Queensland University of Technology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Managing complex networks in endangered grasslands to restore food webs. This project aims to quantify the impacts of native and non-native animal consumer removal by examining food webs in endangered grasslands. Grasslands are Australia’s largest biome yet land-use changes, livestock and invasive plants, have altered entire food webs, including the integrity of ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling. Measuring disrupted food webs in field experiments, then modelling the impacts of mammals to invertebrates, will assist managers in making more effective decisions relating to ecosystem integrity. Understanding the consequences of biodiversity loss including implications for ecosystem resilience is crucial to Australia’s future food production, carbon sequestration and hydrological flows. Field of research: 0501 - Ecological Applications

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Radical redox indicators. This project aims to synthesise the first examples of advanced biological imaging agents that can reversibly respond to the oxidative status of living cells. Novel mitochondrially-targeted, fluorescent probes will be derived from several well-established families of biological dyes through the introduction of a stable free radical within the parent structure. The design of the new imaging agents aims to both enhance retention in, and restrict the fluorescence response to, the mitochondria so that changes in oxidation and reduction can be monitored. The probes will provide an innovative new means to assess reactive species and associated oxidative stress, thus delivering a new methodology to aid research into mitochondrial chemical biology. Field of research: 0305 - Organic Chemistry

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Joint Biomechanics. The Centre aims to bring together leading researchers, industry partners and end-users to train a new generation of interdisciplinary and skilled graduates to tackle industry-focused challenges in joint biomechanics. The centre will provide advances required to transform personalised surgical treatment of joints through integrated technologies of computer tools for pre-surgical planning and decision making, the computer simulation system and robot simulators for surgical training and medical device assessment, and post-surgical assessment tools. The outcomes of the centre will significantly contribute to Australia by improved health outcomes, economic benefits, and a skilled workforce able to advance this joint biomechanics fields. Field of research: 1106 - Human Movement and Sports Science

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Re-engineering enterprise systems for microservices in the cloud. This project will enable automatic re-engineering of large enterprise applications to run in modern cloud environments as microservices. Microservices are the latest wave of service-based software, capable of exploiting the high performance and third-party integration opportunities made available through the cloud. The project will develop new techniques for analysing enterprise systems code and execution data, and making recommendations for restructuring suitable parts as microservices. These microservices manage individual business objects via sets of lightweight distributed computational operations. The outcomes will support progressive evolution of an enterprise system, into distributed microservices running in public clouds, while still being integrated with "backend" systems. Field of research: 0806 - Information Systems

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

A pictorial communication framework for inclusion. A picture can tell a thousand words; many people with an intellectual disability can only communicate with pictures and are otherwise isolated. This project will research how computers can understand and facilitate a rich pictorial communication between people and person to machine, thereby supporting inclusion. This will be achieved by inclusively co-designing with people with ID and members of the community: a) an audio-visual accessible search tool, b) a pictorial communication device, and c) a visual inclusive social network. These applications will inform future innovations for everyone, and allow citizens with ID to access online information, participate in community activities and be included in the workplace. Field of research: 0806 - Information Systems

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

The adaptive evolution of key methane-utilising microorganisms. This project aims to characterise the evolutionary adaptations of a group of microorganisms with a key role in mitigating the release of methane into the atmosphere. Innovative molecular and visualisation-based approaches will be applied to uncover their metabolic diversity and evolutionary history. An important outcome of this study will be the comprehensive understanding of the contribution and impact these microorganisms have on the global carbon cycle, which will importantly inform accurate climate change models. This has clear benefits for society, given the precision of such models is essential in our ability to minimise the impact and associated cost of global warming. Field of research: 0605 - Microbiology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

The Role of the Creative Arts in Regional Australia: A Social Impact Model. This project will address the challenge to effectively target regional arts funding to programs and activities that build capacity and have lasting impact for end-users. It delivers a framework for evaluating the arts, to argue for the arts to be included in a broader understanding of community and national wellbeing and success. This framework will position Australia as an international leader in articulating and responding to the social impact of the arts. The research field sites have been chosen in consultation with our partners as communities whose capacity and challenges are reflected throughout much of regional Australia. Field of research: 1904 - Performing Arts and Creative Writing

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Airborne ultrafine particles in Australian cities. There is an acute deficiency of knowledge in Australia on urban airborne ultrafine particles, originating from transport and other anthropogenic sources, which pose significant health and environmental risks. The aim of this project is to address this deficiency by an extensive multi-city, cross-disciplinary study using state of the art instrumentation and data analytic techniques. The outcome will be an in depth, quantitative insight into the characteristics of the particles, their sources and spatial and temporal variation across different urban areas and time scales. Further, the impacts of changing fuels, vehicle technologies, and climate on future trends of the particles will be elucidated. Field of research: 0401 - Atmospheric Sciences

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Revolutionising water-quality monitoring in the information age. In today’s information age, automated low-cost sensors distributed in the environment have the potential to revolutionise the way we monitor and manage air, water and soil. This project aims to develop novel statistical methods to detect anomalies in the data generated from these in-situ sensors with computationally efficient modelling on river networks through space and time, with the applied goals of automating anomaly detection in water-quality data and generating predictions of sediment and nutrient concentrations throughout river networks in near-real time. This will represent a fundamental increase in scientific knowledge, which will be immediately useful in the domains of aquatic science, environmental monitoring, and statistics. Field of research: 0104 - Statistics

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Mathematical Decision Support to Optimise Hospital Capacity and Utilisation. Hospital planners and executives regularly contend with challenging capacity related decisions. Decisions relating to prioritisation, allocation and sharing of resources have a profound impact on productivity, efficiency and patient outcomes. There is a lack of data-driven or quantitative decision support to make well-informed capacity related decisions of a strategic or tactical nature in a single hospital, or across a regional healthcare system. This project aims to deliver decision support for holistic hospital capacity assessment and planning optimisation. This will yield significant benefits for the health sector, providing a tool to optimise the allocation of resources and provision of infrastructure for regional hospital services. Field of research: 0102 - Applied Mathematics

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

The grand challenge of predicting human movement energetics. This Project aims to advance our understanding of how the neuromuscular system uses energy during movement by exploring the interplay of different factors that influence movement energetics. The Project will explore different levels of organisation; from how muscle fibres consume energy to how those fibres interact and are subsequently controlled within a complex neuromuscular system. Expected outcomes of this Project will be an improved capacity to predict energy expenditure of the vast array of movements that humans perform. This will enable accurate monitoring of human energy expenditure and will provide benefits for individualised exercise prescription, enhancing work productivity or designing devices to augment human performance. Field of research: 1106 - Human Movement and Sports Science

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Better end-of-life care through an optimal, holistic regulatory framework. This project aims to enhance end-of-life care through better regulation. Current regulation does not work as intended and is complex and fragmented. This harms patients, families and health professionals, and wastes health resources across the 100,000 medical end-of-life decisions in Australia annually. Expected outcomes are: (1) the first study internationally to establish in practice how the interaction of conflicting law, policies, ethics and training affects the end-of-life care patients receive; and (2) a new holistic regulatory framework to enhance the quality of end-of-life care. Expected benefits are better palliative care, more patient involvement in decisions, reduced patient-doctor conflict and a more efficient health system. Field of research: 1801 - Law

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

Intention-aware cooperative driving behaviour model for Automated Vehicles. This project aims to investigate humans' cooperation with automated systems by conceptualising joint intention awareness. This project expects to generate knowledge about a new cooperative driving behaviour model for automated vehicles, utilising a transdisciplinary approach that mixes human-centric methods with deep learning techniques. Intended outcomes are new joint intention awareness theory, new interface for automated vehicles, new methodology for cooperative behaviour research, and enhanced research capacity. The expected significant benefits are for automated systems to become more predictable, acceptable, readable and safer to use by everyday people. Field of research: 0806 - Information Systems

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

Fire resistance of complex light gauge steel framed wall systems. This project aims to investigate the thermal and structural behaviour of high-strength Light gauge Steel Framed (LSF) wall systems when exposed to fire, and develop a generic model for predicting fire resistance levels of all LSF wall systems. Plasterboard-lined LSF walls are increasingly used as cost-effective load-bearing walls in low and mid-rise buildings worldwide. This has required new wall designs with complex steel stud wall configurations, but their fire resistance is not understood. This project will provide validated fire resistance data and fire design methods for a proposed national Fire Design Handbook and steel design codes, enabling more widespread, safer use of these walls. This will benefit the Australian steel industry, the construction industry and the community. Field of research: 0905 - Civil Engineering

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

A novel multiscale model to investigate mechanical properties of cartilage. This project aims to develop a new multiscale model to investigate anisotropic and inhomogeneous mechanical properties of cartilage. It has been found that the mechanical properties of cartilage highly depend on its microstructures and components. The new model is proposed based on a new constitutive relation in the macroscale and a novel algorithm to obtain local stress distributions in the microscale as well as through rigorous experimental validations. This model will be a powerful tool to understand cartilage mechanical properties. It will accelerate the design of mechanically viable artificial cartilage biomaterial, which will provide significant economic benefits and place Australia in the forefront of modelling and biomaterials. Field of research: 0913 - Mechanical Engineering

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

High performance inks for solution based organic light emitting diodes manufacturing. This project aims to introduce an advanced solution processing and printing technique for organic light emitting diode (OLED) fabrication based on a set of innovative macromolecular chemistries. These proceed either photochemically or thermally, exploiting precision macromolecular designs of the polymer precursor materials, which contain advanced emitter systems developed by Cynora. Solution fabrication of OLED is a challenging, yet ultimately powerful, process with key advantages over current vacuum processing systems, especially with regard to production flexibility, cost and OLED size. The project will provide a functioning technology platform for solution OLED fabrication. Field of research: 0303 - Macromolecular and Materials Chemistry

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

Fire resistant and lightweight wall systems using innovative blocks. This project aims to develop an innovative block with lightweight and fire resistant characteristics by using Pumice and Perlite materials, followed by wall systems using the blocks. For this purpose, it will use material and thermal characterization studies, thermal and structural numerical models and fire tests of the new blocks, wall panels and a compartment. This project will generate new knowledge on lightweight blocks and fire safety, and develops cost-effective fire safe solutions for mid-rise buildings and bushfire safe rooms. Field of research: 0905 - Civil Engineering

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

Seismic evaluation of non-structural unreinforced masonry components. This project aims to reduce earthquake risk posed by unreinforced masonry buildings. The project will use integrated experimental and numerical research to understand the dynamic interaction between timber floors, roofs and walls. New knowledge about this interaction will enable economical and safe earthquake design methods to be used for unreinforced masonry buildings. Field of research: 0905 - Civil Engineering

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

The sweet road to synthesis of bacterial sugar structures. This project aims to characterise the synthesis pathways of nonulosonic acid sugars (NulOs) in bacteria using a combination of bioinformatics and experimental methodologies. Bacteria produce long chains of sugars or glycans on their cell surface known as capsules. These often contain important NulOs that can be uniquely harvested for use in the nutrition, cosmetic and bioremediation industries. By understanding the natural pathways of their synthesis, ‘glycans-by-design’ can be synthetically created with potent tailor-made properties. This project endeavours to examine how glycans with acidic sugars are produced to generate a fundamental understanding of sugar biology and create a database that will advance industrial applications in glycoengineering. Field of research: 0605 - Microbiology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

New generation facility for impact testing. This project aims to develop a new generation, national-impact testing facility to study the impact response of civil and mechanical structures and components. This project expects to seek simultaneous, realistic impact scenarios with very high velocities, which were previously impossible. This will enhance the capability for innovative research on real-time behaviour of components/systems under high amplitude impacts to augment their protection through advanced materials. This project is essential for research on rational design philosophies and effective retrofitting of high-risk buildings, infrastructure and armoured vehicles. Benefits include the saving of lives and property through new knowledge from credible impact testing. Field of research: 0905 - Civil Engineering

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

Xe-plasma dual beam for advanced future materials. This project aims to establish a state of the art Xe-Plasma dual-beam facility providing characterisation and fabrication capabilities to Australia’s research community. The project will use two beams - one Xe, the other electrons - to mill the surface of bulk materials which are subsequently analysed by electron or ion beam techniques to determine atomic-scale microstructure(s) and compositions. Anticipated outcomes are advanced materials engineering and new knowledge about ancient and future materials. This is expected to provide significant advances across a variety of fields including material science, engineering and geology and enhance trans-disciplinary collaborations. Field of research: 0912 - Materials Engineering

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

Novel immune cell subsets in the centre nervous system and supporting tissues. This project aims to identify and characterise novel resident immune cell subsets within the brain and retina, and their close supporting tissues. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the areas of neuroimmunology and ocular immunology by using molecular and cellular techniques to examine the diversity of immune cells within the brain and retina. It is expected that the project will advance our understanding of the biological mechanisms that protect the central nervous system from harmful inflammation and thus improve our knowledge of the immunobiology of the brain and eye. Field of research: 1109 - Neurosciences

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

A unifying framework for generalised distributed-order fractional models. This project aims to develop a unifying theoretical framework for generalised fractional models using measure theory and a new class of distributed-order nonlocal operators to simulate anomalous transport processes in heterogeneous and anisotropic porous media. The project expects to generate a mathematical foundation for fractional modelling and clarity on the role of, and relationship between, the many variants of fractional operators used in modern practice and how to impose boundary conditions on finite domains. Expected outcomes of the project include an evaluation of dimensionality and/or complexity reduction of the governing equations in fractional transport models with a focus on groundwater applications. Field of research: 0103 - Numerical and Computational Mathematics

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

Disclosure in patents, an economic analysis using computational linguistics. This project aims to analyse the disclosure of patents. To achieve economic growth, the patent system aims to provide incentives for research and development as well as to ensure knowledge is accessible as widely as possible. This project will explore and demonstrate the usefulness of computational linguistics in the economic analysis of disclosure in patents. In particular, the project will look at the role of readability in the patent application and examination process. This will provide a strong potential to inform and improve patent examination processes and patent policy. Expected outcomes will enable society to achieve greater use of the knowledge embedded in the patent system, thereby contributing to higher economic growth. Field of research: 1402 - Applied Economics

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

Unravelling the cell biology of a blood vessel. This project aims to understand the molecular mechanisms of vascular regeneration in adult homeostasis. Maintaining a viable circulatory system is essential for organ survival and function. The data generated from this project has the capacity to significantly impact our fundamental understanding of cardiovascular repair and regeneration. This will be of future benefit to many industries including science, bioengineering, healthcare technologies, and ensuring significant economic outcomes and benefit the Australian community. Field of research: 0601 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology