Redesigning Landcare policy to better coordinate across landholders. This project aims to study how landscape-sensitive economic incentives and social norms can be leveraged to enhance the short- and long-term effectiveness of conservation programs. It will yield new knowledge for innovative designs in conservation contracting that is urgently needed to address worsening environmental threats in Australia and worldwide. In collaboration with Nobel laureate Vernon Smith’s team, new methods and pr ....Redesigning Landcare policy to better coordinate across landholders. This project aims to study how landscape-sensitive economic incentives and social norms can be leveraged to enhance the short- and long-term effectiveness of conservation programs. It will yield new knowledge for innovative designs in conservation contracting that is urgently needed to address worsening environmental threats in Australia and worldwide. In collaboration with Nobel laureate Vernon Smith’s team, new methods and protocols will improve our ability to generate better data and better understand how social and incentive mechanisms can constructively interact to facilitate collaborative environmental action. Results will help make the achievement of environmental targets and the use of public funds more cost-effective. Read moreRead less
Quantifying and parameterising ocean mixing. This project aims to advance our ability to describe the efficiency and intensity of ocean mixing. The project will develop and apply innovative techniques to estimate ocean mixing from both traditional ship-based, vertical-profiling turbulence measurements and from autonomous moorings. The project will undertake a re-analysis of historic measurements and obtain new measurements using autonomous systems. The results will be used to develop both a uni ....Quantifying and parameterising ocean mixing. This project aims to advance our ability to describe the efficiency and intensity of ocean mixing. The project will develop and apply innovative techniques to estimate ocean mixing from both traditional ship-based, vertical-profiling turbulence measurements and from autonomous moorings. The project will undertake a re-analysis of historic measurements and obtain new measurements using autonomous systems. The results will be used to develop both a universal relationship describing the efficiency of ocean mixing, and to quantify the underlying length scale controlling mixing intensity. This will enable the development of the next generation of turbulence closure models needed to describe ocean circulation and stirring.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL150100133
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,917,436.00
Summary
How the Earth works - toward building a new tectonic paradigm. How the Earth works - toward building a new tectonic paradigm: This fellowship project aims to build on the latest technological and conceptual advances to establish the patterns of Earth evolution, and use this information to examine a ground-breaking geodynamic hypothesis which links cyclic plate aggregation and dispersion to deep Earth processes. Half a century after the inception of plate tectonics theory, we are still unsure how ....How the Earth works - toward building a new tectonic paradigm. How the Earth works - toward building a new tectonic paradigm: This fellowship project aims to build on the latest technological and conceptual advances to establish the patterns of Earth evolution, and use this information to examine a ground-breaking geodynamic hypothesis which links cyclic plate aggregation and dispersion to deep Earth processes. Half a century after the inception of plate tectonics theory, we are still unsure how the Earth 'engine' works, particularly the forces that drive plate tectonics. The project involves extensive national and international collaboration to potentially create a paradigm shift in our understanding of global tectonics, and hopes to contribute to an understanding of the formation and distribution of Earth resources to provide a conceptual framework for their exploration.Read moreRead less
Dating Murujuga's Rock Art: new scientific approaches. The Dampier Archipelago is on Australia's National Heritage List because of its significant rock art and stone features. Known as Murujuga to its traditional custodians, this land- and seascape has over 1 million art works. While the scientific and cultural significance of this area is acknowledged, we still know little about the age of this landscape, the regional palaeoclimatology, and the timing and intensity of rock art production since ....Dating Murujuga's Rock Art: new scientific approaches. The Dampier Archipelago is on Australia's National Heritage List because of its significant rock art and stone features. Known as Murujuga to its traditional custodians, this land- and seascape has over 1 million art works. While the scientific and cultural significance of this area is acknowledged, we still know little about the age of this landscape, the regional palaeoclimatology, and the timing and intensity of rock art production since Aboriginal people moved into this region 50,000 years ago. This project will develop new scientific approaches to direct-dating engravings and stone features, reconstruct climate from geological proxies, and model voyaging opportunities as this unique cultural estate transformed to an archipelago.Read moreRead less
Deep ocean thermodynamics and climate change. This project aims to obtain new insights into the thermodynamic and transport properties of mixtures containing water, particularly at high pressures, that impact directly on our understanding of climate change processes. The project will involve the use of a polarisable potential for water which has recently been demonstrated to yield predictions of high accuracy. It will be used to model saline water mixtures containing carbon dioxide, resulting in ....Deep ocean thermodynamics and climate change. This project aims to obtain new insights into the thermodynamic and transport properties of mixtures containing water, particularly at high pressures, that impact directly on our understanding of climate change processes. The project will involve the use of a polarisable potential for water which has recently been demonstrated to yield predictions of high accuracy. It will be used to model saline water mixtures containing carbon dioxide, resulting in valuable data for thermodynamic properties of the world's oceans. These data are of crucial importance for accurate climate change predictions and as such the project will have an important impact on understanding our changing environment.Read moreRead less
Revealing the impacts of super-charged photosynthesis on leaf respiration. This project aims to use state-of-the-art technologies to develop a novel framework that links a super-charged version of photosynthesis (known as C4 photosynthesis) to changes in nocturnal leaf respiration. A quarter of global land photosynthesis occurs in C4 plants that include several important cereal crops. Although advances have been made in modelling C4 photosynthesis, these advances are unable to model variations i ....Revealing the impacts of super-charged photosynthesis on leaf respiration. This project aims to use state-of-the-art technologies to develop a novel framework that links a super-charged version of photosynthesis (known as C4 photosynthesis) to changes in nocturnal leaf respiration. A quarter of global land photosynthesis occurs in C4 plants that include several important cereal crops. Although advances have been made in modelling C4 photosynthesis, these advances are unable to model variations in nocturnal respiration. Expected outcomes include equations that predict respiration in C4 plants growing in current/future climates. Benefits to include knowledge needed to engineer faster-growing crops and providing climate modelers the ability to more accurately predict carbon exchange in C4-dominated ecosystems. Read moreRead less
Optimising disease surveillance to support decision-making. COVID-19 has demonstrated the critical role of epidemic data and analytics in guiding government response to pandemic threats, reducing disease and saving lives. The demand for epidemic analytics for response to threats of national significance will only grow. The goals of this project are to 1) determine the combination(s) of surveillance methods that provide the most useful data for epidemic analysis and 2) translate these findings in ....Optimising disease surveillance to support decision-making. COVID-19 has demonstrated the critical role of epidemic data and analytics in guiding government response to pandemic threats, reducing disease and saving lives. The demand for epidemic analytics for response to threats of national significance will only grow. The goals of this project are to 1) determine the combination(s) of surveillance methods that provide the most useful data for epidemic analysis and 2) translate these findings into the blueprint for a next-generation infectious disease surveillance system for Australia. We will use a simulation-evaluation approach, coupling methods from infectious disease modelling with those from information theory optimal design. Outcomes will enable more tailored and effective pandemic response.Read moreRead less
Keeping Kinship in Mind. This project aims to contribute to a better understanding of the study of kinship by drawing on recent research from the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of science. It will incorporate this understanding into a more general international, collaborative network in the philosophy of anthropology. Kinship has been central to anthropology as a discipline, with disagreement over the relationships between biological and cultural dimensions to kinship structuring much o ....Keeping Kinship in Mind. This project aims to contribute to a better understanding of the study of kinship by drawing on recent research from the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of science. It will incorporate this understanding into a more general international, collaborative network in the philosophy of anthropology. Kinship has been central to anthropology as a discipline, with disagreement over the relationships between biological and cultural dimensions to kinship structuring much of that history. Keeping Kinship in Mind will extend into the philosophy of the social sciences the productive interactions between philosophers and scientists that are an internationally recognized research strength of Australian philosophy of science. Read moreRead less
Between a hot place & hypoxia: Quantifying fish-kill risk in inland rivers. Native fish populations in Australian ephemeral rivers are highly valued but are subject to widespread decline. During drought waterholes serve as critical refuges for native fish, however thermal extremes and hypoxia (lack of oxygen) have led to regular fish-kill events. Whilst we know the general conditions that lead to fish-kills, we do not have a clear understanding of why some species are more tolerant than others, ....Between a hot place & hypoxia: Quantifying fish-kill risk in inland rivers. Native fish populations in Australian ephemeral rivers are highly valued but are subject to widespread decline. During drought waterholes serve as critical refuges for native fish, however thermal extremes and hypoxia (lack of oxygen) have led to regular fish-kill events. Whilst we know the general conditions that lead to fish-kills, we do not have a clear understanding of why some species are more tolerant than others, or how we can help decision-makers anticipate fish-kill risks. This project will combine laboratory ecophysiology investigations and novel field monitoring techniques to develop a next-generation fish habitat model for stakeholders to use to assess fish-kill risks and plan for restoration. Read moreRead less
The philosophical foundations of women’s rights: a new history, 1600-1750. This project aims to show that the history of women’s rights is much longer and richer than previously thought. There is a common perception that the notion of women’s rights first emerged in the late eighteenth century. This project expects to generate a new understanding of feminist history by investigating texts calling for the recognition of women’s dignity, worth, nobility, and excellence (cognate concepts to rights) ....The philosophical foundations of women’s rights: a new history, 1600-1750. This project aims to show that the history of women’s rights is much longer and richer than previously thought. There is a common perception that the notion of women’s rights first emerged in the late eighteenth century. This project expects to generate a new understanding of feminist history by investigating texts calling for the recognition of women’s dignity, worth, nobility, and excellence (cognate concepts to rights) in England and Europe from 1600 to 1750, against the backdrop of the rise of Cartesianism. The anticipated outcome is greater awareness of an enduring feminist tradition within the history of philosophy. The expected social benefits include a shift in public thinking about feminist history and women in philosophy.Read moreRead less