Unified analysis of steel and composite frame structures subjected to static, thermal, earthquake and blast loading. Understanding the science of extreme loading on engineering structures is essential for their design, and increasingly with terrorism threats there is a need for assessment and strengthening of identified vulnerable critical infrastructure. Rational design paradigms have not yet matured for extreme load scenarios, and they are much-needed to protect life, limb and amenity. Austral ....Unified analysis of steel and composite frame structures subjected to static, thermal, earthquake and blast loading. Understanding the science of extreme loading on engineering structures is essential for their design, and increasingly with terrorism threats there is a need for assessment and strengthening of identified vulnerable critical infrastructure. Rational design paradigms have not yet matured for extreme load scenarios, and they are much-needed to protect life, limb and amenity. Australian research is at the forefront in steel and composite structures, and this project will strengthen Australia's positioning in the discipline by developing transparent design and assessment procedures from an efficient algorithm that delivers hands-on guidance for engineering practitioners.Read moreRead less
A Programming Model of Object Validity for Secure and Efficient Concurrency. To provide improved performance and security for software applications, Australia's ICT industry must adapt to the complex programming demands of modern multicore processors. The programming model developed in the project represents a breakthrough solution. A seamless integration of concurrency and object orientation leads to a simple yet powerful programming style that is compatible with today's premier approach to bui ....A Programming Model of Object Validity for Secure and Efficient Concurrency. To provide improved performance and security for software applications, Australia's ICT industry must adapt to the complex programming demands of modern multicore processors. The programming model developed in the project represents a breakthrough solution. A seamless integration of concurrency and object orientation leads to a simple yet powerful programming style that is compatible with today's premier approach to building large-scale software systems with significantly improved performance and security. The product will reduce development time for compute-intensive applications in many industry sectors, including health care (e.g. patient monitoring), finance, defence, environment, mining, manufacturing and computer games.Read moreRead less
Analysis and Optimisation of Incomplete Object-Oriented Programs. This project will push Australia to the forefront of OO technologies and will increase the profile of advanced programming language design and implementation research in Australia. The completed framework will
likely be commercially viable as Australia industries such as banks and
insurance companies and government organisations hosting large
OO software systems may benefit (in terms of performance and
code security) from the ....Analysis and Optimisation of Incomplete Object-Oriented Programs. This project will push Australia to the forefront of OO technologies and will increase the profile of advanced programming language design and implementation research in Australia. The completed framework will
likely be commercially viable as Australia industries such as banks and
insurance companies and government organisations hosting large
OO software systems may benefit (in terms of performance and
code security) from the technology developed as a result of this research. The completed framework will also provide an excellent platform for researchers in Australia and elsewhere to do research in OO technologies, helping in producing quality students for the Australian IT industry.Read moreRead less
Scratchpad-based Memory Allocation Techniques for Embedded Software. This research aims at developing automatic memory allocation algorithms to maximise the effective utilisation of scratchpad memories, which will lead to significantly improved performance and energy usage in embedded applications. The outcomes of this project will provide generic solutions to many Australia-based industries, including telecommunication, network management, sensor networks, automotive and instrumentation/measure ....Scratchpad-based Memory Allocation Techniques for Embedded Software. This research aims at developing automatic memory allocation algorithms to maximise the effective utilisation of scratchpad memories, which will lead to significantly improved performance and energy usage in embedded applications. The outcomes of this project will provide generic solutions to many Australia-based industries, including telecommunication, network management, sensor networks, automotive and instrumentation/measurement, where embedded systems are ubiquitously used. Therefore, this project will significantly contribute to the Priority Area (Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries), hence fits into its Priority Goal: Frontier Technologies.Read moreRead less
Compiler-Directed Code Tiling for Higher Program Performance and Predictability on Multi-Level Memory Hierarchies. Programming languages invariably induce a perception of memory as being flat, whereas actual computers are being equipped increasingly with deep memory hierarchies to overcome the ever-widening performance gap between processors and memories. This mismatch can result in low locality of reference and poor performance. This project will develop a new array layout transformation, calle ....Compiler-Directed Code Tiling for Higher Program Performance and Predictability on Multi-Level Memory Hierarchies. Programming languages invariably induce a perception of memory as being flat, whereas actual computers are being equipped increasingly with deep memory hierarchies to overcome the ever-widening performance gap between processors and memories. This mismatch can result in low locality of reference and poor performance. This project will develop a new array layout transformation, called data tiling, used in tandem with loop tiling to achieve significantly improved performance gains (and predictability) for array-dominated applications on multi-level memory hierarchies. We will explore this joint restructuring to obtain higher performance and predictability for whole programs, kernel libraries, iterative stencil codes and embedded applications.
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Structure-Activity Relationships in Silicon-based Photovoltaics Through Atomic Scale Microscopy. This project aims to develop new design principles for silicon-based photovoltaics (PVs) through a comprehensive study of atomic-scale structures and phenomena in PV materials. The development of more efficient photovoltaic materials is of major global importance, given the pressing need for clean and renewable sources of energy. Australia has international leadership in developing solar cell technol ....Structure-Activity Relationships in Silicon-based Photovoltaics Through Atomic Scale Microscopy. This project aims to develop new design principles for silicon-based photovoltaics (PVs) through a comprehensive study of atomic-scale structures and phenomena in PV materials. The development of more efficient photovoltaic materials is of major global importance, given the pressing need for clean and renewable sources of energy. Australia has international leadership in developing solar cell technologies, and the ideal natural environment to exploit these technologies. The fundamental insights derived in this project, such as detailed 3D maps of dopant distributions at the atomic scale, will bolster Australia's international reputation in the field and provide better control in the design of PV devices. Read moreRead less
A safe and efficient multi-language component framework based on dynamic compilation. Components are a versatile mechanism for the construction of extendible systems and for improved code reusability. Emerging environments like Microsoft's .NET support the interaction of components written in different programming languages. To date, such systems do not adequately isolate components which therefore must trust each other. This is unacceptable for components loaded across the Internet. We will dev ....A safe and efficient multi-language component framework based on dynamic compilation. Components are a versatile mechanism for the construction of extendible systems and for improved code reusability. Emerging environments like Microsoft's .NET support the interaction of components written in different programming languages. To date, such systems do not adequately isolate components which therefore must trust each other. This is unacceptable for components loaded across the Internet. We will develop a framework for secure execution of component software, based on hardware-enforced protection domains. To minimize the resulting runtime overheads we will provide a component model with lightweight context switching. A novel typed intermediate language and dynamic compilation techniques will offer complementary optimisations.
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Gamma-ray burst astronomy in the Swift era and beyond. The study of gamma-ray bursts is one of the most active and exciting fields in astrophysics, and touches on subjects that are of interest to all humans: e.g., to what extent was life on Earth shaped by cataclysmic explosions in our Galaxy? Australia's ROTSE-III telescope is the only facility in the southern hemisphere capable of rapidly (within 10 seconds) finding optical light from gamma-ray bursts. It will provide Australian astronomers ....Gamma-ray burst astronomy in the Swift era and beyond. The study of gamma-ray bursts is one of the most active and exciting fields in astrophysics, and touches on subjects that are of interest to all humans: e.g., to what extent was life on Earth shaped by cataclysmic explosions in our Galaxy? Australia's ROTSE-III telescope is the only facility in the southern hemisphere capable of rapidly (within 10 seconds) finding optical light from gamma-ray bursts. It will provide Australian astronomers with a competitive advantage in this high-profile field. The project will involve and inspire some of our best physics and engineering students.Read moreRead less
Situated Design Computing: A New Paradigm to Support Design Using Situated Reasoning. A country like Australia with its twin disadvantages of distance from its large markets and small population as its own market has to found its goals in its wealth production on its ability to compete at the high value-adding loci of the economy. Design is a precursor to superior products and is one of the nation's high value-adding wealth generating activities. This project aims to lay the foundations for a ....Situated Design Computing: A New Paradigm to Support Design Using Situated Reasoning. A country like Australia with its twin disadvantages of distance from its large markets and small population as its own market has to found its goals in its wealth production on its ability to compete at the high value-adding loci of the economy. Design is a precursor to superior products and is one of the nation's high value-adding wealth generating activities. This project aims to lay the foundations for a new class of design support tools that have the capacity to be used at a variety of stages in the design process including those stages where major decisions are being taken. This will have the potential to improve the efficacy and the efficiency of Australian design and hence make it more globally competitive.Read moreRead less
New quantitative methods in X-ray imaging using crystal optics. This project will enhance Australian science's international leadership in the area of x-ray imaging. This powerful type of X-ray imaging, which makes use of optical elements made of perfect crystals, is specially tailored to image samples which are invisible to conventional x-ray techniques. Such "extended x-ray vision" is extremely important for imaging in medicine, biology and materials science. Furthermore, we will train x-ray s ....New quantitative methods in X-ray imaging using crystal optics. This project will enhance Australian science's international leadership in the area of x-ray imaging. This powerful type of X-ray imaging, which makes use of optical elements made of perfect crystals, is specially tailored to image samples which are invisible to conventional x-ray techniques. Such "extended x-ray vision" is extremely important for imaging in medicine, biology and materials science. Furthermore, we will train x-ray scientists of tomorrow, whose expertise will allow Australia to capitalize on its investment in the Australian Synchrotron.Read moreRead less