Physics of Self-Organization: From Space Plasmas to Brain Dynamics. Nature displays intricate, self-organized structures and behaviors that often emerge from simple underlying rules. This project will explore and unify fundamental regimes of self-organization, and apply them to explain phenomena in space, plasma, and wave physics, including making key inputs to the international STEREO space mission. In a core initiative, sophisticated tools from these fields will be transfered and adapted to a ....Physics of Self-Organization: From Space Plasmas to Brain Dynamics. Nature displays intricate, self-organized structures and behaviors that often emerge from simple underlying rules. This project will explore and unify fundamental regimes of self-organization, and apply them to explain phenomena in space, plasma, and wave physics, including making key inputs to the international STEREO space mission. In a core initiative, sophisticated tools from these fields will be transfered and adapted to analyze self-organized brain dynamics, leading to the first self-consistent "working brain" model. The results of this innovation will be used to develop new imaging technologies, to probe brain function via the new windows they open, and to exploit them commercially.Read moreRead less
Biohumanities: Philosophical, Historical, and Socio-Cultural Studies of Contemporary Bioscience. Improving understanding of the meaning and implications of contemporary bioscience, especially genetics and molecular biology, through bioliterate research in the humanities and social sciences, and conversely through better assimilation of bioscience and its significance by the humanities and social sciences. The research will be conducted in close collaboration with the Australian scientific commun ....Biohumanities: Philosophical, Historical, and Socio-Cultural Studies of Contemporary Bioscience. Improving understanding of the meaning and implications of contemporary bioscience, especially genetics and molecular biology, through bioliterate research in the humanities and social sciences, and conversely through better assimilation of bioscience and its significance by the humanities and social sciences. The research will be conducted in close collaboration with the Australian scientific community and will be disseminated back to the scientific community, to the humanities and to the Australian public. The project will bring to Australia the strengths of the applicant's existing collaborations with leading research centres in this field in the USA, UK and Canada.Read moreRead less
The toxins of water-borne cyanobacteria: regulation and exploitation of their biosynthesis. Water quality is a major concern in Australia, as is the global need for new natural products with antibiotic activity. The mechanisms by which cyanobacteria produce toxins that reduce the quality of water may very well be the answer to the lack of novel medicinal compounds currently being discovered in nature. Encompassed in this one program are the aims of ameliorating the effects of toxic algal blooms ....The toxins of water-borne cyanobacteria: regulation and exploitation of their biosynthesis. Water quality is a major concern in Australia, as is the global need for new natural products with antibiotic activity. The mechanisms by which cyanobacteria produce toxins that reduce the quality of water may very well be the answer to the lack of novel medicinal compounds currently being discovered in nature. Encompassed in this one program are the aims of ameliorating the effects of toxic algal blooms as well as introducing the means for the design and synthesis of a range of novel bioactive products. The benefits include better water quality and biosafety management options, a new generation of drug design and discovery, and the associated transformation of environmental and medical research and education in Australia.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
Ecology and evolution in dynamic systems: a new approach to conserving Australian biodiversity. Australia has different ecosystems and different species than the rest of the world, and we need a different approach to conserve and manage our unique animals. This project will develop a new, specifically Australian-oriented approach to conservation biology.
Integrative behaviour: a new synthesis. The research will use a uniquely integrative behavioural approach to a) analyse swarming in locusts, and b) apply powerful new models in nutrition to address key problems in biology, agriculture and human health. Outcomes will include i) an understanding of the molecular and environmental mechanisms controlling swarming in locusts, providing new management and control strategies; ii) insights into human obesity, with health policy recommendations; iii) new ....Integrative behaviour: a new synthesis. The research will use a uniquely integrative behavioural approach to a) analyse swarming in locusts, and b) apply powerful new models in nutrition to address key problems in biology, agriculture and human health. Outcomes will include i) an understanding of the molecular and environmental mechanisms controlling swarming in locusts, providing new management and control strategies; ii) insights into human obesity, with health policy recommendations; iii) new technologies for designing nutritional regimes for animal production; iv) an understanding of the responses of insect pests to changing environments; and v) insights into the flow of nutrients across trophic levels within terrestrial ecosystems.Read moreRead less
lll-conditioned and constrained inverse problems in Signal Processing, Telecommunications and Control. Aims: To carry out fundamental research on methods for understanding and solving inverse problems in signal processin, telecommunications and control. To translate these fundamental results into practical outcomes of importance to Australian Industry.
Significance: Signal Processing, Telecommunications and Control are core technologies for all modern societies. The research proposed here ....lll-conditioned and constrained inverse problems in Signal Processing, Telecommunications and Control. Aims: To carry out fundamental research on methods for understanding and solving inverse problems in signal processin, telecommunications and control. To translate these fundamental results into practical outcomes of importance to Australian Industry.
Significance: Signal Processing, Telecommunications and Control are core technologies for all modern societies. The research proposed here will generate new methods for designing and understanding key algorithms in these areas. Particular emphasis will be placed on difficult problems involving ill-conditioned inverses or those having hard constraints that must be satisfied.
Expected Outcomes: A prime outcome will be fundamental research results at the highest international level. This will be accompanied by top level refereed publications and books. There will also be direct and tangible benefits to Australian industry.Read moreRead less
The Origin and Evolution of Cosmic Magnetism. This research will significantly advance our understanding of structure and evolution in the Universe, in keeping with Australia's outstanding track record of astronomical discovery. This program will also train students and build research capacity in the frontier area of X-ray astronomy, in which Australia currently has limited expertise. The instrumentation and techniques to be developed will lead to innovative transfers of technology to fields su ....The Origin and Evolution of Cosmic Magnetism. This research will significantly advance our understanding of structure and evolution in the Universe, in keeping with Australia's outstanding track record of astronomical discovery. This program will also train students and build research capacity in the frontier area of X-ray astronomy, in which Australia currently has limited expertise. The instrumentation and techniques to be developed will lead to innovative transfers of technology to fields such as telecommunications and medical imaging. These new facilities will also serve as vital stepping stones to the Square Kilometre Array, a billion-dollar international project which promises enormous economic, engineering and scientific opportunities for Australia.Read moreRead less
The Foundation, Role, and Design of Democracy. Democracy now reigns unchallenged as the master ideal in contemporary societies, western and non-western, developed and developing. But what is democracy, what is its essential role, and by what institutions can that role be best played in the changing circumstances of local, national and international life? This project develops a unified theory of the foundation, role and design of democratic institutions. By establishing a permanent international ....The Foundation, Role, and Design of Democracy. Democracy now reigns unchallenged as the master ideal in contemporary societies, western and non-western, developed and developing. But what is democracy, what is its essential role, and by what institutions can that role be best played in the changing circumstances of local, national and international life? This project develops a unified theory of the foundation, role and design of democratic institutions. By establishing a permanent international research centre focused on these vital questions, it will address theoretical and practical issues of great importance to all contemporary communities, and give Australia a new and on-going voice in crucial international debates.Read moreRead less
NAVIGABLE CINEMATIC SYSTEMS. The reformulation of cinematic narrative and the development of next generation interactive technology in new media. The Fellowship will launch a major reformulation of the key driver of new media technology, the theoretical innovation and testing of three models of interactive narrative - the polychronic, transcriptive, and co-evolutionary - as well as accelerating development of a new generation of accompanying cinematic technology. Through the design and demonstra ....NAVIGABLE CINEMATIC SYSTEMS. The reformulation of cinematic narrative and the development of next generation interactive technology in new media. The Fellowship will launch a major reformulation of the key driver of new media technology, the theoretical innovation and testing of three models of interactive narrative - the polychronic, transcriptive, and co-evolutionary - as well as accelerating development of a new generation of accompanying cinematic technology. Through the design and demonstration of a range of navigable, multi-user, virtual applications that enable the recreation of cinematic meaning from a mass of digital information, the Fellowship will develop interactive technology to the stage where it can be commercially evaluated in a way likely to maximise benefits to Australia.
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