Australian National University

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Cryogenic Near-Field Imaging and Spectroscopy Facility at the 10-nm-Scale. Cryogenic near-field imaging and spectroscopy impacts a wide range of next-generation technologies including non-invasive medical instruments, wearable devices, communication, quantum information systems and energy storage solutions. This project aims to build a cryogenic near-field imaging and spectroscopy platform at the nanometre scale for characterising nanomaterials and micro/nano-scale devices. The facility expects to provide rich and unique characterisation capabilities for hybrid devices at low temperatures and in a high vacuum environment. Such a platform enables multidisciplinary collaborations alongside local design and construction of hybrid devices, advancing the growth of local high-technology industries. Field of research: 4018 - Nanotechnology Australia competes globally in a range of critical sectors for our economy, from energy conversion and smart sensing to medical diagnosis and communications. However, to ensure they remain competitive in future will require innovation based on research using highly sophisticated imaging and spectroscopy capabilities, which Australia does not currently possess. This project addresses this problem: it will establish the first national facility with nanoscale high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy working from room temperature down to very low temperatures. The facility will allow scientists and engineers to develop superior sensors with high sensitivities, efficiencies and low costs for industry. Through application in new devices, our imaging capability will allow Australian manufacturers and designers to make and exploit novel materials, advanced light sources, and medical technology. This will help Australia lift productivity and economic growth in these sectors, maximising Australia’s competitive advantage in smart sensing, information processing, communications, energy conversion, and medical devices.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Expanded Horizons for the Anglo-Australian Telescope. This project aims to expand the capabilities of the Anglo-Australian Telescope’s two most demanded instruments: the internationally unique Two-degree-Field fibre positioner, and the recently installed Veloce exoplanet finder. Telescopes thrive or wither on the quality of the instruments that are installed on them, and regular refreshes like these are required for them to stay at the cutting edge. The expected outcomes of this project are more and better quality data from more reliable instruments, and higher scientific productivity. Benefits include new research opportunities for local scientists and students, new international partners for the telescope, enhanced international collaboration, and a secure future for the telescope. Field of research: 5101 - Astronomical Sciences Located in rural Australia, the Anglo-Australian Telescope has – for almost half a century – produced breakthrough scientific discoveries that have captured the imagination of the Australian public. It has become a mainstay of the local economy, supporting an ever growing astro-tourism industry of which the “tent-pole” is Australia’s largest optical telescope. However, it needs regular upgrades to continue doing cutting-edge science. Without regular refreshes, scientific interest in using the telescope will wane, funding will dry up, and the telescope will eventually close. This project will upgrade the telescope’s two most sought after instruments: the unique and world-famous Two-degree-Field fibre positioner, and the Veloce exoplanet finder. The outcomes will be more efficient operations, higher productivity, greater demand from paying users, and a secure future for the telescope. With a secure future, the telescope can continue serving as a beacon of inspiration for aspiring scientists, and as a technological marvel for people who travel to the region from across Australia and the world to view it.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Explosive Astrophysics from Siding Spring Observatory. This project aims to link telescopes at Siding Spring Observatory into a fully automated network that can discover and investigate explosive astronomical events. By linking these telescopes to one another, it will be possible to study these transitory events in great detail soon after they occur and before they fade away forever. The expected outcomes include a deeper understanding into what explodes, the mechanisms that lead to the explosions, and how these explosions shape their surroundings. This project will connect this network into similar networks that are now being assembled in other parts of the world, and allow participation by Australian astronomers in what will be a golden age in the study of explosive astronomical transients. Field of research: 5101 - Astronomical Sciences Despite Australia’s favourable geographical location and access to advanced astronomical facilities based here, Australia lacks a strategy that will enable it to play a significant role in what will be a golden age of astronomical discovery that will commence when the revolutionary Legacy Survey of Space and Time starts to discover millions of explosive astronomical events in 2024. By uniting astronomers from all over Australia, this project will develop a network of automated telescopes that can both discover and follow-up these explosive events at short notice and without human intervention. The project will lead to a better understanding of what explodes, the physics behind the explosions, and the impact these explosions have on their surroundings, including the potential to impact life on Earth. It may uncover sources that are as yet unknown to science. This project will stimulate the imagination of general public, inspire our brightest minds to take up careers in science and technology, and result in transferable skills that can contribute to key areas such as cybersecurity, health, and manufacturing.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

National Facility for Electricity Grid Security and Resilience Research. This project aims to build a National Electricity Grid Security and Resilience Facility to investigate new and emerging security threats in large-scale industrial control systems. The Facility should provide a rich and unique characterisation capability of large-scale industrial control systems operated within electricity grids, generating new innovative and interdisciplinary knowledge across the fields of control, security, and power systems. This strategic facility will give researchers a significant advantage in the development of new methods for the secure operation of industrial control systems and approaches to counteract cyber threats, providing substantial benefits for critical electrical infrastructure and national security. Field of research: 4007 - Control Engineering, Mechatronics and Robotics The aim of this proposal is to establish a national electricity grid security and resilience facility to enable the development of new robust and secure industrial controllers designed to operate legacy and emerging grid infrastructure arising from the modern power grid. Critical questions on electrical power systems cannot be answered because of limited publicly available datasets and analysis platforms on the interaction of cyber-physical systems. The proposed facility will provide new information on the interaction of advanced cyberattack vectors, information and communication technology, operation technology, electromagnetic transient behaviour, and quasi-steady-state operations, accelerating research programs at the intersection of resilience, cyber, and the physics of the power grid. The proposed facility will enable large-scale industrial control systems to be better engineered for improved robustness and resilience against cybersecurity threats, providing substantial benefits for the economy and society by reducing the risk of power blackouts, thus increasing Australia's national security.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Australian Membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program 2023-24. This proposal is for a 2 year membership of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), the world’s largest collaborative research program in Earth and ocean sciences. IODP membership delivers access to global-ranging research infrastructure that provides unique enabling capabilities to explore, sample and monitor geological and biological activity deep beneath the seafloor. The IODP facilitates research into past global environmental change on multiple time scales, the deep biosphere, plate tectonics, formation and distribution of resources, and generation of hazards. This research addresses multiple national science and research priorities, and underpins future societal and economic prosperity. Field of research: 3705 - Geology Australia's oceans contribute to quality of life and economic prosperity in many ways - tourism, fisheries, resources, and recreation. Our challenge is to sustainably access these benefits into the future despite economic and existential threats linked to warming, rising sea levels, earthquakes, and tsunamis. To develop this capability, Australia needs a deeper understanding of the environmental and geological processes that affect our oceans and seafloor environments, which requires access to samples of sediments, rocks, fluids, and microbes from deep below the seafloor. Our project aims to secure this access through continued membership of the globally unique International Ocean Discovery Program. This will benefit Australia by improving its capacity to mitigate, and adapt to, the impacts of environmental and geological processes on Australia’s coasts and marine resources, and by detailing the formation processes and distribution of critical resources for the present and the future.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

A cryogenic multifunctional multiscale material characterisation facility . This proposal aims to establish a world-class cryogenic characterisation facility for materials science and emerging technologies. This will allow the direct observation and measurement of various material physical characteristics under one or more simultaneous external stimuli (electric, magnetic, optic, mechanic and thermal fields) at different length scales and at or below-room temperature. Outcomes from this project will advance cryogenic materials science and facilitate the discovery of new cryogenic functional materials and technologies in the fields of energy, quantum technology, biomedical engineering and electronics, directly benefiting National Priority Manufacturing areas in resource, energy, national security, defence and space. Field of research: 4016 - Materials Engineering With growing domestic and global security threats, Australia’s defence and intelligence sectors need sophisticated security and communication technology to identify and prevent them, and keep Australians safe. This relies on their use of smart devices which harness the power of materials with unique low temperature properties, such as computers that handle massive amounts of data at high-speeds while protecting information and communication. However, Australia currently lacks the manufacturing capability to exploit these materials. This project fills this gap with a novel, world-class facility that maps the micro properties of materials under a strong magnetic/electric field at low temperature. By generating the scientific breakthroughs in materials science technology that enables manufacturers to design smart devices, this facility will contribute to enhancing Australia’s manufacturing capability and global competitiveness in energy, information and communication sectors, supplying our defence and intelligence sectors with the technology needed for Australia’s future national security.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Revealing the impacts of super-charged photosynthesis on leaf respiration. This project aims to use state-of-the-art technologies to develop a novel framework that links a super-charged version of photosynthesis (known as C4 photosynthesis) to changes in nocturnal leaf respiration. A quarter of global land photosynthesis occurs in C4 plants that include several important cereal crops. Although advances have been made in modelling C4 photosynthesis, these advances are unable to model variations in nocturnal respiration. Expected outcomes include equations that predict respiration in C4 plants growing in current/future climates. Benefits to include knowledge needed to engineer faster-growing crops and providing climate modelers the ability to more accurately predict carbon exchange in C4-dominated ecosystems. Field of research: 3004 - Crop and Pasture Production To predict the impacts of climate change on productivity of crops and native vegetation in northern Australia, we need to be able to model plant-atmosphere carbon exchange by two metabolic processes in leaves: daytime photosynthesis and nocturnal respiratory carbon release. However, in contrast to photosynthesis, our ability to model nocturnal leaf respiration is limited, particularly in northern Australian crops (e.g. sugarcane, sorghum) and native grasses that use a supercharged form of photosynthesis. The proposed research will use state-of-the-art technologies to understand how this supercharged type of photosynthesis alters carbon release by leaf respiration, both in current and future climate regimes. In doing so, the research will help accelerate development of new crops that are more tolerant of dry, hot conditions, with associated socio-economic and environmental benefits for cropping communities. The research will also provide the tools modellers need to predict how future changes in Australia’s climate will affect the growth of plants in tropical and sub-tropical regions of northern Australia.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Exciton-mediated room-temperature superconductivity . Superconductivity is the ability of an electronic material to conduct electrical current without resistance. This property underpins many existing and proposed technological applications, ranging from medical imaging to low-energy electronics and quantum computing. In this project, we aim to demonstrate a highly unconventional route towards superconductivity at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, by exploiting collective behaviour of excitons (electron-hole pairs in a semiconductor) strongly coupled to photons. This research should help to overcome the biggest challenge for the widespread applications of superconductors: the very low temperature or extreme pressure that the superconducting materials need to function. Field of research: 5104 - Condensed Matter Physics Energy affordability is a serious challenge both for Australia and globally. Electronic devices that consume energy in Australian households and businesses rely on materials that carry electricity. ‘Superconducting’ materials carry electricity without wasting energy, which could enable lower-energy technologies. Superconductors are already used in advanced technologies, such as next-generation computing and medical imaging and have the potential to revolutionise energy storage and transport. However, they only work at very low temperatures or extreme pressures which makes further technology development difficult, and manufacturing expensive. Addressing these barriers, this project will focus on fabricating complex structures of novel, one-atom-thin electronic materials and exposing them to light with the aim to make room-temperature superconductivity possible. The knowledge and techniques created will be actively shared with industry to enable future development of energy-efficient, low-cost electronics that could reduce Australians’ energy consumption and costs.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Judicial Loyalties and Resistance in Southeast Asia. This project is designed to stimulate new insights, for both theory and practice, into how courts in Southeast Asia are responding to growing politicization, interference by other branches, and political backlash. The study will advance understanding of the rule of law, democratic governance, and judicial politics and launch a new database on how high court justices defend judicial institutions and constitutional practice. The findings should help both academics and policymakers to better understand how political, social, and ideational networks of judges can affect the ability of courts to resist threats to constitutional democracy as they arise. Field of research: 4408 - Political Science Growing political backlash, politicisation, and court interference are undermining judicial systems in Southeast Asia. This threatens Australia’s commercial interests and long-standing commitment to democracy in the region by eroding the independence of courts. By studying controversial cases, this project will reveal how judges decide to uphold the law or succumb to undue influence. It will produce the first regional high court database with socio-biographic data on high court judges and how they voted in high-profile cases. The creation of these publicly accessible data sets will provide policymakers with actionable evidence on judges, practices, and trends in Southeast Asia to strengthen legal institutions. By sharing insights with the Australian government and conducting workshops with judges and scholars in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, the project protects Australia’s strategic interests and builds networks of advocates for legal reform in the neighbourhood. The project thus strengthens Australia’s capacity to support democratic governance and rules-based order.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Fast Precision Robust Control of Resonant Flexible Systems. The project aims to produce new control system design tools to enable fast precision control of advanced engineering systems encorporating flexible structures. This should enable improved speed and accuracy in control systems for precision instruments such as atomic force microscopes along with improving control system performance in areas of precision engineering such as semiconductor manufacturing, robotics and microelectromechanical systems. The outcomes are expected to be new control system synthesis and modelling tools enabling fast and highly accurate control of industrial systems using nonlinear and switching elements and achieving high levels of robustness. This will benefit Australian precision manufacturing industries. Field of research: 4007 - Control Engineering, Mechatronics and Robotics Australia’s precision industries carry significant responsibility to produce products and technology that require highly accurate components or require exact precision in their use, such as medical technology. One of the challenges manufacturers face relates to vibrations caused during operation of precision devices, which can limit the accuracy required. Poor accuracy has any number of possible consequences depending on the product such as a missed medical diagnosis. This project addresses this problem by designing highly accurate feedback control systems. Our feedback control methods will reduce these vibrations to enable more accurate and reliable position of ‘wafers’ that are inserted in computer chips during the manufacturing process. They will also be applied to the vibrations in microscopes to produce more detailed and reliable images. These outcomes will enable precision device manufacturers to achieve greater precision with their products and technology, which in turn will improve the quality and safety of such devices for Australian consumers.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Integrating theory and data to model evolution under a changing climate. This project aims to develop an innovative approach that integrates diverse data sources, from genetic sequences to geographic distributions, to improve inference of evolutionary dynamics. This will provide a powerful and efficient new method for understanding species’ responses to climate change, demonstrated by inferring past, current and future climate adaptability in a diverse and ecologically important Australian plant family. Expected outcomes include enrichment of evolutionary theory and software tools to assess species' vulnerability to climate change. These outcomes will bring significant benefits to improve knowledge and protection of Australian biota and maximise returns on Australia's investment in biodiversity databases. Field of research: 3104 - Evolutionary Biology How resilient will our iconic Australian flora be to changing climate and shifting environmental extremes? Australia has invested in biodiversity data services, but to maximise the utility of our data resources for the benefit of conservation planning and environmental management, we need innovative and efficient ways to analyse these data. Falling within the "Environmental Change" research priority area, this project will develop new tools that integrate data from genes, fossils, species traits, distribution maps and climate models to characterise the adaptability of biological species to changing climate. This will provide conservation biologists, environmental consultants, and policy makers with more reliable and efficient software to identify the most vulnerable species under climate change. This project will demonstrate the usefulness of the software by reconstructing the past evolution, assessing the current climatic adaptability and predicting the future of the culturally and ecologically important Australian plant family Proteaceae, which includes such iconic groups as Banksia, Grevillea and Hakea.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Dynamic evolution of mutation rates: causes and impacts on genomic analysis. This project aims to illuminate the role of variation in mutation rate in driving evolutionary change. Mutation rate is a core parameter in evolutionary analyses in essential applications including epidemiology, conservation and medicine, yet remains a “black box” given arbitrary universal values. This project will take a whole-of-biodiversity approach to understanding the forces shaping mutation rate, impact on evolution of biodiversity and effect on accuracy and precision of phylogenetic analyses. Using Australian case studies, the expected outcome of this project will be a greater understanding variation in mutation rate between species, providing significant benefits in developing more sophisticated and reliable phylogenetic analyses. Field of research: 3104 - Evolutionary Biology Policy makers and researchers are increasingly relying on DNA analysis to understand biodiversity, including planning for the survival of Australia’s unique plants and animals under climate change. These analytical approaches rely on understanding the way that DNA changes over time. Understanding DNA evolution has real world consequences in planning for the future because it can influence decisions about conservation priorities. This project addresses this problem by increasing our understanding of how the rate of change in DNA varies between species, which is an essential component of analytical methods. Our new approach will give Australian scientists and software developers new ways to test and improve their analytical methods and make it possible for them to improve the accuracy of DNA analyses. Understanding DNA change will in turn allow scientists to build better methods to track changes in biodiversity and plan for the effects of climate change, thereby improving the effectiveness of protection measures for Australia’s unique biodiversity into the future.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Star Formation Through Cosmic Time. This project aims to determine how turbulence and magnetic fields control the formation of stars. This is crucial to understand the formation of galaxies, planets and ultimately life. The expected outcomes are the most detailed simulations of star formation in the early Universe and in galaxies today. This project has the potential to transform our understanding of cosmic structure formation, providing crucial input for Australian and international facilities and surveys, and models of galaxy, star and planet formation. Training Australia's future generation of Big Data analysts, as well as the development of interdisciplinary tools involving Chemical Modelling, Plasma Physics, Statistics and High Performance Computing are key benefits. Field of research: 5101 - Astronomical Sciences The Australian Academy of Science's Decadal Plan for astronomy stresses the need for infrastructure and research workforce investment to power Australia's leadership in international space research. The Plan identifies areas where Australia can make its greatest 'world-leading contributions'. Our understanding of stars is central to this national research agenda: stars produce the light and chemical elements necessary for planets to form and life to exist. However, the origin of stars is still unknown. Here we will make the most detailed predictions of star formation, advancing Australian-led research into gas/fluid dynamics, radiation, and chemistry. Through application of this fundamental research to chemical modelling, high-performance computing and plasma physics, the project will support industry to adopt new methods in areas of signals analysis in defence to pollution tracking in our air and oceans. These applications will benefit Australians in areas of national security and environmental conservation, and Australia through global leadership in international astronomical discovery.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Feature Learning for High-dimensional Functional Time Series. This project aims to develop new methods and theories for common features on high-dimensional functional time series observed in empirical applications. The significance includes addressing a key gap in adaptive and efficient feature learning, improving forecasting accuracy and understanding forecasting-driven factors comprehensively for empirical data. Expected outcomes involve advances in big data theory and easy-to-implement algorithms for applied researchers. This project benefits not only advanced manufacturing by finding optimal stopping time for wood panel compression, but also superior forecasting for mortality in demography, climate data in environmental science, asset returns in finance, and electricity consumption in economics. Field of research: 4905 - Statistics Australia’s life insurance, superannuation and pension funds industries carry significant responsibility for the financial wellbeing of Australians. Managing this responsibility and financial risk depends on accurately pricing consumers’ insurance premiums. To set those premiums, the industry analyses data to make predictions about individual mortality, yet technological advances have produced unprecedented volumes and sources of possible data to choose from and merge. This makes life expectancy forecasting and premium-setting potentially inaccurate. This project will develop new theories, methodologies and algorithms that account for complexities in merged big datasets to improve the accuracy of predictions. Translated into a purpose-built open access software program coupled with industry practitioner training, our research will build industry’s capacity to use these new methodologies leading to improvements in mortality forecasts and pricing of life insurance premiums for everyday Australians, as well as stronger financial risk management among some of Australia’s most critical financial industries.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Hybridisation leading to lost sex: genomic and experimental insights. The project intends to apply advanced genomics to two classic Australian systems and quantitative genetics to one to address long-standing questions about why asexual reproduction is rare. It aims to test for rapid changes in genomes accompanying hybrid-origins of asexuals and whether this new diversity enables their ongoing evolution. The significance is that support for this hypothesis would challenge current theory for why sex is so common. The expected outcome is to understand how variation is generated in natural populations with different ways of reproducing. Benefits would include significant contributions to global science, evolutionary training and potential applications in using hybridisation to manage threatened species or pests. Field of research: 3104 - Evolutionary Biology In Australian deserts, several animals and plants reproduce without sex even though this mode of reproduction is extremely rare. This study seeks to understand why, using two unique systems, a lizard and a grasshopper which both exhibit asexual (all-female) reproduction that developed millenia ago when pairs of sexual species hybridised. Sex provides a way for species to generate the genetic variation needed to adapt to changing environments, yet the Australian desert species lacking sex are highly successful. So how do they do it? The project applies new tools from genomics with experimental crosses to assess their genetic diversity and understand how they evolve. Results will challenge long held theory about benefits of sex, bolstering Australia’s global reputation in evolutionary biology. The project includes a symposium on sex and biodiversity for the public, and the results will inform use of hybridisation as a tool in conservation and for control of pest species.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Deciphering ion specificity in complex electrolytes . This project aims to understand how ions influence the behaviour and properties of complex electrolytes (solutions containing either multiple ions, solvent mixtures, high electrolyte concentrations or a variety of interfaces, solutes or polymers). Complex electrolytes are ubiquitous in colloidal and particle technologies and underpin industrial and natural processes. Our team will combine experiment, simulation and theory to deliver a universal framework for understanding and predicting specific ion effects in complex electrolytes. The project outcomes are expected to deliver new understanding for researchers, robust rules of thumb for technologists and a public resource for data-driven solutions in applications utilising salt solutions. Field of research: 3406 - Physical Chemistry Key sectors of Australia’s economy such as medicine and mining rely on salt solutions for the products they produce for everyday consumer use such as batteries. However, their ability to optimise salt solutions in manufacturing processes is hampered by currently limited understanding of salt solutions and how to use them for best effect. Our project addresses this problem by developing a predictive framework for salt properties that makes optimisation of them possible. We will create an extensive database of the behaviours of salt solutions along with guidelines for industry to understand them. Australian industries can then use the database to accelerate product and technology developments that depend on the optimisation of salt solutions. Australian medical and mining industries will benefit directly through their creation of new technologies that support their competitive advantage in the preparation of medicines and processing of critical minerals such as those needed in smartphones and lasers.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Languages of Barrier Islands, Sumatra: Description, History and Typology. This project aims to investigate endangered languages of the Asia-Pacific via four undocumented languages in the Barrier Islands, Indonesia. New knowledge will be generated into the languages, cultures and societies of the region on an unprecedented scale, and be made freely available to the public. New data will uncover past migration patterns in Southeast Asia, advance language theory (such as linguistic typology and language change), and support the computational modelling of Austronesian for future language technologies. Connections with Indonesian institutions will strengthen Australia’s regional engagement, and support language revitalisation and maintenance among minority communities for the preservation of their culture and history. Field of research: 4704 - Linguistics Indonesia is one of Australia’s most important regional neighbours, but a lack of understanding of its language, culture and history holds back our people-to-people relationships. This project will address this need by partnering an international team of language experts with Indonesian locals to carry out the world’s first detailed investigation of four little-understood languages and cultural history in Indonesia’s Barrier Islands near Australia's Christmas Island. In doing so, this research will uncover new insights on ancient trading routes between Australia and Southeast Asia. The project will produce a publicly accessible database that showcases the language, culture and history of these communities. Through public workshops, we will promote the database among different stakeholders in Australia to increase awareness as well as support Australian community engagement activities. The use of this database by the public, diplomats and policymakers will benefit Australians interested in the cultural diversity and history of our region and enhance Australia’s diplomatic ties with Indonesia.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Resonator-enhanced quantum levitation of macroscopic systems. This project aims to develop advanced technologies to optically levitate macroscopic (millimetre-sized) objects and nanoscopic (atomically thin) materials. Levitation platforms built by the investigatory team are based on the resonantly amplified radiation pressure of laser beams. This new type of optical levitation can provide ultimate isolation of the systems from external noise, making them extremely responsive to subtle environmental changes. These platforms could be turned into sharp instruments for measuring metrological variables of interest and probing new physics. Quantum optical techniques could be developed to optimise the sensitivity of levitated systems to levels that allow the exploration of quantum and gravitational physics. Field of research: 5108 - Quantum Physics Australia is rich in natural resources but also ecologically vulnerable and drought prone. To govern our resources sustainably, Australia needs to develop precision sensing capabilities that do not yet exist. These capabilities would help industry and government to extract geological information that makes it possible to capitalise on the full potential of untapped mineral resources while protecting our underground water reserves. One promising method to develop precision sensing capability is called ‘optical levitation’, which uses lasers to lift a sensor from its mechanical support. By doing so, we will design and produce technology that probes the environment at a world-first level of resolution. This technology will enable monitoring of water resources and exploration of mineral deposits with unprecedented sensitivity. These capabilities and technical expertise are of great interest to environmental and defence agencies, mining companies, and emergency services to develop to ensure the longevity and environmental sustainability of Australia’s natural resource economy into the future.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Reliable and accurate statistical solutions for modern complex data. This project aims to develop novel methods for reliable and accurate statistical modelling with modern, complex correlated and error-prone data. The project expects to make significant strides towards future-proofing statistical data analysis, equipping practitioners with a suite of robust and computationally efficient methods which provide confidence in the stability and reproducibility of results obtained, while offering guarantees on their transferability over a range of populations. This will provide important benefits as they are applied in predicting endangered marine species for fisheries conservation, and in enhancing our national understanding of the relationship between education achievement and financial success. Field of research: 4905 - Statistics The Australian Government directly manages a large amount of Australia’s fisheries resources - close to a third of the total value of national fish production. The ecological and economic sustainability of its fisheries practices are therefore of great importance to the nation. Statistical science can play an important role in meeting these twin priorities, yet Australia has a widespread skills shortage in this area, making it difficult for agencies to adopt new statistical technologies and techniques. This project will develop cutting-edge statistical theories and techniques for robust and accurate data analysis, ensuring that reliable, reproducible conclusions can be drawn from datasets of varying size and complexity. Translated into software and shared via collaboration and training with domain experts and government personnel, the project will support the existing workforce to upskill and accelerate technology adoption. Their application of our techniques will contribute to improvements in both the protection of Australia’s endangered marine populations and its contribution to the Australian economy.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Connecting ocean tides to the large-scale ocean circulation. This project aims to investigate the impact of tides on the ocean circulation and future climate change by combining new theory with next-generation numerical ocean models. The expected outcomes include ocean model configurations that will improve estimates of key processes affected by tides, such as Antarctic ice shelf melt rates, ocean warming and the ocean's overturning circulation. The project is thus anticipated to provide significant benefits in predicting future climate change, sea level rise, coastal erosion and marine heatwaves. Furthermore, it will enable the Australian and global communities to better target conservation and mitigation efforts, and thus reduce the environmental, social and economic impact of climate change. Field of research: 3708 - Oceanography Climate projections and ocean forecasting are critical for a range of Australian industries – from tourism and shipping to resources and seafood. They also underpin government resource planning on climate change. However, Australia’s climate modelling capabilities are currently limited: they do not include the significant effect of ocean tides in the models used for forecasting and climate projections. This project will develop theoretical descriptions of tidal processes and integrate this knowledge into Australia's next-generation ocean and climate modelling platform. This new platform will be used by the Bureau of Meteorology, Australian Antarctic Division, CSIRO, and the Department of Defence in their operational forecasting. Through the use of the platform by these national agencies, this project will contribute to improving Australia's sovereign capability to conduct high accuracy ocean forecasting and climate projections, its climate change planning capacity, and benefit our tourism, shipping, resources and seafood industries.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Political Representation in Indonesia. The project aims to understand political representation in Indonesia, asking how far politicians resemble voters in both their policy views and backgrounds (gender, religion, education etc.) It will generate new knowledge on a major potential source of fragility in the world’s third largest democracy, and pioneer a new multi-method approach for explaining how representation varies. Expected outcomes include a new framework that extends analysis of representation to illiberal democracies, and a tranche of public data on Indonesia for cross-national comparisons. Benefits will include a new set of analytical tools to help policy makers in Australia and the region assess sources of weakness in representative institutions in illiberal settings. Field of research: 4408 - Political Science Australia is deeply invested in the prosperity and stability of Southeast Asia. Yet, growing threats to democracy undermine regional stability. Against this backdrop, the project provides an in-depth study of how the region's power-holders operate, their policy priorities, and attitudes to democracy. It examines elected politicians in Indonesia, a major democratic power and Australia’s most strategic regional partner, and will be the first comprehensive study of elites and democratic representation in Southeast Asia. The study will produce new knowledge on the attitudes and behaviours of regional leaders, providing a foundation for sound foreign policy, aid, and investment decisions. The project’s focus on political representation and democracy also serves Australia's objective of supporting a stable, liberal regional environment in which both Australian and regional citizens can prosper. This project gives government and development practitioners new knowledge on political power-holders in our region, and provides them with innovative analytical tools to assess the fragility and strength of representative institutions in illiberal democratic settings. To achieve policy relevance, project leaders will activate their links with policy-makers and practitioners through each stage of the project.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

A systemic environmental impact metric for companies and investors. Environmental-Social-Governance (ESG) metrics are marketed as measures of environmental performance, but they often track exposure to environmental risk rather than generation of environmental impacts. This project aims to develop and test a science-based, systemic environmental impact score for corporate activities. Expected outcomes include new knowledge of cross-scale interactions in the Earth system and tools to assess a business or investment’s systemic environmental impacts from activities including water extraction, deforestation and carbon emissions. These outcomes should provide benefits including improved business decision-making on impact mitigation, environmental quality, productivity and corporate environmental reputation. Field of research: 4104 - Environmental Management Current environmental impact scores neither accurately capture these impacts nor score them with respect to safe environmental limits. Consequently, business and investment decisions occur without appropriate information on the environmental consequences of these decisions. This project aims to quantify the environmental impacts of activities such as greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and water extraction, with an expected outcome of an environmental impact score that accounts for regional environmental impacts, connectivity between environmental processes across the planet, and safe environmental limits. This impact score is expected to benefit Australian industries by providing tools to assess their systemic environmental impacts and identify opportunities to mitigate these impacts. Corporate and investment decisions made using the score will positively impact Australia by mitigating degradation of the many benefits our environmental systems provide. The project establishes adoption pathways through partnerships with industry bodies and by specific companies acting as cases to test the impact score.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Space for Australia on the periodic table: creating new superheavy elements. This project aims to apply innovative methods developed in Australia to determine the optimal nuclear fusion reactions to synthesise new superheavy elements. As part of a major international collaboration aiming to discover elements 119 and 120, the project leverages our new conceptual approach, unique detector instrumentation and Australia's Heavy Ion Accelerator Facility. Anticipated outcomes include the first direct Australian contribution to the discovery of new elements, improved understanding of nuclear fusion and fission at the limits of nuclear existence, tests of our new theoretical approach to energy dissipation in many-body quantum systems, strengthened international links, and top-level nuclear science and accelerator training. Field of research: 5106 - Nuclear and Plasma Physics Technologies based on nuclear and accelerator science are rapidly expanding in Australia and worldwide. These are found in areas of critical national interest such as cancer treatment and energy generation. Yet the underlying models of nuclear processes are incomplete. Further, in nuclear and accelerator science, Australia’s workforce is five times smaller per capita than other advanced economies. Addressing both these limitations is important for Australia to be globally competitive. This project will contribute to a major international effort to create new, undiscovered chemical elements, leading to better nuclear models. Using Australia’s own accelerator facility, we will contribute our unique detectors and new ultra-sensitive experiments. These will help to improve understanding of the nuclear fission process, allowing more efficient and safer nuclear energy technology in the future. By generating both the fundamental science, and local expertise to train the high-tech workforce needed, this project will help Australia to maximise the economic and industrial benefits offered by these technologies.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Relativistic Particles in Star-Forming Galaxies. This project aims to understand how galactic evolution is shaped by the relativistic particles known as cosmic rays that fill interstellar space. We understand only poorly how cosmic rays interact with non-relativistic interstellar matter, which in turn limits our understanding of how they affect galaxies. The project seeks to resolve this question by calculating how cosmic ray-matter interaction gives rise to light and neutrinos that we can observe using current and future telescopes, enabling us to use observations from these telescopes to solve the problem of cosmic ray-matter interaction. This would resolve the question of how cosmic rays shape galaxy evolution, and thus represent a substantial advance in the theory of galaxy formation. Field of research: 5101 - Astronomical Sciences The Australian Government has invested $100m in an international collaboration to build two international next-generation astronomical observatories, the Square Kilometer Array and the Cherenkov Telescope Array. Building these facilities is providing work for Australian industry and supporting a significant number of local jobs. However, our ongoing participation requires that we advance the observatories’ scientific goals, one of which is to understand cosmic rays – high energy particles from space that were discovered to be bombarding the Earth in 1912 and whose nature is still not fully understood. This project will provide our international partners with models and software tools to help them interpret the measurements made by these new observatories. This will also provide training in fundamental research techniques that will prepare students for careers in a wide range of private- and public-sector professions that rely on mathematical and computer modelling, and where demand for skills is high. Students and postdocs trained by this project will be well-equipped for roles in areas such as data science, financial modelling, and aerospace and defence applications. By making this contribution, our project will help fulfil Australia’s scientific commitments to the observatories and ensure their ongoing successful operation. It will also boost Australia’s international reputation in science and increase our opportunities to participate in future international scientific collaborations.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Challenging colonialism: Australians who helped us embrace human equality. This project aims to investigate how ten influential Australian thinkers, writers and activists helped the nation to embrace human equality in the mid-twentieth century, by tracing how challenges to colonialism and racial inequality circulated. It expects to produce new knowledge about decolonisation in a settler-state and is methodologically innovative in using group biography to follow how ideas spread outwards via networks. Expected outcomes include developed understanding of how activists and groups successfully explained human rights and equality to mainstream Australia. Benefits should include new insight into how ideas of equality eroded cultural acceptance of White Australia and Australians reconceptualised their society as diverse. Field of research: 4303 - Historical Studies Between the 1940s-1960s, Australia shifted from the White Australia policy to prohibiting discrimination, giving Indigenous people equal rights, and opening up immigration. While it is a critical time in Australian history, there is limited understanding of just how this progress occurred, and the role and influence of a tight network of activists and intellectuals who fought for this change. This project uses group biography, a way of documenting shared experiences and thoughts, to trace how ideas of human rights and equality gained ground during this time. It delivers the untold stories of how the connections between ten influential thinkers and activists not only challenged social relationships based on racial inequality, but also changed popular thinking. Through widely accessible podcasts, blogs and public lectures, the Australian community will gain critical insights from this project into Australia’s history that will help to inform and guide public and private debates around future constitutional change, and in turn, support national aspirations for racial equality and community social cohesion.