Fabrication and design of spun and chiral microstructured fibres. Novel optical fibre devices and especially sensors have established and growing markets in sectors as diverse as medical, aerospace & defence, energy, scientific and process control. This project will build on our existing success in developing microstructured polymer optical fibres (mPOF), and create major new opportunities, both in fundamental science and in applications that could be commercialised. Australia is currently leadi ....Fabrication and design of spun and chiral microstructured fibres. Novel optical fibre devices and especially sensors have established and growing markets in sectors as diverse as medical, aerospace & defence, energy, scientific and process control. This project will build on our existing success in developing microstructured polymer optical fibres (mPOF), and create major new opportunities, both in fundamental science and in applications that could be commercialised. Australia is currently leading the world in mPOF. This project builds on these past successes but moves beyond telecommunications into biophotonics with potential applications in magnetic field sensors, biological sensors, optical tweezers, polarisation emulators and new types of linear and nonlinear modes. Read moreRead less
Literary Self-Awareness and Parental Love: Challenging Alterity in Contemporary Medieval Studies. Did medieval women write about themselves as gendered individuals? Did medieval parents love their children? Despite both popular and academic opinion to the contrary, this project aims to demonstrate that these propositions are true. By studying the self-aware writings of Latin-literate medieval women and medieval parent-child advice-texts, this project aims to challenge the alterity, or otherness, ....Literary Self-Awareness and Parental Love: Challenging Alterity in Contemporary Medieval Studies. Did medieval women write about themselves as gendered individuals? Did medieval parents love their children? Despite both popular and academic opinion to the contrary, this project aims to demonstrate that these propositions are true. By studying the self-aware writings of Latin-literate medieval women and medieval parent-child advice-texts, this project aims to challenge the alterity, or otherness, of the Middle Ages, a concept which suggests that medieval people are fundamentally unlike us. In doing so, it questions the significance of alterity in the construction and practices of contemporary Medieval Studies and offers insights into possible new methodologies for the discipline.Read moreRead less
Dynamic Spectrum Access in Multi-Hop Wireless Broadband Networks. Recent studies have shown that significant portions of the licensed spectra are idle most of the time. Cognitive radio is a technology allowing unlicensed devices to use parts of the licensed spectrum not occupied by the licensed devices. In this program we will design communication networks capable of sensing the radio environment and selecting suitable spectral bands for transmission. This program will expand the knowledge of co ....Dynamic Spectrum Access in Multi-Hop Wireless Broadband Networks. Recent studies have shown that significant portions of the licensed spectra are idle most of the time. Cognitive radio is a technology allowing unlicensed devices to use parts of the licensed spectrum not occupied by the licensed devices. In this program we will design communication networks capable of sensing the radio environment and selecting suitable spectral bands for transmission. This program will expand the knowledge of cognitive networks theory by creating new dynamic spectrum access and interference cancellation techniques. The proposed research is significant for improving the radio spectrum usage in Australia and it will have an excellent commercial potential. Read moreRead less
Design and Implementation of Ultra-Low Power Cooperative Communication Terminals. Low power consumption is one of the most critical issues for wide deployment of wireless sensor networks and implementation of 4G communication systems. In the proposed project we will devise novel ultra-low power signal processing and hardware design techniques enabling a significant advance in wireless communication technology. The novel algorithms can be applied in home networks, irrigation in agriculture, envir ....Design and Implementation of Ultra-Low Power Cooperative Communication Terminals. Low power consumption is one of the most critical issues for wide deployment of wireless sensor networks and implementation of 4G communication systems. In the proposed project we will devise novel ultra-low power signal processing and hardware design techniques enabling a significant advance in wireless communication technology. The novel algorithms can be applied in home networks, irrigation in agriculture, environment monitoring and 4G wireless communication systems. Read moreRead less
Integrable Functional and Delay Differential Equations. Major challenges such as predicting epidemics or modelling the dynamics of human movement, rely on our understanding of functional and delay differential equations. This research will provide new methods for prediction and analysis of such models.
Allocating scarce HIV/AIDS antiretroviral drugs in resource-constrained countries: using modelling to develop tools and analyse consequences of ethics and HIV-epidemiology. This project will benefit communities in some of the poorest countries of the world, suffering greatly from the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This research is important and timely for these nations in deciding how to distribute the limited treatment in an ethical manner to address treatment principles of these countries. However, the me ....Allocating scarce HIV/AIDS antiretroviral drugs in resource-constrained countries: using modelling to develop tools and analyse consequences of ethics and HIV-epidemiology. This project will benefit communities in some of the poorest countries of the world, suffering greatly from the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This research is important and timely for these nations in deciding how to distribute the limited treatment in an ethical manner to address treatment principles of these countries. However, the methods developed can also be applied to other diseases in different regions and people, such as Australian aborigines to increase their quality of health. Specifically, an epidemic of Chlamydia is widespread amongst the aboriginal communities of Australia's Northern Territory. Tools developed in this project will be easily adaptable to address control measures for Chlamydia among this population. Read moreRead less
Understanding spatial trends in HIV/AIDS infections in South Africa and Australia. This project will develop quantitative methods that will be used to inform public health officials in understanding past and current HIV/AIDS epidemics as well as planning for the future of these epidemics. It will understand not only the behavioural and demographic characteristics of importance as risk factors for HIV infection in South Africa, the epicentre of the global HIV pandemic, but also the geographical s ....Understanding spatial trends in HIV/AIDS infections in South Africa and Australia. This project will develop quantitative methods that will be used to inform public health officials in understanding past and current HIV/AIDS epidemics as well as planning for the future of these epidemics. It will understand not only the behavioural and demographic characteristics of importance as risk factors for HIV infection in South Africa, the epicentre of the global HIV pandemic, but also the geographical spatial locations in which HIV cases are likely to emerge in the future. This project will also forecast the future geographical trends in Australia's changing HIV epidemic in order to plan for intervention strategies and prepare clinical practice appropriately.Read moreRead less
Evolutionary models and bioinformatic analyses of genetic variation in pathogens. The benefits of this project are better preparedness for the ever-present threat of infectious disease spread and the stimulation of bioinformatic research in Australia. Epidemics such as the Influenza Pandemic of 1918, which killed over 20 million people, highlight the need to understand and track pathogens that can potentially cause such devastation. Along with the development of molecular technologies, it is imp ....Evolutionary models and bioinformatic analyses of genetic variation in pathogens. The benefits of this project are better preparedness for the ever-present threat of infectious disease spread and the stimulation of bioinformatic research in Australia. Epidemics such as the Influenza Pandemic of 1918, which killed over 20 million people, highlight the need to understand and track pathogens that can potentially cause such devastation. Along with the development of molecular technologies, it is important to maintain active creation of analytical methods that appropriately apply to growing databases. These include methods to understand genetic variation in pathogens. This project will help to keep Australia at the forefront of research in theoretical biology.Read moreRead less
Textual Ontogeny and the Understanding of Modernist Texts: A Case Study of Samuel Beckett's Novel, Watt. This research develops smart technology use: by creating a new method of literary editing that is best able to extend the capabilities of electronic text, this project enhances the understanding of modernist literature and the ability to use technology in innovative ways in the humanities. New ways to organise and edit complex networks of data and documentation (in this case extensive archiva ....Textual Ontogeny and the Understanding of Modernist Texts: A Case Study of Samuel Beckett's Novel, Watt. This research develops smart technology use: by creating a new method of literary editing that is best able to extend the capabilities of electronic text, this project enhances the understanding of modernist literature and the ability to use technology in innovative ways in the humanities. New ways to organise and edit complex networks of data and documentation (in this case extensive archival and published material) will be transferable to a wide variety of non-literary applications.Read moreRead less
The child writer: an edition and critical study of Literary Juvenilia. The project will add significantly to the theorization and documentation of children's literary and cultural history. It will contribute to the establishment of Literary Juvenilia in the academy, making it a viable and recognized area of literary research. It will enlarge and alter the critical reception of childhood writings, in particular those of literary professionals. Such a study will also benefit approaches to liter ....The child writer: an edition and critical study of Literary Juvenilia. The project will add significantly to the theorization and documentation of children's literary and cultural history. It will contribute to the establishment of Literary Juvenilia in the academy, making it a viable and recognized area of literary research. It will enlarge and alter the critical reception of childhood writings, in particular those of literary professionals. Such a study will also benefit approaches to literature in schools (the study of juvenilia can be inspiring for young writers); will show-case Australian authors; and, in ranging across national boundaries,will make an innovative contribution to international relations.Read moreRead less