Mesozoic Austral Biodiversity: Research and Regional Museum Applications. The impact of environmental alteration on Australia’s biodiversity has poorly understood long-term effects. This project examines the controversial biogeography and evolution of Australia’s biodiversity during the Age of Dinosaurs (mid-Cretaceous ~100 MYA) and their adaptational responses to climatic change. Fossils readily capture the public imagination and thus help promote complex scientific concepts in the global media ....Mesozoic Austral Biodiversity: Research and Regional Museum Applications. The impact of environmental alteration on Australia’s biodiversity has poorly understood long-term effects. This project examines the controversial biogeography and evolution of Australia’s biodiversity during the Age of Dinosaurs (mid-Cretaceous ~100 MYA) and their adaptational responses to climatic change. Fossils readily capture the public imagination and thus help promote complex scientific concepts in the global media. This project raises awareness about sustainable use of non-renewable fossil resources through public education and ecotourism fieldwork programs; these will help generate local interest and thus protection of sensitive fossil localities by highlighting them as lucrative tourism assets for regional communities.Read moreRead less
Museum of New and Old Art (MONA) and the social and cultural coordinates of urban regeneration through arts tourism. This project will analyse the extraordinary success of MONA (Museum of New and Old Art) as an art gallery and use this information to identify, stimulate and sustain innovative collaborations between MONA, the cities of Hobart and Glenorchy, and the state of Tasmania, aimed at maximising visitor numbers to the state from art related tourism.
Australian fossil marine reptiles: a research and regional museum program. Australian Mesozoic marine reptile fossils are common but poorly studied. Two of the most productive localities - Richmond QLD, Coober Pedy SA - are internationally important, spanning a poorly known stratigraphic interval of marine reptile evolution and representing a high-latitude geographic region subject to near freezing conditions. Such preservation occurs nowhere else and provides a unique opportunity for anatomical ....Australian fossil marine reptiles: a research and regional museum program. Australian Mesozoic marine reptile fossils are common but poorly studied. Two of the most productive localities - Richmond QLD, Coober Pedy SA - are internationally important, spanning a poorly known stratigraphic interval of marine reptile evolution and representing a high-latitude geographic region subject to near freezing conditions. Such preservation occurs nowhere else and provides a unique opportunity for anatomical, systematic and palaeobiological investigations. Such research benefits local communities because it forms the basis for regional museum displays, generates long-term tourism revenue, and encourages geological resources to be viewed as valuable natural assets to be responsibly managed for the future.Read moreRead less
The Devonian Gogo Fauna: Diversity, Palaeoecology and Global Significance. The late Devonian Gogo Formation (380 million years old) is undoubtedly one of the richest and best-preserved assemblages of fossil fishes and invertebrates from this age anywhere on Earth. This project will use CT scanning for stomach contents, plus use biomechanical and morphometric analyses to reconstruct tropic relationships of reef-dwelling organisms and test the resilience of the reef ecosystem. Several new species .... The Devonian Gogo Fauna: Diversity, Palaeoecology and Global Significance. The late Devonian Gogo Formation (380 million years old) is undoubtedly one of the richest and best-preserved assemblages of fossil fishes and invertebrates from this age anywhere on Earth. This project will use CT scanning for stomach contents, plus use biomechanical and morphometric analyses to reconstruct tropic relationships of reef-dwelling organisms and test the resilience of the reef ecosystem. Several new species will be published and the heritage significance of the site will be assessed. Working with local indigenous stakeholders, the scientific findings will feed into developing a long-term management plan to protect and conserve the site for future research work and to grow tourism in the region.Read moreRead less
Congestion recovery and optimisation of patient flows. Australian public hospitals often experience congestion due to growing demand and limited resources, resulting in disruptions in service delivery and risks in quality of care. This project will apply advanced techniques and methodologies from mathematical sciences and computer modelling to alleviate this important healthcare delivery problem.