Understanding extreme wind gusts and associated risks in NSW. Wind gusts are rare bursts of high wind, often associated with thunderstorm outflows. They can do significant structural damage, and their rarity and small scale make prediction and risk assessment difficult. This proposal seeks to better understand and predict wind gusts and their impacts to aid in planning. The project aims to use past observations, modelling, and basic theory to show what conditions lead to wind gusts and how like ....Understanding extreme wind gusts and associated risks in NSW. Wind gusts are rare bursts of high wind, often associated with thunderstorm outflows. They can do significant structural damage, and their rarity and small scale make prediction and risk assessment difficult. This proposal seeks to better understand and predict wind gusts and their impacts to aid in planning. The project aims to use past observations, modelling, and basic theory to show what conditions lead to wind gusts and how likely they are to exceed key thresholds. It targets important scientific and practical issues such as the joint occurrence of gusts and high rainfall, role of gusts in contributing to dust and other airborne pollutants, impacts of gusts on subsequent storm activity, and gusts in a warming climate.Read moreRead less
High performance electrolyte for the vanadium redox flow battery. Vanadium batteries present a highly-scalable, sustainable solution for storage of renewable electricity, but the technology needs to be improved for robust and efficient operation in the warm Australian climate. This project aims to design and extensively test new high-performance electrolyte compositions with advanced thermal stabilising additives for safe long-term battery operation at 60 °C. New knowledge in materials science a ....High performance electrolyte for the vanadium redox flow battery. Vanadium batteries present a highly-scalable, sustainable solution for storage of renewable electricity, but the technology needs to be improved for robust and efficient operation in the warm Australian climate. This project aims to design and extensively test new high-performance electrolyte compositions with advanced thermal stabilising additives for safe long-term battery operation at 60 °C. New knowledge in materials science and electrochemistry will be generated. The core outcome of the project is a sustainable large-scale energy storage technology ready for immediate application in Australia. This will support the transition of the Australian energy sector to renewables and provide businesses with distributed energy storage solutions.Read moreRead less
Electron Transpiration Cooling of Hypersonic Vehicles. Future aircraft for flight at hypersonic speeds require sharp leading edges for the best aerodynamic performance. Sharp leading edges incur high heat loads and cannot be adequately cooled with current technologies. The project aim is to investigate novel surface materials that emit electrons when heated. This emission of electrons from the surface can significantly contribute to the cooling of the sharp leading edges. This project is expecte ....Electron Transpiration Cooling of Hypersonic Vehicles. Future aircraft for flight at hypersonic speeds require sharp leading edges for the best aerodynamic performance. Sharp leading edges incur high heat loads and cannot be adequately cooled with current technologies. The project aim is to investigate novel surface materials that emit electrons when heated. This emission of electrons from the surface can significantly contribute to the cooling of the sharp leading edges. This project is expected to deliver new experimental data on novel surface materials exposed to a hypersonic flow environment and computer models that can simulate their cooling effect. This investigation will contribute towards enabling technologies for sustained hypersonic flight by overcoming critical head load limitations.Read moreRead less
Structural Reliability of Engineering Structures in Cyclonic Winds. This project aims to address the challenge of predicting the impact of extreme cyclonic winds on complex engineering structures. By applying advanced computational and experimental techniques the project expects to develop new insight into turbulent flows at a sub-cyclone scale and how these produce aerodynamic loads on closely spaced cylindrical structures and elements. The expected outcomes of this project include enhanced sim ....Structural Reliability of Engineering Structures in Cyclonic Winds. This project aims to address the challenge of predicting the impact of extreme cyclonic winds on complex engineering structures. By applying advanced computational and experimental techniques the project expects to develop new insight into turbulent flows at a sub-cyclone scale and how these produce aerodynamic loads on closely spaced cylindrical structures and elements. The expected outcomes of this project include enhanced simulation techniques leading to better understanding of structural vulnerability to cyclones. This should provide significant benefits, such as improved structural design and cyclone mitigation strategies applicable to both high-value engineering structures and vulnerable communities in cyclone regions.Read moreRead less
High-productivity ammonia electrosynthesis. The aim of this project is to develop and demonstrate high-performance devices for ammonia production from renewables by a scalable electrolysis method. This will be achieved by experimental and modelling investigations of the nitrogen reduction reaction to guide the design of tailor-made cathodes. New knowledge in catalysis and materials science is expected to be generated. The target outcome of the project is a sustainable and affordable ammonia synt ....High-productivity ammonia electrosynthesis. The aim of this project is to develop and demonstrate high-performance devices for ammonia production from renewables by a scalable electrolysis method. This will be achieved by experimental and modelling investigations of the nitrogen reduction reaction to guide the design of tailor-made cathodes. New knowledge in catalysis and materials science is expected to be generated. The target outcome of the project is a sustainable and affordable ammonia synthesis method as an alternative to the current fossil-fuels-based and excessively greenhouse-emitting process. The technology to be developed in this project is anticipated to be of significant benefit to the Australian agriculture sector as a local, on-demand source of low-cost fertilisers.Read moreRead less
Towards a superannuation system fit for the future. Towards a superannuation system fit for the future. This project aims to develop a stochastic superannuation model and propose alternative post retirement solutions, using data-led understanding of savings habits. Funding for the increasing cost of the growing older population will, if not modelled, forecast and managed adequately, swamp all other welfare and state funded costs. To manage older age costs adequately, governments need to encourag ....Towards a superannuation system fit for the future. Towards a superannuation system fit for the future. This project aims to develop a stochastic superannuation model and propose alternative post retirement solutions, using data-led understanding of savings habits. Funding for the increasing cost of the growing older population will, if not modelled, forecast and managed adequately, swamp all other welfare and state funded costs. To manage older age costs adequately, governments need to encourage people to save and provide ways people can save—but need to better understand how people save money for their old age. This research is expected to enable the “superannuation change“ necessary for the superannuation system to remain sustainable and fund retirees to live well.Read moreRead less
Alcohol and tobacco use among lesbian, bisexual and queer identifying women. This project aims to examine practices of alcohol and tobacco use among lesbian, bisexual and queer-identifying (LBQ) women, which are considerably higher compared to heterosexual women. By using an innovative, longitudinal qualitative approach, this project expects to generate new knowledge regarding the cultural and social forces that shape higher rates of alcohol and tobacco use among LBQ women, and to better underst ....Alcohol and tobacco use among lesbian, bisexual and queer identifying women. This project aims to examine practices of alcohol and tobacco use among lesbian, bisexual and queer-identifying (LBQ) women, which are considerably higher compared to heterosexual women. By using an innovative, longitudinal qualitative approach, this project expects to generate new knowledge regarding the cultural and social forces that shape higher rates of alcohol and tobacco use among LBQ women, and to better understand their impacts. It is anticipated that the project will enhance the capacity of health promotion and policy organisations to meet the alcohol management and smoking cessation needs of this population. Findings from this project should help to alleviate health and social inequalities experienced by LBQ women.
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Conservation genomics of a critically endangered insect. This project aims to develop tools genotyping large animal genomes, focusing on the case of the Lord Howe Island stick insect, once thought to be extinct and now critically endangered. This project expects to generate molecular tools to monitor the genetic health the insect which has a large, complex and poorly understood genome. Expected outcomes include the development of a preservation and reintroduction strategy for the insect. This pr ....Conservation genomics of a critically endangered insect. This project aims to develop tools genotyping large animal genomes, focusing on the case of the Lord Howe Island stick insect, once thought to be extinct and now critically endangered. This project expects to generate molecular tools to monitor the genetic health the insect which has a large, complex and poorly understood genome. Expected outcomes include the development of a preservation and reintroduction strategy for the insect. This project will benefit ongoing conservation efforts, and is timely given the ongoing eradication of rats from Lord Howe Island where this species once lived. Read moreRead less
Innovations in Demographic Modelling for Government Analysis and Planning. This project aims to create innovative and cutting-edge demographic models to better meet the needs of practitioners and researchers. Together with the partner organisations, Commonwealth Treasury and the Australian Bureau of Statistics, it will focus on creating more accurate and fit-for-purpose forecasting methods for Australian fertility, mortality, and migration, including a policy scenario model to produce population ....Innovations in Demographic Modelling for Government Analysis and Planning. This project aims to create innovative and cutting-edge demographic models to better meet the needs of practitioners and researchers. Together with the partner organisations, Commonwealth Treasury and the Australian Bureau of Statistics, it will focus on creating more accurate and fit-for-purpose forecasting methods for Australian fertility, mortality, and migration, including a policy scenario model to produce population projections by visa/citizenship category and Australians overseas. Expected outcomes of this project include improved forecasting methods reported in open-access papers, user-friendly forecasting software and tools for the partner organisations, and a stronger relationship between researchers and practitioners.Read moreRead less
Gender equality in Australia: impact on social, economic and health outcomes. This project aims to develop an innovative, Australian-specific multidimensional measure of gender equality. The project’s focus on conceptualising and measuring gender equality in the Australian context will address a significant barrier to the development, implementation and evaluation of targeted gender equality programs and policies. By partnering with government and industry representatives, this project will deve ....Gender equality in Australia: impact on social, economic and health outcomes. This project aims to develop an innovative, Australian-specific multidimensional measure of gender equality. The project’s focus on conceptualising and measuring gender equality in the Australian context will address a significant barrier to the development, implementation and evaluation of targeted gender equality programs and policies. By partnering with government and industry representatives, this project will develop a baseline from which programs and policies can be measured. The project will also establish evidence about the effects of gender equality in relation to economic, social and wellbeing outcomes.Read moreRead less