Paper fluidics - A novel approach to low cost printable microsensors. Printing is perhaps the cheapest means of mass production available, yet it is used almost exclusively to mass produce only one thing, i.e. the printed word! This project will enable the development of disposable printed sensors for assessing the quality of water or the health of an individual. Sensors are generally relatively expensive, but the ability to print them on paper by the thousand will bring down the cost to a few ....Paper fluidics - A novel approach to low cost printable microsensors. Printing is perhaps the cheapest means of mass production available, yet it is used almost exclusively to mass produce only one thing, i.e. the printed word! This project will enable the development of disposable printed sensors for assessing the quality of water or the health of an individual. Sensors are generally relatively expensive, but the ability to print them on paper by the thousand will bring down the cost to a few cents. Such cheap, portable, easy-to-use sensors if widely available could profoundly affect the lives of people living in remote areas and developing countries.Read moreRead less
Target Identification with Ultra-Wideband Polarimetric Radar. Radar reflecting objects resonate when electromagnetically and appropriately excited. These resonances can be extracted from the returned radar signal and used to identify the object. A simile is identifying a tuning fork from its sound rather than its image.
The techniques developed in this proposal are primarily to be used in security and defence applications for better screening of threat targets. The benefit is a safe and more ....Target Identification with Ultra-Wideband Polarimetric Radar. Radar reflecting objects resonate when electromagnetically and appropriately excited. These resonances can be extracted from the returned radar signal and used to identify the object. A simile is identifying a tuning fork from its sound rather than its image.
The techniques developed in this proposal are primarily to be used in security and defence applications for better screening of threat targets. The benefit is a safe and more secure environment. Read moreRead less
From Nanosecond Timing to Nanohertz Gravitational Wave Detection. Radio pulsars are the collapsed cores of once-massive stars that are renowned for their exceptional rotational stability. Ever since their discovery Australia has played a prominent role in the discovery and monitoring of these enigmatic sources. The timing and discovery of millisecond pulsars is an area where Australia is a world leader. This programme will use a powerful new instrument on the Parkes radio telescope to search for ....From Nanosecond Timing to Nanohertz Gravitational Wave Detection. Radio pulsars are the collapsed cores of once-massive stars that are renowned for their exceptional rotational stability. Ever since their discovery Australia has played a prominent role in the discovery and monitoring of these enigmatic sources. The timing and discovery of millisecond pulsars is an area where Australia is a world leader. This programme will use a powerful new instrument on the Parkes radio telescope to search for the minute influence of gravitational waves from supermassive black hole binaries on the millisecond pulsars.Read moreRead less
New Pulsar Instrumentation for Gravitation Wave Detection and Understanding the Emission Mechanism. Millisecond pulsar timing currently provides the most sensitive method of detecting long-period gravitational waves which permeate the Universe. Parkes leads the world in the discovery and timing of millisecond pulsars. This has motivated the development of three new advanced instruments including a cyrogenic dual-band receiver, a very wide-band correlator and a baseband recorder with an in-built ....New Pulsar Instrumentation for Gravitation Wave Detection and Understanding the Emission Mechanism. Millisecond pulsar timing currently provides the most sensitive method of detecting long-period gravitational waves which permeate the Universe. Parkes leads the world in the discovery and timing of millisecond pulsars. This has motivated the development of three new advanced instruments including a cyrogenic dual-band receiver, a very wide-band correlator and a baseband recorder with an in-built supercomputer. We aim to exploit these new technologies to systematically study the pulsar population. We will establish a timing array which can detect gravitational waves, enable GLAST to identify over 100 gamma-ray pulsars and study the pulsar emission mechanism at sub-microsecond time resolution.
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Laser Micro-Fabrication of Optoelectronic Devices. The project aims to develop new techniques of laser direct-write fabrication of microstructures (1-100 micron in size) in crystalline materials, and to apply these to fabricating periodically-poled nonlinear crystals for optical frequency conversion. These techniques will use laser ablative surface profiling with subsequent electric field poling, and a completely new process of laser temperature profiling with simultaneous field poling, to writ ....Laser Micro-Fabrication of Optoelectronic Devices. The project aims to develop new techniques of laser direct-write fabrication of microstructures (1-100 micron in size) in crystalline materials, and to apply these to fabricating periodically-poled nonlinear crystals for optical frequency conversion. These techniques will use laser ablative surface profiling with subsequent electric field poling, and a completely new process of laser temperature profiling with simultaneous field poling, to write periodic domains in lithium niobate. Such laser direct-write processing is well suited to rapid prototyping and will enable investigation of novel periodically-poled structures, for example, chirped, fanned and multiplexed structures for nonlinear spectral and temporal conversion.Read moreRead less
The Development of Quantum Gravity. This research constitutes the first large-scale effort to unpack and make sense of the development of quantum gravity. Given the pressing nature of this problem and its importance for our worldview, such a study would be of great benefit to several sectors of the academic community. By giving a global perspective of the field from its origins those outside the field will be able to appreciate its importance and its place in contemporary physics. Quantum gravi ....The Development of Quantum Gravity. This research constitutes the first large-scale effort to unpack and make sense of the development of quantum gravity. Given the pressing nature of this problem and its importance for our worldview, such a study would be of great benefit to several sectors of the academic community. By giving a global perspective of the field from its origins those outside the field will be able to appreciate its importance and its place in contemporary physics. Quantum gravity researchers will be able to see how their preferred approach fits into the web of research programmes, thus opening the door for greater collaboration between the various approaches. This research will greatly enhance Australia's position in this breakthrough science.Read moreRead less
New High Precision Tests on the Standard Model of Physics and Relativity. Precision microwave oscillators developed at UWA are among the most precise devices for testing the current theories in modern physics, such as relativity and the standard model. With new timely experiments in the laboratory at UWA and with our collaborators in France, we are searching for violations which may lead to a breakdown in the current understanding of physics. This project will strengthen Australian ?know how? an ....New High Precision Tests on the Standard Model of Physics and Relativity. Precision microwave oscillators developed at UWA are among the most precise devices for testing the current theories in modern physics, such as relativity and the standard model. With new timely experiments in the laboratory at UWA and with our collaborators in France, we are searching for violations which may lead to a breakdown in the current understanding of physics. This project will strengthen Australian ?know how? and expertise, which will place us in a position to participate in current and future space missions. Moreover, this represents an opportunity to be involved as the only southern hemisphere users of the most accurate space clock ever developed.Read moreRead less
Creation of New Precision Optical and Microwave Technologies and their Application to Testing the Fundamental of Physics. Clocks and oscillators are crucial for the highest precision scientific and industrial measurements and are the foundation of modern communications technology. Recent developments in laser-cooled optical clocks promise a wave of revolutionary changes to global navigation, timekeeping and precision measurement. Our group has already achieved world's-best performance in this f ....Creation of New Precision Optical and Microwave Technologies and their Application to Testing the Fundamental of Physics. Clocks and oscillators are crucial for the highest precision scientific and industrial measurements and are the foundation of modern communications technology. Recent developments in laser-cooled optical clocks promise a wave of revolutionary changes to global navigation, timekeeping and precision measurement. Our group has already achieved world's-best performance in this field. To stay at the forefront of this wave we propose a broad-ranging program of research aimed at:
- new clocks of 100 times higher performance than any existing clock,
- development of extremely low noise photonic oscillators,
- the application of these new technologies to test the foundations of Physics, including involvement in a space-based experiment.
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Singular Causation: A Conceptual Analysis. The concept of causation plays a central role in structuring our experience of the world. Bu how is the concept of causation itself to be understood? This project aims to answer this question by advancing a novel theory to explain the content and structure of the concept. A book monograph outlining the new theory will be of interest not only to philosophers, but also to natural and social scientists concerned to understand the application of the concept ....Singular Causation: A Conceptual Analysis. The concept of causation plays a central role in structuring our experience of the world. Bu how is the concept of causation itself to be understood? This project aims to answer this question by advancing a novel theory to explain the content and structure of the concept. A book monograph outlining the new theory will be of interest not only to philosophers, but also to natural and social scientists concerned to understand the application of the concept in their disciplines, and to cognitive psychologists and artificial intelligence experts concerned to understand its role in human cognition.
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Precision time and frequency in the lab and in space to test fundamental physics. This project gives Australia the opportunity to be involved in the world's best time comparison experiment ever conceived using the European Space Agency's ultra-accurate atomic clocks in space and the best international network of ground clocks. It strengthens collaboration between the University of Western Australia and world elite metrology institutes, including Paris Observatory, Ecole Normale Superior, the Nat ....Precision time and frequency in the lab and in space to test fundamental physics. This project gives Australia the opportunity to be involved in the world's best time comparison experiment ever conceived using the European Space Agency's ultra-accurate atomic clocks in space and the best international network of ground clocks. It strengthens collaboration between the University of Western Australia and world elite metrology institutes, including Paris Observatory, Ecole Normale Superior, the National Measurement Institute, the French Space Agency, and Humboldt, Stanford and Durham Universities. It involves cutting edge research that will test relativity, particle physics and fundamental constants that may well lead to fundamental changes to our laws of Nature and the Universe.Read moreRead less