Finding concurrency bugs in multithreaded software. This project aims to develop sound and practical techniques for detecting and eliminating concurrency bugs for object-oriented languages like Java, enabled by a new model for concurrent effects. The expected outcome is a novel technology that will significantly improve the safety, productivity and efficiency of large-scale concurrent programming.
A Programming Model of Object Validity for Secure and Efficient Concurrency. To provide improved performance and security for software applications, Australia's ICT industry must adapt to the complex programming demands of modern multicore processors. The programming model developed in the project represents a breakthrough solution. A seamless integration of concurrency and object orientation leads to a simple yet powerful programming style that is compatible with today's premier approach to bui ....A Programming Model of Object Validity for Secure and Efficient Concurrency. To provide improved performance and security for software applications, Australia's ICT industry must adapt to the complex programming demands of modern multicore processors. The programming model developed in the project represents a breakthrough solution. A seamless integration of concurrency and object orientation leads to a simple yet powerful programming style that is compatible with today's premier approach to building large-scale software systems with significantly improved performance and security. The product will reduce development time for compute-intensive applications in many industry sectors, including health care (e.g. patient monitoring), finance, defence, environment, mining, manufacturing and computer games.Read moreRead less
Analysis and Optimisation of Incomplete Object-Oriented Programs. This project will push Australia to the forefront of OO technologies and will increase the profile of advanced programming language design and implementation research in Australia. The completed framework will
likely be commercially viable as Australia industries such as banks and
insurance companies and government organisations hosting large
OO software systems may benefit (in terms of performance and
code security) from the ....Analysis and Optimisation of Incomplete Object-Oriented Programs. This project will push Australia to the forefront of OO technologies and will increase the profile of advanced programming language design and implementation research in Australia. The completed framework will
likely be commercially viable as Australia industries such as banks and
insurance companies and government organisations hosting large
OO software systems may benefit (in terms of performance and
code security) from the technology developed as a result of this research. The completed framework will also provide an excellent platform for researchers in Australia and elsewhere to do research in OO technologies, helping in producing quality students for the Australian IT industry.Read moreRead less
Scratchpad-based Memory Allocation Techniques for Embedded Software. This research aims at developing automatic memory allocation algorithms to maximise the effective utilisation of scratchpad memories, which will lead to significantly improved performance and energy usage in embedded applications. The outcomes of this project will provide generic solutions to many Australia-based industries, including telecommunication, network management, sensor networks, automotive and instrumentation/measure ....Scratchpad-based Memory Allocation Techniques for Embedded Software. This research aims at developing automatic memory allocation algorithms to maximise the effective utilisation of scratchpad memories, which will lead to significantly improved performance and energy usage in embedded applications. The outcomes of this project will provide generic solutions to many Australia-based industries, including telecommunication, network management, sensor networks, automotive and instrumentation/measurement, where embedded systems are ubiquitously used. Therefore, this project will significantly contribute to the Priority Area (Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries), hence fits into its Priority Goal: Frontier Technologies.Read moreRead less
Compiler-Directed Code Tiling for Higher Program Performance and Predictability on Multi-Level Memory Hierarchies. Programming languages invariably induce a perception of memory as being flat, whereas actual computers are being equipped increasingly with deep memory hierarchies to overcome the ever-widening performance gap between processors and memories. This mismatch can result in low locality of reference and poor performance. This project will develop a new array layout transformation, calle ....Compiler-Directed Code Tiling for Higher Program Performance and Predictability on Multi-Level Memory Hierarchies. Programming languages invariably induce a perception of memory as being flat, whereas actual computers are being equipped increasingly with deep memory hierarchies to overcome the ever-widening performance gap between processors and memories. This mismatch can result in low locality of reference and poor performance. This project will develop a new array layout transformation, called data tiling, used in tandem with loop tiling to achieve significantly improved performance gains (and predictability) for array-dominated applications on multi-level memory hierarchies. We will explore this joint restructuring to obtain higher performance and predictability for whole programs, kernel libraries, iterative stencil codes and embedded applications.
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A safe and efficient multi-language component framework based on dynamic compilation. Components are a versatile mechanism for the construction of extendible systems and for improved code reusability. Emerging environments like Microsoft's .NET support the interaction of components written in different programming languages. To date, such systems do not adequately isolate components which therefore must trust each other. This is unacceptable for components loaded across the Internet. We will dev ....A safe and efficient multi-language component framework based on dynamic compilation. Components are a versatile mechanism for the construction of extendible systems and for improved code reusability. Emerging environments like Microsoft's .NET support the interaction of components written in different programming languages. To date, such systems do not adequately isolate components which therefore must trust each other. This is unacceptable for components loaded across the Internet. We will develop a framework for secure execution of component software, based on hardware-enforced protection domains. To minimize the resulting runtime overheads we will provide a component model with lightweight context switching. A novel typed intermediate language and dynamic compilation techniques will offer complementary optimisations.
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Reasoning about Rational Agents from a Programming Languages Perspective. Rational agents are complex system components inspired by models of rationality, in which beliefs, desires and intentions are represented explicitly. Intelligent agents are fast becoming mainstream and have wide-ranging industrial application. However, a serious obstacle to the deployment of rational agents is a lack of understanding of how to design and reason about agents to provide performance and correctness guarantees ....Reasoning about Rational Agents from a Programming Languages Perspective. Rational agents are complex system components inspired by models of rationality, in which beliefs, desires and intentions are represented explicitly. Intelligent agents are fast becoming mainstream and have wide-ranging industrial application. However, a serious obstacle to the deployment of rational agents is a lack of understanding of how to design and reason about agents to provide performance and correctness guarantees. This project will investigate extensions to intelligent agent architectures and develop tools for reasoning about complex systems built using those architectures. This will not only enable reliable prediction of performance, but contribute to a general methodology for intelligent agent design.
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Transgenerational Effects Of Male Obesity - Mechanisms And Interventions
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$829,143.00
Summary
Childhood obesity is associated with obesity in either parent, and obese children tend to become obese adults, forming an intergenerational cycle that promotes obesity. We have identified paternal obesity as an important novel target for intervention to stop the progression of the obesity epidemic. This project investigates supplementation of obese fathers with folate to prevent the adverse impact of paternal obesity on subsequent generations.
Disrupted Neurosteroid Synthesis Mediates The Adverse Effects Of Prenatal Stress
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$695,973.00
Summary
Maternal anxiety and related stress in pregnancy influences the fetus causing developmental changes that adversely affect the offspring leading to behavioural problems in childhood. However, mechanisms which transfer maternal changes to the fetus are unclear. We propose that disruption of the fetal-placental neurosteroid system is a major link. We will identify the deficits in this system caused by maternal stress and then examine therapies to reverse these disruptions.
Ownership-based Alias Analysis for Securing Unsafe Rust Programs. This project aims to develop an ownership-based alias analysis as a complement to Rust's ownership type system for improving Rust's memory safety. This project, therefore, expects to deliver an alias analysis foundation that can provide stronger memory safety guarantees than the state-of-the-art in detecting memory-safety violations and security vulnerabilities in real-world Rust programs that use unsafe language features. The exp ....Ownership-based Alias Analysis for Securing Unsafe Rust Programs. This project aims to develop an ownership-based alias analysis as a complement to Rust's ownership type system for improving Rust's memory safety. This project, therefore, expects to deliver an alias analysis foundation that can provide stronger memory safety guarantees than the state-of-the-art in detecting memory-safety violations and security vulnerabilities in real-world Rust programs that use unsafe language features. The expected outcomes are a deployable ownership-based alias analysis in the Rust compiler and an industrial-strength open-source framework. These outcomes are expected to provide significant benefits in improving software quality and security in Rust, an emerging language that offers both performance and safety.Read moreRead less