Understanding coffee quality. Through this project, coffee quality will be better understood at the chemical and genetic level. This will allow the selection of superior coffee varieties and appropriate processing in the production of high quality coffee to satisfy consumer preferences. This project will result in a strong local coffee industry with a growing reputation for quality, and global application of the technology may bring further economic benefits to Australia.
Functional links between estuaries and their catchments: How does land use change affect estuarine ecological and bio-geochemical function? Estuaries are iconic recreational areas of high ecological and socio-economic value. Estuarine health is strongly linked to the catchments that feed them, yet we have no detailed understanding of these links. This project will use a number of state of the art approaches to better understand how land use affects estuarine health.
Optimising the spring in your step to enhance footwear design. This project aims to examine how the nervous system adjusts the mechanical function of our feet across a spectrum of speeds, from slow running through to maximal effort sprinting. The proposed research will explore how the nervous system controls the function of the foot to meet the ever-varying demands of locomotion in the real-world. Expected outcomes of this project are to determine if running shoes help or hinder the natural spri ....Optimising the spring in your step to enhance footwear design. This project aims to examine how the nervous system adjusts the mechanical function of our feet across a spectrum of speeds, from slow running through to maximal effort sprinting. The proposed research will explore how the nervous system controls the function of the foot to meet the ever-varying demands of locomotion in the real-world. Expected outcomes of this project are to determine if running shoes help or hinder the natural spring-like function of the foot. It will explain a conceptually novel design allowing shoes to support our feet, whilst harnessing the energetic benefits of the foot's spring-like function. This research has the potential to revolutionise athletic footwear design and has direct implications for enhanced performance in running athletes.Read moreRead less
Lightweight battery with more yield than a tonne of coal. This project aims to develop a device that is capable of converting waste heat into useful energy. The project team’s recent breakthrough discovery of a new way to erase information is intended to allow the device to operate using a battery that contains low entropy rather than energy. A battery of this kind can, in principle, have yields that are many times higher than currently available energy sources. This project aims to design proof ....Lightweight battery with more yield than a tonne of coal. This project aims to develop a device that is capable of converting waste heat into useful energy. The project team’s recent breakthrough discovery of a new way to erase information is intended to allow the device to operate using a battery that contains low entropy rather than energy. A battery of this kind can, in principle, have yields that are many times higher than currently available energy sources. This project aims to design proof-of-principle demonstrations of the device and develop the supporting thermodynamical framework. The project aims to seed a new technology that has the potential to revolutionise the way energy is harnessed and used.Read moreRead less
Multi-service assessment of intertidal treatment wetlands. This project aims to investigate the use of constructed intertidal wetlands to reduce nitrogen pollution while providing co-benefits including carbon sequestration and biodiversity. This research will generate a holistic assessment of the services, disservices, and cost-effectiveness of intertidal treatment wetlands compared to traditional wastewater treatment approaches. Expected outcomes include a full-scale multi-disciplinary environm ....Multi-service assessment of intertidal treatment wetlands. This project aims to investigate the use of constructed intertidal wetlands to reduce nitrogen pollution while providing co-benefits including carbon sequestration and biodiversity. This research will generate a holistic assessment of the services, disservices, and cost-effectiveness of intertidal treatment wetlands compared to traditional wastewater treatment approaches. Expected outcomes include a full-scale multi-disciplinary environmental and economic assessment of a constructed treatment wetland in a new urban development, providing industry and government partners the knowledge required to broaden uptake of intertidal wetlands as a cost-effective solution to growing levels of coastal anthropogenic pollution.Read moreRead less
Flavour enhancing functional feeds for farmed Barramundi. This project aims to improve the flavour quality of Australian farmed barramundi through developing novel functional feeds. The project expects to expand our fundamental knowledge of flavour enhancement, whilst providing practical benefits with respect to final product quality. The project will enable industry to achieve higher product quality benchmarks, towards the ultimate goal of improving the marketability of barramundi both locally ....Flavour enhancing functional feeds for farmed Barramundi. This project aims to improve the flavour quality of Australian farmed barramundi through developing novel functional feeds. The project expects to expand our fundamental knowledge of flavour enhancement, whilst providing practical benefits with respect to final product quality. The project will enable industry to achieve higher product quality benchmarks, towards the ultimate goal of improving the marketability of barramundi both locally and overseas. This project will provide significant benefits to the Australian barramundi industry by increasing product values, thereby facilitating an economically sustainable growth of this important regional industry.Read moreRead less
Genomic strategies for reducing losses during processing and improving the nutritional value of wheat in human diets. Wheat breeding requires efficient tools to allow selection of varieties with both high grain yield and good functional and nutritional value. Whole genome analysis will be used to develop screening methods to deliver wheat varieties with novel processing and nutritional properties for human diets contributing to global food and nutritional security.
Unravelling the drivers of greenhouse gas emissions in estuaries. The aim of this project is to understand and quantify the factors controlling the emission of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide from estuaries. Coastal systems play a disproportionately large role in the global emissions of greenhouse gases, but this is poorly quantified. The project plans to use a combination of continuous concentration and stable isotope measurements, process measurements and advanced numerical modelling ....Unravelling the drivers of greenhouse gas emissions in estuaries. The aim of this project is to understand and quantify the factors controlling the emission of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide from estuaries. Coastal systems play a disproportionately large role in the global emissions of greenhouse gases, but this is poorly quantified. The project plans to use a combination of continuous concentration and stable isotope measurements, process measurements and advanced numerical modelling across a range of undisturbed to disturbed systems. It is intended that this project will provide information for conceptualising, calibrating and verifying models, including green-house gas production. Good models, and the data that support them, such as that provided by this study, are critical for the efficient allocation of management resources in Australian coastal systems, including by our partners. The findings from this project will have direct implications to the management, rehabilitation and protection of waterways (including biodiversity) in Australia.Read moreRead less
Stabilisation of algal biomass harvested from coal seam gas associated water to generate a renewable, high nutrient resource. This project will develop composting technology to stabilise the biomass harvested from coal seam gas ponds. A feature of the project is consideration of toxic algal metabolites, and the potential for the release and degradation of these compounds during stabilisation.
Australia’s first Green Biopharm . Protein-based medicines and vaccines represent the fastest growing sector of the pharmaceutical market, but their production by Australian small and medium enterprises is prohibited by the high infrastructure and operating costs of traditional manufacturing systems. This project aims to develop advanced methods to produce protein-based medicines using a native plant. The power of this technology will be demonstrated by making a biologic anti-parasite treatment, ....Australia’s first Green Biopharm . Protein-based medicines and vaccines represent the fastest growing sector of the pharmaceutical market, but their production by Australian small and medium enterprises is prohibited by the high infrastructure and operating costs of traditional manufacturing systems. This project aims to develop advanced methods to produce protein-based medicines using a native plant. The power of this technology will be demonstrated by making a biologic anti-parasite treatment, as an alternative to outdated chemical treatments. Expected outcomes include a unique scalable technology which will support Australia's sovereign capacity to produce high-value proteins, rapidly, affordably, and at scale, and with less complexity than current plant-based systems. Read moreRead less