Grants & Opportunities

Innovation in durable goods: expansion of electric cars in Australia. Highly desirable transition to environmentally friendly technologies such as electric automobiles requires well-designed governmental support. Short-sighted policies may lead to unintended consequences and do more harm than good. The importance of a secondary market for durable goods makes the policy design a complex dynamic problem. This project will produce mathematical and computational tools to explore potential regulation standards and stimulus programs in a simulated environment to find an optimal approach for expanding electric cars in Australia. Built on the team's groundbreaking research in modelling equilibria in markets for automobiles, this project will enable the search for optimal policy that will benefit Australian society.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 3801 - Applied Economics. Lead: Prof Fedor Iskhakov

Investigating the enigmatic slowly repeating radio transients. The Australian sky has revealed a new celestial mystery: slowly-repeating Galactic radio transients. Our cutting-edge data processing and search algorithms, optimised for the vast fields-of-view and sensitivity of new radio telescopes, are unearthing a new population of these enigmatic objects. We propose to unravel their true nature by swiftly following up new detections with multiwavelength observations, and modelling the sources' evolutionary paths and magnetic field configurations. The expected outcome of this project will rewrite our understanding of the evolution of magnetic compact stellar remnants such as white dwarfs and neutron stars. Success would establish Australia as a leader in this new field of radio astronomy.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 5101 - Astronomical Sciences. Lead: A/Prof Natasha Hurley-Walker

Harnessing Eco-Emotions for Social Action on Climate Change. The effects of climate change are escalating and the emotional impact is costing Australia in money and lives. This project aims to understand ‘eco-emotions’ about climate change and harness their power to promote much-needed action. Combining cutting-edge experimental and experience sampling methodology, the project expects to create new knowledge on functional and flexible regulation of eco-emotions in everyday life. Expected outcomes include new theory of emotional complexity in the context of climate change and new methods of studying collection action in situ. Potential benefits include enhanced national capacity in emotion science, increased climate action, and greater well-being among Australians coping with the climate crisis.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 5205 - Social and Personality Psychology. Lead: Dr Katharine Greenaway

How Australian fathers shape the trajectory of their children’s wellbeing. This project aims to examine how father involvement, and the factors that shape it, influence the long-term wellbeing trajectories of Australian children across developmental stages. By leveraging Australia’s highly regarded longitudinal survey assets, we address a current lack of national and contemporary knowledge about the patterns, moderators, and longitudinal impact of father involvement across life. The research will advance Australia’s position toward promoting equitable parenting, while the new knowledge from this project could inform the development of innovative and targeted policies or interventions optimising father involvement and promoting improved developmental outcomes for Australian children. . Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 5201 - Applied and Developmental Psychology. Lead: Prof Francis Mitrou

Engineering 2D van der Waals Materials for Solar Hydrogen Production. Efficient and low cost photo-catalyst for solar hydrogen production will be vital in the transition to environmentally responsible energy industries. This project aims, through engineering polarization and the binding of photoexcited electron and hole in stacked 2D van der Waals materials, to determine novel theoretical principles on new photocatalyst design, yielding insights for translation into sustainable new photocatalytic processing in water splitting. Expected outcomes include innovative 2D photocatalysts for producing clean hydrogen fuels. The materials and knowledge achieved from this project will dramatically advance the development of renewable energy technology, providing solutions to the global energy and environmental issues. . Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 4018 - Nanotechnology. Lead: Prof Dr Aijun Du

CO2 to Propylene through Electrocatalyst and Electrolyte Engineering. This project aims to address the critical knowledge gap in sustainable chemistry regarding converting CO2 into propylene (CH2=CH-CH3; a valuable platform chemical) powered by renewable energy. Leveraging a combination of advanced molecular modelling for electrocatalyst/electrolyte prediction and experimental synthesis for performance testing, the project proposes a novel approach to enhance the C-C-C coupling, paving the way for the electrocatalytic conversion of CO2 to propylene. The outcome of this project is optimised electrocatalyst and electrolyte towards propylene production, thereby contributing significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and advancing the field of green chemistry through electrocatalysis approaches.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 4018 - Nanotechnology. Lead: Prof Yan Jiao

Animal building for a changing world. This project aims to reveal how animal constructions will cope with the damaging effects of global warming. Most animals build structures critical for survival (or that of their progeny) but there is no information on how animal designs will react to modern climate change. Using a powerful integration of experimental and analytical approaches, this project will uncover how animals can adjust their designs in response to temperature within their lifetime and at at evolutionary scale, using bird nests as model system. This project will pioneer the study of animal constructions as buffers of climate change. It will inform predictions of species vulnerabilities in future conditions by assessing animal capacities to modify their constructions.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 3103 - Ecology. Lead: Dr Iliana Medina

Dealing with Climate Disaster. In Australia climate disasters could lead to over 500,000 homes becoming uninsurable by 2030, many in already disadvantaged areas. This raises significant social justice issues for Australia and worldwide. In this project we will evaluate how climate related disasters are likely to impact the well-being of the already disadvantaged and what to do about it. We will develop a new model of insurance provision and related disaster response that draws on robust ethical and actuarial research. . Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 5001 - Applied Ethics. Lead: Prof Jeremy Moss

All-perovskite inorganic anion exchange membrane water electrolysis. This project aims to develop anion exchange membrane water electrolysers using all inorganic perovskite oxides as both the electrode and membrane components for the generation of green hydrogen. This project expects to generate new knowledge in understanding the structure-property relationships of perovskite oxide electrocatalysts and the hydroxide ionic conduction behaviours of perovskite oxide membranes under practical operating conditions, which are key to the water electrolysis technologies. This project is expected to improve the utilisation of renewable energy and promote the development of hydrogen research in Australia. This should provide significant benefits to achieve energy sustainability and carbon neutrality for Australia.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 4016 - Materials Engineering. Lead: Prof Dr Zongping Shao

Dissipative Pathways to Nuclear Fusion. This project aims to pin down the emergence, evolution and sensitivities of energy dissipation in nuclear collisions, from the earliest stages through to fusion - a foundational problem limiting progress in the field. Leveraging latest Australian insights, utilizing newly developed detectors and national infrastructure, this project is expected to clearly characterise the routes to nuclear fusion. Expected outcomes include a profound change in the core understanding of the quantum processes governing fusion. At the frontiers of experiment and theory, this project will train personnel in nuclear science needed by Government and industry in Australia, and the improved predictions will benefit key applications nationally and internationally.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 5106 - Nuclear and Plasma Physics. Lead: Prof Mahananda Dasgupta

Breaking Down Silos: Optimal Aligned Decisions via Forecast Reconciliation. This project aims to develop new forecasting methods, where forecasts are needed at different levels of aggregation, such as store level and total regional demand in retail. This project expects to generate new knowledge in terms of forecasting methods that are robust to extreme events such as supply chain disruptions, while ensuring decisions made by different agents in an organisation are aligned. An interdisciplinary approach, using techniques from mathematical optimisation and statistics will be taken. Expected outcomes include improved forecasting methods placed on a rigorous footing by new theory. This should provide significant benefits, including efficient retail operations and better planning of infrastructure investment in energy.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 3802 - Econometrics. Lead: A/Prof Anastasios Panagiotelis

Help wanted: The Dynamics of AI-Driven Recruitment and Selection. The increasing use of AI in the recruitment and selection of job candidates is widely acknowledged but not well understood. AI-enabled recruitment offers substantial value to employers but has a significant and unchecked influence on job-seekers. This project will explore how AI capability is developed by technology vendors, deployed by recruiters, and utilised by job candidates. Findings from three integrated studies will build new theoretical understandings of the social and technical implications of AI-enabled recruitment. Benefits include the development of governance principles, industry practice standards, and strategies to assist job-seekers, that promote transparency, privacy and equality in the Australian labour market.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 3505 - Human Resources and Industrial Relations. Lead: Prof Paula McDonald

Understanding place-based repair in climate-affected communities. Community-based repair work is a vital but often overlooked aspect of responding to the impacts of climate change and to mitigating the increasing costs of disasters. Through storytelling and creative methodologies, this project will document, map and analyse how people are responding to environmental change through diverse, locally attentive practices of repair. Generating understandings of the nature of repair work for researchers, governments and communities, as well as practical tools, guides and resources, the project will contribute to improved strategies and actions for more inclusive and equitable community-led responses to climate change.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 4702 - Cultural Studies. Lead: Prof Emily Potter

Chemo-mechanical behavior in all-solid-state lithium metal batteries. Currently available commercial lithium-ion batteries do not satisfy the increasing demands of portable electronic devices and electric vehicles, due to low energy densities, safety issues and high cost. High capacity electrode materials such as Li metal anode, Ni-rich cathode together with solid-state electrolytes have been confirmed as promising alternatives. However, poor interface stability and material failure remain as significant challenges. The project aims to solve these coupled chemo-mechanical problems through in situ characterisation and advanced modelling technologies. The expected outcomes will help develop next generation batteries and fill the key knowledge gaps in broad energy materials.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 4016 - Materials Engineering. Lead: Prof Cheng Yan

Developing Sustainable Hard Carbon for High Performance Sodium-Ion Battery. Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) demonstrate a great potential to replace expensive lithium-ion batteries for energy storage as sodium is low-cost, safe and abundant as compared to lithium. However, the larger radius of sodium ions often leads to a sluggish kinetics process, and they cannot intercalate into commonly used anode materials like graphite. This project aims to investigate the atomic level sodium storage mechanism in hard carbon and develop a novel green hydrothermal carbonisation process to obtain spherical microstructures via combined experiment and atomistic modelling. This project will not only fill the knowledge gaps in developing high performance SIBs but guide the establishment of sustainable hard carbon manufacture industry.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 4017 - Mechanical Engineering. Lead: Prof Cheng Yan

Redefining the mechanosensory role of Transient Receptor Potential channels. This project will answer the question: how do members of the Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) super family of channels contribute to cellular force sensing? TRP channels do not fit the classic paradigm of force sensing channels as they are not activated by membrane stretch. This project will determine if TRPs can be activated by a different type of force (tensile forces applied at cell adhesion sites) and aims to establish a new paradigm for mechanosensing, where select TRP channels function as mechano-amplifiers to boost the signal from a classical stretch-activated primary mechanosensor, i.e. PIEZO1. This work is anticipated to redefine our understanding of the flexibility of force sensing via ion channels in mammalian cells.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 3101 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology. Lead: A/Prof Kathryn Poole

Mitigating the dark side of AI-powered virtual influencers. This project aims to investigate effective strategies to mitigate the impact of AI-generated influencers on young consumers' body image dissatisfaction and self-esteem. This project expects to uncover novel insights about form realism and behavioural realism of virtual influencers by utilising innovative mixed methods including in-depth interviews, a survey, and online simulations. Expected outcomes include identifying inherent risks with generative AI-powered virtual influencers and exploring intervention mechanisms to enhance inclusivity and diversity in online environment. This should provide significant benefits, such as understanding and refining strategies for using AI and influencer marketing and informing relevant policies.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 3506 - Marketing. Lead: A/Prof Sara Thaichon

A new mechanism regulating cell death. Cell death in multicellular organisms is vital for disposing of damaged and unwanted cells to maintain homeostasis. The project aims to understand how specific protein modification via the process of ubiquitination regulates Gasdermins, the executioners of pyroptosis, a distinct type of cell death. We will use state-of-the-art molecular and cellular approaches to discover mechanisms that control Gasdermins to manage cell death response. Given the essential nature of cell death the outcomes will generate high value conceptual knowledge in a topical field of broad biological significance. This is expected to enhance Australia’s research reputation and capability, foster international collaborations and provide training for PhD students.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 3101 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology. Lead: Prof Sharad Kumar

Understanding Reionization with the Murchison Widefield Array . Epoch of Reionization is the time during the first 10% of the Universes age when the first stars formed, and illuminated cosmic space with UV radiation that heated and re-ionized intergalactic atomic gas remnant from the time of the cosmic-microwave background. The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) Epoch of Reionization key project has collected observations for the past 10 years, aiming to detecting re-ionization in low-frequency radio emission from the 21cm line of hydrogen. This project aims to complete the processing of MWA data to produce a final observational constraint or detection, and integrate these findings with detailed physical models to determine key properties of the first galaxies. . Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 5101 - Astronomical Sciences. Lead: Prof Stuart Wyithe

Young at Heart: Vascular mechanisms supporting healthy cognitive ageing. . This project aims to investigate the vascular mechanisms that contribute to individual variability in cognitive ability in mid-late life. It uses novel measures of regional brain arterial integrity and conventional measures of systemic blood flow to experimentally characterise the vascular mechanisms by which lifestyle choices affect brain structure/function and cognitive ability in healthy older adults. The outcomes will inform integrative models of cognitive ageing and strengthen international, cross-disciplinary collaborations in cognitive ageing neuroscience. This knowledge may inform evidence-based lifestyle approaches to promote healthy and engaged living in mid-late life and reduce the social and economic impacts of cognitive ageing.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 5202 - Biological Psychology. Lead: Prof Frini Karayanidis

Harmonic analysis for elliptic partial differential equations. This project aims to establish fundamental estimates for elliptic partial differential equations, a crucial step in unravelling the behaviour of solutions in real-world applications. The overall goal is to study the changes in these estimates as the equation coefficients, indicative of factors like the roughness of the medium, become increasingly singular, through investigating a longstanding conjecture of Pucci from 1966. Anticipated outcomes encompass the invention of a new class of fully nonlinear elliptic equations, along with new harmonic analysis techniques for studying them. The results will be a significant milestone for partial differential equations and solidify Australia's leadership in this cornerstone of modern mathematics.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 4904 - Pure Mathematics. Lead: A/Prof Po-Lam Yung

Fabrication of 3D neural networks for next generation biocomputing. Aim: To engineer 3D neural systems that will underpin the development of next generation biocomputing. Significance: Biocomputers based on neuronal networks have hit a hiatus due to the inability to engineer 3D structures reminiscent of brain neural networks. Outcomes: The new 3D bioprinted system will produce neuronal networks that are scalable, can be interfaced to communicate with the real-world and perform recognition tasks. Models and algorithms will be established to optimise computational processes. Benefits: Compared to traditional silicon-based computing, biocomputing has the potential for faster decision making, continuous learning and enhanced energy efficiency, essential traits for the development of next-generation computing.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 4003 - Biomedical Engineering. Lead: Prof John Forsythe

Exploiting duality in quantum relative entropy optimisation. This project aims to develop improved algorithmic and modelling approaches for quantum relative entropy optimisation problems, which naturally arise in the design and analysis of quantum systems. This project expects to achieve this by developing a deeper mathematical understanding of duality for these problems. Expected outcomes include new algorithms for the design of quantum key distribution protocols, as well as theory to characterise the modelling power and limitations of quantum relative entropy optimisation. Possible benefits include the ability to design and reliably characterise properties of larger quantum information processing systems, as well as developing new application areas for this family of optimisation problems.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 4903 - Numerical and Computational Mathematics. Lead: Dr James Saunderson

Untangling the mechanisms of visual attention. No area of the brain works in isolation - brain areas are vastly interconnected and work together with precise temporal precision. How does the brain keep track of different connections and integrate them to control behaviour? This project aims to investigate the mechanisms the brain uses to integrate different information to guide visual attention. This project expects to generate a foundational knowledge about a fundamental brain process. The expected outcomes include novel research capacity in Australia and the development of novel methods to study brain function. Understanding neural communication will provide significant benefits to the development of neural engineering projects like neural prosthetics and computer vision.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 3209 - Neurosciences. Lead: Dr Maureen Hagan

The role of microbial interactions in controlling bacterial evolution. Bacteria evolve rapidly by sharing DNA through a process called conjugation. Conjugation enables movement of antibiotic resistance genes between bacteria within diverse niches, such as within the gut or in soil, facilitating the spread of antibiotic resistance genes. Using cutting-edge techniques, this project expects to generate new knowledge into how interactions between microbes allow antibiotic resistance genes to move amongst diverse bacteria, and how the cell receiving the DNA responds to, controls, and modulates this process. This project addresses a long-standing knowledge gap, and results can be used to combat antibiotic resistance, providing significant benefits to our economy, environment, society, and agricultural industries.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 3107 - Microbiology. Lead: Prof Dena Lyras