Double Exposure Photoresists for the 32 and 22 nm Lithographic Nodes. The semiconductor industry is one of the largest world-wide, with annual revenue of $220B and employing over 1.5M people around the world. This project provides a unique opportunity for development within Australia of significant expertise in the field of double exposure lithography. The novel photoactive polymeric films to be developed are expected to support the next generation of microchips. A major outcome of this project ....Double Exposure Photoresists for the 32 and 22 nm Lithographic Nodes. The semiconductor industry is one of the largest world-wide, with annual revenue of $220B and employing over 1.5M people around the world. This project provides a unique opportunity for development within Australia of significant expertise in the field of double exposure lithography. The novel photoactive polymeric films to be developed are expected to support the next generation of microchips. A major outcome of this project will be establishment of Australia as a world-leader in this rapidly expanding field. Furthermore the technology can be applied broadly to many printing technologies.Read moreRead less
Advanced Lithographic Solutions using Block Copolymers: Integrating Self Assembly and Lithography. The semiconductor industry is one of the largest world-wide, with annual revenue of $220B and employing over 1.5M people around the world. This project provides a unique opportunity for development within Australia of significant expertise in the field of self assembly in photolithography. Plastics with tailored properties will be made and used to develop novel processes to reduce the defectivity i ....Advanced Lithographic Solutions using Block Copolymers: Integrating Self Assembly and Lithography. The semiconductor industry is one of the largest world-wide, with annual revenue of $220B and employing over 1.5M people around the world. This project provides a unique opportunity for development within Australia of significant expertise in the field of self assembly in photolithography. Plastics with tailored properties will be made and used to develop novel processes to reduce the defectivity in integrated circuit manufacture. The ultimate benefit will be faster and more energy efficient microprocessors. A major outcome of this project will be establishment of Australia as a world-leader in this rapidly expanding field. Furthermore, the technology can be applied broadly to many other applications such as high density data storage.Read moreRead less
Development of Effective Bentonite Adsorbents for Colour Removal from Wastewater and Process Streams. This project aims to develop cost-effective adsorbents from natural bentonite clay for the removal of colour organics in water and other process streams. A new method for modifying the clays will be developed and investigated systematically. Adsorption of various dyes onto clay-based adsorbents will be examined to obtain a better understanding of the adsorption equilibrium and kinetics. The proj ....Development of Effective Bentonite Adsorbents for Colour Removal from Wastewater and Process Streams. This project aims to develop cost-effective adsorbents from natural bentonite clay for the removal of colour organics in water and other process streams. A new method for modifying the clays will be developed and investigated systematically. Adsorption of various dyes onto clay-based adsorbents will be examined to obtain a better understanding of the adsorption equilibrium and kinetics. The project will study the effects of various parameters to optimise the processing conditions for maximum removal efficiency. The project contributes to the mineral industry in value-adding and will also lead to cost-effective processes for water pollution control.Read moreRead less
Soil microbial ecology and function in forest nutrient cycling: Improving the understanding and management with bio-molecular and stable isotope techniques. An improved understanding of soil microbial ecology and function is required to advance our knowledge and management of important carbon and nutrient cycling processes underpinning forest productivity and sustainability. Recent advances in bio-molecular techniques and application of stable isotope 13C and 15N methodologies have highlighted t ....Soil microbial ecology and function in forest nutrient cycling: Improving the understanding and management with bio-molecular and stable isotope techniques. An improved understanding of soil microbial ecology and function is required to advance our knowledge and management of important carbon and nutrient cycling processes underpinning forest productivity and sustainability. Recent advances in bio-molecular techniques and application of stable isotope 13C and 15N methodologies have highlighted the exciting opportunities and potential for studying soil microbial ecology and function in forest nutrient cycling. These innovative bio-molecular and stable isotope techniques will be effectively used to examine the impacts of management practices and global change on the soil carbon and nutrient cycling processes for enhancing both productivity and environmental benefits of forest ecosystems.Read moreRead less
Effect of cane sugar juice composition on scaling rate and scale composition in sugar mills. The Australia sugar industry produces 1100 GWh of renewable electricity annually, abating ~1.1 M tonnes of CO2-equivalent of greenhouse gases. This can be increased if the juice evaporation performance, which largely determines the energy efficiency of the sugar factory, can be improved through reduced fouling of evaporators. This project will investigate the effect of juice composition on fouling of sug ....Effect of cane sugar juice composition on scaling rate and scale composition in sugar mills. The Australia sugar industry produces 1100 GWh of renewable electricity annually, abating ~1.1 M tonnes of CO2-equivalent of greenhouse gases. This can be increased if the juice evaporation performance, which largely determines the energy efficiency of the sugar factory, can be improved through reduced fouling of evaporators. This project will investigate the effect of juice composition on fouling of sugar factory evaporators so that a model to predict scale type and scale propensity can be developed. This will enable the development of better scale control strategies, resulting in reduced energy usage and reduced usage of the hazardous and polluting chemicals required to remove scale.Read moreRead less
Novel Nanomaterials for Photocatalytic Water Purification - Science and Application. Water is rapidly becoming Australia's most critical natural resource, and there is an urgent need to re-use and recycle water from domestic use (graywater) and industry, as well as utilisation of larger scale harvesting of rainwater. The outcome of this project will be a technology which can remove organic material (biological and non-biological) from water, enabling a greater range of uses of wastewater. This ....Novel Nanomaterials for Photocatalytic Water Purification - Science and Application. Water is rapidly becoming Australia's most critical natural resource, and there is an urgent need to re-use and recycle water from domestic use (graywater) and industry, as well as utilisation of larger scale harvesting of rainwater. The outcome of this project will be a technology which can remove organic material (biological and non-biological) from water, enabling a greater range of uses of wastewater. This technology will play a significant role in delivering future water security, and developing new industries involved in manufacture and export of water treatment technologies. This project directly addresses the National Priority Research area of water, and international priorities involving greater re-use and recycling of water.Read moreRead less
Structural behaviour of innovative hollow flange steel members subject to local and lateral distortional buckling effects. This project will investigate the local and lateral distortional buckling behaviour of a new generation of innovative and cost-effective thin and high strength steel hollow flange sections (HFS) being developed using a unique dual weld and roll-forming technology. It will use experiments and advanced numerical modelling to develop fundamental behavioural and design data for ....Structural behaviour of innovative hollow flange steel members subject to local and lateral distortional buckling effects. This project will investigate the local and lateral distortional buckling behaviour of a new generation of innovative and cost-effective thin and high strength steel hollow flange sections (HFS) being developed using a unique dual weld and roll-forming technology. It will use experiments and advanced numerical modelling to develop fundamental behavioural and design data for HFS flexural members. Effects of web corrugations and punched holes will also be investigated. The research will enable innovative applications using HFS in the building industry in Australia and overseas. It will bring significant economic benefits to the industry partner, steel building industry, and Australia.Read moreRead less
Structural Behaviour of Innovative LiteSteel Beams, their Design Improvements and Applications. This project will develop a significant knowledge base, accurate design models and innovative application methods for the new LSB, which will be fully used by the collaborating partner in marketing them in Australia and overseas. Both construction and manufacturing industry sectors will benefit through the increased use of the innovative and lightweight hollow flange sections. Using the new sections a ....Structural Behaviour of Innovative LiteSteel Beams, their Design Improvements and Applications. This project will develop a significant knowledge base, accurate design models and innovative application methods for the new LSB, which will be fully used by the collaborating partner in marketing them in Australia and overseas. Both construction and manufacturing industry sectors will benefit through the increased use of the innovative and lightweight hollow flange sections. Using the new sections and the wealth of design information from this research, Australian engineers can develop cost-effective and safer building systems. Community at large, in particular rural and regional communities will gain through cheaper building systems, additional employment in LSB manufacturing and design, and opportunities locally and overseas.Read moreRead less
Securing Longevity of Reinforced Concrete Infrastructure Through Enhanced Cathodic Protection Design. The sustainability of Australia's extensive maritime infrastructure is impaired by corrosion, causing ongoing rehabilitation and reduced service life. Cathodic protection (CP) is most widely used to restore corrosion-damaged concrete, however the design principles are debated and uncertainty exists on how ongoing performance should be monitored. Australian Industry will benefit from: (i) Less ex ....Securing Longevity of Reinforced Concrete Infrastructure Through Enhanced Cathodic Protection Design. The sustainability of Australia's extensive maritime infrastructure is impaired by corrosion, causing ongoing rehabilitation and reduced service life. Cathodic protection (CP) is most widely used to restore corrosion-damaged concrete, however the design principles are debated and uncertainty exists on how ongoing performance should be monitored. Australian Industry will benefit from: (i) Less expenditure and disruption to operations of key infrastructure; (ii) More sustainable maritime infrastructure requiring less labour, time and capital expenditure on inspection, testing, maintenance and rehabilitation works;(iii)Availability of experts with advanced training in CP of reinforced concrete; (iv) Update Australian CP Standard AS 2832.5-2002Read moreRead less
Enhancement of plant proteinase inhibitors for the protection of crop plants against insect attack. The aim of this project is to characterise the interactions between various known plant proteinase inhibitors and the major digestive enzymes of insects by structural and dynamic studies and to utilise mutational studies to design new inhibitors that more effectively bind to target proteinases. The outcomes will be the knowledge to design specific inhibitors to give optimal inhibition of specific ....Enhancement of plant proteinase inhibitors for the protection of crop plants against insect attack. The aim of this project is to characterise the interactions between various known plant proteinase inhibitors and the major digestive enzymes of insects by structural and dynamic studies and to utilise mutational studies to design new inhibitors that more effectively bind to target proteinases. The outcomes will be the knowledge to design specific inhibitors to give optimal inhibition of specific insect proteinases. This knowledge will lead to novel approaches to protect economically important crops, such as cotton, from insect pests in Australia - potentially saving tens of millions of dollars per annum in chemical pesticide use and enhancing crop production in Australia and internationally.Read moreRead less