Reimagining the Australian Suburb: Biodiversity planning in urban fringe landscapes. Over 40% of nationally listed threatened ecological communities occur in urban areas. Accelerating urbanisation in Australia is considered one of the greatest threats to biodiversity. This threat will increase without a more strategic approach to conservation planning in urban environments. Protection of biodiversity in urban areas brings numerous societal benefits but involves complicated tradeoffs between com ....Reimagining the Australian Suburb: Biodiversity planning in urban fringe landscapes. Over 40% of nationally listed threatened ecological communities occur in urban areas. Accelerating urbanisation in Australia is considered one of the greatest threats to biodiversity. This threat will increase without a more strategic approach to conservation planning in urban environments. Protection of biodiversity in urban areas brings numerous societal benefits but involves complicated tradeoffs between competing land uses including housing development, agricultural production and conservation. This project builds on recent advancements in ecological modelling and mathematical optimisation to develop and test tools to facilitate transparent decisions based on optimal trade-offs between competing values. It will result in a more strategic approach to planning conservation in urban environments.Read moreRead less
Practical, powerful and cost effective indicators of sustainable forest management for the conservation of biological diversity. Much debate about appropriate use of Australia's forests stems from uncertainty about the magnitude of impacts on abundances and distributions of forest-dependent species, a key indicator of sustainable management under the Montreal Process. An opportunity exists to develop new tools to substantially improve our ability to detect and assess change. This project will de ....Practical, powerful and cost effective indicators of sustainable forest management for the conservation of biological diversity. Much debate about appropriate use of Australia's forests stems from uncertainty about the magnitude of impacts on abundances and distributions of forest-dependent species, a key indicator of sustainable management under the Montreal Process. An opportunity exists to develop new tools to substantially improve our ability to detect and assess change. This project will develop optimal monitoring design and analysis strategies for detecting population trends against a background of natural fluctuation and observation error. It will result in templates for coherent reporting on indicators at regional and national levels. It will exploit recent findings regarding observation error in surveys, advances in statistical control processes, simulation methods, and power analysis to develop a world-class species monitoring system.Read moreRead less
Modelling patient flows through hospitals: optimizing effective use of resources. Hospitals are complex, dynamic systems confronted by increased demand in the face of shrinking real capacity. Managing such systems is currently undertaken with sub-optimal analytical support, particularly when demand and capacity are changing and resources must be manipulated to respond to such changes. In this project, the investigators will apply a mathematical modelling approach to the analysis of hospital pati ....Modelling patient flows through hospitals: optimizing effective use of resources. Hospitals are complex, dynamic systems confronted by increased demand in the face of shrinking real capacity. Managing such systems is currently undertaken with sub-optimal analytical support, particularly when demand and capacity are changing and resources must be manipulated to respond to such changes. In this project, the investigators will apply a mathematical modelling approach to the analysis of hospital patient flows. Furthermore, they will employ statistical process control methodologies to the problem of recognising and responding to changes in the flows, so that performance objectives are met. In doing this, they will give health service managers and clinicians a significant advantage in deciding how best to manage a constrained resource to maximize access, throughput and patient outcomes.Read moreRead less
Improved Management of Australian Port Infrastructure by Development of Predictive Ageing Simulation. Exposure of built infrastructure to corrosive marine conditions causes deterioration and reduced service life. Asset managers lack predictive models of in-service durability. Using data gathered from Australian ports, life-cycle predictions will be developed, simulating durability and incorporating geographical location, structure type, composition, and levels of maintenance. The modelling has ....Improved Management of Australian Port Infrastructure by Development of Predictive Ageing Simulation. Exposure of built infrastructure to corrosive marine conditions causes deterioration and reduced service life. Asset managers lack predictive models of in-service durability. Using data gathered from Australian ports, life-cycle predictions will be developed, simulating durability and incorporating geographical location, structure type, composition, and levels of maintenance. The modelling has not been undertaken on Australian port assets, whereas international models reflect very different infrastructure and exposures and are based on simpler 2D conditions that do not simulate actual deterioration. The three-dimensional (3D) modelling and graphics will be unique worldwide, providing decision support for construction and maintenance.Read moreRead less
Dynamic prediction models in Australian rules football using real time performance statistics. The study is a collaborative venture with Champion Data, the Australian leader in the collection and transmission of real time sporting data, and official provider of the Australian Football League (AFL) statistics. The aim is to develop a real time on line predictive model for AFL football. The model will use the statistics Champion Data collect as the match progresses as inputs to continually updat ....Dynamic prediction models in Australian rules football using real time performance statistics. The study is a collaborative venture with Champion Data, the Australian leader in the collection and transmission of real time sporting data, and official provider of the Australian Football League (AFL) statistics. The aim is to develop a real time on line predictive model for AFL football. The model will use the statistics Champion Data collect as the match progresses as inputs to continually update estimates of the probabilities of various outcomes of interest such as the winner of the match and the margin of victory. The project will assist Champion in their strategic aim to provide an on line form guide.Read moreRead less
Using Mathematics to Maximize the Value of Open-Pit Mines. Mineral resources are one of Australia's greatest assets. Their effective management will bring substantial long-term benefits to the Australian economy. Planning the exploitation of a mineral resource is a highly complex task. Current methods are approximate, and do not fully consider two critical issues: (1) ore mined at different times must be blended to achieve saleable product and (2) resource markets may not evolve as predicted ....Using Mathematics to Maximize the Value of Open-Pit Mines. Mineral resources are one of Australia's greatest assets. Their effective management will bring substantial long-term benefits to the Australian economy. Planning the exploitation of a mineral resource is a highly complex task. Current methods are approximate, and do not fully consider two critical issues: (1) ore mined at different times must be blended to achieve saleable product and (2) resource markets may not evolve as predicted. In this project we shall develop creative mathematical solutions to maximise the expected net present value of mines with far greater accuracy, taking into account blending and the uncertain nature of future demand.Read moreRead less
Robust Optimal Asset Liability Management via Stochastic Control Theory. The Australian federal and state governments are strongly exposed to the Australian and international investment markets, either directly or through entities such as the Future Fund, state-owned insurers and superannuation schemes. Additionally, the investment pool represented by individual Australian's superannuation savings managed by non-government organisations is significant. Robust and effective management of these ....Robust Optimal Asset Liability Management via Stochastic Control Theory. The Australian federal and state governments are strongly exposed to the Australian and international investment markets, either directly or through entities such as the Future Fund, state-owned insurers and superannuation schemes. Additionally, the investment pool represented by individual Australian's superannuation savings managed by non-government organisations is significant. Robust and effective management of these assets in order to meet future liabilities of these funds are essential to a stable Australian economy. This research has the potential to be a key component of reliable investment management, helping make Australia an important investment hub.Read moreRead less
Automated On-Line Analysis and Contaminant Detection in Mineral Ore Processing. On-belt analysis is a key to efficient functioning of several
industries involved in the mining and use of minerals. It provides
chemical analysis of the minerals as they run through the instrument
on a conveyer belt. It permits quality control and detection of
impurities. The Scantech on-line analyser is at the forefront of this
technology. Our aim is to produce novel techniques to significantly
improve and m ....Automated On-Line Analysis and Contaminant Detection in Mineral Ore Processing. On-belt analysis is a key to efficient functioning of several
industries involved in the mining and use of minerals. It provides
chemical analysis of the minerals as they run through the instrument
on a conveyer belt. It permits quality control and detection of
impurities. The Scantech on-line analyser is at the forefront of this
technology. Our aim is to produce novel techniques to significantly
improve and make more efficient the processing of data from the
analyser. A particular focus will be quicker and improved calibration
of the instrument. These techniques will increase the accuracy and
speed while reducing the costs of such analysers, thus retaining and
enhancing their competitiveness in the global market.
Read moreRead less
Models for Australian Electricity Derivatives. Electricity derivatives, such as electricity futures and options are used to manage the risk associated with volatility in prices of electricity. This project aims to develop models for pricing electricity derivatives specifically suited for Australia. Because of the non-storable nature of electricity the standard option pricing principle of "no-arbitrage" does not apply to electricity options, such as caps and floors, but applies to options on elec ....Models for Australian Electricity Derivatives. Electricity derivatives, such as electricity futures and options are used to manage the risk associated with volatility in prices of electricity. This project aims to develop models for pricing electricity derivatives specifically suited for Australia. Because of the non-storable nature of electricity the standard option pricing principle of "no-arbitrage" does not apply to electricity options, such as caps and floors, but applies to options on electricity futures. Therefore a specific model is needed that takes into account the pricing principle of "no-arbitrage" and combines it with other factors that drive electricity prices. The novel element in this proposal is incorporation of the weather forecasts into the models for electricity options. As a result of this study appropriate models for electricity derivatives for various geographical regions in Australia will be developed.Read moreRead less
Understanding cycles in mineral commodity price, a market model with uncertainty. Mining accounts for more than 8% of Australia's GDP, and almost 50% of Australia's total merchandise exports. Understanding phenomenological mechanisms for price fluctuations and using our dynamic price model can help determine better timing of investments in mining infrastructure. This knowledge will help Australia benefit from the upside of commodity 'cycles', super or not. The market model that will be develope ....Understanding cycles in mineral commodity price, a market model with uncertainty. Mining accounts for more than 8% of Australia's GDP, and almost 50% of Australia's total merchandise exports. Understanding phenomenological mechanisms for price fluctuations and using our dynamic price model can help determine better timing of investments in mining infrastructure. This knowledge will help Australia benefit from the upside of commodity 'cycles', super or not. The market model that will be developed in this project can be used to assist in better planning for commodity cycle upside, improving the overall efficiency of capital utilisation in the long term.Read moreRead less