Queensland University of Technology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

From a descriptive to a predictive understanding of the human microbiome. Microorganisms inhabit every imaginable environment on Earth. Despite advances in characterising microbial communities, our understanding is largely descriptive and a detailed appreciation of their complexity eludes us. This Laureate project aims to transform microbial ecology into a predictive science, through intensive investigation of the human gut microbiome as a model ecosystem. Major challenges in microbiology are expected to be overcome, with new knowledge for predicting how microorganisms influence, and are influenced by, their environment. Ultimately this knowledge can help us manipulate microbial communities in diverse ecosystems to our advantage – protecting the planet’s natural assets, and improving agriculture and human health. Field of research: 3107 - Microbiology Microorganisms inhabit every imaginable environment on Earth and have a profound influence on biological, environmental, and industrial processes. Understanding the diversity and complex dynamics of microbial communities is a major challenge, limiting our ability to manipulate them to our advantage. For example, the human gut is inhabited by bacteria, archaea, protists, fungi, and viruses – all microorganisms. These affect most aspects of health, ranging from nutrient metabolism and cognitive function to development and regulation of the immune system. Disruptions in the microbiome are associated with systemic health challenges such as chronic inflammatory disorders, metabolic disease, and cancer. Leveraging the power of machine learning, this project will create a platform to facilitate detailed exploration of the human gut microbiome (a thriving community of bacteria and other organisms), discover and characterise many microorganisms new to science, then use this knowledge to simulate how microbial communities will respond to specific changes. With this new predictive capacity Australian scientists can move beyond current limitations, developing breakthrough strategies that guide commercial development of products to promote a healthy human microbiome. In collaboration with academic and industry stakeholders, this new knowledge will yield significant environmental, economic and societal benefits across a range of globally important microbial communities, such as agricultural and climate-critical ecosystems, and biotechnology.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Understanding prokaryotic small proteins from context. Prokaryotic small proteins are increasingly recognised to play important biological roles but have been largely overlooked due to the lack of adequate tools to study them. This project aims to develop new methods to identify and predict the functions of small proteins from microbial communities by studying sequence patterns in their genomes. These predicted functions will be confirmed in the laboratory, leading to a catalogue of newly characterised small proteins from a diverse range of habitats and geographies. By creating new ways to study the role of small proteins in the global microbiome, we will provide the foundational knowledge required to leverage these proteins for use in biotechnology. Field of research: 3102 - Bioinformatics and Computational Biology This project develops a new approach to identify and characterise peptides found in microbes, one of the most abundant and diverse types of organisms on Earth. By innovatively identifying a new collection of previously unknown peptides from microbes, this project will accelerate future uses across a broad range of areas from antibiotic resistance to reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture. It will show how these peptides can be developed as new antibiotics, addressing a major health crisis. In Australia, antibiotic resistant urinary tract infections alone are cause almost a billion dollars in healthcare costs, and, in total, thousands of Australians die every year due to antibiotic resistant infections. Once protected by Australian patents, translation pathways for outcomes of this project include commercial partnerships to ensure the economic benefits of this research are realised in Australia.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

HoliCOW - A holobiont strategy to uncover the core microbiome in cows. Human population growth is driving a rise in cattle production for food, which necessitates sustainable practices that simultaneously optimise animal nutrition while reducing methane emissions, a critical greenhouse gas. This project aims to unravel and exploit biological connections across the cow holobiont, which pertains to the feed cows eat, their bodily function and the microbes in their rumen. This project will leverage multi-layered molecular data derived from the cow holobiont to identify, characterise and ultimately control the core rumen microbiome that causes methane production in animals. The outcome will be new knowledge to facilitate microbiome-based interventions that benefit animal production and reduce its carbon footprint. Field of research: 3107 - Microbiology To meet the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5˚C, methane emissions from ruminants must be reduced 11-30% by 2030 and 24-47% by 2050 compared to 2010 levels. Thus, reducing enteric methane emissions whilst increasing animal productivity is the single-most critical challenge that faces the livestock industry. This project will create a thorough mechanistic understanding on the microbiological, biochemical and genetic processes that cause methanogenesis in the cow rumen. These activities will identify core microbiota that are critical to cow performance and methane production across different breeds of animals, which is essential to enable reliable predictions of the effects of different treatments. Delivery of this projects research outcomes will benefit the design of improved methane-intervention strategies, and in doing so will assist Australia’s ability to meet its commitment to the Global Methane Pledge; recently signed by 122 nations to take voluntary actions to contribute to a collective effort to reduce global methane emissions by at least 30%, which could eliminate over 0.2˚C warming by 2050.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Energy Neutral Anthropogenic Nitrogen Management. This project aims to develop an innovative energy-neutral biological ammonium management strategy based on a novel anaerobic ammonia oxidation pathway. Ammonium-rich waste streams from urban and agricultural settings are a major cause of eutrophication and impose severe environmental burdens to human and ecological health. This project is expected to fundamentally change how we manage ammonium pollution, and will have immediate applicability to engineered bioreactors systems. This will provide significant benefits in supporting a wide range of industries that struggle with finding affordable and net-zero ways to manage ammonium wastes, providing an important step to reach global net-zero carbon emissions. Field of research: 4011 - Environmental Engineering Globally, and in Australia, wastewater treatment is energy intensive and costly to operate and maintain. To provide a sense of scale, energy consumption by the wastewater sector accounts for some 1-4% of the national electricity load, most just to aerate sewage for biological reduction of organics and ammonia. Striving to meet 2050 sustainable development goals, wastewater treatment plant managers are determined to achieve net-zero emissions over the next decade. However, it is unlikely that energy-neutral wastewater treatment can be achieved without innovative ammonium management. This project aims to develop an energy-neutral ammonia management strategy using innovative biological processes. Research outcomes will have immediate applications and commercial potential in sectors such as local government, agriculture, mining, food processing, and landfills. Hence, this project will empower billion-dollar industries grappling with ammonia-related challenges while potentially reducing global greenhouse gas emissions by around 1%.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

ARC Research Hub in Zero-emission Power Generation for Carbon Neutrality. This Hub aims to develop sustainable zero-emission power generation technologies to transform gaseous waste (mainly CO2) from our energy and manufacturing sectors into valuable products and create scalable pathways to market for driving industry transformation. This Hub expects to harvest renewable energy from the environment by using zero-emission power generators and then store it in green and safer batteries for converting gaseous waste from sectors that cannot easily avoid emission into useful chemicals, which in turn realize carbon neutrality and negativity. The outcomes of this Hub are likely to be transformative for industry, the economy, and society in new-type renewable energy resources through decreasing environmental pollutants. Field of research: 4016 - Materials Engineering ARC Research Hub in Zero-emission Power Generation for Carbon Neutrality (ZeroPC) will develop game-changing zero-emission power generation and energy storage technologies and businesses for converting carbon dioxide into value-added products. The Hub, ZeroPC, will strengthen existing Australian research and manufacturing capability through the development of advanced technologies and innovative knowledge, which places Australia in a world-leading position. The hub’s research, training, and engagement activities will bring new economic growth for the existing industries and lay the foundation for Australia to meet the net zero emissions targets by 2050. The benefits to Australia aim to stimulate new industries, a skilled workforce for those emerging industries, a clean environment, and a sustainable future.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

ARC Training Centre for Automated Vehicles in Rural and Remote Regions. The Centre will build skills and capability to test and deploy safe, socially acceptable, automated vehicles (AV) for rural, regional and remote Australian public roads, where manufacturing, agriculture, mining and defence industries face significant challenges of driver shortages, rising costs, long distances, rough roads, and environmental impacts. The centre will unite technology providers, regulators, government and end users with world-leading interdisciplinary researchers to create new human-AV systems, datasets, frameworks, case studies, platforms, and a vastly upskilled workforce. This will reduce transport costs, increase capacity, boost supply chain efficiency and resilience, improve road safety, and elevate Australian capability. Field of research: 4608 - Human-Centred Computing The Centre will train the next generation of industry-ready scientists, engineers, innovators and regulators in the development and integration of automated vehicles technologies and—by undertaking industrial training in cutting-edge applications—ensure that rural and regional industries are powered by a workforce that is able to transition to future, wide-spread automation beyond controlled industry environments. There is a unique opportunity for the country’s rural and remote industries to become more competitive globally by accelerating the deployment of automated vehicles (AV) on open roads. These AVs will enable Australian industries to win more business through improved processes and reduced costs, create safe, sought-after service jobs in regional communities, and grow the economy through increased exports and innovation. AVs will transform the way these sectors move goods and materials and alleviate the negative social impacts of their transport activities.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Data-driven Wide-area System Strength Monitoring under Weak Grid Conditions. This project aims to investigate and evolve the system strength assessment framework to suit weak electricity grids with substantial renewable sources. It expects to develop a digitalized approach where comprehensive metric indices are estimated by an innovative data-driven system to realize real-time wide-area system strength assessment under weak grid conditions. Advanced methods will also be developed to bridge the gap between data science and energy system applications. The new suite of next-gen metrics and data-driven techniques will offer the world’s most innovative renewable energy products with desired grid support capability and low system strength operability, that would smooth the transition towards low-carbon electricity future. Field of research: 0906 - Electrical and Electronic Engineering As a strategic plan to mitigate climate threat, the Australian electricity grid undergoes a tremendous transition towards a system dominated by renewable energy. In this transition, weak system strength has been identified as a significant and urgent issue that could cause catastrophic cascading failure or rolling blackout in the Australian grid. Addressing the weak grid issue requires the evolvement of system strength assessment framework. The development of data-driven techniques in this project serves as an immediate solution committing to elevate the low system strength operability of the Australian grid in the short run. The outcome of the applied research will help appeal secure renewable energy integration, improve the reliability of electricity supply, provide low-cost energy to the public, and create more environmental values in the path towards low-carbon future.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Novel Ion Exchange Membrane for High Performance Vanadium Flow battery. This project aims to design and synthesis novel ion exchange membrane with tailored ion selectivity and high proton conductivity for vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB). VRFB is a promising energy storage technology for large scale storing renewable energy due to its advantage of decoupled capacity and power, long lifetime. Currently, VRFB suffers from fast capacity decay and cyclic instability because of severe vanadium ion permeability of commercial membrane. The expected research outcomes in this project include stable, high ion selectivity membranes made of cost-effective aromatic polymer and robust nanofillers, enabling high performance VRFB. This will place Australia in the forefront of clean energy storage technologies. Field of research: 0912 - Materials Engineering Vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB) is an important energy storage technology that is suitable for large scale storing renewable energy. The technology of VRFB is currently restricted by the unsatisfactory membranes. The novel hybrid ion exchange membrane developed in this project will significantly enhance the performance of vanadium redox flow batteries, enhancing the capability of utilization of abundant renewable energy, improve energy diversity and security and reducing green-house emission in Australia. The research aims and objectives aligns with the national Science and Research priority of Energy, addressing the practical research challenge of “New clean energy sources and storage technologies that are efficient, cost-effective and reliable”. The research outcomes in this project will improve the global leading position of Australia in this field. Furthermore, intellectual properties in the form of publications and patents will foster collaboration with industry, and enhance the competitiveness of Australia in the area of energy storage materials and technologies in the worldwide.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Combatting Coordinated Inauthentic Behaviour on Social Media. Online disinformation is a global problem that threatens national security and is harmful to society. However, current methods are not suited to detect coordinated disinformation operations that conceal their activity by co-opting and cultivating regular users, groups and social movements. This project develops cutting-edge methods and workflows to accurately distinguish genuine activity from coordinated inauthentic behaviour, and to trace and evaluate the adoption of material spread by malicious actors across multiple platforms. Field of research: 2001 - Communication and Media Studies This project provides a major contribution to Australia’s national interest by providing early detection approaches for coordinated disinformation campaigns orchestrated by foreign and domestic actors, and practical recommendations on how to counter them. It is closely aligned with the National Science and Research Priorities, and in particular the priority on Cyber-Security. By providing cutting-edge methods, tools and knowledge to fight coordinated inauthentic behaviour on social media, this project addresses Practical Research Challenge 3, by developing frameworks for the discovery and understanding of vulnerabilities, threats and their impacts, and enabling improved risk-based decision making, resilience and effective responses to the critical challenge of coordinated inauthentic behaviour; and Practical Research Challenge 4, by using these frameworks to conduct an assessment of the scale of the cyber security challenge for Australia, with particular emphasis on the social factors informing individuals, organisations, and national attitudes as they encounter coordinated disinformation campaigns.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

The emotional face: What determines preferential expression processing. The processing of facial expressions of emotion is essential for successful social functioning. However, we still lack a good understanding of key factors that facilitate or impede the processing of these important social signals. The current project aims to address this knowledge gap by providing a) a more rigorous test of the currently dominant account of expression processing, the evaluative congruence account, and delineating how b) contextual factors and c) person knowledge affect expression processing. The research aims to advance our understanding of facial expression processing, to build international collaborations, and to train the next generation of emotion scientists. Field of research: 1701 - Psychology This basic emotion science project aims to enhance our understanding of the factors that affect the manner in which facial expressions of emotion are processed. Facial expressions are important signals that regulate human interactions, however, our understanding of the factors that influence the recognition of these expressions and the social response to them is still lacking. The proposed research will address this knowledge gap by correcting limitations of past research and applying new methodologies to the field of expression processing. The present program of research will further the outstanding reputation of Australian-based psychology research and enhance contemporary psychological knowledge. It will contribute to Australian society and beyond by providing research training in emotion science, fostering national and international collaborations, and by enhancing our understanding of the processes that determine the quality of human social interactions.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Preventing child sexual abuse by understanding perpetrators’ motivations. This project aims to investigate, for the first time, the experiential motivations of child sexual abuse perpetrators. Using a novel theoretical and methodological approach, it expects to discover new knowledge about the motivations of child sexual abuse perpetrators. Expected outcomes include new theoretical explanations for child sexual abuse perpetration and transformed policy and practice measures to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse in Australia and beyond. This should provide significant benefits, such as reduction of the widespread, severe and costly impacts of child sexual abuse, and an evidence base to support and enhance government initiatives such as the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse. Field of research: 4402 - Criminology Child sexual abuse (CSA) affects nearly all Australians in some way. 27% of girls and 12% of boys directly experience some form of CSA. CSA has severe impacts for victims and immense social impacts, including homelessness, substance abuse and suicide. It costs Australians $2 billion p/a. Preventing CSA is thus an urgent priority for state and federal governments. We need to understand why adults perpetrate CSA in order to prevent it. This project aims to develop new knowledge about perpetrator motivations so we can understand, prevent and respond to CSA more effectively. The new knowledge produced will inform the development of more effective policies, practices and programs to prevent CSA in Australia. The project will contribute to minimising the widespread and severe impacts and vast economic costs of CSA in Australia. It will produce evidence to support and enhance key Commonwealth and state government initiatives, such as the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to CSA.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Optimising Digital Compliance Processes in the Financial Services Sector. This project aims to develop a new approach to optimise digital compliance processes in Australian financial services firms. Effective digital compliance is needed to reduce growing regulatory burden and improve compliance with increasingly complex laws. This project expects to deliver new ways to optimise digital compliance that drive innovation and reduce the societal risks of non-compliance for end-users. Expected outcomes include industry guidance strategies and innovative digital tools that capture the complexity of digital compliance and inform practical solutions. This will provide significant cost reduction benefits for firms and ensure that new digital compliance processes promote the public interest goals of law and regulation. Field of research: 1801 - Law Expanding legal and regulatory requirements impose growing costs on financial services firms. Digitising regulation to improve compliance is a priority of the Australian Government and business community. Unsophisticated digitisation approaches provide incomplete and ineffective compliance solutions, increasing legal and reputational risks. This project develops new digitisation strategies and mapping tools to optimise digital compliance processes for Australian financial services firms. It aims to create a world-first framework for digital compliance that comprehensively addresses legal, regulatory, computational and organisational needs. Research outputs are relevant to financial services and other sectors, both in Australia and globally. The framework provides a more sophisticated understanding of digital compliance to improve compliance with complex laws that protect the end-users of financial services. Optimised digital compliance processes will enable innovation and are expected to translate into millions of dollars of savings for financial services firms and other regulated entities.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

New-generation flexible thermoelectrics for wearable electronics. This project aims to develop lightweight, flexible, and durable thermoelectric thin films for wearable electronics using a computation-guided approach, coupled with novel device design and materials nanoengineering strategies. The key breakthrough will overcome the stereotype of fragile thermoelectric materials and their low thermoelectric efficiency for achieving localised, instant, and controllable power generation and/or cooling with record-high performance in carefully designed wearable thermoelectric devices. Expected outcomes include new understanding of thermoelectrics and innovative technologies for achieving electronics/energy applications, which will provide significant economic and educational benefits for Australia. Field of research: 4016 - Materials Engineering Australia is highly reliant on fossil fuels for energy supply, which leads to critical environmental issues such as air pollution, increasing greenhouse gas levels, and subsequent climate change. To overcome these challenges, this project aims to develop emission-free and maintenance-free power supply with high energy conversion efficiency by using wearable thermoelectric materials and devices which are flexible and can directly transfer heat from the environment or body heat into energy-autonomous electricity. The new knowledge and technologies developed in this project will bring significant economic and commercial benefit to a number of Australian industries, including electronics, mining, and energy, by increasing international recognition for Australia, generating new markets, and creating new employment opportunities. Application of the project’s technologies will significantly decrease the usage of fossil fuels, lowering greenhouse gas emission and environment pollution, ensuring solid environmental and social benefits to the Australian community.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

2D vertical heterostructures for multi-functional energy applications. This project aims to develop multi-functional 2D vertical heterostructures for sustainable energy applications. A key challenge in fabricating 2D vertical heterostructures is the re-stacking of layered materials. This project will utilize edge-rich vertical graphene to unleash the full potential of 2D vertical heterostructures by combining the advantages of individual building blocks while mitigating the associated shortcomings. Expected outcomes will include improved electrochemical performance of materials and an integrated energy system utilizing these multi-functional materials to produce green hydrogen at low cost and high efficiency. The project should contribute largely to Australia’s transition to robust and affordable clean energy. Field of research: 4004 - Chemical Engineering Green hydrogen is at the centre of Australia's sustainable energy strategy and net-zero emission plan. This project aims to develop multi-functional 2D vertical heterostructures that can simultaneously store energy and generate hydrogen using renewable electricity. These novel materials can be integrated into devices to generate hydrogen in a highly efficient and cost-effective manner. By working with local industry, these novel materials will be translated into devices that can produce green hydrogen at low cost and high efficiency, ensuring Australia’s competitiveness in the multi-billion-dollar market of robust, reliable and affordable hydrogen energy systems. It is anticipated that the project will underpin the development of advanced materials and electrochemical energy storage, bringing considerable benefits to the local energy sector while establishing Australia as a superpower in the renewable energy export market. The project will accelerate Australia to realise its hydrogen potential and reap rewards for the economy, the community and the environment to 2030 and beyond.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

My Air Space: the Science of Buildings that Make us Thrive. Nothing is more necessary in human life than the air we breathe, mostly indoors where air quality has been relatively overlooked. This project aims to deliver new science and technology as a foundation for optimising indoor atmospheres to improve health, wellbeing, and comfort. Expected outcomes include innovative, efficient, low-cost diagnostic sensing of indoor atmospheres and human–space interactions, real-time detection of airborne pathogens and particles that host them, and cost-effective localised conditioning of spaces for comfort at points of actual use. Benefits should be seen in areas of health, productivity, reduced energy use, and new industries for the design, modernising, and operation of buildings across Australia and beyond. Field of research: 4010 - Engineering Practice and Education Poor air quality in modern buildings is a serious and neglected public health problem. Pre-COVID, indoor air pollution and excess respiratory infections-related health impacts cost the Australian economy more than $12Bn pa. This project aims to develop and deliver new methods for low-cost monitoring of pollutants in indoor air, real-time detection of airborne pathogens, and for overall optimization of indoor air for human health and well-being while lowering energy requirements. These capabilities are essential for developing Australian indoor air quality standards. The methods and standards will have extensive benefits for Australia. Modernisation of our buildings based on them will create a boon for Australian construction, maintenance and building technology industries. Social benefits will include improved general health, well-being and cognition for building occupants across Australia due to improved air quality. Tangible environmental benefits include improved air quality, reduced energy consumption and in turn emissions of pollutants associated with energy generation.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Career change teachers: Addressing teacher shortages in Australia . Australia is facing a teacher shortage crisis. Consequently, there have been concerted efforts by governments to attract people into teaching from other sections of the workforce. However, career change teachers often do not stay longer than five years in the profession. There is little evidence on how their retention can be enhanced. This project aims to better understand the differing motivations and experiences of these teachers from diverse backgrounds, and to determine how they can be better prepared and supported through their early years of teaching. A clear benefit of this project will be the longer term success for career change teachers and their schools and will ensure young people are not disadvantaged by high teacher turnover. Field of research: 1303 - Specialist Studies In Education Australia is facing a teacher shortage crisis. Recent policy responses include encouraging people from a diversity of other professions to consider a teaching career. However, evidence shows that ‘career change teachers’ often leave the teaching profession within their first few years of employment. The shortage and high turnover of teachers has a negative impact on young people’s educational outcomes. Ensuring a high quality and stable teaching workforce, will therefore produce substantial educational, economic and social benefits for the Australian community. This project’s examination of university provision of teacher education and exploration of school and system supports for new teachers, alongside life histories of career change teachers, will provide the education sector with a significant understanding of how these teachers can be supported to remain in the profession. This partnership with key education stakeholders, will ensure that the research and resources created through this project will inform key policy responses to the teacher shortage crisis and the retention of career change teachers.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Scale-up of catalytic furandicarboxylic acid production at room temperature. This project will use new knowledge acquired from our laboratory-scale discoveries to develop a new process feasible for industrial-scale production of 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA). The method makes FDCA, a platform chemical for future chemical industry, from a completely renewable source derived from plant sugars, 5-hydroxymethyl-furfural. This is an essential process for production of biodegradable plastic from sugar that has not been commercialised. This technology will realise sizeable industrial-scale production of FDCA at low costs and without heating. The production development of this valuable commodity from renewable plant sugars will provide high-quality postgraduate training in future green chemical production methods. Field of research: 0904 - Chemical Engineering Producing valuable materials from renewable plant-based resources, such as natural sugars and starches, is critical to sustainable rural development and addressing the problem of environmental pollution caused by our reliance on oil. This project will deliver an efficient, energy-saving new technique for the industrial-scale production of commodities such as plastics that are critical to modern life using plant-based rather than petroleum sources. The project will use a newly developed, low-cost recycling method to convert plant products to the building blocks for materials such as plastics  and design a new production process that uses novel chemistry that requires no external heat input so it requires much less energy than standard production methods. This enables agricultural plant materials to be converted to more valuable products with the added benefit of creating biodegradable and recyclable plastics. Therefore, the project will directly contribute to the global effort to end plastic waste (since petroleum-based plastics are difficult to break down and mostly end up in oceans or landfill) and reduce the plastic chemical industry’s reliance on fossil fuels by demonstrating viable production of biodegradable plastics sourced from renewable, completely carbon-neutral, plant-based materials. The goal is to produce materials with the convenience of modern plastics, but which can be composted or recycled like any food or plant based waste.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

ARC Training Centre for Advanced Building Systems Against Airborne Infection Transmission. The aim of the Centre is to engineer building systems whose elements work together to reduce airborne infection transmission by improving indoor air quality while maintaining comfort and efficiency. The significance is in establishing clean indoor air as the norm, with Australian industry being the forerunner in this process. The outcomes include new intelligent building systems, improved building technologies, quantitative methods for building control, evidence for policymaking and recommendations for operational guidelines. Wide-ranging benefits include reducing the health and economic burden of inadequate indoor air and increasing the competitiveness of Australian industry in the face of increasing demand for next-level building systems. Field of research: 4010 - Engineering Practice and Education Australians spend more than 90% of time indoors, working, studying, enjoying entertainment, undergoing medical care, and in fact living. The full scale of the burden of inadequate indoor air quality is only beginning to emerge, and is due to inhalation of infectious pathogens, such as SARS-CoV-2, smoke from bushfires, vehicle emissions entering buildings and other contaminants. The goal is to prevent this, and to significantly reduce the burden by creating healthy shared indoor air environments. This goal is achieved by bringing together, for the first time, a body of academic experts and industries representing all elements of the building system and connecting them to operate as an efficient and effective system. Widespread adoption of this innovative work, advanced building systems—coupled hardware and software solutions implemented through new building designs or retrofits, and new operational guidelines reduces our national vulnerability to airborne infections and through improved indoor air quality, improves health, reduces absenteeism, increases productivity, and results in massive economic benefits.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Enhanced natural insecticidal activity against a pest of national priority . This project aims to deliver environmentally friendly, non-genetically modified crop protection tools against a catastrophic pest, the fall armyworm. This project expects to generate new knowledge of natural plant protection strategies and their application in targeted crop protection using a combination of unconventional, but cleverly integrated, cutting-edge technologies and approaches. Expected outcomes include comprehensive new technologies to fight against the most damaging global crop pest, improved Australian agritech capacity and strengthened international collaborations. This should provide significant benefits, such as added security for Australia’s most important agricultural crops and regions, and global food production. Field of research: 1001 - Agricultural Biotechnology Fall armyworm is a notorious insect pest responsible for severe yield losses in major cultivated crops. The insect is known for its ability to disperse and migrate long distances and expand into new habitats and new host ranges. Although only seen in Australia for the first time in January 2020, its known destructive nature matched with Australia’s favourable climatic conditions have already placed it as one of Australia’s top 40 plant pests. Failure to control this species will have a serious impact on national food production (which covers 85% of Australia’s daily food supply), the $66.3B Australian agriculture sector, and the wellbeing of the 318,600 people employed by the industry. This project will develop deep new understanding of plant natural defences against this pest through testing of Australian-produced anti-insect compounds, and combine this with transformational plant delivery systems. Overall, this Project will help Australia to remain at the forefront of the plant-biotechnology research with broad global applications, build capacity and networks, and avert future agricultural economic damage.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Activating lazy stormwater wetlands through real time monitoring & control. Constructed stormwater wetlands are the last line of defence preventing pollution of urban waterways, but wetlands often fail, with their passive operation unable to adapt to the highly variable climate and hydrology they experience. This project aims to use advances in real-time control technology to turn these lazy wetlands into active wetland systems, optimising their performance. It aims to deliver new-generation technologies to enhance water quality treatment, enhance urban water security and guarantee environmental flows to maintain healthy waterways. Working in partnership with waterway managers and water retailers, this project strives to deliver a nationally and globally relevant technology to change how we manage water in cities. Field of research: 0905 - Civil Engineering This project will build the next generation of technologies required to sustainably manage the polluted stormwater generated by our rapidly expanding urban centres. Current wetland technologies are designed to operate passively, making them "lazy" and unable to adapt to the highly dynamic climate and hydrology they experience. Deploying real-time monitoring and control to "activate" constructed stormwater wetlands will not only improve removal of pollutants and pathogens, but also create the means to meet competing objectives for increasingly scarce water resources. This project will provide the knowledge required to transform this technology into the standard practice of waterway managers and water retailers throughout Australia. The water industry is set for a boom in capital investment in water infrastructure, to take advantage of innovative monitoring and control technologies. Our project will help optimise that investment and establish Australia as a world leader in smart water technologies.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Finding Porphyry Copper with zircon trace elements & hyperspectral display. Copper mine discovery rates lag behind world needs. One way to find copper in the World’s Ring of Fire is to measure compositions of zircons which are durable minerals concentrated in stream sands and spreadout long distances below a deposit. 100s of zircon from a cup of sand constitute a sample. Zircon chemical features that indicate possible mines are mostly understood, but nature is complicated. Beyond the 26 channels of chemical data for each grain in the 10,000s of analyses, there are 7 layers of lab imaging data that are not carried along in a convenient way. Geologists need smart computer systems to find useful relationships among the 33 channels and to discover relations within and between samples to find more mineable copper. Field of research: 0402 - Geochemistry Environmentally sensitive electrical technologies are expected to push the global demand for copper above projected supply within the next 25 years; discovery of new copper deposits is critical. Australia has significant copper exports but is not a dominant supplier. This project is directed at improving discovery rates of magmatic copper deposits (porphyry-style) which occur in ‘Rings of Fire’ around the world through geochemical analysis of stream sediment minerals (zircon). This deposit type is mined in North Parkes and Cadia Hill (NSW). From improved understanding of significant copper-bearing porphyries and the geochemical signals that can be detected at the surface through accessory minerals like zircon will come: 1) enhanced reputation of Australian applied research, 2) exploration efficiencies for resource companies, 3) provision of technology and services both here and abroad. This research will involve fundamental knowledge generation about porphyry deposits that will likely inform work on other copper deposit styles such as the world class Olympic Dam in SA and magmatic Copper-Nickel in WA.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Correction of non-linearity in inductively-coupled-plasma mass-spectrometry. Chemical analyses by mass spectrometers underpin key Australian economic sectors, particularly minerals and agriculture. The quadrupole inductively-coupled-plasma mass-spectrometer has seen a particular rise in prominence over last 25 years. In this collaboration between mass spectrometrists and the leading instrument designer, we will improve the linearity of its detection system for more precise and accurate data. Better elemental and isotope ratio data from these high-throughput instruments will open up new real-world applications in many areas of Australian interest, such as biosecurity, forensics, groundwater management, and drug design. The research will also inform design of the next generation instruments by the industry partner. Field of research: 0402 - Geochemistry Many modern resource and manufacturing processes use chemical and isotopic ‘fingerprints’ for tracing flows of materials. In Australia, hundreds of quadrupole inductively-coupled-plasma mass spectrometers (Q-ICP-MS) generate such forensic data every day. In this project, Australia’s foremost Q-ICP-MS manufacturer and an academic leader in mass spectrometry will develop new methods for producing more accurate data from existing Q-ICP-MS as well as design improved future instruments. The research will support national interest because improved chemical and isotopic measurements will increase discovery rates of new mineral deposits, allow faster identification of biohazards (migration of pests) and help to more accurately assess groundwater resources. The project will underpin National Manufacturing Priority (1) by enabling better knowledge of new economy mineral-element association, a key requirement for dynamic minerals processing. New design knowledge will also strengthen the market position of the industry partner and support job expansion at their research and product development facilities in Australia.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Photochemical Design of Microstructured Aerospace Materials. Commercial aviation and shipping spend over US$300 billion on fuel and emit almost 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide annually at an enormous environmental cost. This project will provide the material chemistry innovation basis for the production of drag reduction surfaces that can be applied to enable a more effective airflow over an aircraft, thus reducing fuel consumption. Critically, the material design approach will not only deliver a high performance coating for the production of drag reduction surfaces, but allow these surfaces to be tailored to specific application profiles including UV resistance and anti-fouling properties. The project will place an Australian company at the forefront of drag reduction technology Field of research: 0303 - Macromolecular and Materials Chemistry The reduction of emissions and the associated cost savings by introducing innovative drag reduction systems is a critical task in commercial and defense aviation. However, the translation of nature inspired drag reduction technology to sustainable manufacturing is critically lacking, with no commercially viable method available to manufacture drag reduction surfaces at scale. This project will place an Australian company at the technological forefront of drag reduction technology that can be adapted to a range of environmental conditions by virtue of its molecular design of the developed material from which the riblets are fabricated. The project is a critical contribution to anchoring manufacturing capability onshore with a high value added product that is applicable to aviation globally, enabling MicroTau to access a multi-billion dollar market for advanced drag reduction surface coatings for aircraft

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Doped alumina with tailored material properties for battery applications. This project aims to develop tailored alumina materials for lithium ion battery separators through a novel in-situ approach that will: (1) produce uniform doped alumina for improved safety, (2) target specific surface and bulk material properties to increase the overall performance, and (3) reduce manufacturing costs by integrating the process with new technology developed for the production of high purity alumina. Significant advances are proposed for overcoming current manufacturing limitations of doped alumina. Building research capacity and knowledge in battery material manufacturing will benefit a range of industries across Australia, whilst providing new opportunities for growth in local communities. Field of research: 0912 - Materials Engineering Australia is positioned to become a world-class hub of battery manufacturing and research. Improving the safety and efficiency of lithium ion batteries through development of new battery materials will contribute to the realisation of this opportunity. The research proposed will deliver advanced materials for key lithium ion battery components. Advancing research capacity in this area will boost the adoption of renewable energy technologies that will: (1) reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, (2) create jobs in a new manufacturing sector, and (3) bring economic opportunities to Australia. This project strongly aligns with Australia’s priorities of developing new clean energy sources and storage technologies, where lithium ion batteries have been identified as a key component. Furthermore, the project will build capability in the manufacture and design of next generation battery materials.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Experimental and empirical insight into melting of the early Earth's mantle. The early Earth's mantle produced melt at much higher temperature than today, creating rocks with unique chemistries and mineralogies. But pressing knowledge gaps about hot mantle melting remain. The aim of this project is to generate new experimental and empirical knowledge to help closing these gaps by: (i) conducting high pressure experiments to refine phase-composition relationships and element partitioning; (ii) quantifying mineral fabrics in cratonic peridotites to understand the movement of early continents; and (iii) constructing the first petrological deep time model for greenstone belt volcanic rocks. The expected outcomes are better models for the early Earth's melting and tectonic regimes and insight into the emergence of land. Field of research: 0403 - Geology Ancient continents (cratons) are disproportionately well-endowed in minerals (gold, nickel, iron, diamonds), significantly contributing to Australia's GDP, including during the economic crisis caused by COVID-19. The enrichment of the old continents in these minerals is attributed to hotter melting of the early Earth's deep mantle (nickel, diamonds), the tectonic regime of the early Earth (gold), and its anoxic surface (iron). If and how these unique attributes of the Earth relate is currently still poorly understood. This project will generate much-needed new knowledge from a unique Australian experimental laboratory about very high temperature melting of magnesium-rich mantle. It will combine this knowledge with novel analyses of the orientation of minerals in samples from the ancient mantle to understand how continents moved. For this, it will develop new methodologies that will also benefit nano-material science. Finally, the project will integrate the new experimental data with large empirical data from Western Australian gold- and nickel ore-hosting rocks for a new model of early continent formation.