Grants & Opportunities

The cognitive neuroscience of motor skill learning. The capacity to produce skilled motor behaviour is essential for success in almost every aspect of our lives, whether it be playing sport, driving a car, operating machinery at work, or touch-typing. This project aims to establish the causal role of brain regions in motor skill learning by combining cutting-edge techniques in neuroimaging and brain stimulation. It is expected to lead to fundamental new knowledge on how new motor memories are created to enable the expression of skilled motor behaviour. The knowledge gained from this project may identify new strategies for learning skills that are widely applicable to education, industry, sport, and health.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 5202 - Biological Psychology. Lead: A/Prof James Coxon

Past trends and future risk of climate extremes in southern Australia. Prolonged droughts and periods of heightened flood and fire risk present a major challenge for Australia’s society and economy. This proposal aims to better resolve the causes and risks of decadal climate extremes through a suite of high quality records of temperature, rainfall/evaporation and humidity in southern Australia over 2000 years. Novel geochemical analyses will be developed and applied to lake sediments – method development which is likely to benefit climate, minerals and biosecurity research. New knowledge of mechanisms underlying climate variability is expected to benefit fundamental research, while future-facing models will allow land managers and policy makers to better anticipate extraordinary climate events.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 3709 - Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience. Lead: A/Prof Jonathan Tyler

Rational Electrolyte Design and Engineering for Next-Generation Batteries. The fast-growing energy storage market demands new battery technologies with high energy density. Lithium (Li) metal batteries are an ideal solution, although instability of the Li metal/electrolyte interface remains a challenge. The project aims to drive key advancements in electrolyte engineering for Li metal batteries with long life and high safety. Advanced characterisation and computation will reveal the structure-property relationship of electrolyte to build electrolyte design principles. This will contribute to ground-breaking knowledge, commercialisation, and boost Australia’s capability to design and manufacture next-generation energy storage devices for billion-dollar markets in smart grids, portable devices and electric vehicles.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4016 - Materials Engineering. Lead: A/Prof Jianfeng Mao

Understanding Business Dynamism: Drivers and Macroeconomic Implications. Business dynamism – the process of firm entry, growth and exit – is key for productivity as it moves jobs and capital from less to more efficient uses. But, business dynamism (and with it growth in productivity and living standards) has slowed in many countries, including Australia. Grasping the reasons and economic effects of this is a challenge. This Project aims to reshape our thinking about business dynamism, its drivers, and how it impacts the economy – from sources of long-run productivity growth and the cleansing effect of firm exit, to how climate risks impact business dynamism. The delivered empirical facts and models will aid policy design for reviving business dynamism, underpinning potentially large societal and economic gains.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 3801 - Applied Economics. Lead: Prof Petr Sedlacek

Engineered redox polymers for catalytic water purification. This project aims to develop a novel family of chemically and structurally controlled redox polymer as metal-free catalysts for wastewater micropollutant treatment. Innovations lie in the synthesis of high-performance and nanostructured carbon-based materials, multiscale modeling, and in situ characterizations for understanding structure-property relationship in carbon catalysis. Expected outcomes will deliver innovations in functional materials, mechanism, catalytic engineering, and sustainable separation processes. This project will provide significant benefits in renovating smart nanomaterials in advanced manufacturing and clean environmental technologies, promoting Australia’s economic development and environment protection.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4016 - Materials Engineering. Lead: Prof Xiaoguang Duan

Next-generation computational models to understand human joints . This project aims to investigate human joint systems through combining state-of-the-art imaging and high-fidelity biomechanical models. The methods developed in this project are expected to generate new ways of studying the dynamic response of musculoskeletal tissues to activity, including how musculoskeletal physiology can adapt to biomechanical stimuli. Expected outcomes include establishing a non-invasive method for characterising whole joint systems. This project will provide significant knowledge gain on the biomechanical regulation of human joints across form, function, dynamics and loading which may help across many facets of society to guide physical activity choices.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4003 - Biomedical Engineering. Lead: Prof Dominic Thewlis

Uncovering a novel energy-sensing mechanism in the brain. This project aims to investigate a novel regulator of energy homeostasis in the brain, a protein kinase called SIK3. Energy homeostasis is essential for life as it ensures an adequate supply of fuel to cells of the body. This project intends to generate new knowledge about molecular switches to regulate energy homeostasis by using innovative gene technologies and transgenic animal models. The expected outcomes include generating fundamental insights into how SIK3 in the hypothalamic neurons regulates energy homeostasis. Benefits include improving population health and wellbeing, informing the development of new bio-medical technologies, and expanding the capabilities of Australia’s next generation of researchers. . Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 3101 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology. Lead: Dr Kim Loh

Unlocking the potential of bacterial polymers by defining key determinants. Sugary structures that coat the surface of some bacteria, known as capsules, can be modified by bacterial viruses (bacteriophage) in the environment. For the bacterial genus Acinetobacter, this influences their use as naturally renewable 'green' biopolymers for remediating environments contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons. This project aims to characterise crucial capsule polymerase enzymes using a combination of bioinformatics and experimental methodologies to establish how bacteriophage influence Acinetobacter capsules. Outcomes include the development of an innovative genomics pipeline to detect capsule change, improving the use of living bacteria for bioremediation and sustainable rehabilitation of natural ecosystems.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 3107 - Microbiology. Lead: A/Prof Johanna Kenyon

New perspectives on nonlocal equations. This project aims at tackling cutting-edge problems in the field of mathematical analysis, with specific focus on nonlocal equations, by introducing innovative approaches and a unified perspective. It focuses on the use of long-range interactions to deeply understand new effects arising in several mathematical problems of great impact. The research will be performed through stimulating international collaborations, providing exchange opportunities and ideal conditions for students to complete their training. The expected outcomes include new techniques to solve difficult problems, high impact international research collaborations, training of the next generation of mathematicians and top tier journal publications.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4904 - Pure Mathematics. Lead: Prof Serena Dipierro

Photocatalysts for Converting Plastic Wastes into Hydrogen and Chemicals. The aim is to produce new fundamental science for sustainable production of hydrogen and value-added chemicals through a solar-driven photocatalytic approach using abundant plastic wastes and high-performance photocatalysts. A range of active, selective, robust and cheap photocatalysts will be developed for conversion processes at ambient temperatures and pressures, via an interdisciplinary approach combining atomic-level material design principles, in situ/ex situ characterisations and theoretical computations. Expected outcomes will be of high impact for solar energy use, and fuels/chemicals generation. Environmental impact will derive from consuming abundant plastic wastes; helping mitigate plastic contamination of global concern.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4016 - Materials Engineering. Lead: Dr Jingrun Ran

Additive Manufacturing of Nanotwinned Titanium Alloys for Critical Use. The project aims to use 3D printing technology to create new titanium alloy components that are substantially lighter and stronger than current versions and therefore highly relevant for high temperature and stress uses in leading-edge industries such as aeroplane manufacture. The project expects to create new means to strengthen and improve the resilience of the commercial alloys’ microstructure with unprecedented in-service performance and thereby substantially broaden the industrial adoptions of 3D-printed products. This should also provide significant cost and environmental benefits and enhance Australia’s international standing in cutting-edge research on advanced manufacturing and materials.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4014 - Manufacturing Engineering. Lead: Dr Yuman Zhu

New techniques and invariants in low-dimensional topology. The aim of this project is to introduce and apply new methods and invariants in the field of low-dimensional topology by developing parametrised and equivariant enhancements of Seiberg-Witten theory and Floer homology. These new refined invariants, made possible by recent advances in gauge theory, will be more powerful than existing ones, enabling the detection of new exotic phenomena. Expected outcomes include effective means for distinguishing families of spaces, measuring their complexity and new obstructions for their existence. The new invariants and techniques will lead to the resolution of some open problems in low-dimensional topology and enhance Australia's reputation as a world leader in this field.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4904 - Pure Mathematics. Lead: Dr David Baraglia

Innovations in Green Chemical Manufacture from Synchrotron based Techniques. This project aims to find sustainable ways to produce commodity chemicals by developing new catalysts. New synchrotron techniques will be developed and applied to provide new knowledge about the spatial and temporal factors affecting the selectivity and efficiency of electron transfer, redox reactions and diffusion, key for catalyst design. Expected outcomes include the development of new catalysts, new catalyst design concepts and a knowledge repository/database of analytical observations key for unlocking new materials knowledge. This should provide significant economic and environmental benefits by placing Australia at the forefront of the sustainable production of commodity chemicals.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 3402 - Inorganic Chemistry. Lead: Prof Rosalie Hocking

Characterising and Manipulating Triplet Interactions. Organic optoelectronic devices are based on organic semiconductors and are found throughout modern life. They underpin technologies such as phone and television displays, low-energy lighting, and solar cells. The project Aims to use spectroscopy to comprehensively understand the underlying physics of organic optoelectronic device materials. This is Significant enabling science that will accelerate development of light-emitting diodes, solar cells, and new quantum information technologies. Expected outcomes include new knowledge about organic semiconductors, enhanced Australian research capacity, and international collaboration. Benefits include device innovations and the training of researchers in synthesis, fabrication, and spectroscopy.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4016 - Materials Engineering. Lead: A/Prof Murad Tayebjee

From Snowball Earth to Animals: the Influence of Mantle Dynamics. This project aims to investigate how solid Earth processes contributed to ‘Snowball Earth’ events around 700 million years ago and to the explosion of complex life 540 million years ago, which will shed light on our origin as a species. The approach consists of merging cutting-edge models of the plate-mantle system with the global rock record. The intended outcome is to understand relationships between mantle convection, the behaviour of the magnetic field, global sea levels, continental-scale topography, and the composition of the ocean and atmosphere. Expected significant benefits include building capacity in Earth Sciences and the development of new models that can be used to explore the mineral endowment of the Australian crust.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 3706 - Geophysics. Lead: A/Prof Nicolas Flament

ARC Training Centre for Development of Advanced Radiochemical Technologies. This project aims to train the next generation of radiochemists and discover new molecular approaches to harness radioactivity. Novel chemistry exploiting molecular incorporation of radioactive elements, stable chelation of metal radionuclides, bioconjugation methodologies, radioactivity capture via nanomaterials and cages, and the design of new peptidomimetic targeting molecules will deliver technological advances to radiopharmaceutical science. Outcomes will include a highly-skilled workforce and enhanced commercial capacity to meet a rapidly escalating global radiopharmaceutical market. This project will provide significant benefits by securing an internal supply chain and know-how for cutting-edge radiochemical technologies.. Scheme: Industrial Transformation Training Centres. Field: 3402 - Inorganic Chemistry. Lead: Prof Andrea Robinson

ARC Training Centre for Battery Recycling. This Training Centre aims to transform Australia’s battery and resource industry by building advanced manufacturing capability for recycling mixed battery materials, promoting 2nd-life re-use, redesigning high performance batteries towards a battery circular economy, and advancing the supporting regulatory landscape. The research will address the challenges associated with battery recycling, deliver industrial demonstrations and promotion policies, and create a dynamic skilled workforce. Outcomes are expected to shape a distinctive battery recycling model that shifts Australia to zero battery waste to landfill; establish a profitable and self-sustaining onshore industry chain; and help ensure the future of Australia’s energy security.. Scheme: Industrial Transformation Training Centres. Field: 4016 - Materials Engineering. Lead: Prof Shizhang Qiao

ARC Research Hub for Future Digital Manufacturing. This Hub aims to grow and accelerate Australian digital manufacturing (DM) transformation by devising novel DM technology and commercialisation/adoption pathways. The Hub expects to transform industry by developing novel AI and IoT-powered DM technology that provides for dramatic improvement in manufacturing productivity, resilience and competitiveness. Expected outcomes include novel DM technology for digitally representing, predicting, and improving production and its outcomes via an open platform that supports reusing industry co-created DM solutions. Through supporting advanced manufacturing priorities and Industry 4.0, the Hub should provide significant benefits by increasing Australian manufacturing productivity and resilience by 30%.. Scheme: Industrial Transformation Research Hubs. Field: 4606 - Distributed Computing and Systems Software. Lead: Prof Dimitrios Georgakopoulos

ARC Training Centre for Radiation Innovation. This Centre aims to train the next generation of transdisciplinary leaders to enable, grow and transform industries that utilise or are impacted by radiation. Rapid growth in the natural resources, health, space and national security sectors urgently requires a highly capable workforce with scientific and regulatory knowledge to develop new technologies and social licence needs to maximise benefits. Outcomes include new methods of radiopharmaceutical production, more resilient spacecraft and robust regulatory frameworks. Industries and communities will benefit from a future workforce prepared for safe adoption, development and delivery of emerging techniques and advanced radiation technologies, enhancing Australia’s prosperity and security.. Scheme: Industrial Transformation Training Centres. Field: 5106 - Nuclear and Plasma Physics. Lead: Prof Mahananda Dasgupta

ARC Research Hub in Zero-emission Power Generation for Carbon Neutrality. This Hub aims to develop sustainable zero-emission power generation technologies to transform gaseous waste (mainly CO2) from our energy and manufacturing sectors into valuable products and create scalable pathways to market for driving industry transformation. This Hub expects to harvest renewable energy from the environment by using zero-emission power generators and then store it in green and safer batteries for converting gaseous waste from sectors that cannot easily avoid emission into useful chemicals, which in turn realize carbon neutrality and negativity. The outcomes of this Hub are likely to be transformative for industry, the economy, and society in new-type renewable energy resources through decreasing environmental pollutants. . Scheme: Industrial Transformation Research Hubs. Field: 4016 - Materials Engineering. Lead: Prof Zhi-Gang Chen

ARC Training Centre for Automated Vehicles in Rural and Remote Regions. The Centre will build skills and capability to test and deploy safe, socially acceptable, automated vehicles (AV) for rural, regional and remote Australian public roads, where manufacturing, agriculture, mining and defence industries face significant challenges of driver shortages, rising costs, long distances, rough roads, and environmental impacts. The centre will unite technology providers, regulators, government and end users with world-leading interdisciplinary researchers to create new human-AV systems, datasets, frameworks, case studies, platforms, and a vastly upskilled workforce. This will reduce transport costs, increase capacity, boost supply chain efficiency and resilience, improve road safety, and elevate Australian capability.. Scheme: Industrial Transformation Training Centres. Field: 4608 - Human-Centred Computing. Lead: Prof Sebastien Glaser

Unpacking the policy process: alcohol policy in complex social environments. In pursuit of effective alcohol policies, experts have focused on promoting evidence-based solutions, assuming that policymakers will select policies on the basis of research evidence. However, this linear model of evidence-based policy rarely plays out when related to highly contested social issues such as alcohol use. We need new ways of thinking about influencing alcohol policy that account for and engage with the realities of policymaking in socially complex regions, particularly policy relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This DECRA will address this critical gap in knowledge by generating knowledge on alcohol policy processes, with a view to informing more effective engagement in the alcohol policymaking process.. Scheme: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. Field: 4407 - Policy and Administration. Lead: Dr Cassandra Wright

Linking Australia’s basement and cover mineral systems . The aim of this research is to use revolutionary new mineral-dating techniques to test the hypothesis that low-temperature fluids can transport metals from Australia's richly endowed geological basement to form new mineral deposits in the sedimentary basins that cover most of the continent. Sedimentary-hosted mineral systems are the largest source of the critical metal cobalt and the second largest source of copper on Earth. These two metals are essential to developing the green energy infrastructure and technologies that underpin a net zero economy. The expected outcomes are a detailed record of paleo-fluid flow and metal cycling in Australia's highly prospective sedimentary basins. . Scheme: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. Field: 3705 - Geology. Lead: Dr Jacob Mulder

Quinoid Polymers for Organic Electrochemical Transistors and Bioelectronics. This project aims to develop organic semiconductors (OSCs) with excellent mechanical flexibility and biocompatibility to exploit their potentials in bioelectronics. It connects the electronic world with ionic world of biology to push the biomedical application of OSCs a big step forward. Interdisciplinary knowledge, intellectual properties (IPs), top-notch publications, invited talks, and international collaborations are expected. Additionally, it will earn Australia a commercial lead in the biomedical sector to attract more talents to serve Australia. This project also matches well with several government’s strategic research priorities, attracting industries to realise IPs transfer to bring “great value for money” to feed back Australia.. Scheme: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. Field: 4016 - Materials Engineering. Lead: Dr Qian Liu

Innovating and Validating Scalable Monte Carlo Methods. This project aims to develop innovative scalable Monte Carlo methods for statistical analysis in the presence of big data or complex mathematical models. Existing approaches to scalable Monte Carlo are only approximate, and their inaccuracies are difficult to quantify. This can have a detrimental impact on data-based decision making. The expected outcomes of this project are scalable Monte Carlo methods that are more accurate, fast and capable of quantifying inaccuracies. Scientists and decision-makers will benefit from the ability to obtain timely, reliable insights for challenging applications.. Scheme: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. Field: 4905 - Statistics. Lead: Dr Leah South