Engineered materials for future energy technologies. The development of new technologies to be applied in fuel generation, energy conversion and environmental remediation will have wide national and international impact. The cross-disciplinary and cross-institution research program proposed will draw on expertise within Australia and in Europe for the fabrication of materials for next generation energy devices. In the future, there is the potential that these materials could be fabricated within ....Engineered materials for future energy technologies. The development of new technologies to be applied in fuel generation, energy conversion and environmental remediation will have wide national and international impact. The cross-disciplinary and cross-institution research program proposed will draw on expertise within Australia and in Europe for the fabrication of materials for next generation energy devices. In the future, there is the potential that these materials could be fabricated within Australia and therefore lead to employment nationally, and income generated through the export of advanced catalysts, solar cells and sequestration materials.Read moreRead less
Specific-ion effects in non-aqueous solvents. A test for Hofmeister. A colloidal solution is a liquid that contains a finely dispersed material. The properties of these solutions are critical in many industrially important practices and in the everyday processes of life. Though not understood, it is observed that the type of salt in solution controls how the colloid behaves. Through a series of very careful experiments we seek to learn precisely how different salts influence the properties of a ....Specific-ion effects in non-aqueous solvents. A test for Hofmeister. A colloidal solution is a liquid that contains a finely dispersed material. The properties of these solutions are critical in many industrially important practices and in the everyday processes of life. Though not understood, it is observed that the type of salt in solution controls how the colloid behaves. Through a series of very careful experiments we seek to learn precisely how different salts influence the properties of a colloidal solution. This world-leading research will enable us to improve our fundamental understanding of colloids and thereby facilitate advances in topics as diverse as enzymatic action and minerals purification, ensuring Australia remains at the forefront of science in this field.Read moreRead less
The stability and predictability of the Southern Hemisphere coupled ocean-atmosphere climate system. Our ability to adapt to and manage the effects of a changing climate is limited by our understanding of the ocean's response to changes in the atmospheric circulation. This project will establish the basis for the predictability of the climate system and provide state-of-the-art forecasts for climate adaptation.
Dynamics of the Southern Ocean. The Southern Ocean is critically important to future global climate: it controls the natural global carbon cycle and the distribution of heat and nutrients around the ocean. This project will investigate key uncertainties in the Southern Ocean's response to climate change, and thereby improve our capacity to predict future climate.
The convective boundaries in stars. This project aims to locate the boundaries of convection, a problem in models of stars. It will calculate high-resolution three-dimensional simulations of stars and observe star clusters. The effect of this advance on stellar modelling could be profound since almost all stars contain convective regions. Many branches of astronomy rely on stellar models so the effect could extend far beyond the immediate field, ultimately expanding understanding of the Universe ....The convective boundaries in stars. This project aims to locate the boundaries of convection, a problem in models of stars. It will calculate high-resolution three-dimensional simulations of stars and observe star clusters. The effect of this advance on stellar modelling could be profound since almost all stars contain convective regions. Many branches of astronomy rely on stellar models so the effect could extend far beyond the immediate field, ultimately expanding understanding of the Universe. It could also be crucial in realising the scientific advances of the surveys which are gathering data for up to a billion stars.Read moreRead less
Transport barriers in complex turbulent flows: formation, detection and characterization. Barriers to transport in complex fluid flows are ubiquitous in nature, yet mathematical and numerical approaches have so far been unable to solve this problem in the presence of turbulence. This project aims to undertake the first systematic laboratory study of transport barrier generation, control and interactions to reveal the role of turbulence in the stochastic transport in fluids. It will develop new m ....Transport barriers in complex turbulent flows: formation, detection and characterization. Barriers to transport in complex fluid flows are ubiquitous in nature, yet mathematical and numerical approaches have so far been unable to solve this problem in the presence of turbulence. This project aims to undertake the first systematic laboratory study of transport barrier generation, control and interactions to reveal the role of turbulence in the stochastic transport in fluids. It will develop new methods of transport barrier modelling which will equip specialists dealing with Lagrangian transport with new tools for the transport barrier modelling and characterisation.Read moreRead less
Next-generation reaction-environments tunable catalysts for CO2 reduction. This project aims to design and develop next-generation reaction-environments tunable catalysts for active, selective and stable CO2 conversion to higher-value fuels/chemicals. Fundamentally new materials design in combination with modern computational methods and advanced in/ex-situ instrumental techniques will be advanced to develop a series of functional catalysts for customisable CO2 conversion. Expected outcomes incl ....Next-generation reaction-environments tunable catalysts for CO2 reduction. This project aims to design and develop next-generation reaction-environments tunable catalysts for active, selective and stable CO2 conversion to higher-value fuels/chemicals. Fundamentally new materials design in combination with modern computational methods and advanced in/ex-situ instrumental techniques will be advanced to develop a series of functional catalysts for customisable CO2 conversion. Expected outcomes include new understandings of heterogenous catalysis tailorable with reaction environments and innovations in energy conversion and CO2 utilisation applications. These will provide educational and technological benefits for Australia, spanning material sciences, advanced manufacturing, carbon utilisation and renewable energy.Read moreRead less
El Niño in a changing climate: novel long-term perspectives from Pacific corals and model simulations. El Niño and La Niña events have a profound influence on Australian drought conditions and rainfall. Forecasting is hampered by short climate records, which do not capture the full range of El Niño dynamics. This project aims to generate records of unprecedented length and spatial coverage from key sites across the western and central equatorial Pacific. Five hundred years of continuous, monthly ....El Niño in a changing climate: novel long-term perspectives from Pacific corals and model simulations. El Niño and La Niña events have a profound influence on Australian drought conditions and rainfall. Forecasting is hampered by short climate records, which do not capture the full range of El Niño dynamics. This project aims to generate records of unprecedented length and spatial coverage from key sites across the western and central equatorial Pacific. Five hundred years of continuous, monthly-resolution climate data will be integrated with output from state-of-the-art climate model simulations to distil the key processes that cause El Niño to vary. This project aims to provide major advances in determining the full range of El Niño and La Niña behaviour, leading to improved forecasts of future changes, with consequences for Australia's water security.Read moreRead less
Distribution of ocean heat uptake and its implications for sea level and climate change. Increasing sea levels and ocean temperatures provide critical evidence of long term warming of the climate system. This project will investigate geographical changes in the vertical distribution of heat uptake by the ocean and contribution to sea level changes, including understanding of physical mechanisms and the role of human activity and other natural external and internal factors. The expected outcomes ....Distribution of ocean heat uptake and its implications for sea level and climate change. Increasing sea levels and ocean temperatures provide critical evidence of long term warming of the climate system. This project will investigate geographical changes in the vertical distribution of heat uptake by the ocean and contribution to sea level changes, including understanding of physical mechanisms and the role of human activity and other natural external and internal factors. The expected outcomes will contribute to place more rigorous constraints on the likelihood of future warming and sea level rise projections, and are aligned with scientific deliverables required to address key questions in support of Australia’s climate change policy.Read moreRead less
Tuning adhesion through polymer chain entanglement. Adhesion in materials relies on the ability to tune molecular scale interactions. This project unlocks knowledge to transfer to industry for the intelligent use of polymer additives at a surface. Outcomes will connect fields including ceramic and minerals processing, waste water treatment and for printing and coatings.