Industrial Transformation Research Hubs - Grant ID: IH170100009
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,000,000.00
Summary
ARC Research Hub for Energy-efficient Separation. The ARC Research Hub for Energy-efficient Separation aims to develop advanced separation materials, innovative products and smart processes to reduce the energy consumption of separation processes. The Research Hub will create a multi-disciplinary training platform, supplying a highly-trained workforce for the advanced manufacturing sector, particularly in separation technology–a growth area in which Australia can lead the world. The advancement ....ARC Research Hub for Energy-efficient Separation. The ARC Research Hub for Energy-efficient Separation aims to develop advanced separation materials, innovative products and smart processes to reduce the energy consumption of separation processes. The Research Hub will create a multi-disciplinary training platform, supplying a highly-trained workforce for the advanced manufacturing sector, particularly in separation technology–a growth area in which Australia can lead the world. The advancement of Australia’s capability as a world-leading technology provider in manufacturing advanced separation materials and equipment will enable Australian industry to become more energy-efficient and cost-competitive in a global economy.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC200100009
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,861,236.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre in Optimisation Technologies, Integrated Methodologies, and Applications (OPTIMA). OPTIMA addresses industry’s urgent need for decision-making tools for global competitiveness: reducing lead times, and financial and environmental costs, while improving efficiency, quality, and agility. Despite strong expertise in academia, industry is yet to fully benefit from optimisation technology due to its high barrier to entry. Connecting industry partners with world-leading interdiscip ....ARC Training Centre in Optimisation Technologies, Integrated Methodologies, and Applications (OPTIMA). OPTIMA addresses industry’s urgent need for decision-making tools for global competitiveness: reducing lead times, and financial and environmental costs, while improving efficiency, quality, and agility. Despite strong expertise in academia, industry is yet to fully benefit from optimisation technology due to its high barrier to entry. Connecting industry partners with world-leading interdisciplinary researchers and talented students, OPTIMA will advance an industry-ready optimisation toolkit, while training a new generation of industry practitioners and over 120 young researchers, vanguarding a highly skilled workforce of change agents for transformation of the advanced manufacturing, energy resources, and critical infrastructure sectors.Read moreRead less
Next generation easy-clean lenses by robust liquid-repellent nanotextures. This project aims to produce better performing self-cleaning lenses, which are less likely to get dirty and are easy to clean. It will develop water and oil repellent coatings with superior optical transparency and mechanical, solvent and UV stability for both hard coated and anti-reflection coated optical lenses. Engineering of stable, ultra-liquid repellent nanomaterials on transparent surfaces will create a foundation ....Next generation easy-clean lenses by robust liquid-repellent nanotextures. This project aims to produce better performing self-cleaning lenses, which are less likely to get dirty and are easy to clean. It will develop water and oil repellent coatings with superior optical transparency and mechanical, solvent and UV stability for both hard coated and anti-reflection coated optical lenses. Engineering of stable, ultra-liquid repellent nanomaterials on transparent surfaces will create a foundation of knowledge for the industrial development of the future generation of easy care coatings, with vast application potential.Read moreRead less
Assessing The Effectiveness Of LEDs, T90 Cod-end/grid Trawl Systems And Net Modifications For Reducing Bycatch And Improving Efficiency And Selectivity Of Catches In South Australian Prawn Fisheries
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$965,454.00
Summary
There are three commercial Prawn fisheries in South Australia: Spencer Gulf Prawn Fishery (SGPF); Gulf St Vincent Prawn Fishery (GSVPF); and West Coast Prawn Fishery (WCPF). All exclusively target the Western King Prawn (Penaeus (Melicertus) latisulcatus). The SGPF is the largest in terms of total area (22,367 km2), production (latest 10-year mean: 1,853 t p.a.), and number of licence holders / vessels (39). The WCPF is the smallest of the prawn fisheries with three licences (68 t in 2021). Ther ....There are three commercial Prawn fisheries in South Australia: Spencer Gulf Prawn Fishery (SGPF); Gulf St Vincent Prawn Fishery (GSVPF); and West Coast Prawn Fishery (WCPF). All exclusively target the Western King Prawn (Penaeus (Melicertus) latisulcatus). The SGPF is the largest in terms of total area (22,367 km2), production (latest 10-year mean: 1,853 t p.a.), and number of licence holders / vessels (39). The WCPF is the smallest of the prawn fisheries with three licences (68 t in 2021). There are currently 10 commercial fishing licences issued for the GSVPF with production in 2021/22 at 138.5 t. Balmain Bugs (Ibacus spp.) and Southern Calamari (Sepioteuthis australis) may be retained as byproduct in each fishery.
There is ongoing interest in maintaining a program that assesses, refines and ultimately adopts bycatch mitigation strategies. Steps taken to reduce bycatch and / or discard mortalities in South Australia include avoidance (i.e. spatial and temporal closures and reduced trawl footprint), changes to on-board handling (i.e. ‘crab bag’, sorting grid, hopper with water flow-through system), and trialling and / or use of bycatch reduction devices (i.e. Nordmøre grid, Tom's fisheye, T90 cod-end / grid design modifications) and tools (i.e. LEDs). However, the benefits of some of these bycatch mitigation strategies are not fully understood (e.g. LEDs, Tom’s fisheye) and further development is needed to achieve optimum outcomes for the resource, industry, and the environment. There is a genuine interest from industry to assess catch efficiency and selectivity of different trawl systems (e.g. quad versus double rig) and net configurations (e.g changes to cod-end and trawl body) in GSVPF and LED configurations / colours in SGPF to determine impacts on prawn catch and bycatch.
Our study aims to 1) Assess the effectiveness of LEDs in reducing bycatch, while minimizing prawn loss, in the SGPF; 2) Test the effects of trawl systems (e.g. quad vs double rig) and net configurations (e.g. changes to cod-end and trawl body) on trawl efficiency and catch selectivity in the GSVPF; and 3) Build on existing cost-benefit analysis knowledge and tools (i.e. FRDC 2011-209 , FRDC 2011-750 and FRDC 2016-213) to quantify the economic / productivity outcomes of prawn trawl modifications.
This project directly addresses South Australian Prawn Fishery’s research needs (i.e. research plans proposed by the GSVPFMAC and SGPF RSC) and will showcase the potential for further bycatch mitigation to increase fishing yield, value, and profitability while reducing bycatch. Furthermore, the outputs can be extended through the Australian Council of Prawn Fisheries (ACPF) to other Australian prawn trawl fisheries that have similar needs to mitigate and monitor bycatch. Objectives: 1. Assess the effectiveness of LEDs in reducing bycatch, while minimizing prawn loss, in the SGPF 2. Test the effects of trawl systems (e.g. quad versus double rig) and net configurations (e.g. changes to the cod-end and trawl body) on trawl efficiency and catch selectivity in the GSVPF 3. Build on existing cost-benefit analysis knowledge and tools (i.e. FRDC 2011-209 , FRDC 2011-750 and FRDC 2016-213) to quantify the economic / productivity outcomes of prawn trawl gear modifications Read moreRead less
Laser cleaning processes for Roads and Maritime Services bridges. This project aims to develop innovative laser cleaning processes to conserve the structural integrity and iconic status of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. New laser technologies offer the opportunity to remove lead-based paint and clean the bridge’s metal structures and granite pylons offering advantages unavailable with current techniques. The expected outcomes will be new best-practice laser conservation techniques usable for both ha ....Laser cleaning processes for Roads and Maritime Services bridges. This project aims to develop innovative laser cleaning processes to conserve the structural integrity and iconic status of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. New laser technologies offer the opportunity to remove lead-based paint and clean the bridge’s metal structures and granite pylons offering advantages unavailable with current techniques. The expected outcomes will be new best-practice laser conservation techniques usable for both hand-held and automated systems to preserve one of the most iconic bridges in the world. This will reduce maintenance frequency and cost, restore the beauty of the bridge, retain its engineering significance and provide a baseline process for cleaning of other historical large scale metal and stone heritage objects.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence in Future Low Energy Electronics Technologies. This Centre aims to develop the scientific foundation and intellectual property for new electronics technologies. Decreasing energy use is a major societal challenge, and this Centre aims to meet that challenge by realising fundamentally new types of electronic conduction without resistance in solid-state systems at room temperature. Novel resistance-free electronic phenomena at room temperature are expected to form the basi ....ARC Centre of Excellence in Future Low Energy Electronics Technologies. This Centre aims to develop the scientific foundation and intellectual property for new electronics technologies. Decreasing energy use is a major societal challenge, and this Centre aims to meet that challenge by realising fundamentally new types of electronic conduction without resistance in solid-state systems at room temperature. Novel resistance-free electronic phenomena at room temperature are expected to form the basis of integrated electronics technology with ultra-low energy consumption. This Centre’s development of innovative electronics could put Australia at the forefront of the international electronics industry.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100992
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$426,216.00
Summary
A novel epigenetic clock tool to conserve Australia’s threatened seabirds. The aim is to develop a novel epigenetic technique for the demographic assessment of long-lived seabirds, including albatrosses and petrels, for application to the conservation of 11 threatened species breeding across Australia. A major innovation will be an affordable and fieldwork-friendly technique to demographically fingerprint any population, ending the large amount of guesswork currently necessary in management. The ....A novel epigenetic clock tool to conserve Australia’s threatened seabirds. The aim is to develop a novel epigenetic technique for the demographic assessment of long-lived seabirds, including albatrosses and petrels, for application to the conservation of 11 threatened species breeding across Australia. A major innovation will be an affordable and fieldwork-friendly technique to demographically fingerprint any population, ending the large amount of guesswork currently necessary in management. The outcome is expected to enable (i) scientists and wildlife managers to impute the impact of threats and management activities on seabird populations, allowing quantitative scenario modelling, and (ii) stakeholders to analyse numerous threats and optimise management responses to these through research-based decision-making.Read moreRead less
Snails to the rescue! Conservation of Australia’s island invertebrates. This project aims to deliver an exemplar industry network model for conservation on Australia’s islands which are hotspots both of biodiversity and of extinctions. Protecting species on islands is therefore key to securing Australia’s biodiversity. We will secure Norfolk Island's 60 species of land snails via in situ and ex situ conservation with six key industry partners. The project expects to unite conservation actions ac ....Snails to the rescue! Conservation of Australia’s island invertebrates. This project aims to deliver an exemplar industry network model for conservation on Australia’s islands which are hotspots both of biodiversity and of extinctions. Protecting species on islands is therefore key to securing Australia’s biodiversity. We will secure Norfolk Island's 60 species of land snails via in situ and ex situ conservation with six key industry partners. The project expects to unite conservation actions across research, governments, and industry. Expected outcomes of this project include Norfolk Island emerging as a leader in global conservation. This should provide significant benefits such as a model for conservation that is applicable to thousands of isolated, range-restricted invertebrate species across Australia.Read moreRead less
Upscaling genetic management of wildlife populations. Earth’s biodiversity is in crisis: many species are threatened with extinction and need our help. Genetic management helps to stop extinctions and promotes the health and continued existence of our wildlife. This project aims to understand how to use genome science to support preservation of four endangered species in changing climates and apply these learnings to help other species to survive and thrive. Anticipated outcomes include innovati ....Upscaling genetic management of wildlife populations. Earth’s biodiversity is in crisis: many species are threatened with extinction and need our help. Genetic management helps to stop extinctions and promotes the health and continued existence of our wildlife. This project aims to understand how to use genome science to support preservation of four endangered species in changing climates and apply these learnings to help other species to survive and thrive. Anticipated outcomes include innovative approaches to aid conservation decision-making, automated analyses of genome data, and improved conservation training. The expected benefits include larger, healthier populations of four species, new ways of saving other species, and the provision of important resources for conservation managers.Read moreRead less