Modelling Hidden Processes which Drive Economic and Financial Systems. The ability to forecast complex economic systems is crucial to benefit from peak performance, and to prepare for and safeguard against downturn. This project aims to make significant discoveries concerning hidden processes which drive such systems, using rigorous, cutting-edge, flexible econometric methods. Resulting outcomes will be improved understanding of - and ability to forecast - important economic phenomena such as vo ....Modelling Hidden Processes which Drive Economic and Financial Systems. The ability to forecast complex economic systems is crucial to benefit from peak performance, and to prepare for and safeguard against downturn. This project aims to make significant discoveries concerning hidden processes which drive such systems, using rigorous, cutting-edge, flexible econometric methods. Resulting outcomes will be improved understanding of - and ability to forecast - important economic phenomena such as volatility in price series, extremal (risky) behaviour of financial systems, and turning points of the business cycle. Discoveries will be disseminated through published papers and presentations at a major international conference. Ongoing e-research links with France will also be established.Read moreRead less
Novel econometric techniques for modelling and forecasting electricity prices and price volatility in Australia. Price volatility, particularly price spikes, are of special importance to electricity retailers who, because of retail price regulation, cannot pass them onto final customers and end up bearing the price risk. While state governments may enter into compensation deals with retailers, it is of great interest to both parties to understand why and when these price surges occur and, once t ....Novel econometric techniques for modelling and forecasting electricity prices and price volatility in Australia. Price volatility, particularly price spikes, are of special importance to electricity retailers who, because of retail price regulation, cannot pass them onto final customers and end up bearing the price risk. While state governments may enter into compensation deals with retailers, it is of great interest to both parties to understand why and when these price surges occur and, once they have occurred, how long they will last. A better understanding of the electricity price process will enable more sophisticated plans and strategies to be put in place to hedge against unfavourable, unexpected or extreme price events.Read moreRead less
Development of Novel Detergents for Green Solvent Systems and Their Self-Assembly into Nanostructures. Successful outcomes from this collaborative project will lead to the development of new commercially viable green solvent systems for the chemical industry, e.g. dry cleaning. This has the potential to impact the community on the economic and environmental level, by significantly reducing the costs of current green solvent systems, resulting in greater likelihood of conventional toxic solvent ....Development of Novel Detergents for Green Solvent Systems and Their Self-Assembly into Nanostructures. Successful outcomes from this collaborative project will lead to the development of new commercially viable green solvent systems for the chemical industry, e.g. dry cleaning. This has the potential to impact the community on the economic and environmental level, by significantly reducing the costs of current green solvent systems, resulting in greater likelihood of conventional toxic solvents being replaced. The project will also expand the training of junior and early career scientists by allowing them to work in overseas laboratories.Read moreRead less
Adsorption and recovery of gold thiosulfate using nanoporous carbon. The gold industry is a major export earner for both Australia and the United States. This collaborative project aims to develop an environmentally acceptable, cost effective process for the recovery of gold from thiosulfate leachate. Development of this process will remove one of the barriers to the acceptance of thiosulfate leaching over conventional cyanide extraction, leading to substantial benefits to the gold industry and ....Adsorption and recovery of gold thiosulfate using nanoporous carbon. The gold industry is a major export earner for both Australia and the United States. This collaborative project aims to develop an environmentally acceptable, cost effective process for the recovery of gold from thiosulfate leachate. Development of this process will remove one of the barriers to the acceptance of thiosulfate leaching over conventional cyanide extraction, leading to substantial benefits to the gold industry and the environment. A successful outcome in the research project would also lead to export earnings resulting from technology transfer and an enhanced reputation for high quality research.Read moreRead less
Insect host/vector genetic responses to rhabdovirus infection. Rhabdoviruses cause important diseases in humans, animals and plants. These viruses are transmitted by insect vectors in which they persist and propagate, an intimate and specific association. Insect-rhabdovirus interactions will be studied at the molecular level using a planthopper-maize rhabdovirus model. Insect genes specifically induced by rhabdovirus infection as well as the viral genes themselves will be identified and characte ....Insect host/vector genetic responses to rhabdovirus infection. Rhabdoviruses cause important diseases in humans, animals and plants. These viruses are transmitted by insect vectors in which they persist and propagate, an intimate and specific association. Insect-rhabdovirus interactions will be studied at the molecular level using a planthopper-maize rhabdovirus model. Insect genes specifically induced by rhabdovirus infection as well as the viral genes themselves will be identified and characterized using genomics and bioinformatics tools. We will extend the same approaches to a comparative analysis of these planthopper genes with other insect-rhabdovirus systems under investigation in our institutes. Identification of viral genes expressed in insects, the insect genes that respond to virus infection, and interpretation of the roles of these genes in insects, may indicate new opportunities to control serious plant and animal diseases through control of virus transmission.Read moreRead less
Variational methods in partial differential equations. Research in partial differential equations is a very active area of modern mathematics linking nonlinear functional analysis, calculus of variations and differential geometry to applied sciences. This project will enable Australia-based researchers to participate in the forefront of mathematical research with leading international mathematicians by establishing new collaborations, strengthening on-going collaborations and providing internat ....Variational methods in partial differential equations. Research in partial differential equations is a very active area of modern mathematics linking nonlinear functional analysis, calculus of variations and differential geometry to applied sciences. This project will enable Australia-based researchers to participate in the forefront of mathematical research with leading international mathematicians by establishing new collaborations, strengthening on-going collaborations and providing international research experience for early career researchers. As a result, this proposal will enhance Australia's distinguished reputation in analysis and further link the UQ group with a number of mathematical institutes in USA and China.Read moreRead less
Drying sewage sludge using hot oil. The project seeks to investigate and develop an entirely new area of fundamental and applied research involving the process, mechanisms and kinetics of direct dehydration of sewage sludge by fry-drying in hot oil. Frying can be carried out as a drying process, though it not widely recognized or applied in this way, and has consequently not been exploited outside of the traditional food industries. It potentially provides a wide range of significant benefits ....Drying sewage sludge using hot oil. The project seeks to investigate and develop an entirely new area of fundamental and applied research involving the process, mechanisms and kinetics of direct dehydration of sewage sludge by fry-drying in hot oil. Frying can be carried out as a drying process, though it not widely recognized or applied in this way, and has consequently not been exploited outside of the traditional food industries. It potentially provides a wide range of significant benefits for sludge drying, including high efficiency and low costs, and produces a non-offensive product with a high energy value suitable for (renewable) power generation.Read moreRead less
Frictional and viscous effects during transport in nanopores. Gas mixtures exposed to materials containing molecular sized pores (nanopores) are adsorbed, forming states of matter not existing in the bulk. Differential forces acting on the components of mixtures promote industrially and environmentally important separations. However, transport of confined fluids has been poorly understood. Recently we have made progress using computer simulation, and have proposed a highly successful theory. ....Frictional and viscous effects during transport in nanopores. Gas mixtures exposed to materials containing molecular sized pores (nanopores) are adsorbed, forming states of matter not existing in the bulk. Differential forces acting on the components of mixtures promote industrially and environmentally important separations. However, transport of confined fluids has been poorly understood. Recently we have made progress using computer simulation, and have proposed a highly successful theory. These investigations have revealed the crucial role of scattering from the surface atoms of the confining solid. Theoretical investigation of single spherical species has been initiated, and extension to other species and to mixtures is now envisaged.Read moreRead less
Nanostructures of Titanium Dioxide and Titanates by Wet-chemistry. One-dimensional (1D) nanoparticulates of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and titanate synthesized by wet-chemistry approaches are new advanced materials of unusual properties. This project will investigate the formation and phase transition mechanism of these 1D particulates by various techniques. With such knowledge, we can effectively control the morphology on a scale of nanometers, and tailor the energy gap of these materials. This wi ....Nanostructures of Titanium Dioxide and Titanates by Wet-chemistry. One-dimensional (1D) nanoparticulates of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and titanate synthesized by wet-chemistry approaches are new advanced materials of unusual properties. This project will investigate the formation and phase transition mechanism of these 1D particulates by various techniques. With such knowledge, we can effectively control the morphology on a scale of nanometers, and tailor the energy gap of these materials. This will significantly influence the photosemiconductive photocatalytic and lithium ions insertion behaviours of the particles so that advanced materials for solar energy conversion, photocatalysts for decomposing organic pollutants in environment, eletrode materials of lithium batteries can be developed.Read moreRead less
Long-term natural ecological consequences of disturbance on coral reefs: the benthic foraminifera perspective. The tropical coastline of Australia encompasses world-renowned coral reefs (Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo Marine Park). Even these reefs are not pristine and are increasingly susceptible to disturbance from human impact. The long-term ecological effects of disturbance on reef communities cannot be experimentally determined; but natural experiments from the fossil record provide mech ....Long-term natural ecological consequences of disturbance on coral reefs: the benthic foraminifera perspective. The tropical coastline of Australia encompasses world-renowned coral reefs (Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo Marine Park). Even these reefs are not pristine and are increasingly susceptible to disturbance from human impact. The long-term ecological effects of disturbance on reef communities cannot be experimentally determined; but natural experiments from the fossil record provide mechanisms to ensure that managers of Australia's reefs have critical information on how past disturbance frequency and intensity has affected coral reef communities. This information will help ensure the continuation of ecosystem goods and services from Australia's high diversity coral reefs.Read moreRead less