Innovative financing mechanisms for higher education. Advances in statistical modelling are used to highlight the potential to apply creatively income contingent loans for the expansion of Australian and international higher education. Alternative student loan mechanisms for income support and tuition are critically analysed, and new arrangements are proposed for equitable reforms in higher education.
Innovative learning environments and teacher change. This project aims to bridge a gap between the educational potential of innovative learning environment designs, and their actual performance. Currently, multi-modal technology-enabled spaces are not producing demonstrable benefits for students. Many teachers resist altering their mindset about how students learn effectively in these spaces and thus how teachers should teach differently. The project aims to work with schools, government and ind ....Innovative learning environments and teacher change. This project aims to bridge a gap between the educational potential of innovative learning environment designs, and their actual performance. Currently, multi-modal technology-enabled spaces are not producing demonstrable benefits for students. Many teachers resist altering their mindset about how students learn effectively in these spaces and thus how teachers should teach differently. The project aims to work with schools, government and industry to analyse the relationships between quality teaching and effective use of innovative learning environments. The new understanding gained through the project is expected to guide developments in pedagogy, policy and design and to produce strategies to improve learning in schools across Australia and New Zealand.Read moreRead less
Discovering a ‘good read’: Pathways to reading for Australian teens. This project aims to support the school, library, and book industries to increase teenagers’ recreational reading. Matching the right book to the right reader is essential to increase young people’s motivation to read. Yet how cultural intermediaries should operate to best effect within the complex ecologies that shape young people’s text selection is unclear. The project expects to generate robust evidence on how teens discove ....Discovering a ‘good read’: Pathways to reading for Australian teens. This project aims to support the school, library, and book industries to increase teenagers’ recreational reading. Matching the right book to the right reader is essential to increase young people’s motivation to read. Yet how cultural intermediaries should operate to best effect within the complex ecologies that shape young people’s text selection is unclear. The project expects to generate robust evidence on how teens discover books and the cultural factors that influence their choices. Expected outcomes include strategies that libraries, schools, and the book industry can use to promote Australian content for young adults, and equip young people to participate more fully in the social and economic benefits of pleasure reading.Read moreRead less
Versatile dosimetry systems for radiotherapy and industrial applications: novel storage phosphor and associated reader technologies. Radiotherapy is an important procedure in the treatment of cancer, and it is essential that the radiation dosage can be accurately measured. This project will develop technology which will enable us to monitor radiation dosage in real time and very accurately. This will be of importance in medical science and also for industrial applications.
Attention and hazard perception while driving: how experts see the scene. All drivers have 'drifted-off' or failed to see something that was clearly in view, yet trained expert drivers appear to rarely experience this. This project aims to understand in both 'normal' drivers and expert drivers, attentional mechanisms that control distraction and the perception of hazards, which is critical to road safety and young driver training.
Thermodynamics inversion for mineral systems. This project aims to provide a newly developed science approach to the Australian Lithospheric Architecture Magnetotelluric Project (AusLAMP). AusLAMP provides unparalleled geophysical information aimed at unravelling the tectonic history of the Australian continent and its mineral potential. The project will use thermodynamically based geodynamic simulators to jointly analyse and quantify intraplate deformation. This will illuminate the cause of dri ....Thermodynamics inversion for mineral systems. This project aims to provide a newly developed science approach to the Australian Lithospheric Architecture Magnetotelluric Project (AusLAMP). AusLAMP provides unparalleled geophysical information aimed at unravelling the tectonic history of the Australian continent and its mineral potential. The project will use thermodynamically based geodynamic simulators to jointly analyse and quantify intraplate deformation. This will illuminate the cause of driving fluid flow thorough the lithosphere, mineralisation phenomena, their datasets and geometries, and dynamic aspects of the processes driving mineral systems.Read moreRead less
Electrical contact engineering for next generation semiconductor devices. Contact resistivity and parasitic resistance have been identified as limiting factors in the performance of next-generation semiconductor devices. This project aims to understand these limitations and to develop methods to mitigate them through the application of advanced ion implantation processing. Specifically, this will involve: investigating the effect of selective doping on electrical properties of metal-semiconducto ....Electrical contact engineering for next generation semiconductor devices. Contact resistivity and parasitic resistance have been identified as limiting factors in the performance of next-generation semiconductor devices. This project aims to understand these limitations and to develop methods to mitigate them through the application of advanced ion implantation processing. Specifically, this will involve: investigating the effect of selective doping on electrical properties of metal-semiconductor interfaces; determining how ultra-shallow dopant profiles are affected by device structure and processing; and developing improved methods for measuring ultra-low contact resistivity. The research will be undertaken as a collaboration between researchers at the Australian National University and Applied Materials Ltd.Read moreRead less
Ion-beam synthesis of functional oxides for next generation memory devices. This project seeks to explore a low-temperature approach to stoichiometry control using direct oxide synthesis and defect-engineering based on ion-implantation, a routine semiconductor fabrication process. This has the potential to improve device manufacturability and functionality. In thin film form, transition metal oxides can be subjected to intense electric fields and exhibit characteristic resistance changes suitabl ....Ion-beam synthesis of functional oxides for next generation memory devices. This project seeks to explore a low-temperature approach to stoichiometry control using direct oxide synthesis and defect-engineering based on ion-implantation, a routine semiconductor fabrication process. This has the potential to improve device manufacturability and functionality. In thin film form, transition metal oxides can be subjected to intense electric fields and exhibit characteristic resistance changes suitable for non-volatile memory applications. However, their electrical response depends critically on stoichiometry and this must be precisely engineered for optimal device performance. This project aims to develop next-generation memory devices as a replacement for current flash memory. The proposed technology uses resistance changes in functional-oxides to store information, and offers the potential for smaller and faster memory.Read moreRead less
Controlling the forming and switching characteristics of non-volatile resistive memory devices using ion-implantation. This project will develop new techniques for improving the reliability and endurance of a new class of non-volatile memory devices for use in portable electronics and embedded electronic systems. Such developments are essential for the development of next-generation devices.
Determining fossilisation processes of a rare iron-rich Lagerstätte. Most fossil sites only preserve resistant elements such as bones and teeth, leading to questions about how soft animals and structures have evolved over time. The recent discovery of a fossil deposit in New South Wales appears to demonstrate a new set of conditions for the preservation of soft tissues. This project aims to constrain the age of and assess the fossilisation processes that produced this unique fossil site. We will ....Determining fossilisation processes of a rare iron-rich Lagerstätte. Most fossil sites only preserve resistant elements such as bones and teeth, leading to questions about how soft animals and structures have evolved over time. The recent discovery of a fossil deposit in New South Wales appears to demonstrate a new set of conditions for the preservation of soft tissues. This project aims to constrain the age of and assess the fossilisation processes that produced this unique fossil site. We will use an integrative approach to reconstruct the formation of this Lagerstätte. The work will provide significant advances in our understanding of the process of fossilisation and guide the discovery of other exceptionally-well preserved fossil deposits, critical in reconstructing the biological history of Australia.Read moreRead less