Nonlinear near-field nanophotonics. This project aims to develop nanostructures which employ both high intrinsic nonlinearities and high indices of refraction to create nanophotonic devices. Silicon photonics promises a technological leap forward through efficient photon-photon interactions within lossless dielectric nanoparticles. Light-controlling-light devices open new ways to control light-matter interaction at the nanoscale, which form the basis for many applications from all-optical inform ....Nonlinear near-field nanophotonics. This project aims to develop nanostructures which employ both high intrinsic nonlinearities and high indices of refraction to create nanophotonic devices. Silicon photonics promises a technological leap forward through efficient photon-photon interactions within lossless dielectric nanoparticles. Light-controlling-light devices open new ways to control light-matter interaction at the nanoscale, which form the basis for many applications from all-optical information processing to biomedical sensing. The expected outcomes will provide Australia with advanced technologies of integrated optical circuits with applications in optical communication networks, bioimaging, solar cells and quantum information technologies.Read moreRead less
Tracking 3000 years of agricultural adaptation to the resource poor, climate sensitive and remote Solomon Islands using biomarkers and palaeoecology. Establishing research programs with Pacific neighbours benefits Australia's relations with Pacific Island countries generally. This project applies novel research methods to understanding human adaptations to long-term environmental and climatic fluctuations. It will address the National Research Priority goal of responding to climate variability b ....Tracking 3000 years of agricultural adaptation to the resource poor, climate sensitive and remote Solomon Islands using biomarkers and palaeoecology. Establishing research programs with Pacific neighbours benefits Australia's relations with Pacific Island countries generally. This project applies novel research methods to understanding human adaptations to long-term environmental and climatic fluctuations. It will address the National Research Priority goal of responding to climate variability by advancing our understanding of recent climate change in the Australia/Pacific region. It will show that Australian researchers can play a significant role in understanding the spread of humans across the Pacific, and the environmental adaptations required by populations in resource depleted environments. It will increase collaboration between research institutions focusing on the Australia/Pacific region.Read moreRead less
Using fossil insects and plants to recognise past human impacts on Pacific island biodiversity. This project will enhance our ability to characterise human impact on island biodiversity. It will develop novel research methods that can be applied in the Australian context to understand changes in biodiversity that come with human impact. The contemporary emphasis on biosecurity in the protection of Australia's unique environment against human-introduced exotic pests and diseases can be better und ....Using fossil insects and plants to recognise past human impacts on Pacific island biodiversity. This project will enhance our ability to characterise human impact on island biodiversity. It will develop novel research methods that can be applied in the Australian context to understand changes in biodiversity that come with human impact. The contemporary emphasis on biosecurity in the protection of Australia's unique environment against human-introduced exotic pests and diseases can be better understood in the context of past introductions. Our project will demonstrate the role Australian archaeologists and natural scientists can play in understanding the spread of humans across the Pacific and the environmental consequences of colonisation. It will increase collaboration between research institutions in the Australia/Pacific region.Read moreRead less
Metaphotonics and metasurfaces for disruptive sensing technologies. This project aims to address a big challenge in nanophotonics by developing revolutionary methods for efficient chiral sensing of molecules without the need for spectrometry, frequency scanning, or moving mechanical parts, and to enhance chiroptical signals a hundredfold with the help of metasurface structures. Resonant metasurfaces are arrays of engineered dielectric nanoparticles with extraordinary characteristics, and they wo ....Metaphotonics and metasurfaces for disruptive sensing technologies. This project aims to address a big challenge in nanophotonics by developing revolutionary methods for efficient chiral sensing of molecules without the need for spectrometry, frequency scanning, or moving mechanical parts, and to enhance chiroptical signals a hundredfold with the help of metasurface structures. Resonant metasurfaces are arrays of engineered dielectric nanoparticles with extraordinary characteristics, and they would allow to overcome current limitations of chiral sensing analytical tools. Detecting chiral molecules in low concentrations is crucially important to many fields of biology, chemistry, and pharmacy, as well as to the food and cosmetics industries, constituting a market of tens of billions of dollars.Read moreRead less
Indian Textile Technology as archaeological evidence for population movements in Early Southeast Asia. This project uses archaeological textiles to investigate population movements in the late prehistoric period of Southeast Asia. It involves collaborative links between researchers from the Institute of Archaeology in Vietnam, the Centre for Southeast Asian Prehistory in Ho Chi Minh City, the Fine Arts Department of Thailand and museums and archaeological institutions in South India. It not only ....Indian Textile Technology as archaeological evidence for population movements in Early Southeast Asia. This project uses archaeological textiles to investigate population movements in the late prehistoric period of Southeast Asia. It involves collaborative links between researchers from the Institute of Archaeology in Vietnam, the Centre for Southeast Asian Prehistory in Ho Chi Minh City, the Fine Arts Department of Thailand and museums and archaeological institutions in South India. It not only profiles Australian expertise in Southeast Asia but facilitates high levels of communication and the exchange of ideas. Read moreRead less
Symmetries in CR-geometry. This project aims at investigating symmetries of geometric objects called CR-manifolds. It is expected to open new avenues for understanding such symmetries at the infinitesimal level and lead to ground-breaking results in CR-geometry. Expected outcomes include new methodology, solving long-standing problems, and establishing international research collaborations. The benefits are in enhancing the strength of the research in analysis and geometry performed in Australia ....Symmetries in CR-geometry. This project aims at investigating symmetries of geometric objects called CR-manifolds. It is expected to open new avenues for understanding such symmetries at the infinitesimal level and lead to ground-breaking results in CR-geometry. Expected outcomes include new methodology, solving long-standing problems, and establishing international research collaborations. The benefits are in enhancing the strength of the research in analysis and geometry performed in Australia, in fostering the international competitiveness of Australian research and in high-quality research training.Read moreRead less
Crossing the Green Sea: maritime mobility, trans-oceanic interaction and remote island colonisation in the tropical Indian Ocean. Australia is an Indian Ocean nation. It is strategically and politically important to understand our Indian Ocean neighbours, including small island nations such as the Maldives and Seychelles. Researching their history is part of this process. Building a collaborative research capacity between Australian and other Indian Ocean scholars, publishing the results of rese ....Crossing the Green Sea: maritime mobility, trans-oceanic interaction and remote island colonisation in the tropical Indian Ocean. Australia is an Indian Ocean nation. It is strategically and politically important to understand our Indian Ocean neighbours, including small island nations such as the Maldives and Seychelles. Researching their history is part of this process. Building a collaborative research capacity between Australian and other Indian Ocean scholars, publishing the results of research, building them into educational curricula, and maintaining a pool of Indian Ocean scholarly expertise in Australia is a national and community benefit. In addition, research results on the history of human colonisation and human impact on vulnerable environments will be significant to Australia as an island nation.Read moreRead less
Nilpotent associative algebras and spherical hypersurfaces. This project concerns pure basic research in mathematics and is based on an important recently discovered relationship between certain geometric and algebraic objects. In the project, this relationship will be applied in a novel way to solve several significant long-standing problems in the research area of complex geometry.
The Reconstruction and Recognition Problems for Hypersurface Singularities. This project concerns pure basic research in mathematics. It is centred around a surprising relationship between geometric objects called quasi-homogeneous isolated hypersurface singularities, and algebraic structures described as Artinian Gorenstein algebras. This relationship has not been fully understood despite numerous attempts by internationally based experts to shed light on it. Armed with a novel approach to Arti ....The Reconstruction and Recognition Problems for Hypersurface Singularities. This project concerns pure basic research in mathematics. It is centred around a surprising relationship between geometric objects called quasi-homogeneous isolated hypersurface singularities, and algebraic structures described as Artinian Gorenstein algebras. This relationship has not been fully understood despite numerous attempts by internationally based experts to shed light on it. Armed with a novel approach to Artinian Gorenstein algebras, this project proposes to clarify the nature of this relationship and utilise it for solving related geometric and algebraic problems. In particular, it aims at obtaining a groundbreaking result in the area of classical invariant theory.Read moreRead less
Swift heavy ion induced nano-porous antimony-based semiconductors. This project aims to study the fabrication and application of nano-porous antimony based semiconductors prepared by high-energy ion irradiation. Using a unique combination of synchrotron and laboratory- based analytical techniques as well as computer simulations, the project expects to identify the physical mechanisms for porous structure formation and exploit the materials for application in thermoelectric and thermo-photovoltai ....Swift heavy ion induced nano-porous antimony-based semiconductors. This project aims to study the fabrication and application of nano-porous antimony based semiconductors prepared by high-energy ion irradiation. Using a unique combination of synchrotron and laboratory- based analytical techniques as well as computer simulations, the project expects to identify the physical mechanisms for porous structure formation and exploit the materials for application in thermoelectric and thermo-photovoltaic devices. Expected outcomes of the project include fabrication processes compatible with current device fabrication methodologies that should enable rapid integration of the materials into advanced device applications. Significant benefits should result from novel applications of the technologies such as energy harvesting and sensor devices.Read moreRead less