Australian National University

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Electron Crystallography Methods for Multidisciplinary Applications. The project aims to establish the first dedicated research group in Australia to develop new methods based on electron crystallography, namely micro-crystal electron diffraction (MicroED) and serial electron diffraction (SerialED). These methods enable the determination of 3D atomic structures of materials, small molecules, and macromolecules from nano- and micron-sized crystals, too small or too complex to be studied by existing techniques. This multidisciplinary research project expects to generate new knowledge in crystallography and electron microscopy. This should provide significant benefits in stimulating research in materials science, structural biology, structural chemistry, green catalysis, sustainable energy, and drug discovery. Field of research: 3402 - Inorganic Chemistry Knowing the 3D atomic structures is crucial for designing novel materials with extraordinary properties, discovering new drugs to treat disease, studying chemical and biological molecules, and understanding fundamental chemical and biological processes. While traditional crystallography methods have been instrumental in deciphering crystal structures, they face limitations when dealing with tiny crystals. With the development of sophisticated electron crystallography methods, scientists can explore previously inaccessible realms, solve complex structures and answer questions that were once deemed unapproachable. However, these methods are currently unavailable in Australia. In this project, cutting-edge electron crystallography methods will be developed to study the atomic structures of scientifically interesting specimens, from materials, pharmaceutics to macromolecules. It is expected to provide unprecedented opportunities to Australian scientists to engineer advanced materials, study complex chemical processes and explore fundamental processes of life. Furthermore, electrons probe the materials differently, yielding greater information about the sample than is currently available using existing techniques, at a fractional of the cost of large-scale facilities. Additional future benefits of this research include training a new generation of multidisciplinary researchers and fostering new research in green chemistry, renewable and sustainable energy, and healthcare.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Predicting biodiversity impacts of plant invasion in a changing environment. This project aims to develop an approach for predicting impacts of alien plant invasions on plant community diversity under environmental change: such capacity is urgently needed. Through innovative grassland experiments and models that incorporate impacts of invasions, land use and climate change, this research promises to transform predictive understanding in ecology. Being able to identify when, where, why and how invasive plants can drive native species loss will benefit biodiversity conservation, biosecurity and vegetation management. Project outcomes will advance ecological theory and address a critical research need: how to conserve the biodiversity of plants – the dominant life form on earth – under global environmental change. Field of research: 4102 - Ecological Applications Invasive species cost the Australian economy over $9 billion each year and are the leading cause of biodiversity loss and species extinctions in the country. With over 20 new alien plant species being introduced into Australia each year and with climate change favouring invasive species over native ones, these impacts are expected to worsen. Despite this huge and growing problem, there are no reliable methods for identifying which species and ecosystems are most at risk, and which management actions can most effectively help. This project aims to fill this need by developing an approach for accurately predicting combined impacts of plant invasion, climate change and land use on native vegetation. The project will use experiments and build models to generate robust predictions, focusing on grasslands in southern Australia, which are particularly valuable and under threat. Through the creation of user-friendly tools, results of the research will directly influence the decisions of managers, policymakers and landholders when planning for the future. This will increase the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of Australia’s already world-leading record in biosecurity and weed management. By helping to protect Australia’s unique flora and fauna and the productivity of our landscapes, now and in the future, outputs of the project will provide long-term social, cultural, economic and environmental benefits for Australia.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Breaking and Making Bonds with Aluminium. This project aims to explore the use of aluminyl anions, a recently developed class of aluminium compounds, as sustainable alternatives to the environmentally damaging noble transition metal complexes widely used in fine chemical manufacturing. The project expects to generate major fundamental and applied advances in chemistry, using an innovative synthetic approach aided by both computational investigations and an international research team. Expected outcomes of this project include improved techniques for sustainable chemical synthesis, advanced knowledge, an international research network, and a highly trained workforce. The development of this research should provide significant environmental benefits to the fine chemicals industries. Field of research: 3402 - Inorganic Chemistry The chemical manufacturing industry plays a vital role in supplying Australians with many of the fine chemicals that are used in everyday life such as medicines, cosmetics, and food preservatives. However, many of these manufacturing processes are not sustainable due to their reliance on precious metals, which are expensive and environmentally damaging to acquire. This project aims to find more sustainable ways to manufacture chemicals by developing alternatives based on aluminium, which is one of the cheapest and most eco-friendly metals available. This would have significant environmental benefits, reducing Australia's dependence on environmentally harmful precious metals, and improving the sustainability of the chemical manufacturing industry, both locally and globally. Outcomes from this project will be posted on social media, highlighted in scientific magazines and promoted through University media, with ground-breaking results sent to the national media. Furthermore, it is envisioned that these sustainable aluminium reagents will feed into chemical manufacturing industry, directly replacing some of the currently used precious metals.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Humane Exclusion: How States Justify Excluding Refugees. This is a project about the idea of humanity and how this concept is deployed. Specifically, it aims to understand and critique the contemporary phenomenon of humane exclusion: humane-sounding justifications for the exclusion of refugees. The work will innovate via a unique framework for understanding today’s prevailing claims, involving analysis of how they echo historical justifications for controlling the movement of Indigenous peoples, minorities, slaves, and other vulnerable groups. It will be the first holistic examination of the ethics of humane-sounding claims and practices of refugee exclusion in the light of their histories, providing a means for Australia to consider, anew, how it might construct more ethical refugee policies. Field of research: 4408 - Political Science The global count of forcibly displaced people has surpassed 100 million, with countries like Australia constructing policies to exclude refugees and asylum seekers. Australia provides compassionate reasons for such policies, citing the need to prevent sea drownings, for example. However, these justifications echo historical patterns of controlling vulnerable populations, such as Indigenous people, ethnic minorities, and slaves. These historical echoes suggest that Australia’s present policies may be ethically problematic. Through the retrieval and close study of this history, this project seeks to shed light on the justice of Australia’s justifications and policies toward refugees today. Featuring close collaboration with an existing network of representatives from NGOs and refugee advocacy groups, this Fellowship will produce a deeper understanding of the hazards of prevailing arguments for supposedly humane refugee exclusion. This project will help NGOs to advocate for, and political leaders to construct, refugee policies that foster justice with the effect of enhancing Australia’s reputation and, in turn, security and prosperity.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Stepping-Stones to Sahul. This project aims to determine if there were two human dispersals into Australia, and whether the second had an adaptive advantage. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of human dispersal, through excavation then combined technological and functional analysis of stone tools. Excepted outcomes of this project are to establish if stone tool miniaturisation reflects a significant threshold in human population density, technology, or social organisation. This should provide important benefits to Australian society such as addressing the complexity of deep time history of the country, and determining whether the later Palaeolithic represents a fundamental behavioural threshold for humanity in general. Field of research: 4301 - Archaeology This project aims to answer a key question about Indigenous Australian origins: Was there something unique about human behaviour in the last 50,000 years that explains why we are the only species of human alive today? The project will explore two potential human migrations to Australia around 65,000 and 50,000 years ago. Archaeological sites will be excavated on Indonesian and Timor-Leste islands, believed to be the route of the earliest human arrivals in Australia. Stone tools from these sites will be analysed to determine if the earlier migration used larger, long-lasting tools, and the later migration used smaller, disposable tools. New modes of stone tool use may have given the later migration an advantage, such as in making complex tools with multiple pieces of stone and in creating body markings to show tribal identity. The findings will be communicated to the public through press releases, newspaper articles, and online media increasing appreciation of Australian history. Outcomes will be shared with ACT primary schools through ‘show and tell’ demonstrations and with artefacts loaned to National Museum Australia exhibitions. This will foster greater public understanding of Indigenous Australian origins and the unique aspects of our species.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Why Monarchy Endures. Answers from the Ancient Mediterranean World. . The project aims to discover why monarchy endured in the ancient Mediterranean world (c. 1200 BCE-600 CE) despite the emergence of democracies and republics that gave citizens an important political voice. By comparing ancient governments across Europe, North Africa, and the Near East, it aims to generate new knowledge about the creation of monarchies, the strategies monarchs used to win popular support, and why sole rule poses serious challenges to democratic constitutions. Expected outcomes include new historical explanations for the rise and popularity of authoritarian figures in modern democracies. This should provide significant benefits such as better understanding of how to cope with political change in a time of global uncertainty. Field of research: 4303 - Historical Studies Australians are living in a time of unprecedented global political instability. A chief concern is the rise of autocrats who seek to rule their countries alone. Although Australia is a constitutional monarchy, our democratic institutions operate largely independently, with the monarch adopting a mostly ceremonial role. This has not always been the case throughout history. As an increasing number of present-day global leaders seek autocratic rule, as monarchs in the past once did, there is the potential for significant negative impacts on democracies worldwide, including Australia. Using ancient historical texts to examine the challenges presented by monarchies to the world’s first democracies, this project will reveal what factors lead to the emergence of would-be monarchs and the destabilisation of democratic governments. Through podcasts, Q&A panels, opinion pieces, and an online exhibition, the project’s new findings of potential threats to the democratic process will be shared broadly with the Australian public. This will offer significant political and cultural benefits to Australians and our politicians, and contribute to greater public confidence in our constitution and electoral processes.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Backbone Editing Strategies: Underutilised Tools for Peptide Drug Discovery. The therapeutic capacity of peptides is reliant on the availability of synthetic chemistry tools to optimise their drug-like properties. This Fellowship program aims to develop strategies to modify the polypeptide backbone—a critical modulator of peptide bioactivity and biophysical properties for which there are remarkably few existing strategies for chemical modification. Expected outcomes encompass future health and economic benefits for the Australian community, including: the development of novel reagents and methods for peptide synthesis with a key focus on sustainable electrochemical approaches, the synthesis of bioactive peptide-drug conjugates, and a greater understanding of the role of backbone structure in peptide drug discovery. Field of research: 3404 - Medicinal and Biomolecular Chemistry Emerging diseases and growing resistance to current treatments highlight the need for new therapeutic molecules to sustain Australian health and economic well-being. Medicinal chemists develop and deploy effective medicines by applying chemical tools to alter the structure and function of promising candidate molecules. This project will explore new technologies to fine-tune underexplored classes of therapeutic molecules, enabling the evaluation of molecules which are inaccessible using existing techniques. Importantly, the proposed technologies will increase the efficiency of production and reduce the reliance on toxic reagents through the innovative application of electrochemistry—an environmentally-conscious method in which electricity, rather than a toxic chemical, is used to produce a chemical reaction. These technologies offer vast commercial potential for Australia’s growing biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors, including through the development of sustainable chemical manufacturing practices. Adoption of such practices by industry will serve to decrease the environmental impact of drug discovery processes and minimise cost of production for promising new therapies.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Re-emergence of First Nations burning in contemporary grassy woodlands. This project aims to inform the re-emergence of First Nations burning in contemporary endangered woodlands in south-eastern Australia by: (a) implementing a First Nations led burning program, and in conjunction, (b) monitoring the relative ecological responses, including those that influence fire-risk. The expected outcomes include new evidence to guide contemporary First Nations burning programs implemented by our project partners and others. The project will establish an interface between First Nations knowledge and western science to achieve long-lasting multi-disciplinary and cross-cultural outcomes. These include ecological and fire risk-mitigatory benefits and important cultural, social and economic benefits for First Nations peoples. Field of research: 4104 - Environmental Management Prior to European colonisation, First Nations peoples used fire as a management tool in grassy woodlands in south-eastern Australia. These ecosystems are now endangered, with many degraded due to grazing, clearing and an absence of traditional burning. The reintroduction of First Nations burning as a management tool is still emerging in south-eastern Australia, and therefore, research on the corresponding ecological responses is limited. In contrast, this practice has been well-resourced and researched in Northern and Central Australia. This project aims to fill this research gap by (a) implementing a First Nations led burning program across contemporary grassy woodlands in NSW and the ACT, and in conjunction, (b) monitoring the corresponding ecological outcomes. This will generate new knowledge needed to inform and support future First Nations burning programs implemented by our project partners and others. The project will generate an interface between First Nations knowledge and management, western science, and government on how to best support the re-emergence of First Nations burning in contemporary landscapes to maximise cross-cultural benefits and generate long-lasting legacy outcomes. This project is timely and should be prioritised for bushfire-risk mitigation, to conserve ecological values, and to provide cultural, social and economic benefits for First Nations communities.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Strengthening political representation in an era of democratic change. This project aims to understand and strengthen how politicians represent their constituents. As trust in politics declines, there is more pressure on politicians to engage with citizens. Understanding how these demands are reshaping the representative work of politicians is crucial to building trust and legitimacy in modern democracies. By interviewing and observing Australian politicians, this research will build important knowledge about the dynamics, demands and practices of contemporary representation. A national and international audit of novel ways to engage constituents will lead to valuable resources that politicians and citizens can use to assess and improve representative relationships, enabling stronger democratic institutions. Field of research: 4408 - Political Science Effective and informed political representation is crucial in modern democracy, but links between politicians and citizens are under strain as trust in politics declines. Using interviews and observations, this project will examine how newly elected Australian federal politicians learn and practise representation. Furthermore, a national and international audit will identify innovative ways politicians can engage with citizens, and inform programs and resources that support the representative work of politicians. Through stakeholder interaction and global collaboration, the project will develop significant knowledge on effective strategies to strengthen political representation, which will feed into initiatives to boost diversity and trust in democratic institutions. In addition to transforming our understanding of representation, findings will be used to develop new online resources for politicians and citizens to understand and strengthen connections between each other, and ‘classroom-ready’ tools for Australian students to demonstrate the diverse ways politicians and citizens can positively work together.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

The Ethics of Net Zero. This project aims to provide the first systematic study of key ethical issues connected to the adoption of net zero targets—pledges to make no net addition to the global atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases. It expects to fill a significant knowledge gap, by addressing the full range of ethical questions raised by the adoption, promotion, and coordination of net zero targets by national and subnational climate actors. Expected outcomes of the project include detailed guidelines for determining ethically sound net zero policy and practice. The project should provide significant benefits to stakeholders in the government, corporate and NGO sectors, including best practice advice on the setting and implementation of net zero targets. Field of research: 5003 - Philosophy Decision-makers across Australia’s corporate, government, and NGO sectors are struggling to formulate net zero targets that respond adequately to public pressure for responsible climate action. Through workshops that bring together leading decision-makers from these three sectors, this project will develop the first ethical principles for Australia to guide decision makers in setting ethically sound net-zero targets. It will create and disseminate best-practice guidelines for net zero target-setting, implementation, and accounting among government, corporate and NGO stakeholders involved in the project. By helping decision-makers to create transparent and sound net zero practices, this research will contribute to climate action that is responsive to the wishes of the Australian public, and to the longer term environmental benefits that flow from that action.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Dialogue with difficult objects: Mediating controversy in museums. This project aims to support proactive engagement with controversial objects in Australian museums. With the Eureka Flag as a case study, new tools for community dialogue and engagement will be developed using innovative methods for voicing and mediating difference. Expected outcomes include new strategies for developing museum exhibitions, publications, and educational resources, as platforms for diversity and tolerance. The project aims to provide significant civic benefits by developing a transferable framework equipping museums to counter social fragmentation with respectful debate and inclusive engagement. Field of research: 4302 - Heritage, Archive and Museum Studies Australia's 1000+ museums house nationally significant objects associated with controversial histories and troubling ideas; the Eureka Flag is a key example. Controversial objects disrupt museum goals of engagement, education and inclusiveness. They can be divisive, and exclude communities who have been dispossessed and marginalised in the past and the present. This project seeks to equip museums to house and display difficult objects in ways that encourage respectful public debate, and promote diversity and tolerance. Working with the Art Gallery of Ballarat and the Eureka Centre, the project will introduce new methods of cultural mediation and civic debate to enable museums to proactively engage audiences and community with the difficult histories of the Eureka Flag. This research will develop workshop methods that can be adopted across the museum and art gallery sector to enhance existing consultation, engagement and education practices. The national museum sector will benefit in achieving operational goals of community engagement and diversity by supporting visitors in coming to agreement on difference.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Volatile Rivers and the Infrastructure Politics in the Mekong Region. This project focusses on the challenge of repurposing large-scale hydraulic infrastructures to serve climate objectives, and aims to advance understanding of changing entanglements of rivers, infrastructure, and power relations in a time of climate change. It expects to contribute novel insights into water and climate change governance within and beyond the Mekong Region. Bridging political-ecology and infrastructure studies, planned outcomes include conceptual innovations that advance critical studies on river engineering. The project should benefit policy-makers, practitioners and advocacy groups in the Mekong and in Australia seeking to improve interventions and strengthen the coping strategies of vulnerable riverine communities. Field of research: 4406 - Human Geography Sustainable water management is an ongoing challenge, both in Australia and overseas. Australia has major interests in the Mekong region, which spans China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, and where climate uncertainty poses a key risk to sustainable development. This project will examine the risks and opportunities for repurposing large-scale dams to help with emerging water constraints. It will reveal how water infrastructure may contribute to and be impacted by extreme weather events, especially flood and drought. By sharing insights with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the project will support the government to improve Australia’s strategic climate change initiatives in the Mekong. It will also help to strengthen Australia’s water-energy partnerships at home in the Murray Darling Basin, and abroad, benefiting river systems, including plants and animals, farming and food production, and the communities whose lives and livelihoods depend on improved water management.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Listening to Nature: Transforming Bioacoustics through Spatial Audio. This project aims to research new 3D spatial audio processing techniques to analyse natural sounds for environmental conservation, while meeting the tasks, demands and data characteristics inherent to bioacoustics. Expected outcomes include new, accurate and efficient bioacoustics computation technologies, generalisable across different terrestrial regions, species types and environment changes. These could dramatically enhance the efficacy of current bioacoustic monitoring systems while opening up new research directions. Resulting technology could be adopted for immediate tasks like the monitoring of bushfire recovery efforts, and more generally, for the management and conservation of Australian natural resources. Field of research: 4603 - Computer Vision and Multimedia Computation Australia’s 2019 bushfires caused the death and displacement of more than three billion animals. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of recovery methods depends on inefficient and unreliable manual data collection and processing. Automated methods involving cameras and audio recorders will be crucial for improved accuracy and scalability in future monitoring of species numbers, types, habitat distributions and behaviour. Monitoring via animal sounds has demonstrated enormous potential as sound travels well in darkness and is unaffected by plants and other obstructions. Combining electronics, information science and ecology, this project will develop world-first technology that uses sophisticated audio recorders on land and with drones to collect and study natural sounds. Technology transfer partnerships with industry will see the research make immediate contributions through its application to automated performance tracking of ongoing fire recovery efforts and broader conservation efforts. For example, ACT Government’s Environment Division and the Australian Acoustic Observatory will be immediate beneficiaries.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Harnessing social norms to find a socially acceptable energy transition. This project aims to discover the potential of social norms to enable energy-producing communities to explore and define a socially acceptable energy transition. By implementing and evaluating a new social norm change intervention in the Upper Hunter region, this project expects to generate new knowledge about what matters most to communities facing transition, and how norms, identities, and networks interact to enable or constrain change. Outcomes include direct input to energy transition planning, enhanced collaboration with policy and civil society, and new international research networks. This should provide significant benefits by helping Australian communities and policy-makers navigate the local impacts of global energy transition. Field of research: 4408 - Political Science There is a critical and urgent social need for understanding how to best support Australia’s regional communities confronted by global energy transition. Both challenges and opportunities abound. Yet, amidst the conflict and controversy of public debate, little is known about what constitutes a ‘socially acceptable transition’ to the communities most affected. This project will implement and validate new, innovative methods that work with social norms to elicit community perspectives on a socially acceptable energy transition, via in-depth study of the Upper Hunter region. Outcomes include detailed guidance about socially acceptable energy transition planning for the Upper Hunter, with translatable principles for other regions in Australia and globally. The largest regional economy in Australia, the Hunter, will benefit from specific, nuanced, and relevant policy advice. The Australian economy broadly will benefit from innovative approaches to managing the impacts of energy transition.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Un/making homeland: Sinophone literature and Cold War culture in Malaya. This project aims to advance understanding of Cold War culture and decolonisation through Chinese diaspora experience and literature. By unearthing a corpus of underexplored archives, using literary analysis and ethnography, this interdisciplinary project offers the first comprehensive study of Sinophone literature and print culture in Cold War Malaya. Expected outcomes include new knowledge of how Chinese diaspora writers claim subjecthood amidst anti-communist violence in Southeast Asia, which shed light on the complex interplay of geopolitics, literature and identity. This project benefits Australian understanding of Chinese diaspora responses to global superpower rivalry during the ‘old’ Cold War amidst a similar phenomenon today. Field of research: 4705 - Literary Studies What is it like being Chinese in Australia now, in the light of intensifying diplomatic tensions? This project will examine how Chinese people living overseas negotiate their cultural and national identity in their adopted home country. Through an analysis of underexplored archival and oral history literature during the Cold War, the project will examine the various cultural influences on Chinese living abroad. Insights provided will benefit Australian understanding of Chinese migrant responses to global superpower rivalry during the ‘old’ Cold War, which has clear parallels with the situation today. This will be the first comprehensive study of archived Chinese literature and print culture in Cold War Malaya. A visual documentary created as part of this project that is available to the community through public archives, libraries and museums will encourage and promote awareness of the lives and perspectives of overseas Chinese. In the longer term, this knowledge contributes to improved social cohesion and understanding of Chinese migrant communities in Australia.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Rigidity and boundary phenomena for geometric variational problems. The proposed project aims to investigate theoretical properties of thin films and fluid interfaces, which are modelled as surfaces driven by surface tension, possibly in an enclosing container. This project is expected to generate new knowledge in the area of geometric partial differential equations, by utilising new techniques in geometric flows, and by establishing novel methods for boundary value problems. The developed techniques may have far-reaching applications in other areas of mathematical analysis, and the expected results would contribute greatly to the theory of surfaces governed by mean curvature, which arise in various real-world phenomena such as soap bubbles, black hole horizons and bushfire fronts. Field of research: 4904 - Pure Mathematics As a bushfire prone country, Australia relies on its fire control capabilities for limiting widespread destruction. To control fires effectively, authorities need accurate modelling of bushfire fronts – it enables them to identify threats early, issue bushfire warning messages to communities, signal evaluations and initiate fire suppression activity. This project studies the mathematical theory of curves and surfaces, which govern a range of phenomena in science and technology, including the development of a bushfire front. This project will create new theory for the geometry of surfaces which interact with a barrier, such as a bushfire front meeting the coastline, which existing theory and models cannot adequately handle. By developing new techniques and theory, and collaborating with applied mathematicians who work hand-in-hand with industry, the project has the potential to contribute in the long term to Australia’s environmental protection by enabling more sophisticated fire-front modelling.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

How will Pacific climate variability impact Australia in a warming world? Temperature variability in the Pacific Ocean is characterised by El Niño and La Niña (year-to-year variations) and the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (decadal variations). These phenomena are primary drivers of Australian temperature and rainfall. Leveraging new tools and methods, including Single Model Initial-Condition Large Ensembles, this project will investigate drivers of these phenomena, and their impacts on Australia in a warming world. Outcomes include the quantification of how these climate phenomena modulate extreme weather events, and an understanding of how Indian and Atlantic Ocean warming affects the Pacific region. This will improve the prediction of extreme events, which is critical for preparation for their impacts. Field of research: 3702 - Climate Change Science Extreme events (e.g. bushfires, droughts and floods) cost Australia $18.2 billion per year on average and have major societal impacts (e.g loss of homes, health and agriculture impacts). Such extreme events are strongly influenced by temperature variability in the tropical Pacific Ocean that manifests as the climate phenomena El Niño and La Niña (year-to-year timescales) and the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (20-30 year timescales). This project aims to better understand what drives these phenomena and their subsequent impacts on Australia under present and future climate scenarios. This objective aligns directly with the Australian Government Priority Area on improved accuracy and precision in predicting and measuring the impact of environmental changes. Outcomes from this project will improve seasonal predictions of extreme events facilitating more informed decisions for risk management and adaptation from seasonal to multi-decadal timescales. Ultimately this assists the Australian community in preparing for changing impacts in a warming world.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

In one zeptosecond: quantifying energy dissipation in heavy element fusion. This project aims to understand the process of energy dissipation in superheavy element fusion reactions. Using state-of-the art facilities unique to Australia, the first detailed measurements of the crucial early stages of these reactions will be made. This is expected to generate significant fundamental knowledge on why some superheavy element fusion reactions succeed, and why others fail. The outcomes are expected to significantly advance the fundamental understanding of nuclear reactions, and provide key guidance to international opportunities to create new superheavy elements and isotopes. Expected benefits include improving cancer treatments, understanding element abundance in the universe and improved safety in nuclear technologies. Field of research: 5106 - Nuclear and Plasma Physics This project aims to provide the most efficient path to make new chemical elements on Earth. It will do so by examining what happens when atomic nuclei (the cores of atoms) collide and come close enough to touch on the way to making a new element. This project will use equipment and ideas that are unique to Australia. This research aims to significantly improve our knowledge of the collisions of atomic nuclei. This will lead to better cancer treatments and safer energy production. A better understanding of nuclear reactions is also needed for all applications of nuclear science in Australia’s priority areas, such as defence and space exploration. Increasing Australia’s nuclear expertise will help advance our national interests in security, foreign affairs, medicine and future global energy needs.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Forensic genomic toolkit for tracking the illegal wildlife trade. This project aims to analyse the illegal parrot trade by utilising conservation genomic approaches. The project will reveal wildlife trade routes in South-east Asia by developing cutting-edge forensic genomic techniques and criminological methods. Expected outcomes of this project include new field-deployable sequencing technology to provide in-situ genetic information for identifying the taxonomy and provenance of confiscated specimens, and a first ever genetic database of traded wildlife. The project will facilitate important countermeasures to the illegal wildlife trade including confiscation, reintroduction, improved law enforcement, and education for better biodiversity outcomes in our region. Field of research: 4104 - Environmental Management The illegal wildlife trade is a global threat to biodiversity, affecting numerous endangered species in the Australasian region, and an important public health issue as the trade can facilitate the transmission of zoonotic diseases. Better tools are needed to understand the illegal wildlife market including where animals are captured and sold, and to map the trade routes. This project will construct the first ever genetic database of traded wildlife by merging cutting-edge forensic genomic and criminological tools. The genomic methods developed by the project will be low cost, directly applicable to in-situ testing scenarios, and facilitate pro-active countermeasures against the illegal wildlife trade (confiscation, policy, and law enforcement). The outreach plan includes audio-visual communication tools aimed at local people, the wider public, and decision makers, and training for law enforcement authorities. Through this research, Australia will play a leading role in capacity building against the illegal wildlife trade in our region, and in combating the spread of zoonotic diseases.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

A geospatial toolkit to assess community risk to environmental change. This project seeks to strengthen our understanding of the role of environmental change in driving patterns of community risk, by building a spatially and temporally explicit model, and a risk index that will be designed with input from decision makers. This project expects to improve the implementation of geospatial tools for risk assessment using an innovative approach based on evidence and practice. Expected outcomes include increased and optimal implementation of geospatial data in Australian systems, and enhanced research capacity to proactively respond to environmental change. Field of research: 4202 - Epidemiology Global environmental change is an enduring challenge for society. Geospatial models, while well recognized for their significant value in improving decision making and identifying areas for the targeted allocation of resources, are rarely designed with input from stakeholders. This research will systematically examine how short-term variations in heavy rainfall, changes in forest cover, socio-economic factors and health service availability interact to drive patterns of community risk from current and future environmental change. In addition, the study will provide new knowledge on the information needs of decision makers and integrated this quantitative and qualitative information into a risk index developed with end users. Together, this practice-based evidence will inform current practice, and in doing so, unlock the potential for geospatial information to reduce community risk, and protect Australians from the impacts of future environmental change.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Signs on Screen: Language, Culture and Power in Sign Language Cinema. This project aims to discover how contemporary screens represent deafness and how sign language cinema filters Deaf and non-ableist perspectives. Partnering with Deaf Connect and the National Film and Sound Archive, this project expects to provide a transnational, transdisciplinary framework for analysing Deaf language and culture on screen in terms of completeness and empowerment. Expected outcomes include capacity building for emerging Deaf scholars, inclusive innovations in film and language studies and new opportunities for Deaf/hearing dialogue and cohesion. This should lead to diverse benefits such as increased Deaf wellbeing and enhanced capacity to harness screen cultures to support and reflect the diversity of Deaf experience. Field of research: 4702 - Cultural Studies In the Covid era, sign language interpreting is more present on Australian screens than ever, Auslan enrolments are at their highest and Deaf filmmaking has reached a historic peak. Yet Deaf screen culture is little understood, and greater Deaf/hearing cultural cohesion is required in society. Working in collaboration with the National Film and Sound Archive and Deaf Connect, this project will analyse global sign language cinemas to generate new understandings of the diversity of Deaf experience. It will deliver the world’s first collection of sign language film, significantly expanding knowledge about deafness and sign language on screen, and positioning Australia as an international hub for sign representation in culture, art and education. It will boost the social impact of the public screen sector and generate opportunities for Deaf/hearing dialogue. The project has the potential to improve sign education and cultural representation of Deaf communities, and to foster understanding in hearing communities, leading to increased inclusion, cohesion and wellbeing for both Deaf and hearing Australians.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Spectral estimates in the presence of a magnetic field. Estimates on eigenvalues of integral operators are at the core of numerous results in the study of quantum phenomena and in associated mathematical fields. This project aims to establish detailed spectral properties of the integral operators arising in quantum models incorporating magnetic fields. An anticipated goal is the generation of new and significant theoretical results in analysis that will open novel approaches to the use of magnetic differential operators. This is expected to benefit Australian science by invigorating collaboration between mathematics and theoretical physics, by providing research training relevant to emerging quantum science based technology and strengthening research collaborations with world leading scientists. Field of research: 4904 - Pure Mathematics Quantum theory helps us understand the microscopic world of the smallest units of matter. By gaining a better comprehension of how this works, we can radically improve technologies across many platforms, such as solar panels, lasers, microscopes, MRI scanners and mobile devices. This project will advance our mathematical understanding of the conductive properties of quantum materials. In gaining a deeper knowledge of how these materials work, we can learn how to use them to make new and improved technologies. This research will support mathematicians and theoretical physicists to provide a basis for Australia’s quantum technology sector to benefit commercially in the future, through their design of cutting-edge nano-electronic and quantum devices. This will ensure Australia sees a return on its long-standing investment in quantum materials science, and secure its leadership in the quantum technology sector worldwide.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Probing Antarctic Ice Sheet by Correlation Seismology. This project aims to advance research on the internal structure and temporal change in the Antarctic ice sheet by analysing seismic ground motion records of natural sources, including ambient noise. This approach expects to complement existing satellite and airborne methods to resolve glacial structures over large areas and detect changes hidden under snow cover. The intended outcome is new knowledge of the ice sheet’s stratification, its long-term variation due to climate change, and its rapid response to local weather events. The benefits include improving the reliability of ice sheet evolution modelling and sea-level rise prediction, unlocking a polar gateway to study Earth deep interior, and preparing for space missions to icy worlds. Field of research: 3706 - Geophysics Advanced monitoring of the Antarctic ice sheet, a part of Australia's research priority to monitor environmental changes, will play a critical role in environmental sciences in the following decades. This project will deploy and further develop an arsenal of cutting-edge seismological methods, which have proved remarkably successful in monitoring environmental changes elsewhere, to analyse the valuable Antarctic seismic dataset collected via extensive national and international collaborations. It will advance knowledge about the internal structure of the ice sheet and its responses to climate change and short-term weather events. These results will increase the reliability of ice-sheet evolution modelling and related sea-level rise prediction, which will help preparations against the risk of inundation along the Australian coastline in the following decades as ice melts. Further, cutting-edge research in the Antarctic ice sheet will attract public interest, enhance climate change awareness in the Australian community, strengthen the presence of Australia and protect its national interest in the continent.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Comparative genomics to improve conservation planning in Australian deserts. This project aims to locate hotspots of diversity in Australia’s vast, flat deserts and to quantify how well these areas are captured under the National Reserve System. I will establish a network of international and national collaborators and improve knowledge on how animals responded to past environmental change. The anticipated outcome of this project is to improve our ability to understand, measure and preserve our unique desert biodiversity and the evolutionary processes that sustain it, using our remarkably diverse reptile fauna as a model system. In the face of current, rapid environmental change, this has never been more important, and will provide a tool for biodiversity survival. Field of research: 3104 - Evolutionary Biology In the face of rapid environmental change, Australia needs to protect and conserve our animals and plants to ensure their future survival. For this reason, the Australian Government’s 2021-2031 Threatened Species Strategy and Australia’s Strategy for Nature has prioritised the need to identify and protect places that sustain our unique biodiversity. However, we do not know where these important areas are across vast inland Australia - putting a significant and unique portion of Australia’s animals and plants at risk of extinction. Using cutting edge genomics and analysis methods, this project will locate hotspots of genetic diversity, identify how well Australia’s National Reserve System protects it, and highlight opportunities to improve conservation outcomes. By identifying these areas for policy makers and land managers, including Traditional Owners, and supporting them to utilise the findings, the project will equip Australia with the knowledge needed to more accurately and effectively protect its globally unique biodiversity amidst worldwide climate change.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Indigenous mathematical transforms. A class of mathematical transforms, or systematic conversions between related spaces or objects, was practised by some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups. Such transforms from ground to night sky were used in long-distance route-recording and wayfinding techniques. This project aims to elucidate these transforms, and to use this knowledge to extend the mathematical framework and applications of Fourier analysis. There is significant potential for new mathematics to emerge at this exciting interface of Indigenous/non-Indigenous knowledge. Expected outcomes are interdisciplinary research training for Indigenous students and new understanding of Indigenous sciences. Emerging big data technologies such as holography may benefit. Field of research: 4901 - Applied Mathematics Indigenous Australian ancestors developed significant mathematical knowledge to help them understand star songlines and navigate land and sea over long distances. However, this knowledge and its relationship to European approaches is little understood. This project will unify the Indigenous mathematics that produced sophisticated 'star maps' with the European-based mathematics that underpins today’s signal and image analysis. To do so, the project will resolve and quantify the Indigenous methodologies used to code overland routes into the night sky using named stars; trace common origins of European and Australian ideas using statistical methods; and apply this new knowledge to extend mathematical theory and generate new methods for its application in digital pattern analysis. Sharing these insights with communities who will use them for cultural education, the project will benefit Australia’s reconciliation efforts, Indigenous and non-indigenous students’ education about our cultural and scientific heritage, and lead international breakthroughs at the interface of Indigenous and non-Indigenous science.