THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Efficient Intelligent Omni-Surfaces for Enhancing Mine Wireless Coverage. WiFi is the most commonly deployed wireless technology for underground mines. However, existing mines face significant limitations in wireless coverage due to the prohibitive costs associated with deploying numerous access points across vast and intricate tunnel networks. Our project aims to address this challenge by developing an innovative and cost-effective solution based on Intelligent Omni-Surfaces to seamlessly extend wireless coverage across vast underground mines. By significantly expanding wireless coverage, our project will revolutionise mine communications, paving the way for the digital transformation of mine operations. This advancement will enhance mining activities' productivity, efficiency, and operational safety. Field of research: 4006 - Communications Engineering Wireless communication is crucial for the safe and efficient operations of mines. However, current underground mine setups suffer from limited wireless coverage due to the high costs of deploying multiple access points throughout intricate mine tunnels. The project will address this challenge by developing a cost-effective, unpowered Intelligent Omni-Surfaces (IOS) system, enabling a rapid extension of WiFi coverage in underground mines. The project's success will facilitate seamless data transfer and real-time monitoring in previously unreachable areas. This technological leap will enhance productivity and operational safety in the mining sector and position Australia at the forefront of the digital economy transformation. By collaborating with our industry partner, we will translate our research outcomes into commercial products, empowering Australia to lead wireless technology innovations. Through retrofitting existing processes and developing further industrial innovations, this project will make Australia an early adopter and beneficiary of innovative wireless technologies.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Real-time correlation of aerosol flow and surface deposition. This project aims to define how the dynamics of transient aerosols are linked to the growth and homogeneity of droplet or particle clusters developing on a target surface. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the fluid mechanics of particle and droplet laden flows, as well as deliver a new platform technology for the real-time characterisation of turbulent aerosols. Expected outcomes of this project include a new imaging capability for industries that work with particulate systems, as well as a far more refined understanding of the drivers behind aerosol deposition. This should provide significant benefits in the design of aerosol systems as relevant to applications ranging from additive manufacturing, to coatings and Agritech. Field of research: 4012 - Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Engineering Aerosol sprays are a central part of developing new Agritech, pharmaceutical, additive manufacturing, or coating technologies, all of which are a core part of Australia's critical industries. Despite the central importance of these industries, technology that is currently available for monitoring and controlling the delivery and effectiveness of aerosol coatings remains poor. These deficiencies can lead to issues ranging from unwanted spray drift in Agriculture, to poor targeting of aerosolised drugs in pharmaceuticals, or non-even spray coating of surfaces as relevant to solar panel manufacture. There is no commercial capability that can provide the necessary real-time monitoring of aerosol flow dynamics and aerosol targeting at the same time. Technology that can achieve this would unlock a critical capability for Australia as it would provide the much needed knowledge that would help define how a particular aerosol generation system is likely to behave for a particular application. The development of Australian IP in this space requires partnership with providers of Aerosol diagnostic instrumentation who have global reach. Proveris Scientific is world renowned for its technology development in this area and is an ideal partner. The investigators have a track record of success in developing joint IP with this partner and in conducting fundamental research with them, forming the ideal team to translate outcomes to benefit the Australian economy.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Towards Formal-Sector Employment for People with Disability in Timor-Leste . This project aims to identify, and find ways to overcome, barriers to formal-sector employment for people with disability in Timor-Leste. The project expects to generate new knowledge about how ableism affects the employment prospects of people with disability. Expected outcomes include a robust evidence base to help our partners, including Timor-Leste's leading Disabled People's Organisations, in their policy advocacy and training work with government and large employers. This should provide significant benefits assisting Timor-Leste to meet its obligations under the United Nations Convention for the Rights of People with Disability and supporting Australia's commitments to support the rights of people with disability in our region. Field of research: 3505 - Human Resources and Industrial Relations International donors provide extensive support to the Timor-Leste government to help it meet its obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability, which it ratified in 2023. Australia is the largest international donor to Timor-Leste, where it dominates support for disability programming, and gender and disability are identified as cross-cutting issues in every Australian-funded aid project. Yet, people with disability in Timor-Leste continue to experience blatant discrimination in all aspects of their lives. When it comes to employment, the government and international donors alike promote income-generation through micro-enterprise, an approach that requires people with disability to secure their own economic future and absolves employers and government of the responsibility to create inclusive workplaces. The project team, which includes Australia's Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA and leading Disabled People’s Organisations in Timor-Leste, will identify pathways for people with disability to jobs that provide security, a safe workplace, sick leave and other benefits. The Partner Organisations will then lobby and support government and employers to establish more inclusive workplaces. Since hiring people with disability has demonstrated benefits for employers, the proposed project will encourage better business practices in Timor-Leste.These activities will also help Australia meet its international policy and human rights objectives.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

RESPECT Against Racism: Advancing new anti-racist educational e-modules. This project aims to develop and evaluate a new set of RESPECT e-modules, underpinned by leading anti-racism approaches integrated into a single guiding framework for the first time. The RESPECT e-modules will generate knowledge about the best-practice content needed to successfully expand school students’ inclusive thinking and racism reduction in both the short- and long-term. Expected outcomes of this project include the development of stand-alone RESPECT e-resources that can be used to support teachers' delivery of a national anti-racism curriculum that is novel, engaging, and educational. Targeting the thoughts and actions of young people will have significant national benefits by creating a more culturally inclusive future for all. Field of research: 5205 - Social and Personality Psychology Australia is at a cultural turning point, as evidenced by the rejection of the 2023 Voice to Parliament Referendum and the racial vitriol it engendered. In fact, racism and its negative mental health outcomes, costs the Australian economy approximately $38 billion annually. There is a renewed sense of urgency to foster greater intercultural respect amongst our future decision-makers by equipping them with the right set of educational tools. This project aims to develop and evaluate seven RESPECT Against Racism e-resources to reduce school students' racism. Primary school children provide an excellent starting point, as research shows that racism emerges in children at an early age and continues throughout their lives. These e-resources will generate new knowledge integrating best-practice principles needed to successfully expand students’ inclusive thinking and reduce racism. These research aims can be achieved through our partnership with Cool.org, a leading education not-for-profit organisation that creates high quality, curriculum aligned lesson plans to help students understand complex topics such as racism. The RESPECT e-resources will be freely available to support teachers' delivery of a national anti-racism curriculum that is novel, engaging, and educational. With access to Cool.org’s national school database, targeting the thoughts and actions of young people, we have the opportunity to future-proof Australia's agenda of respect, a significant national benefit.

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

A systems approach to maximising crop pollination using companion... Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Single Cell Proteomics Platform. This proposal will establish a state-of-the-art platform to characterise protein function at the single-cell level across a range of biological samples including yeast, plants, animals and humans. It will provide new insights into the differentiation of cellular functions across many different cell types in multicellular organisms, which cannot be achieved by bulk analysis of whole tissues. Expected outcomes include identification of new biological pathways and associated complex and high-value protein molecules. Such new fundamental knowledge of biological processes will enable future efforts in the National Reconstruction Fund Priority for medical science and agriculture and boost Australia’s competitiveness in these global industries. Field of research: 3101 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology The tissues of animals and plants contain cells that have diverse functions, without which life cannot form. Yet this diversity is far from understood. The state-of-the-art infrastructure and collaborative platform established here will advance our molecular understanding of cells across the tree of life from humans to rice plants. This first-in-country platform will fill a large gap in our capability that is obstructing further advances to understand cell function and their role in basic processes such as ageing, development, and metabolism. The platform established here will enable discoveries that pave the way for future commercialisation of treatments for animal, human, or plant disease, and thus falls within the “Health” Science and Research Priority. In the future, the platform established here can be used to understand the function of drugs at the single cell level and will benefit the National Reconstruction Fund Priorities for medical science and agriculture. Thus, both economic and social benefits will arise for Australians from the capability of this platform. The single cell proteomics platform established here will provide Australia with a world-leading capability and will also benefit the Australian community by facilitating international collaboration on single cell analysis, while training young researchers in the latest analytical techniques. We will promote these outcomes through media engagement, community outreach and commercialisation through industry.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Ultrafast dynamic tomography and x-ray based rheography facility. This project aims to enhance our understanding of materials science through advanced imaging technology. Central to this is acquiring a TESCAN DynaTOM, a unique MicroCT system for fast, detailed 2D/3D/4D imaging without moving the sample. This approach lets researchers observe materials' structural changes in real-time, offering insights into deformation, mass transport, and chemical reactions. Expected benefits include deeper knowledge of material behaviours essential for geosciences and manufacturing. Moreover, the project will support educational and research opportunities at the University of Sydney, partner universities, and nationwide, providing access to an advanced imaging platform. Field of research: 4005 - Civil Engineering Australia and the global community urgently require advanced technologies to deepen our understanding of materials critical for environmental sustainability, mineral processing, and energy security. The acquisition of TESCAN DynaTOM, an advanced x-ray imaging facility, addresses this need by providing unprecedented insights into materials essential across everyday life and key industries. This facility's unique imaging capabilities enable us to explore opaque materials and physicochemical processes with an unprecedented level of detail, introducing capabilities not currently available in Australia. This technological advancement strengthens Australia’s leadership in precision measurement and material characterisation, fostering a collaborative network of researchers excelling in materials and environmental sciences. The facility's ability to enhance our understanding of energy storage and resource management processes aligns with our nation's strengths in research commercialisation, opening up economic and social opportunities by leveraging the global demand for advanced technologies. To maximise the research impact beyond academia, we will engage industry partners and the public, disseminating findings through open-access publications and workshops with key stakeholders. This strategy aims to translate our research into practical applications, ensuring Australian innovation delivers tangible, global benefits with widespread societal impact.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Hybrid Integration: Advancing Semiconductors, Quantum and Photonics. This project aims to establish an advanced on-demand precision micro-solder ball jetting to accelerate innovation in engineering of microelectronics, semiconductors, photonics and quantum systems. Expected outcomes include enhanced sovereign capability for Australia in advanced microelectronics and photonics subsystems assembly for critical imaging, sensing and communication applications. It will improve thermal imaging systems, increase digital fibre-optical telecommunications efficiency, enhance autonomous navigation capabilities and secure quantum and space communications, which will benefit multiple National Reconstruction Funds priority areas including medical science, defence capability, renewables, and enabling capabilities. Field of research: 4009 - Electronics, Sensors and Digital Hardware Australia has the objective of establishing and growing a prosperous, sustainable, sovereign semiconductor industry capability. This project aims to establish an advanced on-demand micro-solder ball jetting to address the current capability gap in key semiconductor technologies. It will allow us to address emerging research and engineering challenges in electronic, photonic, and quantum integrated circuits. This capability will allow assembly of subsystems for a variety of applications, and will strengthen Australia’s sovereign capability and global leadership in photonics, microelectronics and quantum engineering. These are multi-billion dollar markets, and this new capability will offer considerable economic benefit to Australian industry. The research outcomes will find application in secure and low-power telecommunications, in sensors for observation in agriculture, autonomous navigation in space, or thermal imaging in defence applications. For example, novel photonic integrated circuits in datacentres will make them more energy efficient and support Australia’s efforts towards net zero. The strengthened advanced manufacturing capability will shorten development cycles, and the technology will help to more efficiently harness semiconductor and photonics value chains, so that innovation can more rapidly find uptake by Australian industries.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Wiring Australian Cities: Making Space for Telecommunications. This project aims to critically examine the ways that land, labour, materials, finance and territorial authority are assembled and contested in the process of wiring and rewiring Australian cities for telecommunications connectivity. The project will generate new knowledge on how the wiring of Australian cities is achieved, and the geographical and social impacts of the wiring process. Outputs including innovative visualisation tools will generate original insights into the making and materiality of infrastructure space. This will provide significant benefits, including new approaches to identifying and addressing on-going challenges of making space for telecommunications in crowded urban environments. Field of research: 4406 - Human Geography Present-day communication relies on millions of kilometres of copper wire and fibre-optic cable that stretch between and within cities. At a time when Australian cities are once again being rewired for telecommunications in a $2.4 billion upgrade to the NBN, this timely project will be the first to study the sweeping social, political, economic and environmental impacts associated with wiring Australian cities. It will examine the ways that land, labour, finance government powers and natural resources are assembled and contested in the process of wiring Australian cities for telecommunications connectivity. The new knowledge generated by the project benefit Australian governments, industries and communities who are managing the challenges and impacts of re-wiring urban environments for broadband connectivity. This will foster better cities, informing efforts to ensure that the process of infrastructural improvement is technically effective, and is also equitable and sustainable. Through engagement with telecommunications industry operators and regulators, and through media and public exhibitions to engage with communities, the project will help to connect and build the capacity of stakeholders who are involved in the on-going process of wiring cities.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Lord Howe Island Genomic Observatory. The vast majority of extinctions have occurred on islands. Island conservation programs have traditionally focussed on vertebrates, with invertebrates largely ignored. We will establish a 'genomic observatory' on World Heritage Listed Lord Howe Island (LHI) by comprehensively characterising its terrestrial invertebrate fauna. We will combine cutting edge DNA methods with traditional taxonomy to enable future monitoring of LHI’s biodiversity, and investigate its evolutionary past. We will utilise extensive collections made before and after the LHI Rodent Eradication Project (2019) to analyse its effects on invertebrate abundance. Our project will provide a model system for safeguarding island ecosystems against future anthropogenic change. Field of research: 3104 - Evolutionary Biology Our project will address the Australian Government's Strategic Research Priority: “Environmental change - options for responding and adapting to the impacts of environmental change on biological systems…”. The project will provide a significant advance in our understanding of Lord Howe Island’s arthropod biodiversity, which will help to safeguard LHI’s ecosystems against future anthropogenic change. The project will provide an important platform for future projects that monitor LHI’s other fauna and flora, to protect against invasive species, and prevent the extinction of endemics. The project will contribute to several goals of the Lord Howe Biodiversity Management Plan, including Objectives 14 (To improve knowledge and management of threatened and significant fauna species) and 14.1.1 (Conduct species-specific fauna research based on identified research priorities into the ecology of priority species, particularly with regards to reproductive ecology and habitat requirements) and Corporate Plan Item 4.4 (Improve awareness and understanding of the environment through education and research. Action 2: Encourage appropriate environmental research which is of benefit to LHI environment and community). Lord Howe Island's spectacular geography and significant number of endemic species led to it being added to the World Heritage List in 1982. Our project will contribute to the preservation of this area, for the benefit of future generations of Australians.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

The biological drivers of evolutionary rate variation. Phylogenomic data provide valuable opportunities for studying evolutionary rates and timescales. These analyses require theoretical and statistical tools based on molecular clocks. This project will use recently developed frameworks for exploring and testing evolutionary rate signals in phylogenomic data. This information will be used to test for drivers of evolutionary rate variation at the genome scale, using whole genome sequences from birds, ruminants, and other organisms. The project has strong potential to provide valuable insights into the biological factors that govern molecular evolution at the genome scale. Field of research: 3104 - Evolutionary Biology The evolutionary processes that have generated the vast diversity of form and function show enormous variation across the Tree of Life. This project aims to answer how rates of evolution vary across species and across their genomes and physical traits, and to identify the main biological and environmental drivers of evolutionary rates. This investigation will be performed on an unprecedented scale, which is only possible because of recent innovations in this field of research. The project will take advantage of new methods and apply them to large data sets from a range of animals and plants, with detailed studies of birds, Australasian marsupials, ruminant mammals, flowering plants, and other groups. This project will contribute to a greater understanding of fundamental evolutionary processes, including the biological and environmental factors that have driven the evolution of large components of Australia’s faunal and floral diversity and will continue to do so in the future. The project will provide training opportunities for emerging researchers, while new approaches will be incorporated into national training workshops to encourage their uptake. Research collaborations with Denmark, China, and the USA will be strengthened through exchange of knowledge and expertise. The research outcomes of the project will be communicated to broad audiences through scientific publications and popular media, including news articles aimed a broad audience, podcasts, and public talks.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Computational Optimisation of Nonlinear Flexible Mechanical Metamaterials. Aims: This project aims to explore new design approaches for flexible metamaterials attaining prescribed unusual mechanical properties. Significance: The project expects to fill a key methodological gap in “inverse design” of novel flexible metamaterials for achieving exceptional mechanical performance by developing new optimisation algorithms in nonlinear/path-dependent and nondeterministic context. Expected outcome: The study will provide a systematic design framework and enhance our design capacity for developing novel mechanical metamaterials. Benefits: New methodology and designs will potentially lead to technological innovation in soft robot, wearable device, stretchable battery, implant/stent, benefiting our socioeconomic system. Field of research: 4017 - Mechanical Engineering High performance materials constantly play a vital role in driving scientific discovery and technological innovation. As a brand-new class of materials, metamaterials exhibit a range of extraordinary physical properties through its elegant multiscale structures other than material constituents per se. As a more recent and highly potential branch, mechanical metamaterials achieve exceptional mechanical properties via motion, deformation, and stress-strain response through their well-designed architectures. The initial efforts have largely focused on metamaterials for negative mechanical properties in linear context, such as negative Poisson’s ratio, negative shear modulus, and negative thermal expansion coefficients. This project will explore the nonlinear regime of deformation by developing new design optimisation algorithms for novel flexible metamaterials. The research will largely broaden the scopes and generate richer mechanical gain and a greater potential. The outcomes will enable a series of technological breakthroughs ranging from soft robotics, stretchable LIB battery, wearable medical sensors, arterial stents, cushion insoles, and soft implants to impact mitigation. The research training will provide the postdoc researcher, PhD and Hons students with an excellent opportunity to work on an exciting research frontier. The project will promote collaboration with leading institutions and develop academic/industrial partnerships in the field.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Optimising Future E-Fuel Blends for Spray Atomization and Combustion. Aims: This project aims to establish a scientific framework that exploits single-component e-fuels/powerfuels to formulate blends that atomize into optimal sprays for clean and efficient combustion. This will be demonstrated using novel, hybrid flash-air-assisted atomizers, and canonical burners. Advanced laser diagnostic methods will be employed to measure the spray quality and flame structure. Significance: The generated e-fuel blends will power future carbon-neutral energy conversion systems. Expected outcomes include predictive methods to tune the selection of e-fuel blends based on novel data sets. Benefits: This new approach will inform and guide Australia’s transition from fossil-based fuels to optimal blends of carbon-neutral fuels. Field of research: 4012 - Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Engineering E-fuels, also termed “green” because they are generated from renewable sources, are integral to the global transition towards net-zero-carbon. Liquid e-fuels offer attractive advantages over gaseous alternatives such as hydrogen or ammonia because they are common single-component liquids that do not have compatibility issues and can be easily transported using existing networks, infrastructure, and shipping methods. This project addresses the fundamental scientific challenges which remain unsolved yet critical towards the exploitation of single-component liquid e-fuels to enable novel blends that can optimize the processes of atomization and combustion. This will be achieved by resolving two outstanding research gaps: (i) efficient break-up of liquid e-fuel blends, and (ii) stable turbulent combustion of these sprays with minimal formation of pollutants. The resulting e-fuel blends will not only benefit a cleaner global environment but have the potential to yield economic gain to Australia through novel e-fuel manufacturing industries. This project will train the next generation of scientists who will position Australia as a leading power in the deployment of green e-fuels and facilitate its drive towards decarbonization. The project will leverage existing links with industry to communicate the advances to the mining, manufacturing, and transport sectors, to encourage uptake, and to exploit a unique opportunity to develop more efficient production methods for liquid e-fuels.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Soil carbonates: the missing link in the soil carbon budget. This project aims to address the knowledge gaps about the role of inorganic carbon in soil carbon turnover and its impact on climate-change mitigation. The significance of this research lies in the fact that inorganic carbon accounts for over 30% of soil carbon but is little studied despite it is affected by climate change and land-use practices. The expected outcomes include the development of a soil carbon turnover model that integrates inorganic carbon processes and the mapping of soil inorganic carbon stock changes due to climate change and irrigation across Australia. The benefits of this research will be improved understanding and management of soil carbon stocks, contributing to more effective climate-change mitigation strategies. Field of research: 4101 - Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Soil plays a crucial role in mitigating climate change by storing and recycling more carbon than anything else on Earth. Soil carbon can help Australian agriculture achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, while simultaneously increasing the export value of the industry. However, while the focus has addressed organic carbon over the past decades, the way organic and inorganic carbon in combination affect soil’s carbon storage is not fully understood. Inorganic carbon, which makes up more than 30%, is impacted by climate change and land-use practices such as irrigation and fertilization, and its link to organic carbon is poorly understood and quantified. Here we propose to generalise a soil carbon turnover model to incorporate inorganic carbon processes in order to model soil inorganic carbon stock changes due to climate change (warming and drying) and map hotspots is dissolution of inorganic carbon due to irrigation in drying and drought-prone areas across Australia. This improved understanding will facilitate management and policy design, including in the economic strategies supporting governmental agencies and private trading of carbon credit units (ACCU), with the estimated volume of 110 million units valued more than 4 billion Australian dollars.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Next Generation of On-Demand Public Transport: Strategies and Algorithms. The project aims to design flexible public transport systems, where on-demand services are integrated with traditional fixed-route lines. The project expects to generate new knowledge in transport science by combining techniques from transport economics and operational research. The intended outcomes of the project include the identification of where, when, and how to use the on-demand services, algorithms to design the whole flexible public transport network, and the identification of the optimal ways to use on-demand public transport in Australian capital cities. This should benefit public transport agencies and users, and on-demand transport operators, ultimately helping achieve more sustainable cities and public comfort. Field of research: 3509 - Transportation, Logistics and Supply Chains Despite the efforts to stimulate sustainable transport modes, private cars are still the preferred mode in Australia, accounting for 57% of the transport-related emissions and billions lost due to congestion. On the other hand, new technologies are changing mobility systems everywhere thanks to the ability of connecting passengers and vehicles online. A significant gap is how to optimally use these technologies to improve Australian on-demand public transport system, identifying when and where to use the on-demand vehicles, and how to adapt the rest of the network. The outcomes of this project will help to design more attractive public transport systems in Australian cities. This brings direct benefits to its users, by experiencing a better quality of service when travelling, provides health and environmental benefits to all its inhabitants by reducing the dependency on private cars, and stimulates economic growth by alleviating congestion. The knowledge gained will be transferred to transport practitioners and authorities (such as TfNSW, TransLink, and on-demand public transport operators), to provide them with strategic insights, quantitative methods and algorithms, and concrete recommendations, to redesign existing public transport networks in Australian capital cities.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Decoding Stellar Physics with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. A detailed understanding of stars underpins much of modern astronomy, ranging from galaxies to planets orbiting other stars. One of the most poorly understood processes in stars is convection, the periodic up and downwelling of gas cells on the surfaces of stars. This project will use data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to study stellar convection at infrared wavelengths for the first time. Expected outcomes include the stringent tests of state-of-the-art models of convection, and insights how convection affects our understanding of exoplanet atmospheres. Expected benefits include strengthening Australia's leadership in major growth areas in astronomy and training students with cutting-edge data from a NASA flagship mission. Field of research: 5101 - Astronomical Sciences Gaining insights into stars underpins much of modern astronomy. Current studies focus on the variability of stars in visible light. This project will leverage data from the most powerful NASA space telescope ever built - the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) - to study the variability of stars in infrared light for the first time. Australia has a long-standing reputation for excellence in astronomy research, and we aim to see Australia recognised as a world centre for excellence in stellar astrophysics. This will strengthen Australia's leadership in research using space telescopes, including possible future partnerships with the growing Australian space industry. The project will benefit Australians by training students in the use of data from the world’s premier astronomical facility, providing them with analytical and computational skills that have wide applicability. The innovative project will also establish Australia's reputation as a world-leading user of JWST data, bolstering international collaborations with world-leading institutions working with space-based data. The launch of JWST has sparked an incredible public interest in astrophysics in Australia and around the world. Through the large visibility of JWST in the media, the project will attract young Australians to take up careers in science and technology. Results from this project will be promoted to the public via extensive resources available via the media offices of NASA and the University of Sydney.

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

Strong light-matter coupling: a new direction in optical computing Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Structural steel reuse for designing carbon neutral buildings. The project will develop a novel approach for reliability-based design of steel structures with reused steel members. The project will (1) quantify the uncertain properties of reused steel members, (2) conduct reliability calibration to develop design guidelines, and (3) develop a time-dependent reliability method to assess the reusability of existing structures. The design method from this project – the first of its kind globally – will ensure a safety level comparable to structures with new materials, thus not passing risk on to customers. It will enable the Australian and global construction industry to explore the opportunities to reuse steels in construction to achieve significant environmental benefits including net zero emissions. Field of research: 4005 - Civil Engineering Approximately half of the world’s steel is used in the construction industry, which contributes significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions. Steel-making from recycling is still energy and carbon intensive. A much more sustainable approach is reuse, i.e., salvaged steel members from old buildings are repurposed directly in new constructions, thus eliminating the energy-intensive remelting process. Despite its great environmental benefit, reuse of structural steel is currently rare in Australia, mainly due to the lack of quantitative guidance for steel reuse in terms of safe design, service life prediction and reusability assessment. The fundamental experimental and reliability studies conducted in this project will produce new knowledge about the properties and structural behaviour of reused steel components, and to provide the industry with the scientific basis for safe design and management of structures consisting of reused steel members. Outcomes from the project will enable the Australian steel construction industry to explore the opportunities for reuse of steel to achieve considerable environmental and social benefits. This will thus contribute to the Australian Government’s national mission of emission reduction of 43% by 2030 and Net Zero emissions by 2050.

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

Unravelling a rainbow: Complex systems methods to transform sleep... Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Pioneering Federated Real-Time Video Analytics. Real-time video applications will fundamentally change our future work and lives. This project proposes deep-learning solutions combined with federated analytics, to address fundamental limitations of existing solutions bottlenecked by large video size, limited bandwidth, and data privacy. The project will generate new knowledge of combined deep learning and distributed computing to achieve real-time video delivery and intelligent video analytics with low delay, high accuracy, and protected privacy. The expected outcome includes novel algorithms and principles, and a practical system to realise them in the real world. It will provide significant benefits for all organisations and users who utilise real-time videos in daily work and life. Field of research: 4604 - Cybersecurity and Privacy Real-time video delivery and analytics are essential technologies for modern societies, with important applications such as smart building management, smart health, smart traffic monitoring and control, and video conferencing, which have been crucial in post-pandemic era. This project develops novel methods and technologies for high-quality real-time video delivery and analytics in dynamically varying, bandwidth-limited, and insecure networks. Additionally, it significantly enhances privacy protection by ensuring that sensitive information in real-time videos remains secure while allowing necessary analytics. The successful completion of this project will lead to the broader adoption of applications based on high-quality real-time video analytics. Modern digital applications, such as smart livestock farming, precision agriculture, remote healthcare, online clinics, and remote education, will promote automation, reduce labour costs, and decrease the need for transportation, particularly benefiting regional areas of Australia. Consequently, this project offers significant economic, commercial, environmental, and social benefits to the Australian community. The developed system can be well demonstrated to the public, industrial partners, and policymakers with visualised gains, showcasing its practical applications and effectiveness in real-world scenarios, thereby maximising understanding, translation, use, and adoption of the research beyond academia.

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

Australian Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 1 Study (AusMEN Study) Category: Medical Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Chiral Metal-Organic Frameworks for Optical Switches. This project aims to develop advanced Metal-Organic Framework materials that make ultrafast and energy-efficient processing of light signals possible, without the need for electronic processing. New knowledge will be gained on the interplay between nonlinear optical properties and the chiral structures of the materials, including new switching mechanisms based on host-guest and electrochemical stimuli. The expected outcomes of this project include the development of novel thin film devices for optical switching. This should provide significant benefits because such devices have widespread technological relevance across the communications, medical and defence sectors where faster and more energy-efficient information processing is critical. Field of research: 3403 - Macromolecular and Materials Chemistry Telecommunications networks use light signals sent through fibre to transfer information quickly over long distances, and electronic circuits to process and store the transmitted information. However, electronic processing is relatively slow and prone to errors caused by heat and other factors. We will develop advanced materials that make ultrafast and efficient processing of light signals possible, without the need for electronic processing. The discoveries we make to achieve materials with these properties will be published and will enable new partnerships in information technology across the communications, medical and defence sectors. The translation of our research will increase the speed, energy-efficiency and security of information handling and storage in our telecommunications networks. This new knowledge will allow Australia to better harness its significant investment in fibre optic infrastructure, such as the National Broadband Network, and create opportunities for manufacturing new materials and devices, with associated training and jobs.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Online Dispute Resolution: A Market Design Approach. In the last five years, to contain the billions of dollars worth costs of the formal court system, several areas of Australian legislation mandated that individuals seek dispute resolution services before resorting to the machinery of formal justice. Using a state-of-the-art combination of theory and experiments, this project aims to study mediation in an analytic and tractable setting through the lens of the emerging field of market design. The goal is to develop optimal, fair and neutral mediation protocols and compare and contrast their performances with current methods in the industry. The project will provide direct benefits to society via the deployment of the first digital and not-for-profit dispute resolution platform in the world. Field of research: 3801 - Applied Economics Over the past five years, legislation has increasingly required individuals to seek dispute resolution services before going to court. Online dispute resolution (ODR) systems offer numerous advantages over traditional mediation, including better accessibility, convenience, cost-effectiveness, and faster resolution. Despite their global prevalence, ODR systems are underutilized in Australia. This project will benefit the society in three significant ways. Firstly, the research addresses critical questions for the mediation industry by identifying the most effective ODR protocols. The outcomes can significantly reduce social, financial, and environmental costs, freeing valuable resources for other sectors. Secondly, the results will inform practical policy and institutional design, promoting better integration between law and economics—two of Australia’s key fields. Thirdly, the project offers significant educational and training benefits by supporting undergraduate and graduate student research, providing opportunities to engage with ODR developments. The findings will be disseminated through publications and meetings with practitioners, and an online platform featuring the project’s outcomes. By advancing ODR system effectiveness and utilization, this project will enhance the mediation industry and contribute to broader societal and economic benefits, supporting Australia’s national interests in fostering innovative, efficient, and accessible dispute resolution mechanisms.

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

Improving the detection of disease progression in neuroprotective... Category: Medical Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Stoichiometric flexibility shapes microbial function and community assembly. This project aims to investigate how variation in resource supply shapes the function and assembly of soil and gut microbial systems. This project expects to reveal how flexibility in elemental stoichiometry is not only a key physiological adaptation to fluctuating and nutritionally unbalanced resource supply, but also scales up and affects community assembly and ecosystem processes. Expected outcomes of this project include a new nutritional framework centred on variability that yields a step-change in understanding how microbial systems function. This should improve our ability to predict the outcomes of interventions to the human microbiome, and shifts in biogeochemical cycles due to environmental change. Field of research: 3107 - Microbiology Understanding how microbial communities are assembled and function is a fundamental question in ecology. Fluctuating and nutritionally imbalanced resource supplies are common features of many microbial ecosystems, yet few studies have considered their role in shaping microbial communities and their function. Our working hypothesis is that in soil and gut ecosystems these nutritional challenges are met by different means of storing carbon within cells, and these physiological adaptations scale up and affect community assembly and ecosystem processes. The project will have applications in agricultural, and biomedical research because understanding how communities assemble and function is key to the scientific manipulation of gut and soil microbiomes. For example, within the last 10 years it has become evident that the gut microbiome plays a fundamental role in human disease, as well as production/companion animal health. Predicting how nutrition shapes soil microbial communities and their function has consequence for agricultural practices including fertilizer application and retention of nutrients within ecosystems. Project findings will be directly disseminated to scientific peers via peer-reviewed papers and conferences. Our project will be embedded within the Charles Perkins Centre which has at its core the goal of accelerating the translation of fundamental research to ease the burden of chronic diseases.