Complex Architecture and Convergent Design. After breaking the design code for Gaudí's Sagrada Família Church in 1979, completing the still unfinished church has required Mark Burry to pioneer groundbreaking architectural and construction design methodologies and practices. His current work is on the computer modelling and dynamic simulation of complex design and construction problems, and methods for multi-disciplinary and distributed team collaboration. This work has high impact industry appli ....Complex Architecture and Convergent Design. After breaking the design code for Gaudí's Sagrada Família Church in 1979, completing the still unfinished church has required Mark Burry to pioneer groundbreaking architectural and construction design methodologies and practices. His current work is on the computer modelling and dynamic simulation of complex design and construction problems, and methods for multi-disciplinary and distributed team collaboration. This work has high impact industry applications. At the intersection of so many fields of industrial research, Mark Burry's work acts as a catalyst and accelerator for technology transfer and innovation across the architectural, design and construction industries.Read moreRead less
Ontology-based collaboration in design. The design process of a building project establishes function, form and performance for the final building. When multiple participants from varying professions are involved there is a serious problem in coordinating, communicating, and locating information around each design decision. Establishing an ontology for this process, and using this ontology to structure all participant communication, will allow the requisite information from all participants to b ....Ontology-based collaboration in design. The design process of a building project establishes function, form and performance for the final building. When multiple participants from varying professions are involved there is a serious problem in coordinating, communicating, and locating information around each design decision. Establishing an ontology for this process, and using this ontology to structure all participant communication, will allow the requisite information from all participants to be considered for each design decision. This will greatly reduce rework and poor design decisions based on missed information. It will also ensure that participants are aware of all related information for their particular design tasks.Read moreRead less
Life Cycle Measures of Cost Effectiveness for 4 D CAD in Design and Construct Projects across Industry Sectors. The effective and efficient delivery of complex construction projects will be transformed by the increased application of virtual design and construction technologies, including 4D CAD. By combining a 3D computer model of a design with the time dimension of the construction schedule, 4D CAD enables risks and opportunities to be better managed during the design phase and hence avoid co ....Life Cycle Measures of Cost Effectiveness for 4 D CAD in Design and Construct Projects across Industry Sectors. The effective and efficient delivery of complex construction projects will be transformed by the increased application of virtual design and construction technologies, including 4D CAD. By combining a 3D computer model of a design with the time dimension of the construction schedule, 4D CAD enables risks and opportunities to be better managed during the design phase and hence avoid costly issues during construction. However this requires addition design costs which currently represent a barrier to the uptake of this transforming technology. This project will overcome this by developing a flexible framework that allows the benefits gained across the life cycle of a project through using 4D CAD to be set against the additional costs and thus make this emerging technology more attractive to industry. Significantly this research will be based on comparative cases studies across different industry sectors including civil, building, and process engineering.Read moreRead less
Refinement of dynamic combinatorial chemistry as a drug discovery tool. Medicinal chemistry is constantly being challenged to develop efficient methodologies for the synthesis of compounds for drug discovery. Following completion of the Human Genome project, the cloning and expression of new proteins will proceed at an accelerated rate. In the absence of biochemical knowledge of the target protein there is a growing interest in techniques that expand the structural and biological diversity of co ....Refinement of dynamic combinatorial chemistry as a drug discovery tool. Medicinal chemistry is constantly being challenged to develop efficient methodologies for the synthesis of compounds for drug discovery. Following completion of the Human Genome project, the cloning and expression of new proteins will proceed at an accelerated rate. In the absence of biochemical knowledge of the target protein there is a growing interest in techniques that expand the structural and biological diversity of compound libraries. Dynamic combinatorial chemistry is an innovative technology with the capacity for supporting the shift from focussed to diverse compound libraries. This application seeks funding to refine dynamic combinatorial chemistry into an effective drug discovery tool.Read moreRead less
Facilitating intuitive interaction with complex devices for older users. Poorly designed interfaces impact more strongly on older people. Helping designers to make more intuitive interfaces for older community members has great potential for improving their lives and health, and thus benefiting the community generally. Making modern devices easier for older people to use will allow them to participate more fully in society and/or the workplace. This will also help to prevent them from becoming i ....Facilitating intuitive interaction with complex devices for older users. Poorly designed interfaces impact more strongly on older people. Helping designers to make more intuitive interfaces for older community members has great potential for improving their lives and health, and thus benefiting the community generally. Making modern devices easier for older people to use will allow them to participate more fully in society and/or the workplace. This will also help to prevent them from becoming isolated and possibly depressed. This project will apply intuitive interaction to healthcare devices that older people use, which can save costly mistakes and even lives.Read moreRead less
Allosteric Enhancers: Leads for the Therapy of Cardiovascular Disease. Cardiovascular disease (CVD - heart, stroke and blood vessel disease) kills more people each year than cancer, AIDS and traffic accidents combined. Coronary heart disease (CHD), followed by stroke, is the largest single cause of death in Australia. Allosteric enhancers are particularly attractive drug targets for the prevention of CVD due to their ability to limit injury associated with ischaemic tissue trauma selectively ....Allosteric Enhancers: Leads for the Therapy of Cardiovascular Disease. Cardiovascular disease (CVD - heart, stroke and blood vessel disease) kills more people each year than cancer, AIDS and traffic accidents combined. Coronary heart disease (CHD), followed by stroke, is the largest single cause of death in Australia. Allosteric enhancers are particularly attractive drug targets for the prevention of CVD due to their ability to limit injury associated with ischaemic tissue trauma selectively in tissues where adenosine is elevated. Whilst the development of drugs that protect against heart attack and stroke is a difficult and long term objective, any advances toward this goal would clearly be of great benefit to the community.Read moreRead less
Intelligent Agents for Concept Invention of Design Forms. Concept invention refers to the act of discovering new concepts for the first time. Concept invention may require a new interpretation and a shift in intentional mode that motivates new mappings of the situation prior to the discovery of a new concept. This project is concerned with developing intelligent design agents that are capable of inventing creative concepts of design forms, shapes and compositions while involved in the design pr ....Intelligent Agents for Concept Invention of Design Forms. Concept invention refers to the act of discovering new concepts for the first time. Concept invention may require a new interpretation and a shift in intentional mode that motivates new mappings of the situation prior to the discovery of a new concept. This project is concerned with developing intelligent design agents that are capable of inventing creative concepts of design forms, shapes and compositions while involved in the design process. A new approach of exploiting the notion of displacement of concepts with regard to concept invention in designing will be adopted and utilised in developing the structure of intelligent agents.Read moreRead less
Gesture-controlled interaction to enrich information access. This project is a study of gestural computing (enabled by sensors such as pressure mats, infra-red sensors and video tracking) which aims to move away from desk-bound, restrictive computing environments and towards computing that is more integral to the building structure and space itself. Linking gesture controllers and information sonification delivers a unique bridge between data and human interaction. Enriching the capacity to acce ....Gesture-controlled interaction to enrich information access. This project is a study of gestural computing (enabled by sensors such as pressure mats, infra-red sensors and video tracking) which aims to move away from desk-bound, restrictive computing environments and towards computing that is more integral to the building structure and space itself. Linking gesture controllers and information sonification delivers a unique bridge between data and human interaction. Enriching the capacity to access information in dense workplace environments is central to improved efficiency across the Australian workforce. Greater accuracy and enhanced techniques for controlling information in visually-overloaded work environments contribute to Australia's competitive leadership in a global marketplace.Read moreRead less
Delivering Digital Architecture in Australia. Design, documentation, and off-site prefabrication of numerous recent major international architectural projects, were achieved with evolving integrated 3D digital methods. While Australian architects, engineers, manufacturers, fabricators, and constructors have participated in a few such projects using these technologies, generally, local understanding and uptake of the opportunities is still very low. Growth in this area means growth in an existi ....Delivering Digital Architecture in Australia. Design, documentation, and off-site prefabrication of numerous recent major international architectural projects, were achieved with evolving integrated 3D digital methods. While Australian architects, engineers, manufacturers, fabricators, and constructors have participated in a few such projects using these technologies, generally, local understanding and uptake of the opportunities is still very low. Growth in this area means growth in an existing export rather than increasing reliance on importing these services and products. More fundamentally, it means a huge cultural dividend to Australia from greater affordable freedom of architectural expression.Read moreRead less
Structure and activity of host-defence peptides from Australian anurans: anticancer agents, neuropeptides and nNOS inhibitors. We have discovered peptides that may have clinical applications. This is significant as these molecules may have one or more of the following properties. They may have anti-cancer effects; they may increase the effectiveness of the immune system by enhancing lymphocyte formation; and, they may act to reduce inflammation, stroke or cardiac conditions by controlling nitri ....Structure and activity of host-defence peptides from Australian anurans: anticancer agents, neuropeptides and nNOS inhibitors. We have discovered peptides that may have clinical applications. This is significant as these molecules may have one or more of the following properties. They may have anti-cancer effects; they may increase the effectiveness of the immune system by enhancing lymphocyte formation; and, they may act to reduce inflammation, stroke or cardiac conditions by controlling nitric oxide formation. Another national benefit is that personnel involved in this project are trained to the highest international standards in peptide chemistry/mass spectrometry/nuclear magnetic resonance: currently, there are not enough trained scientists in this area to meet demand.Read moreRead less