Australian National University

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Doped metal perovskites for electrocatalysis. This project aims to discover and design perovskite metal-oxide electrocatalyst materials and develop electrocatalytic methods for efficiently driving the oxygen evolution reaction and the oxygen reduction reaction. These are the two most crucial reactions in sustainable energy cycles involving water, hydrogen and oxygen. The project’s anticipated advances in electrocatalysis efficiency for these two reactions will benefit sustainable energy technologies such as fuel cells, metal air batteries and water splitting. Field of research: 0904 - Chemical Engineering

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

The Caseys and Pat Jarrett in Washington, 1940-1942. This project aims to study the desirability of diplomatic interventions and practices to achieve ‘smart power’ results in an era where ‘hard power’ military intervention is often a disproportionately large, reflex response to global security threats. It will study Australian Minister Richard Gardiner 'Dick' Casey, his wife Maie Casey and their press aide Patricia 'Pat' Jarrett, who served in Washington during 1940-1 and, quietly encouraged by the Roosevelt Administration, conducted a sustained campaign of private and public diplomacy to project an identity for Australia distinct from the then unpopular Britain with which it was usually conflated. This project maps that campaign and the interpersonal diplomacy underpinning it, incorporating a range of perspectives not dealt with in the historiography. Field of research: 2103 - Historical Studies

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Australian high field electron paramagnetic resonance facility. This project aims to establish Australia’s first a high-field (3 T, 94 GHz) high-field pulse electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) facility. EPR is a powerful technique to study chemical, biological and materials systems. It represents a sensitive, non-invasive, site-selective spectroscopy for the analysis of both molecular and macroscopic properties. This facility will allow the further development and implementation of new multidimensional pulse EPR techniques, enabling domestic and international collaborations with diverse applications in structural biology, solvation science and catalysis. Field of research: 0306 - Physical Chemistry (Incl. Structural)

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Networked knowledge for repatriation communities. This project aims to build a digital facility that supports the repatriation of Indigenous human remains. Repatriation contributes to reconciliation and Indigenous healing and wellbeing, and has been the most important agent of change in the relationship between Indigenous peoples, museums and the academy over the past 40 years. Successful repatriation requires and produces research materials diverse in type, geography and accessibility. Within an Indigenous data-governance framework, this project will gather, preserve and make accessible a critical and extensive record of repatriation information worldwide. The project is expected to support repatriation practice and scholarship and improve the opportunities of repatriation for social good. Field of research: 2102 - Curatorial and Related Studies

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Building India: Religion, craft and infrastructure in contemporary Asia. This project aims to show how Hinduism and the god Vishwakarma—literally, Maker of the Universe—frame and propel the infrastructural systems key to India’s rise as a 21st century economic powerhouse. The project will explore the unprecedented growth of Vishwakarma worship across India’s infrastructural and business enterprise sectors, and its role in mobilising a creative class of professionals. It will also investigate its role in instilling a spirit of craftsmanship among workers in Prime Minister Modi’s Make-in-India campaign. The project aims to deepen Australian understanding of Asian religion and economy as it seeks to navigate trade and investment opportunities in Asia. Field of research: 2204 - Religion and Religious Studies

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Anion-templated functional architectures. This project aims to introduce a method for preparing large, complex materials from relatively simple precursors. Negatively-charged species, anions, will be used to assemble positively-charged organic molecules into three-dimensional structures, including cages and porous framework materials. This will increase fundamental understanding of how anions behave and their use in self-assembly processes. The structures made using this approach are expected to remove dangerous environmental pollutants from water and store the industrially-relevant gases, hydrogen and carbon dioxide. This offers potential applications in clean energy technology (e.g. hydrogen storage for fuel cells) and environmental remediation (carbon dioxide storage, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon removal). Field of research: 0303 - Macromolecular and Materials Chemistry

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Mekong governance: State officials at the margins of empire. This project aims to bring a historical perspective to a zone of ongoing conflict, disorder and international competition. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the British, French and Siamese imperial powers posted officials to the upper Mekong. This project will explore how their cross-empire interaction created a zone of hybrid and compromised governance which blurred the political demarcation between Burma, Indochina and Siam. It aims to show how officials at the margins of empire created some of the region’s contemporary governance challenges. The project could influence policies and programmes that promote development and stability in the region. Field of research: 2103 - Historical Studies

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Strengthening parent-child relationships to promote child adjustment. This project aims to provide new insight into how biological and foster parents can support their children during periods of heightened vulnerability when they transition to high school or a new foster care placement. It aims to address the shortage of relationally-focused prevention strategies tailored to both biological and foster parents’ needs and delivered at critical transitions in children’s lives. Outcomes are expected to shed light on the effects of attachment quality and to advance evidence-based psychological practice in enhancing child adjustment. Field of research: 1701 - Psychology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Understanding the molecular basis of heparanase activity. This project aims to advance our understanding of the structure and impact on biological processes of heparanase (HSPE), an enzyme of critical importance. HSPE’s ability to interact with heparan sulfate (HS), a key component of the extracellular matrix and basement membranes, makes HPSE a pivotal enzyme in many important physiological and disease-related processes ranging from angiogenesis, tumour metastasis, inflammation, hair follicle development to wrinkle formation. The knowledge gained through this project is expected to provide new insight into the interaction between HSPE and HS/HSPG to reveal new pathways to the development of inhibitors to treat diseases such as cancer and diabetes. Field of research: 0304 - Medicinal and Biomolecular Chemistry

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Dissecting a RNA-histone variant interaction and its role in splicing. This project aims to define the molecular details of how a chromatin component, histone H2A.B, binds RNA and influences RNA splicing. This is unprecedented for histones, which are typically associated with DNA and transcriptional regulation. Over 90 per cent of human genes may be alternatively spliced. This explains how complex organisms develop from a limited set of genes, but how alternative splicing decisions are made is unclear. The intended outcome is to reveal links between chromatin, RNA splicing and gene expression regulation to explain how multicellular organisms have evolved. The translation of this knowledge will ultimately provide long-term economic and health benefits for Australia. Field of research: 0604 - Genetics

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

The space race: how dispersal and competition shape global biodiversity. The project aims to further our understanding of how environmental change is driving the movement and extinction of plants and animals. The project will use genomic tools and modelling across a range of organisms and ecosystems to revolutionise knowledge of how dispersal, disturbance, competition and extinction structure global biodiversity and influence ecological change. An expected outcome from this project is to inform conservation strategies as well as transforming parts of fundamental ecological and evolutionary theory. The finding from this project should lead to better management of biodiversity, for both Australia and the world. Field of research: 0502 - Environmental Science and Management

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Controlling chemical reactions via pH-switchable electrostatic catalysis. This project aims to establish a new approach to catalysis using the electrostatic effects of pH-switchable, charged functional groups. Utilising simple homogeneous catalysts and polymer-supported enzyme-mimicking catalysts, a wide range of target reactions will be studied. The expected outcomes of the project will include a new approach to the design and optimisation of several new classes of catalyst for assembling complex molecules and materials. The project also offers a unique opportunity to train the next generation of chemists in the principles of computer-aided chemical design. The catalysts developed in this project will be able to accelerate and control the chemical reactions used in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and materials, with significant practical benefits to industry. Field of research: 0305 - Organic Chemistry

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Proteins in motion - new tools for biotechnology. This project aims to assess the function of proteins by monitoring their motions using new nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy techniques. As snapshots of 3D protein structures have been determined by crystallography, the new tools are designed to analyse functionally important motions in solution. A facility for ultrafast (> 100 kHz) magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy of proteins in the semi-solid state will bring cutting-edge know-how to Australia and allow the interrogation of 3D structure and dynamics in selected protein regions. The expected outcomes of the project will have immediate benefits for the rational engineering of biocatalysts and in the design of lead compounds in drug development. Field of research: 0601 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Sampling and processing for diffusion magnetic resonance imaging. This project aims to develop optimal, efficient and robust signal processing methods for diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) with reduced scan times. A child, possibly distressed, can only be motionless long enough to undergo a basic dMRI scan of the brain, but enhanced forms of dMRI need at least 60 minutes. The project’s processing methods will use spherical geometries, which encode information about white matter fibres in the brain, to collect and reconstruct images. The project is expected to reduce dMRI scan times and ultimately make non-invasive and inexpensive early detection of neurological disorders such as dementia feasible. Field of research: 0906 - Electrical and Electronic Engineering

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Childhood poverty in Indonesia. This project aims to offer solutions to childhood poverty in Indonesia, where over half the child population live on less than $2 per day. More effective responses to childhood poverty, one of the greatest challenges facing the world, are needed. This project will extend theories of multidimensional poverty to children, reflecting their experience and priorities; analyse similarities and differences between child- and adult-centred conceptualisations of childhood poverty; and develop a replicable child-centred methodology for assessing childhood poverty. The project expects to produce policy-relevant findings that move beyond adult-centric definitions and contribute to more effective responses to child poverty. Field of research: 1605 - Policy and Administration

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

The Great Escape: The Gaseous Outflow from the Centre of the Milky Way. This project aims to increase our understanding of the workings of the central regions of galaxies. The nuclei of galaxies are galactic-scale powerhouses driven by fast-moving winds launched by either the active bursts of star formation in the galaxy’s core or the accretion of gas onto a central black hole more than a million times the mass of the Sun. In 2010, the Fermi space telescope discovered enormous bubbles filled with hot gas emanating from the centre of the Milky Way, proof of a Galactic wind. Our Galaxy's wind offers the best laboratory in the universe for understanding what drives the powerhouses at the nuclei of normal galaxies. This project aims to determine whether the Milky Way’s nuclear wind and the Fermi bubbles were formed from a starburst wind or gas accretion onto the central black hole. Field of research: 0201 - Astronomical and Space Sciences

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Energy Efficiency Innovation, Diffusion and the Rebound Effect. This project aims to help quantify the net energy saved globally from energy efficiency policies and programs. It aims to investigate the speed at which energy efficiency innovations spread to countries across the world from technologically leading countries and to measure empirically the size of the rebound effect that offsets energy efficiency improvements at the economy-wide level. Governments and international organisations are increasingly looking to energy efficiency policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy security, but there is little information on the potential for these policies to actually save energy and, therefore, reduce emissions. Project results may help in the design of cost-effective energy and climate policies. Field of research: 1402 - Applied Economics

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Instrumentation for the era of gravitational wave science. This project aims to study noise sources that limit the low-frequency performance of gravitational wave antenna: thermal noise, quantum radiation pressure noise and Newtonian noise. Gravitational wave detection is a new way in which to observe our universe. Although detectors such as advanced LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) should detect gravitational waves, further sensitivity improvement, particularly at low frequencies, will be needed to provide event rates necessary for astronomy. Expected project outcomes will support the development of the first free mass interferometer to operate at 120K using silicon optics, a vital facility for the world community. Pushing the boundaries of measurement may also drive innovation in optical sensing with potential applications in defence, security and exploration. Field of research: 0201 - Astronomical and Space Sciences

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Beyond migration and diffusion: The prehistoric mobility of people & ideas. The project plans to build on the strength of current collaborations between archaeologists and geochemists to ask novel questions about the movement of people and ideas in prehistory. The project plans to examine spatial and temporal patterns in population mobility to clarify their relationship with the appearance of new and exotic materials, technologies and practices. The project focuses on the ways in which the movement of individuals and groups of people is both an instigator and a response to sociocultural change, using both key European and Pacific Island examples, to help build a comparative archaeology of phenomena of rapid social and economic change, with pertinence to general theories of innovation and adoption. Field of research: 2101 - Archaeology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Harmonic analysis of rough oscillations. This project intends to explore new perspectives in harmonic analysis. Harmonic analysis is a set of mathematical techniques used in many branches of science and engineering to analyse complex signals (functions). It is highly effective in modelling phenomena such as the propagation of electromagnetic waves, but it is currently limited to propagation occurring in a simple-enough medium. An intense international research effort in harmonic analysis is currently under way to lift this limitation. This project is part of that effort, and aims to unite two of its fundamental directions of development: one focusing on the roughness of the medium; and one focusing on the interaction between highly oscillatory aspects of the function and the geometry of the medium. Field of research: 0101 - Pure Mathematics

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Generalised Energy Based Robust and Nonlinear Control Systems. This project aims to develop new energy-based theories of robust stability analysis and controller design for both linear and nonlinear systems, building on passivity and negative imaginary system theories and their physical interpretations along with stochastic optimal control theory. These control theories would allow for a wide range of plant dynamics in the design of high-performance robust control systems, enabling advances in emerging technologies including nanopositioning, micro-electromechanical systems and opto-mechatronics. The project plans to combine these theoretical advances with numerical methods involving advanced optimisation tools and the experimental implementation of nanopositioning control systems in atomic force microscopy. Field of research: 0102 - Applied Mathematics

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Toward a social-psychology of prejudice reduction: Examining lay beliefs. This project aims to expand social–psychological knowledge of prejudice by examining beliefs about what prejudice is, as well as the social and psychological factors affecting these beliefs. If people believe their own intergroup attitudes (even negative ones) to be correct and normative, anti-prejudice appeals will likely be rejected. What is needed, then, is an analysis of what people believe to be prejudice or not in the first place, and how these beliefs are changed. This project aims to provide this analysis via qualitative and quantitative experimental social-psychological research. Project outcomes are expected to clarify social–psychological theory, offering new insight into how anti-prejudice arguments can be successful. Field of research: 1701 - Psychology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Macroscopic quantum state engineering and transport in polaritonic devices. The project aims to demonstrate quantum state engineering and novel transport of hybrid light–matter particles in semiconductors. These particles, called exciton-polaritons, form macroscopic quantum states extending over microns, and display quantum behaviour on an accessible scale. They inherit ultrafast speeds and large nonlinearities from their light (photon) and matter (exciton) constituents, therefore representing an attractive platform for next-generation optoelectronics. This project is designed to enable us to probe fundamental quantum many-body physics on the macroscopic scale, as well as design and test functional components for polaritonic circuits with information storage, transmission, and sensing capabilities. Field of research: 0206 - Quantum Physics

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Adoption of Australian IFRS: Are IFRS "fit for purpose"? The project seeks to explore the usefulness of modifications made to company earnings based on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS; Australia’s mandatory accounting standards) by financial report preparers and users. The project intends to show how share markets respond to adjustments to IFRS earnings and provide evidence to assist standard setters and regulators in policy decisions to strengthen the financial reporting framework and to improve the comparability and transparency of financial information. A more robust framework would improve capital market efficiency, promote economic growth in Australia and support the goal of making Australia a world-leading financial market. Field of research: 1501 - Accounting, Auditing and Accountability

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Tunable metamaterials for terahertz and infrared applications. This project proposes novel low-cost miniature devices for spectroscopic, spatial, and temporal manipulation of infrared and terahertz waves, which are important for security and short range communication applications. By enabling the modulation of infrared and terahertz signals, the intended outcome is a platform for imaging applications, detection of chemical composition of objects, and future high-bandwidth communications. Using microfabrication techniques, the project plans to create metamaterials integrated with micro-electro-mechanical systems, which dynamically vary their electromagnetic properties. This technology would enable the creation of new devices that can controllably absorb, reflect or transmit infrared and terahertz signals. Field of research: 0906 - Electrical and Electronic Engineering