Extended Nuclear Deterrence and the Restraint of Non-Nuclear Allies: Material Cooperation and Strategic Dialogue. Extended nuclear deterrence is central to the security commitments offered by the US to its European and Asian allies, but little is known about why non-nuclear allies ask for the nuclear assurances they do and how they influence the assurances they ultimately receive. Using the lenses of intra-alliance bargaining, the role and composition of assurances, and domestic and internationa ....Extended Nuclear Deterrence and the Restraint of Non-Nuclear Allies: Material Cooperation and Strategic Dialogue. Extended nuclear deterrence is central to the security commitments offered by the US to its European and Asian allies, but little is known about why non-nuclear allies ask for the nuclear assurances they do and how they influence the assurances they ultimately receive. Using the lenses of intra-alliance bargaining, the role and composition of assurances, and domestic and international interactions, the project investigates why non-nuclear allies often seek modest extended nuclear deterrence guarantees when they could push for more ambitious commitments. The outcomes of the project will advance theoretical understanding of alliances, assurance and nuclear strategy, with direct relevance to foreign policy and nuclear disarmament.Read moreRead less
Expectations and commitments in the Australia-USA alliance. This project aims to investigate the gap between the high expectations of mutual support and the lack of detailed security commitments in the Australia-US Alliance. The project intends to use a focused approach that captures thematic aspects of the alliance through project frames and historical slices across time. Expected outcomes can advance understanding of how alliances operate as security institutions. The outcomes can help to prom ....Expectations and commitments in the Australia-USA alliance. This project aims to investigate the gap between the high expectations of mutual support and the lack of detailed security commitments in the Australia-US Alliance. The project intends to use a focused approach that captures thematic aspects of the alliance through project frames and historical slices across time. Expected outcomes can advance understanding of how alliances operate as security institutions. The outcomes can help to promote a more informed national conversation about the costs and benefits of Australia's security relationship with the United States of America (USA) and contribute to debates over the future of the Australia-USA Alliance during a period of strategic uncertainty.Read moreRead less
Developing Australia's legal response to military and security applications of nanotechnology. A critical regulatory gap exists for military applications of nanotechnology under international law. This project will provide a conceptual framework and policy options to develop Australia's legal response to the use of nanotechnology in military and security settings through collaborations with experts in the United States.
InterFET and East Timorese independence. InterFET was the first international military campaign led by Australia since WW2, and its largest deployment since Vietnam. It also marked a crucial moment in East Timor's transition to independence. Yet there is no significant scholarly research on the troops who served, nor has there been any substantive scholarly analysis of the InterFET deployment itself. The central aim of this project is thus to investigate the latter by means of the former. It aim ....InterFET and East Timorese independence. InterFET was the first international military campaign led by Australia since WW2, and its largest deployment since Vietnam. It also marked a crucial moment in East Timor's transition to independence. Yet there is no significant scholarly research on the troops who served, nor has there been any substantive scholarly analysis of the InterFET deployment itself. The central aim of this project is thus to investigate the latter by means of the former. It aims to provide a substantive scholarly analysis of InterFET primarily through means of an oral history of participants. The project endeavours to dramatically enhance Australian and international understanding of this seminal event and what it signified in military, political, social and personal terms.Read moreRead less
Fluid-structural interactions in high-speed flows. This project aims to perform experiments to measure fluid-structure interaction in hypersonic flows. The work will improve the accuracy of simulation tools that are urgently required to aid industry in the design of more structurally efficient and robust high-speed vehicles. These tools will in turn be used to reveal the underlying physics of the fluid-structure interactions and establish the relative significance of the driving parameters. Accu ....Fluid-structural interactions in high-speed flows. This project aims to perform experiments to measure fluid-structure interaction in hypersonic flows. The work will improve the accuracy of simulation tools that are urgently required to aid industry in the design of more structurally efficient and robust high-speed vehicles. These tools will in turn be used to reveal the underlying physics of the fluid-structure interactions and establish the relative significance of the driving parameters. Accurate prediction of the behaviour and lifetime of structural components subject to these fluid-structural interactions, in which the deformation of the structure induced by the local flow field, can in turn influence this flow field. This coupling can result in damage or even catastrophic structural failure and thus robust design tools must be developed to avoid this.Read moreRead less
Improving International Law Regulation of Maritime Autonomous Vessels . The use of maritime autonomous vessels (MAVs) is creating regulatory and enforcement opportunities and challenges under international law. The aim of this project is to fill a critical gap in current responses in international law in focusing on the challenges posed by MAVs to international maritime security law. MAVs are increasingly useful for states in peacetime military operations, in response to transnational crime, mar ....Improving International Law Regulation of Maritime Autonomous Vessels . The use of maritime autonomous vessels (MAVs) is creating regulatory and enforcement opportunities and challenges under international law. The aim of this project is to fill a critical gap in current responses in international law in focusing on the challenges posed by MAVs to international maritime security law. MAVs are increasingly useful for states in peacetime military operations, in response to transnational crime, maritime cybersecurity, and in promoting broader national security goals, but non-state actors may also use them for terrorist and transnational criminal activity. International law has not kept up with this technology so this project will redress that problem and propose law reform to enhance global maritime security.Read moreRead less
A new energy absorption system for brain injury mitigation. This research aims to propose and investigate a next generation high-energy absorbing helmet pad that will protect the Australian Defence Force soldiers against both ballistic and blast threats. New fundamental knowledge in the area of high-energy absorbing metamaterials will be obtained by using numerical modelling and experimental studies. The expected outcomes of the project include the development of a new wearable energy absorbing ....A new energy absorption system for brain injury mitigation. This research aims to propose and investigate a next generation high-energy absorbing helmet pad that will protect the Australian Defence Force soldiers against both ballistic and blast threats. New fundamental knowledge in the area of high-energy absorbing metamaterials will be obtained by using numerical modelling and experimental studies. The expected outcomes of the project include the development of a new wearable energy absorbing pad which can be used as the next generation combat helmet liners and accessories. The novel high-performance energy absorption system will have a wide range of direct applications in future personal armour, as well as sports gears and elderly healthcare products.Read moreRead less
Human-Unmanned Aerial Vehicle interactions: Making drones talk and listen. This project aims to develop audio technology to enable unmanned aerial vehicles or drones to hear, use speech and sound to communicate with humans, acoustically sense their surroundings and make them less noisy. This project expects to generate new knowledge in acoustic signal processing and its application in drones using innovative approaches, such as use of miniature microphone and loudspeaker arrays, and active noise ....Human-Unmanned Aerial Vehicle interactions: Making drones talk and listen. This project aims to develop audio technology to enable unmanned aerial vehicles or drones to hear, use speech and sound to communicate with humans, acoustically sense their surroundings and make them less noisy. This project expects to generate new knowledge in acoustic signal processing and its application in drones using innovative approaches, such as use of miniature microphone and loudspeaker arrays, and active noise control. Expected outcomes include development of new theories, Intellectual Property, with potential commercial value, and training of next generation researchers. This should provide significant benefits with applications in life saving, search and rescue operations, transportation of goods, and creation of 3D media.Read moreRead less
A legal analysis of Australia's future engagement with Asia-Pacific security institutions. The security landscape of the Asia-Pacific is rapidly changing with significant implications for Australia. This project examines Australia's engagement with regional institutions to address contemporary regional security challenges by engaging critical legal analysis and through collaboration with Asia-Pacific security analysts and policy-makers.
Intriguing aerodynamics of bees, hoverflies and beyond. Nature observers have long been fascinated by the elegance, agility and endurance of flying insects, but still human-engineered vehicles fail to match their performance. This project aims to reveal the key physical aspects that allow two different insects to fly so well and thus unlock greater performance for flapping flight vehicles beyond insects.