Identification Power and Instrument Strength in Discrete Outcome Models. This project aims to develop new econometric and statistical techniques to quantify causal effects in treatment models with discrete outcomes. Expected outcomes include a much-needed weak instrument test, a measure for identification strength in partial identification setting, and an instrument-covariate selection procedure for high dimensional discrete models based identification power. The benefits include advanced knowle ....Identification Power and Instrument Strength in Discrete Outcome Models. This project aims to develop new econometric and statistical techniques to quantify causal effects in treatment models with discrete outcomes. Expected outcomes include a much-needed weak instrument test, a measure for identification strength in partial identification setting, and an instrument-covariate selection procedure for high dimensional discrete models based identification power. The benefits include advanced knowledge in econometrics and statistics, and enhanced tools for program evaluation and policy assessment in empirical causal analysis using observational data. The project falls into the category of smarter information use and is relevant to any national priority areas where policy interventions require assessment.Read moreRead less
Selection of mixed strength moment restrictions and optimal inference . This project aims to develop consistent model selection criteria even if the target model only provides a weak signal about the parameter of interest. This project expects to generate new knowledge on model selection using new and innovative techniques. Expected outcomes include the quantification of the maximum information on parameter from weak-signal models; new entropy-based model selection criteria; and a robust investi ....Selection of mixed strength moment restrictions and optimal inference . This project aims to develop consistent model selection criteria even if the target model only provides a weak signal about the parameter of interest. This project expects to generate new knowledge on model selection using new and innovative techniques. Expected outcomes include the quantification of the maximum information on parameter from weak-signal models; new entropy-based model selection criteria; and a robust investigation of the still debated hypothesis in environmental economics that with open and liberalized trade, developing countries would become pollution havens for dirty industries of advanced countries. Success in this undertaking will dramatically enlarge the pool of applied work involving economic models with weak signals.Read moreRead less
Empowering next-generation sea-ice models with wave–ice mathematics. Sea ice is a crucial part of the Australian and global climate systems, and the most sensitive indicator of the alarming climate changes in motion. This project aims to deliver a vital component in next-generation sea-ice models, by modelling ocean waves in the ice-covered ocean, and implementing it in the leading large-scale sea-ice model. The waves-in-ice model will be accurate for the range of possible wave–ice conditions, u ....Empowering next-generation sea-ice models with wave–ice mathematics. Sea ice is a crucial part of the Australian and global climate systems, and the most sensitive indicator of the alarming climate changes in motion. This project aims to deliver a vital component in next-generation sea-ice models, by modelling ocean waves in the ice-covered ocean, and implementing it in the leading large-scale sea-ice model. The waves-in-ice model will be accurate for the range of possible wave–ice conditions, using understanding derived from state-of-the-art experimental measurements. Powerful mathematical approximation methods will be developed to generate model efficiency. The outcomes will create a new standard in sea-ice modelling, with significant benefits for sea-ice forecasting and climate studies.Read moreRead less
Predicting concentration-gradient-driven liquid transport in 2D membranes. This project aims to achieve a predictive understanding of liquid transport through two-dimensional (2D) membranes driven by concentration gradients by using a combination of novel theory and computation. Membranes made from 2D nanomaterials hold great promise for many applications from desalination to power generation to chemical sensing, but the concentration-gradient-driven transport processes that underlie these appli ....Predicting concentration-gradient-driven liquid transport in 2D membranes. This project aims to achieve a predictive understanding of liquid transport through two-dimensional (2D) membranes driven by concentration gradients by using a combination of novel theory and computation. Membranes made from 2D nanomaterials hold great promise for many applications from desalination to power generation to chemical sensing, but the concentration-gradient-driven transport processes that underlie these applications are not well understood. The expected outcome of this project is an unprecedented quantitative understanding of the parameters that control these transport processes. This will enable predictive optimisation of 2D membranes, which will reduce the time and cost of membrane development for diverse applications.
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Coarse Geometry: a novel approach to the Callias index & topological matter. Coarse geometry is the study of the large-scale structure of metric spaces, in terms of operator algebras. This project aims to use coarse geometry to develop novel approaches to Callias index theory and its applications, and to topological phases of matter, where the Nobel Prize in physics in 2016 was awarded. This will yield new techniques in index theory and other areas, and solutions to several important problems. O ....Coarse Geometry: a novel approach to the Callias index & topological matter. Coarse geometry is the study of the large-scale structure of metric spaces, in terms of operator algebras. This project aims to use coarse geometry to develop novel approaches to Callias index theory and its applications, and to topological phases of matter, where the Nobel Prize in physics in 2016 was awarded. This will yield new techniques in index theory and other areas, and solutions to several important problems. Outcomes include a noncompact generalisation of the famous Guillemin-Sternberg conjecture that quantisation commutes with reduction, and new models of topological phases of matter in terms of K-theory of operator algebras. This project will benefit Australia by reinforcing its position in these highly active areas in science.Read moreRead less
Early desert settlement of Arabia following out-of-Africa human dispersals. This project aims to improve our understanding of the nature, timing and climatic context of early human expansion into SW Asia, from a new extensive archaeological complex with associated palaeoenvironmental sequences on the Arabian Peninsula – a strategic out-of-Africa migratory corridor. It will combine innovative approaches in archaeology, geochronology and palaeoenvironmental research to evaluate the environmental a ....Early desert settlement of Arabia following out-of-Africa human dispersals. This project aims to improve our understanding of the nature, timing and climatic context of early human expansion into SW Asia, from a new extensive archaeological complex with associated palaeoenvironmental sequences on the Arabian Peninsula – a strategic out-of-Africa migratory corridor. It will combine innovative approaches in archaeology, geochronology and palaeoenvironmental research to evaluate the environmental and cultural adaptability of early desert settlement, providing critical new insights into globally significant human dispersal debates spanning multiple continents, including Australia. The aim is a fundamental new perspective on long-term human occupation dynamics of deserts and new understanding of regional dispersals.Read moreRead less
Early African woodworking and tool use at the transition to modern humans. Our archaeological excavations and preliminary dating of Amanzi Springs (South Africa) to between 515,000 and 163,000 years ago shows that the site covers a critical time period that led to the origins of our species, Homo sapiens. Amanzi documents, in never before seen resolution, the technological leaps that our ancestors made during this transition. At ~400,000 years ago this includes the oldest evidence for woodworkin ....Early African woodworking and tool use at the transition to modern humans. Our archaeological excavations and preliminary dating of Amanzi Springs (South Africa) to between 515,000 and 163,000 years ago shows that the site covers a critical time period that led to the origins of our species, Homo sapiens. Amanzi documents, in never before seen resolution, the technological leaps that our ancestors made during this transition. At ~400,000 years ago this includes the oldest evidence for woodworking and tool use and >163,000 years ago the oldest heat treatment of rock to make stone tools. The organic preservation at the site means that we can reconstruct changing environment, linked to sea level changes and spring activity, for this period in the evolution of our ancestors at a level of detail not previously possibleRead moreRead less
A spatio-temporal partitioning approach to colloidal flows in porous media. This project aims to develop an efficient multi-scale laboratory-based modelling framework for colloidal suspensions flow in porous media by utilizing recent advances in 3D/4D image-based geometrical/topological analysis. Regional partitioning techniques based on local structural measures are used to observe the penetration/retention of colloids into identified zones. Zone-dependent colloid interaction probabilities for ....A spatio-temporal partitioning approach to colloidal flows in porous media. This project aims to develop an efficient multi-scale laboratory-based modelling framework for colloidal suspensions flow in porous media by utilizing recent advances in 3D/4D image-based geometrical/topological analysis. Regional partitioning techniques based on local structural measures are used to observe the penetration/retention of colloids into identified zones. Zone-dependent colloid interaction probabilities for computational modelling are derived from fundamental relationships. Expected outcomes of this project include a full-scale modelling capability for heterogeneous samples validated by experiment and the extraction of robust model coefficients for newly developed theory for colloid-suspension transport through porous media.Read moreRead less
Linking wave–sea ice feedbacks to rapid ice retreat. Antarctic sea ice extent has been in sharp decline since 2016, which is stressing the fragile Southern Ocean and Antarctic environments so vital to the global climate. This project aims to investigate a crucial candidate mechanism of sea ice loss by predicting rapid ice retreat in response to large Southern Ocean waves. New theory and modelling capabilities that account for wave–ice feedbacks will underpin the predictions, leveraging on recent ....Linking wave–sea ice feedbacks to rapid ice retreat. Antarctic sea ice extent has been in sharp decline since 2016, which is stressing the fragile Southern Ocean and Antarctic environments so vital to the global climate. This project aims to investigate a crucial candidate mechanism of sea ice loss by predicting rapid ice retreat in response to large Southern Ocean waves. New theory and modelling capabilities that account for wave–ice feedbacks will underpin the predictions, leveraging on recent research breakthroughs, including novel datasets derived from satellite and field observations. The outcomes are expected to quantify sea ice retreat due to ocean waves for the first time, with potentially major implications for coupled wave–sea ice modelling in climate studies.Read moreRead less