Statistical methods for quantifying variation in spatiotemporal areal data. This project aims to develop new statistical methods for extracting insights into spatial and temporal variation in areal data. These tools will extend the Australian Cancer Atlas which provides small area estimates for 20 cancers across Australia. The project is significant because it will allow government and other organisations to reap dividends from investment in collecting spatial information and it will enable mode ....Statistical methods for quantifying variation in spatiotemporal areal data. This project aims to develop new statistical methods for extracting insights into spatial and temporal variation in areal data. These tools will extend the Australian Cancer Atlas which provides small area estimates for 20 cancers across Australia. The project is significant because it will allow government and other organisations to reap dividends from investment in collecting spatial information and it will enable modelled small-area estimates to be released without compromising confidentiality. The expected outcomes include new statistical knowledge and new insights into cancer. The results will benefit the many disciplines, managers and policy makers that make decisions based on geographic data mapped over space and time. Read moreRead less
Predicting the value and use of urban land. This project aims to develop a comprehensive, robust and user-friendly set of modelling tools to predict land values more accurately. Accurate predictions of land values reduce state government revenue risks and improve resource management. The expected outcome of this project is the development of modelling tools which, can be used to study land use allocation, infrastructure delivery and government taxation revenue. This should provide significant be ....Predicting the value and use of urban land. This project aims to develop a comprehensive, robust and user-friendly set of modelling tools to predict land values more accurately. Accurate predictions of land values reduce state government revenue risks and improve resource management. The expected outcome of this project is the development of modelling tools which, can be used to study land use allocation, infrastructure delivery and government taxation revenue. This should provide significant benefits such as the development of new econometric theory, advanced computational methods and evidence-based guidelines for policymakers.Read moreRead less
Optimal management of corrosion and odour problems in sewer systems. Pollutants in wastewater undergo complex changes in sewers, leading to the production and release of odorous and corrosive compounds. Despite major efforts and expenditure by water utilities to mitigate these problems, odorous emissions from sewers are still commonly occurring in urban areas. Furthermore, the value of public assets is significantly diminished due to sewer corrosion, costing hundreds of millions of dollars a yea ....Optimal management of corrosion and odour problems in sewer systems. Pollutants in wastewater undergo complex changes in sewers, leading to the production and release of odorous and corrosive compounds. Despite major efforts and expenditure by water utilities to mitigate these problems, odorous emissions from sewers are still commonly occurring in urban areas. Furthermore, the value of public assets is significantly diminished due to sewer corrosion, costing hundreds of millions of dollars a year in Australia alone. This project is a major joint effort by the Australian water industry and world-leading scientists to generate advanced knowledge and develop effective technologies for optimal odour and corrosion management in sewers, delivering large social, environmental and economic benefits.Read moreRead less
Understanding and mitigating nitrous oxide emission from wastewater treatment plants. Climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most serious challenges that mankind is facing. Substantial reduction in emissions must be achieved, with responsibility to be shared by all industrial sectors. Wastewater systems contribute to greenhouse gas emissions through not only energy consumptions but also direct emissions of fugitive greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide. This project aim ....Understanding and mitigating nitrous oxide emission from wastewater treatment plants. Climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most serious challenges that mankind is facing. Substantial reduction in emissions must be achieved, with responsibility to be shared by all industrial sectors. Wastewater systems contribute to greenhouse gas emissions through not only energy consumptions but also direct emissions of fugitive greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide. This project aims to provide knowledge and technology support to the Australian wastewater industry to minimize the emission of nitrous oxide during biological nitrogen removal from wastewater. This is critically important for this industry to achieve greenhouse gas neutral wastewater management.Read moreRead less
Sewer corrosion reduction through model-supported ventilation control. Ventilation is one of the key technologies for sewer corrosion control. However, its design and operation are currently based on experience and empirical equations, often leading to unsatisfactory results. By integrating in-depth laboratory and pilot-sewer studies under defined conditions with extensive field investigations, this multidisciplinary project aims to develop critical models to predict the corrosion process in res ....Sewer corrosion reduction through model-supported ventilation control. Ventilation is one of the key technologies for sewer corrosion control. However, its design and operation are currently based on experience and empirical equations, often leading to unsatisfactory results. By integrating in-depth laboratory and pilot-sewer studies under defined conditions with extensive field investigations, this multidisciplinary project aims to develop critical models to predict the corrosion process in response to ventilation and dynamic wastewater and atmospheric conditions, enabling model-based sewer ventilation design and operation. The project also aims to deliver novel, field-demonstrated ventilation strategies. The project findings will be incorporated in the Australian ventilation design and operation guidelines.Read moreRead less
An integrated approach to iron salt use in urban water systems. The project aims to develop and demonstrate an integrated and innovative strategy, and the associated science and technologies, to achieve multiple beneficial uses of iron salts in an urban water system. The project intends to use iron chloride to replace the most commonly used alum as a coagulant in water treatment. The same iron is then further used for corrosion and odour control in sewers, phosphorus removal in wastewater treatm ....An integrated approach to iron salt use in urban water systems. The project aims to develop and demonstrate an integrated and innovative strategy, and the associated science and technologies, to achieve multiple beneficial uses of iron salts in an urban water system. The project intends to use iron chloride to replace the most commonly used alum as a coagulant in water treatment. The same iron is then further used for corrosion and odour control in sewers, phosphorus removal in wastewater treatment reactors and hydrogen sulfide removal from biogas in an anaerobic digester. The strategy is expected to substantially reduce the use of chemicals in the entire urban water system, delivering large economic and environmental benefits to urban water utilities.Read moreRead less
Design and Development of a Web-based Intelligent Multimedia Mining System. Increasing amounts of digital multimedia data in the form of video is being captured and stored. However, even the most advanced storage and retrieval techniques lack the features required to be used singly, or in combination, to fulfil a wide range of user needs and rapid access to multimedia resources, even in a very large video database. The core challenges are indeed to develop efficient, smart and intelligent web-ba ....Design and Development of a Web-based Intelligent Multimedia Mining System. Increasing amounts of digital multimedia data in the form of video is being captured and stored. However, even the most advanced storage and retrieval techniques lack the features required to be used singly, or in combination, to fulfil a wide range of user needs and rapid access to multimedia resources, even in a very large video database. The core challenges are indeed to develop efficient, smart and intelligent web-based multimedia mining in Australia and elsewhere. In this project, we will explore techniques and develop algorithms for content-based multimedia retrieval and mining in multimedia databases.Read moreRead less
Optimisation of indoor air quality, thermal comfort and energy usage within buildings located in busy transit oriented urban developments. The socio-economic benefits to Australia from the project include (i) a novel holistic modelling tool to building design that maximises indoor comfort and provides acceptable air quality for the inhabitants whilst minimising energy usage in transit oriented urban developments; and (ii) estimation of energy consumption for different building designs and operat ....Optimisation of indoor air quality, thermal comfort and energy usage within buildings located in busy transit oriented urban developments. The socio-economic benefits to Australia from the project include (i) a novel holistic modelling tool to building design that maximises indoor comfort and provides acceptable air quality for the inhabitants whilst minimising energy usage in transit oriented urban developments; and (ii) estimation of energy consumption for different building designs and operation with respect to air quality and thermal comfort. The ultimate economic benefit of this research will be a reduction in health care costs and lost productivity as well as reduction of energy used and associated emissions. The research will also place Australia in the forefront of international progress and the race towards better methods for achieving environmental sustainability.Read moreRead less
A new biomechanical model for understanding aging of stored Red Blood Cells. This project plans to develop a novel modelling framework to accurately represent the biomechanical properties of red blood cells (RBCs) over time under stored conditions. Stored RBCs suffer ageing-related deformability changes which impede RBC functions. The framework aims to integrate models for RBC membrane, inside haemoglobin and outside storage solution, and accounts for ageing effects by embedding time-dependent c ....A new biomechanical model for understanding aging of stored Red Blood Cells. This project plans to develop a novel modelling framework to accurately represent the biomechanical properties of red blood cells (RBCs) over time under stored conditions. Stored RBCs suffer ageing-related deformability changes which impede RBC functions. The framework aims to integrate models for RBC membrane, inside haemoglobin and outside storage solution, and accounts for ageing effects by embedding time-dependent correlations. It should provide new insights and understanding of the mechanisms of deformability changes of RBCs during stored lifespan. Therefore, it should significantly improve blood storage industry practices in terms of improving RBC storage protocols with preventative ageing strategies.Read moreRead less
Robust, valid and interpretable deep learning for quantitative imaging. One of the biggest challenges in employing artificial intelligence is the “black-box” nature of the models used. This project aims to improve the effectiveness and trustworthiness of deep learning within quantitative magnetic resonance imaging. Deep learning has great promise in speeding-up complex image processing tasks, but currently suffers from variable data inputs, predictions are not guaranteed to be plausible and it i ....Robust, valid and interpretable deep learning for quantitative imaging. One of the biggest challenges in employing artificial intelligence is the “black-box” nature of the models used. This project aims to improve the effectiveness and trustworthiness of deep learning within quantitative magnetic resonance imaging. Deep learning has great promise in speeding-up complex image processing tasks, but currently suffers from variable data inputs, predictions are not guaranteed to be plausible and it is not clear to the end user how reliable the results are. The outcomes intend to deliver advanced knowledge and capability in artificial intelligence and machine learning that Australia urgently needs to capitalise on bringing deep learning into practical applications delivering economic, commercial and social impact.Read moreRead less