The cognitive neuroscience of motor skill learning. The capacity to produce skilled motor behaviour is essential for success in almost every aspect of our lives, whether it be playing sport, driving a car, operating machinery at work, or touch-typing. This project aims to establish the causal role of brain regions in motor skill learning by combining cutting-edge techniques in neuroimaging and brain stimulation. It is expected to lead to fundamental new knowledge on how new motor memories are cr ....The cognitive neuroscience of motor skill learning. The capacity to produce skilled motor behaviour is essential for success in almost every aspect of our lives, whether it be playing sport, driving a car, operating machinery at work, or touch-typing. This project aims to establish the causal role of brain regions in motor skill learning by combining cutting-edge techniques in neuroimaging and brain stimulation. It is expected to lead to fundamental new knowledge on how new motor memories are created to enable the expression of skilled motor behaviour. The knowledge gained from this project may identify new strategies for learning skills that are widely applicable to education, industry, sport, and health.Read moreRead less
The human mirror system and the perception of others' actions. This research will provide greater understanding of how the human mirror system operates for the perception of actions, a crucial first-step toward understanding disorders of action perception such as autism and apraxia. The research program will also contribute greatly to building national capacity in cognitive neuroscience research, using advanced brain imaging methods. The fellow actively encourages and mentors young scientists, o ....The human mirror system and the perception of others' actions. This research will provide greater understanding of how the human mirror system operates for the perception of actions, a crucial first-step toward understanding disorders of action perception such as autism and apraxia. The research program will also contribute greatly to building national capacity in cognitive neuroscience research, using advanced brain imaging methods. The fellow actively encourages and mentors young scientists, organises advanced workshops that bring brain imaging researchers around the world to Australia, and builds international collaborations based around high-field brain imaging. The Future Fellowship will substantially enhance these activities, building capacity and enhancing Australia's reputation in cognitive neurosciences.Read moreRead less
Platform technology to decode motor control through ultra high-field MRI. This project aims to advance our understanding of the poorly understood neural circuits that enable fine motor control in humans. To obtain this knowledge, new platform technology will be developed to capture the full kinematics of the hand during concurrent functional magnetic resonance imaging at ultra high-field. This device will allow testing of fundamental theories describing the canonical microcircuits involved in ha ....Platform technology to decode motor control through ultra high-field MRI. This project aims to advance our understanding of the poorly understood neural circuits that enable fine motor control in humans. To obtain this knowledge, new platform technology will be developed to capture the full kinematics of the hand during concurrent functional magnetic resonance imaging at ultra high-field. This device will allow testing of fundamental theories describing the canonical microcircuits involved in hand motion. Expected outcomes include new evidence of mirror neurons and observation of predictive error signals in the motor cortex. This new knowledge paves the way towards improved computer-brain interface technology which is likely to create benefits through translation to applications such as artificial limb control.Read moreRead less
Revealing how the human brain coordinates body movements for applications in health and technology. This project will extend the basic understanding about how the brain controls the movements of our bodies, and how it changes to allow us to adapt and refine our movements. This project will generate information that is critical for applications in the fields of health (e.g. rehabilitation) and technology (e.g. human-machine interfaces).
The structure and function of the human spinal connectome. This project will use complex network analysis to map the interactions between the brain and body, to understand how the central nervous system controls our movements. The project will provide fundamental insights into mechanisms that coordinate activity in the human motor system, and how the breakdown of coordination may lead to movement disorders. By integrating advanced computational analyses with state-of-the-art recording techniques ....The structure and function of the human spinal connectome. This project will use complex network analysis to map the interactions between the brain and body, to understand how the central nervous system controls our movements. The project will provide fundamental insights into mechanisms that coordinate activity in the human motor system, and how the breakdown of coordination may lead to movement disorders. By integrating advanced computational analyses with state-of-the-art recording techniques, the project will generate new knowledge of the neural basis of human motor coordination. Expected outcomes may support future applications to restore motor function through brain stimulation, prosthetics and robotics design.Read moreRead less
A new model of human speech production through computational modeling and human functional brain imaging. It is still largely a mystery how we convert our thoughts into fluent intelligible speech. This project will bring together experts in speech pathology, neuroscience, and computer modeling to create a new biologically-plausible model of speech production to advance understanding of speech development, ageing, and mechanisms of recovery after injury.
Control and learning for enhancing capabilities of quantum sensors. This project aims to develop new theories and algorithms to enhance capabilities in engineering quantum sensors from the perspective of systems and control. The project is significant because it is anticipated to advance key knowledge and provide systematic methods to enable achievement of high-precision sensing for wide applications, e.g., early disease detection, medical research, discovery of ore deposits and groundwater moni ....Control and learning for enhancing capabilities of quantum sensors. This project aims to develop new theories and algorithms to enhance capabilities in engineering quantum sensors from the perspective of systems and control. The project is significant because it is anticipated to advance key knowledge and provide systematic methods to enable achievement of high-precision sensing for wide applications, e.g., early disease detection, medical research, discovery of ore deposits and groundwater monitoring. The intended outcomes are fundamental theories, effective control and learning algorithms for achieving highly-sensitive sensors. These outcomes should make important contributions to and deliver new knowledge and skills for Australia's sensing industries, which could benefit Australia's economic growth.Read moreRead less
A general framework for the stability and robustness of dynamical systems. Stability and robustness are crucial properties of well-engineered dynamical systems. This project aims to unify several notions of stability and robustness and to expand these notions to the emerging area of hybrid systems, which includes next generation electricity distribution networks.
Integrated Piezoelectric Microsystems for Actuation and Sensing. Piezoelectric transducers provide the highest positioning accuracy of any known actuator and the highest dynamic force resolution of any known sensor. However, these capabilities are limited to macro scale applications since piezoelectric materials are not compatible with integrated circuit (IC) or Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems fabrication processes. This project aims to extend the use of piezoelectric materials to the meso- and ....Integrated Piezoelectric Microsystems for Actuation and Sensing. Piezoelectric transducers provide the highest positioning accuracy of any known actuator and the highest dynamic force resolution of any known sensor. However, these capabilities are limited to macro scale applications since piezoelectric materials are not compatible with integrated circuit (IC) or Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems fabrication processes. This project aims to extend the use of piezoelectric materials to the meso- and micro-scale by fabricating miniature piezoelectric positioning and sensor systems. These devices will include six-axis nano-positioners and ultra-high resolution accelerometers and gyroscopes. This technology will create a new market for devices that are lower cost than macro-scale systems but provide higher performance than silicon based microsystems.Read moreRead less
Advanced model-based control for ultra-fast and ultra-high-precision nanoscale positioning. Australia faces unique challenges due to its small population and distance from international markets. To maintain a high standard of living Australia needs to further develop its high-tech base particularly in emerging fields such as nanotechnology. This research program is aimed at placing Australia at the forefront of international research in nanoscale positioning systems by building a world-class tea ....Advanced model-based control for ultra-fast and ultra-high-precision nanoscale positioning. Australia faces unique challenges due to its small population and distance from international markets. To maintain a high standard of living Australia needs to further develop its high-tech base particularly in emerging fields such as nanotechnology. This research program is aimed at placing Australia at the forefront of international research in nanoscale positioning systems by building a world-class team of talented researchers and equipping them with world-class research infrastructure. The global market for nanotechnology is projected to be in the tens of billions of dollars by 2020. The proposed research will enhance Australia's competitive advantage through high-impact scientific and technological innovations in nanotechnology.Read moreRead less