Grants & Opportunities

Extraction of the critical rare earth elements from mine waste. The transition to a carbon-free economy requires substantial amounts of the critical rare earth elements, for which demand is likely to outstrip supply in coming decades. Vast amounts of rare earths are present in the mine waste of some copper-gold mines, but cannot be economically extracted. This project aims to use molten alkali salts to reprocess mine waste, and transform the rare earths to a readily exploitable form. This project expects to create a scalable industrial separation process to be implemented in existing mines, with the separated ore used as input for extraction. A benefit of this project is the unlocking of a previously inaccessible Australian rare earth resource, comparable in size to the largest deposits globally.. Scheme: Early Career Industry Fellowships. Field: 4019 - Resources Engineering and Extractive Metallurgy. Lead: Dr Michael Anenburg

Islands in the Ice: Interpreting the future of Antarctic ecosystems. This program aims to better understand polar regions by combining data from key locations around the Antarctic continent to determine how vegetation in ice-free, coastal areas has responded to recent climate change. It will improve spatial and temporal climate data for Antarctica’s coastline, thus enabling more accurate modelling of the rates of environmental change and how this is affecting Antarctica's unique biodiversity. Outcomes will impact on climate science, policy development and Antarctic decision-making. The innovative technologies developed will be applied in a new continent-wide terrestrial observing system, enabling Australia and other nations to better manage their obligations to protect Antarctic biodiversity.. Scheme: Australian Laureate Fellowships. Field: 4101 - Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation. Lead: Prof Sharon Robinson

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

Optimising cost-effective services to the aged CaLD community. This project aims to help non-government service providers in the growing aged care sector to identify, develop and offer cost effective community-based services that can improve the lives and wellbeing of their culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) clients. Services in this sector will be mapped and costed. An online tool will be developed to (1) 'identify and standardise’ the potential range of services on offer, and (2) calculate the cost of offering each service. This tool will directly benefit providers by helping them to decide their optimal suite of affordable services and improve how they realistically cost these services when applying for funding from government entities and other sources.. Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 3506 - Marketing. Lead: A/Prof Russel Kingshott

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

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

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

The History of Human Rights and Technological Change. This project aims to investigate the history of the relationship between human rights and technological change. After 1945, technological advancement was recognised as a source of both peril and promise for freedom, peace, and welfare. The nature of that balance is presently a source of fierce community controversy. This project’s anticipated outcomes will include a detailed historical account of preceding dislocations between rights and technology suitable for policymakers, as well as more public interest focused interventions in policy debates. By placing present-day digital disruptions in this longer perspective, it seeks to provide another framework for considering risks and benefits to the community. . Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4303 - Historical Studies. Lead: Dr Roland Burke

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

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

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

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

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

Ethics, evidence, and expert disagreement in public health emergencies. Public health responses to pandemics have major consequences beyond the diseases themselves. Ethical responses must balance the benefits of controlling epidemics with causing social and economic harms to society. This project aims to understand how expert disagreement over evidence contributes to contentious emergency public health responses. Expected outcomes include new evidence-based methods for ethical evaluation of public health responses that may reduce harms, along with guidance on how public health ethics frameworks should be used when experts disagree. The project hopes to provide social and economic benefits to Australia by helping health policy makers ethically balance the benefits and harms of pandemic responses.. Scheme: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. Field: 5001 - Applied Ethics. Lead: A/Prof Euzebiusz Jamrozik

Better environmental decisions amid strategic and evolutionary feedbacks. This project’s main aim is to revolutionize conservation policymaking. By understanding eco-evolutionary feedbacks and strategic interactions among multiple stakeholders, results from this research will uncover strategies to effectively pursue biodiversity conservation. The ultimate goal of this DECRA is to understand how to anticipate and respond to complex evolving system dynamics, identify efficient mitigation strategies, and inform the multi-layered management of invasive species in Queensland. The resulting unified mathematical framework will help to identify key indicators in the system's behaviour, construct decision-support tools, and offer insights on the structure of viable actions available to the policymaker.. Scheme: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. Field: 4901 - Applied Mathematics. Lead: Dr Maria Kleshnina

How does RNA regulate gene repression? RNA is known to have diverse roles in many areas of biology. Currently, however, the mechanisms that link RNA to gene repression are poorly understood. This project aims to address this fundamental knowledge gap by studying how RNA regulates genomic structure at repressed genes. This project will generate new knowledge in the areas of RNA biology and epigenetics through an interdisciplinary approach to combine cutting edge genomics methods with innovative structural biology techniques. Expected outcomes include the development of new methods to study nuclear RNA as well as a more comprehensive picture of the diverse mechanisms governing gene repression. This will significantly benefit our understanding of basic RNA and chromatin biology.. Scheme: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. Field: 3105 - Genetics. Lead: Dr Evan Healy

Characterising extracellular contractile injection systems in human gut . Bacteria and archaea have a growing arsenal of characterised mechanisms they can deploy to compete with or control other organisms in the same environment. The goal of this DECRA will be to characterise a recently uncovered mechanism, where bacteria produce toxin filled ‘missiles’ that can be used to kill or modulate their competitors or host. Molecular and visualisation-based techniques will be applied to uncover the diversity, mechanisms, and targets of these novel microbial weapons in a model ecosystem, the human gut microbiome. This fundamental knowledge will be important for the development of customisable biocontrol agents with the potential to eliminate harmful microorganisms in a range of environments.. Scheme: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. Field: 3107 - Microbiology. Lead: Dr Andy Leu

Resolving Star Formation at its Peak. This project aims to quantify where and under what conditions half the stars in today's Universe formed, via a novel approach combining the highest-resolution observations and simulations yet of galaxies at the peak epoch for star formation. Expected outcomes of this project include new insights into how stars form and how the galaxies they reside in settle into disks. Since these research topics are major science drivers for next-generation telescopes like the Giant Magellan Telescope and Square Kilometre Array, this project will benefit a new generation of research. Moreover, through this project, young Australians will receive the scientific and technical training needed to lead this ground-breaking astronomical research.. Scheme: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. Field: 5101 - Astronomical Sciences. Lead: Dr Melanie Kaasinen

Chiral photonics with resonant meta-structures. The project aims to address the big challenges of miniaturising optical elements controlling light handedness and polarisation that are crucial for high-speed information processing. The project will employ artificially engineered nanostructures, and it expects to generate new fundamental knowledge in photonics to enhance optical chirality beyond the limits available in natural materials through optical resonances and the use of novel materials. Expected outcomes include the development of advanced concepts in optics, novel methods in computational photonics, and practical designs and demonstrations of highly efficient chiral nanostructures. This research promises substantial benefits to optical data processing and telecommunications.. Scheme: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. Field: 4018 - Nanotechnology. Lead: Dr Kirill Koshelev

Understanding structure, dynamics and function of receptor splice variants. This project aims to understand the functional role of a specific class of G protein-coupled receptors by leveraging advanced cryo-electron microscopy, mass spectrometry, and computational approaches. This project will address fundamental knowledge gaps of how different isoforms of the receptor affect its signalling behaviour. Examining the shape and conformational dynamics of receptor isoforms provides a richer understanding of their cellular function. The comprehensive structural and functional data will allow us to produce molecular movies to better communicate the dynamic receptor activation process. This should provide significant benefits to the Australian community by visualising receptor isoforms with altered physiological function.. Scheme: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. Field: 3101 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology. Lead: Dr Sarah Piper

Uncovering the evolution of the nitrogen cycle with carbonate chemistry . Nitrogen is essential for all life on Earth, but current methods are unable to quantify many aspects of the evolving nitrogen cycle, impeding our understanding of its effects on ecosystems and environmental change. This project will pioneer a groundbreaking method using nitrogen species trapped inside carbonate minerals to directly measure ocean nitrogen abundances and isotope compositions over Earth history. The new method developed by this project will revolutionize our grasp of complex patterns in the nitrogen cycle and its effects on life and Earth. These insights will not only bolster foundational scientific knowledge but also pave the way for informed environmental interventions and further discoveries in environmental science.. Scheme: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. Field: 3703 - Geochemistry. Lead: Dr Matthew Dodd

Quantifying the long-term economic impacts of bushfire smoke in Australia. The project aims to provide a new understanding of the long-term economic cost of bushfire smoke in Australia. Individuals exposed to bushfire smoke suffer adverse economic outcomes due to multiple channels. To date, the data and methods available have been insufficient to evaluate long-term effects and inform an appropriate policy response. This project leverages recent data advances and builds upon methods employed in my past research to provide a new empirical method for risk profiling of long-term smoke exposure and to generate an improved understanding of the associated economic costs. The findings would aid government agencies, fire services, and local communities in re-evaluating bushfire management practices.. Scheme: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. Field: 3801 - Applied Economics. Lead: Dr Hemant Pullabhotla