Inequality, Trade, and Technology. This project aims to improve our understanding of the causes of rising income inequality in the world economy and in Australia since the early 1980s. We focus on the increasing building costs and imports of machinery as significant contributors to the increasing inequality. We hypothesize 1) that the increasing costs of buildings have reduced the demand for workers that are complementary to non-residential building capital; thus, reducing real wages; and 2) tha ....Inequality, Trade, and Technology. This project aims to improve our understanding of the causes of rising income inequality in the world economy and in Australia since the early 1980s. We focus on the increasing building costs and imports of machinery as significant contributors to the increasing inequality. We hypothesize 1) that the increasing costs of buildings have reduced the demand for workers that are complementary to non-residential building capital; thus, reducing real wages; and 2) that the marked increase in imports of machinery since the 1960s has reduced the demand for unskilled labour and widened the employment and wage gap between skilled and unskilled labour. Both factors may have driven the increasing inequality in Australia.
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Wearable thermoelectric textiles for portable microelectronics. Wearable thermoelectrics enable the power generation from the temperature difference between human body and ambient temperature by using thermoelectric effect. This project aims to design eco-friendly wearable thermoelectric textiles to realize high-efficiency solid-state power generation and meet individual needs with human comfort and health. The target is to achieve a power density in the as-designed thermoelectric textiles by th ....Wearable thermoelectric textiles for portable microelectronics. Wearable thermoelectrics enable the power generation from the temperature difference between human body and ambient temperature by using thermoelectric effect. This project aims to design eco-friendly wearable thermoelectric textiles to realize high-efficiency solid-state power generation and meet individual needs with human comfort and health. The target is to achieve a power density in the as-designed thermoelectric textiles by the optimization of materials and device design. The outcome will open up a new platform for the green and sustainable charge for portable microelectronics, which will lead to an innovative technology for energy management, which will place Australia at the forefront of wearable electronics and textile industry.Read moreRead less
Unlocking Australia's offshore gas endowment. This project aims to develop practical new methods of predicting and detecting the formation of solids in gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production. Australia has large offshore reserves of natural gas and has made the investments necessary to help fuel the global transition to cleaner, reliable energy sources. However, conventional engineering approaches of producing gas from deep-water reserves have reached the limits of viability because of t ....Unlocking Australia's offshore gas endowment. This project aims to develop practical new methods of predicting and detecting the formation of solids in gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production. Australia has large offshore reserves of natural gas and has made the investments necessary to help fuel the global transition to cleaner, reliable energy sources. However, conventional engineering approaches of producing gas from deep-water reserves have reached the limits of viability because of the costs required to prevent solids forming in subsea pipelines or cryogenic LNG plants. The project’s expected outcome include sophisticated tools in open-access software based on these new predictive methods, and a step-change in Australia’s ability to access its offshore gas.Read moreRead less
Powering Next Generation Wearable Electronics: Moisture Electric Generator . This project aims to develop next generation energy harvesting device which can directly generate electricity from the moisture in the air for self-powered, wearable electronics. The goal will be achieved by developing a new class of carbon based nanomaterials and large scale printing technology, through optimizing the materials defects, printing process and electrode configuration. The expected outcomes will be new el ....Powering Next Generation Wearable Electronics: Moisture Electric Generator . This project aims to develop next generation energy harvesting device which can directly generate electricity from the moisture in the air for self-powered, wearable electronics. The goal will be achieved by developing a new class of carbon based nanomaterials and large scale printing technology, through optimizing the materials defects, printing process and electrode configuration. The expected outcomes will be new electronic materials for a wide range of end uses in wearable electronics, significant advances in self-powered, environmentally friendly devices, and commercialisation of the technology to Australian industries.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190101296
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$386,552.00
Summary
Unlocking lab-to-field scaling in design for floating offshore structures. This project aims to develop rigorous, physics-based models to accurately predict hydrodynamics of floating offshore structures at different scales. The project will address the issue between laboratory-to-field scaling, a fundamental problem in fluid dynamics. This outcome will be achieved through the integration of numerical technology, with physical modelling and field data acquisition. The outputs from this project wi ....Unlocking lab-to-field scaling in design for floating offshore structures. This project aims to develop rigorous, physics-based models to accurately predict hydrodynamics of floating offshore structures at different scales. The project will address the issue between laboratory-to-field scaling, a fundamental problem in fluid dynamics. This outcome will be achieved through the integration of numerical technology, with physical modelling and field data acquisition. The outputs from this project will reduce risks and improve operability of existing offshore structures, and lead to more efficient design for potential floating offshore projects. This will benefit the whole community of floating offshore structures and cement Australia’s place as a pioneer in offshore industry and emerging renewable energy sector.Read moreRead less
Next generation gas separations via innovative adsorption technologies. This project aims to develop new gas separation technologies that combine novel materials and pressure swing adsorption cycles to deliver inexpensive industrial processes capable of both high recovery and high purity products. The project will advance our ability to manipulate the phenomenon of regulated guest admission into microporous materials, and integrate such materials within new types of dual-reflux adsorption cycles ....Next generation gas separations via innovative adsorption technologies. This project aims to develop new gas separation technologies that combine novel materials and pressure swing adsorption cycles to deliver inexpensive industrial processes capable of both high recovery and high purity products. The project will advance our ability to manipulate the phenomenon of regulated guest admission into microporous materials, and integrate such materials within new types of dual-reflux adsorption cycles that deliver multiple refined gas products. Successful implementation of these industrial developments will increase Australia's access to cheap supplies of natural gas, encourage the broader use of biomass, lower the carbon emissions of industrial processes, and efficiently recover high-value compounds only present at trace concentrations.Read moreRead less
Crusty Seabeds: From (Bio-)Genesis To Reliable Offshore Design. The project aims to make deep water oil and gas developments safer and cheaper by understanding better the unique seabed ‘crust’ conditions that occur in Australian waters. By studying the biogenic, structural and mechanical properties of deepwater crusts in more detail than can be done in ‘live’ oil and gas projects, this project expects to make a step change in the understanding of these seabed crusts. Expected outcomes of this pr ....Crusty Seabeds: From (Bio-)Genesis To Reliable Offshore Design. The project aims to make deep water oil and gas developments safer and cheaper by understanding better the unique seabed ‘crust’ conditions that occur in Australian waters. By studying the biogenic, structural and mechanical properties of deepwater crusts in more detail than can be done in ‘live’ oil and gas projects, this project expects to make a step change in the understanding of these seabed crusts. Expected outcomes of this project include developing new seabed investigation and design approaches for these soils. This should provide significant benefits, by facilitating the design and installation of low-risk, yet low cost seabed infrastructure (e.g. pipelines, risers, shallow foundations etc.) in these problematical seabed typesRead moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101478
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$422,998.00
Summary
Design Waves: a new basis for safer and more efficient offshore systems. This project will overcome a fundamental issue at the heart of ocean engineering design, impacting our oil, gas and renewables industries. Ocean waves are random, yet the best design tools for wave-structure interaction (model testing and computational fluid dynamics) require short, precisely-defined wave sequences. This project will establish a paradigm shift, bridging this gap via a new unified Design Wave methodology dev ....Design Waves: a new basis for safer and more efficient offshore systems. This project will overcome a fundamental issue at the heart of ocean engineering design, impacting our oil, gas and renewables industries. Ocean waves are random, yet the best design tools for wave-structure interaction (model testing and computational fluid dynamics) require short, precisely-defined wave sequences. This project will establish a paradigm shift, bridging this gap via a new unified Design Wave methodology developed for a diverse set of offshore systems, each with different criticalities. The new methodology will fuse advanced techniques in fluid mechanics, statistics and applied maths. The outcomes will create reductions in uncertainty and improvements in design and safety for facilities such as wind farms and gas platforms.Read moreRead less
Four Stage Permeability Evolution Theory for Low Permeable Rocks . There is a degree of public anxiety on how unconventional gases is extracted. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing are two key enabling technologies to extract unconventional gases. But, the current study reveals well and field productivities exhibit steep declines. This implies that current practice may not be sustainable. The successful completion of this project will provide a scientific approach to look at the susta ....Four Stage Permeability Evolution Theory for Low Permeable Rocks . There is a degree of public anxiety on how unconventional gases is extracted. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing are two key enabling technologies to extract unconventional gases. But, the current study reveals well and field productivities exhibit steep declines. This implies that current practice may not be sustainable. The successful completion of this project will provide a scientific approach to look at the sustainability issue through testing a hypothesis that the properties of rock blocks between hydraulic fractures determine the sustainability of gas production instead of hydraulic fracturing. Read moreRead less
Novel multiple-constraint model for green buildings and life-cycle analyses. This project aims to develop a multiple-constraint automation model to perform life-cycle analyses for projects in the Australian construction industry. The model will optimise construction methods for green-building implementation and offer a realistic approach to Green-star status achievement. The Life-cycle model analyses for cost, greenhouse-gas emissions and energy consumption allowing the construction methods to b ....Novel multiple-constraint model for green buildings and life-cycle analyses. This project aims to develop a multiple-constraint automation model to perform life-cycle analyses for projects in the Australian construction industry. The model will optimise construction methods for green-building implementation and offer a realistic approach to Green-star status achievement. The Life-cycle model analyses for cost, greenhouse-gas emissions and energy consumption allowing the construction methods to be optimised for minimum environmental impact. Utilisation of the model should significantly shape an organisations’ strategic planning, while a recognised high Green-star status from Green Building Council of Australia will improve their reputation and bring benefits to the construction industry.Read moreRead less