Intelligent Image Retrieval from Distorted and Partial Queries for Rapid Mobile Identification of Pests Threatening Food and the Environment. Pests and diseases are major threats to the Australian food industry and environmental biosecurity. A rapid and mobile pest information retrieval system is critical to prevent a pest becoming established and devastating the region. However, automated insect image retrieval remains an unsolved challenge in the research community. This project addresses the ....Intelligent Image Retrieval from Distorted and Partial Queries for Rapid Mobile Identification of Pests Threatening Food and the Environment. Pests and diseases are major threats to the Australian food industry and environmental biosecurity. A rapid and mobile pest information retrieval system is critical to prevent a pest becoming established and devastating the region. However, automated insect image retrieval remains an unsolved challenge in the research community. This project addresses the fundamental problem of distorted and partial image query in cluttered background in order to achieve pest identification at a much earlier on-site stage. The success of this research will not only make a technical breakthrough towards retrieving objects with movable body parts, but also revolutionise the current pest detection and monitoring process.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0667994
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,000,000.00
Summary
National Nanolithography Facility. Nanotechnology is expected to have a major impact on quality of life and global economy. It is predicted to generate revenues as big as the ICT sector in 20 years time. The National Nanolithography Facility will enhance the Australian capability in the field of nanoscale science and technology. This will enable Australian researchers to achieve major impacts in many areas of nanotechnology with a strong potential impact on industry sectors such as computers, ....National Nanolithography Facility. Nanotechnology is expected to have a major impact on quality of life and global economy. It is predicted to generate revenues as big as the ICT sector in 20 years time. The National Nanolithography Facility will enhance the Australian capability in the field of nanoscale science and technology. This will enable Australian researchers to achieve major impacts in many areas of nanotechnology with a strong potential impact on industry sectors such as computers, communications, defence, health, bio-security. This facility has the potential for developing new technologies of fundamental as well as applied interest.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE210100137
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$881,758.00
Summary
Australian Environmental Specimen Bank: advancing specimen bank capability. The aim of this LIEF is to advance Australia’s specimen banking capabilities through a new, enhanced national facility, the Australian Environmental Specimen Bank (AESB). The AESB would be founded on a unique current archive of human and environmental samples established by the partners to the LIEF. Importantly, the AESB would be managed as a nationally available (to all public sector researchers), operationally self-fun ....Australian Environmental Specimen Bank: advancing specimen bank capability. The aim of this LIEF is to advance Australia’s specimen banking capabilities through a new, enhanced national facility, the Australian Environmental Specimen Bank (AESB). The AESB would be founded on a unique current archive of human and environmental samples established by the partners to the LIEF. Importantly, the AESB would be managed as a nationally available (to all public sector researchers), operationally self-funded resource for integrated exposure research into the future. The archive is expected to support longitudinal and cross-sectional studies to assess trends in exposure to chemical and biological hazards in the Australian population, identify emerging hazards, and provide a scientific basis for policy and regulatory actions.Read moreRead less
Understanding Australia by analysing wastewater during the Census 2021 . This project aims to utilise the Australian Census 2021, a unique opportunity to link exposure to chemical and biological hazards with catchment socio-demographic data via systematic wastewater analysis. The project is expected to advance our capabilities to identify emerging hazards and understand factors that affect spatiotemporal trends in hazards across Australia. Moreover, in a world first, the project aims to assess c ....Understanding Australia by analysing wastewater during the Census 2021 . This project aims to utilise the Australian Census 2021, a unique opportunity to link exposure to chemical and biological hazards with catchment socio-demographic data via systematic wastewater analysis. The project is expected to advance our capabilities to identify emerging hazards and understand factors that affect spatiotemporal trends in hazards across Australia. Moreover, in a world first, the project aims to assess chemical fate on a national level by linking sales/use with fate and release from wastewater treatment plants and assess treatment efficiency at >100 plants around Australia. The project expects to provide insight for government, wastewater managers and industry into hazards that may affect environmental and human health.Read moreRead less
Development of new membrane-electrode assemblies for low temperature fuel cells. New electrodes and electrolytes for low temperature fuel cells will herald in a new epoch in the hydrogen economy for Australia. The IP developed in this project will form the basis for new transportation systems that do not lead to chemical pollution in Australia's cities. The new materials and processing techniques will lead to cheaper and more efficient fuel cells, allowing their use in portable computers, small ....Development of new membrane-electrode assemblies for low temperature fuel cells. New electrodes and electrolytes for low temperature fuel cells will herald in a new epoch in the hydrogen economy for Australia. The IP developed in this project will form the basis for new transportation systems that do not lead to chemical pollution in Australia's cities. The new materials and processing techniques will lead to cheaper and more efficient fuel cells, allowing their use in portable computers, small electrical appliances, public transport and in private cars in about ten years. Read moreRead less
Airborne ultrafine particles in Australian cities. There is an acute deficiency of knowledge in Australia on urban airborne ultrafine particles, originating from transport and other anthropogenic sources, which pose significant health and environmental risks. The aim of this project is to address this deficiency by an extensive multi-city, cross-disciplinary study using state of the art instrumentation and data analytic techniques. The outcome will be an in depth, quantitative insight into the c ....Airborne ultrafine particles in Australian cities. There is an acute deficiency of knowledge in Australia on urban airborne ultrafine particles, originating from transport and other anthropogenic sources, which pose significant health and environmental risks. The aim of this project is to address this deficiency by an extensive multi-city, cross-disciplinary study using state of the art instrumentation and data analytic techniques. The outcome will be an in depth, quantitative insight into the characteristics of the particles, their sources and spatial and temporal variation across different urban areas and time scales. Further, the impacts of changing fuels, vehicle technologies, and climate on future trends of the particles will be elucidated.Read moreRead less
The Macroderma initiative: conserving ghost bats and informing development. This project aims to improve methods for capturing biological information required for environmental assessments of highly mobile species and enable strategic environmental planning in Northern Australia. Using Australia’s iconic ghost bat as a focus, the project will test and apply emerging technologies to obtain key information on a species’ population status and its critical resources to inform assessments of ecologic ....The Macroderma initiative: conserving ghost bats and informing development. This project aims to improve methods for capturing biological information required for environmental assessments of highly mobile species and enable strategic environmental planning in Northern Australia. Using Australia’s iconic ghost bat as a focus, the project will test and apply emerging technologies to obtain key information on a species’ population status and its critical resources to inform assessments of ecological impacts of industry development. Important benefits of the project include information and tools for streamlining development approvals and accurately assessing risks to threatened species to improve outcomes for both our economy and our natural environment.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0453320
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$347,886.00
Summary
Advanced Spectroscopy for Nano-characterisation of Materials Chemistry and Properties. This application proposes to establish a cutting-edge spectroscopic facility which includes; electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), cathodoluminescence (CL), photoluminescence (PL) and micro-Raman spectroscopy. Each of the spectrometers to be installed has significantly higher sensitivity and resolution than any other facility available in Australia and is capable ....Advanced Spectroscopy for Nano-characterisation of Materials Chemistry and Properties. This application proposes to establish a cutting-edge spectroscopic facility which includes; electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), cathodoluminescence (CL), photoluminescence (PL) and micro-Raman spectroscopy. Each of the spectrometers to be installed has significantly higher sensitivity and resolution than any other facility available in Australia and is capable of full spectrum imaging. This new spectroscopic infrastructure will enable the knowledge-based development of new materials by allowing complete characterisation of structure-composition-property relationships at the nanometre level.Read moreRead less
A new nano-sensor technology for the detection and identification of residual vapours of explosives, drugs and chemicals in the air. Fighting terrorism and crime is one of the most important and difficult tasks that requires substantial human and technological resources. This project will help to address this enormous problem by developing a new optical sensor technology for the detection and identification of traces of chemicals, explosives, drugs and biological agents. It will develop a labora ....A new nano-sensor technology for the detection and identification of residual vapours of explosives, drugs and chemicals in the air. Fighting terrorism and crime is one of the most important and difficult tasks that requires substantial human and technological resources. This project will help to address this enormous problem by developing a new optical sensor technology for the detection and identification of traces of chemicals, explosives, drugs and biological agents. It will develop a laboratory prototype of this sensor that is expected to have superior sensitivity and operational capabilities. Thus it will noticeably contribute to practical law enforcement, air quality and environmental monitoring, counter-terrorism, air safety, border security and customs service. It will also lead to further development of nano-optics and nanotechnology in Australia. Read moreRead less
A theory of communicative practices within financial internet discussion site communities. This project aims to use online financial investment communities to identify factors that drive communication and influence knowledge co-creation, examine how systematic variations in these factors influence investor decision making, and develop a mid-range theory for explaining and predicting the influence of online communication patterns on individual decisions and market outcomes. By developing and vali ....A theory of communicative practices within financial internet discussion site communities. This project aims to use online financial investment communities to identify factors that drive communication and influence knowledge co-creation, examine how systematic variations in these factors influence investor decision making, and develop a mid-range theory for explaining and predicting the influence of online communication patterns on individual decisions and market outcomes. By developing and validating a new mid-range theory, initially in the financial investment context, this project will provide significant benefits, such as help to secure Australia’s place in a changing world through improved information flow.Read moreRead less