Novel biological and genetic disease control tools for the barley industry. This project places Australian barley breeders at the forefront of disease resistance by providing them with novel tools to develop varieties with enhanced protection against fungal diseases. The aims are to produce fungal strains with multiple virulence genes for fast and cost-effective testing of barley lines, untangle the fungal/host gene interaction for resistance breeding and identify new sources of resistance. The ....Novel biological and genetic disease control tools for the barley industry. This project places Australian barley breeders at the forefront of disease resistance by providing them with novel tools to develop varieties with enhanced protection against fungal diseases. The aims are to produce fungal strains with multiple virulence genes for fast and cost-effective testing of barley lines, untangle the fungal/host gene interaction for resistance breeding and identify new sources of resistance. The outcomes will lead to the commercialisation by Australian breeding companies of barley varieties with durable fungal resistance. This will benefit the Australian economy by providing sustainability and protection for barley breeding thereby significantly reducing crop losses for this important global agricultural commodity.Read moreRead less
Atomic scale ion microscopy via laser cooling and correlated imaging. This project will develop next-generation focused ion beam microscopy and nanofabrication using a novel cold ion source based on photoionisation of a laser-cooled atom beam. The low temperature and complex internal state structure of the constituent atoms combine to allow generation of ions with unprecedented brightness and resolution. We will use three unique and innovative ideas: field ionisation of atoms in so-called 'excep ....Atomic scale ion microscopy via laser cooling and correlated imaging. This project will develop next-generation focused ion beam microscopy and nanofabrication using a novel cold ion source based on photoionisation of a laser-cooled atom beam. The low temperature and complex internal state structure of the constituent atoms combine to allow generation of ions with unprecedented brightness and resolution. We will use three unique and innovative ideas: field ionisation of atoms in so-called 'exceptional' states to reduce chromatic aberration; electron-ion correlations to enhance control of the ions at the nanoscale; and atom-atom interactions to isolate and manipulate individual ions. The new technology will enable advances in semiconductor nanofabrication and material characterisation.Read moreRead less
My enemy’s enemy is my friend: The genetics of major plant pathogen killers. Fungi are devastating agents of crop diseases. These plant pathogens, in turn, are often parasitized by other fungi in the field. The project will focus on such interactions between powdery mildews, important pathogens of many crops and wild plants, and their common fungal parasites (Ampelomyces spp.) that have already been utilised as
biocontrol agents in crop protection. Genetic and genomic tools will be used to deter ....My enemy’s enemy is my friend: The genetics of major plant pathogen killers. Fungi are devastating agents of crop diseases. These plant pathogens, in turn, are often parasitized by other fungi in the field. The project will focus on such interactions between powdery mildews, important pathogens of many crops and wild plants, and their common fungal parasites (Ampelomyces spp.) that have already been utilised as
biocontrol agents in crop protection. Genetic and genomic tools will be used to determine if these parasites evolved by switching host from plants to plant pathogens. The project has the potential to make a ground-breaking discovery in this field, and also establish the starting point for new innovative methods to protect a wide diversity
of crops using these fungi or specific compounds derived from them.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101093
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$439,587.00
Summary
Development and application of super-sensitive spinning quantum sensors. This project aims to use physical rotation of diamonds on timescales faster than quantum decoherence to set new detection limits for precision quantum sensing of electric and magnetic fields. This potentially allows us to see for the first time how the Coriolis force acts on current flowing in a frame rotating 700,000,000 times faster than the earth. The project's expected outcomes are electro-magnetic sensors with unpreced ....Development and application of super-sensitive spinning quantum sensors. This project aims to use physical rotation of diamonds on timescales faster than quantum decoherence to set new detection limits for precision quantum sensing of electric and magnetic fields. This potentially allows us to see for the first time how the Coriolis force acts on current flowing in a frame rotating 700,000,000 times faster than the earth. The project's expected outcomes are electro-magnetic sensors with unprecedented sensitivity that could find application in areas ranging from detecting household wiring to locating magnetic anomalies for defence. These outcomes should fill a blind spot of quantum magnetometry, have commercial impact and expand our knowledge of quantum physics in the rotating frame.Read moreRead less
Mid-Career Industry Fellowships - Grant ID: IM230100025
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$747,126.00
Summary
Using the blackleg fungus as a model for maximising fungicide efficacy. Resistance to chemicals impacts the ability to control many diseases across many crops. This project aims to identify key epidemiological factors contributing to fungicide resistance in an emerging model system, blackleg disease of canola, using innovative approaches. The outcomes of this research will be management strategies for minimising the risk of evolution of fungicide resistance, a key industry need. This will also e ....Using the blackleg fungus as a model for maximising fungicide efficacy. Resistance to chemicals impacts the ability to control many diseases across many crops. This project aims to identify key epidemiological factors contributing to fungicide resistance in an emerging model system, blackleg disease of canola, using innovative approaches. The outcomes of this research will be management strategies for minimising the risk of evolution of fungicide resistance, a key industry need. This will also enhance interdisciplinary collaborations through combining field and molecular research. These management strategies will provide significant economic benefits by ensuring increased canola yields, whilst providing health and environmental benefits through minimisation of unnecessary use of fungicides.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101427
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$462,265.00
Summary
Challenging the Standard Model with the LHCb experiment. This project aims to reveal the existence of elementary particles never observed before or of new forces of nature by studying data collected by the LHCb experiment. LHCb is situated at the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider. The studies are expected to generate new knowledge in the field of particle physics and could resolve long-standing puzzles such as the composition of the Universe. The project aims ....Challenging the Standard Model with the LHCb experiment. This project aims to reveal the existence of elementary particles never observed before or of new forces of nature by studying data collected by the LHCb experiment. LHCb is situated at the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider. The studies are expected to generate new knowledge in the field of particle physics and could resolve long-standing puzzles such as the composition of the Universe. The project aims at optimally exploiting LHCb data by using an innovative measurement approach based on advanced computational and machine learning techniques. It should enhance the capacity in particle physics and should create new collaborations with Europe, benefiting the diversity of the Australian physics programme.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100446
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$445,688.00
Summary
Exploring the Nature of Dark Matter. This project aims to address one of the key fundamental questions in physics: what is dark matter? Dark matter makes up 84% of the matter in the universe, but we do not know its identity. This project expects to improve our understanding of the fundamental properties of dark matter and how it interacts with ordinary matter. Expected outcomes include new theoretical models of dark matter that will guide future experiments, and precision calculations of intera ....Exploring the Nature of Dark Matter. This project aims to address one of the key fundamental questions in physics: what is dark matter? Dark matter makes up 84% of the matter in the universe, but we do not know its identity. This project expects to improve our understanding of the fundamental properties of dark matter and how it interacts with ordinary matter. Expected outcomes include new theoretical models of dark matter that will guide future experiments, and precision calculations of interactions between dark and ordinary matter that are needed to interpret experimental results. Benefits include enhancing Australian research capacity in an internationally active area of research and advanced student training. Read moreRead less
Tackling the computational bottleneck in precision particle physics. This project aims to deliver a breakthrough technique in theoretical-computational particle physics, with significant potential for high-precision applications. The project targets some of the most advanced and resource-intensive calculations in particle physics, which are widely used but currently limited by extremely high computational resource requirements. This project expects to develop a novel approach that will vastly re ....Tackling the computational bottleneck in precision particle physics. This project aims to deliver a breakthrough technique in theoretical-computational particle physics, with significant potential for high-precision applications. The project targets some of the most advanced and resource-intensive calculations in particle physics, which are widely used but currently limited by extremely high computational resource requirements. This project expects to develop a novel approach that will vastly reduce the computational complexity while at the same time improving their accuracy relative to the current global state of the art. Expected outcomes include the new methodology itself as well as a full-fledged and open-access simulation code based on it, which should be highly efficient.Read moreRead less
Electroweak phase transition: A cosmological window to new particle physics. The observed asymmetry between matter and antimatter in the visible universe arguably represents the major challenge to contemporary particle physics and cosmology. This project explores new theoretical, phenomenological and computational aspects of the electroweak phase transition and the generation of the cosmic matter-antimatter asymmetry in the early universe together with their links to new physics that may manifes ....Electroweak phase transition: A cosmological window to new particle physics. The observed asymmetry between matter and antimatter in the visible universe arguably represents the major challenge to contemporary particle physics and cosmology. This project explores new theoretical, phenomenological and computational aspects of the electroweak phase transition and the generation of the cosmic matter-antimatter asymmetry in the early universe together with their links to new physics that may manifest at present and future high-energy colliders and gravitational wave observatories. Read moreRead less
Understanding physics through flexible calculations. This project aims to explore and interpret physics at the high energy frontier with calculations and computational techniques. It will develop and apply techniques and software to arbitrary physics models and make predictions in models. This will expand the set of ideas that can be rigorously scrutinised using data from collider and astrophysical experiments. This may shed light on the origin of dark matter and why the Higgs mass is so light, ....Understanding physics through flexible calculations. This project aims to explore and interpret physics at the high energy frontier with calculations and computational techniques. It will develop and apply techniques and software to arbitrary physics models and make predictions in models. This will expand the set of ideas that can be rigorously scrutinised using data from collider and astrophysical experiments. This may shed light on the origin of dark matter and why the Higgs mass is so light, and expand understanding of nature at the most foundational level.Read moreRead less