Real-time Porosity: Using computer gaming technology to map and analyse pedestrian movement in public and private space. This project will make a major, and ongoing, contribution to our understanding of urban space in a major Australian city. The Porosity Lenses will enable a more complete understanding of pedestrian movement that the Emergency Information Coordination Unit (EICU) believes will directly contribute to protecting Australia from terrorism and crime. In the case of terrorism the soc ....Real-time Porosity: Using computer gaming technology to map and analyse pedestrian movement in public and private space. This project will make a major, and ongoing, contribution to our understanding of urban space in a major Australian city. The Porosity Lenses will enable a more complete understanding of pedestrian movement that the Emergency Information Coordination Unit (EICU) believes will directly contribute to protecting Australia from terrorism and crime. In the case of terrorism the socio/economic benefits of even the smallest success can be immeasurable. The need to anticipate and mitigate the impact of catastrophic events on the city will be balanced, in this study, by a concern to maintain freedom of circulation and promote civic opportunities within previously under-utilised zones.Read moreRead less
Practical application of gene silencing: is delivery of long double stranded ribonucleic acid (dsRNA) by plant cells efficient in conferring host resistance to parasitic nematodes? Nematode that attack plants cause $120 billion of crop losses worldwide. Chemicals used for their control are being phased out because of environmental concerns, and natural resistance is limited. The aim of this project is to use Australian IP to develop a new form of resistance to nematodes based on knowledge of th ....Practical application of gene silencing: is delivery of long double stranded ribonucleic acid (dsRNA) by plant cells efficient in conferring host resistance to parasitic nematodes? Nematode that attack plants cause $120 billion of crop losses worldwide. Chemicals used for their control are being phased out because of environmental concerns, and natural resistance is limited. The aim of this project is to use Australian IP to develop a new form of resistance to nematodes based on knowledge of the host-pathogen interactions. A successful outcome could contribute an additional 5-20% increase in crop yields (depending on the crop) through inherent resistance of crops to nematode pests. This would benefit rural communities and the national economy, and could also generate international royalties.Read moreRead less
Accelerated Domestication of Australian Grass Species Using Molecular Tools. The development of new food crops from the Australian flora will provide opportunities for new sustainable agricultural and food industries in Australia. The project targets the accelerated domestication of native species with lower tillage and fertiliser requirements, better water use efficiencies and increased salt, shade, frost and/or drought tolerances than the current introduced cereal and fodder crops. This will ....Accelerated Domestication of Australian Grass Species Using Molecular Tools. The development of new food crops from the Australian flora will provide opportunities for new sustainable agricultural and food industries in Australia. The project targets the accelerated domestication of native species with lower tillage and fertiliser requirements, better water use efficiencies and increased salt, shade, frost and/or drought tolerances than the current introduced cereal and fodder crops. This will directly benefit regional Australia. The technologies developed in the project will have wide application to accelerated domestication of other Australian plants (for agriculture and food production in Australia and internationally) and to plants found in other parts of the world.Read moreRead less
Curating Cities: the social and ecological potential of public art practice. This project researches the contribution of public art to eco-sustainable development, focusing on world’s best practice and potential benefits to Sydney and cities in general. It seeks to establish how the arts can promote environmentally beneficial behaviour change and the development of green infrastructure.
THE UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN MODERNISM. Most histories treat modernism in Australia as a phenomenon of ?fine art,? or simply painting. This project will instead reveal modernism's highly public impact across a range of media (design, photography, advertising, architecture and art). This new history will better explain how modernist visual idioms became ubiquitous in everyday contemporary design and our built environment after their initial, often hostile reception. The project will provid ....THE UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN MODERNISM. Most histories treat modernism in Australia as a phenomenon of ?fine art,? or simply painting. This project will instead reveal modernism's highly public impact across a range of media (design, photography, advertising, architecture and art). This new history will better explain how modernist visual idioms became ubiquitous in everyday contemporary design and our built environment after their initial, often hostile reception. The project will provide an integrated research analysis of the extensive, but disparate, archives on Australian modernism. It will communicate its research findings through a new scholarly study, a major large-scale travelling public exhibition, a CD, and a website.Read moreRead less
Improved Indian Mustard for sustainable biodiesel production. There is an urgent need to reduce Australia's dependency on fossil fuels and to improve the sustainability of the Australian farming sector. The on-farm production of biodiesel will reduce farm input costs, reduce farmer dependency on fluctuations in fossil fuel costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Indian mustard is drought tolerant and produces inedible oil suitable for biodiesel production. The genetic improvement of Indian mu ....Improved Indian Mustard for sustainable biodiesel production. There is an urgent need to reduce Australia's dependency on fossil fuels and to improve the sustainability of the Australian farming sector. The on-farm production of biodiesel will reduce farm input costs, reduce farmer dependency on fluctuations in fossil fuel costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Indian mustard is drought tolerant and produces inedible oil suitable for biodiesel production. The genetic improvement of Indian mustard will provide farmers with a viable crop for biodiesel production and its bio-fumigation properties make it an effective addition to the crop rotation. Useful by-products include a natural insecticide and, once the glucosinolates are removed, meal suitable for animal feed. Read moreRead less
Sustainable Public Art: Testing experimental technologies and ecological models for new interdisciplinary installations aimed at regenerating degraded sites. The project develops new models of public art that combine natural and manufactured energy in ways that promote a culture of awareness about pressing environmental issues. The research highlights the need for an environmentally sustainable Australia and effective management of the nation's biodiversity by embodying these concerns in novel a ....Sustainable Public Art: Testing experimental technologies and ecological models for new interdisciplinary installations aimed at regenerating degraded sites. The project develops new models of public art that combine natural and manufactured energy in ways that promote a culture of awareness about pressing environmental issues. The research highlights the need for an environmentally sustainable Australia and effective management of the nation's biodiversity by embodying these concerns in novel aesthetic systems that test clean energy production and its efficient storage. The latter have implications beyond the project for light industry, telecomunications and public utilities. Utilizing a range of adaptive technologies and natural elements in experimental ways, the project offers creative responses to critical questions of sustainability capable of being profiled internationally.Read moreRead less
Improved seasonal rainfall prediction for grain growers using farm level data and novel modelling. Successful grain production, a key export commodity for Australia, depends heavily on reliable seasonal forecasts. However, the highly variable climate means that for Australia’s 25,000 grain growers current forecasts lack detail in space and time. Using a combination of fuzzy classification and artificial neural networks, this project will develop a locally detailed continuously updating data-driv ....Improved seasonal rainfall prediction for grain growers using farm level data and novel modelling. Successful grain production, a key export commodity for Australia, depends heavily on reliable seasonal forecasts. However, the highly variable climate means that for Australia’s 25,000 grain growers current forecasts lack detail in space and time. Using a combination of fuzzy classification and artificial neural networks, this project will develop a locally detailed continuously updating data-driven seasonal forecast system using high density climate data from the 17,000 Grain Growers Association members and climate drivers such as sea surface temperature from the Bureau of Meteorology. After validation against observed data, the forecasts will be delivered via a web-based portal to users.Read moreRead less
Autonomous tracking and predictive modelling of Australian plague locust migratory band movement. We will use advances in robotics, engineering, mathematics and biology to develop a new computer model for the control of one of the world's most damaging pest insects: locusts. Autonomous aerial robotic systems will be used to collect data on Australian plague locusts travelling in devastating migratory bands. These data on band movement and the behaviour of individual locusts within the band will ....Autonomous tracking and predictive modelling of Australian plague locust migratory band movement. We will use advances in robotics, engineering, mathematics and biology to develop a new computer model for the control of one of the world's most damaging pest insects: locusts. Autonomous aerial robotic systems will be used to collect data on Australian plague locusts travelling in devastating migratory bands. These data on band movement and the behaviour of individual locusts within the band will be used to develop a particle physics-inspired predictive model of migratory band movement, which will be used to optimise locust control operations. Economic, environmental and social benefits will arise through reductions in the amount of time, money, manpower and insecticides necessary to combat locust outbreaks.Read moreRead less
Coal-ash as a resource for sustainable soil-management in plant production systems. Acidification and salinisation are major causes of land degradation in Australia, costing $1-2 billion to combat. Farmers used 1.9M t of lime and 1.0M t of gypsum to manage their soils in 2000. Power stations annually produce 12M t of coal-ash that have functional characteristics of lime and gypsum and can potentially ameliorate degraded land. Presently only 43% of the ash is used and almost entirely for constr ....Coal-ash as a resource for sustainable soil-management in plant production systems. Acidification and salinisation are major causes of land degradation in Australia, costing $1-2 billion to combat. Farmers used 1.9M t of lime and 1.0M t of gypsum to manage their soils in 2000. Power stations annually produce 12M t of coal-ash that have functional characteristics of lime and gypsum and can potentially ameliorate degraded land. Presently only 43% of the ash is used and almost entirely for construction with the rest going into landfills. This project will determine the sustainable use of coal-ash to improve structure and nutritive properties of the soil and to raise crop yield across several sites in Australia.Read moreRead less