Most eye diseases have a genetic contribution, whether rare disorders affecting children such as retinoblastoma or congenital cataracts through to common disorders of older people such as myopia, age-related macular degeneration or glaucoma. We will continue our successful research to find genes that cause these diseases and use this to improve patient care and prevent blindness. We will work out how families can use this genetic information to participate in trials to develop new treatments.
Development of a novel and practical method for fabricating carbon nanotube reinforced polymer composites for automotive applications. An effective, economical and environmentally friendly technology will be developed by this project to fabricate carbon nanotube reinforced polymer composites. The thus obtained products will be applied as automotive parts.
Bio-inspired design to overcome strength-toughness trade-off of composites. This project aims to develop nature-inspired metal composites of exceptional mechanical properties that push the known boundaries of engineering materials. The design utilises a phase transforming metal to transcribe the attributes of biopolymers in nacre to harness the exceptional intrinsic strength of interatomic bonds at atomic scale and to devise adaptive ability for load redistribution for toughness at the macroscop ....Bio-inspired design to overcome strength-toughness trade-off of composites. This project aims to develop nature-inspired metal composites of exceptional mechanical properties that push the known boundaries of engineering materials. The design utilises a phase transforming metal to transcribe the attributes of biopolymers in nacre to harness the exceptional intrinsic strength of interatomic bonds at atomic scale and to devise adaptive ability for load redistribution for toughness at the macroscopic scale. The expected outcomes are an innovative bio-inspired material design strategy that may underpin the creation of many novel high-performance structural composites of unmatched strength and toughness properties, and potential to support new applications and to value-add Australia’s materials manufacturing industry.Read moreRead less
Novel microwave processing of carbon nanotube/thermoplastic composites. This project aims to develop a novel fabrication process for carbon nano-tube (CNT) / thermoplastic composites. The method, with lab based ‘proof of concept’, uses microwaves and overcomes problems of dispersion and aggregation of CNTs, which limit properties of the nano-composites. At lab scale, a 50 per cent increase in stiffness of polypropylene and an increase in electrical conductivity with the addition of 0.5 weight pe ....Novel microwave processing of carbon nanotube/thermoplastic composites. This project aims to develop a novel fabrication process for carbon nano-tube (CNT) / thermoplastic composites. The method, with lab based ‘proof of concept’, uses microwaves and overcomes problems of dispersion and aggregation of CNTs, which limit properties of the nano-composites. At lab scale, a 50 per cent increase in stiffness of polypropylene and an increase in electrical conductivity with the addition of 0.5 weight percent CNT has been demonstrated. This project should unravel mechanisms by which these outstanding property improvements are achieved and will scale up the process to industrial level. Expected outcomes will be economical, lighter and stronger plastics for manufacturing applications such as rotational molding, transport and electronic packaging.Read moreRead less
High performance polymer fibres for recyclable composites . The project aims to develop novel drawn polymer fibres with aligned carbon nanotubes incorporated inside and also grafted nanotubes on their surface. Such polymer fibres can be used to reinforce thermoplastics to make high performance composites with effective recyclability. This is important as the existing thermosetting composites are not recyclable and significant property enhancement require high loading (>30%) of reinforcing fibres ....High performance polymer fibres for recyclable composites . The project aims to develop novel drawn polymer fibres with aligned carbon nanotubes incorporated inside and also grafted nanotubes on their surface. Such polymer fibres can be used to reinforce thermoplastics to make high performance composites with effective recyclability. This is important as the existing thermosetting composites are not recyclable and significant property enhancement require high loading (>30%) of reinforcing fibres. The outcomes of this project will be novel technology for making high stiffness polymer fibres and their use in thermoplastic composites. The benefits will be to allow easy processing and recycling. They will be used in down-sizing of high volume products and high value automotive or aerospace products.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Research Hubs - Grant ID: IH150100006
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$5,000,000.00
Summary
ARC Research Hub for Nanoscience-based Construction Material Manufacturing. ARC Research Hub for Nanoscience-based Construction Material Manufacturing. This research hub aims to develop novel construction materials including binders, cement additives, high-performance concrete materials, concrete structural systems, polymer composites, and pavement materials. The multi-disciplinary hub provides a centralised platform to transform the construction materials industry into an advanced manufacturing ....ARC Research Hub for Nanoscience-based Construction Material Manufacturing. ARC Research Hub for Nanoscience-based Construction Material Manufacturing. This research hub aims to develop novel construction materials including binders, cement additives, high-performance concrete materials, concrete structural systems, polymer composites, and pavement materials. The multi-disciplinary hub provides a centralised platform to transform the construction materials industry into an advanced manufacturing sector delivering sustainable and resilient infrastructure assets. The hub intends to develop nanotechnology, cement chemistry, concrete technology and extreme engineering solutions; and to train the next generation of skilled workers, re-positioning Australian industry competitiveness and global market leadership to capture international infrastructure development opportunities.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0989123
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$575,000.00
Summary
Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) Facility for Advanced Materials Processing. The establishment of the first Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) facility would significantly enhance Australia's capacity in manufacturing of advanced materials, especially the more sophisticated and specialized materials, which is a National Research Priority. This facility will benefit a large number of researchers and projects in Australia's premier research organisations and will also meet the needs of organisations outside ....Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) Facility for Advanced Materials Processing. The establishment of the first Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) facility would significantly enhance Australia's capacity in manufacturing of advanced materials, especially the more sophisticated and specialized materials, which is a National Research Priority. This facility will benefit a large number of researchers and projects in Australia's premier research organisations and will also meet the needs of organisations outside the consortium. It will allow Australian researchers to remain at the leading edge of research and enhance collaborations in advanced materials nationwide. The successful outcomes of these activities will underpin the advancement in many areas of research and technology developments in the country.Read moreRead less