Grants & Opportunities

Tracking 600,000 years of flooding and aridification in Australia’s deserts. This project aims to provide unprecedented understanding of how tropical rainfall promotes excessive wet pulses and floods in Australia’s iconic dry, desert interior. This is achieved by developing a 600,000 year record of tropical rainfall and river runoff to the desert, becoming the longest and most continuous sedimentary climate record from the Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre Basin. Outcomes will unravel the global climate conditions that fostered extensive wet pulses in the past, providing unprecedented reference for the period of human migration and extinction of megafauna during the last 65,000 years. Outcomes will also inform how the desert responds to flooding, relevant to constrain risk to agriculture, infrastructure, and ecologic habitats.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 3709 - Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience. Lead: Dr Alexander Francke

3D-Printing Nanostructured Solid Polymer Electrolytes. This project aims to pioneer the design and development of solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) to enable Li-metal batteries, utilising the high-capacity lithium metal anode. By merging the digital assembly capabilities of 3D printing with in-situ self-assembly of block copolymers and establishing precise control over bicontinuous SPE nanostructures, we anticipate yielding SPEs with tuneable ionic conductivity and mechanical strength. The envisioned outcomes include enhanced battery safety and heightened energy density, surpassing traditional Li-ion batteries. Additionally, integrating 3D printing will bolster manufacturing efficiency and scalability, facilitating battery customisation to meet specific requirements and applications.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 4014 - Manufacturing Engineering. Lead: Prof Cyrille Boyer

Understanding the mastery of multiple languages and dialects . This project will provide a unifying theory of how subsequent languages are acquired after mastering two languages or dialects. We will use an approach encompassing corpus, computational, psycho- and socio- linguistics. Expected outcomes include a deep understanding of how multilingual and multidialect mastery proceeds, how these are represented in the brain, and how they manifest in communicative contexts. Benefits include evidence-based knowledge for the advancement and consolidation of a) multilingual programs in all educational settings, b) multilingual speech recognition and synthesis and artificial intelligence, and c) linguistic and social integration in multicultural societies in Australia and worldwide.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 4704 - Linguistics. Lead: Prof Paola Escudero

Fast and parallel logic gates for trapped-ion quantum computing. Quantum computers can simulate complex chemical interactions and materials in ways that existing quantum chemistry tools cannot. This project aims to develop key technology that will allow trapped-ion quantum computers to operate at a scale that makes them useful for commercial purposes. All current quantum computing platforms are limited by their ability to apply a large number of successive entangling gates. For trapped-ion systems, these limits can be overcome by non-adiabatic gate protocols called 'fast gates'. This project aims to develop versions of these tools that operate more efficiently when used in large scale next-generation quantum computers. . Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 5108 - Quantum Physics. Lead: Prof Joseph Hope

Optimising land sparing and sharing to restore ecosystem services . Can we reconcile nature restoration and agricultural production in a finite landscape? Restoration provides benefits to people, such as pollination, but the complex flows of these benefits makes it difficult to recognise where – and how much – land to restore without reducing agricultural production. This project aims to develop novel tools for optimising restoration that solves how to spatially arrange restoration sites and allocate different land-use intensities (sparing vs sharing) while accounting for time lags and dynamic ecosystem service flows. Illustrating potential synergies, and developing a framework to achieve them, should provide substantial benefits by motivating landholders to undertake restoration in agricultural landscapes.. Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 4102 - Ecological Applications. Lead: Dr Rebecca Runting

Delivering step changes in canola yield by improving pod photosynthesis. Australian canola is highly sought after globally, but demand for plant oils exceeds supply due to stagnant yield improvement from traditional breeding. This project aims to boost canola yield and drought resilience by engineering pod photosynthesis, a novel breeding target. The multidisciplinary project team will address gaps in understanding natural variation in pod photosynthesis, providing innovative genetic tools for developing canola germplasm suitable for future climates. Adoption of these innovations by the industry partners will deliver high-yielding, low agronomic input commercial canola varieties to Australian growers, reducing environmental footprint, boosting the Australian economy and contributing to net-zero emission targets.. Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 3004 - Crop and Pasture Production. Lead: Prof Robert Furbank

Sources of hull friction drag on freshly cleaned and painted ships. 99% of Australia’s goods and raw materials are imported or exported by ship and pressure is mounting to reduce the environmental impact. Recent research by the assembled team shows that rough wall turbulence is responsible for surprisingly high drag, even on freshly cleaned and painted ships, challenging International Maritime Organization estimates that hull roughness causes only a 9% drag penalty over the global fleet. This project aims to identify the causes of this higher drag and develop tools to predict hull roughness drag penalty using inputs from dry dock inspection. Research outcomes will allow ship operators to make better decisions about hull maintenance to lower operating costs, reduce fuel use and reduce emissions of shipping.. Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 4012 - Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Engineering. Lead: Prof Nicholas Hutchins

Landscape genomics for adaptable native forest management and restoration. Large-scale forest disturbance and community composition shifts are already observed under climate change, yet land managers, restoration practitioners and policy makers lack essential tools necessary to adapt and enhance forest ecosystem resilience. We will take a three tiered approach, combining landscape community genomics, ongoing restoration efforts, and emergent climate-adaptive management and governance frameworks. By sampling thousands of seed lot trees from extreme environments, we will provide environmental genomic prediction among species necessary for management. The delivered outcome will be a scientifically-informed toolkit for industry and government in responding to vegetation change and repairing degraded ecosystems.. Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 3104 - Evolutionary Biology. Lead: Prof Justin Borevitz

Lanthanides and actinides in copper ores, a pas de deux in geological time. Lanthanides (rare earth elements, REE) occur in the Olympic Dam copper deposit, South Australia, and adjacent mines and prospects. Using cutting-edge microanalysis and modelling techniques, we will constrain relationships between rare earths and associated uranium mineralisation and understand why such a marked enrichment of REE occurs in these ores. Mineralogy and ore textures, if understood down to atomic scale, provide necessary information to underpin strategies for potential REE exploitation for green technologies from one of Australia's largest ore deposits. This interdisciplinary research is aligned to Australia's critical mineral strategy and will provide a generic model for REE-enrichment with application to analogous copper ores.. Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 3705 - Geology. Lead: Prof Nigel Cook

Plants and climate mitigation futures: Museums, communities, knowledges . Acting beyond the Paris Agreement that view trees as carbon sinks, this project advances novel interdisciplinary, Indigenous knowledge alliances and new forms of community engagement facilitated by museums to co-generate innovative climate plant mitigation concepts and strategies in Australia and Vanuatu. It supports Indigenous-led climate agendas around cultural burning and green development, develops new plant sciences and environmental humanities concepts to rework the PA and its human-centred climate plant relations. Expected outcomes include new plant mitigation practices, scholarly and policy approaches for the regeneration of Country with significant benefits to Indigenous communities, project partners and society for climate action.. Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 4302 - Heritage, Archive and Museum Studies. Lead: A/Prof Fiona Cameron

Multidimensional Targeted Synthesis of Compound Semiconductor PV Materials. This fellowship aims to develop next-generation photovoltaic (PV) materials that can partner with silicon solar cells to achieve ultra-low cost and high-performance tandem photovoltaic technologies. Overcoming the pitfalls of conventional unguided synthesis – a key bottleneck to the next PV frontier – this program will revolutionize the synthesis of compound photovoltaic materials by a physics-informed, empirical-learning-advised, and experimentally validated multidimensional targeted scalable synthesis platform. Expected outcomes include innovative synthesis technologies and multiple top-cell candidates enabling silicon tandem cell technologies; benefiting Australia’s renewable energy leadership in academia and in industry application.. Scheme: Australian Laureate Fellowships. Field: 4016 - Materials Engineering. Lead: Prof Xiaojing Hao

Transforming environmental governance for novel ocean-based climate action. Climate change is stimulating novel actions in oceans that are accelerating climate ambitions and disrupting communities and ecosystems. Government and community oversight of such interventions - which include chemically-modified seawater and genetically-modified coral - is unfit for purpose and ineffective. By developing new knowledge, partnerships, decision tools, and researchers, this program will generate governance innovations to minimise social-ecological risk and accelerate effective climate actions. The benefits and legacy of the Laureate program include transformative governance of novel ocean-based climate actions, a new climate-intensive field of marine policy research, and enhanced Australian leadership of global marine futures.. Scheme: Australian Laureate Fellowships. Field: 4104 - Environmental Management. Lead: Prof Tiffany Morrison

Transforming understanding of cognitive ageing: Bridging the lab-life gap. With Australia’s population rapidly ageing, keeping people happy and independent for longer is now a national priority. Good cognitive function lies at the heart of successful ageing, but we currently lack a clear understanding of the factors that influence how successfully, or not, older adults complete the complex activities that support and enhance their everyday lives. This project aims to use groundbreaking methods to deliver this understanding, and then develop resources that strengthen older adults' real-life function. In doing so, this Laureate expects to empower older people to stay socially connected, active in the workforce, and to live in their own homes well into their golden years, with social and economic benefits for us all.. Scheme: Australian Laureate Fellowships. Field: 5201 - Applied and Developmental Psychology. Lead: Prof Julie Henry

Temporal analytics for a complex, dynamic and ever-changing world. This project aims to transform the theory and practice of temporal analytics. The world is dynamic and ever changing, but most AI methods treat it as static, missing the important implications of change. This project expects to invent a new generation of AI technologies that derive greater value from temporal data -- technologies that unlock the troves of complex dynamic information in the world’s large and rapidly growing data stores. With broad applicability, these temporal analysis technologies have the potential to benefit myriad sectors, transforming AI for complex dynamics and supporting innovation in industry, commerce, research and government.. Scheme: Australian Laureate Fellowships. Field: 4605 - Data Management and Data Science. Lead: Prof Geoffrey Webb

Elevating mangrove recovery: the role of accretion under sea level rise. Climate change is accelerating sea level rise and the severity of storms, increasing coastal flooding and erosion. Mangroves can mitigate these by increasing land elevation through sediment accretion however, sea level rise threatens to drown them if they cannot recover after storm events. Through the innovative use of drone surveys and hydrodynamic models, this project aims to generate new knowledge on how mangroves increase elevation and recover after storms. Expected outcomes include predictive models of elevation change based on mangrove forest structures and the potential for recovery under future sea level rise scenarios. This work should provide valuable insights to support decision-making in coastal conservation and management.. Scheme: Early Career Industry Fellowships. Field: 4101 - Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation. Lead: Dr Alice Twomey

Enzyme Nanoparticles as Biotechnological Tool for Reprogramming Cells. The project will develop a next-generation biocatalytic platform by combining enzymes with polymers to form nanoparticles that can function inside living cells. These enzyme nanoparticles can perform complex chemical reactions, extending the use of nanomaterials beyond medicine into industries such as food processing, agriculture, and biomanufacturing. Expected outcomes include sustainable and functional biopolymer materials capable of reactions that current technologies cannot achieve, offering unprecedented control over cellular processes. This will enhance the production of high-value biotechnological products like antibodies and biofuels, strengthening Australia as a leader in nanotechnology and sustainable materials.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 3403 - Macromolecular and Materials Chemistry. Lead: Dr Peter Wich

Project Delivery Harmonisation for Urban Micromobility Infrastructure . This project aims to enhance delivery of micromobility projects by improved collaboration and consensus building among governments, private practice and communities through participatory research. This project is expected to yield substantial benefits, including facilitating the allocation of billions of dollars for many smaller-scale projects, leading to significant local economic growth. It aims to achieve the strategic goals of governments concerning health and decarbonisation, stemming from increased physical activity and reduced reliance on private vehicles. We will promote our research outcomes through high-profile industry organisations and partnerships with local and state governments to ensure widespread understanding and adoption.. Scheme: Early Career Industry Fellowships. Field: 3304 - Urban and Regional Planning. Lead: Dr Mike Harris

How the land became Country: the archaeology of people and trees in Oceania. Trees are essential to human life. Archaeobotany explores the deep history of this relationship through anthracology (wood charcoal analysis) and this project will position Australia as a global leader in the discipline. It will establish its application across Australia and the Pacific, developing essential resources, pioneering new methods and studies, to deliver unique datasets evidencing the combined history of people and trees across Oceania. The project will generate new knowledge on the archaeology of traditional ecological practices and the creation of cultural landscapes. Benefits include supporting two-ways science for Indigenous-led environmental management and the solutions offered for a sustainable future.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4513 - Pacific Peoples Culture, Language and History. Lead: Dr Emilie Dotte-Sarout

A study of Torres Strait Islander mobility amid climate change. This project aims to investigate the mobility of Torres Strait Islanders in response to climate change, focusing on how potential relocation impacts their environment, health, and connection to their land and seas. By using innovative participatory methods, the project expects to generate new insights into climate migration. Key outcomes include informed national climate policies and adaptive strategies that enhance community resilience, prioritising the voices and experiences of Torres Strait Islanders. The benefits include a better understanding of human adaptation that integrates Indigenous knowledge, resulting in more effective and inclusive national climate change policies. . Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4505 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, Society and Community. Lead: A/Prof Felecia Watkin Lui

Reliable scene perception in complex and uncertain environments. This project aims to enhance safety and efficiency in complex industrial environments by transforming the capacity of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to handle scene perception. The potential transformations, which include more advanced model generalisation, purpose-distilled datasets, and proven performance estimation, should let AI systems adapt to new environments with minimal labelled data and fewer computational resources. Expected outcomes include two impactful systems for road infrastructure management and compliance monitoring in steelmaking – both reflecting innovation for Industry 4.0. Additionally, the project is expected to drive significant advancements in operational precision, safety and automation across multiple sectors.. Scheme: Early Career Industry Fellowships. Field: 4605 - Data Management and Data Science. Lead: Dr Zijian Wang

Sorption Heat Exchanger to Enable Thermal Safety of Electric Aircraft. This project aims to develop a sorption heat exchanger for the electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, Vertiia, by loading sorption thermal storage into airflow channels of the heat exchanger. On the ground, the solid-gas sorption storage with ultrahigh energy density is pre-discharged. During the flight, battery generated heat is then mostly absorbed by the sorption storage by releasing its stored moisture. The novel heat exchanger is expected to significantly improve thermal dissipation capability with minimum weight and onboard energy penalties. This technology not only ensures thermal safety of Vertiia’s batteries, but it also provides more allowable weight for passengers and mitigating thermal-accelerated battery degradation.. Scheme: Early Career Industry Fellowships. Field: 4012 - Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Engineering. Lead: Dr Chunrong Zhao

Ensuring renewable energy zone stability for Australian net-zero transition. This project aims to develop an innovative data-driven modelling method for renewable generators. Currently, the stability of modern renewables can only be analysed via time-consuming scenario-based simulations, and there is a lack of effective means to holistically assess system stability. This project expects to generate for the first time clear renewable generator models through measurements and partially known information from generator manufacturers to replace the existing black-box models. Expected outcomes include a new data-driven modelling method of renewables, which will significantly benefit the energy industry by increasing power grid stability, ultimately boosting investment in and uptake of renewable technologies and products.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4008 - Electrical Engineering. Lead: A/Prof Ruifeng Yan

Novel process and reactors design for metal leaching in battery recycling. This project aims to design an efficient and scalable leaching process with high feasibility for commercialisation, contributing to ReNew Materials Pty Ltd's strategic investment plan in battery industry. Through advanced modelling and experiment approach, a closed-loop leaching process including scalable reactors and a wastewater treatment unit using green chemicals will be developed with high conversion efficiency and adaptability to industry settings. Expected outcomes include a next-generation leaching system prototype and advanced knowledge in mathematic models, green leaching process fundamentals and prototype manufacturing. This drives the process technology innovation for Australia’s waste battery on-shore recycling industry.. Scheme: Early Career Industry Fellowships. Field: 4004 - Chemical Engineering. Lead: Dr Shuang Song

Rethinking 4D Shape Statistics via Neural Functional Representations. This project will develop novel mathematical tools and machine learning algorithms for the statistical modelling and analysis of how biological objects develop their 3D shape, grow and deform as they interact with their environment. It will generate new knowledge on how to mathematically model the 3D geometry, deformations and growth using a novel generation of neural networks that are physically motivated, compact and fast to train. These are crucial for understanding developmental processes, natural growth and disease progression in biological objects. Expected outcomes include innovative techniques and computational tools that operate directly on RGB images and videos, with substantial benefits to biology, health and computer vision. . Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4603 - Computer Vision and Multimedia Computation. Lead: Prof Hamid Laga

Arithmetic Statistics, Dynamics and Quantum Chaos. The aim of the project is to investigate various aspects of arithmetic statistics and pseudorandomness in Number Theory and Dynamics, with applications to Quantum Chaos. These include arithmetic statistics of matrix groups over number theoretic domains, randomness aspects of orbits generated by arithmetic dynamical systems, as well as investigating the pseudorandomness nature of the renowned cat map, providing a discrete model of quantum chaos. Important outcomes include progress towards several conjectures, as well as developing a variety of new number theoretic methods which are both novel and deep. It will continue to drive and influence research in mathematics as well as more applied areas beyond the confines of this project.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4904 - Pure Mathematics. Lead: A/Prof Alina Ostafe