Co-design and dynamic mission optimisation of hypersonic flight vehicles. This project aims to deliver fundamental knowledge by integrating the modelling and control with the design of next generation hypersonic platforms. In an era where Australia's national security reliance on geographic isolation and support from allied forces are being challenged, the research outcomes of this project will play an important role in understanding the capabilities of hypersonic systems. The project will also ....Co-design and dynamic mission optimisation of hypersonic flight vehicles. This project aims to deliver fundamental knowledge by integrating the modelling and control with the design of next generation hypersonic platforms. In an era where Australia's national security reliance on geographic isolation and support from allied forces are being challenged, the research outcomes of this project will play an important role in understanding the capabilities of hypersonic systems. The project will also have significant spillover benefits into other complex system domains, where computational tools can be used to aid in design leading to high embedded-IP products for Australian industry. Furthermore, the proposal encompasses a strong research training aspect, with graduates exposed to leading edge industry and academia.Read moreRead less
Threats to the water quality and ecosystem of Coffin Bay, South Australia. Coffin Bay (South Australia) is experiencing worsening environmental conditions despite its major economic and ecological importance. Research is needed to understand the cause of this decline, particularly in light of a recent bacterial outbreak that impacted the aquaculture industry. This multidisciplinary project aims to deliver world-leading scientific advice based on novel field techniques and innovative models of th ....Threats to the water quality and ecosystem of Coffin Bay, South Australia. Coffin Bay (South Australia) is experiencing worsening environmental conditions despite its major economic and ecological importance. Research is needed to understand the cause of this decline, particularly in light of a recent bacterial outbreak that impacted the aquaculture industry. This multidisciplinary project aims to deliver world-leading scientific advice based on novel field techniques and innovative models of this complex inverse estuary system and its surrounding catchment. The new understanding of the sources, fluxes and fate of nutrients within the bay and the surrounding catchment, arising from this project, is expected to benefit management decision-making and establish a new standard in estuarine water quality investigation.Read moreRead less
Airborne ultrafine particles in Australian cities. There is an acute deficiency of knowledge in Australia on urban airborne ultrafine particles, originating from transport and other anthropogenic sources, which pose significant health and environmental risks. The aim of this project is to address this deficiency by an extensive multi-city, cross-disciplinary study using state of the art instrumentation and data analytic techniques. The outcome will be an in depth, quantitative insight into the c ....Airborne ultrafine particles in Australian cities. There is an acute deficiency of knowledge in Australia on urban airborne ultrafine particles, originating from transport and other anthropogenic sources, which pose significant health and environmental risks. The aim of this project is to address this deficiency by an extensive multi-city, cross-disciplinary study using state of the art instrumentation and data analytic techniques. The outcome will be an in depth, quantitative insight into the characteristics of the particles, their sources and spatial and temporal variation across different urban areas and time scales. Further, the impacts of changing fuels, vehicle technologies, and climate on future trends of the particles will be elucidated.Read moreRead less
Controlling coastlines while generating power. The Project aims to produce strategies for protecting coasts from storms using farms of wave-energy machines, which also generate electricity. Increasing lengths of coast need protection as the climate changes, but conventional barriers create permanent environmental impacts and are a sunk cost usually borne by the taxpayer. The Project expects to derive a strategy for the setting of each machine in the farm, so that they collectively absorb or refl ....Controlling coastlines while generating power. The Project aims to produce strategies for protecting coasts from storms using farms of wave-energy machines, which also generate electricity. Increasing lengths of coast need protection as the climate changes, but conventional barriers create permanent environmental impacts and are a sunk cost usually borne by the taxpayer. The Project expects to derive a strategy for the setting of each machine in the farm, so that they collectively absorb or reflect damaging waves under severe conditions. Under normal conditions, enough wave energy to sustain environmental processes would pass through. Sales of electricity would help to pay back the capital cost. Outcomes would include reduced coastal-erosion costs and a low-intermittency energy supply.Read moreRead less
Silicon: a novel solution to reduce water use and pest damage in wheat. The project aims to improve Australian wheat production by increasing drought resilience and reducing reliance on pesticides. This is achieved by incorporating amorphous silicon (Si), an abundant national resource. Si uptake by wheat has been proven to alleviate stress from drought and pests, but mechanisms and agronomic feasibility remain to be fully assessed. The project will deliver a mechanistic understanding of how Si a ....Silicon: a novel solution to reduce water use and pest damage in wheat. The project aims to improve Australian wheat production by increasing drought resilience and reducing reliance on pesticides. This is achieved by incorporating amorphous silicon (Si), an abundant national resource. Si uptake by wheat has been proven to alleviate stress from drought and pests, but mechanisms and agronomic feasibility remain to be fully assessed. The project will deliver a mechanistic understanding of how Si alleviates stress in wheat, from gene to farm scale, providing cost-benefit analysis and a best–practice toolbox for implementation by farmers. Outcomes are anticipated to provide a cheaper and more environmentally sustainable solution to issues of water scarcity and yield losses to pests in Australia’s leading crop.Read moreRead less
Development of genetic technology for rodent population suppression. Vertebrate pests cost Australia over $1 billion each year in agricultural losses and environmental damage and novel strategies are urgently required to tackle this massive challenge. Newly proposed “gene drives”, which might rapidly spread through populations, have enormous potential for the sustained management and even eradication of pests. Through innovative application of cutting-edge genome editing approaches, this proposa ....Development of genetic technology for rodent population suppression. Vertebrate pests cost Australia over $1 billion each year in agricultural losses and environmental damage and novel strategies are urgently required to tackle this massive challenge. Newly proposed “gene drives”, which might rapidly spread through populations, have enormous potential for the sustained management and even eradication of pests. Through innovative application of cutting-edge genome editing approaches, this proposal aims to develop gene drive technology in mice as a prototypical vertebrate pest species. We will also develop cutting-edge mathematical models of rodent gene drives to identify crucial parameters for efficacious employment and investigate potential for impact on non-target populations.Read moreRead less
Driving performance and self-regulation practices in drivers with dementia . Despite the high prevalence of dementia in older drivers, a substantial gap remains in the evidence regarding the natural progression of the disease and its impact on fitness to drive. This project will use a combination of real-time, in-vehicle driver monitoring devices and a state-of-the-art driving simulator. Together, these will objectively measure natural driving patterns and self-regulation practices, and provide ....Driving performance and self-regulation practices in drivers with dementia . Despite the high prevalence of dementia in older drivers, a substantial gap remains in the evidence regarding the natural progression of the disease and its impact on fitness to drive. This project will use a combination of real-time, in-vehicle driver monitoring devices and a state-of-the-art driving simulator. Together, these will objectively measure natural driving patterns and self-regulation practices, and provide a comprehensive assessment of driving performance for drivers with mild dementia and a comparison group without dementia. The project will create a partnership between leading researchers, clinicians and policy makers in order to provide an answer to a complex problem.Read moreRead less
A Novel Inline High-Efficiency Motor/Pump System. Around 19% of the world’s and 30% of the Australia’s electric energy is consumed by pump technologies. Significant energy savings are possible if the major components of pump systems, including inverter, motor and pump, operate at their maximum possible efficiency under varying loads. A novel pump design in this project accommodates integrated electronics in a submersible housing. A seal-less design helps mitigate several aspects of pump failure ....A Novel Inline High-Efficiency Motor/Pump System. Around 19% of the world’s and 30% of the Australia’s electric energy is consumed by pump technologies. Significant energy savings are possible if the major components of pump systems, including inverter, motor and pump, operate at their maximum possible efficiency under varying loads. A novel pump design in this project accommodates integrated electronics in a submersible housing. A seal-less design helps mitigate several aspects of pump failure and its in-line structure reduces assembly cost. Accurately measured efficiency maps will be utilised to demonstrate the non-linear relationship between motor and pump quantities as well as developing models for indirectly estimating feedback quantities and achieving the highest system efficiency.Read moreRead less
Commercial scale production of biocrude by hydrothermal liquefaction. The project aims to develop new understanding and tools to support commercial-scale production of biocrude from microalgae or biosolids and enable a breakthrough in cost-effective production of sustainable fuels. A novel hydrothermal liquefaction reactor has been developed that has strong potential to overcome the limitations of Muradel's existing demonstration reactor which, while world-leading, is uneconomical at commercial ....Commercial scale production of biocrude by hydrothermal liquefaction. The project aims to develop new understanding and tools to support commercial-scale production of biocrude from microalgae or biosolids and enable a breakthrough in cost-effective production of sustainable fuels. A novel hydrothermal liquefaction reactor has been developed that has strong potential to overcome the limitations of Muradel's existing demonstration reactor which, while world-leading, is uneconomical at commercial scale. The project aims to develop design tools to optimise the new reactor, comprising a chemical model of the complex, multi-component hydrothermal liquefaction reactions, a computational model of the mixing and heat transfer within it and a network model of the energy and exergy flows.Read moreRead less
Improving the anti-predator responses of native mammals . Predation by introduced cats and foxes causes extinction and decline in Australian mammals. Protecting threatened mammals inside fenced sanctuaries is effective but they can become overpopulated, inbred and more naive to predators over time. This leads to a dwindling hope of ever restoring them to their natural habitat. Previous research has shown that exposing threatened mammals to low levels of cat predation in large fenced paddocks i ....Improving the anti-predator responses of native mammals . Predation by introduced cats and foxes causes extinction and decline in Australian mammals. Protecting threatened mammals inside fenced sanctuaries is effective but they can become overpopulated, inbred and more naive to predators over time. This leads to a dwindling hope of ever restoring them to their natural habitat. Previous research has shown that exposing threatened mammals to low levels of cat predation in large fenced paddocks improves their anti-predator behaviour, changes their physical appearance and improves survival. This grant seeks to understand the mechanisms (genetic/learning) behind these changes in order to harness and upscale our results and facilitate co-existence between native mammals and introduced predators. Read moreRead less