The nature and consequences of environmentally-generated phenotypic variation in natural populations. The ambient environment can generate both heritable and non-heritable variation in individual traits, but the role of such variation in evolution is poorly understood. This project will use a powerful model organism, the Australian neriid flies, to elucidate the evolutionary implications of environmentally-generated variation.
Room-temperature quantum microscopy for advanced nanoscale imaging. Original, inspired and most often cross-disciplinary efforts are the only way to solve some of nature's most obscure mysteries. Successful development of high-resolution quantum microscopy will lead to a range of benefits for the community and the nation; from graduate student training in cutting edge technology, building links between academic, industry and government groups to providing new insights and approaches into diseas ....Room-temperature quantum microscopy for advanced nanoscale imaging. Original, inspired and most often cross-disciplinary efforts are the only way to solve some of nature's most obscure mysteries. Successful development of high-resolution quantum microscopy will lead to a range of benefits for the community and the nation; from graduate student training in cutting edge technology, building links between academic, industry and government groups to providing new insights and approaches into disease identification and therapy. This project aims to demonstrate a world-first in imaging sensitivity, and success will directly enhance Australia's global reputation as a leader in innovation and collaboration. Read moreRead less
Plasmonic nanoparticle catalysis for nitrogen-based synthesis. Light can generate an optical force to capture small objects. This requires intense light – a laser, which limits optical trapping in catalysis applications. This project aims to apply plasmonic nanoparticles with normal-intensity light to take advantage of plasmonic-generated optical forces for catalytic chemical synthesis. The optical trapping/releasing of small molecules is highly selective and responsive to molecule structure and ....Plasmonic nanoparticle catalysis for nitrogen-based synthesis. Light can generate an optical force to capture small objects. This requires intense light – a laser, which limits optical trapping in catalysis applications. This project aims to apply plasmonic nanoparticles with normal-intensity light to take advantage of plasmonic-generated optical forces for catalytic chemical synthesis. The optical trapping/releasing of small molecules is highly selective and responsive to molecule structure and so presents a great opportunity to radically alter chemical synthesis pathways, which will be illustrated with reactions on liquid-solid and gas-solid interfaces. This highly innovative strategy will be used to discover new nitrogen-based syntheses which are both fundamentally and industrially important.Read moreRead less
Venturing into the Cluster Desert. Fundamental questions that ask about the nature and the fate of the Universe are of interest not only to astronomers, but also to the general public. In particular, the realisation that the Universe is dominated by dark energy has sparked wide public interest. We still know very little about dark energy. Is it Einstein's famous cosmological constant or something more exotic, such as a new particle or even new physics? This proposal aims to build a sample of ver ....Venturing into the Cluster Desert. Fundamental questions that ask about the nature and the fate of the Universe are of interest not only to astronomers, but also to the general public. In particular, the realisation that the Universe is dominated by dark energy has sparked wide public interest. We still know very little about dark energy. Is it Einstein's famous cosmological constant or something more exotic, such as a new particle or even new physics? This proposal aims to build a sample of very distant galaxy clusters that can then be used to search for a very special type of supernova - the Type Ia Supernova, which can be used as a tool to learn about the properties of dark energy. Read moreRead less
Direct simulation of composite microstructures in fluid and elastic media. The proposed innovative computational methodology will improve the design and performance of a wide range of mechanisms and industrial processes involving particulate inclusions, from engineering to biological applications. The resultant technology will make a contribution to maintain and enhance Australia's role in the development of advanced engineering materials through manipulating their composite microstructures. The ....Direct simulation of composite microstructures in fluid and elastic media. The proposed innovative computational methodology will improve the design and performance of a wide range of mechanisms and industrial processes involving particulate inclusions, from engineering to biological applications. The resultant technology will make a contribution to maintain and enhance Australia's role in the development of advanced engineering materials through manipulating their composite microstructures. The proposed computational method will also lead to new opportunities for Australian companies that develop computer simulation software. Our researchers in computational mechanics will gain further opportunities to extend the advances this project will make.Read moreRead less
Quantum control in mesoscopic condensed matter systems. Semiconductor devices are at the foundation of modern technology. Industrial nanofabrication techniques can now produce devices near the atomic scale, and state-of-the-art experiments have demonstrated the previously unimaginable ability to manipulate individual electrons. This project will develop new techniques to control such quantum circuits and couple them together to form useful devices. New experiments to test these schemes will be p ....Quantum control in mesoscopic condensed matter systems. Semiconductor devices are at the foundation of modern technology. Industrial nanofabrication techniques can now produce devices near the atomic scale, and state-of-the-art experiments have demonstrated the previously unimaginable ability to manipulate individual electrons. This project will develop new techniques to control such quantum circuits and couple them together to form useful devices. New experiments to test these schemes will be proposed. This project will provide a foundation for future information processing technologies such as quantum computers.Read moreRead less
Visualising chaperones disentangle and refold proteins - one molecule at a time. Chaperones are enzymes that maintain the proper function of proteins in the cell. This research aims to visualise, at the single molecule level, how chaperones facilitate the folding of individual proteins and how they can disentangle proteins that have aggregated as a result of cell stress.
Unveiling the Galaxy: Dense Gas and Star Formation in the Milky Way. This project aims to address one of the most fundamental problems in astrophysics - understanding how high-mass stars form - by utilising a new, innovative, purpose-designed astronomical survey. This project will generate new knowledge about the star formation process by interfacing theoretical predictions with novel observations, aided by the most accurate distances yet derived. Expected outcomes include a comprehensive unders ....Unveiling the Galaxy: Dense Gas and Star Formation in the Milky Way. This project aims to address one of the most fundamental problems in astrophysics - understanding how high-mass stars form - by utilising a new, innovative, purpose-designed astronomical survey. This project will generate new knowledge about the star formation process by interfacing theoretical predictions with novel observations, aided by the most accurate distances yet derived. Expected outcomes include a comprehensive understanding of star formation, and an unparalleled map of the dense gas structure of our Galaxy. This should provide significant benefits, such as the crucial insight needed to interpret future sensitive, high-resolution surveys with next generation, globe-spanning telescopes in which Australia is a key partner.Read moreRead less
Past to future changes in ocean dynamics and biogeochemistry. This project aims to understand the impact of changes in ocean circulation on marine biogeochemistry, climate and ultimately the Antarctic ice-sheet by combining transient simulations of the last glacial cycle performed with an Earth system model incorporating the compilation of paleoproxy records. The oceanic circulation has varied over the last glacial cycle (~140,000 years) and is expected to change over the coming centuries due t ....Past to future changes in ocean dynamics and biogeochemistry. This project aims to understand the impact of changes in ocean circulation on marine biogeochemistry, climate and ultimately the Antarctic ice-sheet by combining transient simulations of the last glacial cycle performed with an Earth system model incorporating the compilation of paleoproxy records. The oceanic circulation has varied over the last glacial cycle (~140,000 years) and is expected to change over the coming centuries due to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide. The project will measure future changes in oceanic circulation on ocean acidification and oxygen content with a state-of-the-art high-resolution ocean carbon cycle model. This will lead to improved understanding of processes and feedbacks within the Earth system.Read moreRead less
Robust Quantum Control in the Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum Era. This project aims to help companies and government flagships (including Australian) to achieve quantum supremacy- to build a computer based on quantum physics so complex that it outperforms all conventional computers. There is a race to do so because quantum computers will have a huge technological, scientific and economical impact. But currently the error rate of quantum computers is still too high. The devices are immensiley c ....Robust Quantum Control in the Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum Era. This project aims to help companies and government flagships (including Australian) to achieve quantum supremacy- to build a computer based on quantum physics so complex that it outperforms all conventional computers. There is a race to do so because quantum computers will have a huge technological, scientific and economical impact. But currently the error rate of quantum computers is still too high. The devices are immensiley complex, but the models used to drive them are far too simplistic. This project will provide accurate and innovative models in this new era of quantum complexity, thus better controls, which will be tested on cloud-based quantum computers. The expected outcomes are robust quantum computers towards quantum supremacy.Read moreRead less