Engineering Nanostructured Bio-inspired Products. New nanostructured products that draw on biology promise to revolutionise our lives and economy. Designer emulsions and self-assembling particles inspired by viruses are two such products that form the focus for this research programme. The constitutive behaviour of bio-molecular films that control emulsion performance will be characterised and linked to molecular properties and manufacturing conditions. A broad-based technology platform for t ....Engineering Nanostructured Bio-inspired Products. New nanostructured products that draw on biology promise to revolutionise our lives and economy. Designer emulsions and self-assembling particles inspired by viruses are two such products that form the focus for this research programme. The constitutive behaviour of bio-molecular films that control emulsion performance will be characterised and linked to molecular properties and manufacturing conditions. A broad-based technology platform for the in vitro creation of self-assembling biological nanoparticles will also be developed. Key outcomes will be valuable IPR and fundamental engineering science knowledge to ensure that the value chain for this class of products can deliver commercial outcomes.Read moreRead less
Rethinking Mental Health Laws: An Integrated Approach. Mental health is one of the Commonwealth Government's national health priority areas. This research program will ensure the best possible outcomes for the Government's five-year action plan for better mental health services by developing model legal frameworks that will help shape the way in which individuals with mental illnesses can access the highest attainable standard of mental health care. Through interdisciplinary collaboration and th ....Rethinking Mental Health Laws: An Integrated Approach. Mental health is one of the Commonwealth Government's national health priority areas. This research program will ensure the best possible outcomes for the Government's five-year action plan for better mental health services by developing model legal frameworks that will help shape the way in which individuals with mental illnesses can access the highest attainable standard of mental health care. Through interdisciplinary collaboration and through developing model frameworks for both civil commitment and sentencing laws, this program will enable Australia to set the international agenda as to how countries can best respond to the mental health needs of their citizens.Read moreRead less
Fault-tolerant operation and scale-up of a silicon quantum computer beyond laboratory prototypes. The Centre for Quantum Computer Technology's mission is the construction of a prototype few-qubit silicon quantum processor to demonstrate the feasibility of this breakthrough technology for massively parallel computation. This application will initiate a new strategic research program within the Centre to address the key issue of interfacing laboratory with silicon CMOS microelectronics. The Hybrid ....Fault-tolerant operation and scale-up of a silicon quantum computer beyond laboratory prototypes. The Centre for Quantum Computer Technology's mission is the construction of a prototype few-qubit silicon quantum processor to demonstrate the feasibility of this breakthrough technology for massively parallel computation. This application will initiate a new strategic research program within the Centre to address the key issue of interfacing laboratory with silicon CMOS microelectronics. The Hybrid Quantum- Conventional Processor will provide calibrated gate control and readout of individual buried atom quantum bits,to run logic operations with quantum error correction. This program will require a deep understanding of physics issues to develop fault tolerant coherent control of qubit arrays for real applications.Read moreRead less
Optimism, Pessimism and Confidence - Their economic impacts. When modelling uncertainty, economists typically assume people utilise well-behaved and precise probabilities. As most people have only the vaguest conception of chances of terrorist acts, of contracting SARS, or of extreme market volatility, this limits usefulness of the standard model in predicting or guiding choice. This project aims to incorporate a richer set of attitudes about uncertainty into economic theory, including impreci ....Optimism, Pessimism and Confidence - Their economic impacts. When modelling uncertainty, economists typically assume people utilise well-behaved and precise probabilities. As most people have only the vaguest conception of chances of terrorist acts, of contracting SARS, or of extreme market volatility, this limits usefulness of the standard model in predicting or guiding choice. This project aims to incorporate a richer set of attitudes about uncertainty into economic theory, including imprecise estimates of chance, optimistic (or pessimistic) bias, and relative confidence. This will enable more rigorous analysis of topics like irrational exuberance (panic), consumer stampedes, and (in)tolerance of risk, thereby improving the measurement of benefits and costs of related actions or policies.Read moreRead less
Neutron Scattering in Biology. Australia's Replacement Research Reactor will be a world-class neutron source, and represents the country's largest single investment in scientific research infrastructure. It is now essential to stimulate its production of high-quality research in materials science, chemistry and biology. The applicant is a recognised world leader in the field of neutron scattering research, particularly in biology. His presence in the Bragg Institute, which manages the neutron ....Neutron Scattering in Biology. Australia's Replacement Research Reactor will be a world-class neutron source, and represents the country's largest single investment in scientific research infrastructure. It is now essential to stimulate its production of high-quality research in materials science, chemistry and biology. The applicant is a recognised world leader in the field of neutron scattering research, particularly in biology. His presence in the Bragg Institute, which manages the neutron scattering instruments on the reactor, will provide direction and impetus for the science that will be initiated there, advancing applications in materials science, medicine and biotechnology.Read moreRead less
Structural neurobiology - developing a new capability in Australia to treat mental illness. Mental illness encompasses a multitude of devastating conditions that present a major burden to the Australian economy. In this project powerful tools for determining the three-dimensional shapes and functions of proteins will be utilised to gain new knowledge about the molecular bases of various mental illnesses. The project will involve extensive use of the Australian Synchrotron Facility that is due to ....Structural neurobiology - developing a new capability in Australia to treat mental illness. Mental illness encompasses a multitude of devastating conditions that present a major burden to the Australian economy. In this project powerful tools for determining the three-dimensional shapes and functions of proteins will be utilised to gain new knowledge about the molecular bases of various mental illnesses. The project will involve extensive use of the Australian Synchrotron Facility that is due to open in 2007. This knowledge gained from the project will be used to develop new therapeutic drugs to ameliorate or combat mental diseases in partnership with the Australian Biotechnology Industry.Read moreRead less
An investigation into Infection, Immunity & Rational Drug Design. The human population is constantly under threat of microbial attack. The survival of our species reflects a delicate balance between infection and immunity. Whether an individual mounts an effective immune response or succumbs to microbial infection is critically dependent on host proteins interacting effectively with microbial antigens, versus microbes developing sophisticated strategies of invasion and immune evasion. This pr ....An investigation into Infection, Immunity & Rational Drug Design. The human population is constantly under threat of microbial attack. The survival of our species reflects a delicate balance between infection and immunity. Whether an individual mounts an effective immune response or succumbs to microbial infection is critically dependent on host proteins interacting effectively with microbial antigens, versus microbes developing sophisticated strategies of invasion and immune evasion. This proposal will provide fundamental advancement of knowledge in the areas of infection and immunity. The information gleaned from this research will lead to the rational development of therapeutics. Consequently, the research will potentially have an enormous global impact in the area of biomedical health.Read moreRead less
Origin and Evolution of the Earth's Chemical Reservoirs. The scientific aims of this project are to understand the processes by which the Earth separated into its chemically-distinct layers (core, mantle, crust, atmosphere, oceans) and to determine the nature of the continuing interactions between the surface environment in which we live and the deep interior. Experimental study of these processes will involve establishment of a world-class facility for materials synthesis at high pressures and ....Origin and Evolution of the Earth's Chemical Reservoirs. The scientific aims of this project are to understand the processes by which the Earth separated into its chemically-distinct layers (core, mantle, crust, atmosphere, oceans) and to determine the nature of the continuing interactions between the surface environment in which we live and the deep interior. Experimental study of these processes will involve establishment of a world-class facility for materials synthesis at high pressures and temperatures. This facility will provide the means to simulate the processes occurring within the Earth and will enable synthesis of new high density materials of technological interest.Read moreRead less
Using Law To Improve Population Health and the Quality of Health Care Services. There are huge gaps in our understanding of how legal rules and processes impact population health and the quality of health care services in Australia. This research program will begin to fill those gaps by addressing topical issues such as medical negligence litigation, the coroner's role in injury prevention, and the use of medical science in the courtroom. The findings will be useful to government policymakers, ....Using Law To Improve Population Health and the Quality of Health Care Services. There are huge gaps in our understanding of how legal rules and processes impact population health and the quality of health care services in Australia. This research program will begin to fill those gaps by addressing topical issues such as medical negligence litigation, the coroner's role in injury prevention, and the use of medical science in the courtroom. The findings will be useful to government policymakers, regulators, and judges, as well as professionals working in both the legal and health care fields. But most importantly, the findings will serve patients by helping to shape strategies and reforms that enable Australia's health care system to deliver services that are safer, of higher quality, fairer, and more efficient.Read moreRead less
Creation of novel photonic and nanostructured materials by ablation of solids with ultra-fast lasers. This project will study of the production of technologically important thin film materials and nanostructured materials using our patented ultra-fast pulsed laser deposition process. Thin film materials required for future applications in photonics will be a priority. In addition ultra-fast pulsed laser deposition can be used to create nanopartilces and mechanisms affecting the growth of these ....Creation of novel photonic and nanostructured materials by ablation of solids with ultra-fast lasers. This project will study of the production of technologically important thin film materials and nanostructured materials using our patented ultra-fast pulsed laser deposition process. Thin film materials required for future applications in photonics will be a priority. In addition ultra-fast pulsed laser deposition can be used to create nanopartilces and mechanisms affecting the growth of these materials will be studied. The project therefore falls into two priority areas: photon science and nanotechnology. Outcomes in addition to new knowledge will include materials and processes with commercial potential.Read moreRead less