University of Technology Sydney

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Engaging the forgotten public health workforce. This Fellowship project aims to provide the first in-depth, coordinated, critical public health examination and application of consumer behaviour-informed methodology to examine health promotion and complementary medicine. The project aims to build on novel analyses and critical engagement with community members, health professionals and policymakers to advance public health scholarship of health information-seeking and chronic illness prevention. It seeks to identify challenges and opportunities to improve Australian health promotion initiatives; provide an evidence-base to inform coordinated implementation of the National Preventive Health Strategy; and optimise the primary care workforce to benefit health promotion for Australians. Field of research: 4206 - Public Health More than one third of Australia’s burden of disease is due to preventable illness. This year the federal government has released its landmark National Preventive Health Strategy to promote positive health choices and improve Australians’ health and wellbeing. The Strategy’s success relies on coordinated multisectoral activities across all settings and channels. However, complementary medicine (CM) practitioners constitute half of the primary health care workforce and actively share health information with the public and their patients yet are largely forgotten in health policy, strategy and planning. This Fellowship develops the evidence required to ensure the health promotion activities of CM practitioners align with wider government priorities and are coordinated with government health promotion initiatives. It provides a roadmap for the government to reach millions of Australians seeking health information from non-government sources or visiting a CM practitioner for health advice. Thus, it addresses a neglected yet fundamental component of preventive health strategy impacting public health outcomes.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Developing lithium metal batteries – a game-changer for renewable energy. This project aims to develop nanostructured lithium metal anodes for rechargeable lithium metal batteries with high energy density and excellent cycle life. Lithium metal batteries such as lithium-sulfur batteries and lithium carbon-dioxide batteries present great opportunities for long-range electric vehicles and high-efficient renewable energy storage. Through the rational structure design and advanced interface engineering, the developed lithium metal anodes are expected to overcome the critical issues that hindered their practical application for high-energy batteries. The success of this project will provide new technological solutions for next-generation energy storage devices. Field of research: 4016 - Materials Engineering It is well recognized that energy generated from renewable sources instead of burning fossil fuels reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Developing reliable energy storage systems plays an essential role in boosting renewable energy utilisation. Lithium-based rechargeable batteries are widely considered as a dominant system for energy storage. This Future Fellowship project is expected to deliver breakthrough cutting-edge nanotechnologies that enable lithium metal batteries to double or even triple the energy density of the current commercial lithium-ion batteries. The outcomes will generate new knowledge in materials science and nanofabrication and promote the upgrade of the battery industry. This project will assist Australian government’s investment in the new battery-related industries that will create job opportunities, accelerate clean energy utilisation, and secure a net-zero carbon future.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Quantum Nanophotonics with Atomically Thin Materials . This project aims to deliver new hardware for scalable integrated quantum photonics based on fluorescent defects in hexagonal boron nitride. The project will generate new knowledge in advanced manufacturing of two-dimensional systems, to pivot towards engineering of new optical qubits. Expected outcomes include a solid-state platform for on-chip quantum technologies and development of sovereign quantum capabilities. The results will constitute an important step towards implementation of secure communications and quantum information protocols. Benefits include advances in emerging manufacturing capabilities, training of young Australians, generation of intellectual property and securing major economic benefits to all Australians. Field of research: 4018 - Nanotechnology Quantum technologies are poised to revolutionise the way we conceive and use technology in our daily lives. However, such technologies rely on development of new quantum hardware based on materials with extremely thin atomic layers. This project will generate significant, fundamental and practical knowledge about these new materials, and develop pathways to engineer them into real-world devices. Quantum technology products, such as quantum processing chips, will enable indispensable applications for a sovereign Australia – including secured communications, cryptography, high-speed computing and advanced sensing. Research translation through intellectual property licencing, especially to future Australian start-up companies, will allow the project’s research discoveries to be commercialised and made widely available. The spectrum of end users may include defence, banking and cybersecurity sectors, as well as agriculture and space. Future quantum technologies will be critical to ensure Australia’s continued, economic prosperity, and its leadership in the global quantum industry.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Super-Resolution Nanothermometry on Live Cells. This project aims to deliver new temperature sensors and advance the field of nanothermometry beyond its optical diffraction limit and current reliability issues. The project expects to forge a new way to study organelle metabolism and functional interactions by creating a super-resolution heat map of living cells. Expected outcomes include new knowledge of ionic energy transfer among lanthanide ions, innovative super-resolution imaging nanothermometers, new biochemistry and cell biology protocols, and spectroscopy and microscopy instruments. The adoption of these outcomes in new technologies should provide significant benefits in cell biology research, life sciences, engineering sciences and Australia’s imaging and sensor industries. Field of research: 3403 - Macromolecular and Materials Chemistry The accurate measurement of temperatures inside living cells allows important insights into the internal cell structures, functions and health. Such measurements require highly specialised sensors based on nanotechnology, but current techniques lack accuracy, reliability and spatial resolution. This project will deliver new temperature sensors with advanced spatial resolution, better accuracy and superior reliability, allowing the creation of completely new analysis techniques, such as a super-resolution heat map of living cells. It is expected that the adoption of the new techniques by the Australian biotechnology and advanced manufacturing industry will revolutionise the development of next- generation diagnostics devices. The devices will assist medical specialists in the early diagnosis and effective treatment of a diverse range of diseases, such as neurodegenerative disorders, cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Ultimately, this project’s research has the potential to benefit the Australian public through better health outcomes and to improve the competitiveness of Australia’s biotechnology industry.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Shining nanoparticles for single microRNA detection in microfluidics. This project aims to extensively study the interface between nanoparticles and nucleic acids. It sets out to produce a novel ultrasensitive high-performance biosensing platform that will combine luminescent nanoparticles with microfluidics in a digital assay. This portable platform will detect biological fingerprints, or microRNAs, at a single-molecule level, delivering unprecedented levels of sensitivity and specificity. The multiplexed platform has the potential to benefit the biomedical research of microRNAs and opens up a genuine commercialisation potential for portable biosensing of nucleic acids. Field of research: 1004 - Medical Biotechnology The COVID-19 pandemic showed the importance of rapid and sensitive pathological tests that are easy to perform. In 2019 these point-of-care tests held a global market value of USD 18.8 billion, the COVID-19 pandemic increased this to an estimated USD 27.8 billion in 2020, and it is only expected to grow. This project will develop a novel biosensing platform for nucleic acids optimal for future use in a point-of-care setting. Every part of the project lifecycle involves high or moderate job growth areas of very high skill in diverse fields and lives up to the National Innovation and Science Agenda calling for greater research-industrial collaboration and commercial spin-offs. Point-of-care tests will allow faster and self-directed identification of health threats, can be deployed in remote communities and will alleviate the burden on centralised testing. Developing cutting edge technologies supports Australia’s economic and commercial position as a leading innovation hub in nanotechnology.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Above the glass ceiling: Australian women in corporate leadership 1910–2020. This project aims to expand our understanding of business history by undertaking the first comprehensive history of women in corporate leadership in Australia across the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. An interdisciplinary approach and multi-method design aims to expand national and international knowledge on the ways women have accessed, operated in and influenced corporations since Federation. Expected outcomes include deeper knowledge about women’s participation in corporate leadership in Australia, their pathways to leadership positions, and their long-term impact on corporation strategy and decision-making. This will help design more effective strategies to improve the success of women in leadership now and in the future. Field of research: 2202 - History and Philosophy of Specific Fields This will be the first history of women in corporate leadership in Australia. Despite national efforts to improve women in leadership, women make up only 10 percent of CEOs, 25 percent of executives, and less than 30 percent of all board members. Improving the success of women in leadership requires deeper knowledge on the diverse ways women have accessed positions of leadership in Australia, changes in their pathways into leadership roles, and their long-term influence on strategy and decision-making. This project's interdisciplinary approach and multi-method design will produce significant knowledge that addresses these important questions with depth, nuance and context. Advancing knowledge in these areas can help governments and corporations develop better policies to improve women’s access to, and success in, senior leadership roles in Australia. Improving the success of women in leadership can lead to economic benefits such as innovation and better decision-making, with women's empowerment generally contributing to societal benefits such as more comprehensive health, education and social protection.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Thermal hotspots detection in nanoscale two-dimensional electronics. The emergence of flexible nanoelectronics holds the promise to impact the way we live—from smart wearables to foldable smartphones. However, heat dissipation in the atomically-thin materials used for their conception has remained poorly understood due to their planar structures. This project aims at the detection and mapping of nanoscale thermal hotspots in flexible nanoelectronics devices using a two-dimensional-based optical thermometer. The expected outcome of this project is the development of a non-invasive thermometric technology that enables locating these critical nanoscale hotspots with nanoscale precision. This will lead to better design and manufacturing strategies for heat dissipation in these devices. Field of research: 1007 - Nanotechnology Flexible nanoelectronics are predicted to play a major role in transforming our lifestyle and connectivity in the era of Internet of Things. The development of these devices requires a comprehensive understanding of their thermal dissipation at the nanoscale, which is critical to their optimal operation as well as failure. This project will create a uniquely suitable thermometric toolset to help engineers tackle these heat transfer issues, and hence pushing the boundaries of device performance. The project aligns well with the set of Autralia’s Science and Research Priorities—“Enabling the development of a new and advanced manufacturing sector”. It will significantly boost Australia’s research capabilities in the emerging field of flexible nanoelectronics, propelling the nation towards its leading position in designing and manufacturing wearables and bendable gadgets. The knowledge formed in the proposed project will allow Australian companies to access or define new markets and supply chains, globally, as well as provide training opportunities for highly-skilled engineers and scientists in the country.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Non-flammable quasi-solid electrolytes for lithium batteries. This project aims to develop non-flammable and sustainable quasi-solid electrolytes for lithium batteries with high energy density, excellent safety and long cycling life. The deployment of high-energy lithium batteries has been greatly impeded by the poor electrode|electrolyte compatibility, and safety concerns originating from flammable liquid electrolytes. This research will tackle these challenges by in-situ fabricating non-flammable quasi-solid electrolytes, and stabilising the electrode|electrolyte interfaces. The project is expected to facilitate the commercialisation of high-performance quasi-solid lithium batteries, and leap forward the progress of clean energy storage technologies that are efficient, durable, safe and reliable. Field of research: 0912 - Materials Engineering Advanced rechargeable batteries play critical roles in modern society with applications in portable electronic devices, electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. The proposed research is expected to significantly boost the performance of quasi-solid lithium batteries including safety, energy density, and cycle life. In particular, the highly-safe quasi-solid lithium batteries have great potential to support smart electricity grids and electric vehicles, which will improve the reliability of electricity supply to Australian communities and enable eco-friendly transport modes. Therefore, this project will help the government to meet its renewable energy target, facilitate utilities to improve power quality and reliability, open new industry opportunities, and enable Australia to maintain its high standing in energy research.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Directly Transforming Sewage Sludge into High-value Liquid Bioenergy. This project aims to develop an innovative technology and the underpinning science to gain renewable liquid bioenergy from sewage sludge and realise sludge reduction on an economical and safe platform, by directly transforming sewage sludge into high-value medium chain fatty acids, allowing for easy collection, storage and transportation. Wastewater treatment is generating an increasing quantity of carbon-rich sewage sludge, which typically represents a substantial, but largely untapped, renewable resource. The intended outcome of the project will transform sewage sludge from a troublesome waste stream to a valuable resource that can be applied in existing sludge treatment infrastructure for addressing Australia’s increasing energy demand. Field of research: 0904 - Chemical Engineering Australia’s energy consumption is growing at about 2% per year. As natural resources currently used to supply this energy demand (e.g., petroleum and coal) are finite, alternative and renewable energy sources are urgently required. Large quantities of waste sewage sludge generated from wastewater treatment in Australia are posing an ever increasing threat to our societies and economies. The sludge is one of the main issues derived from wastewater sanitation but also represents a substantial renewable energy resource. This project aims to mitigate the global threat presented by increasing volumes of sewage sludge through creating a novel sustainable process that provides treatment while also delivering valuable liquid bioenergy. The project will provide strong support to the on-going paradigm shift in the view of waste sludge streams - from sludge as pollutant to sludge as renewable resource. Such attitude change is expected to fundamentally alter the economics and sustainability of sewage sludge management and bring strong economic, social and environmental benefits to Australia.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Improving pollutants dispersion in street canyons for better urban living. Urban street canyons formed by tall buildings restrict dispersion of vehicle emissions. This poses severe health risks to the public by aggravating roadside air pollution, but is often overlooked in city planning. This project aims to uncover the mechanisms controlling vehicle emissions dispersion processes in urban street canyons by combining novel field experiments and numerical simulations. Expected outcomes include a validated tool for predicting roadside air quality, control measures for reducing air pollution and guidelines for better future urban planning. This project expects to critically assist policy makers and urban planners to effectively manage city development projects and safeguard a high air quality standard in our cities. Field of research: 1205 - Urban and Regional Planning Urban air pollution causes approximately 3,000 premature deaths and $11-24 billion health costs every year in Australia. Meanwhile, the Australian Bureau of Statistics predicts that Australia’s population will continue to increase rapidly in the coming decades. Many Australian cities are relaxing the building height limits to accommodate the growing population, leading to taller and denser buildings and deeper street canyons which restrict air ventilation and pollutants removal and pose severe health risks to the public by aggravating roadside air pollution. This project will advance our understanding of vehicle emissions dispersion in urban street canyons and develop control measures to mitigate its impact on public health. Such knowledge will be crucial for policy makers and urban planners to safeguard a high air quality standard in our cities during the rapid urbanisation and construction boom. Such decision-making capability is expected to benefit millions of Australian city inhabitants by reducing their exposure to roadside air pollution and the associated health and economic costs.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Multiscale modelling of fluid–particle transport in porous media. The aim is to use a multiscale approach to rigorously model fluid–particle transport in porous media – a fundamental process in many engineering problems. With advanced parallel-computing tools, a microscale model is developed to incorporate interacting grains, water, and particles. The model and innovative upscaling methods will transform our understanding of mechanisms, and allow development of predictive models for particle transport in both steady and unsteady porous flows. The fundamental knowledge and new-generation numerical models will support technological advances to directly benefit rail and road construction and their maintenance, fuel and renewable-energy extraction, coastal soil and water protection, and bushfire control. Field of research: 0905 - Civil Engineering Fluid–particle transport in porous media is found in many areas of nature, industry, and construction. My advances will directly lead to technological advances that increase production of energy and resilience of infrastructure, soil, and water – benefiting the Australian economy in three ways: (1) Our rail and road infrastructure is a critical asset. Mud pumping (upward transport of fine particles from subsoil contaminating top layers) is a major threat to these assets. Accurate modelling of mud pumping will save huge initial and ongoing costs. (2) Extraction of fluid fuel and geothermal energy depends on fluid flow within the earth’s crust under artificial control, often accompanied by particle transport and clogging, resulting in significant decrease of production. Modelling these phenomena will lead to major efficiencies. (3) More than 80% of Australians live in the coastal zone, where increased consumption of freshwater has caused a continuous drop of aquifer waterhead, promoting seawater intrusion (transport of dissolved salts from ocean) and thus freshwater degradation and coastal soil salinity.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Ordering photon energy carriers for efficient upconversion. This project aims to tackle the major challenge of upconversion nanosystems – their brightness. It will centre on building a donor/acceptor-ordered nanosystem to improve the energy transfer efficiency in hybrid nanomaterials. This ordered system will significantly improve the brightness of hybrid nanoparticles at low irradiance. Expected outcomes include a fundamental understanding of energy transfer mechanisms at sub-nm scales and a new strategy to brighten the upconversion nanomaterials. This project should push upconversion nanoscience to a new generation and provide significant benefits in ultra-sensitive biomolecular assays and in vivo bioimaging. Field of research: 1007 - Nanotechnology This project is expected to deliver an innovative approach for engineering a new breed of hybrid materials that are highly sensitive, and able to be deployed in diverse optical and biomedical applications. As such, the project outcomes promise to deliver broad economic and social benefits to Australia. Leveraging the strong demand by Australian diagnostics companies for higher-quality, higher-volume analysis of diagnostic samples, commercialisation of the anticipated breakthrough technology holds a key to the creation of next-generation tools and techniques at the nanoscale, leading to significant health benefits for Australians through more sensitive and earlier detection of diseases, and time and cost savings for health services. It would stimulate growth and demand in Australia’s advanced manufacturing and health sectors, new jobs in related and emergent sectors, and reinforce the high international standing of Australian researchers in nanomaterials, nanophotonics and optical physics.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Fuzzy transfer learning for real-time decision making under uncertainty. This project’s objective is to build new tools for the next generation of real-time decision making. As the datasphere grows more complex, meaningful decision support already requires a strong capacity for knowledge transfer, substantial robustness to uncertainty, and real-time analytics. Today’s methods are struggling to meet these challenges. The new schema to be devised combines fuzzy logic, transfer learning, reinforcement learning and deep neural networks. These integrations will lay the foundations for real-time decision-making solutions over the next decade and will advance machine learning under uncertainty. Immediate applications include structural health monitoring, climate prediction and telecommunications maintenance. Field of research: 0801 - Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing This project will provide the techniques needed to build intelligent systems that can still provide effective data analytics and decision support even when data quality is poor, data is lacking, or the data is being streamed in real time. The outcomes will drastically widen the scope of decision intelligence across advanced manufacturing, security, telecommunications and beyond. Benefited from the capabilities of this project in handling real-time data analytics for decision support, immediate possibilities for applications include: sensor-based condition monitoring for major infrastructure, real-time face recognition for security, and timely maintenance for telecom systems. These end products have the potential to significantly impact Australia’s economy and society with safer environs and higher productivity. The integrations developed will establish a new and promising base of knowledge in real-time decision making for the international research community. Academically and commercially, the outcomes of this project will help to position Australia as a leader in the field of decision intelligence.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Towards Human-like Machine Perception for Embodied AI. This project aims to investigate human-like visual perception, whereby AI machines can see and interpret the world like a human. The expected outputs will empower AI machines with the abilities of human-centered visual recognition and annotation-efficient learning through a set of deep learning techniques, and the ability to actively gather visual information through a reinforcement learning methodology (for decision support). This research is fundamental to the creation of embodied AI machines, which are expected to provide assistance to humans in industry, education and health. It thus will indicate immediate applications embracing autonomous vehicles and domestic robotics, providing scientific, social and economic benefits for Australia. Field of research: 0801 - Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing The key outcome of this project will be development of human-like machine perception that can interpret the visual world from a human-centred view, and actively learn, adapt and make data-driven decisions in various scenarios under limited supervision. The breakthroughs this research is expected to enable will unlock significantly enhanced robotics capabilities for autonomous transport, house service robots, and various potential applications across manufacturing, defence, agriculture and medical diagnostics sectors. The potential benefits of this research for Australia are broad, given the enormous potential robotics offer for economic development and societal improvement in Australia. With trends suggesting that the global stock of intelligent robots will multiply rapidly in the next 10 years, reaching as many as 20 million by 2030, this project will contribute to generating new jobs in the Australian intelligent technologies sector and existing sectors that benefit from these technologies, positioning Australia as a leader in the field.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Australian 3D Beam Measurement Platform from Radio Waves to Terahertz Waves. The project aims to establish a unique set of terahertz experimental equipment to support Australia’s significant growing interests in terahertz research on functional materials, devices, metamaterials, security scanning, biosensing and imaging. The proposed infrastructure is the only in Australia probing the frequency band ~500 GHz using a software-defined automation platform for planar, cylindrical or spherical scans of terahertz beams. The proposed facility will lay the foundation for future large-scale cooperative initiatives by the seven-university alliance and their collaborators in the national terahertz community. The project should boost terahertz applications in security screening, biomedical imaging, high-speed data transmission. Field of research: 1005 - Communications Technologies The seven universities and their broader networks demonstrate the impact of the proposed facility and the associated benefits to a substantial research community in Australia. Terahertz radiation is an under-utilised region of the electromagnetic spectrum. There is a global surge of interest in this sort of radiation, with developments in terahertz science and technology now regularly reported from around the world. The open-access automation facility will be the first in Australia for cutting-edge terahertz measurement for next-generation imaging and sensing. The facility will drive richer collaborations in areas such as new materials characterisation, biomedical imaging, sensing and communications, affecting new users who are yet to tap into the benefits of terahertz. The requested facilities will provide Australian researchers with easy access to a state-of-the-art facility. The establishment of the infrastructure will increase the capability and visibility of Australian strength in terahertz research by benefiting from global collaborations for joint publications and research funding opportunities.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

A Secure Smart Sensing and Industry Analytics Facility for Industry 4.0. This project aims at establishing a world-first large-scale experimental facility to enable research in the area of Edge computing, Smart Sensing and Industry Analytics. It will reproduce typical elements encountered in edge computing and Industry 4.0 in a controlled secure environment, enabling research that otherwise is difficult to conduct and reproduce. The facility is expected to be an essential instrument to achieve Australia’s leadership on key technologies for Industry 4.0, and to provide Australian research community with a unique platform for large-scale experimentation and evaluation of Industry Analytics. It also serves as a perfect vehicle for the education and training of Australia’s next generation of scholars and engineers. Field of research: 0806 - Information Systems The rise of new digitalisation technologies, known as Industry 4.0, has called in the research demand in smart sensing and industry analytics, to gather and analyse data across industry processes, enabling more flexible, efficient and optimal processes at reduced costs. There is an urgent need to create a unique research facility to stimulate advanced experimental research and realistic assessment on the involved technologies of the Internet of Things, Distributed Computing, Cybersecurity, AI and Data Analytics. The proposed research facility will fill the gap of a full suite of experimental infrastructure and offer direct supports to many current and emerging research projects, as well as wider Australian research institutions and industries. It will fall in the national science and research priority of Advanced Manufacturing, create a major and timely addition to the national research capacity in Industry 4.0, and put Australia at the forefront of this frontier technology, especially for post-covid economic recovery.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2022 · 2022-01

Towards Transferable Visual Understanding in the Real World. This project aims to investigate how to improve the transferability of visual understanding algorithm and system in the real-world applications. This project expects to innovate and advance knowledge in the fields of visual transfer learning and generalizable visual representation learning. Expected outcomes of this project include techniques and algorithms to make the visual understanding system robust to diverse real-world scenarios. This project should provide significant benefits, such as improving the robustness and safety of autonomous vehicles in transportation area, and reducing the cost of destructive data collection for intelligent fault detection in advanced manufacturing area. Field of research: 0801 - Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing AI-powered visual understanding systems are transforming business and our society. However, deploying systems that are transferable across diverse real-world scenarios remains challenging. This project aims to deliver technical and algorithmic advances that will overcome some of the key barriers limiting transferability, by defining clearer and more essential principles that build the system’s ability to depict underlying variations in the real world. These advances are expected to result in visual understanding systems that are more robust and cost-effective in real-world scenarios. Enhanced transferability in these systems will deliver significant economic and commercial benefits for industry and government sectors in Australia, and social benefits for Australian end users. These include safer, more robust autonomous transport solutions, and more accurate, timely and lower-cost solutions for medical diagnostics, advanced manufacturing and other knowledge-based sectors.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2021 · 2021-01

Creating a Perceptive Mobile Network Using Joint Communication and Sensing. This project aims to develop foundational technologies for an innovative perceptive mobile (cellular) communication network that is also capable of ubiquitous radio sensing. It is expected to generate groundbreaking theorems and algorithms that will significantly advance the knowledge of joint communication and sensing. The intended outcomes are an innovative large-scale sensing solution capable of real-time 3D-plus radio imaging of the world, and enhanced communications with improved quality and reliability. The technology will revolutionize traditional communication-only mobile networks. It will enable and boost expansive radio sensing applications in e.g. transportation, energy, agriculture, and security. Field of research: 0906 - Electrical and Electronic Engineering This project is expected to lay the foundation for delivering revolutionary ubiquitous radio sensing networks, that can significantly drive the global initiatives on, e.g., smart cities and smart cars. Integrated with existing communication infrastructure, the perceptive mobile network saves billions of dollars that would otherwise be required for building a separate wide-area radio sensing network. It will enable numerous socially and economically important applications at low cost, e.g., resilient and efficient transport systems with large-scale traffic scheduling and vehicle tracking, pedestrian density and movement mapping, automatic street lighting control, animal migration tracking, and factory emission monitoring. It can also lead to more efficient spectrum usage by allowing spectrum sharing between communication and radar. This project is expected to generate intellectual properties in the forms of technical publications, patent disclosures, and a prototype system. It will help to establish and strengthen Australia's scientific and technological leadership in this emerging technology.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2021 · 2021-01

Efficient and Scalable Similarity Query Processing on Big Streaming Graphs . This project aims to develop novel approaches for efficient and scalable similarity queries on big streaming graphs which are large-scale graphs where graph nodes and edges may arrive or expire at high speed. Three key challenges are expected to be addressed including high speed, large variety, and big volume of streaming graphs. Expected outcomes include new theories, novel indexing and query processing techniques, and advanced distributed algorithms as well as a system prototype for evaluation and to demonstrate the practical value. Success in this project should see significant benefits for many important applications, such as e-commerce, cybersecurity, health, social networks, and bio-informatics. Field of research: 0806 - Information Systems Similarity query on big streaming graphs is a fundamental problem for a broad spectrum of applications. The success of this project will bring breakthroughs in technological advances in the processing of big streaming graphs including new theories, novel indexing, scalable processing techniques, complexity analysis, and system development. This will ensure Australia to take a leadership and be in the forefront of this research field. The project also has a great value to the development of local industry including e-commerce systems to detect financial fraud and predict customer preferences, cybersecurity systems to monitor network attacks and detect malware, and social network analysis to identify potential terrorist. Moreover, the project will also facilitate the training of national most wanted IT professional talents.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2021 · 2021-01

Extending the lifetime of switching power converters. This project aims to address the need for longer lifespan of power conversion systems which can withstand failure of its key components. This is achieved through developing more reliable power converter circuits whilst reducing the stress of the components. This project will generate new circuit design and control techniques for power and energy systems, especially in dealing with reliability issues. Expected outcome of this project includes reduction of failure rate of power converters by at least 50%. This should provide benefits for many sectors including emerging technologies in particular renewable energy, electric vehicles and energy storage systems seeking reliable power supply and for the environment with reduced e-waste production. Field of research: 0906 - Electrical and Electronic Engineering Thanks to the abundant natural resources and maturing technologies, Australia has in recent years increased in the uptake of renewable energy and energy storage systems for many areas such as wearable power device, local electricity generation, and electrified transportation. While the sources and loads such as solar PV panels and electric machines respectively can operate for 20 some years, the power supply equipment, which interfaces with the sources and loads, only lasts for 10 years on average. The consequence is catastrophic for losing electric power due to the power supply equipment failure, in particular our increasing reliance on renewable energy sources. Hence this project aims to develop a new generation of power conversion systems that would withstand circuitry failure and extend its lifetime. This is important as the country is seeking solutions to securing more reliable and affordable electricity.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2021 · 2021-01

Novel inkjet-printed organic solvent nanofiltration membranes. The pharmaceutical industry is one of fastest growing industries in Australia. Manufacturing pharmaceutical products requires the use of hazardous and expensive organic solvents, which are toxic for the environment and expensive to recover due to the energy intensive thermal process required. This project aims to discover and manufacture a novel, low-cost, chemically robust nanomaterial-based membrane using an industry scalable inkjet printing process. The membrane will be resistant to organic solvents while efficiently recovering valuable and hazardous organic solvents with minimum environmental footprint. It will effectively provide for the future growth of the Australian pharmaceutical industry while also having global applications. Field of research: 0904 - Chemical Engineering Organic solvents which are high value chemicals but toxic for environmental release are widely used. Further, hazardous and expensive organic solvents are poorly recovered and often released into the environment. These issues would be ameliorated via the development of a high performing membrane that could withstand complex organic solvents while efficiently recovering valuable and hazardous organic solvents and pharmaceutical products using a cost-effective, pressure driven process. The successful development of a chemically stable, low-cost membrane comprised of high separation efficiency nanomaterials would establish new markets for material and membrane manufacturing in Australia and provide significant opportunities for global competitiveness among Australian pharmaceutical companies. This research also addresses increasing societal concerns about the environmental impacts of chemical wastes and footprints involved in current massive organic solvent recovery systems.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2021 · 2021-01

Pushing the digital limits in quantum simulation for advanced manufacturing. This Project aims to enhance the power of high-tech quantum simulators to meet the demands of computer-modelling intensive industries such as drug and vaccine design and new energy. Aligned to Australia’s innovation agenda and Advanced Manufacturing priority, the Project expects to maximise the performance of near- and mid-term quantum simulations using innovative quantum programming techniques related to digitisation and control. Expected outcomes include: better understanding of limits in industry-scale quantum computers and improved error mitigation techniques. This should generate long-term productivity increases across a range of important sectors of the Australian economy that benefit from access to more powerful computer modelling. Field of research: 0206 - Quantum Physics Quantum computing is shaping up to be one of the most influential high-tech industries of the 21st century. With predicted applications benefiting broad sectors of society and the economy, it promises to deliver a technology revolution with the same lasting impact that transistors have had on the computing industry in the last century. High-value applications include improved information security, cheaper drug design and rapid vaccine development for disease prevention, and more efficient energy production and transport systems. It is no longer if, but when the quantum computing revolution will arrive, and Australia has a unique opportunity to further its position as a global leader in this rapidly growing industry. By developing innovative digitisation and control techniques for enhancing the power of near-term quantum computers to simulate the behaviour of complex quantum systems, a task that is generally impossible to solve with classical computing technology, this Project aims to minimise the timeline to applications with commercial and societal impact and capture economic benefit for Australia.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2021 · 2021-01

Diatom silica production under future ocean conditions, genes to biomes. This project aims to quantify how ocean warming and acidification will alter natural diatom assemblages and silica production rates to predict changes in the cycling and transfer of carbon and silicon in the future ocean. This project expects to generate new knowledge of environmental controls on diatom silicification and their ocean-scale implications by integrating the disciplines of physiology, molecular biology and quantitative modelling. Expected outcomes include essential advancements in future simulations of marine productivity and silicon cycling and a deeper understanding of threats to marine life from climate change. This should provide significant benefits such as improved valuations on the sustainability of ocean ecosystems. Field of research: 0602 - Ecology Australia’s marine environment is a vital resource for our island nation. Our ocean territory equates to more than double our landmass, and our ‘Blue Economy’ is worth more than $74B a year. Climate change is having profound impacts on our ocean ecosystems, with warming and acidification posing a threat to the biological, economic and social systems that depend upon them. Diatoms are a key group of phytoplankton, important for sustaining marine food webs. Their silica-based structure also aids their export to the deep ocean making them an essential link in marine silicon and carbon cycles. This project aims to resolve how diatoms will respond to warmer, acidified oceans and advance our understanding of how ocean condition influences their role in marine food webs and nutrient cycling. The expected improvements to estimates of marine productivity and ocean chemistry will help policy-makers to better manage the future sustainability of important fisheries and marine industries, delivering environmental, scientific and economic benefit for the Australian community.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2021 · 2021-01

Financial performance, uncertainty and corporate investment decisions. It is well understood that the provision of financial reports to external stakeholders impacts their decision making. Yet the extent to which externally reported financial measures such as earnings can resolve uncertainty, and their influence on corporate investment decisions is largely unknown. This project identifies how disaggregation of earnings into market-, industry- and firm-specific components explains differences in the quality of financial information, and the implication for accounting standards regulating the reporting of periodic performance. It applies the resulting insights to identify an uncertainty reduction role for financial reporting, and the way in which information contained in earnings impacts investment decisions. Field of research: 1501 - Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Australia's economic growth and prosperity is heavily dependent on corporate investment. Yet there is limited evidence of how financial performance impacts investment decisions. By disaggregating earnings into market-wide, industry and firm-specific components, this research will yield rigorous empirical evidence that can inform economic, regulatory and industrial policy aimed at promoting economic growth. It will also provide novel insights into a fundamental concern for regulators and accounting standard setters regarding the extent to which accounting measures such as profitability are comparable (i.e., the extent to which similar economic transactions and outcomes result in similar accounting outcomes). Current moves to fundamentally change the way in which periodic income measures are reported by international accounting standard setters are indicative of this concern. The research will facilitate a leadership role by Australian accounting and securities market regulators in developing evidence-based policy with respect to methods of financial reporting and proposed audit market reforms.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2021 · 2021-01

Topological Design of Mechanical Meta-Structures. This project aims to establish a new computational design methodology to address current challenges facing creation of ultralight structures with ultra-high-performance characteristics. The latest technologies in structural topology optimization and its correlated numerical simulation and structural analysis methods will be unified towards an integrated design framework. Expected outcomes include an advanced generative design platform for discovering novel geometries to underpin new meta-structure architectures, validated by appropriate fabrication techniques considering their geometric complexity. Such capabilities will benefit defence, civil, aerospace, energy and transport industries that pursue competitive advantage through innovation. Field of research: 0913 - Mechanical Engineering World leading engineering achievements, such as the Airbus A380, are only possible through the development of advanced composite structures by optimisation techniques. The new computational design-manufacturing methodology that has been described in this project will significantly enhance opportunities in creating new cellular structures, critical when most traditional design-manufacturing methods fail. This aligns well with the National Research Priorities in Advanced Manufacturing, as technologies and techniques realised from this project will considerably improve Australia’s competitive advantage in a vibrant frontier domain. It will usher a field with substantial challenges towards achieving practical applications in numerous markets. It resolves a crucial current bottleneck in revolutionising architected cellular structures and promotes their applications in Australian industries, e.g. defence, transport, biomedical, energy, civil and environment. The project will benefit the global composite market worth $132 billion by 2024, and the additive manufacturing market to $37 billion by 2027.