MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Buffering the ecosystem impact of invasive cane toads. This project aims to address the devastating ecological problems caused by invasive species, by developing a novel approach that does not rely upon eradicating the invader through training vulnerable native predators not to eat toxic cane toads. Expected outcomes of this project include building a broad coalition of conservation-focused groups, from private land-owners and local businesses through to Indigenous groups and government and non-government agencies across the entire Kimberley region. It will also result in the evaluation of methods for deployment of taste-aversion at a landscape scale. This should provide significant benefits by conserving vulnerable fauna and building a powerful network within a region of high biodiversity in tropical Australia. Field of research: 0602 - Ecology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Improved control of dioxin emissions during iron ore sintering. This project aims to develop an innovative assessment of dioxin formation through analysis and speciation of its precursors (Cl and Cu). Iron ore sintering is the industrial process with the highest emissions of dioxins and furans to the environment in Australia, which are amongst the most toxic substances produced by man. The aim of this project is to conduct critical investigations required for control of dioxin emissions during iron ore sintering. The expected outcome of this project is the development of control mechanisms for the process conditions responsible for dioxin formation. This should provide significant benefits, such as assisting the Australian iron ore industry to address the environmental requirements of their international trade partners and sustain their iron ore exports. Field of research: 0914 - Resources Engineering and Extractive Metallurgy

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Difficulties of monitoring for rare events. This project aims to identify cognitive and neural processes involved in sustaining attention to moving displays under monitoring conditions.People are poor at monitoring for rare events: they tend to miss infrequent targets. This is a problem in automated systems for transport, rail and air traffic control. If a computer error occurs, the operator needs to intervene quickly. This project will develop a tool for studying monitoring and determine patterns of brain activity that predict a lapse of attention. The results should contribute to theories of vigilance and improve performance in real-world monitoring situations. Field of research: 1701 - Psychology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Measuring meaning in Egyptian art: A new approach to an intractable problem. This project aims to produce new insights into the meaning of Eqyptian tomb art. Tomb paintings are a primary source of information about ancient Egyptian life, but what was the original purpose of this art? Previous hypotheses have proposed a range of personal, social or religious functions, but the question remains unresolved. The project aims to break through this impasse by testing the validity of the most comprehensive theory to date via an innovative visual and statistical analysis of wall paintings at the Middle Kingdom site of Beni Hassan. The results are expected to bring greater clarity to our understanding of Egyptian art, and so allow an objective evaluation of its use as a historical document. Field of research: 1901 - Art Theory and Criticism

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Shaping light – new frontiers in big fast data. This project aims to address the need for new technologies to tackle the bandwidth overload. Because of the basic human desire to communicate and interact, our society has an exponentially growing Internet data demand. The data capacity crunch is imminent. Data demand is rapidly approaching the nonlinear Shannon limit which governs the maximum data capacity of single-mode optical fibres. Bandwidth limitations may have severe implications for society and economy. This project aims to develop chip-scale mode-multiplexers based on innovative 3D integrated photonics and combine them with optical gain to shape light for space-division multiplexed optical communication networks. This is designed to break through the data capacity limit that currently prevents growth in Internet data rates. Field of research: 0205 - Optical Physics

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

The Effectiveness of Global Sexual Rights Policy in Education. This project plans to explore the usefulness and harmfulness of global rights-based policy processes for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer students. New global sexual rights policies for schools and related transnational processes paradoxically appear to have contributed to the criminalisation of (and even capital punishment for) education on homosexuality in several countries. This project intends to map the order and movement of transnational discourses about these students in global education policies and processes, consider how they reflect different regions' perspectives, and compare them to localised approaches. The knowledge from the project is expected to inform policy processes. Field of research: 1303 - Specialist Studies In Education

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Developing a geophysically relevant conduction model for the upper mantle. The aim of this project is to develop a geophysically relevant proton conduction model for the Earth’s upper mantle. This would allow the robust interpretation of conductivity maps of the interior of the Earth and the discovery of major new mineral deposits. This advance is designed to be achieved through four major initiatives based on recently developed experimental and computational facilities. The project aims to develop new methods for determining rock conductivities and subsurface mapping from combined datasets. This may provide new insights into the structure and dynamics of the upper mantle as well as providing key data necessary for a national effort aimed at re-establishing Australia as a primary target for mineral exploration. Field of research: 0403 - Geology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

The history of inebriation and reason from Plato to the Latin Middle Ages. This project aims to uncover the undetected but pervasive dichotomy between spiritual inebriation and physical drunkenness from antiquity to the Middle Ages. While Christian theologians, inspired by Plato, celebrated inebriation as a metaphor for a hyper-rational state in which the soul transcends the limitations of reason, Christian moralists, inspired by Stoic philosophy, condemned physical drunkenness as fall from reason. The project will analyse the cultural and intellectual history of inebriation with the aim of changing appreciation of how medieval thinkers inherited and transformed pagan classical ideas about drinking. Inebriation provides a hitherto unexplored path to rewriting the history of reason, urging us to consider our culturally-ingrained reactions to drinking. Field of research: 2204 - Religion and Religious Studies

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Bio-inspired camouflage to prevent shark attacks on surfers. Bio-inspired camouflage to prevent shark attacks on surfers. This project aims to develop a new shark deterrent technology to protect surfers and paddlers. Shark attacks are physically and emotionally devastating for the victims, and make the community disproportionately afraid. Surfers are at most risk of attack, but current surfboard-mounted deterrents are ineffective and not widely used. This project will build on the recent discovery that white sharks do not attack counter-illuminated (light emitting) seal-shaped decoys, and use new information about shark vision to understand why this ‘camouflage’ is so successful. This will also help to protect threatened shark species by reducing reliance on culling programs to keep people safe in the water. Field of research: 0608 - Zoology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Enriched categories: Applications in geometry and logic. The project aims to apply enriched categories to fields including algebraic and differential geometry and theoretical computer science. Enriched categories, introduced in Australia in the 1960s, underlie major mathematical results such as Grothendieck’s revolutionary work in algebraic geometry. Emerging scientific areas like higher differential geometry and homotopy type theory urgently need the formalism of enriched categories to be made applicable to them. Success in this could rapidly develop these areas and solidify Australia's position as a leading international force in mathematics. Field of research: 0101 - Pure Mathematics

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Resolving the warming East Australian Current's impact on a marine food web. Resolving the warming East Australian Current's impact on a marine food web. This project aims to understand the effects of climate change on marine food webs, from plankton production to predation by iconic marine fauna, by integrating data on oceanographic conditions and fish distribution with the foraging patterns and breeding success of seabirds. Warming waters due to strengthening western boundary currents have unknown consequences for coastal marine food webs. Innovative prey capture signatures from accelerometers, and advanced movement models from satellite locations will show how predators locate and prey upon fish schools. Anticipated outcomes are insight into how changing resource availability in the oceans affects ecosystem resilience; improved viability for coastal industries; and ecosystem-based conservation management strategies. Field of research: 0602 - Ecology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

How schools make decisions about supporting students with disability. How schools make decisions about supporting students with disability. This project aims to examine how schools decide about adjustments for students with disability. More students with disability are enrolled in mainstream schools, and schools take decisions about resourcing to support them. Little is known about how schools make these decisions and data suggest an over-reliance on teacher assistants. This project will develop and evaluate a pilot professional learning package to support schools to make better decisions will be developed and evaluated. A better understanding of decision-making processes is expected to help schools make optimal, cost-effective decisions that personalise learning and support. Field of research: 1303 - Specialist Studies In Education

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Predicting the diagnostic performance of individuals and organisations. Predicting the diagnostic performance of individuals and organisations. This project aims to address diagnostic error in advanced technology systems, by providing a mechanism to assess and improve individual diagnosticians’ performance. Organisations that rely on their employees’ diagnostic skills rarely assess them once the operators become qualified, so there is no basis for interventions that might prevent diagnostic errors affecting thousands. This research tests a new method of assessing diagnostic skills based on how skilled operators respond to cues. This project will test how employees’ diagnostic skills change and whether this change corresponds to measures of organisational performance. This research is expected to provide organisations with a tool to pre-empt diagnostic errors that could minimise costs to the economy. Field of research: 1701 - Psychology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Exemplary early childhood educators at work: A multi-level investigation. Exemplary early childhood educators at work: A multi-level investigation. This project aims to inform strategies to better attract, prepare, recognise, support and retain a high quality workforce, by investigating the complexity of early childhood educators’ work. Seemingly entrenched workforce shortages threaten the objectives that governments and families seek through investment in early childhood education. Popular images of work with young children as easy and instinctual, or of teaching as only school based, mislead potential workforce entrants and erode the status of educators, leading to attrition. This project’s audit and description of exemplary educators’ work, across each level of mandated qualification, will inform strategies to sustain a high quality early childhood workforce into the future. Field of research: 1301 - Education Systems

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Putting photonics in sewers. Putting photonics in sewers. This project aims to develop a photonic sensor capability to measure chemical compounds that cause concrete corrosion in waste-water pipes. Sustainable management of urban waste-water networks is a global problem. Hydrogen sulphide and water in air pockets cause concrete attack that results in premature pipe failure with high financial, public health and environmental costs. Unlike current qualitative methods, which rely on often dangerous visual inspection of pipes to identify concrete corrosion, this project will develop a quantitative sensing system that directly measures key chemicals, targeting the cause and not the effect. This research is expected to extend the life of waste-water networks and reduce cost to the public. Field of research: 0205 - Optical Physics

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

How the brain creates a sense of auditory space. How the brain creates a sense of auditory space. Spatial hearing is necessary for locating the source of a sound, and critical for communication in noisy listening conditions. The object of this project is to determine how the mammalian brain, including in human listeners, represents sensitivity to interaural time differences, one of the two binaural cues, and how this representation is transformed from the brainstem to the cortex. Anticipated outcomes include a coherent model of binaural hearing that links cellular, systems and perceptual investigations, and an understanding of the human auditory brain that should facilitate novel technologies and interventions to improve hearing function. Field of research: 1701 - Psychology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Diamond lasers for precision applications. Diamond lasers for precision applications. The project aims to create single mode lasers of ultrahigh spectral brightness. Single-mode lasers could improve many areas of science and technology, but existing technologies do not meet all performance requirements. This project will harness the intrinsic properties of diamond Raman lasers to increase the wavelength reach, power and stability of single mode lasers. The expected outcome is laser technology that satisfies the needs of emerging markets, for example in gas sensing and atom cooling. Field of research: 0205 - Optical Physics

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Multiparameter Harmonic Analysis: Weighted Estimates for Singular Integrals. This project aims to study advanced harmonic analysis concerning multiparameter theory and related topics. Harmonic analysis lies at the intersection of the frontiers of many branches of mathematics. It is fundamental to the study of operator theory and partial differential equations which has wide applications in many fields such as mathematical modelling, probability and number theory. This project aims to solve a number of open problems at the frontier of research in modern harmonic analysis including estimates on multilinear operators with nonsmooth kernels and advanced multiparameter theory on product spaces. Field of research: 0101 - Pure Mathematics

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Is it just a matter of time? Why some people plan and others do not. Differences in planning behaviour can be explained in terms of individual preferences for the past, present or future, or Time Perspective (TP). This project aims to identify why some people fail to plan for retirement using TP as a conceptual framework. Planning for retirement is an economic imperative since sufficient finances reliably predicts retirement adjustment. Despite this, almost one million people currently in the labour force have no retirement plans. The project plans to incorporate recent research showing that TP is stable over time and predicts behaviour into a model explaining propensity to plan. Improvements are anticipated in retirement planning, accumulation of resources for retirement and better adjustment benefiting individuals and policy-makers. Field of research: 1701 - Psychology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Real-Time Electromagnetic-wave Engineering for Advanced Wireless Systems. This project aims to enable and accelerate the development and deployment of next generation high-speed wireless networks, particularly in high network density areas. It aims to apply real-time electromagnetic signal processing engineering to achieve all-analog mm-wave radio systems for ultrafast wireless systems. Next-generation wireless networks will need to support a 1000-fold increase in data capacity. The mere evolution of current digital based mobile technologies will be largely insufficient to meet the anticipated demands, and in light of rapid transitions towards mm-wave domain, new disruptive technological solutions are needed. This project aims to provide these new technological devices and systems for the faster deployment of future wireless networks in Australia. Field of research: 1005 - Communications Technologies

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Charles Strong’s Australian Church (1885-1917) and Australian Secularism. This project plans to study a politically active network associated with Rev. Charles Strong and his independent congregation, the Australian Church, in Melbourne, before and after Federation. Congregation members included Members of Parliament, a chief justice, union leaders and feminist activists. This church network was central in the shaping and institutionalisation of Australia’s secular political settlement. The project aims to conduct a systematic analysis of the theological ideas about religion-state relations that contributed to Australian secularism. It should result in a fresh interpretation of early Australian progressive thought, and contribute philosophical resources for addressing religion-state dilemmas in modern Australia. Field of research: 2204 - Religion and Religious Studies

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

The nature and consequences of interruptions and multi-tasking. This project aims to generate new evidence of the nature and consequences of interruptions and multitasking in safety-critical clinical environments. Interruptions are ubiquitous in modern work environments. Multitasking, particularly with information technology, is now an attribute prized by many. However, there are increasing concerns that interruptions and multitasking contribute to errors and work inefficiency. Significant gaps in our understanding of these relationships inhibit action to improve work productivity and safety. This project plans to measure the effects of these work practices, and to develop methods, statistical approaches and theory. It also plans to propose practical strategies to support safe and efficient work processes. Field of research: 1117 - Public Health and Health Services

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Violent music: social, psychological, and neurological implications. This project will examine the forms and prevalence of violent music; its short- and long-term effects on aggression, emotional states and cognitive function; and neurological correlates of engagement with violent music. Music with violent themes is often blamed for antisocial or criminal behaviour, but we have little scientific understanding of the extent to which violent music interacts with social attitudes, emotions, actions and cognitive functions in musicians and fans. The project is expected to develop an empirically driven model of the pathways between violent music, thought and action, and to test hypotheses for how negative consequences of exposure to violent music can be minimised and social and psychological benefits maximised. Field of research: 1904 - Performing Arts and Creative Writing

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Better vibrations: controlling light with sound in semiconductor chips. Combining new concepts in the theory of nonlinear optics with advanced experiments, this project aims to develop smart waveguides that bind sound and light tightly together. Laser light and sound waves seem worlds apart, but in the right conditions we can make them interact: sound can change the colour of light. Harnessing this control of light in tiny waveguides on semiconductor chips would enable the development of unique and useful optical devices, but trapping sound in chips is tremendously difficult. By exploiting untapped material properties, the project seeks to break limits on the freedom and strength of interactions between light and sound. Project outcomes may establish a new class of optical chips for optical sensing and analysis in fields from security to communications to the biosciences. Field of research: 0205 - Optical Physics

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Quantum algorithms for computational physics. The project intends to provide a solid base of quantum algorithms that would enable quantum computers to tackle currently insurmountable problems. Many of the highest-value applications in computing are based on solving problems in physics. Quantum computers take advantage of the power of quantum mechanics to outperform even the fastest conceivable supercomputers. This project plans to use new tools in quantum algorithms to provide much faster ways for quantum computers to simulate physics, including molecular modelling, field theories that explain elementary forces in the universe, and differential equations needed to model classical physics. The increases in computing speed have the potential to enable new technology in areas such as drug design and materials science, as well as providing testable predictions for new theories of physics. Field of research: 0206 - Quantum Physics