Personality or Context: A study of innovation and adoption in agriculture. Consumer behaviour theory suggests that most farmers should be highly motivated, discriminating purchasers of agricultural technology. This suggests that most farmers can be innovators and therefore, differences in farmers' adoption behaviour reflect real differences in farming contexts and experiences. This project will test a consumer behaviour model of innovation adoption in agriculture using horticulure as a case stud ....Personality or Context: A study of innovation and adoption in agriculture. Consumer behaviour theory suggests that most farmers should be highly motivated, discriminating purchasers of agricultural technology. This suggests that most farmers can be innovators and therefore, differences in farmers' adoption behaviour reflect real differences in farming contexts and experiences. This project will test a consumer behaviour model of innovation adoption in agriculture using horticulure as a case study. The project will assist agencies working in this area to develop a better understanding of the principles governing the adoption of agricultural innovations and provide more effective extension programs.Read moreRead less
Commensal benefits: genomic basis for suppressing plant pathogens with Pseudomonas biocontrol species. Food security is an issue of mounting significance due to unpredictable climate trends and increasing global population growth. A feature of paramount importance to reliable crop production is the capacity to control plant diseases. This project investigates natural plant colonising bacteria as a tool for protecting plants from disease.
Developing New Multifunctional Layered Particles with Novel Modular Food Processing Systems. The global market for organic foods has a value of approximately $150 billion, indicating the high potential export market. Australia's organic industry is currently valued at $350M, with annual growth of 25%. Alternatives to chemical preservatives in products such as breads are in demand, and Australian essential oils show promise, but new technology is required to value-add products from essential oil ....Developing New Multifunctional Layered Particles with Novel Modular Food Processing Systems. The global market for organic foods has a value of approximately $150 billion, indicating the high potential export market. Australia's organic industry is currently valued at $350M, with annual growth of 25%. Alternatives to chemical preservatives in products such as breads are in demand, and Australian essential oils show promise, but new technology is required to value-add products from essential oil producers. Spray drying will be used with the smart coating of extracts, such as antimicrobial compounds, as natural preservatives that promote the shelf life of foods, benefitting service providers, the wider food industry and consumers. Read moreRead less
Enhancing the Production of Functional Food Powders by Studying Reaction Processes in Spray Dryers. The project is a key component of a technical development program that has the potential to make a very large contribution to the processing of functional foods resulting in products of high value for nutritional use. The total national crop of cereals, pulses, oil seeds, fruit and vegetables is thirty million tonnes/year. Over three million tonnes/year of waste are produced, containing three mi ....Enhancing the Production of Functional Food Powders by Studying Reaction Processes in Spray Dryers. The project is a key component of a technical development program that has the potential to make a very large contribution to the processing of functional foods resulting in products of high value for nutritional use. The total national crop of cereals, pulses, oil seeds, fruit and vegetables is thirty million tonnes/year. Over three million tonnes/year of waste are produced, containing three million kilogrammes of bioactive compounds, valued at a minimum of $1,000/kg, giving an estimated potential value of $3 billion/year. If only 10% of this potential is captured, then the national benefit would be as high as A$300 million/year.Read moreRead less
Stochastic Scheduling for Production and Delivery of Perishable Products with Imperfect Information. Australia has a wide range of industries producing perishable goods such as wheat, fruit, vegetables, meat, milk, seafood and health products, as well as fashion and entertainment goods. These industries play a critical role in the Australian economy, as well as impacting on national health and the environment. This project will provide new strategies, models and techniques to increase efficiency ....Stochastic Scheduling for Production and Delivery of Perishable Products with Imperfect Information. Australia has a wide range of industries producing perishable goods such as wheat, fruit, vegetables, meat, milk, seafood and health products, as well as fashion and entertainment goods. These industries play a critical role in the Australian economy, as well as impacting on national health and the environment. This project will provide new strategies, models and techniques to increase efficiency in both the production and delivery of perishable products. The outcomes of the project will enable decision makers in industries handling perishable products to optimise the use of resources, reduce costs and waste, raise productivity and improve services. The nation will benefit with higher export income and better quality of consumer products.Read moreRead less
Surface Modification of Spray-Dried Powders By Surface-Active Proteins. Internal wall deposits in spray dryers lead to product degradation and pose fire hazards. This situation has limited the manufacturing of high value bio-food powders by the Australian bio-food and dairy industry, which exports 13% of the milk powder in the world. The specific economic benefits to Australia from this project arise from innovative surface modification of powder particles by proteins, development of scientific ....Surface Modification of Spray-Dried Powders By Surface-Active Proteins. Internal wall deposits in spray dryers lead to product degradation and pose fire hazards. This situation has limited the manufacturing of high value bio-food powders by the Australian bio-food and dairy industry, which exports 13% of the milk powder in the world. The specific economic benefits to Australia from this project arise from innovative surface modification of powder particles by proteins, development of scientific instruments and predictive tools based on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). These outcomes will lead to production of free flowing powders from bio-food materials.Read moreRead less
Miniature triaxial tests to investigate effects of pore fluid salt concentration on the mechanics of clays. Mitigating the land degradation caused by salinity is a national priority. In the urban environment salinity and the associated waterlogging have the potential to seriously degrade infrastructure and domestic housing. Currently the effects of salinity on the mechanical response of the ground are not well understood and there is a paucity of engineering models capable of predicting ground b ....Miniature triaxial tests to investigate effects of pore fluid salt concentration on the mechanics of clays. Mitigating the land degradation caused by salinity is a national priority. In the urban environment salinity and the associated waterlogging have the potential to seriously degrade infrastructure and domestic housing. Currently the effects of salinity on the mechanical response of the ground are not well understood and there is a paucity of engineering models capable of predicting ground behaviour. This project aims to address this situation by providing new knowledge and understanding of how changes in salt concentration affect the soil, and by developing models capable of predicting the observed behaviour. This will assist in the development of rational approaches to mitigate the effects of salinity.Read moreRead less
Erosion of variably saturated soils - a fundamental investigation. Soil erosion is a serious problem in Australia and internationally. Each year 75 billion tones of soil are removed due to erosion causing siltation and reduced storage capacity of reservoirs (and in some cases dam failures), while reducing agriculture productivity. Also, the internal erosion of dams has historically resulted in about 1 in 200 dams failing. This project will develop a framework for understanding the initiation, pr ....Erosion of variably saturated soils - a fundamental investigation. Soil erosion is a serious problem in Australia and internationally. Each year 75 billion tones of soil are removed due to erosion causing siltation and reduced storage capacity of reservoirs (and in some cases dam failures), while reducing agriculture productivity. Also, the internal erosion of dams has historically resulted in about 1 in 200 dams failing. This project will develop a framework for understanding the initiation, progression and rate of erosion of soils including previously overlooked parameters. It will significantly advance the ability to manage and predict soil erosion. Engineers, land management authorities and dam owners will benefit directly through the development of new experimental and predictive tools.Read moreRead less
Mechanics of dynamic loading and rapid penetration of soils. The project will produce improved understanding and new numerical tools that will permit cost effective simulation and modelling of rapid penetration of objects into the ground, and of the compaction processes used on the majority of construction sites. The free fall penetrometer will be developed to enable soil strength to be determined at remote sites, e.g. ocean seabed, jungles, swamps. The project will also assist in the selection ....Mechanics of dynamic loading and rapid penetration of soils. The project will produce improved understanding and new numerical tools that will permit cost effective simulation and modelling of rapid penetration of objects into the ground, and of the compaction processes used on the majority of construction sites. The free fall penetrometer will be developed to enable soil strength to be determined at remote sites, e.g. ocean seabed, jungles, swamps. The project will also assist in the selection of compaction equipment and procedures.Read moreRead less
Flexible and Printable Sensors for Early Detection of Food Spoilage . This project aims to develop a technological platform for the fabrication of flexible sensors that enable the detection of food spoilage and life threatening microbial contamination. By engineering stimuli-responsive inks, colorimetric, chemiresistive, and impedimetric sensor arrays will be printed on flexible plastics and paper substrates. The printed sensor arrays will respond to gases and volatile compounds generated from f ....Flexible and Printable Sensors for Early Detection of Food Spoilage . This project aims to develop a technological platform for the fabrication of flexible sensors that enable the detection of food spoilage and life threatening microbial contamination. By engineering stimuli-responsive inks, colorimetric, chemiresistive, and impedimetric sensor arrays will be printed on flexible plastics and paper substrates. The printed sensor arrays will respond to gases and volatile compounds generated from food deterioration and spoilage, microbial pathogen, temperature and pH by a change in their colour or electrical properties, hence providing real-time measurements. The project will enable to design efficient data-driven decision making tools along the supply chain to enhance food safety and reduce food waste. Read moreRead less