Rational materials design: gas adsorption in porous crystals. This project aims to develop new, general theoretical methods to accurately describe gas adsorption in porous crystals. These will be combined with novel quantum formalisms, allowing the accurate calculation of thermochemical properties of adsorbed gases. The anticipated goals of this project are the design of new materials with enhanced gas storage and separation capabilities, with an emphasis on carbon dioxide, methane and hydrogen ....Rational materials design: gas adsorption in porous crystals. This project aims to develop new, general theoretical methods to accurately describe gas adsorption in porous crystals. These will be combined with novel quantum formalisms, allowing the accurate calculation of thermochemical properties of adsorbed gases. The anticipated goals of this project are the design of new materials with enhanced gas storage and separation capabilities, with an emphasis on carbon dioxide, methane and hydrogen adsorption. The benefits of this project are in the application of these materials to pressing energy and environmental concerns.Read moreRead less
Surfacing urban wetlands in two urban renewal sites in Sydney. Urban wetlands in Australia provide benefits for climate change mitigation, pollution reduction, habitat provision and socioecological connection. However, in large cities like Sydney, urban wetlands are unseen because undergrounded, and, therefore not adequately understood. This illegibility, and loss of understanding by residents, planners and policy makers impedes wetlands' good management. This project surfaces wetlands through v ....Surfacing urban wetlands in two urban renewal sites in Sydney. Urban wetlands in Australia provide benefits for climate change mitigation, pollution reduction, habitat provision and socioecological connection. However, in large cities like Sydney, urban wetlands are unseen because undergrounded, and, therefore not adequately understood. This illegibility, and loss of understanding by residents, planners and policy makers impedes wetlands' good management. This project surfaces wetlands through visualisation in a multimodal knowledge platform focusing on two urban renewal sites, Green Square and Marrickville South. We leverage design ethnography to develop resources for strengthening multiple stakeholders’ socioecological engagement through methods empowering just, creative and open participation.Read moreRead less
First Principles Design of Second-Generation Protein Stains. Proteomics is an emerging technology which has the potential to revolutionize modern biology and medicine. Extremely sensitive protein stains are a key proteomics technology, and in conjunction with gel electrophoresis, they facilitate the rapid and quantitative detection of all polypeptides in a cell. However, the tools of proteomics must rapidly advance (cheaper, greater sensitivity, more reliable, safer to handle) before the techn ....First Principles Design of Second-Generation Protein Stains. Proteomics is an emerging technology which has the potential to revolutionize modern biology and medicine. Extremely sensitive protein stains are a key proteomics technology, and in conjunction with gel electrophoresis, they facilitate the rapid and quantitative detection of all polypeptides in a cell. However, the tools of proteomics must rapidly advance (cheaper, greater sensitivity, more reliable, safer to handle) before the technology can mature to the stage where its full potential is realized. We will enable the evolution of proteomics by devising second generation fluorescent protein stains, using the environmentally-friendly natural product, epicocconone, as our design platform.Read moreRead less
Persistent Triplet Carbenes. Viable or Not? Triplet carbenes have significant potential real world applications, such as in modern electronics. However, they are highly reactive (lifetimes typically < 1 day), and this has stymied their development. Can I design so called persistent triplet-carbenes, which have significant lifetimes? I will try to using computer chemistry. In doing so, I will provide synthetic chemists with 'high-value' targets for preparation, hence saving tax dollars and minimi ....Persistent Triplet Carbenes. Viable or Not? Triplet carbenes have significant potential real world applications, such as in modern electronics. However, they are highly reactive (lifetimes typically < 1 day), and this has stymied their development. Can I design so called persistent triplet-carbenes, which have significant lifetimes? I will try to using computer chemistry. In doing so, I will provide synthetic chemists with 'high-value' targets for preparation, hence saving tax dollars and minimizing creation of environmentally damaging waste. Read moreRead less
Using acoustic retroreflection in architecture to improve rooms for speech. This project aims to discover how a novel form of acoustic treatment can improve acoustics for speech in rooms such as classrooms and open-plan offices. The project will generate new knowledge on the theory, design, and effects of acoustically retroreflective surfaces in room acoustics. Expected outcomes include solutions for effective acoustic retroreflectors, knowledge on how retroreflection influences people’s voice r ....Using acoustic retroreflection in architecture to improve rooms for speech. This project aims to discover how a novel form of acoustic treatment can improve acoustics for speech in rooms such as classrooms and open-plan offices. The project will generate new knowledge on the theory, design, and effects of acoustically retroreflective surfaces in room acoustics. Expected outcomes include solutions for effective acoustic retroreflectors, knowledge on how retroreflection influences people’s voice regulation and sound quality perception, and guidelines and simulation tools for integrating retroreflective treatments to improve speaking comfort. This should provide significant benefits including opportunities to resolve seemingly intractable design dilemmas in the acoustics of education and workplace environments.Read moreRead less
Place and parametricism: Provocations for the rethinking of design. This project aims to explore whether quantitative methods of digital and parametric design can adequately encompass place. Quantitative digital and parametric approaches increasingly dominate contemporary architecture, but people assume architectural design should be essentially oriented to questions of place. The project will operate through a set of studio provocations based on the fictional places of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghas ....Place and parametricism: Provocations for the rethinking of design. This project aims to explore whether quantitative methods of digital and parametric design can adequately encompass place. Quantitative digital and parametric approaches increasingly dominate contemporary architecture, but people assume architectural design should be essentially oriented to questions of place. The project will operate through a set of studio provocations based on the fictional places of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast novels. The project is expected to clarify the nature of place and parametricism, and rethink what design itself might be.Read moreRead less
Built-up cold-formed steel structures. The building industry is seeing a rapid uptake of joining two or more cold-formed steel sections to form large built-up sections with high carrying capacities. The joining consists of screws, or similar fasteners, placed intermittently along the member. The ease of joining encourages innovation in forming versatile new built-up section shapes in expanding areas of application. The project will provide guidelines and numerical tools for the efficient structu ....Built-up cold-formed steel structures. The building industry is seeing a rapid uptake of joining two or more cold-formed steel sections to form large built-up sections with high carrying capacities. The joining consists of screws, or similar fasteners, placed intermittently along the member. The ease of joining encourages innovation in forming versatile new built-up section shapes in expanding areas of application. The project will provide guidelines and numerical tools for the efficient structural design of built-up sections through experimental and theoretical research, studying the new failure modes pertaining to built-up sections, the increase in strength achievable from composite action and the optimum arrangement of fasteners. Read moreRead less
Shallow foundations in unsaturated soils: mechanistic design through numerical modelling, analysis and experimental investigation. This project will close the knowledge gap of how shallow foundations perform in variably saturated soils. It will integrate expertise in unsaturated soil mechanics, theory of elasto-plasticity, numerical modelling, limit analysis and experimental investigation. It will achieve a rigorous understanding of footings founded on unsaturated soils subjected to monotonic lo ....Shallow foundations in unsaturated soils: mechanistic design through numerical modelling, analysis and experimental investigation. This project will close the knowledge gap of how shallow foundations perform in variably saturated soils. It will integrate expertise in unsaturated soil mechanics, theory of elasto-plasticity, numerical modelling, limit analysis and experimental investigation. It will achieve a rigorous understanding of footings founded on unsaturated soils subjected to monotonic loading using a recently developed experimental testing facility, and analyses using finite elements, the method of characteristics and zero extension line theory. Impact and adoption in industry will be direct through world first design tools which incorporate the influence of suction on bearing capacity, settlement and safety.Read moreRead less
Gravity Current Driven Smoke Dispersion In a Stratified Ambient. Smoke from bushfires transported by gravity currents, and known to occur nationwide, caused the shutdown of businesses, education and events in Canberra in 2019. Recent scientific investigations have shown that the speed of propagation and concentration of smoke in these three-dimensional gravity currents have a long term ‘memory’ of their initial configuration. In this project, high-fidelity computational and experimental techniq ....Gravity Current Driven Smoke Dispersion In a Stratified Ambient. Smoke from bushfires transported by gravity currents, and known to occur nationwide, caused the shutdown of businesses, education and events in Canberra in 2019. Recent scientific investigations have shown that the speed of propagation and concentration of smoke in these three-dimensional gravity currents have a long term ‘memory’ of their initial configuration. In this project, high-fidelity computational and experimental techniques will be used to elucidate the fundamental mechanisms of gravity current entrainment and propagation. This knowledge will set a strong foundation to improve operational forecasts of smoke transport that will allow government agencies to better respond to the negative impact of these complicated flows.Read moreRead less
On the mechanism of boiling instability in microchannels. This project will enable designers to create highly efficient miniaturised devices based on the boiling of fluids such as water or organics. These devices include micro-power generation systems, coolers for computer chips and solar collectors, and micro-chemical process systems. Such devices provide environmental, safety and economic benefits.