Inequality and economic growth. This project aims to identify forces driving inequality. Piketty’s influential book, Capital in the 21st Century, stimulated research on inequality to address the increased public concern about inequality and its side-effects such as reduced growth. Piketty proposes three laws that explain and predict inequality paths over time, but there is no empirical evidence or theoretical foundations for these laws. This project will examine Piketty’s laws and investigate fa ....Inequality and economic growth. This project aims to identify forces driving inequality. Piketty’s influential book, Capital in the 21st Century, stimulated research on inequality to address the increased public concern about inequality and its side-effects such as reduced growth. Piketty proposes three laws that explain and predict inequality paths over time, but there is no empirical evidence or theoretical foundations for these laws. This project will examine Piketty’s laws and investigate factors that shape inequality and its relation to growth. This knowledge should enable Australian governments to reduce inequality and benefit economic growth, thereby reducing disadvantage and building stronger, more resilient communities.Read moreRead less
Magnetically controlled drug release from tissue scaffolds for the treatment of acute burns. Severe skin burns are frequently associated with functionally disabling scarring and the risk of death. New magnetically activated wound seals for the treatment of acute burns will be developed that reduce the need for frequent painful dressing changes and hence facilitate rapid healing with a significantly reduced chance of scarring.
Behavioural syndromes and social networks in sleepy lizards. Fauna in Australian ecosystems are threatened by habitat fragmentation, changing environments and the spread of exotic pathogens. To manage these threats we need to understand the behavioural flexibility of wildlife populations. This project focuses on how individual behavioural differences can influence social networks and consequently pathogen transmission. It will help to protect our fauna from invasive diseases and contribute to su ....Behavioural syndromes and social networks in sleepy lizards. Fauna in Australian ecosystems are threatened by habitat fragmentation, changing environments and the spread of exotic pathogens. To manage these threats we need to understand the behavioural flexibility of wildlife populations. This project focuses on how individual behavioural differences can influence social networks and consequently pathogen transmission. It will help to protect our fauna from invasive diseases and contribute to sustaining biodiversity. With better knowledge of how diseases spread we can develop more effective controls of those diseases, thereby protecting wildlife species, animal populations and Australian ecosystems. Read moreRead less
Understanding the mechanism of Wolbachia-mediated antiviral protection. Insects are involved in the transmission of many viral diseases of both plants and animals. A considerable number of these diseases have adverse effects for public health or cause large economic losses in agriculture. We were the first to discover that a common bacteria protects insects from virus infection. Knowledge of the mechanisms used by the bacteria to interfere with virus accumulation will facilitate novel strategies ....Understanding the mechanism of Wolbachia-mediated antiviral protection. Insects are involved in the transmission of many viral diseases of both plants and animals. A considerable number of these diseases have adverse effects for public health or cause large economic losses in agriculture. We were the first to discover that a common bacteria protects insects from virus infection. Knowledge of the mechanisms used by the bacteria to interfere with virus accumulation will facilitate novel strategies for control of virus disease. The findings of this project will enable Australian researchers and industry to design innovative approaches to control diseases that are transmitted by insects.Read moreRead less
Novel nanostructured high energy cathode material. Recently, the demand for rechargeable batteries has exploded due to the enormous increase in the variety and number of miniaturized devices. It is expected that this demand for high capacity rechargeable batteries as energy sources will become even greater in the future. This program is focused to develop novel high performance cathode materials for lithium rechargeable batteries. The outcomes of the project will be of great benefit to develop ....Novel nanostructured high energy cathode material. Recently, the demand for rechargeable batteries has exploded due to the enormous increase in the variety and number of miniaturized devices. It is expected that this demand for high capacity rechargeable batteries as energy sources will become even greater in the future. This program is focused to develop novel high performance cathode materials for lithium rechargeable batteries. The outcomes of the project will be of great benefit to develop new class rechargeable batteries that are economical, lightweight, environmentlly benign and high energy.Read moreRead less
Income insecurity in Australia: who is feeling the pinch and why? This project aims to measure and investigate the drivers of income insecurity in Australia. It will provide an evaluation of whether income growth is sufficient to compensate for any welfare loss due to higher income risk and the effectiveness of government taxes and transfers in alleviating income risks for different population sub-groups.
Frequency Domain Micro-Reflection Processing for Pipe Condition Assessment. Over the coming years many millions of dollars will be spent on upgrading deteriorated pipeline infrastructure that is part of water distribution systems all over Australia. Determining the condition of buried pipes is very difficult and expensive. This research will solve that problem. We will develop powerful numerical methods for non-invasive pipe condition assessment. Small controlled transients will be input by a ....Frequency Domain Micro-Reflection Processing for Pipe Condition Assessment. Over the coming years many millions of dollars will be spent on upgrading deteriorated pipeline infrastructure that is part of water distribution systems all over Australia. Determining the condition of buried pipes is very difficult and expensive. This research will solve that problem. We will develop powerful numerical methods for non-invasive pipe condition assessment. Small controlled transients will be input by a specially designed signal generation device that can determine the condition of the inside of the pipe. These new techniques will be cost-effective, accurate and able to cover very long distances of pipe. Water authorities will then be able to quickly decide which sections of pipe require further investigation.Read moreRead less
Integrable Functional and Delay Differential Equations. Major challenges such as predicting epidemics or modelling the dynamics of human movement, rely on our understanding of functional and delay differential equations. This research will provide new methods for prediction and analysis of such models.
Micro-reflections for pipe condition assessment in water networks. Maintaining highly reliable water supply pipeline infrastructure for cities, towns and in rural Australia is extremely important. Our research will develop new non-invasive condition assessment techniques. Transient events will be used to create pressure waves that travel up and down a pipe. Sophisticated analysis of the micro-reflections in the measured pressure traces will be the heart of the new techniques. Water utility manag ....Micro-reflections for pipe condition assessment in water networks. Maintaining highly reliable water supply pipeline infrastructure for cities, towns and in rural Australia is extremely important. Our research will develop new non-invasive condition assessment techniques. Transient events will be used to create pressure waves that travel up and down a pipe. Sophisticated analysis of the micro-reflections in the measured pressure traces will be the heart of the new techniques. Water utility managers will be able to make a detailed assessment of the interior pipe wall to determine if significant corrosion or deterioration of the cement mortar lining has occurred. Rehabilitation strategies can then be determined. These new techniques will replace camera inspections that are extremely invasive and expensive.Read moreRead less
Income inequality and mobility in Australia, Great Britain and the US. A major debate is raging on the growth of income inequality, especially in Anglo-Saxon countries. This project will use a cross-national framework to investigate income inequality and mobility in Australia, Britain and the United States of America. It will re-evaluate the tax-based evidence and reconcile it with household survey evidence. Using household panel data, it will comprehensively examine income mobility patterns, us ....Income inequality and mobility in Australia, Great Britain and the US. A major debate is raging on the growth of income inequality, especially in Anglo-Saxon countries. This project will use a cross-national framework to investigate income inequality and mobility in Australia, Britain and the United States of America. It will re-evaluate the tax-based evidence and reconcile it with household survey evidence. Using household panel data, it will comprehensively examine income mobility patterns, using a variety of mobility measures. It aims to show the sensitivity of income inequality and mobility patterns and trends to broader income measures. The project also aims to provide policymakers with a more accurate and complete understanding of Australian income inequality and mobility trends and their drivers within an international context.Read moreRead less