Deep ocean thermodynamics and climate change. This project aims to obtain new insights into the thermodynamic and transport properties of mixtures containing water, particularly at high pressures, that impact directly on our understanding of climate change processes. The project will involve the use of a polarisable potential for water which has recently been demonstrated to yield predictions of high accuracy. It will be used to model saline water mixtures containing carbon dioxide, resulting in ....Deep ocean thermodynamics and climate change. This project aims to obtain new insights into the thermodynamic and transport properties of mixtures containing water, particularly at high pressures, that impact directly on our understanding of climate change processes. The project will involve the use of a polarisable potential for water which has recently been demonstrated to yield predictions of high accuracy. It will be used to model saline water mixtures containing carbon dioxide, resulting in valuable data for thermodynamic properties of the world's oceans. These data are of crucial importance for accurate climate change predictions and as such the project will have an important impact on understanding our changing environment.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101045
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$330,756.00
Summary
Enhanced methods for approximating the structure of large networks. This project aims to explain fundamental structural features of real-world networks such as the internet and online social networks, by advancing complex-analytical techniques. Current knowledge of properties such as reliability, robustness and optimal allocation of resources rely on assumptions that are invalid in real applications. The project expects to improve understanding of inhomogeneous network models by introducing an i ....Enhanced methods for approximating the structure of large networks. This project aims to explain fundamental structural features of real-world networks such as the internet and online social networks, by advancing complex-analytical techniques. Current knowledge of properties such as reliability, robustness and optimal allocation of resources rely on assumptions that are invalid in real applications. The project expects to improve understanding of inhomogeneous network models by introducing an innovative idea of high-order approximations to complex random settings. Expected outcomes include new tools for approximate counting of discrete objects satisfying given constraints. Applications of these tools could have far-reaching benefits to researchers who study quantitative characteristics of discrete systems.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL190100080
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,432,323.00
Summary
New frontiers for nonequilibrium systems. The universe is comprised of systems in states of change or responding to a driving force. Yet a fundamental understanding of these nonequilibrium systems that enables predictive design has eluded scientists to date. This program aims to develop ground-breaking principles and methodologies to predict properties of nonequilibrium systems using both statistical physics and molecular simulations. Significantly, by pioneering new theories and building Austra ....New frontiers for nonequilibrium systems. The universe is comprised of systems in states of change or responding to a driving force. Yet a fundamental understanding of these nonequilibrium systems that enables predictive design has eluded scientists to date. This program aims to develop ground-breaking principles and methodologies to predict properties of nonequilibrium systems using both statistical physics and molecular simulations. Significantly, by pioneering new theories and building Australian capacity in this area, we will be able to understand, control and utilise their distinctive behaviour in design. Expected outcomes and benefits are multi-dimensional, including breakthrough theory and new capability for high-end technologies such as nanofluidics, robotics and batteries.Read moreRead less
Linking topology and rheology for designing supramolecular polymer networks. This project aims to develop a foundation for understanding how microscopic topology and intermolecular interactions control the flow behaviour of supramolecular polymer networks. Brownian dynamics algorithms will be developed to unravel the complex dynamics of the network and calibrated by comparison with carefully designed experiments. The expected outcome of the project is a quantitative framework for connecting the ....Linking topology and rheology for designing supramolecular polymer networks. This project aims to develop a foundation for understanding how microscopic topology and intermolecular interactions control the flow behaviour of supramolecular polymer networks. Brownian dynamics algorithms will be developed to unravel the complex dynamics of the network and calibrated by comparison with carefully designed experiments. The expected outcome of the project is a quantitative framework for connecting the molecular structure and energy landscape with resulting macroscopic properties. This project should yield significant benefit in the rational design of supramolecular systems in which the thermorheological properties can be tuned over a wide range of force/time scales with applications spanning from enhanced oil recovery to injectable hydrogels.Read moreRead less
Molecular design of complex lubricants to reduce friction. We will investigate the molecular level design of friction modifiers for a new generation of industrial lubricants. The goal is to dramatically reduce friction between moving mechanical parts, hence increasing energy efficiency in machines and reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. We will design and test these new friction modifiers by a combination of theoretical and computational methods based in statistical mechanics and nonequili ....Molecular design of complex lubricants to reduce friction. We will investigate the molecular level design of friction modifiers for a new generation of industrial lubricants. The goal is to dramatically reduce friction between moving mechanical parts, hence increasing energy efficiency in machines and reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. We will design and test these new friction modifiers by a combination of theoretical and computational methods based in statistical mechanics and nonequilibrium molecular dynamics and directly compare results with experimental measurements. Our investigations will pave the way to develop new cost-effective friction modifiers without the need for traditional and costly trial and error laboratory based experimentation.Read moreRead less
A Memory Powered Engine. Classical heat engines, such as petrol motors, convert thermal energy from hot gases into useful work, but with limited efficiency as much of the thermal energy is lost as waste heat. The project aims to combine experimental techniques in quantum information processing with recent theoretical developments in quantum thermodynamics to demonstrate a proof-of-concept heat engine that converts thermal energy into work with 100% efficiency. A heat engine of this kind would pr ....A Memory Powered Engine. Classical heat engines, such as petrol motors, convert thermal energy from hot gases into useful work, but with limited efficiency as much of the thermal energy is lost as waste heat. The project aims to combine experimental techniques in quantum information processing with recent theoretical developments in quantum thermodynamics to demonstrate a proof-of-concept heat engine that converts thermal energy into work with 100% efficiency. A heat engine of this kind would provide significant benefits to Australia with its potential to revolutionise how we store and use energy. The project will enable Griffith University to continue its pioneering role in developing this technology and to maintain long-term international collaborations.Read moreRead less
Transformative simulation techniques for complex polymer networks. The study of long chain polymers like DNA using computer simulations has uncovered exciting insights over many years. Generally these have been limited to simple topologies, interactions, and environments. This project aims to develop the next generation of simulation techniques to tackle a new frontier of polymer models, including those with complex topologies like stars, knots, and links, which have hitherto been inaccessible. ....Transformative simulation techniques for complex polymer networks. The study of long chain polymers like DNA using computer simulations has uncovered exciting insights over many years. Generally these have been limited to simple topologies, interactions, and environments. This project aims to develop the next generation of simulation techniques to tackle a new frontier of polymer models, including those with complex topologies like stars, knots, and links, which have hitherto been inaccessible. Expected outcomes include new simulation methods which harness modern computational clusters, leading to greater understanding of polymers with complex topologies and in complicated environments. Important elements of biological processes may be discovered, such as how polymer structure affects DNA transcription.Read moreRead less
Solvability and universality in stochastic processes. Exactly solvable stochastic processes are an important area of mathematical research, with cross-disciplinary links to quantum physics, quantum algebras and probability theory. These processes can be used to model a variety of real-world phenomena such as crystal growth and polymers in random media. This project aims to significantly expand our knowledge of exactly solvable stochastic processes by extending them to new algebraic frameworks. A ....Solvability and universality in stochastic processes. Exactly solvable stochastic processes are an important area of mathematical research, with cross-disciplinary links to quantum physics, quantum algebras and probability theory. These processes can be used to model a variety of real-world phenomena such as crystal growth and polymers in random media. This project aims to significantly expand our knowledge of exactly solvable stochastic processes by extending them to new algebraic frameworks. Among the outcomes of the project, we expect to identify new probabilistic structures which go beyond the famous Gaussian universality class. These theoretical developments allow better prediction of randomly growing interfaces, which encompass a range of phenomena from tumour growth to forest fires.Read moreRead less
Shuffle algebras and vertex models. Shuffle algebras are important new mathematical structures that offer a new approaches and techniques to solve outstanding open problems in a variety of branches of mathematics, including mathematical physics, algebraic geometry and combinatorics. This project proposes to find solutions to key open problems using connections between shuffle algebras and integrable lattice models. The expected outcomes include (i) a new framework of shuffle algebra techniques t ....Shuffle algebras and vertex models. Shuffle algebras are important new mathematical structures that offer a new approaches and techniques to solve outstanding open problems in a variety of branches of mathematics, including mathematical physics, algebraic geometry and combinatorics. This project proposes to find solutions to key open problems using connections between shuffle algebras and integrable lattice models. The expected outcomes include (i) a new framework of shuffle algebra techniques to solve challenging research problems in mathematical physics and statistical mechanics, (ii) practical and computationally feasible constructions of shuffle algebras using vertex models, (iii) solutions to unresolved spectral problems of open quantum systems.Read moreRead less
Matrix product multi-variable polynomials from quantum algebras. This project aims to expand the theory of polynomials and develop generalised polynomial families using connections to affine and toroidal algebras. Many combinatorial and computational problems in pure and applied mathematics as well as mathematical physics can be solved using polynomials in many variables, such as Macdonald polynomials. This project is anticipated to address the current difficulty of implementing symmetric and no ....Matrix product multi-variable polynomials from quantum algebras. This project aims to expand the theory of polynomials and develop generalised polynomial families using connections to affine and toroidal algebras. Many combinatorial and computational problems in pure and applied mathematics as well as mathematical physics can be solved using polynomials in many variables, such as Macdonald polynomials. This project is anticipated to address the current difficulty of implementing symmetric and non-symmetric polynomials in symbolic algebra packages by developing completely new algorithms. New understanding from the project is expected to facilitate challenging computational problems of measurable quantities in quantum systems.Read moreRead less