Extreme astrophysics in the age of gravitational waves. This project aims to probe the most catastrophic explosions in the universe. It will use gravitational wave astronomy to detect an exotic effect that causes space to permanently deform following cataclysmic events, determine the origin of binary black holes by measuring statistical properties of many mergers, and use observations of colliding neutron stars to understand the physics of the biggest explosions in the Universe. This project wil ....Extreme astrophysics in the age of gravitational waves. This project aims to probe the most catastrophic explosions in the universe. It will use gravitational wave astronomy to detect an exotic effect that causes space to permanently deform following cataclysmic events, determine the origin of binary black holes by measuring statistical properties of many mergers, and use observations of colliding neutron stars to understand the physics of the biggest explosions in the Universe. This project will lay the framework for the next decade of the new field of gravitational-wave astronomy.Read moreRead less
Direct geothermal energy: harnessing an emerging technology. To mitigate the impacts of climate change, the demand for renewable energy technologies with low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is rapidly becoming a global priority. Direct geothermal systems use shallow ground as a heat source and sink for heating and cooling buildings, using ground heat exchangers (GHEs) and heat pumps. Substituting common heating and cooling systems with geothermal ones can reduce energy consumption by up to 75 per ....Direct geothermal energy: harnessing an emerging technology. To mitigate the impacts of climate change, the demand for renewable energy technologies with low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is rapidly becoming a global priority. Direct geothermal systems use shallow ground as a heat source and sink for heating and cooling buildings, using ground heat exchangers (GHEs) and heat pumps. Substituting common heating and cooling systems with geothermal ones can reduce energy consumption by up to 75 per cent and thus greenhouse gas emissions, since 91 per cent of electricity comes from fossil fuels in Australia. This project aims to develop new full scale physical and numerical models which will allow studying the effects of GHE configuration and intermittent use on efficiency and which will lead towards improving the poor and scarce existing design techniques.Read moreRead less
Taming turbulence with long-chain polymers. Aerodynamics, hydrodynamics and the efficiency of pumping oil, gas and water through long pipelines can be dramatically improved by reducing the high friction loss caused by turbulent flow. This project will develop the world's largest laboratory turbulent pipe flow facility to test efficiency gains and limitations of polymer addition.
Growing a multi-scale internal structure: new wrought metals for energy conservation. This research aims to reduce the weight of wrought metal parts so that transport and machinery will use less energy. It will establish how to grow novel multi-scale internal structures and will thereby pioneer a new class of metals that display superior properties.
Computer-Aided Design of High-Performance Photocatalysts for Solar Hydrogen Production Based on Red Titanium Dioxide. Large-scale generation of energy by solar conversion is critical for future sustainability. This project aims to develop high performance materials to efficiently convert solar energy to hydrogen - a clean fuel. Starting from the newly developed material red titanium dioxide, novel strategies for improved photocatalytic materials will be proposed and evaluated by advanced computa ....Computer-Aided Design of High-Performance Photocatalysts for Solar Hydrogen Production Based on Red Titanium Dioxide. Large-scale generation of energy by solar conversion is critical for future sustainability. This project aims to develop high performance materials to efficiently convert solar energy to hydrogen - a clean fuel. Starting from the newly developed material red titanium dioxide, novel strategies for improved photocatalytic materials will be proposed and evaluated by advanced computational approaches. Key issues for solar-to-hydrogen conversion will be clarified. The materials, knowledge and strategies achieved by this project will dramatically enhance current solar technology and in particular will advance the development of low-cost hydrogen production from water. Read moreRead less
Adaptive nanofabrication of monolithic multifunctional sensing chips. This project aims to develop a new miniaturised graphene sensing platform integrating multiparameter sensing, wireless charging and data communication on a single chip to revolutionise the ubiquitous wireless sensing networks. By exploring the versatile laser nanofabrication, multiple devices can be inscribed into one flexible mini-chip for the first time. The chip can transform any objects into intelligent, multifunctional an ....Adaptive nanofabrication of monolithic multifunctional sensing chips. This project aims to develop a new miniaturised graphene sensing platform integrating multiparameter sensing, wireless charging and data communication on a single chip to revolutionise the ubiquitous wireless sensing networks. By exploring the versatile laser nanofabrication, multiple devices can be inscribed into one flexible mini-chip for the first time. The chip can transform any objects into intelligent, multifunctional and energy-efficient sensors and find enormous applications in advanced manufacturing, logistics, health monitoring, supply chain and security. It underpins almost every sector of our daily life, securing Australia’s internationally leading position in digitalisation and creating significant social and economic benefits.Read moreRead less
Laser nanoprinting of active graphene micro-tag for terahertz digital ID. This project aims at harnessing the unique THz response of laser nanoprinted graphene metamaterials and developing disruptive micro-tag technology. Through actively tuning the structured metamaterials, THz micro-tags with ultrahigh data security and energy efficiency, low cost, flexibility and attachable to any object can be enabled. Such high performance graphene THz ID tags will be first of their kind and are expected t ....Laser nanoprinting of active graphene micro-tag for terahertz digital ID. This project aims at harnessing the unique THz response of laser nanoprinted graphene metamaterials and developing disruptive micro-tag technology. Through actively tuning the structured metamaterials, THz micro-tags with ultrahigh data security and energy efficiency, low cost, flexibility and attachable to any object can be enabled. Such high performance graphene THz ID tags will be first of their kind and are expected to underpin every sector of our life including manufacturing, logistics, biomedicine, personal care, supply chain, retail and security. The outcomes will secure Australia’s international leading position in next generation tag and digitalisation technology and create significant social and economic benefits to Australians.Read moreRead less
Piezoelectric nanofibre membranes with built-in p-n junction: new self-rectifying piezoelectric power generators. This project will aim to develop new knowledge about how to efficiently convert small mechanical energy into directly usable electric power using piezoelectric nanofibre membranes and will fill this knowledge gap by systematically understanding the influence of doping agents on the charge transport during energy conversion.
New dimensions of electrocatalyst design for sustainable energy future. This project aims to produce valuable chemicals from air, water and Australia’s abundant renewable energy, by developing efficient, robust catalysts for water oxidation, nitrogen reduction and ammonia oxidation — key processes for sustainable production of green fuels and fertilisers. The interdisciplinary project strategy will use a suite of advanced instrumental and theoretical tools to understand and control how catalysts ....New dimensions of electrocatalyst design for sustainable energy future. This project aims to produce valuable chemicals from air, water and Australia’s abundant renewable energy, by developing efficient, robust catalysts for water oxidation, nitrogen reduction and ammonia oxidation — key processes for sustainable production of green fuels and fertilisers. The interdisciplinary project strategy will use a suite of advanced instrumental and theoretical tools to understand and control how catalysts operate. Expected outcomes include new techniques to study catalysts, new catalyst design concepts, and novel high-performance catalytic materials and devices for sustainable electrosynthesis. These new technologies should reduce emissions and help Australia be a world leader in renewable-energy and fertiliser export.Read moreRead less
Dynamic resource provisioning for autonomic management of cloud computing environments. In the next 20 years, service-oriented computing will play an important role in shaping the industry and will require cloud infrastructure hosting applications to deliver services at low cost. This project will develop technologies for self-managed cloud computing platforms that reduce usage and operational costs, thus transforming the Australian economy.