Maximizing solid state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) with maximum entropy. Nuclear magnetic resonance is an essential technology for the characterisation of important industrial and biomedical molecules, molecular chains and complexes. This project aims to considerably expand the fundamental capability of experimental techniques for the study of materials in the solid state, in particular for a new class of biological nanoparticle. These advances will have important global implications for re ....Maximizing solid state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) with maximum entropy. Nuclear magnetic resonance is an essential technology for the characterisation of important industrial and biomedical molecules, molecular chains and complexes. This project aims to considerably expand the fundamental capability of experimental techniques for the study of materials in the solid state, in particular for a new class of biological nanoparticle. These advances will have important global implications for research into life-saving therapeutic strategies aimed at many pharmaceutical targets embedded in cell membranes, protein misfolding disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease, as well as development of the next generation of "green" plastics and other advanced polymers.Read moreRead less
Unravelling how liquids wet surfaces with new dynamic measurements. This project aims to transform our understanding of how liquids wet surfaces in order to provide a step-change in advanced material design. This will be achieved by developing a unifying theory of surface wetting by integrating new microscale models of dynamic wetting with new macroscale automated measurement techniques capable of rapidly generating large datasets, to determine precisely how surface chemistry and surface roughne ....Unravelling how liquids wet surfaces with new dynamic measurements. This project aims to transform our understanding of how liquids wet surfaces in order to provide a step-change in advanced material design. This will be achieved by developing a unifying theory of surface wetting by integrating new microscale models of dynamic wetting with new macroscale automated measurement techniques capable of rapidly generating large datasets, to determine precisely how surface chemistry and surface roughness influence wetting. Expected outcomes include predictive models of surface wetting across multiple scales, and robust high-throughput measurement methods informing optimal design of next-generation materials for all applications where liquids and surfaces interact.Read moreRead less
Dynamic multi-modal x-ray imaging. This project aims to create sensitive new methods of x-ray imaging that capture multiple image modalities with a single snapshot. Conventional x-ray imaging is widely used in a range of industries, but captures only a fraction of the rich information that is available in the x-ray wavefield. This project expects to extract additional image modalities to reveal x-ray-transparent features, and detect microscopic textures. By combining these capabilities with the ....Dynamic multi-modal x-ray imaging. This project aims to create sensitive new methods of x-ray imaging that capture multiple image modalities with a single snapshot. Conventional x-ray imaging is widely used in a range of industries, but captures only a fraction of the rich information that is available in the x-ray wavefield. This project expects to extract additional image modalities to reveal x-ray-transparent features, and detect microscopic textures. By combining these capabilities with the ability to capture images of a moving sample, this project will enable innovative biomedical and materials research studies, and develop new imaging technologies for use in security, hospitals and manufacturing. New methods of x-ray imaging will have wide-ranging benefits for society, the economy and healthcare.Read moreRead less
Engineering nanosheet-based novel structures. Microscopic structures will be engineered based on super thin materials, which promise to deliver significant advancements in the development of high sensitivity detectors, and efficient energy conversion and storage devices. This project will develop techniques that are not only green but also possess the flexibility to tailor-make novel structures.
Computational studies of soft matter. Soft matter systems such as colloidal suspensions and polymers are ubiquitous in nature, and industrially important. For colloidal systems, specifically hard spheres, this project will utilise new algorithms to attack long standing questions about the nature of the virial series. For self-avoiding walks and related models of polymers, research studies have recently developed radically improved Monte Carlo simulation algorithms. These algorithms will enable t ....Computational studies of soft matter. Soft matter systems such as colloidal suspensions and polymers are ubiquitous in nature, and industrially important. For colloidal systems, specifically hard spheres, this project will utilise new algorithms to attack long standing questions about the nature of the virial series. For self-avoiding walks and related models of polymers, research studies have recently developed radically improved Monte Carlo simulation algorithms. These algorithms will enable this project to simulate polymers which may be as long as DNA, and to calculate physical properties with unprecedented precision. The software developed for studying polymers will be released as an open source software library which will revolutionise the field of polymer simulation.Read moreRead less
Electronic-vibrational spectroscopy: A new probe for structure and function. This project aims to solve a major challenge in ultrafast spectroscopy: to identify and quantify competing reaction pathways in complex photochemical systems. Ultrafast Spectroscopy provides information on excited-state processes of photochemical reactions, however, unravelling heterogeneous systems with competing parallel processes remains difficult. Multidimensional electronic-vibrational spectroscopy, sensitive to el ....Electronic-vibrational spectroscopy: A new probe for structure and function. This project aims to solve a major challenge in ultrafast spectroscopy: to identify and quantify competing reaction pathways in complex photochemical systems. Ultrafast Spectroscopy provides information on excited-state processes of photochemical reactions, however, unravelling heterogeneous systems with competing parallel processes remains difficult. Multidimensional electronic-vibrational spectroscopy, sensitive to electronic dynamics and molecular structure, is expected to overcome this barrier. This new level of detail will profoundly enhance our understanding of energy and chemical conversion in complex systems and will reveal design targets for optimising next-generation light-energy harvesting, conducting, and emitting materials.Read moreRead less
Surfactants and complex fluids. This project aims to design surfactants for applications in agriculture and energy, and the science needed to understand and deploy them. New molecules have been designed based around the versatile betaine core, and their synthesis could allow a systematic understanding of the relationships between molecular architecture, effectiveness and self-assembly behaviour. This strategy will use molecules that can respond to light to understand why certain molecules tend t ....Surfactants and complex fluids. This project aims to design surfactants for applications in agriculture and energy, and the science needed to understand and deploy them. New molecules have been designed based around the versatile betaine core, and their synthesis could allow a systematic understanding of the relationships between molecular architecture, effectiveness and self-assembly behaviour. This strategy will use molecules that can respond to light to understand why certain molecules tend to form valuable viscoelastic fluids. When used to form complex fluids with unique properties, these surfactants could be used as lubricants, dispersants and energy fluids for use as drilling lubricants, texture modifiers in personal care products, and dispersants in agrochemicals.Read moreRead less
Predictability of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation. This project aims to improve understanding of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the world’s largest source of climate variability. ENSO’s effects are so large that knowledge of its current phase and forecasts of its future phase underpin seasonal rainfall, temperature and tropical cyclone forecasts worldwide. In Australia, ENSO cycles cause drought and floods. Using a suite of empirical observations and numerical models to analyse ENSO e ....Predictability of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation. This project aims to improve understanding of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the world’s largest source of climate variability. ENSO’s effects are so large that knowledge of its current phase and forecasts of its future phase underpin seasonal rainfall, temperature and tropical cyclone forecasts worldwide. In Australia, ENSO cycles cause drought and floods. Using a suite of empirical observations and numerical models to analyse ENSO event precursors, initiation and predictability, this project intends to enhance skill in inter-seasonal climate forecasting and help those sectors reliant on accurate prediction.Read moreRead less
Plasmonic Photochemistry: A nanoscopic solution to global energy and environmental problems. Harvesting energy from light sources, including our sun, can provide a significant fraction of the world's energy need over the next century. In order to meet this critical demand, it is crucial to devise ways to transform light energy into chemical fuels. This project aims to create novel nanostructures that directly couple light energy into chemical reactions. This will be achieved by the creation of ....Plasmonic Photochemistry: A nanoscopic solution to global energy and environmental problems. Harvesting energy from light sources, including our sun, can provide a significant fraction of the world's energy need over the next century. In order to meet this critical demand, it is crucial to devise ways to transform light energy into chemical fuels. This project aims to create novel nanostructures that directly couple light energy into chemical reactions. This will be achieved by the creation of metallic nanoparticles that can transform light energy into hot electrons: entities that can efficiently drive the production of chemical fuels in a process similar to that of photosynthesis.Read moreRead less
Photonic circuitry from the noble metals: nanocrystal coupling. Linear arrays of crystalline nanoparticles are able to act in a manner analogous to an optical fibre, but with much smaller dimensions. This project will investigate the underlying principles of waveguiding within the arrays and aims to build and test sections of such optical fibres, thereby assessing their use in optical circuits.