Development of modal control systems for adaptive optics. This project will develop a simple, robust and low-cost modal servo system for dynamic control and correction of the propagation and focussing properties of light beams. This new system will incorporate a novel optical sensor, which will be developed in this project, and a new optical corrector being developed at the University of Durham. Currently available astronomical adaptive-optics systems have produced excellent results but are expe ....Development of modal control systems for adaptive optics. This project will develop a simple, robust and low-cost modal servo system for dynamic control and correction of the propagation and focussing properties of light beams. This new system will incorporate a novel optical sensor, which will be developed in this project, and a new optical corrector being developed at the University of Durham. Currently available astronomical adaptive-optics systems have produced excellent results but are expensive and complicated. A low-cost alternative will dramatically increase the use of adaptive optics in industrial, environmental and medical applications. The compensation of distortions in low-cost optical atmospheric sensors will be demonstrated.Read moreRead less
Broadband to the bush: Polarization as a new resource in wireless cross-layer design. 'Broadband to the Bush' is a national priority - more than 1.6 million homes, small businesses and not-for-profit organizations in rural, regional, and remote Australia are set to benefit from broadband access to phone networks and the internet. The immediate challenges lie in overcoming poor download speeds and area coverage, as well as expensive access. This research will deliver cost and power-efficient re ....Broadband to the bush: Polarization as a new resource in wireless cross-layer design. 'Broadband to the Bush' is a national priority - more than 1.6 million homes, small businesses and not-for-profit organizations in rural, regional, and remote Australia are set to benefit from broadband access to phone networks and the internet. The immediate challenges lie in overcoming poor download speeds and area coverage, as well as expensive access. This research will deliver cost and power-efficient receiver architectures to provide end-user utility, and will train postgraduate researchers across traditional discipline boundaries in mathematics and engineering. The project represents an important contribution to frontier technologies in information and communications technology for building and transforming Australian industries.Read moreRead less
A genomic approach to the mechanism of meiotic recombination in Neurospora. Recombination shuffles DNA sequences between homologous chromosomes during the reduction division in the life cycle of higher organisms. Along with mutation, it is a key process in evolution. Understanding of the molecular processes involved in recombination is largely based on yeast, which is intolerant of significant levels of sequence mismatch, limiting the resolution of analyses of normal recombination events. We hav ....A genomic approach to the mechanism of meiotic recombination in Neurospora. Recombination shuffles DNA sequences between homologous chromosomes during the reduction division in the life cycle of higher organisms. Along with mutation, it is a key process in evolution. Understanding of the molecular processes involved in recombination is largely based on yeast, which is intolerant of significant levels of sequence mismatch, limiting the resolution of analyses of normal recombination events. We have shown that Neurospora, like other less tractable multicellular eukaryotes, is tolerant of sequence mismatch, allowing high resolution analysis of individual recombination events. This project will build on fundamental advances we have already made in understanding how recombination occurs.Read moreRead less
Novel link between bacterial sugar metabolism and cell-to-cell signalling. This project aims to understand the role and function of the bacterial communication system that enables bacteria to form complex communities and alter phenotypic traits, essential for survival in their environment. Bacteria survive in their environmental niches by developing complex multicellular communities. Cell to cell communication, termed quorum sensing (QS), is critical for this process and is linked to their capac ....Novel link between bacterial sugar metabolism and cell-to-cell signalling. This project aims to understand the role and function of the bacterial communication system that enables bacteria to form complex communities and alter phenotypic traits, essential for survival in their environment. Bacteria survive in their environmental niches by developing complex multicellular communities. Cell to cell communication, termed quorum sensing (QS), is critical for this process and is linked to their capacity to detect and secrete small signalling molecules, autoinducers. This project will provide a new paradigm in bacterial adaptation through comprehensive characterisation of the Autoinducer-2 QS system. This knowledge will provide future opportunities for intervention in microbial infestation with broad potential benefits.Read moreRead less
Defining New Building Blocks for the Construction of Artificial Genetic Circuits. By characterising the components of a natural genetic switch, we will make available a set of well defined genetic building blocks for construction of rationally designed biological circuits. The ability to build such circuits would have significant economic benefit in areas such as metabolic engineering, to improve the efficiency of production of natural compounds from micro-organisms, and in biomedicine, for the ....Defining New Building Blocks for the Construction of Artificial Genetic Circuits. By characterising the components of a natural genetic switch, we will make available a set of well defined genetic building blocks for construction of rationally designed biological circuits. The ability to build such circuits would have significant economic benefit in areas such as metabolic engineering, to improve the efficiency of production of natural compounds from micro-organisms, and in biomedicine, for the controlled release of therapeutic compounds. The involvement of Honours and Ph.D students in this project will expose the next generation of Australian scientists to this emerging discipline. International collaboration leading to publications in high impact scientific journals will enhance Australia's scientific reputation.Read moreRead less
Engineering floating liquid marbles for three-dimensional cell cultures. This project aims to understand the physics of three-dimensional cell cultures in a liquid marble floating on a liquid free surface. New methodology developed can produce these cell cultures without using matrices or scaffolds and with run-times well beyond existing technologies. This methodology closely mimics a normal in-vivo environment and produces spheroids needed in cell transplantation therapies. This project will re ....Engineering floating liquid marbles for three-dimensional cell cultures. This project aims to understand the physics of three-dimensional cell cultures in a liquid marble floating on a liquid free surface. New methodology developed can produce these cell cultures without using matrices or scaffolds and with run-times well beyond existing technologies. This methodology closely mimics a normal in-vivo environment and produces spheroids needed in cell transplantation therapies. This project will resolve uncertainties in the underlying phenomena. The expected outcome should support future high quality cell cultures suitable for transplantation therapies.Read moreRead less
SENSORS FOR AROMATIC MOLECULES BASED ON METAL ION ACTIVATED MOLECULAR RECEPTORS. This project aims to develop highly sensitive chemical sensors for aromatic compounds which will quantify their concentration, in situ, without elaborate sample preparation or instrumentation. The sensors will employ advanced supramolecular chemistry in which the aromatic molecule becomes trapped within a binding cavity in the three dimensional structure of a larger receptor molecule. Coincident with the entrapmen ....SENSORS FOR AROMATIC MOLECULES BASED ON METAL ION ACTIVATED MOLECULAR RECEPTORS. This project aims to develop highly sensitive chemical sensors for aromatic compounds which will quantify their concentration, in situ, without elaborate sample preparation or instrumentation. The sensors will employ advanced supramolecular chemistry in which the aromatic molecule becomes trapped within a binding cavity in the three dimensional structure of a larger receptor molecule. Coincident with the entrapment a change in the fluorescence level of the receptor occurs which signals the presence of the aromatic compound and its concentration. This research will stimulate economic and social benefits through the development of new environmental and medical sensing techniques and analytical diagnostics.Read moreRead less
IMPROVING NITROGEN USE EFFICIENCY IN CROP PLANTS: ROLE OF THE AMMONIUM TRANSPORT FAMILY AMT. Improving nitrogen use efficiency in crop plants will reduce the use of environmentally damaging nitrogen fertilisers that threaten through leaching the sustainability of Australia's agricultural sector and local water ecosystems. Plants contain genes that encode transport proteins required for the uptake of nitrogen (ammonium and nitrate) from the soil. We will identify the in planta activity of the A ....IMPROVING NITROGEN USE EFFICIENCY IN CROP PLANTS: ROLE OF THE AMMONIUM TRANSPORT FAMILY AMT. Improving nitrogen use efficiency in crop plants will reduce the use of environmentally damaging nitrogen fertilisers that threaten through leaching the sustainability of Australia's agricultural sector and local water ecosystems. Plants contain genes that encode transport proteins required for the uptake of nitrogen (ammonium and nitrate) from the soil. We will identify the in planta activity of the AMT family of ammonium transporters and associated signalling pathways which control the uptake and assimilation of ammonium in plants. This project will confirm the mechanisms involved in ammonium uptake from the soil and lead to the development of ammonium-nitrogen efficient crop plants.Read moreRead less
Engineering high-efficiency all-dielectric antennas for terahertz channels. This project aims to create unconventional antenna platforms to support terahertz links. The project expects to deliver high-efficiency, high-gain dielectric resonator antennas and dielectric rod antenna arrays fed by dielectric wave-guides. The expected outcomes of this project will build critical components for future terahertz communication infrastructure. These antennas will support demands in point-to-point wireless ....Engineering high-efficiency all-dielectric antennas for terahertz channels. This project aims to create unconventional antenna platforms to support terahertz links. The project expects to deliver high-efficiency, high-gain dielectric resonator antennas and dielectric rod antenna arrays fed by dielectric wave-guides. The expected outcomes of this project will build critical components for future terahertz communication infrastructure. These antennas will support demands in point-to-point wireless transmission between mobile base stations, within data centres, and at information kiosks.Read moreRead less
Organically-Capped Copper Nanowires for Soft Electronic Skin Sensors. Soft skin-like electronics can enable applications that are impossible to achieve with today's rigid circuit board technologies. However, it is difficult to realise such future soft electronics with traditional materials and conventional manufacturing methodologies. This project aims to synthesise novel organically-capped copper nanowires as electronic inks (e-inks) for developing cost-effective, soft, stretchable conductor (e ....Organically-Capped Copper Nanowires for Soft Electronic Skin Sensors. Soft skin-like electronics can enable applications that are impossible to achieve with today's rigid circuit board technologies. However, it is difficult to realise such future soft electronics with traditional materials and conventional manufacturing methodologies. This project aims to synthesise novel organically-capped copper nanowires as electronic inks (e-inks) for developing cost-effective, soft, stretchable conductor (e-skin) sensors, which are wearable for monitoring blood pulses, body motions and hand gestures in real-time and in situ. This is expected to advance our knowledge in nanotechnology and generate patentable technologies in soft e-skin sensors, and to bring significant scientific and economic gains to Australia.Read moreRead less