Grants & Opportunities

Smart site investigation for offshore energy installations in sand . This project aims to develop a next generation tool for seabed site investigations. It will use free-fall penetrometers, advanced physical modelling and novel probabilistic methods to investigate fundamental science of sand responses at low stress level and generate new interpretation methods. Outcomes of this project include a scientific framework to predict soil design parameters at unsampled seabed locations. A game changer in offshore site investigations, the project will provide cheaper and faster geotechnical site investigation in sand at a time of global increase in offshore energy installations (worth 4 trillion over the next decade).. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 0905 - Civil Engineering. Lead: A/Prof Shiao Huey Chow

Uncovering the transgenerational dimension of ageing. Despite over a century of research on the biology of ageing, one intriguing aspect of ageing – the widely observed tendency for older parents to produce offspring with reduced lifespan and fitness – remains poorly understood. Such effects could be a major source of variation in individual fitness, could play a role in the evolution of ageing, and could impact human health. Building on recent discoveries by CI Bonduriansky’s research group and others, this project’s aims will address significant questions about the mechanisms mediating these effects, the roles of mothers vs. fathers, and the role of the ambient environment. This project will also contribute new theory on the evolutionary implications of such effects. . Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 0603 - Evolutionary Biology. Lead: Prof Russell Bonduriansky

Narrative Ecologies of Warragamba Dam. We are living in a period of significant environmental and land use challenges, many of them accompanied by conflicting understandings and values. This interdisciplinary environmental humanities project focuses on the proposed raising of the Warragamba Dam wall to explore the role of narrative in analysing and responding to socio-environmental controversies: narratives of connection to place, of livelihood and economic prosperity, of deep cultural relationships to Country. Ultimately, this project aims to develop new resources for enhancing community understanding and involvement in these complex issues, utilising narrative to enable responses that are creative, inclusive, and just.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 2002 - Cultural Studies. Lead: Prof Thom van Dooren

Add mountains and shake: plate boundary fault and earthquake patterns. This project aims to determine the fundamental physical processes that link topography, seismic shaking and volcanism to the evolution of seismogenic fault networks in obliquely convergent (transpressional) plate boundary settings. We will combine detailed field and remote sensing-based structural analyses in transpressional mountain belts with advanced laboratory analogue and numerical experiments to evaluate: 1) how bursts of strong seismic shaking perturb fault zone evolution through time; 2) the contribution of topography and gravitation loading to fault interactions and earthquake generation; and 3) feedbacks between fault network development, the spatial distribution of volcanic centres, seismic shaking and ore deposits.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 0403 - Geology. Lead: Prof Alexander Cruden

Topological stability from spectral analysis. The aim is to use mathematical scattering theory to find and study new topological features of the spectra of linear transformations on Hilbert space. The significance derives from mathematical models of low temperature conducting quantum materials. These have revealed `topological phases of matter' that are stable with respect to a range of variations in the parameters that determine the system. The stability is desired for applications to quantum devices. Our results will give topological stability from the scattering spectrum, a feature not previously seen. The benefits stem from new results in mathematical scattering theory with a primary novelty being the analysis of ``zero energy resonances'' in mathematical models of graphene.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 0101 - Pure Mathematics. Lead: Prof Adam Rennie

Some like it hot: invasive species, hybridisation, and a warming world. Temperatures are rising and invasive species are becoming more prevalent. This project aims to understand how climate change and hybridisation between exotic and native marine species leads to rapid adaptation. Using integrative approaches from genomics and physiology and focusing on Australian blue mussels, this proposal will test leading hypotheses about how climate change and hybridisation can enable rapid adaptation and the spread of exotic species. Outcomes will include strategies for minimising impacts of invasive mussels and boosting warm-temperature adaptation in aquaculture mussels and restored shellfish reefs. This project will yield fundamental insights into how marine species can quickly adapt to warming seas.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 0604 - Genetics. Lead: Prof Cynthia Riginos

Understanding macroeconomic fluctuations with unobserved networks. Whilst empirical evidence suggests that firm-level shocks can have large aggregate effects, via network connections, macroeconomic policies have mostly an aggregate nature. This project aims to build a new framework to disentangle aggregate shocks from shocks to individual units. The major innovations are i) to infer the network from the data and ii) to jointly estimate aggregate factors and network effects. Expected outcomes are i) measures of systemic risk and ii) a theoretical framework to study the optimality of aggregate versus sectoral stabilization policies. Benefits include a better understanding of macroeconomic fluctuations in Australia and proposed economic policies to mitigate large and persistent declines in employment and GDP.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 1402 - Applied Economics. Lead: Prof Valentyn Panchenko

Reading facial expressions from real and virtual humans. This project aims to advance understanding of human emotional communication and improve human rapport with the virtual humans and avatars that are rapidly infiltrating our social world. Using two unique stimulus sets - naturalistic human expressions and highly realistic virtual faces - together with powerful genetic, experimental, and individual differences designs, the project expects to answer previously intractable questions in emotion science, as well as deliver tangible outcomes, such as new psychological tests to better understand human social connection. This should provide significant benefits, by improving emotion communication and offering a new perspective on how artificial intelligence can best serve human social needs. . Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 1701 - Psychology. Lead: Prof Romina Palermo

Governance for Gender Inclusion: Levelling the Field in Australian Sport. This project aims to understand why, despite gains in women's sport participation, gender inclusion efforts in Australian sport have not yet led to gender parity in leadership roles or broad accessibility for marginalised groups. It seeks to generate new knowledge about the regulatory mechanisms and social conditions that facilitate change through the development of a new interdisciplinary conceptual framework. Expected outcomes include enhanced analytic guidelines and robust recommendations for governance strategies, which can be applied to study other domains. This should provide significant theoretical and policy benefits by supporting equity in professional settings and health promotion through wider inclusion.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 1504 - Commercial Services. Lead: Prof Kathryn Henne

Physics-aware machine learning for data-driven fire risk prediction. The 2019/20 Australian fire season was unprecedented in its extent, impact, and the response of fire agencies. In this project, we aim to answer the question: was the scale of these fires driven by known drivers of fire (drought, weather, fuels and ignitions), or were fundamentally new undescribed processes and phenomena involved? We will accomplish this by developing an innovative, physics-aware machine learning model of fire risk and spread, trained and validated on a two-decade satellite fire record. The predictive ability of the model will be tested on the 2019/20 fire season to determine if novel drivers of fire can be identified, and the model itself will be operationalised into a novel short-to-mid term fire risk prediction tool. . Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 0406 - Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience. Lead: Prof Matthias Boer

Dynamics of Suppressed Mixing Regimes in Australian Rivers. This study aims to further the fundamental science of turbulent mixing in the context of flow in Australian rivers. The focus is on prolonged low flow conditions which when coupled with warm surface temperatures cause the water column to become thermally stratified which then suppresses turbulent mixing. The extreme scale of the river systems has made investigating the true dynamics of the strongly stratified mixing regimes particularly challenging. By taking world first in-situ measurements of turbulent mixing and undertaking high resolution numerical simulations this study will provide definitive data which will allow correct characterization of the mixing regimes and how they are associated with river flow conditions.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 0915 - Interdisciplinary Engineering. Lead: Prof Steven Armfield

Wikipedia and the nation’s story: Towards equity in knowledge production. As the world’s largest source of public information, Wikipedia is a crucial site in which national stories are made. This project aims to institute a critical approach to understanding Wikipedia by investigating how it produces knowledge in its coverage of Australian historic events. The project expects to advance digital media studies, utilizing an innovative conceptual approach to undertake the first systematic examination of events from a national perspective. Expected outcomes include an expanded evaluation framework and an international research collaboration. This should provide significant benefits, building research capacity and creating tools to help generate more equitable coverage for millions of users in Australia and beyond.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 2001 - Communication and Media Studies. Lead: A/Prof Heather Ford

Mitigating the risks of cyberattacks on cyber-physical power systems. Cyber threats are a pertinent issue facing power systems as part of national critical infrastructure. This project will develop a systematic theory to capture the dynamic risk propagation of cyberattacks on cyber-physical power systems. Focusing on the physical domain of cyber-physical power systems, the theory includes offline risk modelling with consideration of attack intentions for risk propagation of cyberattacks, an online risk assessment method to quantify the risk propagation of cyberattacks, and resilient control strategies to mitigate cyberattack risks. The outcomes will not only advance knowledge in cyber-physical security but also facilitate an accelerated adoption of the increasing renewable energy sources into the power grid.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 0906 - Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Lead: Prof Yu-Chu Tian

Computer-aided proofs for non-hyperbolic dynamics and blenders . This project aims to develop methods to rigorously detect certain geometric structures in systems that are known to imply chaos and are robust under perturbation. Such structures include blenders and robust heterodimensional cycles and homoclinic tangencies. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of non hyperbolic dynamics utilising a novel combination of recent developments in Dynamical Systems and techniques from rigorous numerics. Expected outcomes of this project include an efficient computation platform aimed at detecting and verifying chaos-inducing objects in complex dynamical systems. This should provide significant benefits, such as an increased understanding of non-hyperbolic dynamical systems. . Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 0101 - Pure Mathematics. Lead: Prof Warwick Tucker

Deciphering strategies polar phytoplankton employ to lessen iron limitation. The Southern Ocean is of global importance. It comprises one-third of the global ocean by area and disproportionately absorbs two-thirds of anthropogenic ocean heat and half of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions even though phytoplankton in this region are chronically iron-limited. This project aims to understand why copper uptake by phytoplankton lessens the effects of iron limitation and how copper substitutes for iron. This knowledge is critical for evaluating the impacts and feedbacks between iron and copper in regulating Southern Ocean productivity and ultimately its ability to drawdown atmospheric CO2. The results from this project will facilitate the development of improved ecosystem models and conservation tools.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 0405 - Oceanography. Lead: Prof Michael Ellwood

The role of song in Kaytetye and Warlpiri biocultural knowledge. This project aims to integrate Indigenous Ecological Knowledge with Indigenous ceremonial knowledge in two central Australian Aboriginal languages: Kaytetye and Warlpiri. With a multidisciplinary team and by building on existing lexical and musical corpora, the project expects to produce the first biocultural monographs. Identification of biota and human uses of them will be expanded with their song, site of origin and kinship affiliation; thus advancing knowledge of how societies interact with the natural world and the role of music in retaining knowledge. Expected benefits of this project are greater intergenerational transfer of Indigenous biocultural knowledge through working on country and enhanced Indigenous capacity. . Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 1904 - Performing Arts and Creative Writing. Lead: Prof Myfany Turpin

Advancing investor action on energy transition. This project aims to advance action by investors (debt and equity) to increase finance for low-carbon energy sources that reduce fundamental climate risks. The project applies interdisciplinary approaches to generate new knowledge about the business case for investor leadership on energy transition and supportive climate law and financial regulatory frameworks. Collaborative legal and business analysis by leading Australian and US scholars, coupled with interviews and focus groups with investors, will examine contemporary engagement practices and investors' management of climate-related financial risks. Expected outcomes are targeted reform proposals to benefit policymakers and the environment by fostering private financing of clean energy.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 1801 - Law. Lead: Prof Jacqueline Peel

Lifting the burden of imprisonment: Creating safer and stronger communities. This project aims to identify how a reduction in imprisonment rates could benefit Australian communities and enhance their safety and wellbeing. It will link a range of statistical data sources on imprisonment, crime and community wellbeing. We will, for the first time, comprehensively demonstrate the impact of imprisonment on individuals and communities in Australia and beyond. Expected outcomes of this project include expansion and innovation of coercive mobility theory, novel integration of data, and a forecasting tool to assess the impact of imprisonment reduction on communities. This evidence will assist advocacy groups and policy makers seeking to address Australia’s burgeoning imprisonment rate.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 1602 - Criminology. Lead: Dr Kirsten Besemer

The future of shipping: achieving autonomous navigation. This project aims to develop autonomous decision systems and onshore control stations to support the design and operation of unmanned cargo ships. Blending observations, numerical models, virtual reality and machine learning, the project will develop algorithms for unsupervised navigation and embed these in an advanced ship simulator platform capable of responding to environmental conditions and optimising sea freight transport capabilities. The expected outcomes will enable the integration of automated controls in ships, including remote-control capabilities. This will support Australia’s transition towards an autonomous shipping industry, delivering greater reliability, efficiency, productivity and safety.. Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 0911 - Maritime Engineering. Lead: Prof Alessandro Toffoli

Developing a novel carbon negative fertiliser . Food security is vital to support our growing population. However, our increasing reliance on intensive farming systems necessitates increased fertiliser use, leading to increased water pollution and soil degradation - threatening both the Australian environment and food security. Increasing carbon storage capacity by soil and decreasing fertiliser use are two of the primary pathways for restoring the bio-support capacity of soils and reducing farming footprints. This innovative and first-of-its-kind project aims to develop a cost-effective, carbon negative fertiliser that reduces fertiliser inputs and increases soil carbon storage. Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 0503 - Soil Sciences. Lead: A/Prof Shahla Hosseini Bai

Living with Urban Heat: Becoming Climate-Ready in Social Housing . This project aims to address liveability in rapidly warming cities by focusing on the role that social practice plays in complementing technical and infrastructural cooling solutions. This project expects to generate new knowledge about equitable heat adaptive practices. It does so by working with culturally diverse social housing residents using an innovative blend of participatory action research and transition design. Expected outcomes of this project include practical, low-cost cooling strategies that can be implemented now, along with increased social input into planning for the hotter urban future. This should provide significant benefits, such as enhanced civic capacity to generate society-wide climate readiness. . Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 1604 - Human Geography. Lead: A/Prof Stephen Healy

Remote sensing techniques to infer fine-scale ocean surface currents. This project aims to develop new technology for measuring ocean surface currents at unprecedented fine resolution using aerial imagery and theory that describes how surface waves are refracted by currents. The project will generate new knowledge on ocean surface current processes and variability across a range of scales, and critically, improve our understanding of surface current uncertainty through application of advanced statistical analysis techniques. The outcomes of this project will deliver Australian capability to leverage the enhanced spatial and temporal resolution of next generation Earth observations to directly benefit search and rescue, offshore industry operations, defence, and pollution response in Australian waters.. Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 0405 - Oceanography. Lead: Dr Matthew Rayson

Observe, Reflect, Improve: a tool to enrich Children’s Learning (ORICL). This project aims to address long-standing concerns about the quality of education and care for children during their critical first two years. It will introduce a promising, future-focused digital tool, co-designed with practitioners and providers of early childhood services, to support infant-toddler educators’ planning and practice. Building on ground-breaking pilot work, we will undertake a national implementation and evaluation of the Observe, Reflect and Improve Children’s Learning (ORICL) tool. Expected outcomes include: enhanced pedagogical practices; enriched learning experiences for children birth-two; effective communication with families; and improved resourcing for providers of early childhood education and care services. . Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 1301 - Education Systems. Lead: Prof Linda Harrison

Developing a wildlife health intelligence and vaccine distribution system. This project aims to establish an industry-linked pipeline for vaccines to be delivered to animals in edible baits and a near real-time monitoring system for assessing the impact of management actions. This project will develop ultrasensitive diagnostic tests and incorporate biomarkers into baits from Australia's leading pest animal control company. Bait uptake and disease status in the field will be monitored using artificial intelligence technology developed in Tasmania. This integrated wildlife health intelligence and scalable vaccine platform can help protect the iconic Tasmanian devil from disease and increase Australia's preparedness for looming threats to the livestock industry such as African swine fever.. Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 0707 - Veterinary Sciences. Lead: A/Prof Andrew Flies

Improving outcomes for young people transitioning from out-of-home care. The central aim of this project is to generate the new knowledge needed to support the development, implementation, and diffusion of evidence-based innovations for young people as they transition from out-of-home care to adulthood. The project is significant because young people living in out-of-home care are more likely to enter juvenile justice, become a teenage parent, be socially excluded, have mental and physical health problems and addictions. Outcomes include a world first longitudinal data evidence base, exemplars of best practice, and guidance to advance the application of transition pathways and plans to inform future innovations in Victoria and across Australia for improving transition from care with, by, and for young people. . Scheme: Linkage Projects. Field: 1117 - Public Health and Health Services. Lead: Prof Helen Skouteris