Predicting the movement speeds of animals. The project seeks to reveal how marsupials modify their movement patterns and speeds as they navigate risky environments, and show how movement contributes to vulnerability and resilience. Movement is central to animal behaviour and the survival of species, because it underlies feeding, mating and the ability to escape from predators. However, we lack a framework for predicting how fast animals should move through their habitats given their needs to con ....Predicting the movement speeds of animals. The project seeks to reveal how marsupials modify their movement patterns and speeds as they navigate risky environments, and show how movement contributes to vulnerability and resilience. Movement is central to animal behaviour and the survival of species, because it underlies feeding, mating and the ability to escape from predators. However, we lack a framework for predicting how fast animals should move through their habitats given their needs to conserve energy, avoid detection by predators and minimise risks of injury or death. This project aims to develop mathematical models to predict how fast animals should move and then test these predictions using native species of conservation concern. This is expected to extend the field of performance ecology as well as inform management strategies for vulnerable marsupials.Read moreRead less
The nature and consequences of environmentally-generated phenotypic variation in natural populations. The ambient environment can generate both heritable and non-heritable variation in individual traits, but the role of such variation in evolution is poorly understood. This project will use a powerful model organism, the Australian neriid flies, to elucidate the evolutionary implications of environmentally-generated variation.
Testing our knowledge on the dawn of animal life: evidence from the fossil record against modern ecological and morphological analogues. The Cambrian 'Explosion', half a billion years ago, is regarded as one of the most important events in the history of the Earth, when most major animal groups first appear in the rock record, and for which South Australia has recently become a significant source of spectacular fossils. However, important questions remain regarding their Ediacaran roots, the spe ....Testing our knowledge on the dawn of animal life: evidence from the fossil record against modern ecological and morphological analogues. The Cambrian 'Explosion', half a billion years ago, is regarded as one of the most important events in the history of the Earth, when most major animal groups first appear in the rock record, and for which South Australia has recently become a significant source of spectacular fossils. However, important questions remain regarding their Ediacaran roots, the speed of evolution at the time, and the environments in which the radiation took place. Studying the fossil evidence in the light of present-day ecological frameworks, and in comparison with modern behavioural and morphological analogues, as well as living relatives, can help us better assess our understanding of this first radiation of animals.Read moreRead less
Interplay of the forces of nature: electroweak and strong interactions. The Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland will search for new physics by smashing protons together at the highest energies ever created in the laboratory. This project will focus on complementary searches for new physics by investigating novel phenomena associated with the mutual interactions of the strong and weak forces of nature.
Origins of our Universe. The present proposal will study the origins of our Universe, which is one of the grand challenges of 21st century physics. As such it will utilise insights and discoveries in many areas of physics, ranging from string theory and particle physics at the highest energies, to x-ray, optical and radio astronomy. The research program will add to our understanding of a fundamental branch of science - extending it in new directions - thereby considerably boosting the quality of ....Origins of our Universe. The present proposal will study the origins of our Universe, which is one of the grand challenges of 21st century physics. As such it will utilise insights and discoveries in many areas of physics, ranging from string theory and particle physics at the highest energies, to x-ray, optical and radio astronomy. The research program will add to our understanding of a fundamental branch of science - extending it in new directions - thereby considerably boosting the quality of cosmology and theoretical physics research in Australia. In concert with our international collaborations, work arising from this fellowship will enhance the Australian presence on the international cosmology, astro-particle, and theoretical physics scene.
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Microscopic many-body quantum dynamics: new approaches for fundamental science and applications. A new approach to create and validate a fundamental microscopic quantum theory of interactions of composite systems, like molecules and nuclei, by exploiting ideal features of nuclear reactions such as fusion will be developed. This will have broad impact in interdisciplinary areas from astrophysics and molecular reactions to future nanotechnologies.
Fusion Energy and the Physics of Burning Plasmas. The world faces a global energy crisis. Our standard of living, which is largely powered by base-load electricity supply, is unsustainable. Fusion power is a near zero greenhouse gas technology, which promises millions of years of base-load electricity, free from weapon proliferation. This promise has galvanised the international community to accelerate fusion development by committing to the next-step technology-enabling $16 billion experiment, ....Fusion Energy and the Physics of Burning Plasmas. The world faces a global energy crisis. Our standard of living, which is largely powered by base-load electricity supply, is unsustainable. Fusion power is a near zero greenhouse gas technology, which promises millions of years of base-load electricity, free from weapon proliferation. This promise has galvanised the international community to accelerate fusion development by committing to the next-step technology-enabling $16 billion experiment, International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). In anticipation of ITER, this fellowship will foster growth of Australian fusion research, and address a grand science challenge facing ITER: how do we maintain burn in the face of potentially damaging plasma instabilities? The answer will affect both ITER and the viability of fusion power.Read moreRead less
New directions for nuclear structure research in Australia. Studies of exotic nuclei far from stability with novel devices will support Australia's only top-level research effort in nuclear structure. The research will have fundamental impacts on our understanding of both the nucleus and stellar nucleosynthesis, as well as practical implications for the development of next-generation nuclear reactors.
Virtual colliders: high-accuracy models for high energy physics. This project will create an advanced and general model of high-energy processes, focusing on the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. New analytical and numerical solutions will be developed and combined to reach unprecedented accuracy and detail. This will clarify important phenomenological questions in the Standard Model and will enable more precise searches for deviations from it (new physics). A publicly available numerical code will ....Virtual colliders: high-accuracy models for high energy physics. This project will create an advanced and general model of high-energy processes, focusing on the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. New analytical and numerical solutions will be developed and combined to reach unprecedented accuracy and detail. This will clarify important phenomenological questions in the Standard Model and will enable more precise searches for deviations from it (new physics). A publicly available numerical code will be produced, with a large number of applications. These include, for instance, precision extraction of fundamental parameters and improved absolute calibrations of experimental measurements, explicit theoretical modelling of new physics phenomena, and optimisation of detector design and analysis strategies.Read moreRead less
Quest for dark matter and new phenomena at the energy frontier. This project aims to develop technologies and techniques to detect dark matter. Particle physics research seeks to understand the universe at its most fundamental level. The Higgs boson discovery confirmed the Standard Model of particle physics, but many fundamental questions about the microscopic nature of the universe remain. The universe predominantly consists of dark matter, which the particles within the Standard Model do not e ....Quest for dark matter and new phenomena at the energy frontier. This project aims to develop technologies and techniques to detect dark matter. Particle physics research seeks to understand the universe at its most fundamental level. The Higgs boson discovery confirmed the Standard Model of particle physics, but many fundamental questions about the microscopic nature of the universe remain. The universe predominantly consists of dark matter, which the particles within the Standard Model do not explain. The Large Hadron Collider and Australia’s SABRE provide a huge opportunity to discover physics processes by enabling searches for new particles at the high-energy frontier and the direct detection of dark matter.Read moreRead less