Australian National University

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Future fables: literature, evolution and artificial intelligence. The future of AI is a site of considerable philosophical and cultural anxiety in the West. Given the future of AI is currently only available to publics through literary or fictional tropes, it is vital that we investigate the historical evolution of these literary or fictional tropes of AI to understand its future direction. This project aims to understand (1) how the post-Darwinian literary imagination has shaped our current anxieties about AI and (2) how literary and scientific writers after Darwin rethink the future of the human species by imagining the co-evolution of humans, animals and machines. Expected outcomes of the project include conceptual resources to understand the human-nonhuman relation and the future of AI. Field of research: 2005 - Literary Studies The project delivers national benefit by putting current anxieties that machines will usurp human employment and autonomy into historical perspective. Literature is a vital but missing voice in the current discourse about how societies may evolve with the advent of AI. This project will broaden the debate about AI in both the Australian and international communities by demonstrating that an array of Australian and international literary writers shapes how we conceptualise and implement AI technology. It will contribute to the international renown of Australian scholarship in literary studies by producing the first literary prehistory of AI that examines the evolution of the literary imagination from the 19th to the 21st century. It will contribute to productive engagement between the Arts and Sciences in Australia by showing how literary representations of the human-machine interaction impact AI research and current theoretical debates about what it means to be human. Further, it will enhance our capacity to better understand and negotiate the unique and evolving place of AI in Australian society.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Growing up to be supersonic: bat echolocation origins and mechanics. This project aims to address the unresolved evolutionary origins of bat echolocation. Using a unique combination of development, evolution and novel engineering testing, this project expects to generate new insights into how features of the skull have evolved to allow bats to use their senses to interact with the environment. Expected outcomes include the identification of skull features that are unique to echolocating bats and tests of how these relate to the frequency and detection range of sounds produced. Benefits include improved conservation planning for urban and rural bat populations, and potential commercial advances through engineering applications that mimic the biological process of echolocation. Field of research: 0603 - Evolutionary Biology This project will provide a much-needed developmental and functional perspective on the origins of bat echolocation and the tools necessary to apply this knowledge to interpret how bats have evolved to interact with their environment. The novel methods developed here will generate new insights into the most extreme sensory adaptations seen in mammals and will identify morphological features that reflect adaptation to habitat structure. Bats are important contributors to ecosystem health (e.g. pollination) and human health (e.g. carriers of viruses), comprising 25% of Australia’s mammal fauna. The results will improve the accuracy of conservation and management assessments for urban-dwelling and wild bat populations by removing the need to rely on traditional field survey data, which are known for only a handful of species. The novel insights into how bats modify sound have potential to yield benefits via commercial advances in engineering applications that mimic the biological process of echolocation: the astounding sensory capabilities of bats are not yet matched by engineering systems.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Declarative Networks: Towards Robust and Explainable Deep Learning. The aim of this project is to develop declarative machine learning techniques that exploit inherent structure and models of the world. Deep learning has become the dominant approach for machine learning with many products and promises built on this technology. But deep learning is expensive, opaque, brittle and relies solely on human labelled data. This project intends to make deep learning more reliable by establishing theory and algorithms that allow physical and mathematical models to be embedded within a deep learning framework, providing performance guarantees and interpretability. This would likely benefit machine learning based products that can understand the world and interact with humans naturally through vision and language. Field of research: 0801 - Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing Artificial intelligence (AI), in particular deep learning, is revolutionising business and society. It is forecast to add trillions of dollars to the global economy in the coming decades. Investment in building AI capabilities is in Australia’s national interest to ensure competitiveness in this market. This project establishes the fundamental underlying science on which future AI-enabled technology will be built. The project focuses on visual and language perception: giving machines the ability to understand what they see and hear. This will result in trustworthy AI software components and algorithms that can be used in real-world applications. Examples of this include scanning for biosecurity threats at ports of entry, monitoring for environmental hazards including tracking bushfires, safe human-robot interaction, industrial automation, smarter homes and workplaces, and assistance tools for the elderly and visually impaired. This project is at the cutting edge of AI research, it is critical for developing the science which will translate AI technology into vital government and commercial applications.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Problems in harmonic analysis: decoupling and Bourgain-Brezis inequalities. This project in mathematics aims to study two recent, promising developments in harmonic analysis, namely Fourier decoupling and Bourgain-Brezis inequalities. The former captures how waves interfere upon superposition; the latter arose initially in the study of the Ginzburg-Landau theory of superconductors. This exciting project seeks to deliver deep insights into how different frequencies interact, and aims to develop powerful new tools to advance the study of partial differential equations and analytic number theory. This Future Fellowship should benefit Australia by improving our scientific capability. It will bring world-class researchers to Australia for collaboration, and put Australia at the forefront of first rate research. Field of research: 0101 - Pure Mathematics This Future Fellowship project seeks to create new knowledge in a rapidly growing field of mathematics called harmonic analysis. Harmonic analysis is an essential technology in many parts of a modern economy, including signal processing (used in mobile phone communication), data compression (vital for efficient transmission of information on the internet), and medical imaging, as well as scientific fields such as earthquake modelling and tsunami detection. This project will lead to a better understanding of how a very large number of waves, of many different frequencies and directions, interact. This will pave the way for more sophisticated and efficient algorithms in data compression, medical imaging and cryptography. It will also ensure that Australia has cutting edge expertise in a part of mathematics crucial for our future economic prosperity, national security and healthcare improvement.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Advancing resilience theory and practice for water resource management. Water resources in Australia and worldwide are under severe stress, for example from drought and water demand. This project aims to investigate how water and other natural resources can be managed to build resilience to such stresses. The project expects to develop advances in resilience theory that generate new model-based tools for resilient decision-making. These advances will be tested in a model of water resource management in north-central Victoria. Expected outcomes of the project include increased decision-maker capability to respond to threats to water and other natural resources. Such outcomes will help ensure the sustainability of increasingly highly stressed natural resources in Australia and worldwide. Field of research: 0502 - Environmental Science and Management Many parts of Australia are currently experiencing severe drought. Many of Australia’s other natural resources are also severely stressed. Building resilience in water and other natural resources is therefore of tremendous national interest for Australia. The tools developed by this project will be capable of generating specific policy pathways for building resilience as well as illuminating potential trade-offs between resilience and short-term economic optimisation. The project will specifically study the Campaspe River catchment in Victoria but it is expected that the results and tools developed will be applicable to other natural resources nationwide. Building resilience of water and other natural resources will lead to improved long-term economic outcomes for the industries and communities associated with those natural resources, as well as improved environmental outcomes for the resources themselves.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Genetic control of tissue growth in animals. This project aims to understand how the animal body grows. This project expects to generate new knowledge and understanding of the genetic programs that govern the size and shape of animal tissues, through use of cutting-edge genome editing approaches in laboratory animals. Expected outcomes of this project include the production of genetically engineered animals with altered tissue growth, development of new theories for how tissue growth is normally controlled and how it can be manipulated industrially. This should provide significant benefits, impacting stem cell biology (improving stem cell production), tissue engineering (improving growth of artificial tissues), veterinary science and agriculture (improving productivity). Field of research: 0604 - Genetics This project aims to benefit Australia's biotechnology sector by producing transformative new knowledge that will open opportunities for new technological development. Discovery of the key genes that control how animals grow and develop is crucial to enable the development of innovative technologies to grow stem cells, build artificial tissues, and enhance the productivity of livestock. Fundamental discovery of these genes requires cutting edge genetic approaches, high-tech molecular analysis, and high resolution imaging of cells and molecules. Together these approaches will yield a comprehensive understanding of how animal body size and shape are encoded in the genome. This new understanding will allow development of innovative industrial interventions, including new small molecule compounds, with widespread utility in stem cell biotechnology, tissue engineering, veterinary science, and agriculture.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Understanding the molecular basis of fungal rust diseases in plants. This project aims to utilise structural biology, biochemistry and molecular biology approaches to substantially deepen our understanding of rust fungi-plant interactions. Fungal rust pathogens cause disease and significant yield losses in our most important food crops. During colonisation, rust fungi utilise secreted effector proteins to cause plant disease. Effectors can also be recognised by plant immunity receptors, leading to resistance. The intended outcome of this work is to generate knowledge that can be used for the development of disease management and engineering strategies to protect plants from rust fungi. This should provide significant benefits to agricultural productivity and global food security. Field of research: 0601 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology Rust fungi cause significant diseases and devastating crop and yield losses in a large variety of plants, including the cereal crops Australia relies upon for nourishment and economic prosperity. For example, it is estimated that if an incursion of the wheat stem-rust pathotype Ug99 were to occur in Australia it would cost the cereal industry between $1.8-2.7 billion. This project aims to understand how rust pathogens, including wheat stem-rust, cause disease, and how plants recognise and resist infection. The potential outcomes of this fellowship include the development of more advanced technologies for the protection of Australian crops from rust diseases. This work may open the door for the development of tools, such as targeted fungicides directed to fungal pathogens, with the potential to improve our nation's food security and generate enormous economic and environmental benefits for Australia.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Understanding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language ecologies. The project aims to advance understandings of Indigenous languages across Australia by investigating which languages are used where (‘language ecologies’), and how they impact on people's lives. With Indigenous co-researchers, the project plans to illuminate present and historical features of language ecologies. Its significance is in bridging a chasm between Indigenous people's understandings of languages, and a lack of good data on this for policy-makers. Expected outcomes are better empirical data on language use and new methods for identifying language ecologies. Intended benefits include increased appreciation of the rich history of Indigenous language use, leading to new capacity for policy-makers to distinguish language ecologies. Field of research: 2003 - Language Studies Research on the National Indigenous Languages Report revealed a gap in knowledge about which languages are spoken by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and to what extent, and how differences in language situations have arisen across communities. Basic information is lacking, e.g. which languages should be used by service-providers in which places to present information like emergency warnings. Addressing the communication and learning needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is integral to changing their current lower education and health outcomes. Community use of Indigenous languages will be investigated with Indigenous co-researchers. Their understandings of local ways of speaking will be matched with historical, demographic and linguistic data on communities across Australia. Expected outcomes include improved basic data on language use and new methods for determining and representing language ecologies. Intended benefits are an increased appreciation of the rich history of Indigenous language use, and new capacity for policy-makers in places where language choices are critical.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Following the Trade Routes: exchange and innovations in cultural economy. This project aims to create new understanding of cultural economies and trade routes that shaped Aboriginal societies across Australia, and to explore how such knowledge informs society today. It expects to generate national research capacity through innovative networks of early-mid career scholars, Indigenous researchers and cultural custodians, and new understandings of connections between living and archival knowledge of Indigenous trade in the Kimberley and Desert Regions. This should provide significant outcomes and benefits including revitalised Indigenous cultural exchange and trade practices; strengthened Indigenous networks and cultural authority; and greater awareness of this part of Australia’s history, economy and society. Field of research: 1601 - Anthropology This project will promote the national interest through new knowledge of the economies that have shaped the social structures of Aboriginal societies and their role in contemporary Australian society. Contemporary maintenance and transmission of Aboriginal cultural practice is essential for the sustaining native title rights. However these processes are founded in Indigenous cultural economies disrupted by processes of colonisation, and their scale, complexity and cultural importance have not been well understood. This gap in knowledge has negatively impacted Aboriginal governance and well-being in modern Australia. Now the elders who hold remaining knowledge of these systems are in failing health. This project brings together a cross-cultural team of experts to connect living and archival knowledges and deliver cultural outcomes for Aboriginal practitioners. It will generate significant public benefit by bringing the complexity of Aboriginal trade, past and present, into the common understanding of the nation, promoting reconciliation and informing future Aboriginal governance and economic policy.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Read all about it: Digital participation in Australian newspaper fiction. The Project aims to transform understandings of Australian literary history by using innovative digital methods to discover, curate and investigate tens of thousands of unrecorded novels, novellas and short stories in 20th-century Australian newspapers. It intends to advance national research capacity by facilitating collaboration, providing research training and making a substantial contribution to open-access, sustainable digital infrastructure for Australian literary studies. Expected outcomes include a new history of Australian literature and new model for participatory literary history. The Project's benefits should include expanding the National Library of Australia's records and promoting public engagement with Australian literature. Field of research: 2005 - Literary Studies Australian literature is currently being transformed and re-edited into digital forms. We urgently need best-practice responses to discovering, curating and preserving this cultural inheritance as well as novel methods for exploring and understanding the evolving digital archive. This Project responds to this challenge in three ways. First, it uses data mining to uncover thousands of currently forgotten stories in digitised 20th-century Australian newspapers, and digital bibliography to index them in a publicly accessible and sustainable way. Second, it employs innovative computational methods to identify and explore new dynamics and trends in this newly discovered record of Australian literary history. Third, it creates a collaborative digital editing platform for academics and members of the public to engage with and explore these stories, enabling a participatory approach to literary history and cultural preservation. By combining the digital and the literary, the Project will benefit contemporary readers and researchers by making diverse works and histories of Australian literature available to all.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Archives in Bark: Carved and inscribed Kimberley boab trees. This project seeks to record and contextualise Indigenous and non-Indigenous carvings and inscriptions on ancient Australian boab trees (Adansonia gregorii) growing in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It will document a hitherto poorly recorded form of traditional Indigenous cultural and artistic practice, as well as information about the lives of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people living on missions and pastoral properties prior to and immediately following European Contact. The significance of the project lies in its ability to record information about the lives of people not captured in other types of historical documents. The project should provide ecological information about the condition of these Kimberley heritage trees. Field of research: 2101 - Archaeology Archives in Bark will contribute to our understanding of Australia’s past at a critical time in our shared history – the period leading up to and immediately following European Contact. As an iconic symbol of the Kimberley, Western Australia, the boab tree is recognisable by all Australians. Few, however, realise that some boabs bear culturally significant but as yet unrecorded carvings and inscriptions. Some trees were carved by Indigenous Australians prior to contact with Europeans, others were inscribed following the arrival of non-Indigenous settlers. Together, they form a unique living archive of Australian history. This project will document these trees and share the stories carved in their bark – providing insight into the lives of people living on missions, and working in the pearling and pastoral industries. By documenting the carved boab trees and their condition, this study will shed new light on the cultural heritage of the Kimberley, and ensure this remarkable, yet remote, record of Australian history is accessible for current and future generations to see.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Aboriginal Involvement in the Early Development of Australian Archaeology. This project aims to interrogate the importance of Aboriginal knowledge in the development of Australian archaeology. Through a close study of archival and published archaeological literature, the project anticipates generating new knowledge and innovative interpretations of archaeology's history. Expected outcomes include a radical rewriting of a significant chapter of the nation’s history and enhancing the reinterpretation of museum displays and tourism presentation of heritage sites. This reclaiming of the contribution of the First Australians in the development of the current knowledge of 65,000 years of our history, seeks to benefit Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, and to contribute to ongoing reconciliation. Field of research: 2101 - Archaeology Australians are proud to say that our continent has been home to the First Australians for 65,000 years. We celebrate Indigenous ingenuity over millennia. Yet Indigenous Australians are routinely excluded from the history of that study. Instead, Australia’s deep history appears to be patiently revealed only by academic scientists based in museums and universities. The foundational role of Indigenous Australian knowledge in creating this historical story remains hidden. This project will demonstrate to the wider Australian public that the First Australians have, since the 1830s, played an important role in revealing the continent’s long human history. It will contribute to highlighting Aboriginal pride in that history, and Aboriginal people as foundational agents and contributors of their own scientific knowledge. In doing so it will lead to a necessary rewriting of the nation’s history and impact upon museum displays and tourist presentation of heritage sites.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Post-separation co-parenting apps: Can they help families avoid conflict? This project aims to examine the role and effectiveness of smartphone apps in supporting families to respond to the many challenges of post-separation co-parenting. In an increasingly digital landscape where poor app choices can have serious consequences for families, this knowledge is urgently needed by parents and family law practitioners. This project expects to deliver a comprehensive understanding of the benefits and risks of digital divorce apps. Expected outcomes include the first web-based decision-making tool to help separated parents make important decisions about managing post-separation communication. This should provide significant benefits, including a reduced risk of parental conflict and better outcomes for children. Field of research: 1801 - Law Half of all divorces in Australia involve children, with additional children impacted through de facto separations. The particular risks faced by children in separated families make it all the more imperative that separated parents communicate in respectful, child focused ways. Children whose parents have separated face a higher risk of poorer long-term outcomes across a range of social/psychological factors, with around 1.5 times to twice the risk of low academic achievement, emotional/behavioural difficulties, substance use, crime and poor mental health in later life. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the importance of access to effective digital communication tools. Through a detailed examination of the role and effectiveness of post-separation co-parenting smartphone apps, this project aims to provide critical information to assist family law professionals, family support service providers, and separated parents. By improving communication pathways and reducing conflict, the research hopes to have immediate benefits for the wellbeing of families-especially children impacted by divorce.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Understanding engagement to regulate the commercial determinants of health. This project aims to generate new knowledge on how government and non-government organisations can prevent poor health via their effective regulation of harmful commodity industries, specifically alcohol and highly-processed food. The significance of this project is its innovative approach to regulation, with a focus on engagement processes between state and non-state actors for the management of harmful commodities. Expected outcomes include improved methodologies in the field of health governance, and enhanced capacity among Partner organisations to engage effectively with different industries. These outcomes should benefit health policy prevention goals. Field of research: 1117 - Public Health and Health Services This project will create new knowledge in the commercial determinants of health, a rapidly growing field of public health relating to the policies, practices and products of industries, and their positive and negative impact on health. Successfully regulating the tobacco, alcohol and highly-processed foods industries and consumption of their products is vital to reduce associated disease burdens of diabetes, obesity, heart disease and cancers in Australia. We will do this by creating better understanding of how non-government organisations and government agencies can work more effectively to help industries create product environments making healthy behavioural choices easier for the Australian population. The outcome will be a powerful framework enabling policymakers, regulators, industry, and non-government organisations to co-create successful regulatory approaches. Australia will build cutting-edge expertise in a part of public health crucial for improving disease prevention, relieving pressure on the health system, and helping create economic prosperity.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems. The ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems will develop the next-generation of miniaturised optical systems with functionalities beyond what is conceivable today. By harnessing the disruptive concept of meta-optics, the Centre will overcome complex challenges in light generation, manipulation and detection at the nanoscale. The Centre brings together a trans-disciplinary team of world-leaders in science, technology and engineering to deliver scientific innovations in optical systems for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The research outcomes will underpin future technologies, including real-time holographic displays, artificial vision for autonomous systems to see the invisible, and ultra-fast light-based WiFi. Field of research: 1007 - Nanotechnology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

High resolution gas chromatography mass spectrometry for metabolic research. This project aims to fill a major gap in Australia's metabolic analytical infrastructure by making available an automated, high-resolution, two-dimensional gas chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer. In a collaborative effort to build a critical mass of cutting-edge metabolic analytical tools, this is expected to give Australia a world-leading edge in metabolic research. This project will enhance skills and capabilities of the Australian research community to enable the discovery of important biochemicals and molecular mechanisms and provide an unprecedented capacity to resolve complex metabolic samples, study the volatile metabolome, discover valuable new compounds and measure metabolic flows. Outputs are expected to inform the independent development of new technologies, commercial products and services, creating jobs and generating revenue while benefiting the agriculture, health and environmental sectors. Field of research: 0607 - Plant Biology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Transforming the early modern archive: the Emmerson Collection at SLV. In 2015, State Library Victoria (SLV) received the bequest of the Emmerson Collection: a national treasure of over 5000 early modern rare books and manuscripts, the first and only early modern archive of scale to be held by an Australian institution. Bringing together experts in early modern studies and the digital humanities with specialist library staff, this project will uncover the contents and scope of the collection and promote its international scholarly significance to the wider world. In doing so, it will develop new digital tools designed to unlock the value of this unique public resource for a wide range of end-users. Field of research: 2005 - Literary Studies

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Laser cleaning processes for Roads and Maritime Services bridges. This project aims to develop innovative laser cleaning processes to conserve the structural integrity and iconic status of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. New laser technologies offer the opportunity to remove lead-based paint and clean the bridge’s metal structures and granite pylons offering advantages unavailable with current techniques. The expected outcomes will be new best-practice laser conservation techniques usable for both hand-held and automated systems to preserve one of the most iconic bridges in the world. This will reduce maintenance frequency and cost, restore the beauty of the bridge, retain its engineering significance and provide a baseline process for cleaning of other historical large scale metal and stone heritage objects. Field of research: 2102 - Curatorial and Related Studies

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Targeting conjugated markers with new metabolomic methods. Detecting the illicit use of natural steroids like testosterone, or compounds that modulate natural steroid levels, remains the greatest challenge for drug testing in all forms of sport. This project aims to develop new metabolomic methods based on liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry to detect the changes occurring in the conjugated steroid profile following the administration of steroids or steroid modulators. The intended outcome will be a set of sensitive and analytical methods using a range of newly identified conjugated steroid markers and associated reference materials, which promises to enhance integrity and animal welfare in the thoroughbred racing industry. Field of research: 0301 - Analytical Chemistry

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

The history of accretion in our Solar System. This project aims to determine precise timing of formation and primary melting of asteroids of various compositions, and to trace the stellar sources and mixing processes that caused the compositional diversity of asteroids and planets in our Solar System. This can be attained by comprehensive study of achondrites, meteorites derived from asteroids that were once partially melted. Using the world’s foremost facilities for cosmochemical research in Australia and the United States of America, the processes leading to the formation of planets will be explored. This project is intended to advance fundamental knowledge of the environment in which planets emerge and evolve, and the place of our Solar System among planetary systems in the Galaxy. Field of research: 0403 - Geology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

A multiplex microscope platform to define molecular events in fluid systems. This project aims to develop a novel microscopy platform that will enable the visualisation and quantification of molecular events occurring under fluid shear stress. The project will generate new knowledge in platelet biology that will allow characterisation and prediction of key molecular and morphological changes occurring across a blood thrombus under flowing conditions as found in the blood vessels. These new tools and the imaging platform will have applications for researchers wishing to visualise small and rapid molecular events in four dimensions (length, width, height and across time) under fluid shear stress, which is applicable across a range of industries. The project expects to deliver the next generation of intravital microscopes that can visualise and quantify events in a challenging flow environment. Field of research: 0915 - Interdisciplinary Engineering

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Swift heavy ion induced nano-porous antimony-based semiconductors. This project aims to study the fabrication and application of nano-porous antimony based semiconductors prepared by high-energy ion irradiation. Using a unique combination of synchrotron and laboratory- based analytical techniques as well as computer simulations, the project expects to identify the physical mechanisms for porous structure formation and exploit the materials for application in thermoelectric and thermo-photovoltaic devices. Expected outcomes of the project include fabrication processes compatible with current device fabrication methodologies that should enable rapid integration of the materials into advanced device applications. Significant benefits should result from novel applications of the technologies such as energy harvesting and sensor devices. Field of research: 1007 - Nanotechnology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Quantum tunnelling of composite systems. This project aims to investigate profound physics problem of quantum tunnelling of composite systems such as atoms, molecules and atomic nuclei. Using new theoretical concepts and tools to describe low-energy fusion between atomic nuclei, this project is expected to generate new knowledge and improve understanding of nuclear reactions, the formation of elements in the cosmos, and underpin future nuclear technologies. The project aims to leverage Australian capacity in quantum and nuclear theory to produce the first predictive model of quantum tunnelling with a modern microscopic treatment of nuclear dynamics. It will provide new theoretical guidance to experimental programs with exotic beams and focussing on nucleosynthesis. Field of research: 0202 - Atomic, Molecular, Nuclear, Particle and Plasma Physics

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Transport control in multi-species fluid suspensions. This project aims to develop novel methods of controlling multi-species particles in fluid suspensions, such as microorganisms in wounds. Physical methods of control offer additional opportunities for wound healing in the era of increased microbial resistance to antibiotics. The project will develop methods of controlling the local concentration of microorganisms, such as bacteria and cells, using wave-driven turbulent transport and active synthetic agents. The proposed methods will also benefit applications in microfluidics, liquid metamaterials, micro-assembly and technologies for cleaning liquid surfaces. The project will advance our fundamental knowledge of particle interaction with matter waves. Field of research: 0915 - Interdisciplinary Engineering

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Positrons in biosystems. This project aims to improve our understanding of the damage processes in Positron Emission Tomography (PET). PET is a widely used medical imaging technique, but there are gaps in our understanding of the underlying interactions, in particular in the case of the radiation damage induced during the process. By using new models incorporating accurate descriptions of interactions processes, verified by experimental measurement, this project will develop a new model of positron transport in PET. The project will allow validation of predictions from the model by undertaking experiments in liquid water. Field of research: 0202 - Atomic, Molecular, Nuclear, Particle and Plasma Physics