Eddy mixing and water mass formation in the Southern Ocean in a global 1/4 degree model. The next generation of ocean climate models will rely on linkages between experts in large-scale oceanography, mesoscale ocean physics and computational techniques. This project brings together such expertise. It will result in the development of better ocean models for use in climate prediction by improving the representation of eddy contributions to air/sea interactions. Australia's climate is extreme, wi ....Eddy mixing and water mass formation in the Southern Ocean in a global 1/4 degree model. The next generation of ocean climate models will rely on linkages between experts in large-scale oceanography, mesoscale ocean physics and computational techniques. This project brings together such expertise. It will result in the development of better ocean models for use in climate prediction by improving the representation of eddy contributions to air/sea interactions. Australia's climate is extreme, with harsh droughts, severe bushfire seasons, soil loss, and salinity all posing potentially enormous socio-economic challenges over the next fifty years. Improving climate models is thus highly significant for Australia, as mitigating the effects of climate change depend on reliable climate prediction systems.Read moreRead less
TiO2 nanoparticle design and photocatalysis applications. The aim is to design nanosized TiO2 photocatalsysts with superior photoactivity using various synthesis paths. Nanosized TiO2 particles will be prepared using sol-gel, aerosol and plasma processing, their physical and chemical properties will be closely studied and their photocatalytic ability will be assessed. Such tailor-made photocatalysts have significant commercial potential value, as they would be highly suitable for the photooxidat ....TiO2 nanoparticle design and photocatalysis applications. The aim is to design nanosized TiO2 photocatalsysts with superior photoactivity using various synthesis paths. Nanosized TiO2 particles will be prepared using sol-gel, aerosol and plasma processing, their physical and chemical properties will be closely studied and their photocatalytic ability will be assessed. Such tailor-made photocatalysts have significant commercial potential value, as they would be highly suitable for the photooxidation of organic compounds and the photoreduction of metal ions in wastewaters. Findings from this work will pave the way for a "green" technology such as photocatalysis to become more efficient and hence a competitive alternative to conventional water treatment methods.Read moreRead less
Ecological patterns in deep-sea macro- and microbiotic communities on Vailulu'u Seamount and Ta'u Island, American Samoa. Volcanoes are viewed as large mountains that occasionally spurt smoke and debris into the air. But terrestrial volcanoes are but a small fraction of the volcanos on our planet, most simmer unobserved underneath the sea. The interdependence of biosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere at volcanoes is amongst the most exciting and important research topics that help us understand ....Ecological patterns in deep-sea macro- and microbiotic communities on Vailulu'u Seamount and Ta'u Island, American Samoa. Volcanoes are viewed as large mountains that occasionally spurt smoke and debris into the air. But terrestrial volcanoes are but a small fraction of the volcanos on our planet, most simmer unobserved underneath the sea. The interdependence of biosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere at volcanoes is amongst the most exciting and important research topics that help us understand how our planet has evolved and works through time. This project will used manned submersibles and remotely operated vehicles to conduct experiments at a submarine volcano that will help us understand how complex biological systems can form under such extreme conditions.Read moreRead less
The effects of alpha-2-macroglobulin on amyloid formation and toxicity. The expected outcomes will provide major advances in understanding how the abundant human blood protein alpha-2-macroglobulin influences the formation of protein aggregates that underpin a number of serious diseases (e.g. Alzheimer's disease). The linkages involved are of the highest calibre and will give the Fellowship holder a unique opportunity for training in environments that are truly internationally leading-edge. Fur ....The effects of alpha-2-macroglobulin on amyloid formation and toxicity. The expected outcomes will provide major advances in understanding how the abundant human blood protein alpha-2-macroglobulin influences the formation of protein aggregates that underpin a number of serious diseases (e.g. Alzheimer's disease). The linkages involved are of the highest calibre and will give the Fellowship holder a unique opportunity for training in environments that are truly internationally leading-edge. Furthermore, the very high novelty and broad significance of this work indicate that it will produce high-impact publications which will tangibly assist Australia being recognized as a major contributor to international research outcomes of the highest quality.Read moreRead less
Acoustic Filter Functions from Morphological Measurements. This project works toward enabling the broadcast of high-fidelity 3D audio. By developing an efficient technique for deriving personalised acoustic filter functions based on image data of the listener's head and ears, we hope to enable high-fidelity 3D audio decoding and rendering. Morphological parameterisation techniques and databases recently developed at the University of York will be combined with the statistical synthesis technique ....Acoustic Filter Functions from Morphological Measurements. This project works toward enabling the broadcast of high-fidelity 3D audio. By developing an efficient technique for deriving personalised acoustic filter functions based on image data of the listener's head and ears, we hope to enable high-fidelity 3D audio decoding and rendering. Morphological parameterisation techniques and databases recently developed at the University of York will be combined with the statistical synthesis techniques and databases developed at the University of Sydney to substantially reduce the development time required for either group alone. Psychoacoustic experiments carried out at the University of Sydney will demonstrate the fidelity of the delivered 3D audio.Read moreRead less
Efficient data manipulation in document classification. Document Classification has an enormous relevance in an era where large amounts of textual information is available. Document Classification is based on statistical and machine learning techniques that model documents represented as points in a multidimensional space. The Computer Engineering Laboratory (CEL) has ongoing projects using neural networks and other techniques for document classification. We are developing a development environm ....Efficient data manipulation in document classification. Document Classification has an enormous relevance in an era where large amounts of textual information is available. Document Classification is based on statistical and machine learning techniques that model documents represented as points in a multidimensional space. The Computer Engineering Laboratory (CEL) has ongoing projects using neural networks and other techniques for document classification. We are developing a development environment for large classification tasks, and Prof. Lee¡¯s work will focus in managing large amounts of data for them. Using his experience in data compression, databases and web applications, he will produce a set of tools for handling Gigabytes of textual data in our classification environment.Read moreRead less
Environmental quality and health in the elderly; The Australian situation and international comparison. The elderly are a vulnerable population group that should receive particular attention in health policy. They are a group of considerable and growing size that contributes disproportionately to total health burden. Although residential environment is likely to influence health and well-being among the elderly, the evidence-base for appropriate policy and practice is lacking. Improved understa ....Environmental quality and health in the elderly; The Australian situation and international comparison. The elderly are a vulnerable population group that should receive particular attention in health policy. They are a group of considerable and growing size that contributes disproportionately to total health burden. Although residential environment is likely to influence health and well-being among the elderly, the evidence-base for appropriate policy and practice is lacking. Improved understanding of the role of relevant environmental factors could lead to substantially reduced morbidity and mortality (and associated costs) for the key outcomes: falls, and cardiovascular and respiratory disease. Results will contribute to the international evidence-base in this increasingly critical area of research, policy, and practice. Read moreRead less
An interactive drama engine in virtual reality. In computer games, the narrative is generally limited to a graph of possibilities predetermined by an author. In this project, our aim is to go beyond predetermined graphs and build an Interactive Drama Engine to provide the users of the system a fully immersive interactive dramatic experience in a virtual world. Integration of interactive narrative and virtual reality hardware and software is a novel approach to the current problems in digital med ....An interactive drama engine in virtual reality. In computer games, the narrative is generally limited to a graph of possibilities predetermined by an author. In this project, our aim is to go beyond predetermined graphs and build an Interactive Drama Engine to provide the users of the system a fully immersive interactive dramatic experience in a virtual world. Integration of interactive narrative and virtual reality hardware and software is a novel approach to the current problems in digital media. It is expected to lead to the development of new generation interactive films and computer games that benefit from the Interactive Drama engine in the context of narrative.Read moreRead less
Role of autophagy in degradation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-localised protein aggregates. This study will provide a new understanding of protein aggregate accumulation in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), a phenomenon that occurs in aging cells and protein conformational diseases, and under stress conditions and during secretory protein overexpression. This information will inform strategies to prevent the onset of protein conformational diseases and help identify targets for pharmaceutical int ....Role of autophagy in degradation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-localised protein aggregates. This study will provide a new understanding of protein aggregate accumulation in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), a phenomenon that occurs in aging cells and protein conformational diseases, and under stress conditions and during secretory protein overexpression. This information will inform strategies to prevent the onset of protein conformational diseases and help identify targets for pharmaceutical intervention. In addition, a powerful model system for studies of ER protein aggregation will be established, high-level training in biochemistry and morphometry will be provided, and an international collaboration of the highest calibre will be initiated.Read moreRead less
Conceptual Knowledge Processing. The aim of this collaboration between Computer Science and Mathematics disciplines is to develop a theoretical, methodological and practical understanding of how to support a range of tasks concerning conceptual knowledge processing. The view of the project is that knowledge processing takes place primarily in the human mind and that human communication can only be effectively supported by appropriate design means and devices. Developing prototype software that d ....Conceptual Knowledge Processing. The aim of this collaboration between Computer Science and Mathematics disciplines is to develop a theoretical, methodological and practical understanding of how to support a range of tasks concerning conceptual knowledge processing. The view of the project is that knowledge processing takes place primarily in the human mind and that human communication can only be effectively supported by appropriate design means and devices. Developing prototype software that demonstrates these devices in practical domains continues to be a key feature of the collaboration that benefits from existing DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) support and has been on going since 1999.Read moreRead less