Plastic brains: Neural adaptations to changing environments in reptiles. The project aims to quantify brain anatomy on an unprecedented scale in comparative neurobiology. Focusing on Australia’s diverse and extensive collection of reptiles, including goannas, dragons and venomous snakes, the project expects to generate new knowledge on the evolution of brains as these animals adapted to new habitats and climates. Data will be collected by cutting-edge micro-CT technology and advanced phylogeneti ....Plastic brains: Neural adaptations to changing environments in reptiles. The project aims to quantify brain anatomy on an unprecedented scale in comparative neurobiology. Focusing on Australia’s diverse and extensive collection of reptiles, including goannas, dragons and venomous snakes, the project expects to generate new knowledge on the evolution of brains as these animals adapted to new habitats and climates. Data will be collected by cutting-edge micro-CT technology and advanced phylogenetic techniques, which will be complemented by detailed neuroanatomy. Expected outcomes include enhanced understanding of the effects of temperature on brains, and a large database of 3D digital anatomical models. A major benefit includes a greater ability to mitigate the effects of environmental change.Read moreRead less
Snake fangs: insights into evolution, palaeoclimate and biodesign . This project aims to generate unprecedented insights into the fangs of venomous snakes, focusing on elapids (taipans, tiger snakes etc). We will examine fang shape diversity, correlation with behavior and ecology, evolutionary history, and biomechanical properties. Data will be collected using cutting-edge micro-CT technology and analysed using 3D geometric morphometrics, computer simulations, and advanced phylogenetic techniqu ....Snake fangs: insights into evolution, palaeoclimate and biodesign . This project aims to generate unprecedented insights into the fangs of venomous snakes, focusing on elapids (taipans, tiger snakes etc). We will examine fang shape diversity, correlation with behavior and ecology, evolutionary history, and biomechanical properties. Data will be collected using cutting-edge micro-CT technology and analysed using 3D geometric morphometrics, computer simulations, and advanced phylogenetic techniques. This should greatly improve understanding of the evolution of venom fangs in all snakes. Other benefits include a large 3D reference database allowing identification of fossil fangs, with applications for studies of past climates, and a characterisation of fang biomechanics, relevant to biodesign and biomimicry.Read moreRead less
A New Approach to the Structure of Atomic Nuclei. Starting at the quark level, we have derived a theory of nuclear structure, that in its initial application appears extremely successful. The aim of this project is to advance this revolutionary new approach to the theory of nuclear structure to the next level by exploring its predictions for a number of outstanding questions in modern nuclear physics. This includes the properties of superheavy nuclei, with atomic number beyond 100, including the ....A New Approach to the Structure of Atomic Nuclei. Starting at the quark level, we have derived a theory of nuclear structure, that in its initial application appears extremely successful. The aim of this project is to advance this revolutionary new approach to the theory of nuclear structure to the next level by exploring its predictions for a number of outstanding questions in modern nuclear physics. This includes the properties of superheavy nuclei, with atomic number beyond 100, including the potential existence of a new region of stability and complementing experimental searches underway internationally to discover the limits of stability with large neutron or proton excess, which is crucial to understanding the origin of the elements and may contribute new energy related technology.Read moreRead less
Going beyond genetics: the shape of marsupial evolution and conservation. This project aims to explain the past and protect the present biodiversity of endangered marsupial mammals such as bilbies and koalas. It will generate new knowledge using an interdisciplinary combination of 3D analysis of skull shape, reflecting a mammal’s ability to feed and sense its surrounds, with the fast-moving fields of marsupial conservation and evolutionary genetics. This will help to anticipate if, and how, chan ....Going beyond genetics: the shape of marsupial evolution and conservation. This project aims to explain the past and protect the present biodiversity of endangered marsupial mammals such as bilbies and koalas. It will generate new knowledge using an interdisciplinary combination of 3D analysis of skull shape, reflecting a mammal’s ability to feed and sense its surrounds, with the fast-moving fields of marsupial conservation and evolutionary genetics. This will help to anticipate if, and how, changing environments and declining numbers reduce these species’ ability to adapt. Benefits include better information to support improved conservation decisions and identification of genes underlying the evolution of marsupial skull diversity.Read moreRead less
Economic analysis of child maltreatment and child protection. This project aims to investigate the economic causes and consequences of child maltreatment. It expects to generate new knowledge by applying microeconometric methods to large Australian administrative databases that track children’s health, education and welfare receipt over time. The expected outcomes of this project include an expanded knowledge base on how economic shocks affect maltreatment, the economic consequences of placing c ....Economic analysis of child maltreatment and child protection. This project aims to investigate the economic causes and consequences of child maltreatment. It expects to generate new knowledge by applying microeconometric methods to large Australian administrative databases that track children’s health, education and welfare receipt over time. The expected outcomes of this project include an expanded knowledge base on how economic shocks affect maltreatment, the economic consequences of placing children in out-of-home care, and the value of economic policies for reducing the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment. This should provide significant benefits, such as providing practical evidence to policy makers and service providers that help prevent child maltreatment and reduce its harms.Read moreRead less
Unravelling the neutron lifetime puzzle with lattice quantum chromodynamics. This project will perform supercomputer simulations to confront one of the outstanding puzzles of nuclear and particle physics, the neutron lifetime. New knowledge will be generated through the development of novel theoretical and numerical techniques to increase the precision of the leading theoretical inputs required to predict the neutron lifetime. The outcomes will provide crucial theoretical guidance into understan ....Unravelling the neutron lifetime puzzle with lattice quantum chromodynamics. This project will perform supercomputer simulations to confront one of the outstanding puzzles of nuclear and particle physics, the neutron lifetime. New knowledge will be generated through the development of novel theoretical and numerical techniques to increase the precision of the leading theoretical inputs required to predict the neutron lifetime. The outcomes will provide crucial theoretical guidance into understanding the neutron; helping to guide the next-generation neutron experiments, from particle physics to applications in advanced materials science. The results will have immediate benefit by resolving the neutron lifetime puzzle, while enabling Australian scientists to take a leadership role in this area of fundamental science.Read moreRead less
Imaging the spatial distribution of forces that bind quarks to a proton. This project will perform supercomputer simulations to resolve the distribution of forces acting on quarks inside the proton. New knowledge will be generated in the area of fundamental strong-interaction physics by developing innovative approaches to image novel features that have not been possible in the past. The outcomes will therefore open new research possibilities by expanding the capacity of the international communi ....Imaging the spatial distribution of forces that bind quarks to a proton. This project will perform supercomputer simulations to resolve the distribution of forces acting on quarks inside the proton. New knowledge will be generated in the area of fundamental strong-interaction physics by developing innovative approaches to image novel features that have not been possible in the past. The outcomes will therefore open new research possibilities by expanding the capacity of the international community to study strong interaction physics—including direct relevance to experimental research at the recently-upgraded Jefferson Lab in the US. In analogy to Rutherford's atomic model, the results will have benefit to future generations of humanity with a deeper understanding of the structure of matter.Read moreRead less
Supercomputing the tomography of the proton. This project aims to produce theoretical determinations of the quark and gluon distributions of the proton through advanced supercomputer simulations. The project will generate new knowledge in the area of fundamental strong-interaction physics by developing innovative approaches to image structures that have not been possible in the past. This project expects to expand the capacity of the international community to study strong interaction physics, i ....Supercomputing the tomography of the proton. This project aims to produce theoretical determinations of the quark and gluon distributions of the proton through advanced supercomputer simulations. The project will generate new knowledge in the area of fundamental strong-interaction physics by developing innovative approaches to image structures that have not been possible in the past. This project expects to expand the capacity of the international community to study strong interaction physics, including direct relevance to experimental research at the recently-upgraded Jefferson Lab in the US. In analogy to Rutherford's atomic model, the results will have benefit to future generations of humanity with a deeper understanding of the structure of matter.Read moreRead less
Emergent Phenomena in the Foundation of Matter. This project aims to explore the finite-matter-density features of the relativistic field theory of the strong interactions, Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). Drawing on national supercomputing resources, this project will undertake QCD calculations of unprecedented complexity to discover emergent phenomena in the ground-state quantum fields that form the foundation of matter. By studying their evolution under temperature and matter density and explori ....Emergent Phenomena in the Foundation of Matter. This project aims to explore the finite-matter-density features of the relativistic field theory of the strong interactions, Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). Drawing on national supercomputing resources, this project will undertake QCD calculations of unprecedented complexity to discover emergent phenomena in the ground-state quantum fields that form the foundation of matter. By studying their evolution under temperature and matter density and exploring their contribution to the structure of the nucleon and its excitations, the research will advance theoretical understanding and challenge experimental programs. Benefits include transferable skills in advanced analytical techniques, high-performance computing, and scientific data visualisation.Read moreRead less
Connecting Quantum Chromodynamics to experiment via non-perturbative effective field theory. This project aims to disclose the composition of proton excited states by advancing the theoretical formalism governing the underlying dynamics. At present, the structure of even the first excited state of the proton, the Roper, remains unknown for more than 50 years following its discovery. While the fundamental theory of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) describes the interactions between the quarks and glu ....Connecting Quantum Chromodynamics to experiment via non-perturbative effective field theory. This project aims to disclose the composition of proton excited states by advancing the theoretical formalism governing the underlying dynamics. At present, the structure of even the first excited state of the proton, the Roper, remains unknown for more than 50 years following its discovery. While the fundamental theory of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) describes the interactions between the quarks and gluons composing these states, the phenomena that emerge from QCD are complex and require dedicated analyses to understand them. The intended outcome is the creation of the effective field theory required to decipher QCD calculations.Read moreRead less