools. This project aims to investigate the use of digital data in schools to identify ways to improve its capture and use. Masses of digital data are generated within schools every day, but despite its potential, this data remains poorly used and understood. The project intends to work with school communities in order to develop innovative data tools and techniques that make more effective use of the data. The project will provide new insights into the technical, informatics, organisational and social issues surrounding the (re)use of digital data in schools and the development of digital data ‘best practice’ models. This project should provide benefits in terms of improved teaching and learning, parent engagement and use of infrastructure investment.Read moreRead less
New Generation of Secure Wireless Communications for Constrained Devices. This project aims to develop novel physical-layer security techniques to safeguard the ‘Internet of things’ (IoT). The IoT will involve billions of resource-constrained devices connected to the environment and managed though a range of wireless connections. Standard wireless security solutions are unsuitable for these devices due to the high cost of communication and computation. The project aims to develop a novel wireles ....New Generation of Secure Wireless Communications for Constrained Devices. This project aims to develop novel physical-layer security techniques to safeguard the ‘Internet of things’ (IoT). The IoT will involve billions of resource-constrained devices connected to the environment and managed though a range of wireless connections. Standard wireless security solutions are unsuitable for these devices due to the high cost of communication and computation. The project aims to develop a novel wireless security approach based on the physical-layer properties of wireless channels, to secure communications for the IoT. The fundamental advances of the first two years will be followed by a software-defined radio demonstration of the new technology. Expected project outcomes would provide innovative solutions to safeguard future commercial deployment of the IoT.Read moreRead less