Numerical simulation of seismic waves in the regional and global earth with 3D Gaussian quadrature grids. The ability to realistically model the propagation of seismic waves through the global 3D earth, taking account of all internal and surface complexity, is extremely important for predicting the response to earthquakes and imaging the interior structure. This will lead to fundamental new knowledge on Earth constitution and heterogeneity, and will have spin-off benefits in others areas such as ....Numerical simulation of seismic waves in the regional and global earth with 3D Gaussian quadrature grids. The ability to realistically model the propagation of seismic waves through the global 3D earth, taking account of all internal and surface complexity, is extremely important for predicting the response to earthquakes and imaging the interior structure. This will lead to fundamental new knowledge on Earth constitution and heterogeneity, and will have spin-off benefits in others areas such as exploring for oil and minerals, and better understanding of seismic hazard. The numerical modelling and seismic data analysis will be done on a supercomputer, thus providing important training for research students. Read moreRead less
Seismic wave modelling and inversion for the most general 3-D anisotropic media. Advanced numerical techniques will be developed and applied to simulate the kinematic and dynamic properties of seismic wave propagation in a complex three-dimensional Earth, involving topography, heterogeneity and the most general anisotropy defined by 21 spatially-dependent elastic moduli. We will develop 2D/3D ray-tracing methods for anisotropic traveltime tomography, 2.5D/3D frequency-domain spectral element met ....Seismic wave modelling and inversion for the most general 3-D anisotropic media. Advanced numerical techniques will be developed and applied to simulate the kinematic and dynamic properties of seismic wave propagation in a complex three-dimensional Earth, involving topography, heterogeneity and the most general anisotropy defined by 21 spatially-dependent elastic moduli. We will develop 2D/3D ray-tracing methods for anisotropic traveltime tomography, 2.5D/3D frequency-domain spectral element methods for full waveform inversion of observational data, and make all these techniques applicable for subsurface imaging under various classes of anisotropy in the Earth. Results will be important for petroleum exploration as well as earthquake seismology and probing the structure of the Earth's deep interior.Read moreRead less
Engineering nanomembranes for Long-term Implanted Flexible Electronics. This project aims to investigate the key technologies of inorganic semiconductor nanomembranes for long-lived bio-integrated electronics. Taking advantage of the well-established silicon carbide (SiC) synthesis and fabrication technology, the project expects to elucidate a new understanding of the SiC-on-polymer platform, establishing a foundational guideline for the development of chemically inert and mechanically flexible ....Engineering nanomembranes for Long-term Implanted Flexible Electronics. This project aims to investigate the key technologies of inorganic semiconductor nanomembranes for long-lived bio-integrated electronics. Taking advantage of the well-established silicon carbide (SiC) synthesis and fabrication technology, the project expects to elucidate a new understanding of the SiC-on-polymer platform, establishing a foundational guideline for the development of chemically inert and mechanically flexible devices. These findings will offer innovative solutions for daunting challenges in bio-integrated electronics, leveraging their safety, reliability, and long-term performance. The project expects to offer Australia cutting edge technologies and an impact profile in the fast-growing flexible bio-electronics market.Read moreRead less
Next Generation Terahertz Materials. We will investigate novel tuneable terahertz (THz) metamaterials, based on the exploitation of phase change materials. Tunable metamaterial-based terahertz devices, such as modulators and filters, will potentially generate significant downstream IP for short-path wireless applications. This fills a critical need to meet the increasing demand for greater bandwidth. Elucidation of the fundamental science underlying the interaction between terahertz signals and ....Next Generation Terahertz Materials. We will investigate novel tuneable terahertz (THz) metamaterials, based on the exploitation of phase change materials. Tunable metamaterial-based terahertz devices, such as modulators and filters, will potentially generate significant downstream IP for short-path wireless applications. This fills a critical need to meet the increasing demand for greater bandwidth. Elucidation of the fundamental science underlying the interaction between terahertz signals and phase-change materials will enable tuneable metamaterials. A major leap will be devices that can steer and modulate terahertz signals with unprecedented agility and compactness; enabling future high-bandwidth desktop data transfer.Read moreRead less
Nanoscale Particle Control by Rigid Biomineralised Surfaces. The proposed research will increase understanding of the strategies diatoms use to sort particles. Our hypothesis is that in the process of understanding how these diatom surfaces control particles, blueprints for microfluidic devices will be identified. The appeal of diatoms goes beyond consideration of the geometrical patterning on their surfaces, because their frustules (the diatomic shells) are made primarily out of silica, a mater ....Nanoscale Particle Control by Rigid Biomineralised Surfaces. The proposed research will increase understanding of the strategies diatoms use to sort particles. Our hypothesis is that in the process of understanding how these diatom surfaces control particles, blueprints for microfluidic devices will be identified. The appeal of diatoms goes beyond consideration of the geometrical patterning on their surfaces, because their frustules (the diatomic shells) are made primarily out of silica, a material also used in nanofabrication. We expect that some of the strategies and patterns used by cells will be able to be directly transferred to microfluidics, and bypass years of empirical development in nanofabrication and lab-on-a-chip devices.Read moreRead less
Nanoscale silicon field-effect transistor diagnostic technology. This project aims to overcome barriers to the implementation of silicon field-effect transistor biosensors. It will investigate the biosensors’ physical and structural properties. This knowledge, combined with technological and conceptual advances, could foster the development of an advanced and translational point-of-care diagnostic technology to rapidly and sensitively detect malignant tissues. Such technology would have commerci ....Nanoscale silicon field-effect transistor diagnostic technology. This project aims to overcome barriers to the implementation of silicon field-effect transistor biosensors. It will investigate the biosensors’ physical and structural properties. This knowledge, combined with technological and conceptual advances, could foster the development of an advanced and translational point-of-care diagnostic technology to rapidly and sensitively detect malignant tissues. Such technology would have commercial potential and important societal benefits.Read moreRead less
Low Power Architectures for the Wavelet Transform and JPEG2000. Recently a new international standard for image compression has been proposed, JPEG2000. This new method updates the well established JPEG standard and will be incorporated into digital cameras, web pads, etc.
In this project we will investigate low power architectures for the wavelet transforms used in this standard, and combine this with an embedded processor core to deliver a complete system on a chip solution for low power JPEG ....Low Power Architectures for the Wavelet Transform and JPEG2000. Recently a new international standard for image compression has been proposed, JPEG2000. This new method updates the well established JPEG standard and will be incorporated into digital cameras, web pads, etc.
In this project we will investigate low power architectures for the wavelet transforms used in this standard, and combine this with an embedded processor core to deliver a complete system on a chip solution for low power JPEG2000.Read moreRead less
Substrate-integrated wearable antennas for unobtrusive activity monitoring. This project aims to develop a novel class of wearable textile antennas that can form robust connections with miniature battery-less motion sensors for non-invasive activity monitoring of older people. In contrast to bulky body worn sensors that must be strapped on, it is anticipated that the garment-integrated textile antennas patterned through computerised embroidery will lead to low-cost, low-profile, and flexible ant ....Substrate-integrated wearable antennas for unobtrusive activity monitoring. This project aims to develop a novel class of wearable textile antennas that can form robust connections with miniature battery-less motion sensors for non-invasive activity monitoring of older people. In contrast to bulky body worn sensors that must be strapped on, it is anticipated that the garment-integrated textile antennas patterned through computerised embroidery will lead to low-cost, low-profile, and flexible antennas that are truly wearable with exceptional performance and scalable manufacturing techniques. The outcomes from the project are expected to underpin innovative applications, such as aged care, providing a means for caregivers to automatically monitor health and physical activity and intervene as required. Such applications would support ageing Australians to live with greater independence and safety.Read moreRead less
Surface Engineered Biomaterials to Control Inflammation. The overarching aim of this project is to provide a mechanistic understanding of how surface nanotopography affects inflammatory responses. Experimental evidence demonstrates that engineered surface nanotopography in combination with surface chemistry downregulates the expression of proinflammatory cytokines from primary macrophages. The significance of these findings is that it may be possible to engineer the nanotopography of a biomedica ....Surface Engineered Biomaterials to Control Inflammation. The overarching aim of this project is to provide a mechanistic understanding of how surface nanotopography affects inflammatory responses. Experimental evidence demonstrates that engineered surface nanotopography in combination with surface chemistry downregulates the expression of proinflammatory cytokines from primary macrophages. The significance of these findings is that it may be possible to engineer the nanotopography of a biomedical device surface in a manner which leads to a desired and predictable level of inflammation and subsequent foreign body reaction (FBR) medical implants and tissue engineering constructs.Read moreRead less
Dynamic terahertz superlenses for sub-wavelength sensing and imaging. We propose to develop a 'dynamic terahertz superlens' that will dramatically enhance the performance of existing T-ray imaging systems used for biosensing of cells, DNA and proteins. The science of the superlens is remarkable in that it enables image resolution shorter than the wavelength.