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Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) program.
Please take a few minutes to provide your input. The survey closes COB Friday 29 May 2026.
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The Science of Exoplanets - Finding & Understanding our Planetary Neighbours. There can be few questions more fundamental to humanity, and more capable of engaging young Australians in science and technology, than to ask "Are we alone in the Universe?". The discovery of planetary systems orbiting other stars now enables us to realistically address this fundamental question in the years ahead. A critical component of this global endeavour will be determining 'How common are Earth-like planets orb ....The Science of Exoplanets - Finding & Understanding our Planetary Neighbours. There can be few questions more fundamental to humanity, and more capable of engaging young Australians in science and technology, than to ask "Are we alone in the Universe?". The discovery of planetary systems orbiting other stars now enables us to realistically address this fundamental question in the years ahead. A critical component of this global endeavour will be determining 'How common are Earth-like planets orbiting nearby stars?'. This project will establish the nation's leading research group in this field and employ the world's leading astronomical facilities to place Australia at the forefront of the international race to answer these fundamental questions. Read moreRead less
Astrophotonics: exploiting a new technological frontier to probe back to the Dark Ages. Photonics, a key research strength in Australia, emerged from the telecommunications industry. But this exciting field has now begun to foster new scientific disciplines. One of the most recent is astrophotonics, a field at the interface of photonics and another Australian research strength, astronomy. Astrophotonics will deliver cutting-edge technologies to ensure Australia's astronomical lead in the next de ....Astrophotonics: exploiting a new technological frontier to probe back to the Dark Ages. Photonics, a key research strength in Australia, emerged from the telecommunications industry. But this exciting field has now begun to foster new scientific disciplines. One of the most recent is astrophotonics, a field at the interface of photonics and another Australian research strength, astronomy. Astrophotonics will deliver cutting-edge technologies to ensure Australia's astronomical lead in the next decade. These new facilities will serve as a vital stepping stone to the Giant Magellan Telescope, a $500M project promising enormous economic, engineering and scientific opportunities for Australia. Astrophotonics will also lead to innovative technology transfer to fields such as medical science, optical computing and sensor technology.Read moreRead less
Physics of extreme brightness temperatures in radioastronomical sources. Pulsars and some quasars are so very bright that the conventional explanation for radioastronomical emission from other sources either does not apply to them, or presents unsolved problems. We see (in radio waves) these sources through the interstellar medium which acts like a wrinkled pane of glass in distorting the image. New scientific ideas and methodologies are proposed here and will be explored in the project, with th ....Physics of extreme brightness temperatures in radioastronomical sources. Pulsars and some quasars are so very bright that the conventional explanation for radioastronomical emission from other sources either does not apply to them, or presents unsolved problems. We see (in radio waves) these sources through the interstellar medium which acts like a wrinkled pane of glass in distorting the image. New scientific ideas and methodologies are proposed here and will be explored in the project, with the objective to understand these sources and to extract information on their propreties and those of the interstellar medium. Read moreRead less
Interstellar Gas Dynamics. The conversion of interstellar gas into stars is a key process in the life-history of galaxies and the formation of planetary systems. Star formation takes place within a heterogeneous, dynamic cloud, and entails a million-fold contraction controlled by a complex interplay between gravity, magnetic forces, ionisation balance, chemical reactions and particles of interstellar dust. Previous modelling has adopted inappropriate approximations for the evolution of the mag ....Interstellar Gas Dynamics. The conversion of interstellar gas into stars is a key process in the life-history of galaxies and the formation of planetary systems. Star formation takes place within a heterogeneous, dynamic cloud, and entails a million-fold contraction controlled by a complex interplay between gravity, magnetic forces, ionisation balance, chemical reactions and particles of interstellar dust. Previous modelling has adopted inappropriate approximations for the evolution of the magnetic field. This research will bring a rigorous treatment of magnetic diffusion to bear on the theory of cloud evolution, shock waves, star formation and protoplanetary discs.
Read moreRead less
Feedback Processes in Galaxy Formation. We have an opportunity to combine the best Australian theory with the best local and international telescopes, to probe the murky story of how galaxies form and why they look they way they do today. By looking back to a time when the Universe was only 1 billion years old, and comparing what we see with cutting edge supercomputer simulations plus pure theory, we will gain insight into the birth of entire galaxies. The results will form part of the study o ....Feedback Processes in Galaxy Formation. We have an opportunity to combine the best Australian theory with the best local and international telescopes, to probe the murky story of how galaxies form and why they look they way they do today. By looking back to a time when the Universe was only 1 billion years old, and comparing what we see with cutting edge supercomputer simulations plus pure theory, we will gain insight into the birth of entire galaxies. The results will form part of the study of how the universe works - that is driving astrophysics today, and represents pure research for the sake of advancing knowledge and showing us where we fit into the Universe. In doing so we will also advance Australia's base of theoretical and computational expertise.Read moreRead less
Virtual Star Clusters: The Dynamics and Evolution of Stars and Planets. Most stars are born in star clusters. When stars age
they swell and contract, change composition,
lose mass, and in dense regions they may collide.
Further, about 50% of stars are binary pairs,
and when these swell they can merge or
transfer mass. These effects dramatically
alter the lives of stars and their chemical makeup.
By combining special
purpose computers with newly developed simulation techniques,
we will ....Virtual Star Clusters: The Dynamics and Evolution of Stars and Planets. Most stars are born in star clusters. When stars age
they swell and contract, change composition,
lose mass, and in dense regions they may collide.
Further, about 50% of stars are binary pairs,
and when these swell they can merge or
transfer mass. These effects dramatically
alter the lives of stars and their chemical makeup.
By combining special
purpose computers with newly developed simulation techniques,
we will include all these effects to answer timely
and important astronomical
questions such as: can planets survive life in
a cluster? how do interactions between stars
affect the chemical enrichment of
clusters and galaxies?Read moreRead less
The role of magnetic fields in star formation. Recently we have performed the world's first calculations of star cluster formation that incorporate the effects of magnetic fields and radiation. This research has recently been brought back to Australia and the goal of this proposal is to extend our competitive edge in this area.
Whilst calculations of the formation of stars gives us fundamental understanding about a very basic physical process in the universe (namely, the conversion of gas into s ....The role of magnetic fields in star formation. Recently we have performed the world's first calculations of star cluster formation that incorporate the effects of magnetic fields and radiation. This research has recently been brought back to Australia and the goal of this proposal is to extend our competitive edge in this area.
Whilst calculations of the formation of stars gives us fundamental understanding about a very basic physical process in the universe (namely, the conversion of gas into stars), the equations we solve and the methods used to solve them, are the same as those used to describe many gases and fluids on earth. Solving these equations in difficult astrophysical regimes develops new methodology which translates readily to earth-bound problems.Read moreRead less
Structure and Evolution of High Brightness Temperature Cores of Quasars and Galaxies. Interstellar scintillation, ISS, is a revolutionary new and powerful technique which we will use to study the highest brightness temperature cores of radio quasars with unprecedented angular resolution, and probe the interstellar medium of our Galaxy in a way not previously possible. The combination of scintillation and conventional VLBI allows imaging with light-month to light-year resolution across the known ....Structure and Evolution of High Brightness Temperature Cores of Quasars and Galaxies. Interstellar scintillation, ISS, is a revolutionary new and powerful technique which we will use to study the highest brightness temperature cores of radio quasars with unprecedented angular resolution, and probe the interstellar medium of our Galaxy in a way not previously possible. The combination of scintillation and conventional VLBI allows imaging with light-month to light-year resolution across the known Universe. Scintillation observations are challenging basic synchrotron physics by uncovering quasar cores with temperatures possibly as high as 10^15 K, and lifetimes many times longer than theory. The Ceduna and Hobart telescopes are cornerstones of our scintillation and VLBI proposals.
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From dust to planets: New initiatives to refine models of the inner Solar System's earliest history. This project will help continue the proud tradition of Australia as an international leader in mass spectrometric analyses and cosmochemistry. The questions surrounding the origin and significance of terrestrial planets are closely related to our very presence: "Are we alone"?
Research into meteorites is one of the few areas of science that truly captures the imagination of the general public. T ....From dust to planets: New initiatives to refine models of the inner Solar System's earliest history. This project will help continue the proud tradition of Australia as an international leader in mass spectrometric analyses and cosmochemistry. The questions surrounding the origin and significance of terrestrial planets are closely related to our very presence: "Are we alone"?
Research into meteorites is one of the few areas of science that truly captures the imagination of the general public. This project, through its integration with the WA Museum, gives the public a possibility to share in this experience.Read moreRead less
The next generation of stellar models: incorporating the results of multidimensional hydrodynamics. This project involves the use of computer codes designed for massively-parallel computing, thousands of computers tied together into one cluster, to tackle difficult hydrodynamic problems that occur in stars. We will train PhD students in this area of cutting-edge computation, with applications in areas such as meteorology, aero-space and defence. The skills gained by the participants in this proj ....The next generation of stellar models: incorporating the results of multidimensional hydrodynamics. This project involves the use of computer codes designed for massively-parallel computing, thousands of computers tied together into one cluster, to tackle difficult hydrodynamic problems that occur in stars. We will train PhD students in this area of cutting-edge computation, with applications in areas such as meteorology, aero-space and defence. The skills gained by the participants in this project will be useful over a wide range of areas in the modern economy of the nation.Read moreRead less