Grants & Opportunities

Bandgap engineered bismuth chalcogenides for uncooled infrared detectors. Uncooled infrared detectors are core enabling technologies in civilian and defense applications such as night vision, surveillance, automated driving, and firefighting. However, the industry application of two-dimensional materials in uncooled infrared detectors is hindered by their low device performance and poor fabrication scalability. This project aims to develop low-cost, high performance uncooled infrared detectors with high fabrication scalability by growing bandgap engineered two-dimensional bismuth chalcogenides with controlled doping and enhanced light absorption. This will place Australia in a very competitive position in the billion-dollar uncooled infrared detector market whilst benefit relevant Australian industry sectors.. Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 4016 - Materials Engineering. Lead: Prof Wen Lei

Scalable fabrication of diamond quantum microprocessors . Quantum computing is rapidly emerging, bearing transformative economic and security implications for Australia. This project leverages expertise in diamond materials science and x-ray science to develop a scalable manufacturing process for a distinctive diamond quantum technology that will expand quantum computing to efficiency-critical edge computing applications. Expected outcomes include new capabilities for fabricating the fundamental components of quantum computers using light and plasma to manipulate the surface of diamond. This will provide significant benefits, enhancing Australia’s sovereign quantum capabilities and strategically positioning Australia to capitalise on the anticipated $106B global quantum computing market in 2040.. Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 5104 - Condensed Matter Physics. Lead: A/Prof Grant Van Riessen

Superior Cold-formed Steel Floor Truss Systems to Modernize Construction. This project aims to develop new and improved high strength cold-formed steel (CFS) floor truss systems for use in mid-rise CFS buildings worldwide. It will generate new knowledge of the true behaviour and capacity of various CFS truss systems using extensive experimental and numerical studies. Expected outcomes are improved truss systems through simple strengthening techniques, new connections and built-up sections with reliable design methods. New lightweight CFS floor truss systems made of optimised sections and truss configurations will also be developed. These outcomes will enable modernized off-site construction to produce faster, safer, sustainable, and low-cost mid-rise building solutions, thus addressing the current housing crisis.. Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 4005 - Civil Engineering. Lead: Prof Mahen Mahendran

One-step separation and collection for pharmaceutical industry. This project aims to design and manufacturing large-scale separation and collection membranes with tuneable surface properties to achieve effective oil/emulsion/microparticles separation and collection performance by learning from natural one-step separation and collection functionalities. The outcomes will provide a realistic solution to the key challenges in separation and separation demands in current pharmaceutical industries, including high contamination, easy blocking, low-efficiency, and lacking sustainability. This project will advance the knowledge base of sustainable separation technologies and brings technological breakthroughs to industry partners, pharmaceutical industries, and separation end-users.. Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 4016 - Materials Engineering. Lead: Prof Ziqi Sun

Novel decarbonisation via producing lithium carbonate with carbon emissions. As a critical metal, lithium will play a pivotal role in energy transition. Tianqi Lithium Kwinana is the first to produce battery-grade lithium in Australia in commercial quantities in May 2022. This project aims to make its refining process greener through effective decarbonisation and waste management. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of decarbonising the refining processes of critical minerals. Expected outcomes include a new technology for locking carbon dioxide into lithium products, and a novel approach for managing refinery waste. This should provide significant benefits, such as a boosted lithium production capacity for Australia’s exports, and invented leading technologies for critical minerals industry.. Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 4004 - Chemical Engineering. Lead: Prof Hongqi Sun

ARC Research Hub in the Internet of Things for Water. The ARC Research Hub in the Internet of Things for Water aims to position Australia as a global leader in digital technologies for the water sector. The Hub expects to transform Australian capabilities by delivering cutting-edge technologies, and novel visualisation and analytics methods, supported by new business models. Expected outcomes include enhanced capabilities to secure water for industry, society and the environment, and improve our productivity through new water management techniques. The Hub will benefit Australia by opening up market opportunities for technology developers, manufacturers, and service providers, ensuring cost-efficiencies, improved equity, and heightened environmental protection for Australian water resources.. Scheme: Industrial Transformation Research Hubs. Field: 4005 - Civil Engineering. Lead: Prof Yang Liu

ARC Research Hub for Infrastructure Net Zero. The NetZero Hub aims to transform Australia's construction sector through digitalising the infrastructure lifecycle for net-zero, targeting challenges like excessive carbon emissions and outdated practices, which currently impede sustainability. In line with Australia's 2030 Digital Economy Strategy, the Hub utilises infrastructure digital twins, integrated with low-carbon materials, eco-friendly structural designs, and state-of-the-art operation and maintenance methods to reinvent the performance and profitability of the infrastructure industry, a critical national economic and employment sector. It will help Australia meet its commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050, and drive a data-driven sustainable industrial revolution. . Scheme: Industrial Transformation Research Hubs. Field: 4005 - Civil Engineering. Lead: Prof Wenhui Duan

Attracting and retaining a culturally diverse teacher workforce. This Deakin partnership with teacher, parent, and principal organisations investigates factors impacting the attraction and retention of a culturally diverse teacher workforce in public schools. Through co-designed national surveys, policy workshops, and case studies, our project examines, from sociocultural, postcolonial, and Indigenous perspectives, three teacher career transitions: from school student aspirations to initial teacher education and into schools. This interrogation of workforce supply and demand will yield significant evidence to inform policies and planning for partners, universities, and governments, and identify strategies for creating interculturally capable and culturally safe school and teacher education systems.. Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 3903 - Education Systems. Lead: Dr Ben Arnold

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.. Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 3199 - Other Biological Sciences. Lead: Dr Mariya Goray

Culture for Climate: the performing arts and eco-creative sustainability . This project will fill an urgent knowledge gap that is stalling the transition of Australia’s performing arts to environmental sustainability. We will determine how performing arts organisations can respond to the climate crisis using creative sustainability approaches in production and operational processes. Our project will deliver creative sustainability strategies that have been tested and proven in Australia’s performing arts sector, plus a framework for embedding sustainability goals in the National Cultural Policy. Australia’s performing arts sector has an appetite to transition to sustainability and to be leaders in meeting the challenges of climate change. This project will deliver tangible tools to fast-track this transition. . Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 3604 - Performing Arts. Lead: Dr Tanja Beer

Identifying sources of contaminants of concern entering Australian sewers. This project aims to identify and quantify sources of contaminants of concern entering Australian sewer systems by mapping industrial inputs into catchments. A world-first systematic sampling and archiving program will be established for trade waste, combined with an ongoing analytical program to profile chemical contaminants linked to industry. The project will also determine baselines for domestic inputs and associated chemical fingerprints. Comparing domestic and industrial inputs will aid in identifying the main polluters in a catchment that is critical to designing the best source control options. This forms the basis for effectively reducing releases of chemical contaminants into wastewater treatment plants and receiving environments.. Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 4011 - Environmental Engineering. Lead: Prof Jochen Mueller

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.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4301 - Archaeology. Lead: A/Prof Martin Polkinghorne

Understanding cytokine-modulated antigen processing and presentation. This project aims to investigate the molecular basis of cytokine-modulated antigen processing and presentation using both cutting-edge experimental and computational approaches, thereby providing novel knowledge in cytokine-modulated cellular biology and immunology. This project leverages transcriptomics, functional proteomics, immunopeptidomics, and computational biology techniques to investigate multiomic level molecular mechanisms and their contributions to remoulding antigen processing and presentation upon cytokine stimulation. This project is also expected to construct innovative experimental and computational pipelines for multiomic data generation and analysis, to push forward Australia’s innovative life science research.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 3101 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology. Lead: Dr Chen Li

Novel Hybrid Droop and Model Predictive Control for Community Microgrids. This project aims to increase energy resilience and efficiency by utilising next-generation community microgrids, in which power shortfall in one household can be compensated by the excess power available from its neighbours. It expects to generate significant new knowledge in grid integration of power electronics interfaced distributed energy resources. Expected outcomes include new network architectures and innovative power converter control methods to utilise local energy sources. This project will unlock the full potential of community energy to generate reliable electricity independently during bushfires and extreme weather events. It will also help in meeting emission reduction targets by facilitating renewable energy uptakes. . Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4007 - Control Engineering, Mechatronics and Robotics. Lead: Prof Jiefeng Hu

Carbon negative freshwater wetlands: novel pathways of carbon sequestration. Freshwater wetlands are a substantial source of methane emissions, contributing significantly to climate change. Under my leadership, it was discovered that contrary to expectations, freshwater wetlands dominated by “paperbark” trees (Melaleuca spp.) act as methane sinks rather than emissions sources.  This study will explore the hydrology, ecology and microbial communities that drive this unusual carbon pathway. The implications of these investigations are immense; the results will inform new Blue Carbon methodologies that could include low-emission freshwater wetlands. Additionally, it will support the discovery of methane-consuming microbes with the potential to create biotechnological solutions to reduce global methane emissions. . Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4105 - Pollution and Contamination. Lead: Dr Maria Fernanda Adame

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.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 5205 - Social and Personality Psychology. Lead: Prof Emma Thomas

Multicultural frontiers and human histories on the fringe of tropical Sahul. This project aims to transform our understanding of deep-time human histories on the fringe of eastern Papua New Guinea that contributed to the peopling of Oceania, the Australia-New Guinea continent of Sahul, and the region as a global diversity hotspot. It expects to generate new knowledge about the role of cross-cultural interaction in this process by linking interdisciplinary archaeological and traditional data in preserved coastal landscapes that were key corridors of mobility. Expected outcomes include reframing New Guinea in human history models and development of novel interpretive frameworks. Benefits include enhancing Australia's capacity to manage a shared multi-cultural heritage, and strengthening inclusive Pacific partnerships.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4513 - Pacific Peoples Culture, Language and History. Lead: Dr Ben Shaw

Intergenerational Play: A right for all generations. Disconnection is an increasing phenomenon across all generations. Intergenerational play is a connecting force to exchange values, knowledge, skills, traditions and ideas. While intergenerational programs exist, missing is understanding of what intergenerational play actually is, how it can be encouraged and identified benefits for all participants. This project will: 1) engage with leading researchers to understand intergenerational play globally; 2) develop an online repository of examples; 3) develop guiding principles for intergenerational play to focus on outcomes for all participants; 4) implement, document and test principles in intergenerational play programs in Australia; and 5) inform future programs and policies.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 3903 - Education Systems. Lead: Prof Lisa Kervin

Mapping the Gas that Drives Galaxy Evolution with Magnetic Dye Tracers. Galaxies evolve by drawing in gas from the broader universe, yet observing this gas directly is challenging. Using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope, this project aims to use magnetic fields to trace pathways the gas takes into galaxies to form stars like our Sun. Expected outcomes include new techniques to detect the gas, detailed maps of the gas in key cosmic environments, and new insights into how galaxies like our Milky Way evolve. This should provide significant benefits, including advancing Australian leadership in radio astronomy to capitalise on investments in ASKAP and the Square Kilometre Array, stimulating science and technology education, and attracting global collaborations to our shores.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 5101 - Astronomical Sciences. Lead: Dr Craig Anderson

Percolation models with strong and oscillatory correlations. Percolation theory studies how global connectivity in a complex system arises out of local properties of that system, for example how the connectivity of an electric car charging network depends on the spread and density of the charging stations. This project aims to deepen our understanding of percolation models with strong and oscillatory correlations, and resolve longstanding questions on the existence and nature of their phase transitions. The techniques developed will be applicable to a broad range of mathematical disciplines, such as Gaussian analysis, point process analysis, and spatial modelling, and insights arising from the project will benefit researchers in applied disciplines such as transport and telecommunication modelling.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4905 - Statistics. Lead: Dr Stephen Muirhead

Electron Crystallography Methods for Multidisciplinary Applications. The project aims to establish the first dedicated research group in Australia to develop new methods based on electron crystallography, namely micro-crystal electron diffraction (MicroED) and serial electron diffraction (SerialED). These methods enable the determination of 3D atomic structures of materials, small molecules, and macromolecules from nano- and micron-sized crystals, too small or too complex to be studied by existing techniques. This multidisciplinary research project expects to generate new knowledge in crystallography and electron microscopy. This should provide significant benefits in stimulating research in materials science, structural biology, structural chemistry, green catalysis, sustainable energy, and drug discovery.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 3402 - Inorganic Chemistry. Lead: Dr Hongyi Xu

Novel oriented timber composites for fire-safe net-zero construction. This project aims to investigate the delamination and fire dynamics of engineered timber compartments using machine learning-based structural fire simulation and multi-scale experiments. The project expects to generate new knowledge on the fire safety and manufacturing of engineered timber in buildings by deploying advanced composite materials technologies. Expected outcomes include a new fire-safe oriented timber composite and an assessment framework including a multi-scale method for timber's fire safety. Expected benefits include an increase of 80% for sustainable and affordable dwellings with a potential reduction of more than 30% in buildings' carbon emissions. This will provide a viable pathway for Net Zero emissions in construction.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4005 - Civil Engineering. Lead: Prof Thuy (Kate) Nguyen

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.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 3403 - Macromolecular and Materials Chemistry. Lead: Dr Witold Bloch

Humane Exclusion: How States Justify Excluding Refugees. This is a project about the idea of humanity and how this concept is deployed. Specifically, it aims to understand and critique the contemporary phenomenon of humane exclusion: humane-sounding justifications for the exclusion of refugees. The work will innovate via a unique framework for understanding today’s prevailing claims, involving analysis of how they echo historical justifications for controlling the movement of Indigenous peoples, minorities, slaves, and other vulnerable groups. It will be the first holistic examination of the ethics of humane-sounding claims and practices of refugee exclusion in the light of their histories, providing a means for Australia to consider, anew, how it might construct more ethical refugee policies.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4408 - Political Science. Lead: A/Prof Luke Glanville

Steel Origami-Enabled Metaconcrete Composite Structures. This project aims to develop a novel integrated design platform to engineer high-performance and multifunctional origami-enabled metaconcrete composite structures with greatly improved ductility and energy absorption capacity. It expects to offer a cost-effective and efficient structural design solution in the next-generation advanced concrete structures with optimal performance. Expected outcomes include an innovative metaconcrete structural design scheme and a robust machine learning-assisted optimisation procedure for various engineering applications against static and impact loading. This will provide significant benefits to building industries by enhancing structural safety while reducing material usage and lowering carbon emissions.. Scheme: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. Field: 4005 - Civil Engineering. Lead: Dr Shaoyu Zhao