MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

How species interactions shape range boundaries. This project aims to discover how biotic interactions limit plant species distributions. This knowledge is crucial for improving models of plant response to climate and land-use change. Current modelling techniques routinely ignore interactions such as competition, focusing solely on the environment as a predictor of species range. Using trait-based analyses at a continental scale and targeted transplant experiments, this project aims to better understand range limits of Australian plant species. This approach is expected to improve the ability to identify which plants will be the 'winners and losers' as the climate changes and to manage the risk to Australia’s flora. Field of research: 0602 - Ecology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Enhancing lifeguard performance: A multidisciplinary approach. This project aims to improve the timely identification of swimmers at risk of drowning by drawing on a range of theoretical, empirical, and methodological approaches from the disciplines of organisational psychology, human factors, cognitive science and computer science. Lifeguards are vital for maintaining public safety at aquatic venues, however despite their presence, fatal and non-fatal drownings occur every year with little known about the factors that affect vigilance, scanning and sustained attention in such a complex, dynamic environment. Expected outcomes of the project include evidence-based solutions for selecting, training and maintaining the performance of lifeguards that account for both organisational and individual factors. These will improve Australia’s ability to build social capital in both urban and rural centres by providing the safest possible community swimming pools. Field of research: 1701 - Psychology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Background-free imaging of single membrane-receptors with nanophosphors. This project aims to develop nanophosphor beacons and real-time, ultrahigh-sensitivity functional imaging to provide a picture of the brain. Time-gated detection microscopy will give these nanophosphors a superior optical contrast. The nanophosphors’ antibody-targeting will image single AMPA membrane receptors in their full biological context, crucial to understanding neuronal signalling. Simultaneous imaging of receptor trafficking and activity in neurons will help to uncover details of the dynamic activity in the brain. This technology is expected to help understand the inner workings of the brain and provide insights into its functioning. Field of research: 1007 - Nanotechnology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Controlling atomic species migration in laser irradiated glasses. This project aims to determine the role of common glass constituents on desired optical properties. More than 50 major research groups and numerous commercial start-ups worldwide are pursuing ultrafast laser inscription, an enabling manufacturing platform used to create complex three-dimensional optical circuits inside transparent blocks of glass. However, although successfully used, we still don’t understand why similar glass types react differently, and we are limited to using generic glasses tailor-made for other purposes. This project will guide future choice of glasses and reveal how to engineer materials that complement this fabrication platform. Field of research: 0906 - Electrical and Electronic Engineering

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Stretchable strain sensors based on three-dimensional structured nano-carbon. This project aims to develop a class of stretchable strain sensors based on three-dimensionally (3D) structured carbon nanomaterials for wearable devices. The project plans to design and fabricate 3D-structured carbon with structures and physical properties for developing nanocomposites for strain sensing applications. The expected outcome is wearable sensors capable of monitoring human movements with potential applications in personal health monitoring. These wearable devices could ultimately improve health care substantially while reducing its costs. Field of research: 0912 - Materials Engineering

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Forging antiquity: Authenticity, forgery, and fake papyri. This project aims to situate typology of forged papyri in a historical analysis of the development of forgery, authentication techniques, and public debates over forgeries from the 19th century to the present day. The project will contextualise technical study of fakes within authentication strategies in ancient papyri, traditional and emerging de-authentication practices, and the cultural context of forgery. A typology of forged papyri will enable collecting institutions to better assess fakes, permit easier detection of forgeries in antiquities markets, and provide a tool for scholars asked to assess the authenticity of papyri offered for sale or donation. Field of research: 2103 - Historical Studies

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Physiological effects of extreme hot weather on animals’ metabolism, development, body size and cell lifespan. This project aims to determine the physiological effects of extreme hot weather on animals’ metabolism, development, body size and cell lifespan. Body size in animals is negatively related to latitude; individuals are relatively small in hot climates. The project will test the idea that the adverse effects of heat during development constrain body size. The project will draw on physiology, endocrinology, behaviour and cell biology and study birds across Australian climates and in a temperature-controlled laboratory. The outcomes of the project will provide insight into regional variation in species vulnerabilities to climate variation and inform biodiversity management. Field of research: 0602 - Ecology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Optimal photosynthetic traits on ecological time-scales. This project aims to understand how soils and climate shape plant ecological strategies for nutrient and water use in photosynthesis. Terrestrial biosphere models (including ecosystem, land surface and vegetation models) are based on a biochemical model for photosynthesis that accurately represents processes on physiological time-scales but lacks the ecological-evolutionary perspective needed to understand species’ adaptations along geographic gradients of soils and climate. This project will integrate theory based on microeconomic and optimality principles with empirical analysis of local- and global-scale trait datasets. This knowledge is intended to form the core of a ‘next-generation’ global vegetation model. This will allow government agencies to discover the likely effects of future climate and carbon dioxide changes on Australian vegetation structure, function and composition, forest productivity, and biodiversity. Field of research: 0602 - Ecology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

The development of predictive brain function in preschool children. This project aims to track developmental changes in brain activity and connectivity in typically developing three-to-six year-old children. The preschool years are a time of huge change in children's cognitive abilities, but little is known of the corresponding changes in brain function. This work will use child-optimised magnetoencephalography to test the hypothesis that early cognitive development is characterised by refinement of the brain's innate ability to generate predictions about the sensory environment. The resulting insights could improve understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism. Field of research: 1702 - Cognitive Sciences

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Atomic forces for sorting ultrabright nanodiamonds. This project aims to sort fluorescent nanodiamonds according to their brightness using atomic radiation pressure. Fluorescent nanodiamonds can overcome all limitations associated with conventional fluorescent bio-labels. While readily available, their brightness varies greatly, so a method for yielding high-quality material with consistent brightness is needed. This project combines techniques from laser manipulation of cold atoms and microfluidics to create an optofluidic method of particle separation. The proposed device could sort nanodiamonds more than a billion times faster than active sorting techniques. This is expected to lead to better tools for bio-imaging and bio-manipulation. Field of research: 0206 - Quantum Physics

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Local computations in dynamic networks. This project aims to identify and exploit dynamic networks, and investigate how locally available knowledge affects the computability or the communication complexity of solving a problem. Mobile, wireless, social and other ubiquitous communication networks involve autonomous and highly dynamic entities, but these are often treated as a liability instead of an asset, even when they enhance the network. Local knowledge in the entities’ neighbourhood can make the network more efficient. This project is expected to contribute to the worldwide effort towards advanced technologies and place Australia at the forefront of research in mobile and social networking. Field of research: 0802 - Computation Theory and Mathematics

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Speech production in the developing brain. This project aims to study how children acquire language. Speech is arguably the most complicated action that humans can perform, yet is acquired with apparent ease in the pre-school years. The brain mechanisms of speech production have rarely been studied in children due to methodological and technical challenges. This project will address this gap using an articulographic setup for measuring speech movements concurrently with scanning of brain activity in a customised paediatric brain imaging system. The results are expected to help explain why most children acquire speech easily and smoothly and why this process can be more difficult for others. Field of research: 1701 - Psychology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Improving inferences from brain imaging to understand selective attention. This project aims to study attention in the human brain. Everything people think and do depends on the ability to pay attention. Since brains can only process a limited amount of information at once, people use attention to prioritise what is most important. Scientists have detailed information about brain activation, but need new methods and converging evidence to link this activation with the behaviour it is thought to support. The project expects to advance knowledge about how attention works, improve inferences made from brain imaging, and contribute to a global effort to understand the brain. Field of research: 1701 - Psychology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Cultures of risk-taking in Renaissance Italy. This project aims to provide a cultural history of the development and nature of pre-modern capitalism that moves beyond outmoded models of linear, rational progression. The project will look at Renaissance Italy, a node in the development of modern capitalism, and analyse how merchants and gamblers took financial risks. By using risk as a category of analysis to examine the interconnections between rational and irrational decision making in sixteenth-century commerce and gambling, the project aims to understand the development of attitudes and values still prevalent today. The project will write irrationality into the history of modern capitalism. Field of research: 2103 - Historical Studies

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Animating the study of visual communication. This project aims to inform how dynamic colour signals broker information exchange by connecting stimulus design with perception through space and time. Biological studies of colour signalling have largely proceeded via static terms that underestimate the true fluidity of natural contexts. This project aspires to animate the field using innovative approaches such as programmable nano-drones to reveal how flashing colours are perceived under diverse viewing conditions. The knowledge advances are expected to generate new intellectual paradigms and models, and have significant scope for bio-inspiration in areas such as telecommunication, information processing and the optimal design of visual displays. Field of research: 0602 - Ecology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Pyramids, power and the dynamics of states in crisis. This project aims to transform existing narratives about the impact of Egypt in the Pyramid Age (c. 2670–2200 BC). It will demonstrate the influence of large state entities as drivers of societal change in the ancient world. This interdisciplinary project transcends academic disciplines and modern borders by networking scientific analysis with archaeological and historical evidence, from across the eastern Mediterranean. The expected outcome of the project is an expansive vision of international relations in the third millennium BC, which elevates Egypt as a driver of economic, social and political change. In a region currently troubled by much turmoil, the shared nature of global issues across time and space, and the human response, will be evident. Field of research: 2101 - Archaeology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

The mighty ape’s last stand. This project aims to study the fate of primates in southern Asia, where evidence for megafaunal extinction is rare. Why Gigantopithecus blacki, the largest ever primate, disappeared is unknown, while humans in the region survived. This project will model dating techniques across sites to identify a precise extinction window and compare behaviour and past environmental conditions to determine why the ape failed and man persevered. Outcomes will generate a new understanding of past environmental change as a driver of megafaunal extinction in comparison with human adaption and survival. Field of research: 0403 - Geology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Connecting mathematics learning through spatial reasoning. This project aims to create a framework based on spatial reasoning that identifies pathways for mathematics learning, pedagogy and curriculum. Realising Australia’s Innovation and Science Agenda fundamentally rests on transforming the nation's mathematical capacity. Spatial reasoning, an emerging transdisciplinary area, is integral to all human learning, particularly for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. This project will map the unknown complex systems linking spatial and mathematical concepts, and design, implement and evaluate a longitudinal intervention study of primary students, including tracking of highly able students. This will lead to more highly skilled and adaptive citizens. Field of research: 1303 - Specialist Studies In Education

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

A relational theory of procedural justice. This project aims to develop a relational theory of procedural justice, based on the quality of interactions between individuals and legal authorities. Just procedures maintain the public's trust in the legal system, but lawyers and philosophers have not studied what makes legal procedures morally justifiable. The project will use empirical studies about the public's understanding of procedural justice to enrich the normative analysis and demonstrate the value of the theory in the practical setting of tribunal proceedings. This research is expected to contribute to theoretical and practical debates about how to improve legal procedures. Field of research: 2203 - Philosophy

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Systemic regulation of neuronal circuits in cognition and behaviour. This project aims to understand systemic regulation of behaviour and cognition in the central nervous system (CNS). The adrenal gland (AG) is an endocrine organ that regulates behaviour and cognition, but the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulatory axis between the CNS and AG are poorly understood. The AG selectively and highly expresses p38, a member of the MAP kinase family, while mice that lack p38 suffer memory and behavioural deficits. This project will study p38’s role in systemic CNS function. It aims to understand brain function and systemic regulation of cognition and behaviour, thereby contributing to a deeper understanding of brain function and paving the way for new preventive treatments and medical care strategies. Field of research: 1109 - Neurosciences

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

The tau interactome. This project aims to decipher tau-dependent mechanisms at the molecular level to understand its pivotal role in neuronal integrity and function. Tau is a predominantly axonal protein with microtubule stabilising properties and has been implicated in several neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease. Knowledge of its other physiological roles in the brain is limited, although it seems to be involved in signalling processes. The expected outcome of this study is a deeper understanding of brain function during development and aging, which may ultimately contribute to new preventive treatments and medical care strategies. Field of research: 0601 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Food security and the governance of local knowledge in India and Indonesia. This project aims to discover how local farming communities’ practical knowledge can improve food security. 795 million undernourished people rely on small farmers for food. To protect these farmers from multinational agribusiness and climate change, this project will examine how small farmers turn useful plant material into cultivated crops through plant selection and breeding under conditions of climate change; identify how regulatory structures in India and Indonesia help or hinder this process; and identify opportunities to apply local knowledge and its regulatory framework in Australia. Better understanding local conditions should benefit regulators, NGOs, businesses and aid agencies. Field of research: 1801 - Law

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Producing optimally short pulses at long wavelengths. This project aims to make the fluoride glass fibre platform the preferred material for generating ultrashort pulses at 2.8 nm and beyond. High power and efficiency from simple device architectures are essential for industry, medicine and defence. Modern sources of short pulses of light emitting mid-infrared wavelengths are complicated and inefficient. This project will improve fibre sources emitting short pulses and create the essential building blocks for future all-fibre arrangements that will be more robust. The sources are expected to have applications in non-linear optics and materials modification. Field of research: 0205 - Optical Physics

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Gender and sexual politics: Changing citizenship in Australia since 1969. This project aims to study the effects and legacies of the feminist and sexual revolutions for citizenship in Australia. Australians have increasingly claimed rights and protections in the intimate languages of sexual and gendered identities. This has reorganised public culture in confounding ways and led to debates about intimate life and identity crowd politics. This project will investigate the relationships between these diverse identities, and provide a critical genealogy of how these claims have opened up and challenged Australian citizenship since 1969. The project hopes to benefit policy makers and stakeholders with a new understanding and framework to navigate this complex landscape. Field of research: 2103 - Historical Studies

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Insights from brain imaging to study the neural basis of cognition. This project aims to address a major challenge - the need for a better understanding of the basis for human cognition. Humans have a unique capacity for diverse, complex, thought and behaviour. To achieve this our brains need to rapidly and flexibly reconfigure, directing attention to different aspects of the world moment-to-moment as we think and act. The project will combine innovative analysis methods with state-of-the-art neuroimaging and brain stimulation to understand how key brain regions drive this process. Insights from this project will link brain activation to behaviour, improve insights from brain imaging, and contribute a better understanding of the neural basis of cognition. Such insights can ultimately benefit the development of evidence based approaches to key areas of public concern such as health and education. Field of research: 1701 - Psychology