Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101044
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$444,318.00
Summary
Bio-inspired nanomaterials with tunable drug loading and controlled release. This project aims to develop new platform technologies for making bio-inspired nanomaterials with tunable drug loading and controlled release. This project will revolutionise current approaches to make lipid nanoparticles camouflaged with natural cell membranes for delivery of both insoluble and soluble drugs. Significant outcomes will include a novel commercially relevant salt-induced nanoprecipitation platform technol ....Bio-inspired nanomaterials with tunable drug loading and controlled release. This project aims to develop new platform technologies for making bio-inspired nanomaterials with tunable drug loading and controlled release. This project will revolutionise current approaches to make lipid nanoparticles camouflaged with natural cell membranes for delivery of both insoluble and soluble drugs. Significant outcomes will include a novel commercially relevant salt-induced nanoprecipitation platform technology for making precisely engineered nanomaterials with tailored functions for applications in controlled release and targeted delivery. Benefits include securing a sustainable future for Australia, with new nanotechnology strategies for advanced manufacturing.Read moreRead less
Network Calming - Using Smart Sensors to Improve Water Asset Performance. Recent high-frequency monitoring in water distribution networks (WDNs) shows that pressure perturbations are significantly more dramatic than expected and cause pipe failures with highly disruptive consequences. This project aims to hydraulically calm WDNs to improve their performance, informed by smart sensors. The project will generate insightful knowledge of the hydraulic behaviour of real WDNs. The outcomes will be new ....Network Calming - Using Smart Sensors to Improve Water Asset Performance. Recent high-frequency monitoring in water distribution networks (WDNs) shows that pressure perturbations are significantly more dramatic than expected and cause pipe failures with highly disruptive consequences. This project aims to hydraulically calm WDNs to improve their performance, informed by smart sensors. The project will generate insightful knowledge of the hydraulic behaviour of real WDNs. The outcomes will be new strategies to identify, eliminate and suppress harmful pressure perturbations, leading to a reduced burst rate, extended asset life, improved system operation and advanced design principles. The resultant sustainable water assets provide significant economic and environmental benefits to the water industry and society.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100481
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$388,673.00
Summary
Illuminating Dark Fibres for Smart Water Asset Monitoring. Smart water networks formed by fleets of acoustic sensors to detect developing cracks in water networks have grown rapidly in the past decade but are costly to install and maintain. This project aims to overcome this challenge by exploiting unused underground optical fibre cables that are ubiquitous in cities. The result will be low-cost and ready-made distributed sensing systems that protect critical water supplies, supported by intelli ....Illuminating Dark Fibres for Smart Water Asset Monitoring. Smart water networks formed by fleets of acoustic sensors to detect developing cracks in water networks have grown rapidly in the past decade but are costly to install and maintain. This project aims to overcome this challenge by exploiting unused underground optical fibre cables that are ubiquitous in cities. The result will be low-cost and ready-made distributed sensing systems that protect critical water supplies, supported by intelligent data analytic algorithms that can translate real-time data into valuable information to optimise water asset monitoring. The research outcomes will stimulate a technological revolution in smart water networks, accelerate water digitalisation globally and bring significant economic and social benefits.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC230100015
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$5,000,000.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre for Whole Life Design of Carbon Neutral Infrastructure. This Centre aims to transform the capability of civil infrastructure stakeholders to design, construct, operate and dispose of infrastructure in a carbon neutral way. By training industry-embedded PhDs and postdocs in the methodology and technology required to design out excess carbon of infrastructure in its whole life, this Centre expects to lead the world in sustainable infrastructure design, enabling a new generation ....ARC Training Centre for Whole Life Design of Carbon Neutral Infrastructure. This Centre aims to transform the capability of civil infrastructure stakeholders to design, construct, operate and dispose of infrastructure in a carbon neutral way. By training industry-embedded PhDs and postdocs in the methodology and technology required to design out excess carbon of infrastructure in its whole life, this Centre expects to lead the world in sustainable infrastructure design, enabling a new generation of infrastructure design in Australia and internationally. Achieving carbon neutral infrastructure in its whole life will bring significant far-reaching benefits, including equipping industry with tools required to meet Australia’s emission reduction targets as well as economic, commercial, environmental, and social gains.Read moreRead less
Next-generation computational models to understand human joints . This project aims to investigate human joint systems through combining state-of-the-art imaging and high-fidelity biomechanical models. The methods developed in this project are expected to generate new ways of studying the dynamic response of musculoskeletal tissues to activity, including how musculoskeletal physiology can adapt to biomechanical stimuli. Expected outcomes include establishing a non-invasive method for characteris ....Next-generation computational models to understand human joints . This project aims to investigate human joint systems through combining state-of-the-art imaging and high-fidelity biomechanical models. The methods developed in this project are expected to generate new ways of studying the dynamic response of musculoskeletal tissues to activity, including how musculoskeletal physiology can adapt to biomechanical stimuli. Expected outcomes include establishing a non-invasive method for characterising whole joint systems. This project will provide significant knowledge gain on the biomechanical regulation of human joints across form, function, dynamics and loading which may help across many facets of society to guide physical activity choices.Read moreRead less
Insect-inspired flapping wing robots: autonomous flight control systems. This project aims to design a novel control scheme for insect-inspired, flapping-wing, micro aerial vehicles. This type of micro aerial vehicle has complex, periodic, time-varying and inherently unstable dynamics, which are practically challenging to model and implement in hardware. This project will design energy-based automatic stabilization and task-dependent control, and develop the insect-inspired platform for testing ....Insect-inspired flapping wing robots: autonomous flight control systems. This project aims to design a novel control scheme for insect-inspired, flapping-wing, micro aerial vehicles. This type of micro aerial vehicle has complex, periodic, time-varying and inherently unstable dynamics, which are practically challenging to model and implement in hardware. This project will design energy-based automatic stabilization and task-dependent control, and develop the insect-inspired platform for testing nonlinear control strategies. The expected outcomes will include new system and control theories, concepts, principles and technologies in controller design that can provide reliable flight control for bio-inspired, flapping-wing systems.Read moreRead less
Mud pumping under rail tracks: from Micromechanics to Predictions. Mud pumping under rail tracks is identified as the most frequent issue causing the degradation of rail tracks and increasing their ongoing maintenance cost across Australia and worldwide. This project aims to further the understanding of mud pumping mechanisms across different scales. A novel combined experiment-computational approach will be developed to observe, analyse and link different material properties and external condit ....Mud pumping under rail tracks: from Micromechanics to Predictions. Mud pumping under rail tracks is identified as the most frequent issue causing the degradation of rail tracks and increasing their ongoing maintenance cost across Australia and worldwide. This project aims to further the understanding of mud pumping mechanisms across different scales. A novel combined experiment-computational approach will be developed to observe, analyse and link different material properties and external conditions governing the mud pumping process. It will lead to better criteria for mud pumping and numerical tools for field scale failure analysis and risk assessments. The expected outcomes include the enhanced capability to assess the integrity and stability of rail tracks and better design criteria against mud pumping.Read moreRead less
A multi-scale theory for solid-granular transition due to fragmentation. The prediction of rock fragmentation and fragment sizes during its phase transition from solid (rock mass) to granular (ore fragments) is the most crucial problem in a cave mining operation. Current practice relies on empirical tools without fundamentals of fracture, and hence cannot reliably predict the fragmentation process and fragment sizes. This can lead to huge economic loss due to damage to extraction points, hold-up ....A multi-scale theory for solid-granular transition due to fragmentation. The prediction of rock fragmentation and fragment sizes during its phase transition from solid (rock mass) to granular (ore fragments) is the most crucial problem in a cave mining operation. Current practice relies on empirical tools without fundamentals of fracture, and hence cannot reliably predict the fragmentation process and fragment sizes. This can lead to huge economic loss due to damage to extraction points, hold-ups for safety precautions, and mine closures. The project will develop a new theory and models to describe this solid-granular transition, and computational tools for simulations of cave mining operations. The expected benefits and outcomes include safer operations, and better control of production schedule and budgeting.Read moreRead less
Achieving Nitrite Shunt For Mainstream Sewage Treatment Using Human Waste. This project aims to develop a novel technology to achieve mainstream nitrogen removal from domestic sewage via nitrite shunt. Nitrite shunt can reduce energy consumption and promote energy recovery compared with the conventional nitrogen removal process. However, it is difficult to inactivate nitrite-oxidising bacteria, which is a key barrier for achieving nitrite shunt. By advancing the underpinning science and introduc ....Achieving Nitrite Shunt For Mainstream Sewage Treatment Using Human Waste. This project aims to develop a novel technology to achieve mainstream nitrogen removal from domestic sewage via nitrite shunt. Nitrite shunt can reduce energy consumption and promote energy recovery compared with the conventional nitrogen removal process. However, it is difficult to inactivate nitrite-oxidising bacteria, which is a key barrier for achieving nitrite shunt. By advancing the underpinning science and introducing a novel technology that innovatively harnesses a human waste, the project expects to remove the barrier. Expected outcomes will support the transformation of sewage treatment plants into net-zero energy generators. This should provide economic, environmental and energy benefits for Australia’s water and energy sectors.Read moreRead less
Integrated nonmetal-metal single-atom catalysis for selective synthesis. Single atom catalysts can achieve the maximum efficiency of active sites for a reaction. This project will develop integrated nonmetal and metal single atom-based catalysts for selective oxidation towards clean production and organic waste conversion to value-added polymers for carbon recycle. The project will result in new functional materials and green catalytic processes for chemical synthesis and waste reduction, and ad ....Integrated nonmetal-metal single-atom catalysis for selective synthesis. Single atom catalysts can achieve the maximum efficiency of active sites for a reaction. This project will develop integrated nonmetal and metal single atom-based catalysts for selective oxidation towards clean production and organic waste conversion to value-added polymers for carbon recycle. The project will result in new functional materials and green catalytic processes for chemical synthesis and waste reduction, and advance fundamental understanding of molecular structure of materials for catalyst design and process engineering for industrial applications. The outcomes will promote the development of chemical industry, waste recycle and green environment in Australia, making significant benefits to economics and society.Read moreRead less