Hybrid Imaging System for Breast Cancer Detection. Due to the ever increasing number of breast cancer mortalities in Australia, there is an urgent need for an efficient and reliable diagnostic imaging system. This research utilises a novel method to build an imaging system, which is accurate and reliable in the early detection of tumours. The work of this fellowship will improve quality of life of Australian women and put us at the international forefront of research in medical imaging, enhancin ....Hybrid Imaging System for Breast Cancer Detection. Due to the ever increasing number of breast cancer mortalities in Australia, there is an urgent need for an efficient and reliable diagnostic imaging system. This research utilises a novel method to build an imaging system, which is accurate and reliable in the early detection of tumours. The work of this fellowship will improve quality of life of Australian women and put us at the international forefront of research in medical imaging, enhancing our already significant international presence in the area. The project will potentially lead to valuable intellectual property for commercialisation opportunities besides strengthening key international collaborations.Read moreRead less
Combating the spread of antibiotic resistance in urban water systems. This projects aims to investigate the occurrence, diversity, and transformation of antibiotic resistant genes in the entire urban water cycle. Using the latest metagenomic and analytical tools, this project will enhance our knowledge on fate and transfer mechanisms of antibiotic resistance genes in the urban water cycle. Based on this understanding, an expected outcome of the project is the development of innovative technologi ....Combating the spread of antibiotic resistance in urban water systems. This projects aims to investigate the occurrence, diversity, and transformation of antibiotic resistant genes in the entire urban water cycle. Using the latest metagenomic and analytical tools, this project will enhance our knowledge on fate and transfer mechanisms of antibiotic resistance genes in the urban water cycle. Based on this understanding, an expected outcome of the project is the development of innovative technologies for efficient reduction of antibiotic resistance genes to have future applications for environmental, human health and economic benefits for Australia.Read moreRead less
Novel devices for spatial light transformation. The aim of this project is to develop new optical instrumentation for spatially transforming light. This research expects to find solutions to problems that have thus far been out of reach by replacing what would traditionally be a human optical systems designer with computer algorithms. The expected outcomes include the development of three new devices as well as a set of design, fabrication and characterisation procedures that offer higher perfor ....Novel devices for spatial light transformation. The aim of this project is to develop new optical instrumentation for spatially transforming light. This research expects to find solutions to problems that have thus far been out of reach by replacing what would traditionally be a human optical systems designer with computer algorithms. The expected outcomes include the development of three new devices as well as a set of design, fabrication and characterisation procedures that offer higher performance, increased robustness and scalability. This should improve accessibility of this technology and provide benefits to a wide range of applications, including astronomical and biomedical imaging, telecommunications, as well as quantum and classical optical signal processing.Read moreRead less
Novel Synthesis and Bio-applications of Functional Macroporous Ordered Siliceous Foams. This project will lead to advances in materials science and nanotechnology, providing high efficiency separation and purification for viruses or plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which are important in modern gene engineering for the treatment of genetic and acquired diseases. Application benefits also include developing a new protocol in the detection of trace amount proteins, which will afford a signific ....Novel Synthesis and Bio-applications of Functional Macroporous Ordered Siliceous Foams. This project will lead to advances in materials science and nanotechnology, providing high efficiency separation and purification for viruses or plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which are important in modern gene engineering for the treatment of genetic and acquired diseases. Application benefits also include developing a new protocol in the detection of trace amount proteins, which will afford a significant improvement in diverse fields such as health care. Through this project, novel macroporous materials will be fabricated using an economically and environmentally sustainable approach. These new materials will have unique structures and properties compared to conventional macroporous materials, advancing Australia's intellectual position in this discipline.Read moreRead less
Optomechanical metrology: pushing optical sensing to its limit. This project aims to pioneer technologies to observe and control the microscopic world with unprecedented precision, and apply them to realise practical sensors with unrivalled performance. Nano- and micro-scale sensors will be developed that resolve motion smaller than an atomic nucleus, in a classical spin-off from international efforts to study quantum physics at the nanoscale. Record precision will be achieved in thermometry and ....Optomechanical metrology: pushing optical sensing to its limit. This project aims to pioneer technologies to observe and control the microscopic world with unprecedented precision, and apply them to realise practical sensors with unrivalled performance. Nano- and micro-scale sensors will be developed that resolve motion smaller than an atomic nucleus, in a classical spin-off from international efforts to study quantum physics at the nanoscale. Record precision will be achieved in thermometry and magnetometry. New tools will be developed for lab-on-a-chip medical diagnosis and thermal imaging, that in future could allow femtolitre diagnosis of blood diseases such as malaria, on-chip genomic analysis, more efficient airport screening, and more precise satellite maps of global and atmospheric temperature.Read moreRead less
Epitaxial Stacking of Nanoporous Nanosheets for Next-generation Membranes. The project aims to develop high-precision selective membranes which are urgently needed in Australian key industries for solute-solute separation by constructing vertically-aligned and chemically-tailorable nanochannels using two-dimensional porous nanosheets as building blocks. The project expects to generate advanced knowledge in the areas of nanosheet synthesis and functionalisation, membrane design and fabrication, s ....Epitaxial Stacking of Nanoporous Nanosheets for Next-generation Membranes. The project aims to develop high-precision selective membranes which are urgently needed in Australian key industries for solute-solute separation by constructing vertically-aligned and chemically-tailorable nanochannels using two-dimensional porous nanosheets as building blocks. The project expects to generate advanced knowledge in the areas of nanosheet synthesis and functionalisation, membrane design and fabrication, selective transport of solutes and applications. The membranes developed in the project should make existing separation processes more effective and sustainable and advance emerging applications in pharmaceutical, dairy and mining industries, providing significant economic and environmental benefits to Australia.Read moreRead less
Investigating spatio-temporal instabilities in next-generation lasers. This project aims to decipher the transient spatio-temporal dynamics of lasers with an emphasis on investigating chaotic instabilities whose fundamental laws are unknown and whose effects impair laser performance in applications with a billion-dollar aggregate value. This project seeks to solve the problem by unravelling the evolving beam's structure on picosecond timescales using an optical device that dissects the beam in s ....Investigating spatio-temporal instabilities in next-generation lasers. This project aims to decipher the transient spatio-temporal dynamics of lasers with an emphasis on investigating chaotic instabilities whose fundamental laws are unknown and whose effects impair laser performance in applications with a billion-dollar aggregate value. This project seeks to solve the problem by unravelling the evolving beam's structure on picosecond timescales using an optical device that dissects the beam in space and time. The expected outcome is a suite of tools capable of guiding global efforts to develop next-generation lasers. The discoveries would propel Australia to become a characterisation nexus of the laser industry and usher in the era of faster telecommunication, enhanced sensors and high-precision manufacturing.Read moreRead less
Broadband quantum networking with trapped ions. Banks and governments are now using short-range quantum communication to transmit data with secrecy guaranteed by the laws of physics. This project aims to develop the key ingredient for future broadband quantum networks: high-speed transmitters delivering quantum light pulses over present-day fibre-optic telecom infrastructure.
Sustainable wastewater management. This project aims to extract high-value liquid products (medium-chain fatty acids) from wastewater with minimised greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption, in addition to clean water. Traditional wastewater treatment removes organic carbon and nutrients by using vast amounts of energy and releasing greenhouse gas. However, wastewater is a substantial but largely untapped renewable resource. The intended outcome is to transform wastewater from a troubleso ....Sustainable wastewater management. This project aims to extract high-value liquid products (medium-chain fatty acids) from wastewater with minimised greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption, in addition to clean water. Traditional wastewater treatment removes organic carbon and nutrients by using vast amounts of energy and releasing greenhouse gas. However, wastewater is a substantial but largely untapped renewable resource. The intended outcome is to transform wastewater from a troublesome pollutant to a valuable resource and reduce carbon footprints.Read moreRead less
Engineering the Building Blocks of Novel Interfacial Metastable Oxide Materials. This project aims to engineer the building blocks of a new family of materials recently discovered and patented as interfacial metastable oxide (i-MOx). A key discovery is the interfacial columnar atom alignment adjacent to crystal structures, conferring the materials exceptional ionic conduction well beyond the state-of-the-art, with a broad appeal to ionic transport membranes, electrodes in fuel cells and thermal ....Engineering the Building Blocks of Novel Interfacial Metastable Oxide Materials. This project aims to engineer the building blocks of a new family of materials recently discovered and patented as interfacial metastable oxide (i-MOx). A key discovery is the interfacial columnar atom alignment adjacent to crystal structures, conferring the materials exceptional ionic conduction well beyond the state-of-the-art, with a broad appeal to ionic transport membranes, electrodes in fuel cells and thermal cycling oxygen production. Advanced characterisation techniques will be employed to fundamentally elucidate the role that the interfacial structure plays to deliver remarkable performance. The outcomes will lead to possible breakthroughs in advanced materials for emerging green energy applications.Read moreRead less