Reducing rocket resonance is the key to safer spaceflight. This fellowship considers a particularly dangerous component of rocket launch, which is the potential for destructive feedback loops to form either in the nozzle, or between the nozzle and the launch pad. CI Edgington-Mitchell is a world leader in the study of resonance in jet engines, having developed best-in-field methodologies for the problem. In this innovative fellowship, he will apply these methodologies to better understand the da ....Reducing rocket resonance is the key to safer spaceflight. This fellowship considers a particularly dangerous component of rocket launch, which is the potential for destructive feedback loops to form either in the nozzle, or between the nozzle and the launch pad. CI Edgington-Mitchell is a world leader in the study of resonance in jet engines, having developed best-in-field methodologies for the problem. In this innovative fellowship, he will apply these methodologies to better understand the dangerous resonances that can occur during rocket launch, using a combination of experimental, numerical, and theoretical techniques, in partnership with NASA, Stanford, and the CNRS.Read moreRead less
The Cenozoic tectonic evolution of East and Southeast Asia: interplay between the India-Eurasia collision and the Pacific and Sunda subduction zones. This project investigates how the Indo-Australian and Pacific tectonic plates have interacted with the Eurasian plate to form the largest continental deformation zone on Earth in East Asia, stretching from the Himalayas to Indonesia and eastern Siberia. This is important for understanding how mountain ranges form and how continents are torn apart.
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.
Environmentally sustainable shipping through improved understanding and management of wall-bounded turbulence. The thin region of turbulent flow that is pulled along by a ship's hull as it moves through the water accounts for up to 90 per cent of the overall resistance and a large amount of the fuel burnt. This project aims to control or tame recurrent flow patterns within these turbulent regions to reduce resistance, overall fuel cost and emissions from shipping.
Bridging the gap between global mechanics and regional imaging in the lungs. The detailed mechanics of breathing are not well understood, due to a lack of regional lung measurement techniques. This project aims to develop a powerful analysis tool to image in vivo mechanical properties of the lungs. The expected outcome of this project is a novel platform for investigation and understanding of lung function, enabling information previously only available for the whole lung to be calculated for lo ....Bridging the gap between global mechanics and regional imaging in the lungs. The detailed mechanics of breathing are not well understood, due to a lack of regional lung measurement techniques. This project aims to develop a powerful analysis tool to image in vivo mechanical properties of the lungs. The expected outcome of this project is a novel platform for investigation and understanding of lung function, enabling information previously only available for the whole lung to be calculated for local lung regions within the body. The image analysis methods developed are intended to enable respiratory researchers to investigate lung function in unprecedented detail, leading to new insights into the workings of this complicated and vital organ. Read moreRead less
Microscale microRNA Detection and Delivery for Effective Point-of-Care Cancer Screening and Therapeutics. MicroRNAs are short RNA molecules that play a critical regulatory role in gene expression. Recently discovered in 1993, microRNA research has since received considerable attention and is regarded as an emerging revolutionary frontier in medicine given its therapeutic ability to ‘turn off’ certain genes that lead to various diseases. Additionally, microRNA expression signatures are a strong b ....Microscale microRNA Detection and Delivery for Effective Point-of-Care Cancer Screening and Therapeutics. MicroRNAs are short RNA molecules that play a critical regulatory role in gene expression. Recently discovered in 1993, microRNA research has since received considerable attention and is regarded as an emerging revolutionary frontier in medicine given its therapeutic ability to ‘turn off’ certain genes that lead to various diseases. Additionally, microRNA expression signatures are a strong biomarker for many diseases such as cancer. This project will advance the chip-scale acoustic microcentrifugation and nebulisation technology we recently pioneered to overcome the significant hurdles currently faced in microRNA detection and delivery with the aim of developing prototype portable microdevices for early stage cancer screening and therapy.Read moreRead less
The convective boundaries in stars. This project aims to locate the boundaries of convection, a problem in models of stars. It will calculate high-resolution three-dimensional simulations of stars and observe star clusters. The effect of this advance on stellar modelling could be profound since almost all stars contain convective regions. Many branches of astronomy rely on stellar models so the effect could extend far beyond the immediate field, ultimately expanding understanding of the Universe ....The convective boundaries in stars. This project aims to locate the boundaries of convection, a problem in models of stars. It will calculate high-resolution three-dimensional simulations of stars and observe star clusters. The effect of this advance on stellar modelling could be profound since almost all stars contain convective regions. Many branches of astronomy rely on stellar models so the effect could extend far beyond the immediate field, ultimately expanding understanding of the Universe. It could also be crucial in realising the scientific advances of the surveys which are gathering data for up to a billion stars.Read moreRead less
Cosmic explosions and the origin of the elements. After the big bang, the universe consisted only of hydrogen and helium; all heavier elements, including those necessary to life were made in stars and stellar explosions. This project will develop an understanding and model stars, stellar explosions and the synthesis of heavy elements from the first stars to the present.
Spanning ten billion scales from millimetre turbulence to global circulation. This project aims to explain the role of convection in the ocean. Convection is a key climate process yet it remains one of the most poorly understood mechanisms in the ocean and is crudely represented in climate models, leading to uncertainties in predictions of heat transport, climate change, polar ice loss and sea level rise. Using a unique turbulence-resolving approach and high-performance computing, the project wi ....Spanning ten billion scales from millimetre turbulence to global circulation. This project aims to explain the role of convection in the ocean. Convection is a key climate process yet it remains one of the most poorly understood mechanisms in the ocean and is crudely represented in climate models, leading to uncertainties in predictions of heat transport, climate change, polar ice loss and sea level rise. Using a unique turbulence-resolving approach and high-performance computing, the project will determine both the global role of buoyancy-driven convection in the broad ocean circulation and the local turbulence controls on melting rates of Antarctic ice-shelves. This will contribute to the formulation of better climate models and keep Australia at the forefront of oceanography and environmental fluid dynamics.Read moreRead less