Computational studies of melting and the solvation properties of ionic liquids. Ionic liquids are used in industry as green solvents and electrolytes, although there is not yet sufficient knowledge on the science of ionic liquids to enable optimal solvents to be readily designed. This project uses state of the art techniques in computational chemistry to solve practical problems related to the characteristics of ionic liquids.
Functional Materials from Weakly-Structured Self-Assembly Fluids. This project seeks to understand how mixtures of simple molecules can form complex structured liquids. Such mixtures occur widely both in nature and industrial settings. By using an approach combining new, high-resolution experimental techniques with computer modelling, it is expected that a detailed picture of molecular arrangements in these liquids will be obtained, allowing the relationship between composition, structure and pr ....Functional Materials from Weakly-Structured Self-Assembly Fluids. This project seeks to understand how mixtures of simple molecules can form complex structured liquids. Such mixtures occur widely both in nature and industrial settings. By using an approach combining new, high-resolution experimental techniques with computer modelling, it is expected that a detailed picture of molecular arrangements in these liquids will be obtained, allowing the relationship between composition, structure and properties to be understood for the first time. The new understanding of molecular arrangements within liquids may be used to design new solvents for chemical synthesis and catalysis, new food, personal care and pharmaceutical formulations, and new, smart materials that change their properties under external stimulus.Read moreRead less
Hofmeister at work. Implementation of a paradigm shift in physical chemistry. Standard tools of measurement in environmental, industrial, colloid, nano and biosciences rest on classical theories which have been shown to be badly flawed. The faults have been remedied to give a new, predictive and usable foundation that amounts to a paradigm shift of immediate importance to many applications.
Algorithms for multi-scale problems in science and engineering. This project aims to develop theoretical formulations and algorithms for modelling fundamental problems in molecular electrostatics, dispersion force theory, acoustics and electromagnetic scattering in applications where current approaches may be useless. Many engineering applications, from microelectronics to bioengineering devices, need to operate across dimensions from a few millimetres down to a million times smaller. This large ....Algorithms for multi-scale problems in science and engineering. This project aims to develop theoretical formulations and algorithms for modelling fundamental problems in molecular electrostatics, dispersion force theory, acoustics and electromagnetic scattering in applications where current approaches may be useless. Many engineering applications, from microelectronics to bioengineering devices, need to operate across dimensions from a few millimetres down to a million times smaller. This large range of length scales means traditional modelling tools and computational techniques will rapidly become intractable. This project will meet this need to strengthen the Australian technological skill base and contribute to innovations in areas ranging from bioengineering to nanotechnology.Read moreRead less
Modelling of soft multi-scale systems. This project develops realistic physical models and efficient computational methods as the platform technology for giving highly accurate predictions of the complex behaviour of soft deformable systems. The outcomes will add to our understanding of the mechano-biology of living cells and artificial soft body tissues, the cellular uptake of nutrients and drugs, the energy-efficient processing of high value pharmaceutical emulsions and the design of functiona ....Modelling of soft multi-scale systems. This project develops realistic physical models and efficient computational methods as the platform technology for giving highly accurate predictions of the complex behaviour of soft deformable systems. The outcomes will add to our understanding of the mechano-biology of living cells and artificial soft body tissues, the cellular uptake of nutrients and drugs, the energy-efficient processing of high value pharmaceutical emulsions and the design of functional polymers and proteins using molecular models. The new knowledge will advance the frontier of material design and characterisation of soft complex materials.Read moreRead less
A study of some physical properties of concentrated salt solutions. The foam we see on the sea shore is caused by the effects of salt in seawater and is one example of the unusual properties of water. These effects can be applied to understand and improve several important processes, such as, boiling, desalination and the precipitation of fine particles from concentrated salt solutions.
Novel water treatment processes. The objective of this project is the discovery of novel methods for the treatment and reuse of water for both industrial and household applications. Improved treatment systems with the potential for water reuse offer significant improvements to our overall water management potential. The first part of the project is designed to focus on the study of hot bubble column evaporators for solute decomposition, sterilisation and the de-watering of heavily contaminated i ....Novel water treatment processes. The objective of this project is the discovery of novel methods for the treatment and reuse of water for both industrial and household applications. Improved treatment systems with the potential for water reuse offer significant improvements to our overall water management potential. The first part of the project is designed to focus on the study of hot bubble column evaporators for solute decomposition, sterilisation and the de-watering of heavily contaminated industrial wastewater. The second part would be based on the study of a suitable depth filter medium for the treatment of partially treated household sewage water. This is designed to form part of an on-site household sewage water treatment and reuse system which is currently being developed.Read moreRead less
Novel mathematics and numerical methods for ferromagnetic problems. This project aims to develop novel mathematical theories and numerical methods for ferromagnetic problems. These problems arise from many real-life applications, for example in storage devices and magnetic sensors, which are often affected by random (thermal) noise. Since thermal noise limits the data-retention time of the devices, analysing the effect of noise is highly significant. Expected outcomes will be novel computational ....Novel mathematics and numerical methods for ferromagnetic problems. This project aims to develop novel mathematical theories and numerical methods for ferromagnetic problems. These problems arise from many real-life applications, for example in storage devices and magnetic sensors, which are often affected by random (thermal) noise. Since thermal noise limits the data-retention time of the devices, analysing the effect of noise is highly significant. Expected outcomes will be novel computational techniques to solve the underlying equations and deal with randomness. The project aims to put Australia in the forefront of international research in numerical methods in micromagnetism. The new computational methods are expected to be used to advance technology in magnetic memory devices.Read moreRead less
Interface-aware numerical methods for stochastic inverse problems. This project aims to design novel high-performance numerical tools for solving large-scale forward and inverse problems dominated by stochastic interfaces and quantifying associated uncertainties. In real-world applications such as groundwater, these tools are instrumental for assimilating big datasets into mathematical models for providing reliable predictions. By advancing and integrating high-order polytopal schemes, multileve ....Interface-aware numerical methods for stochastic inverse problems. This project aims to design novel high-performance numerical tools for solving large-scale forward and inverse problems dominated by stochastic interfaces and quantifying associated uncertainties. In real-world applications such as groundwater, these tools are instrumental for assimilating big datasets into mathematical models for providing reliable predictions. By advancing and integrating high-order polytopal schemes, multilevel methods, transport maps, and dimension reduction, this project's anticipated outcomes are highly accurate and cost-efficient numerical schemes, certified by rigorous mathematical analysis. This should provide data-centric simulation tools with enhanced reliability, for engineering and scientific applications.Read moreRead less
Towards predictive 4D computational models for the heart. This project aims to develop novel high-performance numerical algorithms for multiscale and multiphysics PDEs with dynamic interfaces, the development and analysis of a novel PDE system modelling the electromechanics of heart and torso, and the combination of these numerical techniques and models to deliver predictive tools for patient-specific simulations of the cardiac function. It involves the design and mathematical analysis of space- ....Towards predictive 4D computational models for the heart. This project aims to develop novel high-performance numerical algorithms for multiscale and multiphysics PDEs with dynamic interfaces, the development and analysis of a novel PDE system modelling the electromechanics of heart and torso, and the combination of these numerical techniques and models to deliver predictive tools for patient-specific simulations of the cardiac function. It involves the design and mathematical analysis of space-time variational discretisations on embedded meshes, 4D computational geometry algorithms for numerical integration and multilevel solvers. By combining scientific computing and machine learning, one anticipated outcome of this research is a new generation of nonlinear PDE approximations and solvers.Read moreRead less