Flinders University

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

A femtosecond beamline for time-resolved momentum microscopy. This project aims to obtain a femtosecond high-harmonic generation beamline that will be integrated with a photoemission electron microscope to create Australia’s first time-resolved momentum microscope. This project expects to use ultrafast spectromicroscopy to observe the changes to the excited electron motion within materials after they absorb light. Expected outcomes of this project include improving our understanding of light-driven physical and chemical processes that occur in materials and optoelectronic devices. This should provide significant benefits through the development of new cost effective and efficient materials for energy harvesting, sensors and photocatalysts. Field of research: 5104 - Condensed Matter Physics This project is requesting an extremely short duration high-energy ultraviolet light source that will be connected to Australia’s only momentum microscope. Using ultrashort light pulses, we will be able to observe the motion and location of the energetic electrons created when materials absorb light. This will create a world-class facility for investigating the photoabsorption behaviour of materials that underpins their light sensing, energy harvesting, and photocatalytic capabilities. Understanding these processes will generate new knowledge that will assist in developing cost effective and efficient materials that are essential for improving the performance of organic electronic devices, solar cells and clean hydrogen production technologies. This can offer tangible benefits to the Australian people and environment through helping to manufacture technologies with better performance, at reduced costs and with a minimal environmental footprint. This capability will further be used for training the next generation of material scientists and engineers in the skills they need to grow and support the Advanced Manufacturing and Energy sectors. The advanced techniques, only available through this instrumentation, can be used to forge new partnerships with industry to develop technologies and de-risk their implementation at large scales.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Threats to the water quality and ecosystem of Coffin Bay, South Australia. Coffin Bay (South Australia) is experiencing worsening environmental conditions despite its major economic and ecological importance. Research is needed to understand the cause of this decline, particularly in light of a recent bacterial outbreak that impacted the aquaculture industry. This multidisciplinary project aims to deliver world-leading scientific advice based on novel field techniques and innovative models of this complex inverse estuary system and its surrounding catchment. The new understanding of the sources, fluxes and fate of nutrients within the bay and the surrounding catchment, arising from this project, is expected to benefit management decision-making and establish a new standard in estuarine water quality investigation. Field of research: 3707 - Hydrology Many of Australia's bays and estuaries require stable water quality to maintain aquaculture, fishing and tourism industries, and to protect sensitive ecosystems. However, marine systems are increasingly exhibiting water quality decline, and determination of the causes is highly challenging, requiring advanced expertise from the fields of oceanography, hydrology and ecology. The lucrative aquaculture industry of Coffin Bay (South Australia) requires an urgent investigation of the decline in the Bay's water quality, for which the causes are unknown. Local and State Government agencies have joined with the oyster industry to support this project, identifying the need for breakthroughs in understanding the sources and fate of nutrients in the Bay. This study will establish a new national standard in the evaluation of nutrient sources and movements within a marine water body through a multidisciplinary investigation of the catchment, Bay and marine ecosystem that includes innovations in chemical and microbiological source tracking and novel catchment-oceanographic modelling tools. Understanding nutrient sources and fluxes within the Bay will allow decision-makers to deploy mitigation measures to protect the Bay for future generations. Insights arising from this project will be disseminated via workshops, open access data and various media to ensure that aquaculture industries across the country can apply them to research and management of water quality at other sites.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Future-proofing Australia's groundwater supplies using hydrogeophysics. The aim of this Fellowship is to drive advancements in hydrogeophysics – which quantifies and bolsters understanding of shallow subsurface processes and properties – to help future-proof Australia’s groundwater supplies. The project will develop improved and novel hydrogeophysical techniques for solving groundwater supply and contamination challenges that are relevant to Australian industry. It will harness the expertise of geophysics partners to increase industry knowledge as well as optimise and commercialise innovative methodologies to manage groundwater more robustly. Translating research into practice will increase uptake of these new techniques and technologies, replacing existing inefficient and invasive industry practices. Field of research: 3707 - Hydrology In Australia, groundwater is increasingly being used as a reliable and secure water supply. However, reductions in rainfall due to climate change and growing demands have led to a depletion of aquifer storage. This project addresses a critical knowledge and innovation gap in how Australians manage our finite groundwater resources. Novel hydrogeophysical technologies such as nuclear magnetic resonance, electromagnetic induction and seismic refraction will bring together hydrology, geophysics, geology and engineering to provide permeability measurements and porosity estimates that will be used as novel inputs to improved groundwater models for end-users, transforming current industry practices. A new joint Flinders University-Industry partner collaborative node, the Flinders Hydrogeophysics Node, will be established to drive research and development. Australians will benefit because this research will be translated through direct engagement with industry into industry up-skilling, leading to adoption of non-invasive methods to solve groundwater issues at spatial (and time) scales that are relevant for Australia. The opportunities for the water industry to capitalise on the integrated technologies will increase our shared understanding of our groundwater resources, improve economically and socially responsible groundwater development and optimize the contribution of groundwater to development and use of Australia’s resources and management of our national energy transition.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Breaking the Prison-Reoffending Cycle: A Desistance From Crime Approach. Half of Australia's 41,000 prisoners return to the $6B prison sector within two years of release. Building on recent impactful work with Corrective Services NSW, this project aims to generate a paradigm shift in rehabilitative practice within Australia's largest jurisdiction, through systematic integration of how and why people stop offending. Expected outcomes include a nationally significant evidence base on how prisons impact reoffending, bespoke assisted desistance action plans for 24 NSW prisons (impacting 8000 prisoners), and reduced rates of assaults linked to more timely progression through to custody. Key benefits include safer communities, reduced spending, and a new era of evidence-informed institutional reflective practice. Field of research: 4402 - Criminology Australia’s prison sector costs $6B per year with half of all people released returning to prison within two years of release. To date, our correctional agencies have relied almost solely on models of criminal behaviour that only tell us why people reoffend. What is missing is knowledge about how and why people stop offending, and in particular, the role imprisonment itself plays in that process. This Fellowship builds on pilot work in Australia's largest jurisdiction to help fundamentally transform the way prisoners are rehabilitated. It will do this by examining how a strength-based approach influences levels of prisoner and staff safety, prisoners’ personal identity change, and prisoners’ social connections within and beyond custody. Communication, translation and adoption of the research will occur directly with the research partner, Corrective Services NSW, to create evidence-based site-specific action plans that best support prisoners to turn away from crime after their prison term. The project will benefit Australia by building safer communities, reducing policing and prison costs, and improving the lives of Australians who have spent time in prison.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Optimal circadian timing: Wearable light device and customised technology. Maintaining circadian rhythms is vital for optimal sleep, alertness, safety, and performance but circadian misalignment is very common. This project aims to address the key impairments associated with circadian misalignment by advancing the tailored delivery of bright light administration. The project will deliver a novel Australian-industry-pioneered wearable device and accompanying technology to provide automated, interactive, customised, best-evidence based light therapy to retime the body-clock. This combination of a wearable device and customised technology does not yet exist in Australia or globally. The project benefits include excelerating existing knowledge and application of lighting strategies for effective circadian retiming. Field of research: 5201 - Applied and Developmental Psychology More than 10 million Australian adults suffer from inadequate sleep and impaired daytime functioning, alertness, and performance due to their mistimed body clocks. However, less than 1% can access the evidence-based light technologies needed to retime these. The 2019 Parliamentary Inquiry into Sleep Health Awareness identified an urgent need to translate circadian rhythm technologies into the homes of Australians, including for our rural and remote communities. To address this gap, the fellowship seeks to examine the impact, on sleep-deprived Australians, of a new Australian-made designed and manufactured smart wearable light delivery device and accompanying customised technology. The research will define and provide evidence-based validation for light exposure patterns for optimal effectiveness of the device. The benefits to Australians are clear. Australians with impaired sleep will enjoy improved sleep and improved daytime productivity, no matter where in Australia they live. In addition, leveraging this strong research-industry partnership at the interface of sleep science and wearable technology will accelerate Australian industry growth through optimising a pioneering sleep management device. The knowledge generated will be disseminated directly to the industry partner and via presentations to major relevant industry associations where it will guide the design of new methods and cost-effective devices that mitigate circadian mistiming.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Interrupting the trauma-youth justice experience for girls and young women. One in ten children in detention in Australia are female, 81% of whom have histories of being abused. 56% are Indigenous. These young females are detained in places designed for males which compounds and causes them further harm. This Fellowship aims to work with the Office of the Guardian for Children and Young People to create and implement new system-wide policies and practices to better engage with vulnerable girls. Using a co-design method, the project will develop a gender responsive Model of Care. Expected outcomes will disrupt the abuse to detention pathway and improve both short and long term outcomes for girls in detention. Benefits include enhancing the safety of Australian communities. Field of research: 4805 - Legal Systems Females are the fastest growing population in prisons in Australia. Girls are most often incarcerated for relatively minor offences linked to childhood trauma and violence. Because the stereotypical incarcerated juvenile is a ‘violent, young male,’ care practices for youths in detention are based on the needs of adolescent boys. These practices cause further harm to incarcerated girls, underlining a gap in our knowledge of practices that would optimise positive outcomes for the girls. This project will address this gap by designing and gaining evidence for the effectiveness of a model of care that allows incarcerated girls to improve their own wellbeing and prospects for rehabilitation and re-joining their communities. This project is independent of the child protection and youth justice systems and interactions, to avoid findings being affected by already damaged relationships or limited by established policy. Australia will benefit from a safer community through the reduction in the number of girls re-offending, with a resulting significant economic benefit for Australia. It will also benefit the girls themselves who will have improved prospects following incarceration. Implementation of a new model of care will be promoted directly to organisations that work with girls in child protection, residential care, children’s courts and detention centres. Research findings will also be presented in media to broadly raise awareness and encourage change that benefits Australians.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Including influence activity in complex conflict modelling. Influence activity in information warfare seeks to obtain an advantage through manipulating perceptions and behaviours. Influence activities are subtle and change over time, making them difficult to detect or mitigate. This project aims to develop a novel modelling tool which quantifies their effects, facilitating strategic and operational planning for Defence. The project will develop new mathematical knowledge by using innovative techniques to analyse transient interactions in large complex systems. The expected outcome is a model toolkit that can quickly inform Defence of optimal strategies to counter influence activity impacts. Key project benefits include an operational edge and essential security capability for Australia. Field of research: 4901 - Applied Mathematics Modern defence-related conflict environments are fast changing and uncertain. Currently, strategic and operational decision making in the Australian Defence Force is complex and labour intensive because of the many interacting and dynamic factors involved and the difficulty in predicting the impact of indirect or transient effects on these interactions. The speed and flexibility of existing decision making tools are insufficient for assessing impacts across the Force as a whole. This Fellowship aims to address the deficiency by developing new mathematical methods and models to support decision making in complex conflict scenarios, delivering a robust mathematical framework tool for rapid strategic and operational decision-making for Defence. The tool will allow individual capabilities across the whole of Defence to be synchronised and optimised to best effect, providing an operational edge for the Australian Defence Force and essential security capability for Australia. This advances the 2023 Defence Strategic Review's vision of an integrated force. Translation will occur in conjunction with the Key Industry Partner, Defence Science and Technology Group, by direct engagement with and implementation by Australian Defence.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Partnering with aged care providers to develop accessible outcome measures. This project aims to develop evidence-based tools designed for Aged Care organisations to drive inclusivity in self-reporting by older people as part of the National Mandatory Quality Indicator Program. Recommended by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, it will allow Aged Care providers to include people with dementia themselves when assessing their quality of their care. Expected outcomes include accessible-communication versions of the validated person-centred quality assessment tools recently implemented as part of the National Mandatory Quality Indicator program (namely the Quality of Life Aged Care Consumers and Quality of Care Experience Aged Care Consumers Instruments). Field of research: 4203 - Health Services and Systems Aged Care providers encounter a challenging task when seeking information from individuals with dementia regarding the quality of care they are receiving, because of a gap in our understanding of how data collection from these individuals can be optimised. This project will address the problem by working with Australian Aged Care providers to develop practical tools for the collection of data from these individuals. The tools will be co-developed with the Aged Care Industry and people living with dementia, ensuring they are fit for purpose and ready for immediate implementation. Crucially, this research supports the effective rollout of the new National Mandatory Quality Indicator Program, which aims to measure and report on the quality of the Australian aged care system, by providing meaningful input from people living with dementia into the Program. Implementation of the tools into the existing Program will occur through industry partners SA Innovation Hub, Uniting AgeWell and Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. Australia will benefit from improved care for people with dementia via the ability to respond to feedback from those who are reliant on the care. Importantly, the outcome will also increase Australia’s trust in the quality of care for some of society’s most vulnerable. Information on the tools and research outcomes will be broadly communicated to the industry through presentations at aged care industry events and publications in aged care industry journals.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Evaluation of shedder phenomenon in forensic science . This project aims to deliver the first standardised shedder test and categorisation, population datasets on shedder types and self/non-self DNA contributions; for casework implementation. This project is expected to generate data on factors affecting individual’s propensity to transfer DNA during a contact event (shedder status) which is currently poorly understood. Generated data will be of significant benefit in provision of justice as breakthroughs are urgently needed to bolster forensic DNA expertise in courts. DNA from touch evidence is central to most criminal court cases, yet these data and supporting methods are lacking. New robust methodology and suitable population datasets will pivotally benefit quality of evidence provision. Field of research: 3199 - Other Biological Sciences Touch DNA, i.e., the DNA left behind when a person touches a surface, is considered to be highly valuable forensic evidence in court proceedings. However, numerous aspects of touch DNA, such as differences in how people shed their DNA are not well understood. These uncertainties in the quality and quantity reduce the value of touch DNA in forensic analyses, and is a priority issue recognised by the National Institute of Forensic Sciences. The project will address this problem by developing a simple and novel test that will categorise individuals based on how they shed their touch DNA, enabling the construction of data sets that can be used in legal casework. By leveraging our strong links with the Partner Organisations (Victoria Police and Forensic Science SA), the project outcomes will be applied to operational settings via workshops, conferences and publications relevant to our partners and other police and forensics workers in Australia. The Australian community will benefit by improved justice from better evidence provided in court prosecutions against potential offenders.

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Proteo-genomic profiling of antibodies Category: Medical Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Optimising Breast Cancer Treatment: Unravelling the Influence of... Category: Medical Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Understanding patient burden and preferences for the management of... Category: Medical Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Resilience and Relocation: Unravelling the end of Angkor. This project addresses the unresolved issue of Angkor's decline, among the largest pre-industrial cities on Earth, by examining human settlement, landscape management, and resilience to climatic and demographic changes. Employing novel methods in archaeology, geoscience, and history, and building upon twenty-five years of Australian-led research in Cambodia, I will lead a team to interpret Angkor's decline as a distinct socio-cultural event, rather than a simple 'collapse.' The focus is on Srei Santhor, a pivotal site where Angkor's elites sought to ensure food security and maintain political authority amidst an agricultural crisis. Our findings will reveal key insights into societal evolution, modelling long-term socioeconomic trends. Field of research: 4301 - Archaeology Angkor is a globally and culturally significant World Heritage site in Cambodia. Similar to Australia's challenges in heritage site preservation amidst development, Cambodian sites face threats from the rapid expansion of nearby Phnom Penh. There is an urgent need for archaeological research on precious heritage locations. This Fellowship addresses this need, focusing on the relationship between past agricultural practices, environmental changes and societal responses at Angkor. The research explores the susceptibility of urban areas to water fluctuations, an issue pertinent to Australia and Southeast Asia. It also offers insights into community resilience and adaptive strategies in the face of climate change The work is aligned with Australia’s ‘Environmental Change’ and ‘Soil and Water’ Science & Research Priorities and supports the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, focusing on shared interests in sustainable development and climate action. Australians will benefit from the promotion of cultural and educational exchange, the strengthening of diplomatic relations, contributions to the capacity for sustained economic progress, stability and security in our region through a better understanding of past community responses to climate change. Results will be communicated beyond academia through public lectures, media engagements, and social media, to both Australian and Southeast Asian communities.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

A new paradigm for tracking the circadian clock. The circadian clock controls biological processes in every tissue. There are large differences between people in circadian timing, yet we lack accurate and simple methods for measuring circadian timing. This project aims to (i) create a novel physiologically based model of the human circadian system and (ii) create and evaluate methods that enable rapid individualisation of the model. Expected outcomes for this project include accurate estimation of a person’s circadian timing from easily collected wearable data. This will generate significant benefits, including individually tailored countermeasures for mistimed circadian rhythms to improve sleep, workplace performance, and to treat diseases that involve mistimed circadian rhythms. Field of research: 5202 - Biological Psychology The circadian (24-hour) clock, commonly referred to as the body clock, organises daily rhythms in all tissues of our body, including when we feel sleepy and when we feel alert. There are large differences in circadian timing between people, but there are currently no simple or practical ways to measure body clock timing in individuals. Existing methods are expensive and require people to stay in dim conditions for several hours in a fixed posture, providing a saliva or blood sample every hour. This makes it difficult to carry out research that increases our understanding of the body clock and limits translation of the research into commercial and social benefits, such as interventions that reduce fatigue, improve sleep, and align body clock timing in disorders where mistimed body clocks contribute to poor health outcomes. This project will address this problem by developing a new method that allows a person’s body clock to be accurately estimated from light data that is easily collected using a wearable device. This simple, less than 30 minute long, new test will enable highly accurate assessment of the body clock of individuals, allowing rapid analysis and improved approaches to reducing fatigue and improving sleep in the large number of Australians who suffer from the debilitating effects of disrupted sleep patterns.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Unravelling the psychological foundations of reactionary social movements . Research into how and why people mobilise in favour of progressive social change is flourishing; but research on why people act collectively to oppose equality and inclusion is rare. Using new conceptual and methodological approaches, this project aims to understand when, how, and why people organise collectively to oppose the inclusion of migrants and transgender people; what prompts some people to escalate to political or physical violence; and how online platforms enable engagement. Expected outcomes defining the social psychology of actors, and trajectories of engagement and extremism, will support a growing collaboration with end-users in the national intelligence community to bolster social cohesion and inform de-escalation tactics. Field of research: 5205 - Social and Personality Psychology Diversity is a part of any flourishing society, but groups opposed to social change threaten progress towards a more inclusive world for people with particular cultural or gender identities, while adoption of extremist views by members of these groups constitutes a serious security threat. Some extremists no longer fit traditional types of extremism (left- vs right-wing, religious vs secular), perhaps because social media provides unprecedented opportunities for promoting grievance and hate. Government intelligence and security bodies are struggling to understand this new diversity and what prompts certain individuals to progress to radical, and even terrorist, activities. This gap in our understanding is the subject of the Fellowship. I seek to define the steps through which people adopt illegal or violent means of expressing their opposition to people, such as immigrants or transgender people, with identities different to their own. I will explore the radicalisation process and test the role of online social media platforms in the development of extremist views. The understanding created by this research will identify new approaches to combating extremism, benefiting Australians by creating a safer, more cohesive, domestic and international security environment. Outcomes of the research will be shared by direct engagement with an International non-government and government reference group and national intelligence community end-users.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Quantifying the long-term resilience of Australian mammal communities. This project aims to use the fossil record of mammals and new methods to study how mammal communities in Australia have changed over the last 25 million years. This project expects to provide major new data showing how biodiversity is assembled, maintained, and lost over time. Expected outcomes include new knowledge regarding the resilience of Australian mammal communities to extinction and environmental changes, and identifying when there have been major shifts in the way in which they have functioned. It will help predict how the modern Australian mammal fauna will respond to the current extinction crisis and to projected climate change. This information can be used to develop more effective conservation strategies. Field of research: 4101 - Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation The mammal fauna of Australia is of great national and global significance, both for its unique and iconic species, and for the economically valuable ecosystem services it performs. Climate and vegetation forecasts indicate that many regions of Australia will experience major environmental change in the short- to medium-term, including increases in temperature, and changes in rainfall pattern and vegetation, factors that will enhance the current extinction crisis. Effective conservation and management strategies require an understanding of how the Australian mammal fauna is likely to respond to these changes. This project will examine ecosystems associated with fossil and modern Australian mammal faunas. Outcomes will identify: 1) whether an ecosystem continues to function in the same way if its species change; 2) major changes in ecosystem function over time, and 3) possible causes(s) of these changes. This will help predict how the modern Australian mammal fauna will respond to projected climate and vegetation change. More generally, the project will provide profound new insights into the past, present and likely future fate of Australian ecosystems. It will provide new data and tools that can be used to guide conservation legislation, planning and management to maximise the effectiveness of future conservation strategies. It will benefit all Australians by directly improving efforts to conserve Australia’s precious and irreplaceable ecosystems.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Supramolecular host-in-host adsorbents that trap perfluorinated pollutants . This project aims to enhance the pore chemistry of metal-organic frameworks by integrating nanocages within their pores. These advanced composites will be applied to trap the types of perfluoroalkyl pollutants that current water treatment approaches fail to address. This research expects to generate significant new knowledge in the areas of host-guest chemistry, materials design, and water remediation. The expected outcomes include the generation of advanced methodologies and techniques to enhance the performance of porous adsorbents. Significant benefits are expected, such as access to high-performance adsorbents that remove toxic pollutants from water and reduce adverse health effects associated with exposure to these harmful pollutants. Field of research: 3403 - Macromolecular and Materials Chemistry Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) represent a significant category of harmful synthetic pollutants, linked to several serious chronic diseases such as kidney disease and testicular cancer. PFAS are frequently employed in firefighting, stain protection, and in non-stick cookware and as a result have become prevalent in our waterways and drinking water. Current water purification technologies are unable to remove certain types of PFAS from water to a satisfactory level, which increases the chance of serious health risks to the Australian population. This project will address this problem by developing absorption materials with enhanced attraction to PFAS, aiding filtration of the PFAS from our waterways. This project will benefit Australians by providing cleaner drinking water and reducing human exposure to these harmful pollutants. Expected follow-on economic benefits include a reduced burden on publicly-funded healthcare and the creation of an adsorbent product with commercial value. Research outcomes will be promoted through publication in academic journals and presentations at international conferences and focused environmental and chemical workshops. Outputs from this project will lead to new collaborations with Australian organisations that deal with PFAS remediation and commercialisation opportunities for companies that design adsorbent products.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Gallium Liquid Metal Nanoparticles For Targeted Delivery of Antimicrobials. Antimicrobial resistance has become an urgent societal problem. This project aims to employ advanced strategies to rationally design the next generation of antimicrobial functional materials using gallium liquid metal nanoparticles. These materials will efficiently target microbial pathogens while remaining safe for mammalian cells. By utilising interdisciplinary approaches and advanced analytical tools, this project will generate advanced knowledge and a mechanistic understanding of bio-nano interactions between liquid metals and biological cells. On the applied side, the project will deliver novel solutions to current challenges posed by antimicrobial resistance in various fields, including healthcare, food, environment, and agriculture. Field of research: 3106 - Industrial Biotechnology Microbial growth and contamination have long been significant issues in Australia's manufacturing, food safety, and healthcare industries. Microbial resistance to antimicrobial compounds is a major and ongoing threat to humankind, with the continual emergence of microbial species that survive all currently known antimicrobial agents. This project aims to develop an innovative technology platform for producing metal-based, nanoscale-sized antimicrobial compounds that are less susceptible to microbial resistance than currently available antimicrobials. Such compounds will have significant applications as coatings for medical devices, textiles, and various household and food-related uses, benefitting Australians by reducing microbial growth and antimicrobial resistance. Australian industry will also have the opportunity to lead the commercialisation of such compounds to enhance Australia’s economy and position Australia to lead the implementation of next-generation antimicrobial technologies. Outcomes of this project support Australia’s National Research Priorities of Advanced Manufacturing, Food, and Health. Outcomes will be published through traditional peer-reviewed publications but also as media releases, public presentations and direct engagement with relevant professional biotechnology groups and companies.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Advancing bioelectronics with silicon carbide on microfluidics. Flexible bioelectronics is an emerging technology for real-time monitoring of vital signals on skin and in the body. Microfluidics is a technology for fluid handling in microscale. This project aims to develop the first platform technology with both flexible bioelectronics and microfluidics for enhanced sensing, thermal management and actuation. The project is expected to establish new fundamental knowledge in sensitivity boosting mechanisms with nano-thin semiconducting films, practical prototypes for long-lasting bioelectronics with integrated microfluidics and their large-scale manufacturing processes. Outcomes include step changes in designing innovative wearable and implantable devices and their massive commercialisation opportunities. Field of research: 4017 - Mechanical Engineering Integrating electronic devices inside the body enables unprecedented novel diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities to address personal health conditions. Current electronic medical implants pose a high risk of degradation and poor performance in the body due to their lack of flexibility, sensitivity and longevity. To address this gap, this project will explore new physics and develop advanced manufacturing technologies for implantable neurological devices using ultra-thin semiconducting membranes with flexible microfluidics. The proposed technology will support the development of a new class of therapeutic devices, such as local nerve coolers and stimulators for treatment of chronic neurological conditions and pain management. The project will generate innovations in soft implantable bioelectronics, offering Australian biotechnology industry access to a new platform technology with massive commercial opportunities in the global market of $169 billion by 2030. The findings will be made widely available through open access publications and licensing agreements with industry partners.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

High shear fluid flow driving carbon foundry for advanced manufacturing. This project aims to develop versatile continuous flow thin film microfluidic device technology for harnessing contact electrification generated by sub-micron high shear flows in fabricating novel and high-performance nano-carbons for which current methods are ineffective or impossible. This project expects to generate new knowledge on complex vortex fluid fields, their intricate interactions with external electric and magnetic fields and carbon nanostructure formation. Expected outcomes for this project include exquisite control on reforming nanocarbon with tuneable properties and unprecedented hetero-structures. This should provide significant benefits, such as in generating new processes and products for advanced manufacturing. Field of research: 4018 - Nanotechnology Recent developments in the creation of nanocarbon materials offer not only the most conductive material in the world enabling the efficient transfer of heat and electricity, but also the potential to replace conventional less efficient semiconducting material used in a wide range of electronic devices as touch screen displays, supercapacitors and solar cells. The global market for these materials is projected to be over $5 billion by 2026.  The challenge and opportunity in nanocarbon manufacturing is to correctly control the properties of the materials produced. The project will capitalise on an Australian invented vortex device for precise preparation of carbon material with improved properties. The low cost, low energy usage, and small dimensions of the device are attractive features for new carbon material manufacturing. This project will place Australia at the frontier in advanced manufacturing of functional materials and benefit Australians by the development of environmentally sustainable technologies based on carbon materials, which have a range of applications, including in energy generation and storage, monitoring and improving the environment.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Understanding vicarious trauma in Australian foster care. This project aims to investigate experiences of vicarious trauma in Australian foster care. This project expects to generate new knowledge about antecedents and mitigators of vicarious trauma, and will do so by using interdisciplinary approaches to understand the specific contexts in which vicarious trauma may occur. Expected outcomes of this project includes the generation of national data about vicarious trauma in foster care through the development of a new measure of vicarious trauma. This should provide significant benefits, such as providing a clear means to assessing vicarious trauma, and through the development of a mobile app that will enable foster families in Australia to monitor and report experiences of vicarious trauma. Field of research: 4410 - Sociology This project will look at how Australian foster families (inclusive of foster carers, adults who grew up in care, and adult birth children of foster carers) potentially experience vicarious trauma. Vicarious trauma occurs when one person is exposed to the trauma-related behaviours of another person, resulting in significant negative changes to their worldview. The project will result in an understanding of experiences of vicarious trauma in Australian foster care, a new way to measure vicarious trauma, and a mobile app that foster families can use to monitor the potential for vicarious trauma and to request support. These outcomes are important as they provide a proactive way of conceptualising and addressing vicarious trauma in Australian foster care, rather than the reactive approaches that currently exist. Proactive approaches to vicarious trauma in Australian foster care can help to reduce the economic costs of child protection by reducing foster carer attrition and mitigating the harmful effects of trauma on all parties, as well as improving the wellbeing of foster families.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Unusual trisulfide chemistry. This project aims to investigate the mechanism of an unexpected reaction of trisulfides with common amide-containing solvents. Specifically, these solvents (such as dimethylformamide) were discovered to cleave S-S bonds in trisulfides and related polysulfides. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the understanding of the reaction mechanism and then use that understanding for useful chemistry. Expected outcomes of this project include a mechanistic understanding of a new reaction, and the use of this chemistry in polymer synthesis and polymer recycling. This project should provide significant benefits in new knowledge, as well as support new strategies in polymer synthesis and recycling to benefit the environment. Field of research: 3403 - Macromolecular and Materials Chemistry This project will investigate new methods to make and recycle rubber. Currently, rubber such as that found in car tyres is mostly sent to landfill. This is not sustainable and there is a need to develop new technologies to recycle rubber. This research will benefit Australian manufacturing and recycling in the area of novel plastics and rubber. Many Australian industries use rubber and rubber-like materials, so this project will also provide sustainable solutions for these companies. The benefits of using the novel rubber technology will be environmental (reducing waste) and economic (providing new rubber products). The technologies developed in this project will also be applicable to traditional rubber products such as waste tyres, providing a new method for recycling them and converting them into new products. Patents generated from the discoveries in this project may be licensed to Australian companies to facilitate uptake. The project team has an outstanding record in commercialising discoveries and will present at industrial trade shows to promote the technologies and findings.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Folding polymers for high-performance energy storage. This project aims to address the current bottleneck of energy storage capability in polymers by developing new compact structures through programmed polymer folding. This project expects to understand how structures determine electrochemistry properties by creating densely packed redox-active polymers to break the limits of charge transfer rates and storage ability. Expected outcomes include deep insights into fundamental electrochemical reaction mechanisms, laying a strong foundation for the applications of polymers from flexible electronic devices to micro-grid energy storage. This project should provide significant benefit in new knowledge and support advanced manufacturing using our high value-added materials. Field of research: 4016 - Materials Engineering Current rechargeable batteries primarily use lithium and cobalt compounds, which are both difficult and expensive to mine and refine. Ever-increasing costs and safety risks of using these batteries have hampered their use in Australia’s renewable energy sector. While 90% of waste batteries in Australia go to landfill, the leaching of heavy metals into our land and water raises enormous environmental concern. This project will develop new metal-free polymer rechargeable batteries by modifying and testing the properties of organic-based materials. The new polymer batteries can replace millions of household metal-based batteries and eliminate waste battery pollution in Australia and around the world. The technology generated from this project will be patented, promoted through industry and technology exhibitions, and further deployed by Australian companies. This will benefit Australia’s advanced manufacturing through which the next-generation of metal-free batteries will power emerging flexible and wearable devices as well as store energy for millions of home solar systems.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

The cost of keeping gruesome images from the world. This project aims to investigate one of society’s most invisible ‘frontline’ trauma workforces—the online content moderators responsible for limiting the public’s exposure to distressing and sensitive content on social media. Using a series of rigorous experiments, and cutting-edge psychological and physiological assessment techniques, the research will advance our understanding of the impact of indirect trauma on mental health. Expected outcomes include novel empirical evidence for preventative strategies that will predict, monitor and reduce negative mental health outcomes. This will provide significant global benefits to people with indirect trauma experiences, such as defence and forensic personnel. Field of research: 5201 - Applied and Developmental Psychology This project investigates one of society’s invisible ‘frontline’ global workforces— moderators who keep the internet safe by limiting people’s exposure to content depicting the worst of humanity. Although we know 'indirect' forms of trauma (like viewing traumatic images) can be harmful, the content moderation role has received no scientific attention. We will develop methods to study content moderation, enabling us to identify its problematic features and evaluate strategies to monitor, predict and reduce the psychological harm moderators experience. These strategies will apply to other workforces (e.g., police), putting Australia at the global forefront for reducing social and economic damage from mental health problems in people routinely exposed to traumatic images. We will work directly with relevant organisations and individuals, including workers for social media platforms like Facebook, Police, Defence personnel and content moderators, to introduce effective strategies that protect them from psychological harms.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Young People with Disability & Young Carers: Opportunities & Contributions. This project aims to examine opportunities that young people with disability and young carers (aged 12-24) value and access, and contributions they make to families, communities and society. Using novel conceptual framing, qualitative research and large-scale survey data, the project expects to provide new knowledge on how policy can support access to valued opportunities and contributions for young people with disability and young carers to support them to reach their full potential. Young people are centrally involved as co-researchers and the project is guided by a Policy Advisory Group. Benefits include evidence for a strengths-based policy approach to disability and care, longer-term economic gains and improved social cohesion. Field of research: 4407 - Policy and Administration One in five young people access disability support at school. One in ten provide care for ill or disabled family members. Most research on young people with disability and young carers has focused on their support needs, but this project will examine their positive engagement in education, employment, caregiving, volunteering and other forms of active citizenship. Young people with disability and young carers will work as paid community co-researchers to identify opportunities for engagement. Results will help governments and service providers make better policy. This will directly benefit young people with disability and young carers who will be able to access better education and training, better jobs and higher earnings. It will also benefit young people with disability and young carers through improved social opportunities, including increased participation and volunteering in sports and community clubs, increased influence in community organisations, and more voice in local, state and federal government bodies. They will enjoy higher self-esteem, confidence, social recognition and living standards.