Griffith University

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-03

Developing chemical probes for effector triggered immunity in plants Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-03

Developing chemical probes for effector triggered immunity in plants Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-02

Co-creating a sustainable future for the community heritage sector Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-02

Co-creating a sustainable future for the community heritage sector Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-02

On the hardship that is homelessness Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-02

On the hardship that is homelessness Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Transport Equity For All Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Transport Equity For All Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Spectral-spatial-temporal object tracking in hyperspectral videos Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Spectral-spatial-temporal object tracking in hyperspectral videos Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Understanding and control of quantum nonlocality in complex scenarios. The future quantum internet and cybersecurity are dependent on quantum nonlocality, referring to the strong correlations between distant quantum physical systems. Nonlocality has been studied mostly in two-party scenarios. This project aims to understand and realize multiparty scenarios. It expects to create significant new knowledge on complex quantum networks, generating new nonlocality forms. Anticipated outcomes include innovative quantum optics protocols and causal inference techniques enabling quantum nonlocality in diverse networks, opening new paths for quantum technology. Expected benefits will impact the future quantum internet with the ultimate cybersecurity for transferring economic, personal, health, and government data. Field of research: 5108 - Quantum Physics Cybersecurity is a crucial concern for Australians, particularly in light of recent mass data breaches. Quantum mechanics can offer the ultimate level of security and privacy. This is possible thanks to the phenomenon called "quantum nonlocality", which involves strong connections between distant systems and beyond those in classical physics. This enables us to communicate securely without needing to trust the devices we use to communicate. To tap into this incredible potential, an important gap needs to be addressed. Most research on quantum nonlocality has focused on simple scenarios with a few systems. However, the future internet, whose security will be based on quantum technologies, will require the connection of multiple stations distributed in complex networks. This project aims to fill that gap and demonstrate, for the first time, how quantum nonlocality works and emerges in novel complex photonic networks. The developed methods will be crucial for making Australia's communications intrinsically secure and will help to propel Australia to the forefront of quantum science. The results will be shared with the Australian scientific and industrial communities through open-access platforms. Project outcomes could be commercialized by patents obtained from results and subsequent licensing to the industry.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Universal Jurisdiction for International Crimes in the Asia-Pacific. This project aims to investigate how universal jurisdiction is used to prosecute atrocities in the Asia-Pacific. Advancing international relations theories about how norms are adapted in different contexts, it expects to generate new knowledge about how universal jurisdiction can be applied to prosecute crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide in domestic courts – regardless of where the violence occurred, or the perpetrator or victims’ nationalities. Expected outcomes include an evidence base for improved decision-making and collaborations for practitioners and officials investigating and prosecuting international crimes in the Asia-Pacific. Benefits include improved access to justice and enhanced responses to atrocity crimes. Field of research: 4803 - International and Comparative Law Universal jurisdiction can be used in domestic courts to prosecute serious crimes that happened overseas, by perpetrators from other countries. It is used in many countries to prosecute war crimes and other atrocities, but rarely in the Asia-Pacific, including Australia, even when alleged perpetrators travel here. Prosecuting serious human rights violations can support justice and strong institutions to build sustainable peace as reflected in Goal 16 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Australia is a long-term significant supporter of international criminal courts that prosecute atrocity crimes, but they have limited resourcing and jurisdiction. This project will support regional responses to atrocities and help ensure that Australia and our neighbours do not become a haven for perpetrators, by analysing when and how universal jurisdiction could be used in, and for crimes committed within, the Asia-Pacific. This will provide an evidence base that will be translated into a collaborative website and practical guidance documents, to help investigators, prosecutors, human rights advocates, and policy makers respond to serious human rights violations, wherever they occur. The project will support Australia’s contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals and regional leadership in promoting research-driven responses to atrocities.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

On the hardship that is homelessness. Homelessness is a global human rights violation and exists, even among States that have adequate resources to remedy it. This study builds on earlier research efforts to investigate: (1) how people fall into and climb out of homelessness; (2) the consequences homelessness has for wellbeing; and (3) how these consequences evolve the longer individuals are homeless. This study is expected to generate new knowledge in our understanding of homelessness by employing underutilised longitudinal data; coupled with sophisticated nonlinear panel data techniques. Ultimately, real service practice and policy changes, informed by theory and based in evidence, are expected to improve the lives of people at-risk of, or experiencing homelessness. Field of research: 4409 - Social Work The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that 122,494 people were homeless on Census night. Further, in Australia, total government recurrent expenditure for social housing and specialist homelessness services was $5.9 billion in 2021‑22. Despite the scale of homelessness and current expenditure, there is a dearth of rigorous quantitative evidence on pathways into and out of homelessness, the consequences of homelessness for one’s wellbeing and how these consequences evolve the longer one is homeless. This study examines how these patterns depend on support services, with a complementary focus of this study being on; people between 12 and 24 years of age; and people aged 55 years and over; priority cohorts for the nation. In so doing, this study serves to fill a crucial knowledge gap. Through embedding researchers in the sector, on the ground, developing researchers and facilitating the iterative co-creation of research questions with decision makers this study will; not simply disseminate findings widely, beyond academia (e.g., to staff, volunteers, end users and the public), but also to translate these findings into real practical solutions. These changes are expected to manifest themselves in the form of concrete changes to welfare services delivered (e.g., housing, tenancy, financial, emergency relief, legal aid and family violence services). In this way, this study aims improve the lives of people at-risk of or experiencing homelessness.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Ochre as a preservation reservoir for archaeological biomolecules. The use of ochre in ancient artwork and adornments is widespread. As ochre is metal oxide-rich, its antimicrobial properties act as a preservative agent for intermixed organic binding agents. This project, through proteomic analysis of ochre-laden residues on archaeological materials, will explore the plant or animal products used to facilitate ochre use in the past. Proteins can illuminate the tissues (blood, milk, saliva) mixed with ochre, allowing insights into ancient human-animal-plant interactions. The completion of this project will: 1) clearly demonstrate the viability of ochre-based residues as a reservoir for biomolecules, and 2) provide insights into primary and secondary products from wild and domesticated species in the past. Field of research: 4301 - Archaeology Ochre, a natural earth pigment, has been used for millennia by modern and archaeological populations in Africa and Australia for artistic, symbolic, and functional purposes. In order to transform ochre into paint, cosmetics, or medications it must be mixed with organic binders that derive from natural materials. Uncovering evidence of how past people used natural resources with ochre can lend insights into Aboriginal lifeways in Australia and abroad. This project will analyse proteins contained within these binders, uncovering which types of plant or animal products (oil, milk, blood) were relied upon by past peoples across the Global South. This project will combine the expertise of archaeologists, scientists, and Indigenous communities to acquire and contextualise this knowledge. The methodology used in the project will provide an experimental framework that can be applied to archaeological collections worldwide. Apart from publishing the results in open access, peer-reviewed journals, both laboratory and data analysis methods will be made freely available through online services such as protocols.io, Mendeley, and Github. This DECRA project, using novel and ground-breaking methodologies in biomolecular archaeology at Griffith University will bring global attention to Australia as a leader in archaeological science.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Single-Atom Electrode for Hydrogenation Reactions at High Current Densities. This project aims to develop a new type of single-atom electrodes for electro-catalytic hydrogenation to produce value-added products at industrial-scale current densities. A single-atom tailoring strategy together with precise control of the electrode micro-architectures will be applied to maximise device performance. The expected outcomes include the establishment of basic rules on the fabrication of high-efficiency single-atom electrodes and a fundamental understanding of the relationships between the morphological properties of single-atom sites and catalytic activities. The project secures Australia’s leading position in materials science and renewable energy, bringing economic benefit through the commercialisation of novel electrodes. Field of research: 4004 - Chemical Engineering Hydrogenation is a process of adding hydrogen to organic substances to make useful products, such as fuel additives and value-added chemicals. However, current methods of hydrogenation require harsh reaction conditions, which are slow, costly, and harmful to the environment. This project aims to develop a new type of single-atom electrodes for electro-catalytic hydrogenation, which can speed up reactions under ambient conditions and reduce energy consumption and pollution. The project will also study how the morphological features of single-atom catalysts affect the performance and durability of these electrodes. The project outcomes will include novel and efficient single-atom electrodes for hydrogenation reactions, as well as new insights into the mechanisms of these reactions. The project will benefit Australia by advancing the science and technology of hydrogenation, creating new opportunities for the energy and chemical industries, and contributing to a cleaner and greener future. The project will also promote the research outcomes to the public and potential users through various media and partnerships.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Quantum Dot Hybrids for Methanol Photoreforming. This project aims to develop heavy-metal-free quantum dots hybrid materials for solar-driven reforming of methanol into high-value chemicals accompanied with carbon emissions-free, zero-pollution hydrogen production. The project expects to contribute new knowledge in the colloidal synthesis of quantum materials by overcoming the challenges of organic-inorganic synthesis barriers and providing platform technologies for handling highly efficient photocatalysts. This project will address the critical challenges in methanol photoreforming, and significantly contribute to Australia’s sustainable hydrogen industry and value-adding export economy. Field of research: 4016 - Materials Engineering Australia produces over 130 megatonnes of biomass waste per year, mostly burned or wasted, causing major negative environmental impacts. Converting biomass waste methanol into clean fuel, and also value-added chemicals for use in such industries as animal feedstock production, is the holy grail for a carbon-neutral economy. This project aims to develop novel photocatalysts to assist solar-driven conversion of biomass waste methanol into these value-added chemicals while also producing green hydrogen. The development of novel photocatalysts using novel quantum dot hybrid materials will increase our ability to drive reactions that do not occur under conventional reaction conditions. Communication of research outcomes and outputs will be done through peer-reviewed journal publications, media news and conferences. The aim is to ultimately contribute to the generation of a new methanol-to-plastics industry, in addition to large-scale green hydrogen production. This project will advance Australia as a key global player in green hydrogen and advanced manufacturing simultaneously, while protecting the environment, by stimulating the green methanol industry, and creating new manufacturing capabilities in catalyst design and production, and circular economies.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Sustainably feeding the world: the potential of climate-adaptive fisheries. This project aims to uncover the ability of climate-adaptive fisheries management to counteract climate change impacts on the world's marine ecosystems. Existing global marine ecosystem models lack the speed and certainty to robustly explore this potential, meaning a step-change approach is needed. Leveraging advanced mathematical and statistical methods, this project will develop new tools to deploy global models for strategic, long-term marine ecosystem management. The outputs will allow rapid and accurate long-term planning for sustainable use of the world’s shifting marine resources under climate change. Benefits include advances in climate-adaptive fisheries management to sustainably feed the world’s growing population. Field of research: 3005 - Fisheries Sciences Feeding 10 billion people by 2050 will require increasing reliance on a sustainable supply of food from the sea. Yet, the world’s ocean ecosystems are already experiencing growing, immense pressure from the effects of both climate change and fishing, jeopardising future food supplies as crucial ecosystems suffer and fail. New approaches to managing these interacting, global-scale stressors are urgently needed. This project will explore the potential of climate-adaptive fisheries management to address this challenge, delivering advanced tools for intelligent, strategic management approaches that adapt fisheries planning to counteract the impacts of climate change on fish production. By uncovering the potential of climate-adaptive fisheries, this project will better enable Australia—and countries in our region most susceptible to climate change—to sustainably plan their future food security, supporting Australia’s role as a leader in marine management practice across the Asia-Pacific. Novel modelling tools will be developed in close collaboration with national (CSIRO) and international (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation) end-users, ensuring rapid translation of the outputs to real-world practice. The project's research outcomes will deliver benefits to Australia and globally by better ensuring food security and the long-term sustainability of Australian and international fisheries in an era of global change.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Advancing Indigenous social marketing process and practices. Youth sexual violence and abuse (YSVA) affects urban, regional and remote communities, with Indigenous youth disproportionately impacted. This project aims to reduce YSVA rates in Indigenous populations, focusing on local needs and promoting shared responsibility and awareness. With a national child sexual abuse rate of 28.5%, the project addresses lifelong impacts. Anticipated outcomes involve three pilot studies, implementing bystander programs, fostering safe relationships and social connections, and developing an Indigenous theory. Aligned with Queensland's YSVA Steering Committee report, benefits will include creating positive change within communities like Jagera, Giabal, and Jarowair, contributing to a reduction in YSVA. Field of research: 3506 - Marketing Nearly one in three (28.6%) young people experience youth sexual violence and abuse (YSVA), which can have short- and long-term consequences that include (but are not limited to) alcohol abuse and suicide, costing the Australian community $34.2 billion in the short-term and $78.4 billion over the lifetime. Women and Indigenous peoples are at highest risk of YSVA. This project delivers three pilot tests in Toowoomba, experiencing high rates of YSVA, developed in response to co-designs offered by more than 300 people. The bystander training and safe and respectful relationship pilot trials were indicated in community co-design work, which featured yarning circles with Indigenous people. Reducing YSVA is critical economically and essential for happy, healthy children who are a national resource. They are the foundation of a cohesive, functioning, and productive society. This project will deliver Indigenous-owned or co-owned processes, addressing socio-economic disparity. Our team have a track record of delivering trademarked processes, Apps, websites, pilot programs, and social enterprises co-designed with communities that are supported by stakeholders. This project will enable the team to translate co-design findings into Indigenous-led pilot programs that can achieve intended outcomes (e.g., increased bystander action, positive social connections, and understanding of safe and respectful relationships).

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Innovations to Enhance Sustainability and Resilience in Building Façades. This project aims to foster innovations to enhance sustainability and resilience in building façades. The project proposes to develop a novel composite façade frame using aluminium and timber through detailed experimental and advanced numerical studies. The proposed frame will be energy efficient, cost effective, durable, sustainable, and aesthetically pleasing while having the coupling mechanism for effective installation in curtain wall and window wall applications. Suitable design rules and detailing guidelines will also be developed for safe and economical design of these new façade frames. This should provide significant benefits to façade industry by mitigating environmental impacts and striving towards carbon neutrality. Field of research: 4005 - Civil Engineering The project addresses a critical research gap in Australia by focusing on the development of novel facade systems that improve sustainability and resilience in the built environment. By integrating advanced materials and design strategies, the project seeks to address the growing demand for environmentally friendly and resilient building solutions, filling a gap in current building practices that often prioritize aesthetics over sustainability and resilience. The research outcomes have the potential to benefit Australians across various dimensions. Economically, the development and commercialization of innovative facade systems can stimulate growth in the facade and timber industries, creating job opportunities and enhancing competitiveness in global markets. Socially, sustainable and resilient buildings contribute to healthier and more liveable communities, improving quality of life for building occupants. Environmentally, the project's focus on energy efficiency and carbon neutrality helps mitigate climate change and reduce environmental impacts associated with building construction and operation. Commercially, the adoption of sustainable facade systems can enhance Australia's reputation as a leader in sustainable construction. Dissemination strategies will include engaging with industry stakeholders through workshops, conferences, and industry publications, and collaborating with government agencies to incorporate research findings into building codes and regulations.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Mitigating disinfection by-products - are we creating more toxic chemicals? Disinfection is an essential barrier to pathogenic microorganisms in drinking water. However, disinfectants such as chlorine can react with natural precursors in water to produce toxic disinfection by-products (DBPs). This presents a complex challenge for water utilities as some mitigation strategies can unintentionally produce more toxic DBPs. This project aims to refine water treatment strategies to minimise formation of toxic DBPs in drinking water. The project will combine advanced chemical and bioassay methods to evaluate DBP formation and toxicity. The outcomes will enable water utilities to identify treatment processes to reduce DBP formation and toxicity, thus ensuring ongoing provision of safe drinking water for all Australians. Field of research: 4004 - Chemical Engineering Disinfection of drinking water is a cornerstone of public health, ensuring that it is safe from disease-causing pathogens. However, disinfectants such as chlorine can react with precursors naturally present in water and create toxic disinfection by-products (DBPs), which can have serious adverse health outcomes including cancer. Most problematic is the fact that mitigation strategies can unintentionally lead to the formation of even more toxic DBPs. Water utilities in Australia are actively seeking solutions to this complex problem. This project aims to apply a new approach to this challenge, bringing together leading researchers and key industry partners to exploit recent scientific advances in the field. The project will use both chemical and novel toxicity testing methods to develop clear guidance on which treatment strategies best reduce the collective toxicity of DBPs in drinking water. This will benefit water utilities by developing new treatment strategies to protect water quality and will deliver important health and societal benefits for the Australian public by ensuring the ongoing safety of drinking water. Through partnering with key Australian water utilities and peak bodies, the outcomes of this project are expected to be directly adopted by industry. The new knowledge developed will be available for wider adoption through industry factsheets, guidelines, and scientific publications, further benefiting water utilities and health regulators worldwide.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Building integrity into the Nature Positive promise. Rampant deforestation, spreading invasive species, and climate change is causing mass biodiversity loss. This natural crisis poses a threat to human and planetary health. Many nations, including Australia, committed to the Global Goal for Nature, aiming for nature positive status by 2030. However, stakeholders including government and businesses lack clarity on how to achieve this goal. This project, a world-first in its comprehensive approach, aims to understand the state in which nature was in, as well as the trend of nature’s health over time. The outcomes include a framework for how nature can be measured and a decision-making tool to identify actions, as well as demonstrate progress towards nature positive success. Field of research: 4102 - Ecological Applications In response to decades of biodiversity decline, Australia has embarked on a pioneering journey, committing to a nature-positive future, bolstered by private sector investments. Addressing the urgent need for a robust mechanism to track progress and evaluate action efficacy, this project introduces a revolutionary suite of tools and frameworks for nature assessment. Traditional methods, focusing mainly on vegetation and specific threatened species, fall short of providing a comprehensive nature health baseline. Aiming to establish a nationally consistent nature positive index, along with conservation actions required to become nature positive, this initiative represents a world-first in its scope and potential for global adaptation. Through partnerships and extensive networks, the developed baseline and actionable strategies will be applied to monitor biodiversity progress within both governmental and private sectors. We will translate results to policy makers and practitioners using established links with government, the NGO sector, and the agricultural sector using an online tool, online workshops, factsheets, and reports. We also plan to publish our research in major interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journals, partner reports, and speak at national and international conferences.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Addressing the Gender Knowledge Gap in Disability Sport Participation. This project aims to close the persistent ‘gender gap’ in Australian disability sport participation to improve opportunities and benefits for over two million women, girls and nonbinary people. Women with disability experience considerably lower rates of physical activity and sport participation with greater psychological distress, compared with nondisabled women and men with disability. Informed by a feminist methodology and disability-led design thinking the project draws on the lived experience of end users to improve the capacity of sport organisations to effect change. Individuals and sport organisations will benefit from the co-creation of policy and practice resources for gender and disability inclusion. Field of research: 4203 - Health Services and Systems Over two million Australian women, girls and nonbinary people live with disability yet they continue to experience inequity and exclusion from the benefits of community sport involvement (health/mental health, social and economic). Limited national data highlights the problem of lower rates of physical activity and sport participation and greater psychological distress for women with disability in general, compared to both nondisabled women, and men with disability. This project will identify the factors contributing to the persistent ‘gender gap’ in disability sport and physical activity by collaborating with self-identifying women/girls, nonbinary people and leading sport organisations to improve policy implementation approaches. Bringing a unique gender lens to improving disability sport participation, the project contributes to national policy priorities focused on health, emotional wellbeing and social inclusion benefits. Collaborating with the Australian Sports Commission, Australian Sporting Alliance for People with a Disability, Gold Coast City Council, Sporting Wheelies, Tennis Australia, Water Polo Australia and Able Digital Wellness and co-researchers with lived experience, the project will co-create new resources, such as, best practice guidelines, digital stories and visual media, volunteer training and coach education, to increase capacity across the sport and disability sectors.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

The stone toolkit of the first Homo sapiens from Africa to Australia. This project aims to explore the technological variability of Homo sapiens in their expansion out of Africa to Australia over the last 200,000 years. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the areas of archaeology and human origins by employing groundbreaking 3D computational analysis of stone tools found in sites spanning the period of Homo sapiens expansion. Expected outcomes of this project are to understand the technological underpinning of our forebears' successful expansion out of Africa, their replacement of other hominin species, and the pace and routes of expansion. This should provide significant benefits in understanding human evolution and the resilience of our species in the face of major climate change. Field of research: 4301 - Archaeology Australia plays a pivotal role in understanding the human spread of our species out of Africa and into Australia by 65,000 years ago. Australia presents the end point in the great arc of dispersal from Africa, through Eurasia, culminating in ocean voyages to cross island Southeast Asia and reach the Australian mainland. Archaeology, genetics and fossil human remains are beginning to flesh out this story, but a fundamental component of the record remains largely untapped - stone tools. This project employs Australian scientific expertise to map the changes in stone technology used by humans as they migrated out of Africa. Australian science leads the way in characterising and analysing stone tool technology using bespoke sophisticated three-dimensional analytical applications and detailed experimental studies of efficiency, complexity and cognition developed at the University of Queensland. This approach allows characterisation of how tools were made, how the technology was passed down between generations and transformed as people spread out of Africa, helping map cultural ancestor-descendent relations and chart human migration and responses to climate change - an issue of great relevance to society today. This project showcases Australian scientific expertise in documenting the technological underpinning of modern humanity's first epic journey and the peopling of the world.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Spectral-spatial-temporal object tracking in hyperspectral videos. This project aims to advance video processing systems through the development of hyperspectral object detection and tracking methods. Focused on challenging scenarios faced by conventional camera systems, this research harnesses the capability of hyperspectral video cameras in material identification within and beyond the visible spectrum to capture and model the spectral, spatial, and temporal information for object tracking. Expected outcomes include the formulation of novel methods for material identification, spatial distribution mapping, spectral-structural feature extraction, and their integration into temporal tracking models. This promises to reshape video processing, benefiting agriculture, environment, and transportation sectors. Field of research: 4603 - Computer Vision and Multimedia Computation Video tracking is a fundamental AI technology with more than 100 billion dollars market values. Traditional tracking models based on colour or grayscale videos have inherent limitations in detecting and tracking objects beyond the visible spectrum. This project aims to address this problem by designing cutting-edge hyperspectral video processing technology that can distinguish objects with fine differences from the surrounding environment. By integrating this technology into existing remote sensing platforms, the agricultural industry will be able to detect pests on crops or in soils, improve biosecurity, mitigate yield and revenue loss, control pesticide use, and explore new business opportunities, resulting in substantial economic benefits. Through collaboration with environmental scientists in know-how sharing and academic publication, as well as engaging potential industry partners in translational research, this project is expected to enable government departments and agencies to better detect and track wild animals, understand the distribution and living conditions of endangered species, and provide real-time monitoring of microplastic for improved water quality, generating enormous environmental and health impact.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Advancing Quantum Experiments to Test Reality Beyond Bell’s Theorem. This project aims to develop and perform quantum experiments that will impose strong constraints on the nature of reality – even stronger than the constraints imposed by the Bell experiments recognised by the 2022 physics Nobel Prize. Expected outcomes include probing the nature of observation itself, for increasingly sophisticated systems acting as observers, and laying the theoretical groundwork for future tests that can rule out whole classes of theories about the world and our experience of it. Some of the benefits that will likely accrue are: pushing the development of photonic technology in novel directions; and creating knowledge of relevance to humanity’s future in a world where artificial intelligences can be accepted as observers. Field of research: 5108 - Quantum Physics The research project addresses a knowledge gap of the most fundamental kind in physics – what is an “observer”? This may sound like a purely philosophical question. However, the observer is at the heart of standard quantum theory – one of the pillars of modern physics. It is a theory about what observers may observe, not a theory about what exists in the world independent of the observer. The researchers in this project will build on their prominent recent work to perform novel quantum experiments. These will test whether various candidate systems act as observers, given certain common assumptions such as the ability to freely choose experimental settings. The results will either lead to the discovery of completely new physics or, given those assumptions, rule out some classes of observers. Some of the proposed experiments will push the development of photonic technology in Australia in new directions. Others will use quantum computing technology, a growing industry in Australia ripe for future partnerships. The project will train future leaders in the Australian quantum industry or academia. It will advance pure knowledge relating deep themes of free will, reality, and whether an Artificial Intelligence can be an observer. These are topics of broad interest to Australian society. We will disseminate our findings through public talks, interviews, and writing for popular science magazines and books. All of this contributes to the success of the National Quantum Strategy.