The Lively Regional City: Mapping City Centre ‘Assemblages’ that Work. This project analyses city centre revitalisation processes and policies in the context of regional Australia. Working with Wollongong City Council, the project aims to provide an evidence-based analysis of how the Wollongong city centre is perceived, regarded and used by its residents and visitors, paying particular attention to those aspects considered either 'lively' or 'dead'; its goal is to interrogate revitalisation poli ....The Lively Regional City: Mapping City Centre ‘Assemblages’ that Work. This project analyses city centre revitalisation processes and policies in the context of regional Australia. Working with Wollongong City Council, the project aims to provide an evidence-based analysis of how the Wollongong city centre is perceived, regarded and used by its residents and visitors, paying particular attention to those aspects considered either 'lively' or 'dead'; its goal is to interrogate revitalisation policy frameworks and create decision-making tools to inform planning processes for long-term city centre revitalisation and sustainable economic growth; and identify opportunities for innovative city centre planning in Wollongong to contribute to the regions sustainable transformation, long-term growth, employment and community development.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100229
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$160,000.00
Summary
Time-of-flight mass spectrometer for analysis of complex mixtures in oils, ancient rocks, recent sediments, natural products and atmospheric aerosols. Research benefits will be:1. More effective remediation of petroleum spills through better understanding of degradation pathways, and ecotoxicological impact of spills.
2. Better understanding of the role of urban aerosols in human health impacts and climate change.
3. More effective development of finite petroleum resources by better understand ....Time-of-flight mass spectrometer for analysis of complex mixtures in oils, ancient rocks, recent sediments, natural products and atmospheric aerosols. Research benefits will be:1. More effective remediation of petroleum spills through better understanding of degradation pathways, and ecotoxicological impact of spills.
2. Better understanding of the role of urban aerosols in human health impacts and climate change.
3. More effective development of finite petroleum resources by better understanding of processes altering crude oil in the sub-surface.
4. Identification of natural products from algae, cyanobacteria, plants and mushrooms as new sources of pharmaceutical agents. 5. Improved knowledge of early evolution of life on Earth, helping maintain Australian scientists as world leaders in this field. 6. Greater understanding of the source and migration of petroleum in frontier areas.Read moreRead less
Understanding the health effects of landscape burning and biomass smoke in Australian towns and cities. Bushfires are increasingly affecting Australian towns and cities directly and indirectly from episodes of severe air pollution. An approach to manage bushfires is to reduce fuel loads by setting planned fires under stable weather conditions, yet this strategy is controversial because of community concerns about ecological sustainability and negative health impacts from smoke. The relative im ....Understanding the health effects of landscape burning and biomass smoke in Australian towns and cities. Bushfires are increasingly affecting Australian towns and cities directly and indirectly from episodes of severe air pollution. An approach to manage bushfires is to reduce fuel loads by setting planned fires under stable weather conditions, yet this strategy is controversial because of community concerns about ecological sustainability and negative health impacts from smoke. The relative importance of air pollution from planned and unplanned bushfires vs. wood heaters, agricultural burning and other sources of air pollution will be determined. Our study will enable evidence-based bushfire smoke management, help formulate national air quality standards and shape policies regarding biomass smoke and bushfire management.Read moreRead less
Bushfire smoke and the relationship between human and landscape health. A team of landscape ecologists, environmental chemists and public health specialists will determine the ecological causes and adverse health effects of different levels of bushfire smoke in Darwin. Darwin is an ideal setting for this research because the only source of air pollution is the high incidence of controlled and uncontrolled bushfires during the dry season causing variable air quality: a preliminary study found a ....Bushfire smoke and the relationship between human and landscape health. A team of landscape ecologists, environmental chemists and public health specialists will determine the ecological causes and adverse health effects of different levels of bushfire smoke in Darwin. Darwin is an ideal setting for this research because the only source of air pollution is the high incidence of controlled and uncontrolled bushfires during the dry season causing variable air quality: a preliminary study found a link between smoke pollution levels and asthma. The findings of the proposed research will contribute to improved fire management practices to reduce injurious smoke pollution events and contribute to setting appropriate national air quality standards.Read moreRead less
Molecular aggression: variation and heritability of the levels of reactive oxygen species, and their effects on the evolution of life histories in the wild. Three areas of biology have intrigued every generation since Aristotle (c. 300 BC)- sex, embryology, and ageing. This proposal targets all three of these areas with a special focus on aspects of ageing. In particular, we assess how 'free radicals', so often identified in our food and wine for good and bad, exert selection on living organisms ....Molecular aggression: variation and heritability of the levels of reactive oxygen species, and their effects on the evolution of life histories in the wild. Three areas of biology have intrigued every generation since Aristotle (c. 300 BC)- sex, embryology, and ageing. This proposal targets all three of these areas with a special focus on aspects of ageing. In particular, we assess how 'free radicals', so often identified in our food and wine for good and bad, exert selection on living organisms and whether resistance (and defense) towards free radicals may drive evolution of ageing in the wild, its trade offs with fertility and fecundity, and how it is influenced by sexual or non-sexual reproduction. In spite of excellent work in the laboratory, this is the first attempt to do this in 'the real world' and will extend Australia's excellent reputation in evolutionary biology.Read moreRead less
From developmental stability to organismic senility: Hox genes and telomere impact on life history evolution. Australia benefits from training researchers and technicians in new, break-through biotechnology and from applying this knowledge to relevant, cutting-edge questions in highly publicized research fields. This project contains both these ingredients. Our model species (a lizard) has a relatively high level of offspring malformations (ca 15%), which makes it much more likely to detect thei ....From developmental stability to organismic senility: Hox genes and telomere impact on life history evolution. Australia benefits from training researchers and technicians in new, break-through biotechnology and from applying this knowledge to relevant, cutting-edge questions in highly publicized research fields. This project contains both these ingredients. Our model species (a lizard) has a relatively high level of offspring malformations (ca 15%), which makes it much more likely to detect their underlying genetic mechanism. Furthermore, we can also assess how these animals survive and reproduce in relation to how quickly they age, which can be measured by assessing the shortening of telomeres per unit time. Thus, this collaboration provides an opportunity to train Australian researchers and in that process generate very high profile research.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Research Hubs - Grant ID: IH120100021
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,500,000.00
Summary
Pathways to market: transforming food industry futures through improved sensing, provenance and choice. Pathways to market: transforming food industry futures through improved sensing, provenance and choice. This Research Hub aims to transform the Australian food industry by demonstrating how new knowledge on food production and consumption generated through novel sensing technologies and advanced modelling techniques can be implemented in smart applications to power competitiveness, sustainabil ....Pathways to market: transforming food industry futures through improved sensing, provenance and choice. Pathways to market: transforming food industry futures through improved sensing, provenance and choice. This Research Hub aims to transform the Australian food industry by demonstrating how new knowledge on food production and consumption generated through novel sensing technologies and advanced modelling techniques can be implemented in smart applications to power competitiveness, sustainability and innovation in food value chains.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE150100048
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$630,000.00
Summary
Atmospheric integrated research on burdens and oxidative capacity. Atmospheric integrated research on burdens and oxidative capacity: No single player in the Australian research community can make a large suite of atmospheric composition measurements, while the combined capability of the community is tremendous. Providing a platform to bring this capability together is cost effective and is expected to provide strong scientific return. This defines the requirements for Atmospheric Integrated Res ....Atmospheric integrated research on burdens and oxidative capacity. Atmospheric integrated research on burdens and oxidative capacity: No single player in the Australian research community can make a large suite of atmospheric composition measurements, while the combined capability of the community is tremendous. Providing a platform to bring this capability together is cost effective and is expected to provide strong scientific return. This defines the requirements for Atmospheric Integrated Research on Burdens and Oxidative capacity (AIR-BOX) to make a valuable contribution to Australian Atmospheric Science research. This project aims to provide a suite of mobile equipment including a chemical ionisation mass spectrometer, an ultraviolet-visible radiation spectrometer, a mini micropulse lidar, an in situ Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, and a cloud condensation nuclei counter. It will be capable of remote and autonomous deployment, real-time data transfer and control, a wide range of tracer measurements, flexible configuration, and physical as well as tracer measurements.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100203
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$385,000.00
Summary
Autonomous benthic observing system. This project seeks to improve our ability to monitor marine habitats and characterise their variability by enhancing the Integrated Marine Observing system (IMOS) Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Facility. The new AUV infrastructure will reduce operating costs, increase robustness of the sampling effort and insure continued operation for the next decade.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE170100219
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$170,000.00
Summary
A multi-institutional environmental radioactivity research centre. This project aims to establish an environmental radioactivity research centre, equipped with ultra-low background and high-resolution alpha and gamma spectrometry systems, radon detectors and radium delayed coincidence counters. The centre will address a critical demand in Australia for precise analysis of a large suite of natural and artificial radionuclides, which will be used as tracers and chronological tools to investigate k ....A multi-institutional environmental radioactivity research centre. This project aims to establish an environmental radioactivity research centre, equipped with ultra-low background and high-resolution alpha and gamma spectrometry systems, radon detectors and radium delayed coincidence counters. The centre will address a critical demand in Australia for precise analysis of a large suite of natural and artificial radionuclides, which will be used as tracers and chronological tools to investigate key questions in oceanography and the mining and energy, archaeological, agricultural, and forestry sectors. The facility is expected to substantially increase expertise and training in radionuclides in Australia, and promote high-level research collaborations and outputs of both national and international significance. Major outcomes of the proposed facility include better understanding of how oceans regulate climate and improved capacity to assess effects of radiation on natural ecosystems.Read moreRead less