Acoustics of the Didjeridu. We shall undertake a comprehensive experimental and theoretical study of the acoustics of the didjeridu-lips-vocal tract system. There is very little published technical literature on the dynamic acoustics of this important and uniquely Australian instrument, whose operation is surprisingly complex. A combination of stroboscopic measurements of lip motion, acoustic and vocal tract impedance measurements, MRI imaging of the vocal tract and computer modeling will be use ....Acoustics of the Didjeridu. We shall undertake a comprehensive experimental and theoretical study of the acoustics of the didjeridu-lips-vocal tract system. There is very little published technical literature on the dynamic acoustics of this important and uniquely Australian instrument, whose operation is surprisingly complex. A combination of stroboscopic measurements of lip motion, acoustic and vocal tract impedance measurements, MRI imaging of the vocal tract and computer modeling will be used to synthesize all components of the acoustic system into one quantitative model. The expected outcome will be an understanding of this instrument of unparalleled detail.Read moreRead less
Acoustic single cell traps: Understanding the woods by examining the trees. This project aims to define the underlying physics behind the manipulation of individual cells in a microfluidic chip using acoustic forces. The technology investigated would offer biomedical researchers a unique capability: that of tracking individual cell responses. It is known for example that drug resistance and latency emerge from small sub-populations of cells, so crucial information is lost when cells are studied ....Acoustic single cell traps: Understanding the woods by examining the trees. This project aims to define the underlying physics behind the manipulation of individual cells in a microfluidic chip using acoustic forces. The technology investigated would offer biomedical researchers a unique capability: that of tracking individual cell responses. It is known for example that drug resistance and latency emerge from small sub-populations of cells, so crucial information is lost when cells are studied at a population level. To trap single cells, the acoustic wavelength excited must be reduced to the order of a cell diameter. By enabling the analysis of different responses due to subtle cell difference, information pertinent to infection pathways and drug response could be gathered.Read moreRead less
Gravitational wave astrophysics with Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). The prediction that space and time vibrate is one of Einstein's greatest legacies, implying the existence of a new form of radiation with which to study the Universe. This project puts Australia in the vanguard of the billion-dollar effort worldwide to detect and harness this radiation for the first time.
An upgraded pulsar timing array for gravitational wave detection. Millisecond pulsars are remarkably regularly-rotating neutron stars that offer the opportunity to detect gravitational waves via the technique known as pulsar timing. Australia has long been a world leader in the discovery and timing of millisecond pulsars, and the Parkes pulsar timing array is one of three major programmes in the world aimed at making the first direct detection of gravitational waves in any frequency band. This p ....An upgraded pulsar timing array for gravitational wave detection. Millisecond pulsars are remarkably regularly-rotating neutron stars that offer the opportunity to detect gravitational waves via the technique known as pulsar timing. Australia has long been a world leader in the discovery and timing of millisecond pulsars, and the Parkes pulsar timing array is one of three major programmes in the world aimed at making the first direct detection of gravitational waves in any frequency band. This project is designed to capitalise on Australia's position of strength in this field by extending the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array dataset (PPTA) so that it has the best chance of detecting gravitational waves in the nanohertz regime until the SKA pathfinders start to come online in 2017.Read moreRead less
Effective Microfluidic Cell Sorting using Synergistic Acoustic and Optical manipulation. The fluorescence-activated cell sorting technique alone represented a US$860 million market in worldwide diagnostic and life science research devices for 2004. The development of a faster and cheaper device with similar efficacy, as per the objective of this work, has the potential of supplanting immunological methods of cell sorting and thus yield substantial economic returns to the nation. The research act ....Effective Microfluidic Cell Sorting using Synergistic Acoustic and Optical manipulation. The fluorescence-activated cell sorting technique alone represented a US$860 million market in worldwide diagnostic and life science research devices for 2004. The development of a faster and cheaper device with similar efficacy, as per the objective of this work, has the potential of supplanting immunological methods of cell sorting and thus yield substantial economic returns to the nation. The research activities in this project will strengthen Australia's research standing in the fields of microfluidics and lab-in-a-chip technologies. On a broader platform, it will contribute to Australia's high standing in the field of biotechnology.Read moreRead less
Smart searches for continuous gravitational waves with advanced LIGO. This project aims to detect continuous gravitational waves from neutron stars, by using smart signal processing methods developed for engineering applications like mobile telephony. The first direct detection of Einstein's gravitational waves from two merging black holes by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory in 2015 began a new era of human discovery. This project is expected to progress gravitational wave ....Smart searches for continuous gravitational waves with advanced LIGO. This project aims to detect continuous gravitational waves from neutron stars, by using smart signal processing methods developed for engineering applications like mobile telephony. The first direct detection of Einstein's gravitational waves from two merging black holes by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory in 2015 began a new era of human discovery. This project is expected to progress gravitational wave science and Australia's role in it, and generate insights about the origin of neutron stars and the physics of bulk nuclear matter under extremes of gravity, density and magnetisation which cannot be replicated on Earth.Read moreRead less
Putting Einstein to the test: Probing gravity with gravitational waves. This project aims to capitalise on the momentous discovery of gravitational waves by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO). In 2016, the LIGO Scientific Collaboration announced the first detection of gravitational waves coming from the collision of two massive black holes approximately one billion light years from Earth. The project aims to use proprietary LIGO data, of multiple gravitational-wave ob ....Putting Einstein to the test: Probing gravity with gravitational waves. This project aims to capitalise on the momentous discovery of gravitational waves by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO). In 2016, the LIGO Scientific Collaboration announced the first detection of gravitational waves coming from the collision of two massive black holes approximately one billion light years from Earth. The project aims to use proprietary LIGO data, of multiple gravitational-wave observations, to perform unprecedented tests of Einstein's theory of gravity in regions of the Universe where new physics is most likely to occur - at the surfaces of black holes. The project is designed to develop the foundation of gravitational-wave astronomy for the next three-to-five years.Read moreRead less
Asymmetrically Twisted Structures to form High-Power Rotary Micromotors for In-Vivo Swimming Microrobots. Major surgery is traumatic and risky, but often the only choice for the most serious of diseases that affect older people. In this study, we aim to provide doctors with a means to avoid major surgery and extend the capabilities of doctors to diagnose and treat patients using non- and minimally-invasive procedures: a powerful micromotor carrying its own power supply and a special flagellar pr ....Asymmetrically Twisted Structures to form High-Power Rotary Micromotors for In-Vivo Swimming Microrobots. Major surgery is traumatic and risky, but often the only choice for the most serious of diseases that affect older people. In this study, we aim to provide doctors with a means to avoid major surgery and extend the capabilities of doctors to diagnose and treat patients using non- and minimally-invasive procedures: a powerful micromotor carrying its own power supply and a special flagellar propeller to swim within the vascular and digestive systems of the human body to perform tasks via remote control. We also aim to understand the mechanisms underlying the operation of our motor system and flagellar motion in fluids to assist in the understanding of twisted blade structures and propulsion in fluids on the micro-scale.Read moreRead less
Understanding and overcoming technical difficulties in woodwind musical instruments. A large minority of Australians play musical instruments, and even more enjoy listening. Wind instruments predominate in school bands. This project will provide knowledge and resources that will improve teaching and playing techniques. It will also provide understanding and information useful to instrument makers, of which Australia has several. The information will be made available in both technical and non-te ....Understanding and overcoming technical difficulties in woodwind musical instruments. A large minority of Australians play musical instruments, and even more enjoy listening. Wind instruments predominate in school bands. This project will provide knowledge and resources that will improve teaching and playing techniques. It will also provide understanding and information useful to instrument makers, of which Australia has several. The information will be made available in both technical and non-technical forms via our widely used web site.
The quality of this research, its useful application to practical problems, and the rapid and easy communication to a wide and very interested subset of the public will enhance Australia's reputation for research and music.Read moreRead less
Acoustowetting: Microscale and Nanoscale Liquid Manipulation for Microfluidic Applications. The ability to control the spreading of liquids on surfaces is crucial to the design of portable diagnostic microdevices. Combining advanced flow visualisation together with analytical and numerical techniques, this project will elucidate a recently discovered ‘acoustowetting’ phenomenon in which micron thick liquid films can be manipulated using sound waves localised on a substrate. The phenomenon is dyn ....Acoustowetting: Microscale and Nanoscale Liquid Manipulation for Microfluidic Applications. The ability to control the spreading of liquids on surfaces is crucial to the design of portable diagnostic microdevices. Combining advanced flow visualisation together with analytical and numerical techniques, this project will elucidate a recently discovered ‘acoustowetting’ phenomenon in which micron thick liquid films can be manipulated using sound waves localised on a substrate. The phenomenon is dynamically rich and complex, exhibiting peculiarities that are at times analogous to other spreading processes and at other times quite unique: flow reversal, fingering instabilities and soliton-like wave trains. The research will subsequently utilise this fundamental understanding to design a system for encapsulating cells in droplets for drug delivery applications.Read moreRead less