A Unified Grid Programming Methodology for Global e-Science. This project will contribute to the national benefit in three important ways. First, we will build a set of novel e-Science applications as demonstrator projects in areas of national priority. These will have enormous economic impact in areas ranging from environmental management to health. Second, we will build software infrastructure that will have both commercial and strategic value in its own right. Third, we shall build a critical ....A Unified Grid Programming Methodology for Global e-Science. This project will contribute to the national benefit in three important ways. First, we will build a set of novel e-Science applications as demonstrator projects in areas of national priority. These will have enormous economic impact in areas ranging from environmental management to health. Second, we will build software infrastructure that will have both commercial and strategic value in its own right. Third, we shall build a critical mass of expertise that bridges the physical sciences and computer science. The support provided to this proposal will allow multi-disciplinary teams to address scientific problems of significant scale.Read moreRead less
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
Demonstrating the feasibility of designing sustainable buildings using evolutionary systems. The design approach proposed in this research will result in two key areas of national benefit. First, the research will enable Australian built environment design professions to become more competitive in both domestic and international markets. There is a growing demand for environmentally-friendly buildings and the proposed design approach will enable Australian firms to be at the cutting edge of sust ....Demonstrating the feasibility of designing sustainable buildings using evolutionary systems. The design approach proposed in this research will result in two key areas of national benefit. First, the research will enable Australian built environment design professions to become more competitive in both domestic and international markets. There is a growing demand for environmentally-friendly buildings and the proposed design approach will enable Australian firms to be at the cutting edge of sustainable design. Second, the research will enable the Australian built environment to become more sustainable. The proposed approach will enable buildings to be designed that perform well, that are cost effective and that minimise their environmental impact. Read moreRead less
Integrated Multidimensional Gas Chromatography - Spectroscopic Detection Methodology for Chemical Marker Discovery. Chemical species are pervasive in our modern society and are found in personal care products, foods, additives, petroleum products, illicit drugs, pharmaceuticals and pollutants. Each sample must be analysed to determine its accurate composition, and as a safeguard. This requires chemical methods of analysis. Classical chemical methods may fail when samples become too complex, or t ....Integrated Multidimensional Gas Chromatography - Spectroscopic Detection Methodology for Chemical Marker Discovery. Chemical species are pervasive in our modern society and are found in personal care products, foods, additives, petroleum products, illicit drugs, pharmaceuticals and pollutants. Each sample must be analysed to determine its accurate composition, and as a safeguard. This requires chemical methods of analysis. Classical chemical methods may fail when samples become too complex, or they may lead to imprecise identification. This Frontier Technologies proposal has broad national and international relevance through development of new methods for authentication of chemical identity and the subsequent superior ability to characterise numerous sample compositions.Read moreRead less
Advanced high resolution atomic force microscopy of biomolecules in physiological environments. The proposed research is intended to explain high resolution bioimaging problems addressed only phenomenologically before. A correct physical model would help the scientific community to optimise imaging of dynamic biological systems, extending our knowledge about the way living organisms function. With dynamic bioimaging, the mechanism of certain diseases such as Alzheimer's - where biomolecule fiber ....Advanced high resolution atomic force microscopy of biomolecules in physiological environments. The proposed research is intended to explain high resolution bioimaging problems addressed only phenomenologically before. A correct physical model would help the scientific community to optimise imaging of dynamic biological systems, extending our knowledge about the way living organisms function. With dynamic bioimaging, the mechanism of certain diseases such as Alzheimer's - where biomolecule fiber formation plays a key role - can also be addressed, thus the project has even therapeutical relevance. Furthermore, adequate description of liquid phase imaging can help engineers in the design of better hardware and software solutions, for the benefit of the bio-nanotechnological industry.Read moreRead less
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
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
Generalized imaging systems incorporating hybrid hardware-software optics. Fundamental optics research underpins the commercial optical technologies of tomorrow. Modern examples of such evolution, from the fundamental to the commercial, include lasers, LED traffic lights, thin-screen computer monitors and digital cameras. The recent advent of accessible powerful computers, together with recent advances in optical physics, promise a powerful merging of computing and optical technologies into so ....Generalized imaging systems incorporating hybrid hardware-software optics. Fundamental optics research underpins the commercial optical technologies of tomorrow. Modern examples of such evolution, from the fundamental to the commercial, include lasers, LED traffic lights, thin-screen computer monitors and digital cameras. The recent advent of accessible powerful computers, together with recent advances in optical physics, promise a powerful merging of computing and optical technologies into so-called virtual optical systems in which the computer processes optical information in a manner very similar to lenses. In particular, the computer may be used to decode distorted images provided by an imperfect imaging system. Read moreRead less
Advanced X-ray Optical Systems: From innovative idea to intelligent implementation. This project combines advances made in x-ray optics by the x-ray physics group at the University of Melbourne with sophisticated microfabrication techniques developed at Swinburne University of Technology and at the Argonne National Laboratory synchrotron. This fusion gives us immediate access into a major space science initiative - an x-ray telescope for the International Space Station. At the same time we will ....Advanced X-ray Optical Systems: From innovative idea to intelligent implementation. This project combines advances made in x-ray optics by the x-ray physics group at the University of Melbourne with sophisticated microfabrication techniques developed at Swinburne University of Technology and at the Argonne National Laboratory synchrotron. This fusion gives us immediate access into a major space science initiative - an x-ray telescope for the International Space Station. At the same time we will be building a kernel of excellence, based on new approaches to x-ray imaging, that will be strategically placed to become an integral part of the development of experimental facilities for the Australian Synchrotron.Read moreRead less
Foundation studies of ion-beam nanotechnology. The impact of a single fast atom with sensitive materials leaves a path of latent damage with a diameter of around 10 nm. This latent damage can be developed to create nanostructures in a novel technique called ion beam nanomachining. We propose to create a method for using single atom impacts to produce nanomachined structures with novel physical and optical properties. This will be done by use of an active substrate that functions as a detector s ....Foundation studies of ion-beam nanotechnology. The impact of a single fast atom with sensitive materials leaves a path of latent damage with a diameter of around 10 nm. This latent damage can be developed to create nanostructures in a novel technique called ion beam nanomachining. We propose to create a method for using single atom impacts to produce nanomachined structures with novel physical and optical properties. This will be done by use of an active substrate that functions as a detector sensitive to single ion impacts. We propose to study the fundamental principles of this method.Read moreRead less