An Exploration of the Ramifications of the Re-conceptualization of Entailment. By revamping the field of deductive logic, the project will enhance the already solid international reputation Australia has in this area. The level of innovation in the work would set an example to other researchers and help to promote innovation in Australia. The project will provide more meaningful and accurate applications of logic in computer science, philosophy and mathematics, and engender smarter use of inform ....An Exploration of the Ramifications of the Re-conceptualization of Entailment. By revamping the field of deductive logic, the project will enhance the already solid international reputation Australia has in this area. The level of innovation in the work would set an example to other researchers and help to promote innovation in Australia. The project will provide more meaningful and accurate applications of logic in computer science, philosophy and mathematics, and engender smarter use of information. There would also be benefits to the teaching of logic in Australia, with the development of sharper analytical skills in students, and the project would lay the groundwork for a textbook on the new logic.Read moreRead less
Simulating viral evolution and genetic complexity. This project has direct relevance to understanding the growth of viral infections, and therefore has possible practical applications in disease research and control. Examples of these are emerging diseases in humans such as those caused by HIV-1, SARS coronavirus and Dengue virus, which cause considerable human suffering throughout the world. A major part of current research into these diseases involves attempts to model the evolutionary geneti ....Simulating viral evolution and genetic complexity. This project has direct relevance to understanding the growth of viral infections, and therefore has possible practical applications in disease research and control. Examples of these are emerging diseases in humans such as those caused by HIV-1, SARS coronavirus and Dengue virus, which cause considerable human suffering throughout the world. A major part of current research into these diseases involves attempts to model the evolutionary genetics and dynamics of virus populations in order to understand how to control epidemics, develop vaccines and design drugs. The research program is designed to provide new computational modelling tools for this purpose, which may have wider applications as well.
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Exploiting Structure in AI Planning. The research will improve our ability to build generic, automated planning systems, which can efficiently select effective courses of actions in a range of situations such as crisis management, project planning, military operations planning, and transportation. It will help reduce the cost of building software to more efficiently solve important problems occurring in validating, controlling, and diagnosing complex systems. More generally, it will advance our ....Exploiting Structure in AI Planning. The research will improve our ability to build generic, automated planning systems, which can efficiently select effective courses of actions in a range of situations such as crisis management, project planning, military operations planning, and transportation. It will help reduce the cost of building software to more efficiently solve important problems occurring in validating, controlling, and diagnosing complex systems. More generally, it will advance our understanding of how machines can intelligently solve complex problems by identifying and exploiting their relevant structure.Read moreRead less
Where the Really Hard Problems Are: Beyond the Decision Case. This is a project in empirical artificial intelligence. We study factors affecting the average difficulty of computing optimal or near-optimal solutions to instances of problems whose worst cases are typically intractable. Most existing research on the distribution of hard instances concerns decision questions, where the issue is whether solutions exist or not. We seek comparable results for optimization, where the goal is the best so ....Where the Really Hard Problems Are: Beyond the Decision Case. This is a project in empirical artificial intelligence. We study factors affecting the average difficulty of computing optimal or near-optimal solutions to instances of problems whose worst cases are typically intractable. Most existing research on the distribution of hard instances concerns decision questions, where the issue is whether solutions exist or not. We seek comparable results for optimization, where the goal is the best solution, and for approximation, where the goal is a good solution. Expected outcomes include new heuristics for search algorithms, new methods for predicting search costs, and explanations of the average case behaviour of algorithms.Read moreRead less
The Essence of QCD Vacuum Structure. This first-principles study of quantum field theory will elucidate an outstanding mystery of modern particle physics. Understanding confinement is recognized as one of the top 10 Physics Questions to Ponder for a Millennium or Two. In support of the National Research Priorities, new scientific data visualization techniques will be transferred to industry, facilitating smart information use. Further economic benefits are realized through the training and devel ....The Essence of QCD Vacuum Structure. This first-principles study of quantum field theory will elucidate an outstanding mystery of modern particle physics. Understanding confinement is recognized as one of the top 10 Physics Questions to Ponder for a Millennium or Two. In support of the National Research Priorities, new scientific data visualization techniques will be transferred to industry, facilitating smart information use. Further economic benefits are realized through the training and development of expertise in high-performance parallel computing, promoting an innovation culture and economy. The opportunity for young Australian Honours and Postgraduate students to work at the forefront of nuclear and particle theory is an obvious social benefit.
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