Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE240100131
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$539,000.00
Summary
Federated Omniverse Facilities for Smart Digital Futures. A world-first trans-disciplinary, -domain, and -institutional smart 3D omniverse R&D ecosystem AuVerse will be built in NSW, affiliated with Queensland, and accessible to academia and industry. AuVerse will support cloud-based, reality-virtuality-fused, immersive, interactive and secure future-oriented digital design, development, training and society. In the new era of digital innovation and paradigm shift, AuVerse will substantially boo ....Federated Omniverse Facilities for Smart Digital Futures. A world-first trans-disciplinary, -domain, and -institutional smart 3D omniverse R&D ecosystem AuVerse will be built in NSW, affiliated with Queensland, and accessible to academia and industry. AuVerse will support cloud-based, reality-virtuality-fused, immersive, interactive and secure future-oriented digital design, development, training and society. In the new era of digital innovation and paradigm shift, AuVerse will substantially boost Australia’s pivotal research leadership and business competitiveness in nurturing new-generation, collaborative and transformative digital R&D and talent pipeline. It will enable large-scale strategic business innovation and transformation including smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0.Read moreRead less
Advanced materials for space propulsion: satellites and cubesats. Poorly controlled interactions between plasmas and surfaces often mean loss of process efficiency and surface degradation over time. For Hall thrusters, a type of engine used to move satellites in space, this means increased fuel consumption and shorter useful life. Through modelling and experiment, this project will show how intelligent selection of advanced materials and plasma parameters can minimise surface wear, enable in sit ....Advanced materials for space propulsion: satellites and cubesats. Poorly controlled interactions between plasmas and surfaces often mean loss of process efficiency and surface degradation over time. For Hall thrusters, a type of engine used to move satellites in space, this means increased fuel consumption and shorter useful life. Through modelling and experiment, this project will show how intelligent selection of advanced materials and plasma parameters can minimise surface wear, enable in situ material repair to extend device lifetime, and modulate plasma properties to increase thruster efficiency for a given task. These benefits enable reliable propulsion platforms for massive communication and observation satellite networks and deep space exploration.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC180100030
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,925,357.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre for Transforming Maintenance through Data Science. The ARC Training Centre for Transforming Maintenance through Data Science aims to equip practising engineers and Australian graduates with the next generation of data science methods for the maintenance sector. The Centre plans to introduce timely and cost-efficient maintenance scheduling by developing data-intensive mathematical and computational algorithms for asset management and fault prediction. The Centre’s overarching ....ARC Training Centre for Transforming Maintenance through Data Science. The ARC Training Centre for Transforming Maintenance through Data Science aims to equip practising engineers and Australian graduates with the next generation of data science methods for the maintenance sector. The Centre plans to introduce timely and cost-efficient maintenance scheduling by developing data-intensive mathematical and computational algorithms for asset management and fault prediction. The Centre’s overarching objectives are to enable development and adoption of new practices to improve productivity and asset reliability for industry and to foster a new maintenance technology service sector for national and international markets.Read moreRead less
Waves of words: mapping and modeling Australia’s Pacific ties. This project aims to determine the extent and nature of ancient contact relationships between first peoples of Australia and the Pacific by exploring linguistic interactions. The project will use complementary sets of methods and expects to discover what kinds of social configurations underlie different linguistic outcomes in language contact situations. This will improve our understanding of the relationship between language change ....Waves of words: mapping and modeling Australia’s Pacific ties. This project aims to determine the extent and nature of ancient contact relationships between first peoples of Australia and the Pacific by exploring linguistic interactions. The project will use complementary sets of methods and expects to discover what kinds of social configurations underlie different linguistic outcomes in language contact situations. This will improve our understanding of the relationship between language change and socio-cultural change, which will have significant impact on linguistic and anthropological theory.Read moreRead less
Reducing direct greenhouse gas emissions from urban wastewater systems. This project aims to develop a systematic framework for water utilities to monitor and reduce direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wastewater systems. A standardised monitoring protocol will be developed to conduct an unprecedented nationwide sampling campaign. The obtained data, with microbial characterisation and mechanism analysis, will be used to develop novel models for accurate prediction of GHG emissions. Expect ....Reducing direct greenhouse gas emissions from urban wastewater systems. This project aims to develop a systematic framework for water utilities to monitor and reduce direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wastewater systems. A standardised monitoring protocol will be developed to conduct an unprecedented nationwide sampling campaign. The obtained data, with microbial characterisation and mechanism analysis, will be used to develop novel models for accurate prediction of GHG emissions. Expected outcomes include protocol to accurately monitor emissions, models to predict emission under various conditions, and mitigation guideline for typical plant configurations. The anticipated benefit is a significant reduction in GHG emissions from urban water industry and support it to meet net-zero-emission goal by 2050.Read moreRead less
CropVision: A next-generation system for predicting crop production. Accurate and timely production estimates are essential to Australia’s grain producers and industry to better deal with down side risk caused by climate extremes and market volatilities. However, current systems for predicting crop production are inaccurate and unreliable. This project aims to develop a next generation system for advance and high accuracy predictions for yield, crop type and area at field scale. This will be don ....CropVision: A next-generation system for predicting crop production. Accurate and timely production estimates are essential to Australia’s grain producers and industry to better deal with down side risk caused by climate extremes and market volatilities. However, current systems for predicting crop production are inaccurate and unreliable. This project aims to develop a next generation system for advance and high accuracy predictions for yield, crop type and area at field scale. This will be done by integrating the state of the art global climate models (GCM), biophysical crop modelling, and high-resolution earth observation technologies. This project will deliver a next generation crop prediction system to predict crop production at field scale for improved decision-making and enhancing resilience.Read moreRead less
How Large Earthquakes Change Our Dynamically Deforming Planet. The project aims to understand the multiscale dynamics of interacting faults on a global scale using novel computer simulations with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. The focus of the research is to investigate the two-way coupling that exists between cycles of great earthquakes on plate boundaries, the global stress field, deformation within the crust, and changes to the Earth's dynamic topography. This is an important, ....How Large Earthquakes Change Our Dynamically Deforming Planet. The project aims to understand the multiscale dynamics of interacting faults on a global scale using novel computer simulations with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. The focus of the research is to investigate the two-way coupling that exists between cycles of great earthquakes on plate boundaries, the global stress field, deformation within the crust, and changes to the Earth's dynamic topography. This is an important, foundational question in the emerging field of decadal scale global geodynamics. The tools are intended to improve reference models used to study sea-level changes in response to global ice loss. They support better climate models and improved forward planning tools for at-risk coastal communities.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100301
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$440,000.00
Summary
Reducing uncertainty in prediction of leaf respiration in a changing world. This project aims to advance our understanding of responses of carbon dioxide (CO2) release by leaf (leaf respiration) to sustained changes in CO2 and temperature. Leaf respiration in terrestrial forests releases yearly CO2 that is two to four times higher than CO2 emitted by human activities, but its response to climate change is not well understood. The project expects to generate new knowledge on mechanisms underlying ....Reducing uncertainty in prediction of leaf respiration in a changing world. This project aims to advance our understanding of responses of carbon dioxide (CO2) release by leaf (leaf respiration) to sustained changes in CO2 and temperature. Leaf respiration in terrestrial forests releases yearly CO2 that is two to four times higher than CO2 emitted by human activities, but its response to climate change is not well understood. The project expects to generate new knowledge on mechanisms underlying responses of leaf respiration to these climate change variables, separately and combined. Expected outcome is to deliver criteria that enable dynamic changes in leaf respiration to be predicted in climate models. Results should benefit improved forecast of feedback between Australian forests' carbon cycling and climate.Read moreRead less
Building insights of our largest terrestrial carbon sink: rangelands soils. Rangelands soils represent Australia’s largest carbon sink. Yet, little is known about their potential for carbon sequestration or their vulnerability to climate and environmental change. This project leverages investments in national terrestrial observation platforms and integrates previous research outputs to develop new methods to measure and build understanding of soil carbon composition and dynamics in rangeland eco ....Building insights of our largest terrestrial carbon sink: rangelands soils. Rangelands soils represent Australia’s largest carbon sink. Yet, little is known about their potential for carbon sequestration or their vulnerability to climate and environmental change. This project leverages investments in national terrestrial observation platforms and integrates previous research outputs to develop new methods to measure and build understanding of soil carbon composition and dynamics in rangeland ecosystems. Under a framework that connects detailed measurements and small-scale processes, with machine-learning, data-model assimilation and large-scale next-generation biogeochemical modelling, it’ll allow more accurate predictions of soil carbon change and better decision-making to guide sustainable rangelands management.Read moreRead less
Assessment Of The Sensitivity Of Australia’s Aquatic Animal Disease Surveillance System Using Scenario Tree Modelling
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$224,000.00
Summary
The sensitivity of an overall passive surveillance system is difficult to determine due to variability in factors such as disease characteristics, passive surveillance stakeholders and the likelihood that disease events will be reported and investigated. The WOAH Aquatic Animal Health Code also stipulates the primary evidence for historical freedom is passive surveillant information generated by a country’s early detection system that needs to be sufficiently sensitive.
Scenario tree m ....The sensitivity of an overall passive surveillance system is difficult to determine due to variability in factors such as disease characteristics, passive surveillance stakeholders and the likelihood that disease events will be reported and investigated. The WOAH Aquatic Animal Health Code also stipulates the primary evidence for historical freedom is passive surveillant information generated by a country’s early detection system that needs to be sufficiently sensitive.
Scenario tree modelling (STM) can be used to overcome those challenges. STM uses quantitative statistical methods to estimate the sensitivity of various components of the surveillance system (e.g. presentation of disease signs, disease recognition and reporting). These estimates can then be used to identify critical points in the system to which interventions can be targeted to improve the system. STM can be applied to any aquatic disease/industry of interest and there are some successful examples for terrestrial diseases/industries, both in Australia and overseas.
Two aquatic animal disease agents of trade and biosecurity significance, WSSV and megalocytiviruses, will be evaluated as case studies. These diseases are subject to import biosecurity measures and have significant production impacts, as they severely affect farmed and wild aquatic animal species that are valued by many stakeholders (e.g. aquaculture, capture fisheries, recreational fisheries and conservation groups). A sound STM assessment of each case study will support our early detection system through a quantitative evaluation of the speed of the detection, and improve our emergency disease response strategy by determining areas in our passive surveillance that, once strengthened, will provide a greater return on future investment.
As mentioned above, increasing the sensitivity of Australia’s passive surveillance is a national priority. This project is identified in AQUAPLAN 2022-2017 as Activity 3.3. The outcomes of this project are also used for other AQUAPLAN activities, National surveillance strategy (Activity 3.1) and Sector-specific surveillance plans (Activity 3.2). The data produced from this project will provide recommendations for various interventions to improve the overall performance of the passive surveillance system for the participating industries.
More broadly, the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation R&D Plan 2020-2025 identified building capability and capacity for biosecurity as a priority. In alignment with the R&D plan, successful outcomes of this project will improve understanding of disease transmission pathways which will enhance biosecurity practices. It will improve allocation of biosecurity resources (by identifying the most effective and cost-efficient way of investing resources in surveillance to get the best return), minimise biosecurity threats (by enhancing passive surveillance to accelerate an early detection) and improve market access for associated industry producers (by providing quantitative information on their passive surveillance sensitivity as a market access negotiation tool).
Objectives: 1. Quantitatively evaluate the sensitivity of Australia’s passive surveillance system for white spot disease 2. Quantitatively evaluate the sensitivity of Australia’s passive surveillance system for megalocytiviruses Read moreRead less