Complex data, model selection and bootstrap inference. The project will provide new statistical methods and associated software for the analysis and modelling of complex data, as well as quality research training. This project will benefit researchers in statistics and users of statistics who encounter the complex data considered in this project and who need to model and make inferences from these data. Since these kinds of data arise in many areas (such as medicine, genetics, chemistry etc), ....Complex data, model selection and bootstrap inference. The project will provide new statistical methods and associated software for the analysis and modelling of complex data, as well as quality research training. This project will benefit researchers in statistics and users of statistics who encounter the complex data considered in this project and who need to model and make inferences from these data. Since these kinds of data arise in many areas (such as medicine, genetics, chemistry etc), Australia and Australian industry will ultimately benefit from the proposed research. The strengthening of international link and the training of highly trained research scientists in an area of national importance will also benefit Australia.Read moreRead less
Bootstrap methods for data with multiple errors. This project will provide new methods for data analysis and quality research training. The results will benefit researchers in statistics and users of statistics who encounter data with multiple errors and who need to make inferences from these data. The many areas from which such data arise (including medicine, genetics, chemistry, education, social surveys etc) mean that Australia and Australian Industry will also ultimately benefit from the r ....Bootstrap methods for data with multiple errors. This project will provide new methods for data analysis and quality research training. The results will benefit researchers in statistics and users of statistics who encounter data with multiple errors and who need to make inferences from these data. The many areas from which such data arise (including medicine, genetics, chemistry, education, social surveys etc) mean that Australia and Australian Industry will also ultimately benefit from the research. The strengthening of international links and the training of highly trained researchers will also benefit the Australian community.Read moreRead less
NONPARAMETRIC STATISTICS. Nonparametric statistical methods are techniques that implicitly choose statistical models from exceptionally large and highly adaptive classes. The project aims to develop innovative and practicable nonparametric methods in four areas: Statistical Smoothing, Data Mining, Mixture Methods and Robust Inference. The significance of the work lies in its novelty, the breadth of its practical motivation, and its position at the leading edge of contemporary work in statisti ....NONPARAMETRIC STATISTICS. Nonparametric statistical methods are techniques that implicitly choose statistical models from exceptionally large and highly adaptive classes. The project aims to develop innovative and practicable nonparametric methods in four areas: Statistical Smoothing, Data Mining, Mixture Methods and Robust Inference. The significance of the work lies in its novelty, the breadth of its practical motivation, and its position at the leading edge of contemporary work in statistics. Expected outcomes include new technologies for data analysis.Read moreRead less
Theory and Applications of Computer-Intensive Statistical Methods. The availability of powerful computing equipment has had a dramatic impact on statistical methods and thinking. It has motivated development of novel approaches to data analysis, whose conception
and appreciation, even their application, often demand sophisticated and complex theoretical methods. In this context, the project will develop new approaches to solving non-standard statistical problems. These techniques will eithe ....Theory and Applications of Computer-Intensive Statistical Methods. The availability of powerful computing equipment has had a dramatic impact on statistical methods and thinking. It has motivated development of novel approaches to data analysis, whose conception
and appreciation, even their application, often demand sophisticated and complex theoretical methods. In this context, the project will develop new approaches to solving non-standard statistical problems. These techniques will either have direct application to solving practical problems of national or community concern, or provide a better understanding of the nature of such problems.Read moreRead less
New mathematical and statistical methods that inform the control of infectious disease outbreaks. Emerging infectious diseases are an ever-present threat to our community, as highlighted by the recent SARS epidemic and current fears concerning avian influenza. The research proposed by this project will help policy makers implement effective border control and outbreak control against a variety of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, including SARS, influenza and the deliberate release o ....New mathematical and statistical methods that inform the control of infectious disease outbreaks. Emerging infectious diseases are an ever-present threat to our community, as highlighted by the recent SARS epidemic and current fears concerning avian influenza. The research proposed by this project will help policy makers implement effective border control and outbreak control against a variety of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, including SARS, influenza and the deliberate release of an infectious disease such as smallpox. The project will enhance preparedness through a better understanding of the relative merits of different control strategies, and provide new methodology that can dynamically guide border and outbreak control in the midst of an outbreak by making effective use of data. Read moreRead less
Bayesian inversion and computation applied to atmospheric flux fields. This project aims to make use of unprecedented sources of measurements, from remote sensing and in situ data, to estimate the sources and sinks of greenhouse gases. An overabundance of greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere is arguably the most serious long-term threat to the planet's ecosystems. This project will combine measurement uncertainties, process uncertainties in the physical transport models, and any parameter unce ....Bayesian inversion and computation applied to atmospheric flux fields. This project aims to make use of unprecedented sources of measurements, from remote sensing and in situ data, to estimate the sources and sinks of greenhouse gases. An overabundance of greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere is arguably the most serious long-term threat to the planet's ecosystems. This project will combine measurement uncertainties, process uncertainties in the physical transport models, and any parameter uncertainties, to provide reliable uncertainty quantification for the estimates. This will be achieved with new Bayesian spatio-temporal inversions and big-data computational strategies. The resulting statistical inferences on greenhouse-gas flux fields will enable the development of critical mitigation strategies. These new statistical inferences will be a valuable resource to policy-makers worldwide, who are assessing progress towards global commitments. Further, the final product may assist in developing cost-effective mitigation strategies in the presence of uncertainty.Read moreRead less
TOWARDS A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF HOW ENZYMES WORK: development of simulation methods and protocols, blind test predictions, and experimental validation. Enzymes catalyze quite fantastic chemistry under mild physiological conditions. Many special chemical concepts (such as "transition-state stabilization" and "entropy-enthalpy compensation") proposed to explain these powers are unnecessary. Uniquely for a catalyst, these powers are integral to the structure, properties and dynamics of the protei ....TOWARDS A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF HOW ENZYMES WORK: development of simulation methods and protocols, blind test predictions, and experimental validation. Enzymes catalyze quite fantastic chemistry under mild physiological conditions. Many special chemical concepts (such as "transition-state stabilization" and "entropy-enthalpy compensation") proposed to explain these powers are unnecessary. Uniquely for a catalyst, these powers are integral to the structure, properties and dynamics of the protein, as constrained and selected by evolution. The question is how do they work? Answering this requires energetic and thermodynamic analysis beyond current experimental techniques, but accessible by computer simulation. We aim to develop a robust toolkit of simulation methods and protocols, blind test them by predicting the mechanism of a new enzyme, with followup experimental validation.
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Importance of conformational and electrostatic contributions in simulations of enzyme reaction mechanisms. The research will contribute to the development of biomolecular simulation in Australia by demonstrating its potential to complement experiment, and also promote the effective use of APAC (Australian national supercomputer facilities) resources by providing advanced programs and computational protocols for other researchers. It will assist the diffusion of computational biology technology i ....Importance of conformational and electrostatic contributions in simulations of enzyme reaction mechanisms. The research will contribute to the development of biomolecular simulation in Australia by demonstrating its potential to complement experiment, and also promote the effective use of APAC (Australian national supercomputer facilities) resources by providing advanced programs and computational protocols for other researchers. It will assist the diffusion of computational biology technology into industrial applications such as rational drug design and protein engineering, as, for example, in our associated Linkage project grant, and provide novel insights into protein engineering and other sorts of design, which transcend concepts currently used in biomimetic chemistry.Read moreRead less
Feature Learning for High-dimensional Functional Time Series. This project aims to develop new methods and theories for common features on high-dimensional functional time series observed in empirical applications. The significance includes addressing a key gap in adaptive and efficient feature learning, improving forecasting accuracy and understanding forecasting-driven factors comprehensively for empirical data. Expected outcomes involve advances in big data theory and easy-to-implement algori ....Feature Learning for High-dimensional Functional Time Series. This project aims to develop new methods and theories for common features on high-dimensional functional time series observed in empirical applications. The significance includes addressing a key gap in adaptive and efficient feature learning, improving forecasting accuracy and understanding forecasting-driven factors comprehensively for empirical data. Expected outcomes involve advances in big data theory and easy-to-implement algorithms for applied researchers. This project benefits not only advanced manufacturing by finding optimal stopping time for wood panel compression, but also superior forecasting for mortality in demography, climate data in environmental science, asset returns in finance, and electricity consumption in economics. Read moreRead less
Statistical Advances in the Post-Genome Era. Biologically relevant statistical foundations for post-genome biology and biotechnology will be developed. Specific goals of the topics include the development of accurate and more efficient algorithms for sequence alignments, improved models to maximise the accuracy of analyses for gene expression data and superior statistical methods for identification of complex gene networks that predispose an organism to disease. The Project will make significant ....Statistical Advances in the Post-Genome Era. Biologically relevant statistical foundations for post-genome biology and biotechnology will be developed. Specific goals of the topics include the development of accurate and more efficient algorithms for sequence alignments, improved models to maximise the accuracy of analyses for gene expression data and superior statistical methods for identification of complex gene networks that predispose an organism to disease. The Project will make significant contributions to the new and evolving priority research area of Bioinformation Science (including bioinformatics). Outcomes will include novel techniques for analysis and mining of post-genome data, with applications to developments in Bio-medicine and Bio-agricultureRead moreRead less