Successful 2002 Discovery Project Grants by RFCD - contents

Successful 2002 Discovery Project 

Grants by RFCD - contents 

230000 MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES 33 

240000 PHYSICAL SCIENCES 55 

250000 CHEMICAL SCIENCES 50 

260000 EARTH SCIENCES 40 

270000 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES 126 

280000 INFORMATION, COMPUTING AND COMMUNICATION SCIENCES 47 

290000 ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY 107 

300000 AGRICULTURAL, VETERINARY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES 5 

310000 ARCHITECTURE, URBAN ENVIRONMENT AND BUILDING 7 

320000 MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES 19 

330000 EDUCATION 25 

340000 ECONOMICS 14 

350000 COMMERCE, MANAGEMENT, TOURISM AND SERVICES 16 

360000 POLICY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE 14 

370000 STUDIES IN HUMAN SOCIETY 35 

380000 BEHAVIOURAL AND COGNITIVE SCIENCES 42 

390000 LAW, JUSTICE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT 14 

400000 JOURNALISM, LIBRARIANSHIP AND CURATORIAL STUDIES 6 

410000 THE ARTS 6 

420000 LANGUAGE AND CULTURE 18 

430000 HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY 30 

440000 PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION 10 

TOTAL NUMBER OF GRANTS 719

DIVISION 230000 

MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES 

2301 MATHEMATICS 26 

2302 STATISTICS 5 

2399 OTHER MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES 2 

TOTAL NUMBER OF GRANTS 33 


PHYSICAL SCIENCES 

2401 ASTRONOMICAL SCIENCES 10 

2402 THEORETICAL AND CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS 20 

2403 

ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE 

PHYSICS; PLASMA PHYSICS 

10 

2404 OPTICAL PHYSICS 9 

2405 CLASSICAL PHYSICS 2 

2499 OTHER PHYSICAL SCIENCES 4 



CHEMICAL SCIENCES 

2501 PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY (INCL. STRUCTURAL) 10 

2502 INORGANIC CHEMISTRY 10 

2503 ORGANIC CHEMISTRY 13 

2504 ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY 3 

2505 MACROMOLECULAR CHEMISTRY 6 

2506 THEORETICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY 1 

2599 OTHER CHEMICAL SCIENCES 7 



EARTH SCIENCES 

2601 GEOLOGY 19 

2602 GEOPHYSICS 3 

2603 GEOCHEMISTRY 7 

2604 OCEANOGRAPHY 6 

2605 HYDROLOGY 1 

2606 ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES 4 

2699 OTHER EARTH SCIENCES 0 



BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES 

2701 BIOCHEMISTRY AND CELL BIOLOGY 41 

2702 GENETICS 24 

2703 MICROBIOLOGY 7 

2704 BOTANY 10 

2705 ZOOLOGY 9 

2706 PHYSIOLOGY 2 

2707 ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION 31 

2708 BIOTECHNOLOGY 2 

2799 OTHER BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES 0 



INFORMATION, COMPUTING AND 

COMMUNICATION SCIENCES 

2801 INFORMATION SYSTEMS 10 

2802 

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND SIGNAL AND IMAGE 

PROCESSING 

16 

2803 COMPUTER SOFTWARE 10

2804 COMPUTATION THEORY AND MATHEMATICS 6 

2805 DATA FORMAT 4 

2899 

OTHER INFORMATION, COMPUTING AND COMMUNICATION 

SCIENCES 

1 



ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY 

2901 INDUSTRIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD SCIENCES 0 

2902 AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 3 

2903 MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING 5 

2904 AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING 0 

2905 MECHANICAL AND INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING 4 

2906 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING 11 

2907 RESOURCES ENGINEERING 2 

2908 CIVIL ENGINEERING 18 

2909 ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING 10 

2910 GEOMATIC ENGINEERING 3 

2911 ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING 1 

2912 MARITIME ENGINEERING 3 

2913 METALLURGY 6 

2914 MATERIALS ENGINEERING 18 

2915 BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING 7 

2917 COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES 5 

2918 INTERDISCIPLINARY ENGINEERING 6 

2999 OTHER ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY 5 



AGRICULTURAL, VETERINARY AND 

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES 

3001 SOIL AND WATER SCIENCES 0

3002 CROP AND PASTURE PRODUCTION 1 

3003 HORTICULTURE 0 

3004 ANIMAL PRODUCTION 0 

3005 VETERINARY SCIENCES 1 

3006 FORESTRY SCIENCES 0 

3007 FISHERIES SCIENCES 1 

3008 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES 2 

3009 LAND, PARKS AND AGRICULTURE MANAGEMENT 0 



ARCHITECTURE, URBAN ENVIRONMENT AND 

BUILDING 

3101 ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN ENVIRONMENT 4 

3102 BUILDING 2 

3199 OTHER ARCHITECTURE, URBAN ENVIRONMENT AND BUILDING 1 



MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES 

3202 IMMUNOLOGY 1 

3203 MEDICAL BIOCHEMISTRY AND CLINICAL CHEMISTRY 1 

3204 MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY 1 

3205 PHARMACOLOGY AND PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES 4 

3206 MEDICAL PHYSIOLOGY 3 

3207 NEUROSCIENCES 2 

3209 OPTOMETRY 0 

3210 CLINICAL SCIENCES 3 

3211 NURSING 0 

3212 PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES 2 

3214 HUMAN MOVEMENT AND SPORTS SCIENCE 2 



EDUCATION 

3301 EDUCATION STUDIES 15 

3302 CURRICULUM STUDIES 7 

3303 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHERS 3 

3399 OTHER EDUCATION 0 



ECONOMICS 

3401 ECONOMIC THEORY 1 

3402 APPLIED ECONOMICS 9 

3403 ECONOMIC HISTORY AND HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT 0 

3404 ECONOMETRICS 4 

3499 OTHER ECONOMICS 0 



COMMERCE, MANAGEMENT, TOURISM AND 

SERVICES 

3501 ACCOUNTING, AUDITING AND ACCOUNTABILITY 3 

3502 BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT 9 

3503 BANKING, FINANCE AND INVESTMENT 3 

3504 TRANSPORTATION 1 

3505 TOURISM 0 

3506 SERVICES 0 



POLICY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE 

3601 POLITICAL SCIENCE 11 

3602 POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION 3 

3699 OTHER POLICY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE 0 



STUDIES IN HUMAN SOCIETY 

3701 SOCIOLOGY 12 

3702 SOCIAL WORK 2 

3703 ANTHROPOLOGY 11 

3704 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY 3 

3705 DEMOGRAPHY 2 

3706 HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE AND MEDICINE 3 

3799 OTHER STUDIES IN HUMAN SOCIETY 2 



BEHAVIOURAL AND COGNITIVE SCIENCES 

3801 PSYCHOLOGY 35 

3802 LINGUISTICS 7 

3803 COGNITIVE SCIENCE 0 

3899 OTHER BEHAVIOURAL AND COGNITIVE SCIENCES 0 



LAW, JUSTICE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT 

3901 LAW 9 

3903 JUSTICE AND LEGAL STUDIES 2 

3904 LAW ENFORCEMENT 2 

3999 OTHER LAW, JUSTICE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT 1 



JOURNALISM, LIBRARIANSHIP AND 

CURATORIAL STUDIES 

4001 JOURNALISM, COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA 5 

4003 CURATORIAL STUDIES 1 



THE ARTS 

4101 PERFORMING ARTS 3 

4102 VISUAL ARTS AND CRAFTS 0 

4103 CINEMA, ELECTRONIC ARTS AND MULTIMEDIA 1 

4104 DESIGN STUDIES 1 

4199 OTHER ARTS 1 



LANGUAGE AND CULTURE 

4201 LANGUAGE STUDIES 0 

4202 LITERATURE STUDIES 12 

4203 CULTURAL STUDIES 4 

4299 OTHER LANGUAGE AND CULTURE 2 



HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY 

4301 HISTORICAL STUDIES 25 

4302 ARCHAEOLOGY AND PREHISTORY 5 



PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION 

4401 PHILOSOPHY 7 

4402 RELIGION AND RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS 3 


2301 MATHEMATICS 

DP0210141 

Dr Pier Bouwknegt 

Dr M Varghese 

Title: Twisted K-theory and its application to String Theory and Conformal Field Theory 

2002: $60,000 2003: $90,000 2004: $90,000 

Administering Institution: The University of Adelaide 

Panel: DP-MIC Mathematics, Information and Communication Sciences 

Summary: 

String Theory is, at present, the only consistent theory of quantum gravity. Recently, twisted Ktheory 

was proposed as the algebraic structure underlying the classification of D-branes, i.e. solitonic 

extended objects, in certain closed string backgrounds. In this project we aim to advance our 

understanding of the properties of twisted K-theory in the context of String Theory and Conformal 

Field Theory. The ultimate goal is to find the appropriate K-theory classifying D-branes in arbitrary 

closed string backgrounds or, similarly, classifying boundary Conformal Field Theories. It has 

already emerged that the K-theory of C*-algebras will play an important role. 

DP0210262 

Prof Alan Carey 

Title: Novel geometric invariants 

*** 

2002: $35,000 2003: $35,000 2004: $35,000 



Summary: 

Quantum theory is the language of fundamental physics, it describes the small scale structure of 

matter and possibly space-time. Sophisticated models in condensed matter physics and string theory 

have exposed geometric and topological structure as basic building blocks of the theory. Issues 

thrown up by quantum theory are very similar to, and have provided techniques to solve, problems in 

the geometry of three and four dimensional manifolds. Exciting two way exchanges of methods, 

problems and solutions have emerged. This project aims to settle fundamental questions in the 

interaction between these two fields. 

DP0210230 

Dr Ruth Corran 

*** 

Title: Braid monoids, presentations and normal forms. 

2002: $45,888 2003: $47,226 2004: $47,226 2005: $47,226 

Administering Institution: The University of New South Wales

APD - Dr RA Corran 


Summary: 

Braid groups arise naturally in various areas of mathematics, physics and computer science including 

knot theory, Lie theory, quantum groups and cryptography. There is a uniform geometric description 

of braid groups; however this is not the case algebraically. This project aims to find the connections 

between the algebra, combinatorics and geometry of braid groups in order to obtain a uniform 

algebraic description. This generalisation will allow advances in the related areas of mathematics and 

physics. In addition to theoretical results, new algorithms for calculating in braid groups will be 

given, which can then be implemented computationally. 

DP0210969 

Prof Michael Cowling 

Title: Iwasawa N Groups 

2002: $78,792 2003: $82,000 2004: $86,500 2005: $70,000 2006: $70,000 

Administering Institution: The University of New South Wales 


Summary: 

Semisimple Lie groups and related objects are important in mathematics, theoretical physics (e.g., 

quantum mechanics and string theory), theoretical computer science (e.g., construction of 

expanders), and many other areas. They may be studied from different points of view---algebraic, 

analytic, geometric and representation theoretic---and these different studies find different 

applications. The project aims to synthesize the different points of view, to understand their 

fundamental unity, and to allow results of one type to be translated into another context. 

DP0211483 

Prof Norman Dancer 

Title: Abstract methods for nonlinear partial differential equations 

*** 

*** 

2002: $70,045 2003: $80,000 2004: $80,000 

Administering Institution: The University of Sydney 


Summary: 

To use abstract methods to study nonlinear partial differential equations where nonlinear effects 

dominate and where the diffusion is possibly small. These equations arise in many applications of 

mathematics such as population models and catalysis theory. 

DP0210021 

***

Prof Anthony Dooley 

Dr G Mortiss 

Title: Group orbits in garmonic analysis and ergodic theory. 

2002: $95,000 2003: $125,000 2004: $125,000 2005: $60,000 2006: $60,000 


APD - Dr G Mortiss 


Summary: 

Researchers from many areas need a type of mathematical analysis which involves the behaviour of a 

system - which may be a set of data points - under repeated application of some operation or group 

of operations. The structures arising from this kind of process are known as group orbits. The 

project gives information about their nature. Two major types of orbits are considered, coming from 

actions of discrete groups on measure spaces, and from smooth actions of Lie groups on manifolds, 

where powerful geometric methods are available. The project will yield new understandings of 

entropy, and new approaches to Fourier analysis. 

DP0209769 

Dr Anandaswarup Gadde 

Prof CF Miller 

Title: Geometric Group Theory 

*** 

2002: $25,000 2003: $30,000 2004: $32,000 

Administering Institution: The University of Melbourne 


Summary: 

Groups arise naturally as symmetries of geometric objects. Often groups have an interesting 

geometric structure obtained by thinking of these geometric objects coursely. This project aims to 

study the subgroup structure of such groups and obtain homological, geometric and algorithmic 

information. It further investigates natural decompositions of groups with geometric structure along 

special subgroups so that the factors have simpler properties.{P 

DP0208808 

A/Prof Mark Gould 

Prof RJ Baxter 

Prof VV Bazhanov 

Dr PG Bouwknegt 

Dr OE Foda 

Dr PD Jarvis 

Dr IN McArthur 

A/Prof PA Pearce 

Title: Algebraic Structures in Mathematical Physics and Their Applications 

*** 

2002: $157,836 2003: $150,000 2004: $150,000

Administering Institution: The University of Queensland 


Summary: 

Algebraic structures such as affine (super)algebras, quantised algebras and vertex operator algebras 

are among the most important discoveries in mathematics. They provide a universal common 

algebraic framework underlying applications in a wide range of physics (eg. statistical mechanics, 

string theory, condensed matter physics etc.) leading to a high level of research activity worldwide. 

The project harnessess the high level of expertise in mathematical physics across Australia to focus 

on exciting new developments in the theory of these algebraic structures and their application to 

physics, thus ensuring Australia plays a leading role in this rapidly expanding field. 

DP0208430 

Prof Nalini Joshi 

Dr CM Cosgrove 

Title: Singularities And Classifications Of Integrable Systems 

*** 

2002: $55,000 2003: $55,000 2004: $55,000 



Summary: 

What mathematical models of engineering and nature exclude chaos and have globally predictable 

solutions? What models occur ubquitously in fields as diverse as photonics and quantum gravity? 

The answers lie in the theory of integrable systems. We aim to develop powerful new algorithms for 

identifying integrable models and for deducing their remarkable properties. These algorithms are 

expected to answer fundamental questions of contemporary importance. Longer term possible 

outcomes include applications to nonlinear optics and quantum computing. 

DP0210125 

Dr Denis Labutin 

Title: Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations: Singularities, Potential Theory, and 

Geometric Applications 

*** 

2002: $61,184 2003: $62,967 2004: $62,967 

Administering Institution: The Australian National University 

APD - Dr D Labutin 


Summary: 

The main objective of the project is to study properties of solutions to fully nonlinear, elliptic partial 

differential equations. Rather than studying more traditional existence-uniqueness problems the main 

task will be to investigate qualitative questions. These concern the behaviour of solutions to the 

equations, the description of possible pathologies and singularities the solutions can have, and 

conditions for the absence of singularities. Understanding of the singular behaviour of solutions is

very important for applications in geometry, physics, elasticity, and mechanics. From this point of 

view, probably the most important problem is to find explicit information about singularities of 

solutions. 

DP0210130 

Dr King Lai 

Title: Representation theory of groups and applications to geometry and number theory 

*** 

2002: $50,000 2003: $70,000 2004: $70,000 



Summary: 

Representation theory is at the center of the mathematical study of symmetry, which we constantly 

use to understand the world. Combine with geometry this theory produces spectacular results in 

number theory. This project aims to study p-adic phenomena in these theories. Its main outcomes 

will be p-adic automorphic forms and local functoriality. 

DP0208291 

Prof Alan McIntosh 

Title: HARMONIC ANALYSIS, BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEMS, AND MAXWELL'S 

EQUATIONS IN LIPSCHITZ DOMAINS 

*** 

2002: $75,000 2003: $119,000 2004: $119,000 

Administering Institution: Australian National University - Institute of Advanced Studies 


Summary: 

Boundary value problems for partial differential equations arise naturally when physical problems are 

expressed in mathematical terms. This project concerns the systematic development of the harmonic 

analysis of partial differential operators, and of the corresponding boundary integrals in order to 

solve such problems on irregular regions. Particular emphasis is given to studying the behaviour of 

electromagnetic waves both inside and outside irregularly shaped surfaces, and their propagation 

through it. 

DP0209706 

Dr Alice Niemeyer 

Prof CE Praeger 

*** 

Title: Group algorithms: Complexity, Theory and Practice. 

2002: $62,000 2003: $62,000 2004: $62,000 

Administering Institution: The University of Western Australia 

Panel: DP-MIC Mathematics, Information and Communication Sciences

Summary: 

The symmetry of a mathematical or physical system is often best described by an abstract structure 

called a group, and groups are commonly represented as groups of permutations or matrices. In this 

project we shall design and analyse a general algorithmic framework for computing with finite 

groups. In the context of permutation groups and matrix groups we will produce prototype 

implementations. The proposed framework has the potential to revolutionise algorithmic group 

theory as it draws together theoretical and computational models of groups. 

DP0208228 

A/Prof Liqun Qi 

Title: Robust Reformulation Methods 

*** 

2002: $60,000 2003: $75,000 2004: $75,000 



Summary: 

Many decision problems in engineering, business and economics are modeled as nonlinear 

continuous optimization problems. Often these are made difficult by the existence of constraints. In 

this project, we reformulate such problems as constrained nonsmooth equations, rather than 

optimization problems, and develop generalized Newton and quasi-Newton methods for solving 

them. The expected outcomes of this project include a systematic theory of reformulation methods, 

and robust and efficient algorithms for solving some important nonlinear continuous optimization 

problems. There is high potential for applications in engineering, business and finance. 

DP0210300 

A/Prof Gilles Quispel 

A/Prof RI McLachlan 

Prof A Iserles 

Prof B Leimkuhler 

Prof H Munthe-Kaas 

Dr A Zanna 

*** 

Title: GEOMETRIC NUMERICAL INTEGRATION 

2002: $90,000 2003: $70,000 2004: $70,000 

Administering Institution: La Trobe University 


Summary: 

Many scientific phenomena in physics, astronomy, and chemistry, are modelled by ordinary 

differential equations (ODEs). Often these equations have no solution in closed form, and one relies 

on numerical integration. Traditionally this is done using Runge-Kutta methods or linear multistep 

methods. In the last decade, however, we (and others) have discovered novel classes of so-called 

"geometric" numerical integration methods that preserve qualititative features of certain ODE's 

exactly (in contrast to traditional methods), leading to crucial stability improvements. Extending

concepts from dynamical systems theory and traditional numerical ODEs, this project will improve, 

extend and systematize this new field of geometric integration. 

DP0211367 

Mr Adam Rennie 

*** 

Title: New Directions in Noncommutative Geometry. 

2002: $61,184 2003: $62,967 2004: $62,967 

Administering Institution: The University of Newcastle 

APD - Mr A Rennie 


Summary: 

A. Connes' noncommutative geometry has recently become important in topology, geometry and 

physics. The central geometric objects in noncommutative geometry are called spectral triples. 

Spectral triples also provide the framework for studying some important classes of equations. This 

project will extend the definitions of spectral triples to cover additional important examples. This 

extension will provide the tools to study a broad class of boundary value problems in the theory of 

equations. Such problems occur in several areas of modern physics. In addition, results obtained will 

be useful for studying the structure of the most important spectral triples, called noncommutative 

manifolds. 

DP0208065 

A/Prof A Guyan Robertson 

Title: Noncommutative geometry of groups acting on buildings 

*** 

2002: $45,000 2003: $51,000 2004: $52,000 



Summary: 

Consider a tiling of the plane by triangles, where each triangle is labeled by an element of a finite 

alphabet. Suppose that only certain pairs of labels are allowed to be adjacent to each other in each 

direction. The tiled planes can be pasted together to form the abstract mathematical object known as 

a building. This building and its boundary, give rise to new families of C*-algebras and groups. The 

algebras have a rich structure which it is proposed to investigate and link with geometric properties 

of the groups. New insights into geometry, dynamics and algebra are expected. 

DP0208490 

Prof Joachim Rubinstein 

*** 

Title: Topics on 3- and 4-dimensional manifolds. 

2002: $90,000 2003: $131,000 2004: $125,000 2005: $60,000 2006: $60,000



Summary: 

- to develop practical algorithms for recognising surfaces, knots and 3-dimensional spaces. These 

will be very useful for experimentation 

and to understand the computational complexity of such questions. 

- to understand the properties of minimal surfac 

DP0209268 

Dr Maria Seron 

Prof GC Goodwin 

Title: Constrained Receding Horizon Control of Nonlinear Systems 

2002: $90,000 2003: $120,000 2004: $120,000 2005: $78,601 2006: $78,601 

*** 


ARF - Dr MM Seron 


Summary: 

Most real world control problems involve the design of strategies that achieve performance goals in 

the presence of constraints on the system variables. Receding horizon control is a strategy that 

addresses this problem by directly optimising performance under the appropriate constraints. This 

project will address theoretical and computational issues associated with this methodology. The 

expected outcomes include: 

* New finitely parameterised solutions for nonlinear systems. 

* Implementations of reduced computational complexity. 

* New insights into analytical properties of the methodology. 

These outcomes are expected to add to Australian scientific recognition and to bring significant 

economic benefit to Australian industry. 

DP0211459 

Dr Igor Shparlinski 

*** 

Title: Number Theoretic Methods in Cryptography 

2002: $70,000 2003: $90,000 2004: $90,000 

Administering Institution: Macquarie University 


Summary: 

It is well known that Number Theory, besides its intrinsic beauty, provides many powerful tools for 

modern Cryptography. The aim of the project is to formulate and solve new and important 

mathematical problems, which lie in the background of modern cryptography. They are also of 

independent value for pure mathematics because they very often stimulate new approaches to and

new surprising points of view on classical results and methods. The main outcome will be advancing 

our theoretical knowledge about several major cryptosystems. The project will extend and enrich the 

area of applications of mathematics to cryptography and related areas. 

DP0208976 

Dr Kate Smith 

Mr T Kwok 

Title: Realising the promise of neural networks for practical optimisation: improving their 

efficiency and effectivess through chaotic dynamics and hardware implementation 

*** 

2002: $80,000 2003: $92,000 2004: $62,967 

Administering Institution: Monash University 

APD - Mr T Kwok 


Summary: 

Combinatorial optimisation problems such as transportation routing and assembly-line scheduling are 

critical to the efficiency of many industries, but their combinatorial explosion makes rapid solution 

difficult. Neural networks (NNs) hold much potential for rapid solution though hardware 

implementation, but we need to improve the quality of their solutions before developing hardware. 

We have previously shown that the rich dynamics of chaos can improve the efficiency and 

effectiveness of NNs. We aim to develop new chaotic NN models, rigorously evaluate them on 

industrially significant problems such as those arising in manufacturing, logistics and 

telecommunications, and demonstrate their speed through hardware acceleration. 

DP0210062 

Dr Daniel Stevenson 

*** 

Title: Higher Line Bundles in Geometry and Physics 

2002: $61,184 2003: $62,967 2004: $62,967 


APD - Dr DC Stevenson 


Summary: 

This project seeks to develop a theory of geometric objects, `higher line bundles', which realise 

elements of higher dimensional cohomology groups. In particular this project will develop a theory 

of differential geometry for these objects, allowing one to interpret differential forms representing 

cohomology classes as the `curvature' of a higher line bundle. This will have applications in quantum 

field theory and string/brane theory. 

DP0208556 

Dr Norman Wildberger 

***

Title: Harmonic analysis on Lie groups via hypergroup convolution structures 

2002: $30,000 2003: $40,000 2004: $40,000 



Summary: 

This project studies convolution structures for conjugacy classes of nilpotent and compact Lie 

groups and the connections with fusion rule algebras. The aims are to establish a suitable theory of 

almost periodic functions on a nilpotent Lie group to allow a wrapping theorem to be formulated, to 

describe precisely the class hypergroup of a compact Lie group, and to clarify the relations of the 

latter with fusion rule algebras. This will result in further understanding of the Kirillov orbit method 

and the have applications to conformal field theory. 

DP0208137 

Dr George Willis 

Dr J Ramagge 

*** 

Title: Totally disconnected groups and their algebras 

2002: $60,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $65,000 



Summary: 

Groups are algebraic objects which convey symmetry much as numbers convey size. For example, 

the symmetries of a crystal form a crystallographic group and the classification of crystallographic 

groups describes all possible crystal structures. Totally disconnected groups arise as symmetries of 

network structures having nodes and a `neighbour' relation, as models of crystals do, but which are 

not rigid like crystals. Powerful techniques for analysing totally disconnected groups have recently 

been discovered and this project aims to develop those techniques. The resulting significant advances 

in the understanding of symmetry will extend the range of applications of group theory. 

DP0209941 

Dr Nicholas Wormald 

Title: Random Structures and Asymptotics 

*** 

2002: $50,000 2003: $70,000 2004: $70,000 



Summary: 

Discrete random structures have many uses in algorithms in computer science (for instance, random 

networks modelling computer link-ups), biology (for instance, random sequences modelling DNA) 

and engineering. New techniques for studying these structures will lead to powerful new results on 

their properties. The emphasis will be on the behaviour of the random structures when their size 

becomes large. With the advent of more powerful computing techniques, it is often the large-scale

ehaviour which has relevance to the more diffucult computations being undertaken. The results are 

also of potential application to other areas of mathematics. 

DP0211311 

Dr Ruibin Zhang 

Dr AI Molev 

Title: Representations and Applications of Quantum Groups 

*** 

2002: $55,000 2003: $75,000 2004: $75,000 



Summary: 

The theory of quantum groups originated from soluble lattice models in statistical mechanics, but it 

turned out to have important applications to a wide range of subjects in mathematics and physics. 

For this reason, quantum groups have occupied a central stage of international mathematical research 

for the last decade, and continue to attract great interest. This project addresses some important 

open problems on representations and applications of some finite dimensional quantum groups. 

2302 STATISTICS 

DP0209179 

Prof Timothy Brown 

Dr A Xia 

*** 

Title: Stein's method for probability approximation 

2002: $50,000 



Summary: 

Data of counts in time, such as incoming calls in telecommunications and the clusters of palindromes 

in a family of herpes-virus genomes, arise in an extraordinarily diverse range of fields from science to 

business. These problems can be modelled by sums of random variables taking values 0 and 1 in 

probability theory, thus permitting approximate calculations which are often good enough in 

practice. This project will obtain such approximate solutions and estimate the errors involved. 

Applications include analysis of data in insurance, finance, flood prediction in hydrology. 

DP0208296 

Prof Peter Hall 

Title: NONPARAMETRIC STATISTICS 

2002: $294,104 2003: $294,104 2004: $294,104 2005: $70,669 2006: $70,669 

***


APF - Prof PG Hall 


Summary: 

Nonparametric statistical methods are techniques that implicitly choose statistical models from 

exceptionally large and highly adaptive classes. The project aims to develop innovative and 

practicable nonparametric methods in four areas: Statistical Smoothing, Data Mining, Mixture 

Methods and Robust Inference. The significance of the work lies in its novelty, the breadth of its 

practical motivation, and its position at the leading edge of contemporary work in statistics. 

Expected outcomes include new technologies for data analysis. 

DP0210572 

A/Prof Ross Maller 

Prof CC Klueppelberg 

Title: Stochastic Analysis with a View to Applications in Financial Risk Processes 

*** 

2002: $55,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $60,000 



Summary: 

Recent decades have seen explosive growth in applications of probability theory and statistics to the 

modelling of risk in finance and insurance. An intensive theoretical investigation into passage time 

and other problems for Levy and other continuous time processes will be applied to financial risk 

analyses. Related investigations will involve perpetuities and stochastic volatility models for price 

series. Outcomes will include the development of new theory in probability and statistics, the 

initiation and reinforcement of collaborative ties with major international research figures, and the 

fostering of contacts with the finance industry. 

DP0209921 

A/Prof Peter Taylor 

Dr NG Bean 

Dr DP Kroese 

Dr PK Pollett 

Title: Operator-Analytic Methods in Telecommunication Systems 

*** 

2002: $63,319 2003: $60,205 2004: $60,087 



Summary: 

Many systems in information technology and telecommunications evolve under conditions of 

uncertainty. In this context, mathematical modelling is an essential component of the design process. 

We shall provide techniques for analysing a class of mathematical models, called operator-analytic 

models, which can be used to study many of the above-mentioned systems, such as the Internet. This

project will deliver efficient numerical algorithms that will make possible practical analysis of 

operator-analytic models. 

DP0210996 

A/Prof Arunas Verbyla 

Dr GK Smyth 

Prof PJ Diggle 

Title: Modelling mean and dispersion using fixed and random effects 

*** 

2002: $63,204 2003: $60,801 2004: $62,445 



Summary: 

The aims of the project are to develop methods for joint mean and dispersion modelling using fixed 

and random effects, in the generalized linear models context and for Gaussian longitudinal data. The 

significance is the more efficient, precise and appropriate analysis of data arising from many areas of 

application. The expected outcomes are therefore better methods of analysis, software to carry the 

analyses out, and potentially important results in applications. 

2399 OTHER MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES 

DP0208244 

Prof Anthony Guttmann 

Dr AL Owczarek 

Dr R Brak 

Dr I Jensen 

Title: Advanced Computational and Analytic Studies in Lattice Statistical Mechanics and 

Applications 

2002: $130,000 2003: $175,000 2004: $175,000 2005: $70,000 2006: $70,000 

*** 



Summary: 

Lattice Statistical Mechanics is one of the current success stories of Australian Science with a 

significant international presence. The applicants represent a centre of excellence, particularly in the 

area of combining computational and analytic studies for maximum scientific benefit. The 

programme of research maximises Australia's investment in this human resource by focussing on an 

integrated set of projects comprising a diverse and innovative group of applications in areas such as 

polymer science, DNA denaturation, combinatorics and the study of traffic flows. The underlying 

theme is always the utility of lattice statistical mechanics in 21st century science. 

DP0209590 

***

Mr Andrew Rechnitzer 

Title: Key combinatorial problems in lattice statistical mechanics 

2002: $49,888 2003: $47,226 2004: $47,226 2005: $47,226 


APD - Mr AD Rechnitzer 


Summary: 

The enumeration of lattice animals is a famous open problem in combinatorics. These discrete 

structures also underpin our understanding of many physical phenomena, including polymer collapse 

and percolation in random media, through the integral part they play in many models in statistical 

mechanics and theoretical chemistry. 

The project aims to answer some key open problems in this area using exact and numerical 

techniques. We expect that this will lead to proofs of the insolvability of certain problems, new exact 

solutions of others, and a greater understanding of the effect of topology and geometry on the 

behaviour of these models. 

*** 

2401 ASTRONOMICAL SCIENCES 

DP0210150 

Dr Timothy Bedding 

Prof J Christensen-Dalsgaard 

Title: Stellar oscillations from the ground and space 

2002: $114,000 2003: $120,000 2004: $55,000 


Panel: DP-PE Physical and Earth Sciences 

Summary: 

We are participating in the Danish-led satellite mission MONS. The main instrument is a 32-cm 

telescope that is being designed and built by an Australian company. It will measure tiny brightness 

fluctuations in stars that reveal exquisite details about their internal structures. We propose to 

develop sophisticated processing algorithms that will allow MONS to measure the brightness 

fluctuations with unprecedented precision. We will also exploit our new method for detecting 

oscillations in the brightest stars from the ground using the world's largest telescopes. 

DP0208876 

Dr Matthew Colless 

Dr W Saunders 

Dr QA Parker 

Prof JP Huchra 

Dr O Lahav 

Dr GA Mamon 

***

Prof K Wakamatsu 

Title: The 6dF Galaxy Survey - Mass and Motions in the Nearby Universe 

2002: $74,000 2003: $67,000 2004: $69,000 2005: $69,000 



Summary: 

The 6dF Galaxy Survey will yield by far the largest and most detailed map of the positions and 

motions of galaxies in the nearby universe. The goal of the survey is to determine the distributions of 

both the galaxies and the dark matter in order to measure fundamental cosmological parameters and 

constrain models of galaxy formation. The survey will cover the whole southern hemisphere, 

measuring redshifts for 120,000 galaxies and distances and motions for 15,000 galaxies. The survey 

will use the unique 6dF robotic fibre spectrograph we have constructed for the Anglo-Australian 

Observatory's Schmidt Telescope. 

DP0208445 

Prof Michael Dopita 

Dr RS Sutherland 

Dr WJ van Breugel 

Dr P Best 

Prof A Lazarian 

*** 

Title: Interstellar Physics at the Epoch of Galaxy Formation 

2002: $76,000 2003: $120,000 2004: $107,000 2005: $97,000 



Summary: 

With large telescopes and major space observatories, we can finally reach back in time and see how 

galaxies were assembled in the first few billion years of our Universe. We need to determine how gas 

forms into stars, how massive black holes feed on and interact with their nascent galaxies, how heavy 

elements are produced, and how dust obscuration or re-radiation affects observations. This proposal 

brings a world-class team together to develop and apply new and unique pan-spectral tools based on 

physical models of the interstellar plasma and conceived to determine fundamental parameters of 

collapsing galaxies. 

DP0210352 

Prof Donald Melrose 

Dr LT Ball 

Dr Q Luo 

Dr S Johnston 

Title: Relativistic Plasma Astrophysics: Pulsars, IDVs and transients 

*** 

2002: $238,000 2003: $273,000 2004: $279,000 2005: $211,000 2006: $207,000



Summary: 

We will tackle four fundamental problems in theoretical astrophysics. How do small, dead stars 

known as pulsars produce radio emission? Why do quasars, the most distant objects in the universe, 

twinkle at radio wavelengths? What is the relationship between violent bursts of gamma-ray emission 

and other astrophysical explosions? Why are strongly magnetized pulsars so efficient at radiating 

high energy photons? We will attack these questions by developing new theories for coherent 

emission, scintillation, particle acceleration and processes in superstrong magnetic fields, and testing 

them against observations 

DP0211292 

Dr Raymond Protheroe 

Title: Energetic particle interactions in the universe: consequences for cosmic ray, gamma 

ray and neutrino astrophysics 

*** 

2002: $102,000 2003: $97,000 2004: $97,000 



Summary: 

The most energetic phenomena in the Universe will be explored with giant cosmic ray, neutrino and 

gamma ray telescopes. Particles accelerated or produced in astrophysical sources interact in their 

magnetic, matter and radiation environment, making cosmic rays, gamma rays and neutrinos. 

Subsequently, interactions in space as they travel to Earth change what we see. With theoretical 

work proposed in this project we aim to determine where in the Universe the highest energy cosmic 

rays originate, and the fundamental processes responsible for them. It will also lead to a greater 

understanding of how active galaxies and other astrophysical objects function. 

DP0209028 

Dr Brian Schmidt 

Prof S Kulkarni 

*** 

Title: Taking Measure of the Universe with Exploding Stars 

2002: $82,000 2003: $73,000 2004: $75,000 



Summary: 

We seek to discover distant exploding stars and use observations of these objects to learn about the 

global properties of the Universe. In addition to learning about the age, shape, and ultimate fate of 

the Universe, we can uncover what types of matter make up the Universe. Finally, we will observe 

when the first stars were born, and track their birthrate for the entire cosmic history. 

***

DP0208273 

Prof John Storey 

Dr MG Burton 

A/Prof MC Ashley 

Title: The best astronomical site on earth? 

2002: $126,000 2003: $136,000 2004: $131,000 2005: $121,000 2006: $73,000 



Summary: 

A modern optical/infrared telescope is only as good as its site. We have previously shown that the 

infrared skies above the South Pole are up to 100 times darker than skies elsewhere, leading to 

enormous potential gains in sensitivity. We now seek to extend these measurements to Antarctic 

sites that are even higher, drier and colder than the South Pole. These are expected to be the best 

observing sites on Earth, paving the way for the deployment of telescopes of unprecedented 

sensitivity able to explore the origins of planets, stars and galaxies. 

DP0210087 

Dr Peter Tuthill 

*** 

Title: Imaging circumstellar matter at high resolution 

2002: $93,269 2003: $102,223 2004: $104,000 2005: $104,000 2006: $104,000 


ARF - Dr PG Tuthill 


Summary: 

Within contemporary astrophysics there is a particular fascination with matter in near-stellar 

environments. Studies of stellar and planetary systems from formation through to eventual 

destruction entail observation of material, principally dust and gas, playing their parts on a very 

remote stage. A new generation of telescopes, known as interferometers, deliver extremely high 

resolutions enabling our first direct glimpses of these phenomena. Here I propose using a number of 

these devices in concert in order to dramatically enhance their scientific payoff. In addition to 

enabling unique studies of stellar systems, new techniques for merging disparate data into powerful 

combined forms will be devised. 

DP0211389 

A/Prof John Webb 

Title: Fundamental physical parameters from Hubble Space Telescope and Keck Telescope 

observations 

*** 

2002: $63,000 2003: $61,000 2004: $64,000 

Administering Institution: The University of New South Wales


Summary: 

A large allocation of Hubble Space Telescope time was awarded for new primordial baryonic density 

measurement, using luminous quasars (Webb et al, 75 orbits, cycle 10). Observations (begin after 

July 2001, spanning over a year) will yield unprecedented accuracy for the high redshift deuterium 

abundance, and a fundamental test of the homogeneous Big Bang. A parallel investigation, using the 

same techniques, uses higher redshift Keck Telescope spectra (85 quasars, collaboration with W. 

Sargent, Caltech) to constrain space-time variation of the fine-structure constant. Recent results 

suggest a weak time dependence. This new sample (3 times larger) will definitively check this. 

DP0208618 

A/Prof Rachel Webster 

A/Prof WJ Couch 

Dr PE Nulsen 

Dr A Melatos 

Dr CH Lineweaver 

Dr MJ Drinkwater 

Dr L Staveley-Smith 

Dr AJ Green 

Prof KC Freeman 

Title: Formation and Evolution in the Extragalactic Universe 

*** 

2002: $330,000 2003: $306,000 2004: $290,000 2005: $217,000 2006: $212,000 



Summary: 

Understanding the formation and evolution of galaxies, quasars and clusters of galaxies remains one 

of the key challenges in modern cosmology. We will bring together a wide range of skills to focus 

on specific aspects of this problem. Major topics we will consider include: how the gas and galaxies 

in clusters affect one another as they evolve; how quasars are formed and evolve; how ordinary 

matter and dark matter are distributed in galaxies and clusters; and finally, when galaxies were 

formed. 

2402 THEORETICAL AND CONDENSED MATTER 

PHYSICS 

DP0208208 

A/Prof Leslie Allen 

Title: The phase and inverse scattering problem for electrons multiply scattered by nonperiodic 

solids 

*** 

2002: $60,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $60,000



Summary: 

Theoretical methods for the inversion of multiple scattering of electrons in non-periodic solids will be 

obtained. This will vastly extend the range of utility of atomic resolution electron microscopy and 

electron tomography, where single scattering conditions are usually assumed. We will further 

develop our recent novel solutions to the phase problem from images and diffraction patterns 

(needed as a prelude to the inversion) that are robust in the presence of discontinuities in the phase 

(such as vortices). These phase retrieval methods will be useful not only for problems in electron 

optics but also in visible, x-ray, neutron and atom optics. 

DP0208925 

Dr Murray Batchelor 

Title: Solvable models and pattern formation: quantum spin ladders, combinatorics and 

stromatolite morphogenesis 

*** 

2002: $57,000 2003: $58,000 2004: $60,000 



Summary: 

The aim of this project is to develop new applications of exactly solved models in statistical 

mechanics. These include the study of quantum spin ladders of great interest in condensed matter 

physics. The physical properties of new and existing models will be derived to provide valuable 

benchmarks and predictions for future theoretical and experimental work. We will also undertake the 

study and development of a set of remarkable conjectures relating the properties of a solvable model 

to an established area of combinatorics. Another aspect of this project involves the investigation of 

the origins, growth and form of ancient stromatolites. 

DP0208481 

Prof V V Bazhanov 

Prof RJ Baxter 

Title: Solvable models on regular and random lattices in statistical mechanics and field 

theory 

*** 

2002: $105,000 2003: $106,000 2004: $107,000 



Summary: 

There are only a few solvable models in statistical mechanics and field theory, but those that are 

known give deep insights into the cooperative behaviour that characterizes a critical point, as well as 

leading to fascinating mathematics. The two chief investigators have been at the forefront of this field 

for many years. Currently there are many notable exciting challenges they wish to address:

the relationship between Tutte's work on dichromatic polynomials and matrix models, the 

outstanding problem of calculating the order parameters of the chiral Potts model, and the 

eigenvalue spectra of the transfer matrices that occur in integrable models. 

DP0209792 

Dr Paul Dastoor 

Dr CO Too 

A/Prof DL Officer 

Prof AK Burrell 

*** 

Title: Plastic Solar Cells: Polymers that Harvest Sunlight 

2002: $64,000 2003: $74,000 2004: $44,000 



Summary: 

Sustainable economic growth for Australia requires renewable, environmentally acceptable energy 

resources. The most attractive option for the future generation of electrical energy is via the direct 

conversion of sunlight. The utilisation of solar energy has significant advantages over other energy 

sources in that it is inexhaustible and does not produce carbon dioxide or other pollutants. 

Conventional photovoltaic technology is not cost effective. Solar cells made from conducting 

polymers present the tantalising possibility of producing cheap electricity from sunlight. This project 

brings together experts in the physics and chemistry of conducting polymers with the goal of 

developing efficient plastic solar cells. 

DP0210745 

Prof Peter Drummond 

*** 

Title: Computational quantum dynamics of atom lasers 

2002: $125,000 2003: $119,000 2004: $119,000 2005: $118,000 2006: $121,000 


APF - Prof PD Drummond 


Summary: 

The purpose of this project is to develop practical ways to simulate strongly interacting quantum 

dynamical systems, with direct present applications to the theory of the atom laser. The significance 

is not just in the area of the atom laser, but in many other areas of modern computational physics 

involving the dynamics of quantum systems. The expected outcome is a method for simulating the 

atom laser, as an aid in designing these devices for nanotechnology or metrology applications, and 

as a guidepost towards algorithms for more general quantum dynamical problems with applications 

to other modern technologies. 

DP0208423 

***

A/Prof Trevor Finlayson 

Title: Smart Materials Between Two and Three Dimensions 

2002: $30,000 2003: $63,000 2004: $63,000 


Panel: DP-EE Engineering and Environmental Sciences 

Summary: 

Shape-memory alloys involving martensitic transformations, are important as smart materials. Both 

the transformation nucleation and the sample morphology are unsolved issues relevant for these 

applications. Of particular note are the softening of certain lattice-vibrational frequencies, the 

development of a tweed-like microstructure on cooling the material and the role of defects, 

particularly the sample surface, in the transformation process. This project addresses these issues 

using model materials in thin-film and bulk-crystal forms. Capacitance dilatometry, optical, electron 

and scanning-probe microscopies, and x-ray techniques, will unlock an understanding of the physical 

and metallurgical conditions controlling these transformations. 

DP0210800 

Dr Alexander Hamilton 

Prof C Hanna 

Dr Y Hirayama 

Title: Proximity effects and new correlated phases in closely spaced quantum electronic 

devices 

*** 

2002: $92,000 2003: $72,000 2004: $73,000 



Summary: 

The aim of this project is to understand the interactions between quantum electronic devices when 

they are brought into close proximity. A detailed knowledge of these interactions and how to control 

them is important both for conintued miniaturisation in the semiconductor industry, and for the 

fundamental understanding of new quantum ground states. To achieve these goals new coupled 

device designs will be engineered in collaboration with NTT's Basic Research Laboratories in Japan. 

Theses novel devices will be used to study fundamental correlations in quantum semiconductor 

systems, with the possibility of forming new correlated states of matter such as electron-hole 

superfluids. 

DP0209054 

Prof Yuri Kivshar 

Title: Nonlinear photonic crystals 

*** 

2002: $71,000 2003: $68,000 2004: $68,000 


Panel: DP-PE Physical and Earth Sciences

Summary: 

Photonic crystals have recently became very attractive for photonic technology, that uses light 

instead of slow electrons as the information carriers replacing electronics in communications and 

information management. This project has the purpose to develop the fundamental concept of 

nonlinear photonic crystals and demonstrate their possible applications analysing the properties of 

the nonlinearity-induced light localization, nonlinear transmission, and frequency conversion in bandgap 

materials with the intensity-dependent optical response. This will allow the possibility realising 

in practice nonlinear switching even for sharply bent waveguides, providing an effective way to 

control the flow of light in band-gap photonic circuits. 

DP0208386 

Prof Robert Leckey 

A/Prof JD Riley 

Prof Dr L Ley 

Prof K Horn 

Title: Photoemission studies of Fermi surfaces, of wide bandgap semi-conductors and quasi 

crystals 

2002: $145,000 2003: $145,000 2004: $137,000 2005: $89,000 



*** 

Summary: 

Knowledge of the detailed shape of the Fermi surface of a conducting material is vital for an 

understanding of its electrical and magnetic properties. We will use angle resolved photo-emission in 

conjunction with synchrotron radiation to explore the Fermi surfaces of technologically important 

magnetic alloys, the mechanism driving the occurance of charge density waaves in layer compounds 

and the electronic properties of wide band-gap semi-conductors such as GaN, SiC and of selected 

quasi crystals. These measurements will be performed using a unique high resolution toroidal 

spectrometer currently under construction at La Trobe university. 

DP0210014 

Dr Ross McKenzie 

Prof JS Brooks 

Title: Interplay of superconductivity and magnetism in layered molecular crystals 

*** 

2002: $60,000 2003: $63,000 2004: $65,000 



Summary: 

The most interesting new electronic materials discovered in the past decade are built from layers of 

atoms or molecules. Many exhibit a subtle competition between magnetism and superconductivity.

This project will develop new theoretical concepts and models for the electronic properties of 

organic molecular crystals. The theoretical predictions will be tested experimentally at the USA 

National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. 

The outcome will be a better understanding of a wide range of materials (including high-temperature 

superconductors, giant magnetoresistance and plastic electronic materials) that could be the basis of 

much of the electronic technology of the twenty-first century. 

DP0209702 

Prof David Neilson 

Prof WJ Geldart 

Title: Correlated electron states in ultra high purity quantum transistors 

*** 

2002: $66,000 2003: $64,000 2004: $66,000 



Summary: 

Ultra-fast transistors play a decisive role in modern telecommunications and are found in everything 

from mobile telephones to HD television. The rapid advances in transistor technology and its impact 

on society has recently been recognised by the award of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics for 

electronic device design. However the rapid advances in technology have reached the stage where 

unexpected new phenomena are being observed in extremely high quality transistors that cannot be 

explained by existing theories. This proposal addresses this imbalance and aims to develop powerful 

theoretical tools to investigate unexplained quantum effects in ultra-high quality transistors. 

DP0208681 

A/Prof Daryl O'Connor 

*** 

Title: High Energy Heavy Ions in Materials Science 

2002: $53,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $62,000 



Summary: 

The outcome of this project is to develop a more accurate predictor of the rate of energy loss of high 

energy heavy ions in solids which will have profound implications in the use of these particles in ion 

implantation, materials analysis and medical physics applications. It will contribute to the 

development of new high technology materials and to the application of high energy ions to medical 

treatment procedures. 

DP0209221 

Dr Mark Oxley 

***

Title: Atom Location by Channelling Enhanced Microanalysis using Inner-shell Electron 

Energy Loss Spectroscopy 

2002: $67,000 2003: $68,186 2004: $71,000 


APD - Dr MP Oxley 


Summary: 

The technique of Atom Location by Channelling Enhanced Microanalysis (ALCHEMI) has been 

explored extensively using Electron Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) measurements by many authors. 

The extension of this method to Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) is difficult due to the 

more complicated formulation of inner-shell ionization required under such experimental conditions. 

Issues such as the "delocalization" of the ionization interaction and the significance of channelling of 

the scattered electron need to be addressed so that this method may be generally applicable. It is the 

aim of this project to extend this commonly used method to the topical field of EELS. 

DP0209965 

Dr Paul Pigram 

A/Prof J Liesegang 

Prof E Kang 

*** 

Title: Micro-patterning of fluoropolymer surfaces for electronic and biomaterials applications 

2002: $98,000 2003: $120,000 2004: $72,000 



Summary: 

Formation of micro-patterned structures on fluoropolymers including PTFE, FEP and PVDF will be 

performed using micro-contact printing techniques in combination with surface graft copolymerisation; 

an innovative convergence of two emerging technologies. Surface modification and 

structures formed will be investigated using contact angle measurements and mapping, and surface 

analytical techniques (XPS and TOFSIMS). Processing methodologies will be identified which allow 

formation of micrometre scale tracks, and selected area deposition of sensor films and reactive 

biomaterials. Trial device fabrication will be undertaken using conditions and device structures 

similar to those required for production of diagnostic sensors and arrays, and polymer-based 

electronic devices. 

DP0210561 

Dr Robert Stamps 

Mr RC Woodward 

*** 

Title: Time and frequency resolved magnetometry 

2002: $80,000 2003: $101,186 2004: $71,000 

Administering Institution: The University of Western Australia

APD - Mr RC Woodward 


Summary: 

Magnetism is well known as a source of fundamental unsolved problems in material physics and 

condensed matter. It is also an area famous for practical application: the ability to record and read 

information from magnetic materials is the basis of nearly all mass data storage devices. The aim of 

this project is to provide first measures of certain key energies and rates associated with magnetic 

processes. Through a combination of theoretical modelling and experiment design, a new 

experimental technique will be developed into a powerful analysis tool. This work will establish the 

technique in Australia and create new opportunities for future study. 

DP0210566 

Dr Robert Stamps 

Prof R Street 

Title: Theoretical and experimental studies of exchange bias in thin films 

*** 

2002: $111,000 2003: $82,000 2004: $70,000 



Summary: 

Films containing layers of different types of magnetic materials - in particular, ferromagnetic and 

antiferromagnetic - have properties which are being exploited in magneto-electronic devices used in 

recording and manipulation of computer data. These properties are determined by new types of 

magnetisation processes in the interface between layers. In this project investigations of the magnetic 

behaviour of interfaces will be made to provide information of value in the design and optimisation 

of new and existing devices. The procedures to be developed in this project will be applicable to the 

understanding of the behaviour of a new range of atomically engineered magnetic structures. 

DP0211468 

Prof Trevor Tansley 

Dr KS Butcher 

Dr IL Guy 

Prof HL Chan 

Adj/Prof CR Schwab 

Title: Microprobing of Crystal Polarisation in Polycrystalline Compound Semiconductors 

*** 

2002: $127,000 2003: $143,186 2004: $82,000 


APD - Dr KS Butcher 


Summary:

We will improve the quality of polycrystalline compound semiconductor thin films, grown by 

chemical vapour deposition. The novelty of the project is divided between applying new methods to 

assess film quality and deposition development. An expected outcome will be a measurement system 

with the unique capability of probing the spatial variation of dielectric polarisation with sub-micron 

resolution. Polycrystalline GaN recently been taken to state of the art performance at Macquarie 

University, will be the trial material. The information obtained will inform material improvement, 

with the ultimate aim of fabricating polycrystalline, GaN-based transistors and blue light-emitting 

diodes on glass substrates. 

DP0211033 

Dr Anthony Williams 

*** 

Title: Studies of nonperturbative quantum electrodynamics 

2002: $61,000 2003: $61,000 2004: $61,000 



Summary: 

In order to test fundamental quantum field theories, which underlie all physical phenomena from 

galaxy formation to the behaviour of biological system, it is necessary to be able to solve these 

theories in all regions of interest. In particular, solving theories in the nonperturbative regime has 

proven a difficult and challenging problem. The most successful theory that we have in physics is 

perturbative quantum electrodynamics, even though in the nonperturbative regime it is widely 

believed to be a trivial or pathological theory. We will build on exciting recent successes in this field 

and use advanced supercomputers to understand the detailed nonperturbative behaviour of quantum 

electrodynamics. 

DP0208939 

Dr Howard Wiseman 

Prof DT Pegg 

Title: Novel aspects and applications of quantum measurement theory 

*** 

2002: $72,000 2003: $69,000 2004: $70,000 

Administering Institution: Griffith University 


Summary: 

The first aim is to develop further a novel formalism for quantum measurement theory based on 

retrodiction (rather than prediction). The second is to apply this theory to non-Markovian systems 

(in which the measurement is smeared-out in time). The third is to combine quantum measurement 

theory with natural selection better to understand the appearance of the everyday world. The 

expected outcomes include a deeper understanding of quantum physics and the establishment of new 

techniques for analysing problems in quantum communication and quantum-limited technologies. 

These advances are significant both fundamentally and, at the dawn of the quantum information age, 

in practice. 

***

DP0208128 

Dr Yin-Yin Wong-Leung 

Prof BG SVENSSON 

Title: Ion implantation processing in Silicon Carbide for microelectronic applications 

2002: $113,839 2003: $153,572 2004: $112,000 2005: $119,000 2006: $121,000 


QEII - Dr YJ Wong-Leung 


Summary: 

The aim of this project is to study the application of ion implantation to silicon carbide for dopant 

incorporation and defect engineering. The successful dopant incorporation, especially p-type doping 

will be crucial for SiC high power and high frequency devices. The outcomes of the project are (a) 

the understanding of extended and point defect formation in silicon carbide from ion implantation. 

(b) detailed characterisation of the extended defects formed by ion implantation (c) establishment of 

dose regimes for point defects and extended defect formation and (d) development of procedures for 

the incorporation of dopants with minimum residual defect formation. 

2403 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS; 

NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE PHYSICS; PLASMA 

PHYSICS 

DP0208330 

Prof Igor Bray 

Title: Atomic Collision Theory. 

*** 

2002: $204,204 2003: $234,315 2004: $200,000 2005: $200,000 2006: $200,000 

Administering Institution: Murdoch University 

APF - Prof I Bray 


Summary: 

Collisions between atomic particles are ever-present in astrophysical and man-made plasmas. Their 

understanding is vital for both fundamental science and industrial applications. The project will 

develop underlying scattering theory to solve new and outstanding problems in the field. These range 

from the fundamental problems of electron- or proton-impact ionisation of hydrogen through to 

collisions involving targets of interest to astrophysics, fusion, X-ray lasers and the lighting industry. 

The theory will also be extended to atom-surface interactions. The understanding of collisions 

between atomic particles and surfaces will support emerging fields of nanoscience and quantum 

computing. 

DP0208527 

***

Dr Iver Cairns 

Prof PA Robinson 

Title: Dynamics of Bursty Waves in Space and Astrophysics 

2002: $162,000 2003: $177,000 2004: $188,000 



Summary: 

Waves in space plasmas typically occur in bursts with widely variable fields and persist, with their 

driving particle distributions, for unexpectedly long times. These features cannot be accounted for 

with standard plasma theory but are explained naturally by stochastic growth theory (SGT). Recent 

observations show SGT to be widely applicable in space. We propose to make SGT fully 

quantitative, by studying the dynamical evolution to SGT in general and in known SGT systems, and 

to develop and observationally test theories based on SGT and associated wave/radiation processes 

for major, long-unexplained radio phenomena in space and in astrophysics. 

DP0208207 

Dr Christopher Chantler 

Dr HM Quiney 

Dr JD Gillaspy 

Prof JD Silver 

*** 

Title: The first critical tests of many-body and correlated Quantum Electro-Dynamics (QED) 

in medium-Z atomic systems 

2002: $90,000 2003: $137,000 2004: $80,000 



Summary: 

Major difficulties are being encountered in the computation of high-order and correlated terms of 

Quantum Electro-Dynamical effects in atoms. We will make the first measurements for medium-Z 

atoms critically sensitive to two-electron QED, and the first tests of QED in this region accurate to 

1%. This accuracy will allow new insight into two-electron systems, theoretical approaches, and 

recent observed discrepancies between QED theory and experiment. This proposal follows recent 

successful experimental work using new capabilities of Electron-Beam Ion Traps (EBITs). Our 

recent publications have proven that this novel approach can yield new insight into the interaction of 

light with matter. 

DP0209733 

Dr Joel Corney 

Title: Quantum dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensates of atoms and molecules 

*** 

2002: $66,184 2003: $67,967 2004: $67,967 

Administering Institution: The University of Queensland

APD - Dr JF Corney 


Summary: 

Ultralow-temperature physics has had spectacular success in the last decade in cooling atomic gasses 

down to the lowest temperature possible to form matter waves. 

The recent production of ultracold molecular gasses paves the way for a new type of chemistry, 

dubbed superchemistry, which is dominated by quantum processes and which is active at zero 

temperature. 

This project will undertake completely quantum-mechanical simulations of the atomic-molecular 

matter-wave dynamics and investigations of the precise quantum states in these ultralow-temperature 

systems. It will use novel methods adapted from laser theory, where they were used to correctly 

predict intrinsically quantum effects. 

DP0209553 

Dr Gustavo de Medeiros Azevedo 

Title: Revealing the mechanism of heavy ion stopping at high energies 

*** 

2002: $66,184 2003: $67,967 2004: $67,967 


APD - Dr G de Medeiros Azevedo 


Summary: 

Several fundamental aspects of heavy ion stopping in matter, which is important for many 

technological and medical applications, are not understood. This includes the charge dependence of 

ion stopping known as Barkas effect, the Bloch-contribution to the stopping cross-section, and 

charge exchange processes. In contrast to other studies, the use of crystalline materials with welldefined 

atom locations and the application of new sophisticated models will allow the separation of 

these related phenomena, so that they can be studied individually. This will reveal details of the 

physical mechanisms governing the energy dissipation by fast heavy ions in matter. 

DP0209635 

Prof Victor Flambaum 

Title: Violation of fundamental symmetries and test of unification models 

*** 

2002: $65,000 2003: $65,000 2004: $65,000 



Summary: 

This project is devoted to a theoretical investigation of the atomic and nuclear effects of parity and 

time invariance violation. Measurements of these effects provide accurate tests of unification

theories of elementary particles. Effects of weak interactions are normally very small, and we want to 

look for possibilities to enhance these effects. We also plan to search for new effects and tests of the 

unification theories and develop accurate method of atomic calculations. 

DP0211034 

Dr Derek Leinweber 

*** 

Title: Novel Fermion Actions for Lattice Gauge Theory 

2002: $60,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $60,000 



Summary: 

The Standard Model of the universe is founded on quantum field theories in which gauge bosons 

mediate the forces between fermions, the constituents of matter. For example, the gluon of Quantum 

Chromodynamics (QCD) mediates the strong interactions between quarks as they compose protons, 

and neutrons. The only way to reveal the long-distance properties of this fundamental gauge theory 

from first principles is to numerically simulate the theory on a space-time lattice. Simulating fermions 

on a lattice has proved very challenging. This project will explore novel and innovative improved 

fermion algorithms for the general problem of gauge theories on the lattice. 

DP0208713 

Dr Robert Sang 

Prof WR MacGillivray 

Title: Novel collision experiments with metastable neon atoms in an atom trap 

*** 

2002: $84,000 2003: $68,000 2004: $58,000 



Summary: 

The aim of this project is to investigate collisions involving atoms in long lived excited states 

(metastable states). The project will utilise a magneto-optical trap to investigate electron-atom 

collisions as well as interatomic collisions for ultra-cold atoms. The outcomes of such investigations 

extend scientific knowledge of these important processes as a well as provide data for testing 

fundamental scattering theories. This scientific knowledge may lead to further technological 

advances such as more efficient light sources or a metastable-atom laser that could be used for the 

production of nano-scale electric circuits. 

DP0210240 

Prof Andrei Sidorov 

Prof P Hannaford 

Prof R McLean 

Prof GI Opat 

***

Dr T Davis 

Title: Integrated Atom Optics: Guiding Matter Waves with Magnetic Microstructures 

2002: $72,000 2003: $100,000 2004: $31,000 

Administering Institution: Swinburne University of Technology 


Summary: 

The development of micron-scale waveguides that coherently transport, split and recombine atom de 

Broglie waves is important for atom optics and interferometry. Atom interferometers will be used for 

fundamental tests of quantum physics and as inertial sensors for the detection of gravitational 

anomalies. The expected outcomes include microfabrication of integrated atom devices that produce 

coherent matter waves via Bose-Einstein condensation and utilise them in a new generation of atom 

interferometers. 

DP0208697 

A/Prof Geoffrey Taylor 

Dr ME Sevior 

Dr SN Tovey 

Dr KE Varvell 

A/Prof LS Peak 

*** 

Title: Frontier Experiments in High Energy Physics 

2002: $417,000 2003: $425,000 2004: $430,000 2005: $350,000 2006: $350,000 



Summary: 

High energy particle physics studies the most fundamental constituents of matter. This microscopic 

frontier requires the highest energy and highest intensity particle accelerators. Through the Big Bang 

Model, high energy physics also sheds light on the development of the very early Universe. It is thus 

crucial for the understanding of nature at the very largest of scales as well as the very smallest. The 

ATLAS and Belle experiments probe two of the most significant questions in fundamental physics: 

what is the origin of mass, and why do we live in a universe composed of matter rather than 

antimatter? 

2404 OPTICAL PHYSICS 

DP0210855 

Prof David Blair 

Dr L Ju 

Dr DH Reitze 

Prof K Kuroda 

***

Title: Experiments with Advanced Isolation Systems, Suspension and Test Masses Using 

ACIGA's High Optical Power Test Facility 

2002: $277,839 2003: $264,572 2004: $266,000 2005: $218,000 2006: $213,000 


QEII - Dr L Ju 


Summary: 

This proposal will allow experimental verification of the performcane of of sapphire test masses and 

their associated isolation and suspension system in ACIGA's high optical power test facility at 

Gingin. The work will contribute to the worldwide effort to increase the sensitivity of laser 

interferometers to the level where known sources of gravitational waves can be detected at a 

reasonable rate. 

DP0211650 

Prof Lindsay Botten 

Prof RC McPhedran 

Title: Light Emission and Localization in Photonic Clusters and Random Lasers 

*** 

2002: $59,000 2003: $59,000 2004: $55,000 

Administering Institution: University of Technology, Sydney 


Summary: 

Recent experimental advances have exhibited surprising optical properties of artificial and natural 

systems structured on the scale of the wavelength of light. We will model numerically such systems, 

providing insights into the way radiation from atoms placed in them can be changed, light scattering 

can lead to lasers without mirrors, their fine structure can result in colours which never fade, and 

light can be localized or trapped in three dimensions. 

DP0209670 

Prof Min Gu 

Mr D Day 

Title: Development of three-dimensional high-density optical data storage and photonic 

crystals in photo-polymers with a superresolution imaging system 

*** 

2002: $83,000 2003: $132,000 2004: $132,000 



Summary: 

The aim of this project is to develop a three-dimensional (3-D) high-density optical data storage 

method and photonic crystals in photo-polymers using a superresolution imaging system. As a result, 

it is possible to produce a 3-D data density of approximately 10 Tbits/cm3 in low-cost and erasable 

photo-polymers, equivalent to 3000 times the information in a current digital video disc (DVD). 3-D

polymer-based photonic crystals will provide fast, low-cost and compact all-optics devices for 

optical computing technology. Consequently, the capacity and speed of information super-highways 

will be significantly increased, which enhances the internationally competitive ability of Australia in 

information technology. 

DP0208312 

Dr Ping Koy Lam 

Prof H- Bachor 

Dr TC Ralph 

*** 

Title: Quantum Photonics with continuous laser beams 

2002: $216,000 2003: $269,000 2004: $251,000 2005: $192,000 2006: $172,000 



Summary: 

Quantum information and communication is a new paradigm in information technology which utilises 

quantum physics to improve current limitations in speed, security and fidelity of information 

transmission and processing, extending the present Electronics and Photonics devices. Future 

applications will include teleportation, cryptography and ultimately quantum computation. We 

propose to investigate these applications using continuous (CW) laser beams and the Einstein- 

Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) quantum entanglement, which is generated via a pair of optical parametric 

oscillators. The advantages of CW over the established single photon technology is better detection 

efficiency, wider data bandwidth and compatibility with existing Photonics technology. 

DP0210121 

Dr Andre Luiten 

Dr ME Tobar 

Dr EN Ivanov 

Prof L Hollberg 

Prof C Salomon 

Prof P Guillon 

Mr RP Kovacich 

Mr J Winterflood 

Title: Worldwide Collaboration for the Creation of New Frequency Standards, and their 

Application to testing the Foundations of Physics 

*** 

2002: $66,184 2003: $67,967 2004: $67,967 


APD - Mr J Winterflood 


Summary: 

Frequency standards are crucial for the highest precision scientific measurements as well as in 

modern communication and information technology (C&IT). Having already achieved world-best

performance for short-term frequency stability, our research team is seeking support to participate in 

a broad international program with three particular objectives: 

(i) create new frequency standards based on laser-cooled atoms, 

(ii) develop femtosecond laser technology for generating low noise microwave and optical signals, 

(iii) develop microwave technology suitable for operation in space. 

Improved frequency standards will allow decisive measurements on several fundamental scientific 

questions, as well as leading to commercial applications in C&IT. 

DP0209242 

Dr David McClelland 

Dr P Lam 

*** 

Title: The Standard Quantum Limit and Beyond 

2002: $126,000 2003: $128,000 2004: $128,000 



Summary: 

The uncertainty principle sets limits on the sensitivity to which any measurement can be made - the 

standard quantum limit (SQL). This limit is yet to be reached on a macroscopic object and, until 

recently, was regarded as unsurpassable. Due to the rapid improvement in optical measurement 

technology developed for Gravitational Wave Astronomy, there is now the prospect of 

experimentally reaching the standard quantum limit within this decade. This project will harness 

much of this technology to achieve the SQL. It will also experimentally develop new quantum 

measurement techniques to surpass this limit. 

DP0208743 

Prof Keith Nugent 

Dr RE Scholten 

Dr IL McNulty 

A/Prof EC Harvey 

Dr PJ McMahon 

Dr AG Peele 

Dr DM Paganin 

Dr DJ Paterson 

Title: Non-Interferometric Phase Measurement of Exotic Waves 

*** 

2002: $326,000 2003: $417,372 2004: $387,000 2005: $132,000 2006: $103,000 


APD - Dr DM Paganin 

APD - Dr DJ Paterson 


Summary: 

Phase is a key concept in all aspects of physics from biological microscopy through to length 

measurement and on to industrial inspection. The University of Melbourne has developed a new class

of phase measurement techniques that possesses unprecedented flexibility. The aim of this project is 

to build on the international leadership of the Australian team so as to fully explore and develop 

these techniques. 

DP0211409 

Dr Saiedeh Saghafi 

Title: Improving optical data storage and micromachining technology through better 

modelling and characterisation of their laser beams. 

*** 

2002: $64,184 2003: $65,967 2004: $64,967 


APD - Dr S Saghafi 


Summary: 

The laser sources generally do not have simple (Gaussian) distributions. The applicant has recently 

developed a model, describing free propagation of complex (non-Gaussian) laser beams. This 

project seeks to develop a comprehending model for laser beams propagation through complex 

optical systems. The effects of various optical elements will be defined employing a novel method 

known as SAFE (Stable Aggregate of Flexible Elements) which is a compromise between 

geometrical and physical optics. Applying this model to micromachining and optical data storage 

(ODS), which need high beam quality (low divergence and good focussibility), enable accurate 

predictive capability critical to the optimisation of micromachining and ODS designs. 

DP0210312 

Prof Colin Sheppard 

Dr GC Cox 

Dr P Torok 

*** 

Title: Super-resolution in microscopy and optical recording 

2002: $89,000 2003: $146,000 2004: $121,000 



Summary: 

The classical resolution limit imposes severe restrictions on the performance of optical instruments, 

especially in optical microscopy and optical recording. Improved understanding of the fundamental 

principles involved in super-resolution should allow substantial increases in resolution to be 

achieved. We aim to explore theoretically and experimentally the performance of different superresolution 

schemes alone and in combination, including optical masks, near-field optics, detector 

arrays, multi-photon imaging and digital deconvolution. Selected methods will be demonstrated with 

practical examples in multi-photon microscopy. Applications in super-high density optical recording 

will also be studied. 

***

2405 CLASSICAL PHYSICS 

DP0209920 

Dr Lloyd Hollenberg 

Dr NH Fletcher 

A/Prof JA Wolfe 

Dr J Smith 

Title: Acoustics of the Didjeridu 

2002: $93,000 2003: $80,000 2004: $80,000 



Summary: 

We shall undertake a comprehensive experimental and theoretical study of the acoustics of the 

didjeridu-lips-vocal tract system. There is very little published technical literature on the dynamic 

acoustics of this important and uniquely Australian instrument, whose operation is surprisingly 

complex. A combination of stroboscopic measurements of lip motion, acoustic and vocal tract 

impedance measurements, MRI imaging of the vocal tract and computer modeling will be used to 

synthesize all components of the acoustic system into one quantitative model. The expected outcome 

will be an understanding of this instrument of unparalleled detail. 

DP0211596 

A/Prof Barry Sanders 

Dr KP Esselle 

Title: Microwave Antennas and Waveguides in Photonic Crystals 

*** 

2002: $58,000 2003: $56,000 2004: $58,000 



Summary: 

We propose to design a revolutionary new class of microwave antennas and antenna arrays in 

photonic crystals, which can shield, localise and guide electromagnetic radiation in a dielectric 

environment. This design is completely devoid of metal, thereby eliminating skin-effect losses that 

are the dominant limitation for planar antenna arrays at upper microwave (millimetre-wave) 

frequencies. Our new design will achieve high radiation efficiencies and antenna gains not possible 

with existing planar technology, thereby enabling new applications of planar antenna arrays, for 

example to radio astronomy, as well as greatly improving existing applications. 

2499 OTHER PHYSICAL SCIENCES 

DP0209218 

Dr David Liley 

***

A/Prof RE Hendtlass 

Title: Verification of a theoretical model of the dynamical genesis of brain electrical activity 

2002: $55,000 2003: $55,000 2004: $55,000 



Summary: 

The physiological basis for the rhythmic scalp electrical activity known as the alpha rhythm has 

remained elusive despite being first recorded over eighty years ago. However, one of the applicants 

(DTJL) has developed a novel theory of the electroencephalogram (EEG) that theoretically 

articulates the necessary physiological conditions required for the genesis of this activity that is 

subject to rigorous experimental test. Empirical verification of this theory will pave the way to 

elucidating the functional importance of large scale brain electrical activity in neural information 

processing as well as enabling the rational use of the EEG for drug design and diagnosis. 

DP0211775 

Dr Lidia Morawska 

Dr ZD Ristovski 

Dr GA Ayoko 

*** 

Title: The Effect of Fuel Type on Health and Environmental Risks Caused by Motor Vehicle 

Emissions 

2002: $67,000 2003: $88,000 2004: $61,000 

Administering Institution: Queensland University of Technology 


Summary: 

Motor vehicles constitute one of the most significant sources of air pollutants but the state of 

knowledge on the quantity of some of these does not permit for projection of the risk they create. 

This project aims at quantification of emissions of pollutants contributing to deterioration of health, 

ozone formation, global warming and acid rain as a function of fuel type, using a novel on-road 

sampling method. Resultantly, a holistic picture of integrated health and environmental risk will be 

developed that will build a scientific foundation for future fuel,transport and land use to protect the 

community and the environment. 

DP0208754 

A/Prof Dan Nicolau 

Dr S Myhra 

Prof CG dos Remedios 

Title: Probing the function of protein molecular motors on nano-fabricated structures 

*** 

2002: $91,000 2003: $73,000 2004: $75,000 



Summary: 

The function of protein linear molecular motors, which are natural dynamic bio-nano-devices with a 

ubiquitous importance in multicellular organisms, will be 'probed' with purposefully designed nanostructures 

fabricated via photo- or Scanning Probe Microscopy Lithography, that is, flat polymeric 

surfaces with combinatorial combinations of physico-chemistries; and micro/nano-channels and nanowells 

with critical dimensions similar to the scale of the probed biomolecules. The project turns 'upside 

down' the challenge of invasive nano-probing of biomolecules using it in an engineered manner. 

The fundamental understanding of linear molecular motors will impact on biomedical science and on 

the assessment of hybrid natural-artificial dynamic nano-devices. 

DP0208979 

Dr Andrei Nikulin 

Title: New experimental-analytical x-ray diffraction technique for unambiguous nondestructive 

characterization of high-performance silicon-germanium-carbon alloys for 

broadband communication devices 

*** 

2002: $44,000 2003: $47,000 2004: $36,000 



Summary: 

This research will develop a new x-ray diffraction technique for characterization of silicongermanium-carbon 

semiconductor alloys. These are the basis for the new generation, ultra-high 

speed broadband telecommunication devices. The research will establish a new theoretical 

methodology for fundamental studies of x-ray scattering phenomena in compound straincompensated 

materials. The experiments will be carried out using the state-of-the-art laboratory and 

synchrotron radiation facilities in Australia, Japan and France. The project involves direct 

collaboration with IHP Germany, the world-leading semiconductor developer. Highly qualified 

postgraduate students will be extensively trained in modern synchrotron experiments, x-ray 

diffraction theory and semiconductor technology during the project. 

*** 

2501 PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY (INCL. STRUCTURAL) 

DP0209036 

Dr Evan Bieske 

Title: Approaching anion solvation from the bottom up: infrared studies of negatively 

charged complexes and clusters 

2002: $70,000 2003: $100,000 2004: $100,000 



Summary: 

We will employ novel spectroscopic strategies to probe the structures of mass-selected anion 

complexes and clusters in the gas-phase with the purpose of exploring non-covalent forces

esponsible for anion solvation. The work is motivated by a recognition that anions serve as key 

participants in a host of natural and industrial chemical processes, and that their physical and 

chemical properties depend critically upon interactions with solvent molecules. The experimental 

results should serve as a critical test for computational approaches to describing anion-neutral 

interactions, and provide new insights into the behaviour of electrolytes, acid-base chemistry, and 

fundamental bimolecular reactions. 

DP0210136 

Prof John Bowie 

*** 

Title: The formation of negative ions and neutrals in the gas phase. Structure, reactivity and 

mechanism. 

2002: $90,000 2003: $125,000 2004: $125,000 



Summary: 

Mass spectrometry is an analytical technique used to provide information concerning the structure of 

a chemical compound: it is particularly useful when dealing with small amounts of biologically 

important molecules. It is also a facility in which charged species can be converted into transient 

neutrals. This project will (i) produce information about negative ion fragmentations in order to 

extend the applicability of analytical negative-ion mass spectrometry, (ii) form neutral molecules and 

related species which are found in stellar dust clouds and investigate their chemistry, and (iii) train 

graduates in ion chemistry to the highest international standards. 

DP0209181 

Dr Vincent Craig 

*** 

Title: Surface adsorption, repulsion and attraction: A new experimental approach to surface 

forces 

2002: $127,378 2003: $138,601 2004: $138,601 2005: $84,601 2006: $84,601 


ARF - Dr VS Craig 


Summary: 

The ability to understand and manipulate the stability of finely dispersed particles (colloids) in water 

is essential to modern living. It is necessary in processes as diverse as water purification, minerals 

separation, food and paper production. The behaviour of the colloidal system can often be 

understood in terms of the interaction between the dispersed particles. This project aims to improve 

our ability to predict the nature of the interaction between dispersed particles, through an 

understanding of the events at a particle surface during a collision with another particle. This will 

enable us to better understand and control real colloidal systems. 

***

DP0210226 

Dr Qing Dai 

Title: Electrochemical Applications of Plastic Crystalline Electrolytes 

2002: $71,184 2003: $72,967 2004: $72,967 


APD - Dr Q Dai 


Summary: 

A number of new and emerging electrochemical device applications such as lithium batteries, dyesensitized 

solar cells, electrochemical capacitors, actuators and bio-sensors are limited by their need 

for a liquid electrolyte. Many of these devices are considered vital to energy efficiency and the 

lowering of greenhouse gas emissions. The recent discovery of ambient temperature plastic 

crystalline electrolyte materials by the Monash Electrolytes group has raised the possibility of solving 

this problem. In this project new plastic crystalline electrolyte materials will be developed to suit 

these applications and their electrochemical properties investigated. Laboratory prototype devices 

will be prepared and tested and via collaborations with appropriate device developers, their 

performance evaluted. 

DP0210670 

Dr Ian Gentle 

Dr GJ Foran 

*** 

Title: Patterned assemblies of molecules on surfaces 

2002: $60,000 2003: $61,000 2004: $62,000 



Summary: 

Because of their redox and photophysical properties, artificial porphyrin systems have been designed 

for applications such as light-harvesting antennae, catalysts and sensors. Control of molecular 

orientation is required in order to construct practical devices, and in this project methods of 

assembling porphyrins on surfaces in well-defined patterns will be developed. Sophisticated methods 

will be used to characterise the films produced in these ways, in order to provide the information 

necessary to refine procedures and design new molecules suitable for advanced applications. 

Expected outcomes are new methods and architectures that can ultimately yield devices that act at 

the molecular level. 

DP0209690 

Prof Franz Grieser 

Prof DY Chan 

Prof GW Stevens 

Dr JE Sader 

Prof B Jonsson 

***

Dr L Belloni 

Title: Static and Dynamic Forces in Colloidal and Fluid Systems 

2002: $80,000 2003: $110,000 2004: $110,000 



Summary: 

Novel research based around the Atomic Force Microscope are pursued to make ultra-sensitive 

measurement of forces between emulsion droplets and probe the mechanical properties of long 

molecules such as DNA. These studies generate basic knowledge that provides insight about 

emulsion stability that are of importance from the food and pharmaceutical industries to 

manufacturing drilling mud for oil wells. The results also provide qualitative and predictive 

information about the mechanisms that determine the interaction involving large bio-molecules such 

as DNA and proteins. The instrumentation created along the way has the potential to be developed 

into special purpose ultra-sensitive devices and sensors. 

DP0208134 

Prof Stjepan Marcelja 

Title: Surface Forces in Aqueous Electrolytes 

*** 

2002: $60,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $60,000 



Summary: 

This project studies the force between two nearby colloidal particles or macromolecules in aqueous 

electrolyte solutions. Although such forces control the approach and binding of particles in 

electrolytes and hence have large practical significance they are poorly known. In recent work I 

established a rigorous scheme for calculation of the electrostatic contribution to the force and proved 

its feasibility. In order to realise practical applications, such as in drug design, we must know the 

mean force between an ion and a surface or functional surface group. Here I propose to perform the 

required simulations and explore the analytical simplifications. 

DP0208520 

Dr Timothy Senden 

Title: Dynamic Force Microscopy of small molecular assemblies. 

2002: $77,378 2003: $78,601 2004: $78,601 2005: $78,601 2006: $78,601 

*** 


ARF - Dr TJ Senden 


Summary:

The possibility of manipulating a single molecule seems at first unreal, indeed 5 years ago it was pure 

science fiction. Through the gaining popularity of the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) many 

perspectives about the molecular world are changing. Macroscopic effects such as adhesion and 

lubrication are now discussed in light of measurements made with this instrument. Newer work 

includes the observation of single protein unfolding experiments. The biophysics oriented project 

detailed in this application will extend the AFM: into multi-molecular systems formed by selfassembly, 

such as cell membranes; into polyelectrolyte-surface interactions; and, finally into the 

sequencing of DNA. 

DP0211245 

Prof Gordon Wallace 

Prof LA Kane-Maguire 

Dr GM Spinks 

Dr PC Innis 

Title: Organic electrofunctinal materials: Novel conducting Polymer and Carbon nanotube 

systems 

*** 

2002: $283,398 2003: $336,713 2004: $336,713 2005: $306,713 2006: $281,713 

Administering Institution: University of Wollongong 

APF - Prof GG Wallace 


Summary: 

Inherently conducting polymers and carbon nanotubes will be modified to enhance their ability to 

function as electrodes used in areas such as sensors, actuators(artificial muscles), energy conversion 

(Photovoltaics) and storage(batteries, supercapacitors). 

The modified materials and systems containing them will be amenable to fabrication into ordered 

structures, or integration with hosts such as fabrics. This latter feature is particularly exciting in that 

it will accelerate developments in the area of intelligent textiles and fabrics with sensing, actuating 

and energy conversion/storage capabilities. 

DP0209660 

Dr Huai Yong Zhu 

Dr G Churchman 

Prof Dr J Zhao 

Prof Dr E Vansant 

Title: Composite Mesoporous Solids of TiO2 Nano-Crystals and Silicate as Photo-catalysts 

for Degradation of Organic Contaminants in Water 

*** 

2002: $46,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $60,000 



Summary:

TiO2 photo-catalysis is a promising advanced technique for breaking down organic contaminants and 

bacteria in water and air. This project will develop a novel class of photo-catalysts, the composite 

meosporous compounds of anatase and layered clay, by combining templated synthesis and pillaring 

techniques. They will exhibit a high photo-catalytic efficiency with superior properties for practical 

operations because of the framework of large porosity arising from the arrangement of discrete 

anatase nano-particles within the silicate layers. The project involves mostly fundamental research 

into material synthesis, colloid and surface chemistry and photo-catalysis, and aims to develop 

advanced techniques for water treatment. 

*** 

2502 INORGANIC CHEMISTRY 

DP0208117 

Prof Susan Berners-Price 

Prof NP Farrell 

Title: DNA interactions of polynuclear platinum. Mechanistic NMR studies probing the 

origin of the unique antitumour activity of BBR3464 

2002: $90,000 2003: $100,000 2004: $100,000 



Summary: 

BBR3464 is one of a class of structurally unique platinum anticancer drugs that is currently 

undergoing clinical trials. The anticancer activity most likely depends on binding to DNA, but the 

mechanism is quite different from that of the widely used drug, cisplatin. This project uses NMR 

spectroscopy to follow the processes involved in the initial binding of the drug to DNA and the 

subsequent reactions of the adducts formed. The results of this work will aid in the selection of 

back-up clinical candidates and in the design of drugs that target specific sequences of DNA for use 

in novel gene-based therapies. 

DP0210330 

A/Prof David Fairlie 

A/Prof TG Appleton 

Title: Metal Clips for Folding Peptides 

*** 

2002: $80,000 2003: $110,000 2004: $110,000 



Summary: 

Large protein molecules fold into shapes that are important for their function. These shapes are 

defined by secondary structures stabilised by hydrogen bonds, packing effects, and sometimes also by 

the binding of metal ions. Smaller peptides corresponding to these secondary structures tend to 

adopt only random structures in solution, away from the stabilising environment of the protein. In 

this project metal ions are used to clip together components of small peptides, thereby stabilising 

secondary structures (alpha helices) identical to those adopted by proteins. Small peptides so

constrained may reproduce some properties of proteins, such as interactions with biological 

receptors. 

DP0208832 

Dr Michael Gardiner 

Dr BF Yates 

Dr R Anwander 

*** 

Title: New Look N-Heterocyclic Metallocenes of the Lanthanides Based on 4-Azapentalenyl 

Anions 

2002: $60,000 2003: $120,000 2004: $65,000 

Administering Institution: University of Tasmania 


Summary: 

Since there are abundant, but under utilised, reserves of lanthanide minerals in Australia, it is in 

Australia's best interest that their chemistry is developed into commercial applications in industrial 

catalysis. This project addresses this situation through the detailed study of carefully chosen 

organolanthanide compounds (specifically, comprising hetero-substituted metallocenes). The 

research strategy will be directed towards advancing our knowledge in relation to fundamental 

chemical processes that are directly relevant to the industrial production of important commodity 

chemicals and polymers from often under utilised petroleum industry waste stocks. 

DP0208320 

Dr Jules Guss 

Em/Prof HC Freeman 

Title: Structural studies of catalysis and electron transfer by copper proteins 

*** 

2002: $70,000 2003: $100,000 2004: $100,000 



Summary: 

We propose to determine the crystal structures of five copper-containing proteins. Three are amine 

oxidases, enzymes that protect a wide range of organisms against toxic cell products (amines). 

Novel chemical modifications and crystallographic techniques will be used to test hypotheses for the 

enzyme mechanism. The results will provide a basis for the future manipulation of the enzymes' 

activities. Our other targets, sulfocyanin and auracyanin-A, perform essential electron-transfer 

functions in an archaeon and a photosynthetic bacterium, respectively. The determination of their 

molecular structures will answer exciting questions about electron transfer in primitive organisms, 

and about the evolution of copper proteins as biological electron-transfer agents. 

DP0211090 

Dr Peter Junk 

***

Mr M Cole 

Title: Studies of Group 15 complexes of the Lanthanoids and Group 2 metals-An unexploited 

field of research 

2002: $66,184 2003: $67,967 2004: $67,967 

Administering Institution: James Cook University 

APD - Mr M Cole 


Summary: 

The project will initially explore new amido chemisty of the lanthanoids. This chemistry will develop 

towards complexes with lanthanoid-or Group 2-phosphorus, -arsenic, -antimony or -bismuth 

connectivities. This chemistry is surprisingly underdeveloped given the wealth of applications found 

for oxo and amido complexes of the same metals. Structural studies involving the complexes using 

cutting edge ligands will reveal interesting coordination modes. The discovery of new reaction 

pathways will be of interest to the wider chemical community. The chemical reactivity and potential 

catalytic or luminescent properties of these compounds will be studied and will result in publications 

in international journals. 

DP0208409 

Prof Peter Lay 

Title: The Chemistry and Biochemistry of Chromium: Cancer and Nutrition 

*** 

2002: $171,082 2003: $207,805 2004: $207,805 2005: $197,805 2006: $197,805 


APF - Prof PA Lay 


Summary: 

Of all of the human carcinogens, chromium(VI) has the highest level of occupational exposure, and 

is of increasing concern as an environmental carcinogen, as highlighted by the film Erin Brockovitch. 

Similarly, chromium(III) nutritional supplement consumption by humans and animals is rising rapidly, 

despite mounting concerns about their cancer risks. However, the complexity of Cr biochemistry is 

such that it is still poorly understood. This project aims at providing new insights into Cr 

biochemistry that are of relevance in evaluating risk factors for occupational and environmental 

exposure and for producing safer Cr dietary supplements. 

DP0209411 

Prof Leonard Lindoy 

Title: Metal Directed Assembly of New Supramolecular Systems 

*** 

2002: $70,000 2003: $90,000 2004: $90,000 



Summary: 

This project is concerned with the use of designed metal-ion directed assembly for the construction 

of new supramolecular entities incorporating metal complexes as structural elements. A range of 

novel nanometre-scale architectures is planned, including supramolecular ellipses, squares, cubes and 

mechanically linked systems. The proposed research has implications for elucidating fundamental 

aspects of both supramolecular and metal complexation behaviour. It also holds promise for the 

production of novel materials for which unusual and potentially useful properties can be anticipated. 

DP0209486 

Prof Keith Murray 

Dr CJ Kepert 

Prof H Toftlund 

Title: Cooperativity in Spin-Crossover Systems: Memory, Magnetism and Microporosity 

*** 

2002: $85,000 2003: $125,000 2004: $125,000 



Summary: 

Spin-crossover centres are a well known form of inorganic electronic switch for which variation of 

temperature, pressure and irradiation leads to a change in d-electron configuration and therefore 

changes to structure, colour and magnetism. Here we aim to synthesise and study a wide variety of 

new spin-crossover systems where cooperativity between centres, induced by careful supramolecular 

design, will lead to molecules and materials having memory retention, magnetic ordering and/or 

microporosity. The significance of these aims covers several fundamental questions in the science of 

electronic systems. We also identify a number of potential nanochemical switching applications for 

the unique systems proposed. 

DP0209886 

Dr Richard Robson 

Title: Coordination Polymers and Oligomers 

*** 

2002: $130,000 2003: $115,000 2004: $115,000 



Summary: 

Routes are proposed to real chemical examples of both finite nets (polyhedral cages) and infinite nets 

(coordination polymers); very similar synthetic strategies are to be used in both areas. The 

icosahedral cages proposed including the unknown C60N60 are without precedent. If they can be 

made they will rival or surpass the fullerenes in impact and in potential applications. The ability to 

deliberately engineer specifically targetted coordination polymers with predetermined properties or 

functions would make possible diverse applications of great practical value; the project will 

contribute significantly to the basis for such capablities leading to "designer materials" of the future. 

***

DP0209007 

A/Prof Charles Young 

Dr GN George 

A/Prof ML Kirk 

Asst Prof P Basu 

Title: Synthetic Molybdenum Enzymes 

2002: $46,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $60,000 



Summary: 

This project aims to produce synthetic molybdenum (Mo) enzymes, small molecules that share 

structural and functional attributes with the crucially important molybdopterin?Mo enzymes. These 

ubiquitous enzymes are essential for plant and animal health, natural cycles involving carbon, 

nitrogen and sulfur, and global climate control and atmospheric albedo (reflectance); consequently, 

they impact heavily on commerce, the environment and society. The study will provide urgently 

needed insights into the fundamental Mo?sulfur chemistry of the enzyme active sites and inform 

efforts to reduce the negative impacts of enzyme dysfunction and the design of new commercial 

catalysts. 

*** 

2503 ORGANIC CHEMISTRY 

DP0209033 

Prof Martin Banwell 

Title: Generation and Exploitation of Fermentation Products in the Chemical Synthesis of 

Biologically Active Compounds with Therapeutic Potential 

2002: $105,000 2003: $105,000 2004: $105,000 



Summary: 

Dramatic developments in biotechnology have provided access to genetically engineered microorganisms 

capable of effecting unusual transformations so as to form novel compounds of great 

value in chemical synthesis. This project will combine the powers of biotechnology with those of 

chemical synthesis to produce compounds that have therapeutic potential in the treatment of 

Alzheimer's disease, cancer and viral infections. 

DP0210189 

Dr Geoffrey Crisp 

Title: Preparation and properties of oligo- and polycyclophanes. Materials with advanced 

optical and electronic properties. 

*** 

2002: $55,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $60,000



Summary: 

This project aims to prepare a novel class of organic and organometallic material that has both 

theoretical and practical applications. Nanotechnology requires unique arrangements of atoms that 

can give rise to enhanced macroscopic properties and we have embarked on a project that will 

provide new oligomers and polymers for the construction of the next generation of optical and 

electronic devices. 

DP0208776 

Prof Maxwell Crossley 

Dr JR Reimers 

Em/Prof NS Hush 

Dr MC Hersam 

Title: Molecular Electronics: from electron transfer through photosynthesis towards 

functional nano devices 

*** 

2002: $295,000 2003: $350,000 2004: $350,000 2005: $270,000 2006: $270,000 



Summary: 

Molecular Electronics, the use of molecules to perform specific electronic functions, is a new and 

very rapidly expanded area of nanotechnology. We will elucidate basic principles of electrical 

conduction through single molecules, understand and mimic natural photosynthetic molecular 

electronic processes, and establish by synthesis of "molecular wires" and extension of current 

technology, new methods for probing nanoscale electron transfer. We will combine these aspects to 

develop applications in photovoltaic design and in the design of molecular-level circuitry. Possible 

long-term applications range from solar energy conversion to molecular recognition and sensing to 

new types of electronic processing akin to quantum computing. 

DP0208100 

Dr David Hibbs 

Title: Experimental Charge Density Studies of Hydrogen Bonding 

*** 

2002: $70,000 2003: $65,000 2004: $65,000 



Summary: 

Hydrogen bonds, vital to all biological systems, exhibit extreme variation in chemical properties. 

Experimental analysis of hydrogen bonds, independent from previous theories and hypotheses, by 

using an expansion of current high resolution, ultra-low temperature X-ray crystallography is now 

possible. This allows experimental observation of electronic and electrostatic properties of previously

unstudied hydrogen bonds, including weak hydrogen bonds and those involving metal atoms. 

Comparison of experimental observations with predictions from high-level theoretical calculations 

and finally incorporation of these parameters into a prototype force field for computational chemistry 

will allow better predictions to be made in a range of areas including medicinal and materials 

chemistry. 

DP0208190 

Dr Craig Hutton 

Title: Cross-linked Tyrosine Residues in Peptides and Proteins 

*** 

2002: $80,000 2003: $110,000 2004: $110,000 



Summary: 

Many peptides and proteins have recently been found to contain unusual structural modifications, 

commonly in the form of cross-linked tyrosine residues. The aims of this project are to design and 

synthesise examples of these cross-linked tyrosine structures, thereby enabling the preparation of 

models of the modified proteins. Outcomes of this research will include an increased understanding 

of the relationship between the three-dimensional structure and biological activity of 

peptides/proteins, the generation of lead compounds for new anti-bacterial and anti-fungal 

pharmaceuticals, and the preparation of biological 'markers' of the processes involved in 

neurodegenerative diseases and aging. 

DP0209625 

Prof William Jackson 

Dr AJ Robinson 

*** 

Title: Metal catalysed reactions in organic synthesis 

2002: $65,000 2003: $75,000 2004: $75,000 



Summary: 

The major aim of this project is to develop highly efficient metal-catalysed routes to pharmaceuticals, 

e.g. new antibiotics and other commercially important organic molecules. 

Particular attention will be paid to developing systems which facilitate the addition of readily 

available, cheap small molecules, e.g. hydrogen and carbon monoxide, to unsaturated organic 

molecules with high regio- and stereoselectivity. 

Worldwide demand for enantiomerically pure chiral molecules (i.e. one mirror-image form) continues 

to rise. New metal-catalysed asymmetric syntheses will help meet this challenge. Tandem metalcatalysed 

reactions will be used to prepare new heterocyclic compounds with potential as specific 

metal binding agents and biosensors. 

***

DP0210193 

Dr Steven Langford 

Title: Porphyrin-Based Supramolecular Assemblies and Arrays - Model Systems for the 

Construction of Photosynthetic Mimics 

2002: $65,000 2003: $70,000 2004: $60,000 



Summary: 

Crown ether-based multichromophoric systems will be used to mimic the steps through which plants 

convert light into chemical energy. The crown bridging units allow a variety of metal and organic 

cations, which provide electronic and structural roles, to be non-covalently bound within their 

cavities. These systems are advantageous over other photosynthetic models in that a variety of 

electron transfer mediators can be examined in a readily controlled and systematic way simply 

through the choice of cation. In this way, the role played by molecular recognition in the modulation 

of long-range electron transfer can be evaluated. This work will lead to designing better artificial 

solar energy converters and molecular electronic devices. 

DP0208012 

Prof Michael Paddon-Row 

*** 

Title: A new approach to the generation of long-lived charge-separated states in rigid Donor- 

Bridge-Acceptor systems 

2002: $180,000 2003: $170,000 2004: $170,000 



Summary: 

Electron transfer and energy transfer are ubiquitous in nature and they provide the key to the design 

of energy transducing materials. Considerable effort is being expended into studying light-induced 

electron transfer which leads to the formation of a charge-separated state or molecular "battery". To 

be useful, these batteries should have lifetimes at least in the microsecond domain and this is not 

easily achieved in practice. This project will explore a new, elegant, and promising approach to the 

efficient generation of very long-lived charge-separated states in rigid systems, which is based on 

triplet sensitisation. 

DP0211285 

A/Prof Stephen Pyne 

Dr PA Keller 

Title: New synthetic strategies towards higher order fullerenes 

*** 

2002: $65,000 2003: $75,000 2004: $75,000 

Administering Institution: University of Wollongong


Summary: 

Fullerene or C60 is a novel soccer-ball shaped molecule with many potential applications as new 

materials and pharmaceutical drugs. This project aims to develop novel methods for the preparation 

of new fullerene derivatives that will have potential future applications in materials science, 

medicinal/pharmaceutical chemistry and chemical synthesis. 

DP0208075 

Dr Mark Rizzacasa 

Dr DS Millan 

*** 

Title: Synthesis of Bioactive Metabolites from Myxobacteria 

2002: $66,184 2003: $67,967 2004: $67,967 


APD - Dr DS Millan 


Summary: 

The crocacins and apicularens are two diverse groups of biologically active molecules isolated from 

myxobacteria. Crocacins A-D are dipeptides which show antifungal activity and are highly cytostatic 

in mammalian cell cultures. The novel macrolide apicularen A is highly active against a number of 

human tumour cell lines and shows promise as a new type of anticancer compound. The aim of this 

project is develop a methodology to synthesise these novel compounds. 

DP0211334 

A/Prof Margaret Sheil 

Title: A Gas Phase Study of Macromolecular Biological Complexes. 

*** 

2002: $70,000 2003: $75,000 2004: $75,000 



Summary: 

Following the completion of the human genome project, increased attention has focussed on the 

elucidation of structure and function of biopolymers in cells. The project aims to use electrospray 

ionisation mass spectrometry (a rapidly developing analytical technique) to detail the processes 

governing the formation of macromolecular complexes (DNA-protein and DNA-metal-protein) in 

the gas phase. We aim to explore the relevance of gas phase studies of these large macromolecular 

complexes to interactions between biopolymers in solution and cells. Ultimately, this will aid in the 

development of improved therapeutics tha t act on DNA and/or DNA-binding proteins and 

provide new information on biological processes such as replicaton. 

DP0209809 

***

Dr Michael Sherburn 

Title: New Cascade Routes to Biologically Important Molecules 

2002: $65,000 2003: $75,000 2004: $75,000 



Summary: 

This research involves the development of short and efficient syntheses of several different classes of 

biologically active molecules using cascade reactions: spectacular events in which many chemical 

bonds are formed. Two distinct types of cascade reactions will be investigated and naturallyoccurring 

molecules with antineoplastic, anti-immunosuppressive, antiviral and antimalarial activities 

will be prepared. These new, expedient routes allow the preparation of a wide range of structurallyrelated 

analogues; an important prerequisite for the preparation of libraries of compounds for 

biological evaluation. Along the way, important information about the chemical reactivity patterns of 

a newly-prepared, fundamental class of hydrocarbon molecules will be obtained. 

DP0211286 

Prof Ronald Warrener 

Prof DN Butler 

Dr MR Johnston 

A/Prof D Officer 

Prof A Burrell 

Dr L Flamigni 

Title: Supramolecular assembly in photovoltaic electrode design: Studies of ordered 

porphyrin/acceptor complexes on polythiophene electrodes 

*** 

2002: $80,000 2003: $100,000 2004: $100,000 

Administering Institution: Central Queensland University 


Summary: 

This research outlines an improved way to develop dye-sensitised photovoltaic solar cells for the 

conversion of sunlight into electricity, by increasing the molecular order of the cell components using 

host, guest interrelationships. As such, it addresses a problem of international concern 'How to 

reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stop global warming?' since solar cells do not produce carbon 

dioxide. To achieve our goals we draw on the skills of a team of experts from Australia (synthetic 

organic chemists), New Zealand (polymer and surface chemists) and Italy (photochemist and 

photophysicist). Such research is very appropriate for regional Australia, especially Central 

Queensland. 

*** 

2504 ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY 

DP0211875 

Dr Kliti Grice

Title: Stable Carbon and Hydrogen Isotope Signatures of Chemical Fossils to Infer 

Palaeoenvironmental Change 

2002: $101,839 2003: $103,411 2004: $103,411 2005: $103,411 2006: $103,411 

Administering Institution: Curtin University of Technology 

QEII - Dr K Grice 


Summary: 

Aims are to selectively measure the stable carbon and hydrogen isotopic composition of individual 

chemical fossils (biomarkers) in sediments and petroleum. Biomarkers are derived from biochemicals 

in algae, bacteria and higher plants and their isotopic compositions reflects important information 

about the climate and environment under which the precursor organisms lived. Periods of 

palaeoenvironmental change will be established through the varied stable isotope compositions of 

certain biomarkers within samples sectioned from sediment profiles of different age. This information 

will then be used to better identify rocks in Australia offering good sources of petroleum. 

DP0210336 

Prof Paul Haddad 

Prof MT Hearn 

Title: ON-LINE PRECONCENTRATION IN CAPILLARY ELECTROSEPARATIONS 

USING SEGMENTED CAPILLARIES 

2002: $150,000 2003: $250,000 2004: $190,000 2005: $160,000 

*** 



Summary: 

This project aims to develop new on-line methods for trace enrichment of analytes in capillary 

electrophoresis and capillary electrochromatography. The capillaries to be used will comprise a 

preconcentration zone and a separation zone with the research focusing predominantly on the 

chemistry of the preconcentration zone. Preconcentrators formed from wall-coatings and solid 

stationary phases will be used. The project will result in new, highly sensitive analytical methods for 

inorganic ions, low molecular weight acids and bases, and proteins and peptides. These methods will 

have application in a wide range of important areas including environmental analysis and 

biotechnology. 

DP0209180 

Prof David Hibbert 

Dr JJ Gooding 

Title: A multi-metal ion sensor for analysis of environmental water 

*** 

2002: $46,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $60,000 



Summary: 

The aim of this research project is to develop an electrochemical sensor array on a single chip for the 

detection of several heavy metals in wastewater samples. Each electrode in the array will be 

modified with a different metal-binding peptide ligand; resulting in a characteristic response pattern 

for a given metal ion. Deconvolution of the sensor response into the response patterns of the 

individual metals will be achieved using pattern recognition software employing artificial neural 

networks and other multivariate techniques. Successful development of the multi-analyte sensor will 

allow the rapid monitoring of environmentally important metal ions in the field. 

2505 MACROMOLECULAR CHEMISTRY 

DP0211669 

Dr Steven Bottle 

Dr E Rizzardo 

Dr SH Thang 

Dr G Moad 

Dr A Mau 

Title: Pro-Fluorescent Aryl Nitroxides: New Probes for Polymer Lifetime and Kinetics 

Research 

*** 

2002: $55,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $60,000 



Summary: 

Internal aryl rings present in novel probes developed for this project impart fluorescence which is 

efficiently and internally quenched by the presence of a paramagnetic nitroxide group. Scavenging of 

radicals by the nitroxide however "switches on" the fluorescence and this enables powerful new 

fluorescence-based detection levels for the technique of nitroxide free radical scavenging. Such 

sensitivity is applicable to polymerization kinetics studies, as well as providing new means for the 

determination of materials lifetimes. The development of pro-fluorescent markers as indicators for 

polymer degradation would be a significant outcome for materials where component failure has a 

major negative impact. 

DP0208223 

A/Prof Traian Chirila 

A/Prof JM Webb 

Dr AK Whittaker 

A/Prof DJ Hill 

Title: Calcification of acrylic hydrogels in abiotic media: mechanism and control. 

*** 

2002: $75,000 2003: $115,000 2004: $115,000 



Summary: 

Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (PHEMA) and other acrylic hydrogels are extensively used as 

biomaterials, yet conclusive evidence exists that they have a propensity to calcify following 

implantation. This process has undesirable consequences on the functionality of various prostheses. 

Based on preliminary observations that PHEMA can promote the deposition of calcium minerals 

from media devoid of biological factors, which appears thus to be an inherent property of the 

polymer, the project aims at formulating new hypotheses to explain this phenomenon, and to confirm 

them experimentally. The "chelation" hypothesis will be validated by modifying the structure of 

polymers, and the "spontaneous precipitation" hypothesis by assessing the effect of solutes on the 

equilibrium water content of polymers. NMR and FTIR spectrometric techniques will be used to gain 

further insight into the mechanism of calcification. Methods to prevent the calcification will 

potentially result from these experiments, however, anticalcification agents will also be incorporated 

into hydrogels and their effect evaluated in calcification assays. 

DP0208952 

Dr Michelle Coote 

Title: Hydrogen Abstraction in Chemical, Biochemical and Polymerization Processes 

*** 

2002: $61,184 2003: $62,967 2004: $62,967 


APD - Dr ML Coote 


Summary: 

Hydrogen-abstraction reactions are of vital importance in the chemical, biochemical and 

polymerization processes that occur in everyday life. The objective of the proposed research is to 

improve our understanding of such reactions. State-of-the-art quantum chemistry calculations will be 

used to examine a broad range of hydrogen-abstraction reactions, and to obtain accurate information 

about the factors that influence such reactions. Building on this work, more detailed case studies will 

be performed in two important areas: the hydrogen-abstraction steps in biochemical reactions 

mediated by coenzyme B12, and chain-transfer processes in conventional and controlled free-radical 

polymerization. 

DP0208414 

Prof Tom Davis 

Prof AG Fane 

*** 

Title: Design of Novel Polymer Micro-Porous Coatings 

2002: $124,700 2003: $151,000 2004: $152,000 2005: $148,700 2006: $130,000 


APF - Prof TP Davis 


Summary:

This project utilises unique polymer structures that self-organise into highly-ordered polymer films. 

These polymer films have arrays of pores with pore diameters on the micron scale. These films are 

suitable for high-technology membranes applications, in for instance, biosensors. 

DP0208453 

Prof Tom Davis 

Dr JP Heuts 

Title: Polymerization Mechanism and Kinetics of 1,1-Disubstituted Monomers 

*** 

2002: $65,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $60,000 



Summary: 

This project focuses on two exciting research areas: (I) we have found that an oxygen atom b to the 

double bond activates radical polymerization, making a whole new family of polymeric structures 

accessible, and (II) we have strong preliminary data that demonstrates a very large solvent effect on 

propagation and termination reactions for acrylic monomers with an a-CH2OH functionality, 

suggesting that significant control can be exerted over the polymerization process using additives. 

Additionally, we demonstrate that polymers containing repeat units with an a-CH2OH functionality 

can undergo reversible cyclization, enabling a whole range of novel functional materials. 

DP0208429 

Dr Johan (Hans) Heuts 

Title: Mechanisms in Catalytic Chain Transfer Polymerization 

*** 

2002: $72,000 2003: $61,000 2004: $61,000 



Summary: 

The aim of the proposed research is to gain more insight into the mechanisms underlying catalytic 

chain transfer polymerization, a relatively recent controlled radical polymerization technique which is 

finding an increasing number of industrial applications, especially in the paint and coatings industry. 

An improved understanding of the catalytic chain transfer process, of which some very important 

features are still poorly understood, will ultimately lead to better catalyst design and improved 

process and product control. This in turn will lead to novel polymeric materials. 

2506 THEORETICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL 

CHEMISTRY 

DP0211019 

Dr Sean Smith 

***

Title: New Methods in the Theory and Computational Modelling of Unimolecular and 

Complex-Forming Bimolecular Reactions 

2002: $80,000 2003: $125,000 2004: $125,000 



Summary: 

This project will develop new theory and computational methods for the prediction of chemical 

reaction rates with massively increased efficiency. Complex reactions occurring in combustion which 

are surprisingly common, but have previously been only poorly understood. The project will make 

possible the application of detailed statistical and quantum dynamical theories to such complex 

reactions in order to improve the quality of chemical data which is used for modelling atmospheric 

change and pollution. 

2599 OTHER CHEMICAL SCIENCES 

DP0210266 

Prof Michael Bruce 

*** 

Title: Studies of metal compounds containing carbon chains - approaches to novel materials 

2002: $195,000 2003: $190,000 2004: $190,000 



Summary: 

There is an increasing need to design functional devices on the molecular scale ("nanotechnology"). 

We are developing the chemistry of compounds which contain chains of up to 12 carbon atoms to 

allow electronic communication between metal centres attached to each end. This projects seeks to 

extend this work, to discover new and more effective compounds, and to develop the associated 

chemistry to provide syntheses of novel compounds of potential use in the fine chemicals industry. 

Extensive collaboration with French colleagues exists and will continue. 

DP0208441 

Prof Leslie Field 

Title: Organometallic Transformations of Organic Compounds 

*** 

2002: $65,000 2003: $80,000 2004: $80,000 



Summary: 

The program will develop new metal-based catalysts for two main purposes (i) transforming basic 

hydrocarbons eg. natural gas and low-molecular-weight petroleum products into more advanced

compounds (such as alcohols, alkenes and carboxylic acids); and (ii) converting nitrogen gas into 

nitrogen-containing compounds eg. ammonia or ammonia derivatives. In both projects, the aim is to 

take readily available and abundant starting materials that are currently difficult to utilise and to 

design and develop specific reagents to convert them to "value-added" products. The program will 

also explore the mode of action of metal-based reagents leading to better reagent and catalyst design. 

DP0208662 

Dr Jason Harper 

Title: Characterisation and Development of Dynamic Supramolecular Combinatorial 

Libraries 

*** 

2002: $66,184 2003: $67,967 2004: $67,967 


APD - Dr JB Harper 


Summary: 

The discovery of biologically active molecules, in particular drug discovery, requires the design and 

synthesis of host molecules that bind selectively to the biological target. Combinatorial chemistry 

has greatly assisted this discovery process as it allows the rapid screening of large collections of 

molecules. In this proposal, metal ion interactions will be used in the combinatorial library as this 

will greatly increases the diversity of the pool of compounds to be screened for activity. 

Understanding how to generate and analyze these libraries has potential applications in drug 

screening, the discovery of new substrates, enzymes and inhibitors. 

DP0208113 

Dr Mark Humphrey 

Dr MP Cifuentes 

Title: Organometallic materials for photonics 

2002: $117,378 2003: $118,601 2004: $123,601 2005: $84,601 2006: $84,601 

*** 


ARF - Dr MP Cifuentes 


Summary: 

New high performance materials are required for applications in photonics, an area of increasing 

importance for Australia?s high technology industries. This project addresses two critically important 

requirements in photonics: materials with enhanced nonlinear optical merit (both quadratic and 

cubic), needed for applications in optical communications, data storage and computer systems, and 

materials with significant optical limiting properties, required for laboratory optical device protection 

and military applications. Concomitant with these studies, the fundamental organometallic chemistry 

of alkynylmetal complexes and clusters will be developed, leading into oligomeric, dendritic and 

polymeric species which are of intrinsic, as well as applied, interest. 

***

DP0208266 

Dr Katrina Jolliffe 

Title: Backbone Modified Cyclic Peptides: Scaffolds for Supramolecular Chemistry 

2002: $131,839 2003: $213,411 2004: $203,411 2005: $103,411 2006: $103,411 


QEII - Dr KA Jolliffe 


Summary: 

The synthesis of compounds that mimic Nature?s catalysts ? enzymes ? will provide us with a better 

understanding of how these intriguing molecules function and may lead to the development of new 

catalysts for industrial processes. Modified cyclic peptides could be used as platforms to arrange 

catalytic groups in a spatially well-defined manner to mimic enzymes. As cyclic peptides are often 

difficult to prepare, I aim to develop a powerful general method for their synthesis. This 

methodology will then be applied to the synthesis of cyclic peptide-based enzyme mimics. 

DP0210107 

Prof Geoffrey Lawrance 

Dr IC Hamilton 

Dr A McCluskey 

*** 

Title: Development and Use of Ionic Liquids in Metal Recovery from Ores, Concentrates and 

Mattes 

2002: $65,000 2003: $70,000 2004: $70,000 



Summary: 

Ionic liquids, which are liquid over a wide temperature range and can dissolve a wide range of 

solutes to high concentrations, promise new and yet unexplored approaches in processing ores. We 

aim to prepare ionic liquids and apply these to increase the intensity of copper and gold sulfide 

processing, and to explore more efficient separation of platinum group metals from mattes. New 

oxidative leaching techniques will be developed to diminish ore passivation and enhance recovery; 

high current electrowinning of copper in ionic liquids will be probed. Evolving technology should 

yield economic and environmental benefits for a nationally important industry. 

DP0211147 

Prof Michael Wilson 

Title: Single walled carbon nanotubes of one stereochemistry - material for the oncoming 

carbon age. 

*** 

2002: $60,000 2003: $55,000 2004: $55,000 

Administering Institution: University of Technology, Sydney


Summary: 

Carbon nanotubes are finding application in nanotechnology. However currently they are prepared as 

a mixture of zig-zag, chiral and armchair isomers. Their properties could be improved if they could 

be prepared with one stereochemistry. The approach here is to use a nanocrystallisation and thermal 

maturation process involving stereo controlling additives. The new carbons are expected to have 

outstanding flexibility and strength and novel thermal and electrical properties. The new products 

could give Australia a lead in new battery, hydrogen storage, flat screen technology and 

nanoelectronics. 

2601 GEOLOGY 

DP0208176 

Mr Simon Bodorkos 

Title: Role of Crustal Processes in Archaean Cratonisation: A Case Study from the East 

Pilbara Granite-Greenstone Terrain, W.A. 

*** 

2002: $71,184 2003: $71,967 2004: $70,967 


APD - Mr S Bodorkos 


Summary: 

The formation of stable cratons is a fundamental aspect of continental evolution, and often follows a 

protracted, episodic history of crustal reworking. This project will examine the geology of the Early 

Archaean (>3200 million years) East Pilbara Granite-Greenstone Terrain, in order to evaluate the 

extent to which the uniquely Early Archaean, large-scale ?dome-and-keel? crustal architecture 

contributed to the thermal and mechanical stabilisation of the Earth?s oldest craton. The results will 

have important implications for the influence of radiogenic heat production redistribution on the 

intensity, style and duration of tectonic activity predating cratonisation of continental lithosphere 

throughout the Earth?s history. 

DP0210895 

Dr Yvonne Bone 

Prof N James 

Title: Cyclostome bryozoans: Their use as paleoceanographic, paleoclimatologic and 

paleoenvironmental proxies throughout the cenozoic of southern Australia. 

*** 

2002: $81,000 2003: $110,000 2004: $100,000 



Summary: 

The unravelling of ocean evolution relies largely on data from fossils - geochemical proxies of 

ancient oceans. Southern Australia contains an inrivalled 45 million-year old record of cool-water

carbonate sedimentation and thus global paleoceanography. Currently, the only proxies available in 

these extensive sediments are brachiopods and planktic foraminfers. However, these sediments 

contain prolific low-magnesium calcite bryozoans, particularly cyclostomes, that could be used 

instead. This research will assess such bryozoans and test their usefulness and reliability, utilising 

existing extensive modern marine and Tertiary samples, data bases and sections. Such potential 

proxies would be globally useful for limestones from the last 500My. 

DP0211731 

Dr Brendan Burns 

Title: Survival stategies and dynamics of stromatolite-associated microbial populations 

*** 

2002: $66,184 2003: $67,967 2004: $67,967 


APD - Dr BP Burns 


Summary: 

Biogenic stromatolites are formed by the accretion of carbonates and entrapment of sediments by 

benthic cyanobacteria, algae and other microorganisms. Stromatolites have been present on Earth for 

more than three billion years and the biogeochemical processes involved in their formation are 

indicators of the earliest life on this planet. The applicant proposes to study, at the level of molecular 

genetics, the diversity of stromatolite-associated microorganisms. The defined microbial populations 

will be correlated with the prevailing environmental conditions to elucidate the effect of biological 

and physical factors in determining stromatolite structure. 

DP0210651 

Mrs Carole Burrow 

Title: Australia's oldest jawed fishes: evolution, biostratigraphy and biogeography 

*** 

2002: $73,000 2003: $72,000 2004: $64,000 


APD - Mrs CJ Burrow 

Panel: DP-BSB Biological Sciences and Biotechnology 

Summary: 

The research focusses on a collection of disarticulated remains of placoderms, a group of extinct 

armoured fishes which dominated Devonian waters (410-354 Mya). The oldest Australian 

placoderm macroremains so far described are of late Pragian age (400 Mya), and recognized as a 

highly endemic fauna. An older limestone from New South Wales has yielded new material which 

includes sclerotic capsules and dermal plates of small placoderms. Earliest Devonian (Lochkovian) 

acanthodians and the new placoderms, unlike the younger taxa, seem closely related to coeval faunas 

from the circum-Arctic region. The material will help resolve relationships and distribution of these 

early jawed vertebrates. 

***

DP0211890 

Dr Peter Cawood 

Dr A Dijkstra 

Title: MACQUARIE ISLAND: A UNIQUE WINDOW INTO THE OCEAN BASEMENT 

AND THE LINK BETWEEN OCEAN RIDGES AND OPHIOLITES 

2002: $72,984 2003: $83,367 2004: $71,367 


APD - Dr A Dijkstra 


Summary: 

Knowledge about the composition and structure of the oceanic crust is limited due to the 

inaccessibility of the deep-ocean floor. Macquarie Island is the only fragment of ocean crust and 

mantle exposed above sea-level in the world, providing a unique opportunity to study processes of 

oceanic floor generation in-situ. Our project will carry out detailed mapping of the lower crust and 

mantle sections on the island, followed by an integrated microstructural, petrological, and 

geochronological analysis of samples. Such investigations may lead to fundamental advances in the 

understanding of formation, deformation, and emplacement of oceanic crust at mid-ocean ridge 

spreading centres. 

DP0208605 

Prof Alan Chivas 

Dr D Cendon 

*** 

Title: Climate dynamics of the Australian monsoon and its re-establishment following the last 

glacial maximum 

2002: $161,184 2003: $162,967 2004: $86,317 


APD - Dr D Cendon 


Summary: 

The dynamics and linkages among elements of the global climate system (eg. North Atlantic - 

Antarctica- tropics) are poorly understood, particularly near the Last Glacial Maximum about 20,000 

years ago. For the interval 80,000 to 10,000 years ago, we propose to produce a high-resolution 

environmental record(every 80 years) and dynamical model, using lacustrine sediments from the Gulf 

of Carpentaria. We seek information on the intensity and possible disappearance of the monsoon, 

tropical atmospheric teleconnections with millennial-scale ice-rafting episodes at higher latitudes, and 

influence of aboriginal vegetation-burning on climate. Such links, if found, would profoundly alter 

our understanding of all tropical environments and their management. 

DP0210178 

A/Prof David Gray 

***

Title: Obduction, lithospheric flexure and basin formation 

2002: $179,598 2003: $194,713 2004: $190,713 2005: $185,713 2006: $149,613 


APF - A/Prof DR Gray 


Summary: 

The proposal aims to investigate the links between hydrocarbon basins and obduction, or 

emplacement of oceanic crust onto continental margins. Obduction of the Samail Ophiolite of Oman 

onto the Arabian Peninsular at a time of the world's largest hydrocarbon accumulation, requires a 

causative relationship. This event remains poorly constrained and controversial, and therefore limits 

exploration models for hydrocarbons. Understanding the dynamics of obduction of ocean crust onto 

a passive continental margin and the resultant flexural basin is of major global importance. This 

proposal addresses this issue in the superbly exposed Arabian Pensinsular, applying geochronology, 

basin analysis and basin modelling techniques. 

DP0210138 

Dr Richard Hillis 

Title: The Australasian Stress Map 

*** 

2002: $80,000 2003: $110,000 2004: $110,000 



Summary: 

The contemporary crustal stress field of Australasia is both more complex and more poorly 

constrained than that of other continental areas. The crustal stress field controls processes including 

earthquake hazard; the stability of mines, tunnels and boreholes, and; fluid flow in groundwater 

aquifers and oil reservoirs. Using data from oil exploration wells, earthquakes and recent geological 

activity, this project will increase from around 300 to 1000 the number of reliable stress 

determinations available for Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. The stress field will be 

modelled in order to improve our understanding of its origin and variability. 

DP0210494 

Dr Simon Johnson 

Title: A Pan African-aged suture zone in western Madagascar: Tracking the lost 

Mozambique Ocean. 

*** 

2002: $66,184 2003: $67,967 2004: $67,967 


APD - Dr SP Johnson 


Summary:

The aims of the project are to identify and locate a major suture in western Madagascar i.e, between 

Africa and Madagascar. The precise age of this suture will ba dated using U/Pb zircon 

geochronology, Ar / Ar analysis combined with on-site fieldwork. The project also aims to provide a 

coherent geotectonic framework for the Madagascar microcontinent both north and south of the 

Ranotsara Shear Zone. The project has significant implications for the reconstruction and 

continental configuration of both Gondwanaland and Rodinia. 

DP0210093 

Dr Barry Kohn 

Dr RW Brown 

Prof AJ Gleadow 

Mr KG Osadetz 

Title: Quantifying the Phanerozoic thermal evolution and long-term stability of cratonic 

lithosphere using integrated low temperature thermochronology 

*** 

2002: $158,000 2003: $197,000 2004: $170,000 



Summary: 

The Earth?s most ancient crustal regions (i.e. cratons) are thought to have remained remarkably 

stable since their formation >2.5 billion years ago. This project will re-evaluate this paradigm by 

applying low temperature thermochronology by the fission track and (U-Th)/He methods to three 

key cratons, to detect and quantify previously unknown episodes of significant cooling and 

denudation (i.e. low-level instability) which are invisible to other analytical techniques. The outcomes 

will open a new research avenue in these terrains, which host some of the world?s most valuable 

mineral resources, underlie important petroleum basins and are potential long-term repositories for 

radioactive waste. 

DP0208837 

Dr Sandra McLaren 

Title: Argon thermochronometers and the effects of recrystallization 

*** 

2002: $84,962 2003: $80,337 2004: $69,947 


APD - Dr SN McLaren 


Summary: 

Rocks exhumed from high temperatures in continental settings contain a record of cooling in 

potassium-bearing minerals, known as thermochronometers, due to the quantitative retention of 

radiogenic argon below some characteristic closure temperature. However, thermochronometers 

may be affected by recrystallization processes occurring below such temperatures, and in some cases 

argon data record the timing of crystallization rather than cooling. Field, microstructural and isotopic 

analysis will be used to evaluate the effects of recrystallization on the muscovite and potassiumfeldspar 

thermochronometers, particularly in fault zones. Understanding the effects of

ecrystallization on thermochronometers is critical for studies of the assembly of the continental 

crust. 

DP0210311 

Prof Suzanne O'Reilly 

Prof WL Griffin 

Dr K Gohl 

Prof P Morgan 

Prof J Cottin 

Prof E Neumann 

Prof X Xu 

Title: How has the continental lithosphere evolved? Processes of assembly, growth, 

transformation and destruction 

*** 

2002: $245,000 2003: $315,000 2004: $285,000 2005: $255,000 2006: $255,000 



Summary: 

We will use new in-situ analytical techniques, developed In-house, to date the formation and 

modification of specific volumes of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle, and to define the temporal 

and genetic relationships between mantle events and crustal formation. Quantitative modelling will 

investigate the geodynamic consequences of spatial and temporal variations in lithosphere 

composition and thermal state. Magmatic products will be used to assess the roles of mantle plumes 

and delamination in construction of the lithosphere and xenolith studies will investigate the evolution 

of oceanic plateaus. The results will provide a framework for interpreting the architecture of 

lithospheric terranes and their boundaries. 

DP0211706 

Prof Robert Pidgeon 

A/Prof SA Wilde 

Dr A Nemchin 

Title: Distribution and origin of 4 billion-year-old zircons from Western Australia: 

Implications for the early history of the earth and moom 

2002: $80,000 2003: $70,000 2004: $70,000 2005: $70,000 2006: $70,000 

*** 



Summary: 

We aim to determine the distribution and origin of >4 billion year old (Ga) zircons in rocks from 

north-western Western Australia, using geological mapping, mineralogical and chemical techniques 

and SHRIMP zircon geochronology. The >4Ga zircons are the oldest known crustal material, and 

the only material which can give direct information on the earliest evolution of the Earth. In this 

research, we will collaborate with international research groups also intending to investigate the early 

history of the Earth using the >4Ga zircons. Outcomes will be new ideas on the origin of the zircons,

the differentiation of the Earth, the formation of the Moon and the Earth's oceans, and the 

development of ancient life forms. 

DP0209461 

A/Prof Roger Powell 

Dr RW White 

A/Prof GL Clarke 

Title: Partial melting. granulite facies metamorphism and the evolution of the continental 

crust 

*** 

2002: $91,184 2003: $92,967 2004: $92,967 


APD - Dr RW White 


Summary: 

The basement of the continents is made up largely of rocks that have partially melted at deep levels 

in ancient mountain belts. Such granulite facies rocks hold a key to understanding the evolution of 

the continents. Now, with a model for the thermodynamics of melt, partial melting processes can be 

investigated quantitatively for the first time. Integrating rock-based studies of granulite facies terrains 

with thermodynamic calculations will allow granulite facies rocks, and, as a consequence, the 

evolution of the continental crust, to be much better understood. 

DP0209157 

Prof Michael Sandiford 

Title: Tetconic feedback and the long-term evolution of the continents 

*** 

2002: $74,000 2003: $94,500 2004: $71,000 



Summary: 

The continents are shaped through complex interactions between the primary tectonic processes of 

magmatism, metamorphism, deformation, erosion and sedimentation. Because these processes 

modify the distribution of heat producing elements, and are themselves temperature sensitive, they 

must be subject to important feedback loops. This project will use constraints on heat producing 

element distributions in the Australian crust, and the way in which these distributions have evolved 

during various tectonic processes, to elucidate the nature and significance of "tectonic feedback" and 

its role in shaping the continents. 

DP0210929 

Dr Bruce Schaefer 

Title: Constraining the snowball earth: timing and duration of neoproterozoic glaciations 

using precise Re-Os geochronology 

***

2002: $66,184 2003: $67,967 2004: $67,967 


APD - Dr BF Schaefer 


Summary: 

This project aims to investigate the onset and duration of major global glacial events during the 

period of Earth history when metazoan life first appeared. Understanding such processes will enable 

insights into both the rate and nature of evolutionary processes, and place constraints of ancient and 

modern climate models. This will be achieved by establishing a facility to obtain precise Re-Os 

isotope age data from sediments at Adelaide University (only the second such in the world), and 

studying sedimentary rocks preserved in the Centralian Superbasin. A basis for global stratigraphic 

correlation will also result from the intended program of work. 

DP0208797 

Dr Keith Sircombe 

Title: Integrated provenance analysis: towards better ways of interpreting the source of 

ancient sediments 

*** 

2002: $66,184 2003: $67,967 2004: $67,967 


APD - Dr KN Sircombe 


Summary: 

Determining the provenance of sedimentary grains is a key element of testing competing geological 

hypotheses. Most provenance analyses are based on single-grain analytical techniques that may miss 

vital information. This project will develop an integrated, systematic approach to provenance 

analysis by applying a broad range of modal, geochemical and isotopic techniques to enable the 

effective identification of sources of grains in sedimentary rocks. The new system will be used to 

test hypotheses of when the Pilbara and Yilgarn cratons amalgamated to form the core of the 

Australian continent. 

DP0209280 

Prof Patricia Vickers-Rich 

Dr TH Rich 

Dr TF Flannery 

Title: Was there an unusual environment with equally remarkable inhabitants in Early 

Cretaceous southeast Australia? 

*** 

2002: $124,000 2003: $110,000 2004: $110,000 2005: $110,000 2006: $100,000 



Summary: 

After more than two decades of effort, there is strong evidence that Early Cretaceous southeastern 

Australia was inhabited by a remarkably diverse polar terrestrial vertebrate fauna adapted to the 

coldest environment known to have existed anywhere in the late Mesozoic. In this unusual 

terrestrial habitat for that time, temnospondyl amphibians and allosaurid dinosaurs survived long 

after becoming extinct elsewhere. Here, too, are found what may be the oldest known and yet 

remarkably advanced placental mammals, the group to which we belong. To further corroborate or 

refute these hypotheses, some of which are highly contentious, is the aim of this project. 

DP0211507 

Prof Malcolm Walter 

*** 

Title: Palaeobiology of hydrothermal mineral deposits 

2002: $70,000 2003: $70,000 2004: $70,000 



Summary: 

Mineral deposits that formed at up to 150 degrees C record the history of micro-organisms referred 

to as hyperthermophiles. Current biological studies predict that such organisms are the most 

primitive known. Thus by studying these deposits we have the opportunity to uncover the earliest 

history of life on Earth, and to improve our understanding of ore deposition. Such deposits are also 

prime targets for the search for life and former life elsewhere in the Solar System, and the proposed 

research will contribute to that search. 

2602 GEOPHYSICS 

DP0208127 

Dr Ian Jackson 

*** 

Title: Seismic wavespeeds and attenuation in upper-mantle rocks: a laboratory study of the 

effect of partial melting 

2002: $53,000 2003: $67,000 2004: $64,000 



Summary: 

The influence of partial melting on the seismic properties of the Earth's upper mantle will be explored 

through a laboratory study. Synthetic rock specimens consisting of the upper-mantle mineral olivine 

and a small proportion of basaltic magma will be prepared and their grain-scale melt distribution will 

be characterised. The seismic properties of these materials will be measured at high temperatures 

and seismic frequencies with novel locally developed equipment. Comparison with melt-free 

equivalents will allow the influence of the added magma to be quantified, allowing robust 

interpretation of seismological models of Earth structure with implications for its chemical and 

dynamical evolution. 

***

DP0210719 

Prof Peter Mora 

Mr DK Weatherley 

Title: Crustal fault system dynamics and earthquake prediction 

2002: $71,184 2003: $72,967 2004: $72,969 


APD - Mr DK Weatherley 


Summary: 

The greatest challenge in earthquake science is prediction. Yet this possibility remains elusive. 

However, recent advances using an innovative numerical simulation model provided the first clear 

evidence for an underlying physical mechanism for earthquake forecasting, and observational studies 

have recently identified two independent precursors suggesting that this mechanism operates in the 

crust. The proposed project will use advanced simulation models and an innovative, multidisciplinary 

approach to obtain an improved understanding of crustal fault system dynamics with the aim of 

resolving the earthquake prediction question and progressing towards the scientific underpinning 

needed for intermediate-term earthquake forecasting. 

DP0208039 

Dr Malcolm Sambridge 

Prof B Kennett 

Title: Data Adaptive Geophysical Inversion 

*** 

2002: $60,000 2003: $83,000 2004: $65,000 



Summary: 

The goal of this project is to develop new techniques for extracting information about the interior 

structure of the Earth from large geophysical data sets. These methods will be adaptive so that they 

allow the definition of the physical model to be constrained by the character of the data. The project 

will utilize advances in computational geometry, nonlinear inversion and interactive computer 

visualisation to extract robust information from data sets with variable resolving power. The 

resulting algorithms will be applicable to a wide range of problems in the physical sciences. 

2603 GEOCHEMISTRY 

DP0208323 

Dr Joël Brugger 

Title: Transport of metals in vapours and brines: new insights into the formation of the 

Earth's mineral deposits 

*** 

2002: $143,839 2003: $132,411 2004: $124,911 2005: $108,911 2006: $104,911


QEII - Dr J Brugger 


Summary: 

Traditional models for the formation of hydrothermal ore deposits assume that aqueous fluids 

transported the metals. This view is challenged by new observations showing that gold and copper 

are preferentially enriched in vapours coexisting with salty aqueous fluids in some deposits. This 

project uses state-of-the-art techniques and develops new instruments to measure experimentally the 

partitioning of metals between solid, fluid and vapour at temperatures typical for natural ore deposits 

(350-550C, pressures varying for vapour saturated to 1 kb). By improving our understanding of 

metal transport within the Earth?s crust, these data will lead to improved models and technologies 

for exploring and processing base and precious metals. 

DP0209383 

Dr Suzanne Golding 

Dr AY Glikson 

Dr MV Glikson 

Dr IT Uysal 

Dr AJ Mory 

Title: Stable isotopic studies and isotopic dating, Woodleigh Impact Structure, Western 

Australia: implications for the Late Devonian mass extinction 

*** 

2002: $66,184 2003: $67,967 2004: $67,967 


APD - Dr IT Uysal 


Summary: 

The 120 km diameter Woodleigh impact structure in the Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia is the 

third largest Phanerozoic impact structure. K-Ar dating of impact-induced alteration minerals 

indicates a Late Devonian age for Woodleigh. The precise timing of impact, nature of the impacting 

body and processes responsible for redistribution of meteoritic components will be investigated using 

a range of analytical methodologies. A search will be made for impact-related sedimentary deposits 

to see if an extraterrestrial component can be identified and correlated with Woodleigh. The 

expected outcome is proof of an impact-extinction connection for the Late Devonian mass 

extinction, one of the largest in Earth history. 

DP0209968 

Dr John Hellstrom 

Title: Precise constraints on the timing and nature of late Quaternary glacial-interglacial 

climatic transitions in the Southwest Pacific region 

*** 

2002: $66,184 2003: $67,967 2004: $67,967 

Administering Institution: The University of Melbourne

APD - Dr JC Hellstrom 


Summary: 

An accurate understanding of major climatic transitions during the recent geological past is critical to 

efforts to understand global climate. This project seeks to investigate precisely when the most recent 

ice ages began and ended in the Southwest Pacific region relative to other regions of the world, by 

examining chemical and isotopic records contained in New Zealand cave deposits. Using state-ofthe-art 

analytical technology, precisely dated records of glacier activity and environmental change 

will be produced. 

DP0209509 

Prof Nicholas Oliver 

Dr PJ Williams 

Dr DR Cooke 

Prof BW Yardley 

Dr C Ryan 

Title: Fluid mixing in hydrothermal systems 

*** 

2002: $80,000 2003: $85,000 2004: $85,000 



Summary: 

Mixing of fluids within permeable rocks can cause significant chemical changes to the fluids and the 

rocks, for example it causes metals to be dissolved and transported. Accumulation into mineral 

deposits requires concentration mechanisms which are uncertain due to difficulty of detecting ancient 

fluid pathways. We will analyse these ancient fluids using new microanalytical and other combined 

techniques, thereby testing the role of fluid mixing as a mechanism for efficient metal precipitation. 

The research has significance for exploration and models for mineral deposits, and for characterising 

other geological fluids, and provides opportunity for technical breakthroughs in microanalysis of 

fluid inclusions. 

DP0209388 

Dr Timothy Rolph 

A/Prof CG Skilbeck 

Dr R Boyd 

A/Prof C Schroder-Adams 

Dr SG Pearson 

*** 

Title: A palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of Holocene coastal valley evolution in NSW: A 

magnetic, geochemical, sedimentological and microfossil investigation. 

2002: $50,000 2003: $50,000 2004: $61,200 



Summary: 

Coastal environments are a critical interface between land and ocean. They are sensitive to sea level 

change and they can influence climate because they trap a large fraction of the carbon buried 

annually in the oceans. We propose an inter-disciplinary investigation to determine how NSW coastal 

environments responded to past climate change. This will help to understand factors such as flood 

chronologies and acid sulphate soil potential and to predict the response to these environments to 

future climate change. Coastal environments support an increasing global population that will benefit 

from a better understanding of processes and responses within this critical zone. 

DP0208758 

Dr Daniela Rubatto 

*** 

Title: Rates of metamorphic processes - correlating U-Pb ages with the pressure-temperature 

conditions of mineral growth 

2002: $66,184 2003: $67,967 2004: $67,967 


APD - Dr D Rubatto 


Summary: 

To determine the speed of metamorphic processes, the age obtained from accessory uranium-bearing 

minerals will be correlated to pressure and temperature obtained from major rock forming minerals. I 

will develop a new and innovative technique that uses trace element geochemistry to provide this 

link. The trace element partitioning between datable minerals (zircon, monazite and titanite) and key 

metamorphic minerals will be investigated in natural samples and in piston cylinder experiments. I 

will apply this technique to the study of processes such as the exhumation of eclogites in subduction 

zones and the duration of granulite-facies metamorphism in lower crustal rocks. 

DP0209136 

Dr T Ulrich 

Title: The hydrothermal solubility of molybdenum: A LA-ICPMS study of synthetic and 

natural fluid inclusions 

*** 

2002: $66,184 2003: $67,967 2004: $67,967 


APD - Dr T Ulrich 


Summary: 

The solubility of molybdenum under magmatic-hydrothermal conditions is essentially unknown. This 

study will, for the first time, identify the fundamental controls on molybdenum solubility in porphyry 

systems. This information will provide geologists with basic information on the transport and 

deposition of this important ore metal. In an allied study, the ore metals; copper, gold and 

molybdenum, will be traced through the Kidston porphyry system, Queensland. This will clarify the 

processes that lead to ore deposition, which will ultimately allow geologists to more effectively

explore for porphyry-type deposits, a major target for Australian mining companies in the Pacific 

region. 

2604 OCEANOGRAPHY 

DP0209275 

Prof Malcolm Heron 

A/Prof IS JONES 

*** 

Title: IMPACTS OF RIVER NUTRIENTS ON THE GREAT BARRIER REEF LAGOON 

2002: $155,000 2003: $150,000 2004: $150,000 



Summary: 

While salinity was one of the first properties of the ocean to be studied, it is one of the last to be 

measured by remote sensing. A prototype air borne salinity mapper will be used in this project along 

with an airborne multi-spectral sampler to develop a new approach to the study of river plumes. The 

salinity and nutrient densities will be traced to determine the destination of river runoff. Outcomes 

will assist the management of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and land management near the 

coast, and will improve our understanding of the carbon sink in coastal waters. 

DP0208870 

Dr Peter Holloway 

*** 

Title: Benthic Processes and Oceanic Internal Waves 

2002: $75,000 2003: $80,000 2004: $80,000 



Summary: 

Direct observations will be made of the turbulent motion and sediment re-suspension near the sea 

bed of the ocean in regions strongly influenced by tides and internal waves. Combined with numerical 

models, the study will provide new insights into processes that are of fundamental importance to 

understanding the global dissipation of tidal energy and the role of internal waves in these processes. 

With observations from the continental slope region of the Australian North West Shelf, results will 

also benefit the offshore engineering industry through knowledge of sediment scour and loadings on 

offshore structures. 

DP0208663 

Prof Jason Middleton 

Title: Coastal Processes Driven by the East Australia Current 

*** 

2002: $63,000 2003: $66,000 2004: $87,000



Summary: 

Coastal waters of Northern NSW are dominated by the East Australia Current (EAC). Through its 

strength, variability in space and time, and its proximity to the coast, the EAC directly controls not 

only the longshore currents, but also the cross-shelf transport of nutrients, plankton and other biota. 

A knowledge of EAC dynamics and ocean productivity will be achieved in this project by 

comparison of results from high resolution ocean models (having additional biological modules) with 

data from Research Vessel Franklin cruises in 1998 and 1999. 

DP0209526 

Dr Peter Ridd 

Mr TC Stieglitz 

Dr GJ Brunskill 

Title: Submarine springs in the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon: the geological origin, physical 

properties and ecological significance of Wonky Holes 

*** 

2002: $111,184 2003: $118,967 2004: $93,967 


APD - Mr TC Stieglitz 


Summary: 

This project investigates submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) 

lagoon. As groundwaters often contain high loads of nutrients and other pollutants, point source 

SGDs called Wonky Holes, reputedly common yet scientifically unexplored in the GBR or 

elsewhere, may represent a significant pathway for the land-sea flux of these materials. This project 

will define the incidence and origin of Wonky Holes and determine the magnitude and physical and 

chemical properties of their discharge. These studies will advance our understanding of land-sea 

interactions, assist management of the GBR and improve regional hydrogeological models. 

DP0209193 

Dr Iain Suthers 

Dr ME Baird 

Title: Development of a mechanistic model of marine biological activity 

*** 

2002: $66,184 2003: $67,967 2004: $67,967 


APD - Dr ME Baird 


Summary: 

The development of predictive models of marine biological activity lags that in physical 

oceanography. While modellers of ocean circulation use primarily physical laws, biological

processes have typically been modelled using empirical approximations. Many biological processes 

in the ocean, however, are constrained by quantifiable biophysical limits. This study aims to improve 

our ability to predict the dynamics of biological populations in the marine environment by the 

development of a model based on mechanistic descriptions of organisms interacting with their 

environment. The model?s performance will be assessed by its ability to predict in situ and remotely 

sensed data from Australian waters. 

DP0210903 

Prof Trevor Waite 

Dr A Feitz 

Title: Factors influencing the bioavailability of iron in marine waters 

*** 

2002: $66,184 2003: $67,967 2004: $67,967 


APD - Dr A Feitz 


Summary: 

Strong evidence now exists that iron availability controls the productivity and species composition of 

planktonic organisms in open oceans and coastal and estuarine environments. The mechanisms by 

which iron is rendered available and induces growth remain unclear but appear to involve, in many 

instances, light and both generic and specific organic complexants of iron. In this study, we 

investigate the effect of selected naturally occurring complexants on redox transformations of iron 

with particular emphasis given to the potential ability of organics and light to increase the 

bioavailability of iron. 

2605 HYDROLOGY 

DP0209724 

Prof Jetse Kalma 

A/Prof GR Willgoose 

Dr JP Walker 

Dr PR Houser 

Dr RA Woods 

Title: Scaling and assimilation of soil moisture and streamflow 

*** 

2002: $80,000 2003: $73,000 2004: $82,000 



Summary: 

Information on how soil moisture varies in space and time has been largely restricted to point-scale 

groundbased measurements. We will develop methods for predicting how soil moisture status 

evolves in time over a range of spatial scales, by assimilating groundbased measurements and satellite 

observations of soil moisture with streamflow observations into simple rainfall-runoff models. 

Extensive soil moisture monitoring will allow development of scaling relationships and validation for

new satellite-based microwave radiometers. The project's outcomes will have significant benefits in 

relation to flood mitigation, salinity control and irrigation management. 

*** 

2606 ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES 

DP0210049 

Prof Peter Dyson 

A/Prof FW Menk 

Dr CL Waters 

Title: COUPLING OF SOLAR WIND ENERGY INTO THE EARTH'S ENVIRONMENT 

2002: $160,000 2003: $140,000 2004: $140,000 2005: $140,000 



Summary: 

We will investigate energy transfer from the solar wind to the Earth's space environment, and down 

to low altitudes. The coupling occurs via reconnection between geomagnetic and interplanetary field 

lines, ultra-low frequency waves, and momentum transfer. Signatures of these processes include 

perturbations in the ionosphere and the geomagnetic field and these will be examined using 

ionospheric radars and sounders (in Tasmania, Antarctica, Canada and Alaska) and magnetometers 

(Antarctica and Alaska). Space weather can profoundly affect satellite, radio and terrestrial 

communication networks and observations of the type described here are essential to the 

development of realistic space weather models. 

DP0209457 

Dr Albert Gabric 

Dr PA MATRAI 

Dr AC HIRST 

Dr JW DACEY 

Title: Modelling the impact of simulated warming on marine microbial production of 

dimethylsulphide on a global scale 

*** 

2002: $56,000 2003: $56,000 2004: $57,000 



Summary: 

The ultimate goal of Earth systems science is to understand the planet's functioning well enough to 

explain past changes (eg ice ages) and to predict future states of the system (eg the magnitude of 

greenhouse warming). This is possible only if the climate system can be accurately modelled. This 

project aims to examine the effect of simulated climate change on the global production of 

dimethylsulphide (DMS) by marine microbial ecosystems. DMS has been hypothesised as an 

important biogenic feedback on global warming. 

This work will provide the first ecosystem modelling estimates of the 

global radiative forcing due to DMS and thus decrease the uncertainty in current climate projections.

DP0211606 

A/Prof David Griffith 

Dr SR Wilson 

*** 

Title: Better greenhouse gas budgets: new techniques and applications 

2002: $140,000 2003: $160,000 2004: $140,000 2005: $100,000 2006: $100,000 



Summary: 

The most recent (2001) international assessment strongly confirms the link between global climate 

change and human-induced changes in atmospheric composition. However, improved knowledge of 

atmospheric trace gas budgets is essential for better modelling of future climate change and 

formulation of public policy. We have developed novel techniques for atmospheric trace gas and 

isoptic analysis that provide new tools for resolving trace gas budgets in ways not previously 

possible. We will apply these tools to improve our understanding of the Australian and global 

budgets of greenhouse gases, especially nitrous oxide and methane, for which sources still have 

unacceptably large uncertainties. 

DP0209059 

Prof Malcolm McCulloch 

Dr PJ Hearty 

Prof AN Halliday 

Title: SEA LEVELS, SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURES AND EL NINO VARIABILITY 

DURING WARM INTERGLACIATIONS 

*** 

2002: $100,000 2003: $80,000 2004: $56,000 



Summary: 

Sea levels, sea surface temperatures and the variability of El Niño will be determined for previous 

warm interglacial periods using well dated, stratigraphically controlled fossil corals preserved in 

uplifted reefs. Relationships between past changes in sea level and warmer ocean temperatures will 

provide insights into the response of sea level to global warming. Knowledge of the frequency and 

amplitude of El Nino events that occurred during previous interglacial warm periods will provide a 

better understanding of processes controlling extreme events in the climate system. 

*** 

2701 BIOCHEMISTRY AND CELL BIOLOGY 

DP0208385 

A/Prof Paul Attwood 

A/Prof GC Yeoh 

Dr MA Bogoyevitch

Prof CW Turck 

Title: Mammalian histidine kinase: its characterisation and role in hepatic cellular 

proliferation 

2002: $45,000 2003: $47,000 2004: $49,000 



Summary: 

Protein kinases regulate all aspects of cellular metabolism, but there is a class of protein kinase, 

histidine kinases, which exists in mammalian cells, about which remarkably little is understood. This 

project will be the first detailed characterisation of such an enzyme and investigation of its cellular 

function. The enzyme to be characterised is hepatic and it has been implicated in the regulation of 

DNA replication in regenerating liver. We shall obtain a detailed picture of the role of this histidine 

kinase in liver cell biology and an insight into the more general biological role of this class of 

enzyme. 

DP0210511 

Prof Gregory Barritt 

Dr JW Phillips 

Title: Second messenger-activated calcium channels in liver cells 

*** 

2002: $44,000 2003: $47,000 2004: $49,000 

Administering Institution: The Flinders University of South Australia 


Summary: 

This project concerns second messenger-activated calcium channels, part of the family of hormoneactivated 

calcium channels which are essential to the functions of all animal cells. The aims are to 

elucidate the properties of a novel "large conductance" Ca2+ channel (using maitotoxin as an 

artificial activator), an inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-activated calcium channel, and the calcium 

channel formed by the transient receptor potential-1 (TRP-1) protein in hepatocytes. The 

electrophysiological properties, mechanisms of activation and intracellular trafficking of the channels 

will be investigated. It is anticipated the results will provide basic information on the physiological 

functions of second messenger-activated calcium channels. This will benefit the understanding of 

liver function, hepatotoxicity in animals, animal production and the development of pharmaceuticals 

in animal husbandary. 

DP0208857 

Dr Phillip Bird 

Prof DA Jans 

Title: Shaping a signal: studies on non-contiguous residues in an intracellular serpin that 

constitute a novel nuclear protein import signal 

*** 

2002: $64,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $59,000 

Administering Institution: Monash University


Summary: 

Eukaryotic cells contain membrane-bound organelles like the nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum and 

mitochondria, and use specific mechanisms to direct proteins from their site of synthesis to their 

target organelle. In nuclear proteins, sequence motifs termed nuclear localization signals (NLSs) 

direct engagement with the nuclear pore complex and translocation from cytoplasm to nucleus. All 

NLSs described so far consist of 5-7 contiguous basic residues. We propose to study a novel NLS 

that we recently discovered on an intracellular serpin. This comprises non-contiguous residues that 

together form a basic "patch" on the mature protein, and is the first example of a conformational 

NLS. 

DP0208033 

Dr Marie Bogoyevitch 

Dr PM Watt 

*** 

Title: Probing JNK MAPK function with peptide inhibitors 

2002: $45,000 2003: $47,000 2004: $49,000 



Summary: 

It has generally been accepted that the JNK MAPK family of protein kinases is rapidly and potently 

activated following the exposure of mammalian cells to stresses and cytokines. However, their 

biological role has remained controversial. We believe that this problem reflects the lack of a 

generally applicable and specific JNK MAPK inhibitor. In this project we continue our 

characterisation of a small peptide inhibitor developed in our laboratories. We aim to determine its 

mechanism of inhibition, the specificity of interaction, and to evolve more effective inhibitors. With 

these new inhibitors, we can effectively address the biological roles of these kinases. 

DP0210493 

Prof Allan Bretag 

Dr BP Hughes 

Dr ML Roberts 

Title: Gating and permeation in ClC channels 

*** 

2002: $45,000 2003: $47,000 2004: $49,000 

Administering Institution: University of South Australia 


Summary: 

Chloride ion channels are essential proteins in all living cells but, compared to other channels, little is 

known of their structure or how this defines and controls chloride transport. We will produce both 

normal and structurally modified (mutant and known to cause disease) chloride channels in cultured 

cells by genetic engineering so that we can analyse channel function using a combination of 

electrophysiological and chemical methods. We expect to learn which channel parts are fundamental

and how subtle changes in structure can alter the opening and closing of these channels and the way 

that chloride passes through them. 

DP0208961 

Dr Stefan Broer 

Title: Structure and function of heterodimeric amino acid transporters 

*** 

2002: $45,000 2003: $47,000 2004: $49,000 



Summary: 

Recently a new family of amino acid transporters has been identified, the members of which are 

involved in the delivery of amino acids between cells and tissues. All members display a rather 

unusual structure in that they require two subunits to be functional. The main aim of this study is to 

investigate the interaction between large and small subunits. The study will give insight how 

membrane proteins form complexes in the membrane and how these interactions affect the function 

of a complex membrane protein. 

DP0208614 

Dr S H Chung 

*** 

Title: Theoretical Studies on the KcsA Potassium Channel and the L-type Calcium Channel 

2002: $75,000 2003: $77,000 2004: $79,000 



Summary: 

All electrical activities in the brain are regulated by opening and closing of ion channels. Thus, 

understanding their mechanisms is a fundamental problem in biology. The project is aimed at 

developing a theoretical model of two important types of ion channels. Using a supercomputer, we 

will first deduce the shape of the microstructure formed by a protein wall. Then, using a computer 

simulation technique, we will construct a set of physical models of biological ion channels, which will 

correctly replicate experimental observations. Such a theory will link the structure and function of an 

ion channel through the fundamental principles of physics. 

DP0208282 

Dr Ronald Clarke 

Dr PL Else 

Dr F Cornelius 

Prof Dr H Apell 

*** 

Title: Function and regulation of the Na+,K+-ATPase 

2002: $45,000 2003: $47,000 2004: $49,000



Summary: 

The Na+,K+-ATPase is the major energy-consuming enzyme of animal cells. Its ion pumping is 

essential for numerous physiological functions (e.g. heart, kidney, brain). Molecular detail of its 

pumping mechanism is, however, lacking and its regulation is still unclear. We will use rapid reaction 

methods on purified enzyme in vitro to locate the rate-determining step of the enzyme cycle, 

determine its mechanism, investigate its regulation by sodium concentration, phosphorylation and 

membrane composition, and isolate its charge-transporting steps. The results will have immediate 

impact on the understanding of the enzyme's mechanism, its metabolic control and its role in disease. 

DP0208806 

Dr David Collings 

Title: Molecular and Cellular Characterisations of the Cortical Actin Cytoskeleton in the 

Plant Arabidopsis thaliana 

2002: $91,000 2003: $92,000 2004: $94,000 2005: $94,000 2006: $94,000 

*** 


ARF - Dr DA Collings 


Summary: 

Plant cells contain extensive arrays of the cytoskeletal protein actin that attach to the plasma 

membrane and may play important roles in cell elongation through interactions with cortical 

microtubules. However, the organisation, dynamics and functions of cortical actin remain poorly 

understood. I will combine cell and molecular approaches to understanding cortical actin in living 

tissue of Arabidopsis, using both wild-type and previously uncharacterised mutants, and will develop 

a novel mutational screening strategy to isolate mutants disrupted in plasma membrane or 

microtubule binding. This research will contribute significantly to a greater understanding of how the 

plant grows and develops. 

DP0209873 

Dr Simon Cool 

A/Prof V Nurcombe 

Dr IP Hayward 

Dr M Forwood 

Title: The role of heparan sulfate proteoglycans in the control of osteoblast phenotype 

*** 

2002: $45,000 2003: $47,000 2004: $49,000 



Summary: 

Very little is known about how bone cells progress from a naive precursor state, through 

differentiation and then maturation into adult cells. We wish to purify sugars from the bone cell

membrane, extracellular matrix and culture medium, and examine the cellular response following the 

addition of these various sugar fractions to osteoblast cell cultures in combination with known 

growth factors. If we can control the progression of osteoblastic cells through the phases of 

recruitment, proliferation, differentiation and maturation by the addition of specific sugar fractions 

then we can potentially control bone formation. 

DP0208644 

Dr Denis Crane 

*** 

Title: The protein import machinery of peroxisomes 

2002: $64,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $59,000 



Summary: 

The peroxisome is a subcellular organelle essential for cellular metabolism. Our understanding of the 

formation, or biogenesis, of the peroxisome has advanced to the stage where many of the proteins 

involved in this process have been identified. What is less clear is how these proteins interact to form 

functional macromolecular complexes in the cell. In this project we will use biochemical approaches 

to isolate protein complexes involved in peroxisome biogenesis. These studies will help to elucidate 

the molecular mechanisms of peroxisome biogenesis and contribute to an understanding of organelle 

biogenesis generally. 

DP0212084 

Dr MJ Davies 

Prof RT Dean 

Title: Modulation of cellular metabolism by protein and peptide peroxides 

*** 

2002: $88,000 2003: $80,000 2004: $80,000 

Administering Institution: The Heart Research Institute 


Summary: 

Oxidation of peptides and proteins by a wide range of reactive radicals and other oxidants, in the 

presence of oxygen, generates protein peroxides. These species are now recognised to be key 

intermediates in both the deterioration of foods (e.g. development of rancidity and off-flavours, 

changes in colour and texture) and a number of human diseases, including cancer, heart disease and 

ageing. How these peroxides cause biological perturbations is poorly understood. The proposed 

studies will provide valuable information as to how these peroxides affect cellular metabolism and 

provide key leads as to strategies which may prevent such damage. 

DP0208379 

A/Prof Rodney Devenish 

Prof P Nagley 

***

Title: A global approach to structure, assembly and function of yeast mitochondrial ATP 

synthase 

2002: $125,000 2003: $125,000 2004: $125,000 



Summary: 

ATP synthase is responsible for the synthesis of the ubiquitous energy substance ATP in living cells. 

This multisubunit enzyme complex is a molecular rotatory motor whose mechanism relies on 

functional dynamic interactions of the component protein subunits of the complex. Using a 

combination of powerful and sophisticated molecular biology techniques the functional and dynamic 

contacts made by subunits within the complex, or between ATP synthase and other enzyme complex 

involved in energy production (including other ATP synthase complexes) will be investigated. New 

and significant insights into one of the most fundamental and challenging enzymes of life will be 

obtained. 

DP0208428 

Dr Nicholas Dixon 

Prof G Otting 

Dr J Carazo 

Title: Structures and Functions of Bacterial Replisomal Proteins 

*** 

2002: $64,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $59,000 



Summary: 

DNA replication in all organisms requires many proteins to interact in a structure called the 

replisome. The bacterial replisome is assembled about the DnaB helicase, a motor protein that moves 

along DNA, separating the strands of duplex regions in its path. This project aims to develop 

understanding of the chemistry of DnaB and other replisomal proteins: their structures, how they 

work, and how they interact to assemble the replisome. This has the potential to lead to design of 

new antibacterial drugs. 

DP0208682 

Dr Ronald George Duggleby 

Dr LW Guddat 

Title: Snapshots of an enzyme in action: structural and mechanistic studies on the catalytic 

cycle of Escherichia coli ketol-acid reductoisomerase 

*** 

2002: $49,000 2003: $52,000 2004: $54,000 



Summary:

Enzymes are required for almost every process that occurs in a living organism. For this reason, 

understanding how enzymes work is essential if we are to understand life itself. In this project we 

will investigate the enzyme KARI by capturing a series of snapshots of its atomic structure as it 

progresses through its working cycle. In addition, we will make a series of small alterations to the 

atomic structure that will allow us to understand how the individual parts work together. 

DP0210598 

A/Prof David Fairlie 

Title: Macrocyclic Peptidomimetics 

*** 

2002: $300,000 2003: $305,000 2004: $310,000 2005: $315,000 2006: $320,000 


APF - A/Prof DP Fairlie 


Summary: 

Proteins and peptides are among the most exquisite examples of hosts/guests for molecular 

recognition. Composed of amino acid building blocks, peptides are highly flexible and structurally 

promiscuous, switching between multiple structures (random/strand/sheet/turn/helical) in solution. 

Peptides pay a significant entropy penalty to organize into the one structure recognised by a 

biological receptor and responsible for activity. We are developing new macrocycles, composed of 

molecular constraints and amino acids, organized into specific strand, turn, or helical shapes. These 

building blocks are more structured, more chemically stable, and have higher receptor affinities than 

peptides enabling potential uses as new biological tools, drug leads, catalysts, devices or new 

materials. 

DP0210955 

Prof Geoffrey Fincher 

Dr H Driguez 

Dr JN Varghese 

Title: Molecular mechanisms of catalysis and the basis of substrate specificity in 

polysaccharide hydrolases 

*** 

2002: $75,000 2003: $77,000 2004: $79,000 



Summary: 

Reaction intermediates along hydrolytic pathways and molecular determinants of substrate specificity 

of barley B-glucan exo- and endohydrolases will be defined using crystallographic and kinetic 

analyses. These enzymes are of central importance in cell wall metabolism during development of 

higher plants, and in plant-pathogen interactions. Realization of the project objectives will not only 

provide fundamental information on catalytic mechanisms, but will also provide opportunities to 

manipulate enzyme specificity. Further, site-directed mutagenesis of the enzymes will be used to 

generate glycosynthases, which will be evaluated for their ability to synthesise novel oligosaccharide 

and polysaccharide products, some of which might show immunomodulating activity.

DP0212068 

Dr Katharina Gaus 

Dr W Jessup 

*** 

Title: Cholesterol-dependent control of plasma membrane lipid rafts 

2002: $75,000 2003: $77,000 2004: $79,000 

Administering Institution: The Heart Research Institute 

APD - Dr K Gaus 


Summary: 

Lipid rafts are recently discovered micro-domains in the plasma membrane that are highly enriched in 

cholesterol, giving these domains a unique lipid structure. Because of their distinct structure specific 

proteins partition into these domains so that lipid rafts act as message transduction centres in a 

variety of cell functions. It is hypothesised that cholesterol is the link between the distinct biophysical 

parameters of lipid rafts and their function. The aim of this proposal is to understand how cellular 

cholesterol levels contribute to raft structure and function, thus elevating cholesterol to a regulatory 

element for lipid raft and their function. 

DP0210635 

Dr Elizabeth Gillam 

Dr JJ De Voss 

Title: MOLECULAR BREEDING OF CYTOCHROME P450 ENZYMES 

*** 

2002: $49,000 2003: $52,000 2004: $54,000 



Summary: 

Cytochrome P450s are enzymes that catalyse an impressive array of oxidative transformations. 

However, there is little available data on how to modify their substrate specificity and generate 

tailored biocatalysts. We plan to use an emerging technology known as DNA shuffling to create 

libraries of P450s with varying activities. These will then be screened for enzymes that can catalyse 

the formation of indigo (a blue dye) and indirubin (a chemotherapeutic agent). The enzymes that 

catalyse indigo formation will be useful in the production of coloured transgenic plants and those 

that produce indirubin will have a role in gene therapy. 

DP0212064 

Dr Christopher Greenhalgh 

*** 

Title: Investigation of the biochemical and physiological functions of the negative regulator of 

cytokine signalling SOCS-2 

2002: $61,184 2003: $62,967 2004: $62,967

Administering Institution: Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research 

APD - Dr C Greenhalgh 


Summary: 

Cytokines exert their effects by binding and signalling through specific cell surface receptors to elicit 

their biological action, and if left unchecked, this signalling can cause significant tissue damage and 

toxicity. Our aim is to characterise a novel regulator of cytokine signalling, SOCS-2. SOCS-2 is 

strongly implicated in the regulation of post-natal growth as SOCS-2 deficient animals are 40 

percent larger than normal. Consequently, we wish to determine how SOCS-2 acts to limit the size 

of an animal and whether this involves regulation of growth hormone action. 

DP0209273 

Dr Jules Guss 

Em/Prof HC Freeman 

*** 

Title: Understanding and changing the mechanism of an enzyme: converting a peptidase to a 

phosphotriesterase 

2002: $84,000 2003: $78,000 2004: $80,000 



Summary: 

Enzymes have the ability to catalyse biological reactions rapidly as a consequence of their unique 

three-dimensional structures. We seek to define the structures of a family of metalloenzymes that are 

required in most living organisms to activate hormones, degrade unwanted proteins or recycle the 

protein building blocks for further synthesis. We shall use this information to enhance a second 

function of these enzymes, namely their ability to break down organophosphorus-containing 

insecticides and nerve agents. Ultimately, the structural information resulting from this project may 

be used in drug design to regulate blood pressure and in engineering proteins for bioremediation. 

DP0208537 

Dr Christine Hawkins 

Dr DM Ashley 

Title: Identification and characterisation of caspase inhibitors. 

*** 

2002: $50,000 2003: $52,000 2004: $54,000 



Summary: 

Organisms use a tightly controlled process of cell death (termed apoptosis) to remove dangerous and 

unwanted cells. Dysregulation of this process can contribute to diseases such as cancer and 

autoimmune disease. Caspases are protease effectors of apoptosis. Regulation of their activity is vital 

for effective control of cell survival and death. Using a functional screening system invented by the

1st CI, we aim to isolate and characterise novel inhibitors of caspases. Such inhibitors may in time be 

used as targets for development of therapeutic or diagnostic reagents aimed at manipulating the 

apoptotic process to diagnose, prevent or treat disease. 

DP0212018 

Prof Bruce Kemp 

Title: Structure and Function of the AMP-activated protein kinase 

*** 

2002: $120,000 2003: $122,000 2004: $124,000 

Administering Institution: St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research 


Summary: 

The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a member of the metabolic stress sensing protein 

kinase subfamily that is present in all eukaryotes, including the yeast homologue, snf1p protein 

kinase essential for adapting to growth without glucose. The AMPK plays an important role in 

matching metabolism to nutrient supply and energy demand of perhaps all physiological processes. 

The aim of this project is to understand the structure and function of the AMPK. This work may 

provide important opportunities for drug design, understanding the impact of metabolism and ageing 

as well as increasing our knowledge of signalling pathways that control cellular events. 

DP0208353 

A/Prof Bostjan Kobe 

Dr PA Anderson 

Dr J Ellis 

*** 

Title: Structural studies of plant disease resistance proteins 

2002: $103,000 2003: $105,000 2004: $110,000 



Summary: 

Plant cells have evolved a gene-for-gene disease resistance mechanism, involving an interaction of a 

plant-derived receptor with a specific pathogen-derived molecule. Currently, plant breeders are 

restricted to the resistance genes available in particular crop species or sexually compatible relatives. 

In the last few years, several plant disease resistance genes have been identified, providing a 

foundation for studying the molecular basis of the resistance process. We propose to obtain threedimensional 

structural information on representative R proteins and their ligand complexes. This will 

form the basis for modifying existing resistance genes to confer resistance to new diseases, resulting 

in large economic benefits. 

DP0208783 

Dr Trevor Lithgow 

Title: Tail-anchored membrane proteins: prediction, targeting, assembly and function. 

***

2002: $103,000 2003: $105,000 2004: $110,000 



Summary: 

Using computer-based searches of genome sequence data, we now have a complete list of tailanchored 

membrane proteins in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. These include a number of 

essential proteins, such as SNAREs and TOM proteins responsible for building cellular membranes in 

all organisms, including man. Of the additional protein sequences discovered in the search, 8 

represent proteins of known function while 19 are novel. We propose to study the subcellular 

location of these 19 novel proteins, and solve how they are targeted to and inserted in membranes. 

We will also investigate the function of the newly-discovered proteins. 

DP0209948 

A/Prof George Mendz 

Dr V Korolik 

Title: The Fine Tuned Physiology of Microaerophilic Gastric Spirilla 

*** 

2002: $60,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $59,000 



Summary: 

The aim of the project is to understand the molecular basis of fundamental properties of the 

physiology of enterogastric spiral bacteria of the genera Campylobacter and Helicobacter. The 

characteristics of these obligate microaerophiles which will be investigated are their aerobic 

respiratory chains, the special metabolites and enzymes involved in thiol-disulphide redox balance, 

and their essential requirement for carbon dioxide. Microaerobes include some bacteria, archea and 

protozoa. Realisation of the widespread habitats and importance of microaerophiles, has led recently 

to a vigorous interest in understanding their physiology. Knowledge of the basic properties of 

microaerophily has potential applications to Environmental Microbiology, Agriculture, Industrial 

Microbiology, Veterinary Science and Medicine. 

DP0208773 

Prof J Mercer 

Dr S La Fontaine 

*** 

Title: The Molecular Basis of Copper Metabolism in Sheep 

2002: $64,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $59,000 

Administering Institution: Deakin University 


Summary: 

The unusual copper metabolism of sheep represents a significant agricultural problem. They are very 

susceptible to copper deficiency, but readily accumulate copper to toxic levels in the liver leading to 

fatal liver failure. We propose to elucidate the reason for the copper accumulation phenotype of

sheep. We are focussing on WND, a copper transporter responsible for copper excretion into bile. 

We discovered a novel form of sheep WND designated WNDb to distinguish it from the normal 

form, WNDa. The experiments outlined are designed to understand the function of both proteins in 

the sheep and their role in copper sequestration. 

DP0208734 

Prof Phillip Nagley 

Title: Factors involved in release of cytochrome c from mitochondria during apoptosis 

*** 

2002: $64,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $59,000 



Summary: 

Mitochondria are energy-producing organelles that activate cell death by selective release of 

constituents, notably cytochrome c, which participate in death-signalling cascades. I aim to probe 

such mitochondrial release mechanisms in intact cells, by focussing on features of translocated 

proteins relevant to release. Cultured mouse cells lacking cytochrome c are uniquely suited to these 

studies. A series of cytochrome c derivatives will be engineered in elongated or aggregated forms 

and their release studied (including interactions with putative release machinery components) 

following death-signal activation. The project will elucidate a central mechanism in the cell death 

process, highly significant in many biological contexts. 

DP0211703 

Dr Brett Neilan 

Title: Biosynthesis of nonribosomal peptide toxins in cyanobacteria: A functional 

characterisation of microcystin synthetase 

*** 

2002: $59,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $59,000 



Summary: 

Microcystins are potent toxins and tumour promoters produced by cyanobacteria associated with 

blue-green algal blooms. This non-ribosomal peptide is produced by microcystin synthetase, a unique 

enzyme complex comprised of peptide synthetases, polyketide synthases, and integrated accessory 

enzymes. We have identified and characterised the extensive gene cluster encoding this enzyme. This 

project describes the biochemical characterisation of specific enzyme activities within microcystin 

synthetase and how they determine the final structure and toxicity of the many forms of microcystin. 

Interactions between this enzyme complex and its substrate amino acids will provide information for 

the genetic engineering of this and similar natural products. 

DP0209371 

Dr Helena Richardson 

***

Title: Regulation of DNA replication initiation during Drosophila development 

2002: $49,000 2003: $52,000 2004: $54,000 



Summary: 

This proposal addresses the fundamental issue of the regulation of DNA 

replication during development, using the animal model system, Drosophila melanogaster. This 

research uses a whole animal genetic and cell biological approach to explore DNA replication 

regulatory mechanisms that are present in multicellular organisms but not in yeast. The work 

undertaken here will make a significant contribution to our understanding of DNA replication 

regulation within a developing organism that will be relevant to all animals. 

DP0212024 

Dr Jamie Rossjohn 

Dr PR Gooley 

Title: Structural studies on the mitochondrial protein import machinery. 

*** 

2002: $64,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $59,000 

Administering Institution: St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research 


Summary: 

Proteins transported across biological membranes are generally synthesized as precursors with signal 

sequences. These signal sequences are decoded by one of a number of membrane-specific protein 

transport machinery, but how this decoding occurs is largely unknown. This proposal aims to 

understand the structural basis of protein import into the mitochondrion, a poorly understood 

biological process. This study will enhance significantly our understanding of mitochondrial biology, 

and will also have ramifications for other areas of protein transport. 

DP0208625 

Dr Tony Rowe 

Title: Analysis of the Role of Snapin in the Regulation of SNARE Complex Assembly 

*** 

2002: $45,000 2003: $47,000 2004: $49,000 



Summary: 

The aims of the proposed studies are to investigate the role played by a protein, snapin in the 

trafficking of membranes and cargo proteins between different compartments inside mammalian cells. 

Membrane trafficking is a fundamental cellular process that requires a family of related molecules 

termed SNARES. We have recently discovered that snapin interacts with certain members of the 

SNARE family, implying a critical role in membrane trafficking. The proposed studies will provide

important new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the function of both snapin and 

SNAREs, and membrane trafficking in general. 

DP0208309 

Dr Michael Ryan 

Prof NJ Hoogenraad 

Prof F Hartl 

Title: Defining the pathways for the import of proteins into mitochondria 

*** 

2002: $64,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $59,000 



Summary: 

This application deals with the targeting of preproteins from the cytosol to the mitochondria in 

mammalian cells. The aims are to identify and characterise mitochondrial targeting signals within 

preproteins lacking typical N-terminal signal sequences; to characterise the roles of the cytosolic 

molecular chaperones such as Hsp90 and Hsp70 in assisting the movement of preproteins to the 

mitochondrial surface; to determine the interactions of both preproteins and cytosolic factors with 

outer membrane components and; to analyse the roles of individual TOM receptors in import. The 

results obtained will facilitate our understanding of general protein import processes and those 

specific for mammals. 

DP0210512 

Dr Grigori Rychkov 

Prof GJ Barritt 

Dr ML Roberts 

Title: Regulatory mechanisms for calcium release-activated calcium channels 

2002: $96,539 2003: $105,190 2004: $110,190 2005: $79,190 2006: $79,190 

*** 


ARF - Dr GY Rychkov 


Summary: 

Store-operated calcium channels play a central role in the functions of all animal cells. They 

participate in generating the cellular responses to hormones, growth factors and other physiological 

stimuli. The aims of this project are to elucidate the mechanisms that regulate the activity of storeoperated 

channels and how their properties can be modulated by different pharmacological agents. 

Using chiefly the techniques of electrophysiology and molecular biology we expect to learn the 

fundamental mechanisms that modulate the opening and closing of store-operated calcium channels 

and to gain an important information that can be used for determining the molecular structure of 

these channels 

DP0209802 

***

Dr Joanne Santini 

Title: Novel mechanisms of bacterial arsenic metabolism - arsenate reduction and arsenite 

oxidation 

2002: $71,000 2003: $73,000 2004: $73,000 


APD - Dr JM Santini 


Summary: 

Novel arsenic metabolising bacteria (i.e., arsenate respiring and arsenite oxidising), which are both 

phylogenetically and physiologically unique, have been isolated from arsenic-contaminated areas in 

Australia. The arsenate respiring bacterium, Chrysiogenes arsenatis, is of particular interest as it is 

the only organism reported able to respire with arsenate using the respiratory substrate acetate as the 

electron donor. It is proposed that physiological, biochemical and molecular biological studies be 

carried out to better understand the mechanisms by which these organisms metabolise arsenic. The 

knowledge gained from these studies will have worldwide application in the development of an 

arsenic bioremediation system. 

DP0212061 

Dr Anne Verhagen 

Title: Identification of Proteins that Regulate Apoptosis Through Interaction With IAPS 

2002: $91,839 2003: $93,411 2004: $93,411 2005: $93,411 2006: $93,411 


QEII - Dr AM Verhagen 

*** 


Summary: 

Apoptosis is the process by which multicellular organisms eliminate unwanted cells. Identifying 

proteins involved in cell death regulation is central to our understanding of disease states arising 

from aberrations in this process. The mammalian protein DIABLO, promotes cell death by 

interacting with and antagonising inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPS). Given the existence of 

several IAP regulatory proteins (IRPs) in insects, other mammalian IRPs probably also exist. These 

may be of equal importance in regulating apoptosis, especially in tissues where DIABLO is not 

expressed. The main aim of the proposed study is to idenitify and characterise other IRPs in 

mammalian cells. 

DP0210076 

Dr William Warren 

Title: Genetic analysis of cohesin function and regulation in Drosophila 

*** 

2002: $60,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $59,000 

Administering Institution: The University of Melbourne


Summary: 

In yeast, a multiprotein complex, called cohesin, holds newly replicated chromatids together until the 

cell is ready to partition each chromatid into its daughter cells. We and others have shown that 

cohesins are regulated differently in animal cells. We propose to combine classical genetic analyses 

with two new and innovative techniques, time-lapse confocal microscopy of fluorescent proteins in 

living cells and gene-specific knockout techniques to study key cohesin regulators in Drosophila. 

These studies will provide us with novel insights into how multicellular organisms regulate the 

structure and stability of their chromosomes. 

DP0208872 

Dr Geoffrey Wasteneys 

Prof T Hashimoto 

Title: The Shape of Plants; Discovering factors that control morphology by organizing the 

cytoskeleton 

*** 

2002: $134,000 2003: $139,000 2004: $148,000 



Summary: 

Understanding how plants generate the huge diversity of shapes seen in nature is both a scientific 

challenge and a biotechnological opportunity. Microtubules dominate cell architecture, providing 

dynamic, yet rigid, frameworks for defining or changing growth polarity. We recently discovered and 

cloned MOR1, a gene that is essential for organizing microtubules and controlling morphogenesis. 

This places us in a strong position to resolve a long-standing mystery: how are microtubules 

organized? We intend to define MOR1's structural attributes, identify its interacting proteins and 

innovate an ambitious screen for additional genes that have related functions. This project should 

stimulate new ideas and applications. 

DP0208103 

Dr James Whisstock 

Dr MJ Garcia de la Banda 

Title: Searching for novel protein domains: A bioinformatic analysis of whole proteomes 

*** 

2002: $45,000 2003: $47,000 2004: $49,000 



Summary: 

The functional annotation of the set of proteins encoded by a whole genome (the "proteome") is a 

crucial component of genome research. The aim of this project is to extend the functional and 

structural annotation of large protein databases by identifying novel protein domain families and 

building a novel domain library. Our approach is semi-automated and fast, thanks to execution in the 

fastest parallel supercomputer in Australia available at the Victorian Partnership for Advanced 

Computing. Our preliminary data demonstrates that our method is feasible.

DP0208889 

Prof Richard Williamson 

Title: CesA (cellulose synthase) genes of Arabidopsis; all doing the same job or specialists 

cooperating to make the most abundant biopolymer 

*** 

2002: $64,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $59,000 



Summary: 

The biosphere makes more cellulose than any other polymer with fibre industries depending on its 

physical properties and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels depending on its stability as a carbon sink. 

Demonstrations that cellulose production needs CesA genes drove recent progress in elucidating the 

mechanism of synthesis. CesA proteins all look very similar but if all do the same job, why do plants 

need so many and why do none seem redundant? We will make gene interchanges in transgenic 

plants, build chimeric genes and identify where each CesA protein operates. This will identify their 

individual and cooperative contributions to cellulose production. 

DP0211310 

A/Prof Mark Wilson 

Dr SB Easterbrook-Smith 

*** 

Title: How does clusterin protect cells from stresses? 

2002: $44,000 2003: $47,000 2004: $49,000 



Summary: 

We recently discovered that clusterin: (i) is the only known secreted (ie extracellular) mammalian 

chaperone and (ii) can protect proteins and cells from stresses.These breakthrough advances provide 

the first unifying biological function for this protein - in whole organisms, clusterine is likely to 

protect tissues and organs form biologyical stresses. The work proposed will provide quantum 

advances in our understanding of the molecular basis by which clusterin effects its protective actions. 

We expect to demonstrate that clusterin protects cells form stresses by exerting its chaperone action 

at or near the cell surface and to identify specific regions and structural features of the clusterine 

molecule important in its chaperone action. 

2702 GENETICS 

DP0212085 

Miss Katherine Belov 

Title: Monotreme immune system provides insights into their evolutionary relationships 

*** 

2002: $75,000 2003: $80,000 2004: $82,000

Administering Institution: Australian Museum 

APD - Miss K Belov 


Summary: 

Genes of immunological importance will be cloned and characterised from the short-beaked echidna 

with the purpose of investigating the immune system in monotremes, gaining insights into the timing 

and order of evolutionary separation of the three extant mammalian groups:- the Prototherians 

(monotremes), the Metatherians (marsupials) and Eutherians (placentals), increasing understanding 

of the evolution of the vertebrate immune system and providing the basis for making immunological 

reagents which are necessary for studying monotreme diseases (as a precautionary conservation 

strategy). 

DP0209237 

Dr David Blair 

Dr L Cannon 

Dr S Lawler 

Dr DT Littlewood 

Title: The ancient symbiosis of crayfish and temnocephalan flatworms in Australian 

freshwaters investigated using molecules, morphology and biogeography 

*** 

2002: $44,000 2003: $47,000 2004: $49,000 



Summary: 

Freshwater parastacid crayfish are widespread and diverse in Australia's freshwaters. Associated with 

them (living on external surfaces) since their origins on Gondwana are very many species of 

temnocephalan flatworms. We will elucidate the molecular, morphological and biogeographic history 

of this association which appears to be ancient and specific. The study will shed light on Australia's 

biological links with New Zealand and South America. It will also use the association between 

crayfish and temnocephalans as a model to investigate general features of symbioses, including 

molecular and morphological evolutionary responses and phenomena such as host-switching and 

cospeciation. 

DP0209259 

Dr Mark Blows 

Title: Mapping Speciation Genes 

*** 

2002: $108,000 2003: $108,000 2004: $119,000 2005: $120,000 2006: $106,000 


QEII - Dr MW Blows 


Summary:

Although Darwin's seminal work was entitled "On the Origin of Species", how new species arise is 

still poorly understood. Modern genetic techniques and quantitative trait loci analysis (QTLs) 

potentially allow the characterization of the genetic basis of traits directly involved in the speciation 

process. I intend to conduct two complementary QTL analyses of reproductive isolation in the 

Drosophila serrata complex. The first will determine the genetic basis of reproductive isolation 

between D. serrata and D. birchii, while the second will determine if the same loci are currently 

under natural selection in D. serrata populations that are sympatric with D. birchii. 

DP0208050 

Dr Robert Brooks 

Dr AK Lindholm 

Title: How sexually antagonistic genes and sexual selection influence the evolution of the Y 

chromosome. 

*** 

2002: $117,800 2003: $92,000 2004: $92,000 


APD - Dr AK Lindholm 


Summary: 

Sexually antagonistic genes are beneficial to members of one sex, but costly to the other. They are of 

significance both to the coevolution between the sexes and the evolution of the sex chromosomes. 

We will measure the sexually antagonistic effects of genes that make male guppies sexually 

attractive. We will then study how these genes, and the process of sexual selection that favours them 

influence the process of recombination between the X and Y chromosomes. 

DP0208534 

Dr Darryn Bryant 

Dr P Adams 

Dr K Mitchelson 

Title: Mutagenesis and combinatorial algorithms for sequencing problematic genomic 

regions. 

2002: $91,839 2003: $93,411 2004: $93,411 2005: $93,411 2006: $93,411 

*** 


QEII - Dr DE Bryant 



Summary: 

This project will develop a remarkable and original approach to DNA sequencing with potential to 

radically improve the speed, accuracy and effectiveness of existing sequencing technologies. It is 

especially useful for dealing with difficult-to-sequence genomic regions and has implications for all 

sequencing projects, including completion of the Human Genome Project. The approach involves 

generating, and wholly or partially sequencing, mutated copies of problematic regions of the target

genome. Advanced combinatorial algorithms are then used to form highly probable alignments 

between strings and determine the unknown sequence. The approach has additional benefits in 

detecting single-nucleotide polymorphisms and sequencing errors. 

DP0210314 

Prof David Catcheside 

Dr J Yeadon 

Dr FJ Bowring 

Title: Meiotic recombination in Neurospora crassa: a model for the process in humans and 

other multicellular eukaryotes 

*** 

2002: $60,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $59,000 




Summary: 

Genes are shuffled by recombination during meiosis in the sexual cycle of higher organisms. This is 

best understood in yeast. Our findings show Neurospora recombination differs from yeast 

recombination. It is more tolerant of sequence mismatch, differs in the relative frequencies of gene 

conversion and crossing over, has frequently interrupted conversion tracts and has transacting genes 

controlling recombination hotspot activity. We propose to genetically dissect Neurospora 

recombination which appears to be a closer model for recombination in humans and other higher 

eukaryotes, where understanding recombination can assist control of genetic disease, efficient 

breeding in agriculture and our understanding of evolution. 

DP0211823 

Dr David Clancy 

*** 

Title: The effect of mitochondrial and nuclear-cytoplasmic variation on longevity, metabolism 

and stress resistance in Drosophila. 

2002: $61,184 2003: $62,967 2004: $62,967 


APD - Dr DJ Clancy 



Summary: 

Much research points to a major role of free radical damage in aging, thus the belief that antioxidants 

might be beneficial in delaying aging. Free radicals are mostly formed in the subcellular organelles 

which consume oxygen and produce energy, and this may be the major site of age-related damage. 

This project seeks to understand the degree to which variation among these subcellular organelles 

affect free radical damage and aging, using the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster as a model 

organism. 

***

DP0209452 

A/Prof Shaun Collin 

Dr AE Trezise 

Dr JN Marshall 

Prof DM Hunt 

Prof IC Potter 

Title: The evolution of colour vision in vertebrates 

2002: $115,000 2003: $114,000 2004: $116,000 




Summary: 

Colour vision plays a crucial role in the lives of many animals including vertebrates. However, very 

little is known about the origins of colour vision and we aim to fill this gap. Photoreceptors (cone 

cells) with sensitivities to different colours mediate colour vision (humans possess blue, green and 

red cones). This study will examine the structure, physiological responses and molecular biology of 

these cells in the closest living relatives of the early vertebrates. The underlying mechanisms for 

spectral tuning, the genetic rate of evolutionary change and the importance of colour in visual 

ecology will also be examined. 

DP0208030 

Dr Shae-Lee Cox 

A/Prof G Jenkin 

Dr JM Shaw 

Dr T Goto 

Title: The Role of C-kit and Selected TGF beta Family Members in Recruitment 

*** 

2002: $81,000 2003: $78,000 2004: $78,000 


APD - Dr S Cox 



Summary: 

The recruitment of primordial follicles into the growth phase is central to female reproductive 

function, however the control of this process to date, has been poorly understood due to inadequate 

technologies. Our team has recently developed novel recruitment models and a new and innovative 

method of isolating primordial follicles which will enable us to identify the role of c-kit and selected 

TGF beta family members in recruitment. This work will provide cornerstone scientific knowledge 

about the control of female reproduction and provide the impetus for the development of more 

effective contraception and superovulation strategies in mammals. 

***

DP0209447 

Prof Rossiter Crozier 

Prof P Schmid-Hempel 

Title: Evolutionary genetics of the immune system in social insects 

2002: $140,000 2003: $142,000 2004: $144,000 2005: $145,000 




Summary: 

Insects possess efficient innate immunity against pathogens, but social insects are suggested to be 

vulnerable due to their packed colonies of related individuals. We predict that pathogen pressure 

varies with life history and microhabitat details, and that this variation will be reflected in the 

molecular evolutionary rates of immune system genes. Sequence information will be obtained to test 

these predictions. The results should be of widespread interest as reflecting the importance of 

pathogens and life pattern, and increase our knowledge of insect immune systems, potentially 

enabling circumvention of pest defenses and better protection of beneficial species. 

DP0208254 

Prof Ian Dawes 

*** 

Title: Integration of Cellular Gene Regulation Processes 

2002: $93,000 2003: $95,000 2004: $100,000 




Summary: 

This research program aims to identify specific transcriptional regulatory networks in yeast, to 

determine how some of these networks interact with each other and within these networks to identify 

the roles of genes whose functions are currently unknown. It will identify systems regulating genes 

concerned with one-carbon metabolism, cellular responses to oxidative stress and developmental 

changes associated with meiosis. It will provide a framework to test regulatory network models and 

to analyse the molecular basis of interactions between control systems. This research will eventually 

provide the ability to predict how cells respond to drugs and other environmental stimuli. 

DP0211559 

Dr Michael Gillings 

Dr HK Nevalainen 

A/Prof HW Stokes 

Dr AJ Holmes 

*** 

Title: Bacterial innovation and evolution: Molecular prospecting by targeting integrons and 

gene cassettes

2002: $75,000 2003: $77,000 2004: $79,000 




Summary: 

Bacteria can respond rapidly to environmental change by acquiring new genes via lateral gene 

transfer. A DNA element called the integron can capture, mobilise and express genes, thereby 

playing a role in the transfer process. We have discovered that integrons are surprisingly abundant in 

the environment and are associated with a hitherto unsuspected diversity of novel genes. In this study 

we will assess the diversity of environmental integrons and examine their contribution to bacterial 

evolution. Further, we aim to use integron systems to prospect for novel genes and contract new 

enzyme pathways by directed evolution. 

DP0210213 

Dr Barbara Howlett 

*** 

Title: Characterisation of Genes involved in Secondary Metabolism in the Blackleg Pathogen 

of Canola 

2002: $49,000 2003: $52,000 2004: $54,000 




Summary: 

Blackleg caused by the fungus Leptosphaeria maculans is the major disease of canola. In spite of the 

economic importance of this fungus, little is known about its metabolic pathways, its genes and how 

they are organised. We have sequenced a large piece of L. maculans DNA comprising eight genes, 

including a regulatory gene and one that may be may be involved in producing secondary metabolites 

such as phytotoxins. We will determine the role of these genes in metabolism and the disease 

process, thus providing insights into secondary metabolism and gene regulation in this important 

plant pathogen. 

DP0209466 

Prof Peter Koopman 

Title: MOLECULAR GENETICS OF MAMMALIAN SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT: 

Molecular roles of SRY and SOX9 

*** 

2002: $340,000 2003: $342,000 2004: $355,000 2005: $355,000 2006: $355,000 


APF - Prof PA Koopman 


Panel: DP-BSB Biological Sciences and Biotechnology

Summary: 

The development of sexual characteristics is critical to the survival of almost all animal species. This 

project seeks to clarify how male and female embryos develop differently, focusing on the Ychromosome 

maleness gene Sry, and a closely related and equally important gene Sox9. We will 

study how these genes are switched on in developing gonads and how they interact with other genes 

to bring about testis formation in male embryos. In this way we will discover new genes and 

mechanisms that are important for sexual identity and also other aspects of embryo development. 

DP0210930 

Prof Peter Langridge 

Title: The genetic and molecular organisation of the self incompatibility gene region in the 

grasses 

*** 

2002: $75,000 2003: $77,000 2004: $79,000 




Summary: 

Self-incompatibility (SI) is a cell-cell recognition process used by plants to prevent self-pollination 

and force outcrossing. It is widespread, occurring in a third of plant families. Although studies of SI 

go back to the 1800s, the origin of SI remains a mystery. Recent advances in the molecular 

characterisation of SI loci in some species has re-ignited debate on its origins but has provided few 

answers. This project uses the grasses to explore the origins of SI. As a model system, the grasses 

offer detailed genetic and molecular data and aspects of floral architecture associated with SI can be 

investigated 

DP0212016 

Prof Nicholas Martin 

Dr MJ Wright 

Prof GM Geffen 

Prof LB Geffen 

Title: Quantitative and Molecular Genetic Analysis of Cognition 

*** 

2002: $75,000 2003: $77,000 2004: $79,000 

Administering Institution: Queensland Institute of Medical Research 



Summary: 

This study attempts to unravel the pathways through which genes may exert their influence on 

cognitive processes by identifying some of the genes associated with normal variation in cognitive 

ability. Using the cognitive phenotypes we have collected, both linkage and association analysis will 

be used to find QTLs (locations on the chromosomes at which specific genes contribute to a 

quantitative trait) associated with processing speed and other specific abilities. The research will

enhance our understanding of the biological mechanisms influencing brain function and paves the 

way for the genetic dissection of the brain. 

DP0210630 

A/Prof Brian May 

Dr CS Hii 

*** 

Title: A study of the nongenomic action of Vitamin D: proposed role of the nuclear VDR and 

downstream signalling molecules 

2002: $64,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $59,000 




Summary: 

Vitamin D (1,25D) activates genes in the nucleus through the vitamin D receptor (VDR). 1,25D can 

also elicit rapid responses at the plasma membrane. This action is critical to the activation of nuclear 

genes. We hypothesise that a proportion of the nuclear VDR is located at the plasma membrane 

where it stimulates downstream signalling molecules eg Ras, ERK1/2 and ERK5. We plan to explore 

this hypothesis and to identify the signalling molecules. We will also investigate our novel finding 

that a specific Ras isoform is involved in ERK5 activation. The work will provide new information 

on signalling pathways. 

DP0209460 

Dr David MILLER 

Dr E BALL 

Prof WJ GEHRING 

Prof G TECHNAU 

*** 

Title: Evolution of nervous system patterning processes: characterisation of homologs of key 

Drosophila regulatory genes from the coral Acropora 

2002: $60,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $59,000 




Summary: 

Defining the common mechanisms of nervous system development is one of the major goals of 

modern biology, but is presently being addressed largely by comparisons between a few very 

advanced (and therefore specialised) animals. Comparative data from a lower animal is urgently 

needed, and will clarify many aspects of nervous system evolution and development. The pioneering 

work carried out on Acropora in this laboratory suggests that it is perhaps the best choice currently 

available for this purpose. This project will use Acropora to address fundamental questions about the 

evolution of nervous system developmental processes. 

***

DP0208497 

Prof Marilyn Renfree 

Dr G Shaw 

Prof RV Short 

Dr AJ Pask 

Prof RR Behringer 

Title: Marsupial germ cells and genes 

2002: $98,000 2003: $97,000 2004: $99,000 2005: $101,000 




Summary: 

Germ cells are the most fascinating cells in the body, since theirs is the unique responsibility for 

transmitting life from generation to generation. Studies in mice have suggested that position in the 

embryo determines their origin, but the early embryology of the mouse is so different from that of 

other mammals that the events need confirming and extending in another species. The simplified 

embryology of the tammar wallaby makes it ideal for studying one of the most fundamental questions 

in the whole of biology: what is the basis for the primal distinction between sex and soma? 

DP0211687 

Dr Stephen Sarre 

Dr N FitzSimmons 

*** 

Title: Evolution in microsatellite DNA: testing models of mutation in an Australian marsupial 

2002: $45,000 2003: $47,000 2004: $49,000 

Administering Institution: University of Canberra 



Summary: 

We aim to compare mutational events between microsatellite loci that vary in their exposure to 

recombination. We are able to do this because of a remarkable finding that Australian brushtail 

possums have multiple occurrences of a single microsatellite repeat element within the Ychromosome 

and among autosomal loci. We will compare variation between the Y-linked and non 

Y-linked loci within and among individual possums and use those comparisons to distinguish 

between recombinant and non- recombinant mutational mechanisms. These data will provide new 

insights into the mutational mechanisms that drive variation in these most important molecular 

markers. 

DP0209627 

Dr Andrea Taylor 

Dr S Ward 

***

Title: The effects of habitat fragmentation on dispersal and social organisation in the Brown 

Antechinus 

2002: $33,000 2003: $47,000 2004: $49,000 



Summary: 

Fragmentation of native habitat continues to threaten Australian species, yet we have little 

understanding of processes leading to resulting extinctions. This study will characterise the effects of 

human-induced habitat fragmentation on social organisation and dispersal in Brown Antechinus. We 

will use a combination of genetic and demographic analyses to quantify and describe perturbation of 

social structure and mating system within habitat fragments, and of dispersal among them. The 

patchwork of native vegetation within the Tumut pine plantation provides an ideal natural 

experimental study system and will produce data essential for rational management of landscapes in 

the face of human disturbance. 

DP0210435 

Dr Coral Warr 

Title: Olfactory signalling and coding in Drosophila and other insects 

*** 

2002: $45,000 2003: $47,000 2004: $49,000 



Summary: 

Animals rely on olfactory cues to detect food, danger, and others of the same species. The olfactory 

systems of Drosophila and other insects are simpler than those of mammals, yet complex enough to 

offer fascinating systems for studying neural information processing. This project aims to investigate 

the role of the Drosophila odorant receptors in olfactory coding, and to use multiple approaches to 

isolate components of the poorly understood insect olfactory signal transduction pathway. In 

addition, the role of the NO/cGMP pathway in olfactory signalling will be studied using an olfactory 

mutant that has nitric oxide synthase defects. 

DP0211238 

Dr Jeffrey Wright 

Title: Population growth, genetic variation and adaptation in two Caulerpa species in 

southeastern Australia 

*** 

2002: $73,000 2003: $76,000 2004: $78,000 


APD - Dr J Wright 


Summary:

This project will examine factors that influence the population growth, reproduction, genetic 

variation and adaptation in two seaweeds; the invasive Caulerpa taxifolia and the possibly invasive C. 

filiformis. A combination of surveys, modelling, molecular genetics and field experiments will be 

undertaken to achieve this. The current ambiguity surrounding the status of C. filiformis as an 

invasive species in Australia will be addressed by comparing DNA sequences of Australian and 

African plants. This project will provide critical data for managing invasive species, but more 

broadly, increase the current understanding of their biology and the factors important in their 

population growth and adaptation. 

DP0209518 

Prof Myron Zalucki 

Dr PR Ebert 

Dr BW Cribb 

Dr C Moore 

Title: Beyond the gene: Linking herbivore behaviour to plant defense gene expression. 

*** 

2002: $49,000 2003: $52,000 2004: $54,000 



Summary: 

This collaborative project investigates insect herbivore avoidance of plant defence mechanisms. Our 

project is novel because it integrates changes in the plant at a number of different levels and links 

them to insect foraging behaviour. Researchers assume that insects respond to plant defences by 

changing their foraging behaviour. This has not been tested directly. We use the genetically well 

characterised plant Arabidopsis and the world-wide pest Helicoverpa (heliothis) as a model system. 

Damage caused to crops by insect herbivores is a direct function of behaviour. Understanding this 

behaviour will lead to improved pest management and reduced economic losses. 

2703 MICROBIOLOGY 

DP0208130 

Dr Ricardo Cavicchioli 

Dr PM Curmi 

Dr BC Mabbutt 

Dr KR Sowers 

Dr NF Saunders 

Title: THE BIOLOGY OF COLD ADAPTED EXTREMOPHILES: AN INTEGRATED 

GENOMIC-PROTEIN ANALYSIS APPROACH 

*** 

2002: $140,000 2003: $142,000 2004: $144,000 


APD - Dr NF Saunders 


Summary:

Extremophiles are microorganisms that can thrive in otherwise inhospitable environments. Most 

extremophiles are Archaea; an order of life separate from Bacteria and Eucaryotes. The project will 

generate the first genome sequence that was initiated in Australia, and the first genome sequence of 

any cold adapted organism. Associated functional studies include global analyses of protein 

expression (proteomics) and mRNA expression using micro-arrays, and work targeted at RNA 

binding proteins and protein folding systems involved in the thermally sensitive process of protein 

synthesis. The nature and scope of the work will impact on fundamental cellular processes and 

provide enormous innovative biotechnological potential. 

DP0210526 

Dr Elizabeth Harry 

Prof RG Wake 

Mr S Jensen 

Title: Regulating the earliest step in bacterial cell division: Z ring assembly 

*** 

2002: $108,000 2003: $107,000 2004: $109,000 



Summary: 

Cell division is essential for survival. What are the cues that signal cells to divide at the right place 

and at the right time? How do cells ensure that when division occurs to produce two newborn cells, 

each one receives the correct amount of DNA? The answers to these questions are essential to 

understand how organisms reproduce and grow. But they remain unknown. This research addresses 

these questions in bacteria. Our discoveries will have a significant impact on our understanding of the 

regulation of this vital process and will facilitate the design of novel antibiotics that target it. 

DP0210205 

Dr Michael Jennings 

Dr M Dieckelmann 

Title: Molecular mechanisms of pilin glycosylation in Neisseria: a model system for protein 

glycosylation in bacteria. 

*** 

2002: $85,000 2003: $88,000 2004: $88,000 


APD - Dr M Dieckelmann 


Summary: 

The disease causing bacteria Neisseria meningitidis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae are important human 

pathogens. Cell surface structures, called pili, are known to be important in allowing the bacteria to 

stick to host cells. Genetic and structural studies have identified that the protein subunits, which 

make up pili, are glycosylated - modified by the addition of sugars. Until recently glycosylation of 

Gram-negative bacterial proteins was not thought to occur, however our recent work with these 

bacteria, and other groups studying Pseudomonas and Campylobacter, have shown that this process 

may be widespread. In our previous studies, we have identified and analysed a number of genes

involved in pili glycosylation, in bacteria, which make known sugar structures. We have used this 

information to developed models for how the biochemistry and physiology of the glycosylation 

system may work. With a well-established structure and many genes already identified, glycosylation 

in Neisseria represents the best available model system to study this novel and important process. In 

the proposed study we describe experiments planned to test our models and reveal the molecular 

detail of this process. This study could lead to major advances in our understanding of this process 

and, when understood, may have future applications in biotechnology. 

DP0208640 

Dr Margaret Katz 

Dr BF Cheetham 

Title: A genetic analysis of the role of an atypical hexokinase in gene regulation 

*** 

2002: $44,000 2003: $47,000 2004: $49,000 

Administering Institution: The University of New England 


Summary: 

This project addresses a question which is relevant to all living things-how do changes in the 

environment of a cell bring about a change in gene expression? The aim of this project is to 

investigate the role of hexokinases in gene regulation by studying the Aspergillus nidulans xprF gene, 

which encodes an an unusual hexokinase. Hexokinases are thought to be the glucose sensors in 

plants, animals and fungi, and play a role in the development of diabetes in humans. In plants, sugars 

affect many processes including growth, flowering, photosynthesis, nitrogen metabolism, starch 

synthesis, pigmentation and response to pathogens. 

DP0208502 

Prof James Paton 

Dr AW Paton 

Dr R Morona 

Title: Recombinant probiotics for prevention of enteric infections in piglets 

*** 

2002: $67,000 2003: $68,000 2004: $71,000 



Summary: 

Shigatoxigenic and enterotoxigenic strains of Escherichia coli cause severe diarrhoeal disease and 

oedema disease in piglets. The resultant morbidity and mortality is a major cause of financial loss to 

the pig industry both in Australia and overseas. We have conceived a highly novel approach to 

prevention of these diseases involving molecular mimicry of host receptors for the E. coli toxins and 

adhesins on the surface of a harmless bacterium. Oral administration of this agent to piglets has the 

potential to bind free toxins in the gut and prevent colonization of the intestines by the pathogens, 

thereby preventing disease. 

***

DP0210675 

Prof Peter Reeves 

Title: Genetics and evolution of Shigella O antigens 

2002: $60,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $59,000 



Summary: 

We use genome scale sequencing techniques to sequence 26 O-antigen gene clusters from Shigella. 

With the seven already known, this will give sequences for every O-antigen of Shigella. This will be 

the first time that such set is fully sequenced. Shigella are human specific pathogens, have emerged 

with the evolution of humans. O-antigens are important for their life and pathogenicity. This project 

will greatly extend our knowledge of the genetic basis and evolution of this important polymorphism. 

O-antigens are used for typing Shigella and also elicit strong immunity. The molecular data will help 

establish DNA based typing and vaccine development. 

DP0209628 

Prof Julian Rood 

A/Prof JK Davies 

Prof RL Coppel 

Prof B Adler 

Title: Pathogenesis, regulation and genomics of the ovine footrot pathogen, Dichelobacter 

nodosus 

*** 

2002: $128,000 2003: $127,000 2004: $129,000 



Summary: 

Footrot is one of the most economically significant diseases of sheep in Australia. The aim of this 

project is to develop a detailed understanding of how the bacterium that causes this infection is able 

to infect the sheep hoof and result in clinical disease. The complete sequence of the genome of the 

causative bacterium will be determined, enabling us to deduce its genetic potential. The completed 

project will significantly advance fundamental knowledge of the disease process and will lead to the 

development of improved methods for the control of the disease, with concomitant cost savings to 

Australian primary industry. 

2704 BOTANY 

DP0210153 

Dr Tony Chiovitti 

Title: Characterisation of Bioadhesives from Marine diatoms 

2002: $34,271 2003: $36,000 

***



Summary: 

Biofouling occurs at great expense to governments and industry, adding up to 60% annually to the 

cost of propulsive fuel consumption in shipping. Diatoms include the most common algal biofoulers 

of natural and artificial surfaces (e.g. ship hulls). The structure of diatom adhesives will be 

elucidated in order to determine the molecular basis of their adhesive properties. As diatoms are 

capable of reversible adhesion, an understanding of this mechanism may enable development of 

strategies to counter adhesion in antifouling products (e.g. paints). This knowledge will contribute 

to development of new adhesives or strategies to modify and/or prevent adhesion. 

DP0211826 

A/Prof Jann Conroy 

Dr RT Furbank 

A/Prof A Makino 

Title: Does manipulation of carbon and nitrogen metabolism in transgenic rice modify flag 

leaf senescence and grain filling at elevated CO2? 

*** 

2002: $49,000 2003: $52,000 2004: $54,000 

Administering Institution: University of Western Sydney 


Summary: 

This collaborative project between Australia and Japan aims to develop strategies for genetic 

manipulation of rice to improve grain yield of crops growing under rising atmospheric carbon 

dioxide (CO2) concentrations. A promising strategy is to slow aging of leaves that supply sugars and 

nitrogen to the developing grain for synthesis of starch and protein. High CO2 alters the balance 

between supply and demand processes and consequently the first step in developing a strategy is to 

understand how these processes are regulated. To achieve this understanding we will use genetically 

modified plants with single alterations to either supply or demand functions. 

DP0209211 

Prof David Day 

Dr JM Whelan 

Dr AH Millar 

Dr K SINGH 

Title: FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS OF PLANT MITOCHONDRIA: THEIR ROLE IN 

DEVELOPMENT, OXIDATIVE STRESS AND PLANT DEFENSE. 

*** 

2002: $371,161 2003: $370,589 2004: $391,589 2005: $406,589 2006: $406,589 



Summary:

Crops encounter many situations in their environment which place them under stress. Reactive 

oxygen molecules produced in these situations act as messengers to trigger defence mechanisms but 

also cause cellular damage. Mitochondria are the subcellular compartments involved in energy 

production and are essential for plant development and growth. However, they also have been 

implicated in the response of plants to stress and pathogen attack, and in production of reactive 

oxygen molecules. This proposal seeks to investigate how mitochondria are involved in these 

processes, using the latest plant genome information. Potential outcomes include crops better able 

to cope with environmental stress. 

DP0209245 

Prof Dr Johannes Lambers 

Prof Dr KW Dixon 

Title: The genus Banksia: can ecophysiological traits associated with nutrient acquisition 

explain species distribution and rarity? 

*** 

2002: $80,000 2003: $82,000 2004: $84,000 



Summary: 

We aim to investigate if an important aspect of a specialised mechanism of nutrient acquisition by 

different species of the genus Banksia (Proteaceae) accounts for their distribution and rarity. This 

aspect is the pattern of exudates that are produced by their 'proteoid' roots. Different species of the 

Proteaceae produce different exudates and it is envisaged that variation in pattern reflects their 

capacity to grow on certain soil types. Our studies will provide key information on processes that 

determine species distribution, with consequences for defining better management regimes for rare 

and endangered species. 

DP0209880 

Dr Donald Maclean 

Dr A Drenth 

*** 

Title: Characterisation of interacting genes that condition avirulence and resistance between 

Phytophthora pathogens and soybean 

2002: $60,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $59,000 



Summary: 

Plant pathogens from the genus Phytophthora cause severe crop losses in Australia and worldwide. 

Resistance in host plants is frequently overcome by mutation of avirulence genes in the pathogen to 

create virulent new races. We will clone and characterise genes from Phytophthora sojae that 

control virulence and avirulence, and isolate soybean genes whose products interact with the 

Phytophthora gene products. An understanding of the molecular mechanisms than enable current 

plant varieties to recognise Phytophthora pathogens leading to resistance or susceptibility will assist 

the development of novel strategies for durable disease resistance in soybean and other crop plants.

DP0209075 

Dr Ulrike Mathesius 

Title: Proteome Analysis of Plant Response Pathways to Microbial Signals in the Model 

Legume, Medicago truncatula 

*** 

2002: $79,000 2003: $78,000 2004: $72,000 


APD - Dr U Mathesius 


Summary: 

This project will investigate plant responses to soil microbes in the model legume, Medicago 

truncatula, to provide fundamental information needed to design crops with improved abilities to 

interact beneficially with soil microbes. Plant development and performance are significantly 

influenced by soil microbes, but it is largely unknown how the information contained in microbial 

signalling molecules is relayed to plants. Proteome analysis and immunocytochemistry will be 

combined to identify and localise differentially expressed proteins in roots treated with specific 

microbial signal molecules. Annotated Proteome databases will be generated to strengthen and 

complement an international project on M. truncatula genome analysis. 

DP0210653 

Dr Ronald Pace 

Dr ER Krausz 

Prof S STYRING 

Title: Comparative Biophysical Studies on Photosystem II of Higher Plants and 

Cyanobacteria 

*** 

2002: $75,000 2003: $77,000 2004: $79,000 



Summary: 

Photosystem II (PS-II) is one of two light trapping protein assemblies involved in the conversion of 

light into metabolic energy in all plants and algae. The manganese containing active site of PS-II is 

responsible for oxygen formation from water. The organisation and functioning of this centre and the 

detailed mechanism of photochemical energy conversion are not understood. This project will 

employ a combination of powerful biophysical techniques to probe the structure and mechanism of 

PS-II as a knowledge base for eventual genetic manipulation of plants and stategies for artificial 

photosynthesis. 

DP0208548 

Dr Susanne Schmidt 

***

Title: Nitrogen characteristics of plant communities along the North Australian Tropical 

Transect (NATT) 

2002: $34,000 2003: $35,000 2004: $35,000 



Summary: 

It has become evident that biosphere processes need to be addressed at a global scale to understand 

global changes. Continental transects analyse ecosystem processes in a global context. The North 

Australian Tropical Transect (Darwin to Tennant Creek) represents 25% of Australia's vegetation. 

Biogeological research is underway on NATT ecosystems. Nitrogen availability strongly affects 

ecosystem productivity, and is of major interest as nitrogen pollution threatens the biosphere. In 

Australia, nitrogen levels are generally low, but overall knowledge is limited. An integrated 

ecophysiological approach will relate soil and plant nitrogen characteristics, and provide an analysis 

of nitrogen relations along NATT. Results will be linked to existing NATT and international transect 

research. 

DP0210382 

A/Prof Mohan Singh 

Dr PL Bhalla 

Title: Biology of flowering plant male gametic cells in relation to fertilization 

*** 

2002: $49,000 2003: $52,000 2004: $54,000 



Summary: 

The world food supply is primarily dependent on plants. The continuation of an adequate food 

supply depends upon the success of fertilization that involves the fusion of the sperm cell with the 

egg cell. The entire process of fertilization can be manipulated once the specific molecules involved 

in its regulation have been identified. This project deals with the discovery of male gamete 

biomolecules involved in fertilization. The knowledge obtained will have potential applications in 

developing novel breeding technologies for improved crop plants. 

DP0210947 

Dr James Weller 

Title: Genetic control of flowering and photoperiodism in pea 

*** 

2002: $116,000 2003: $111,000 2004: $113,000 



Summary: 

The timing of flowering in many plant species is strongly influenced by photoperiod. The 

mechanisms by which photoperiod controls flowering will be investigated using the garden pea as a

model system. New pea mutants impairing photoperiod responses will be identified and 

characterized, and photoperiod response genes from Arabidopsis will be mapped and used for 

expression studies in pea. This work will provide important new information about the physiological 

roles of the Arabidopsis genes and the molecular identity of the pea genes. It will add to our 

knowledge of how flowering is regulated, and this will have important agronomic applications. 

2705 ZOOLOGY 

DP0210508 

A/Prof Michael Bennett 

Dr MR Forwood 

Dr RF Ker 

Title: FATIGUE IN VERTEBRATE TENDONS: BIOMECHANICAL AND 

STRUCTURAL CORRELATES OF ONTOGENETIC AND ADAPTIVE CHANGE. 

*** 

2002: $59,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $59,000 



Summary: 

Tendons are important vertebrate tissues, but little is known about their mechanical properties under 

fatigue-loading. Recent research has shown that dramatic differences in fatigue properties occur and 

that these appear to be linked to the functional roles of tendons. This project uses a variety of 

approaches to explore how mechanical and structural properties of tendons change during growth, 

maturation and adaptation to different loading environments, and the cellular basis of fatigue 

resistance. An understanding of fatigue properties from cellular to tissue levels has significance in 

the areas of general biology, materials science and biomedical science. 

DP0209939 

Dr Stephen Cameron 

Dr SC Barker 

Dr K Johnson 

Asst Prof M Whiting 

*** 

Title: Origins of Parasitism in the Psocodea (Insecta) 

2002: $60,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $59,000 



Summary: 

The Psocodea has 2 groups: the lice and the psocopterans (the psocids and their kin). The lice are 

parasites whereas the psocopterans are free-living. The Psocodea are a unique model-system that 

will allow us to discover the processes that preadapt arthropods for parasitism and the processes that 

facilitate "explosive" radiations of arthropods once they become parasites. We will infer 

evolutionary trees for these insects from 3 genes. Then we will use these trees to track the evolution 

of feeding, attachment, senses and reproduction through evolutionary time. Our work should 

provide unprecedented insight into the evolution of parasitism in the arthropods.

DP0208591 

Dr Bernard Degnan 

A/Prof MJ Garson 

Dr GA Skilleter 

Prof MF Lavin 

Asst Prof BJ Swalla 

Dr SP Leys 

Title: Understanding the molecular basis of marine invertebrate larval settlement and 

metamorphosis using complementary molecular, developmental, chemical and ecological 

approaches 

*** 

2002: $60,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $59,000 



Summary: 

The colonisation and fouling of submerged structures is a major economic problem for maritime 

industries. This proposal will detail the molecular mechanisms underlying the first crucial steps of 

marine invertebrate colonisation - settlement and metamorphosis ? and determine how natural antifoulant 

chemicals impact on these developmental processes. By using complementary developmental, 

molecular, chemical and ecological approaches, we will obtain knowledge of key control points in 

settlement and metamorphosis, and thus identify potential pest management strategies. This proposal 

comprehensively delineates the role of novel anti-foulants, linking their effect on invertebrate 

development with their role in shaping marine communities on natural and built surfaces. 

DP0208422 

Dr J Scott Keogh 

Title: New Molecular Approaches to Comparative Phylogeography 

*** 

2002: $45,000 2003: $47,000 2004: $49,000 



Summary: 

Funds are requested to gather data to test new molecular and analytical approaches in the field of 

molecular phylogeography. We will generate phylogeographic hypotheses from mitochondrial and 

microsatellite DNA for six species and evaluate the utility of microsatellite data for the 

reconstruction of phylogeographic history. We will borrow powerful analytical techniques from the 

field of evolutionary ecology and use them in a completely novel way to test hypotheses of 

microsatellite diversity. Our research is inter-disciplinary in that we will bridge the gap between 

molecular phylogenetics and molecular evolution and in so doing make a major advancement in this 

emerging field. 

DP0209284 

***

Prof David Macmillan 

Title: Do crayfish use the information carried by low-level electrical signals in the 

environment? 

2002: $59,000 2003: $56,000 2004: $59,000 



Summary: 

Many vertebrates detect electric fields. Fish communicate electrically. No invertebrate has been 

shown to do so. We have evidence that crayfish change their behaviour following exposure to lowlevel, 

waterborne electrical signals. Crayfish behaviour is currently the preferred model for studying 

the neurobiology of social hierarchies in animals. Evidence that information is passing from either 

predators or conspecifics through an undescribed electrosensory channel would fundamentally 

change the direction of that research. Behaviour modification using electrical signals could also 

prove to be a valuable tool in crustacean aquaculture. This is a proposal to discover the nature and 

behavioural implications of crayfish electroreception. 

DP0210937 

Dr Trichur Vidyasagar 

*** 

Title: Cellular and network basis of information processing in the mammalian visual system 

2002: $89,000 2003: $70,000 2004: $70,000 



Summary: 

The project aims to discover the strategies by which cells in the brain interact with each other to 

code the sensory input efficiently. It is expected that simultaneous recording of the activity of many 

neurones from the visual cortex of anaesthetised cats during visual stimulation will reveal how the 

biophysics of synaptic integration combined with excitatory and inhibitory inputs from different 

sources sculpts the output of individual neurones. The experiments will be extended to the study of 

possible interactions between different areas of the brain and the study of mechanisms by which the 

cortical network and higher cognitive factors such as attention and memory might influence the 

coding of sensory information in awake animals. 

DP0210552 

Dr David Walter 

Dr HC Proctor 

Title: Half a Genome is Better than None: The Evolution of Haplodiploidy in Mites 

*** 

2002: $44,000 2003: $47,000 2004: $49,000 



Summary:

It is our normal experience that males and females are about equally common. We also expect both 

sexes to receive half their genes from each parent. In many successful animal groups, however, these 

normal expectations are not met: males are rare and have only half as many chromosomes as females 

(haplodiploidy) or are non-existent. We will investigate multiple origins of haplodiploid and allfemale 

genetic systems in a group of mites that includes many useful biocontrol agents and important 

parasites. The implications of this research have both pure scientific merit and potential practical 

value in controlling the reproduction of pests. 

DP0212079 

Dr Harrison Weisinger 

Title: The role of omega-3 fatty acids in brain mechanisms that regulate water and salt 

balance 

*** 

2002: $80,000 2003: $83,000 2004: $83,000 

Administering Institution: Howard Florey Institute of Experimental Physiology and Medicine 

APD - Dr H Weisinger 


Summary: 

The ability of mammals to survive is heavily dependent upon their ability to maintain body fluid 

balance. This project aims to elucidate brain mechanisms for the behavioural regulation of water and 

salt balance, with specific investigation of the role of dietary fatty acids within these processes. It is 

hypothesised that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) affect intake of water and salt by 

affecting the sensitivity of various receptors, or the hormones used by this body system. Omega-3 

PUFA are known to play a role in regulating genes, and therefore, may also affect the production of 

key proteins, such as receptors, hormones or enzymes involved in the regulation of salt and water 

intake. 

DP0209728 

Prof Philip Withers 

Dr GG Thompson 

Title: Ecophysiology of water-holding frogs in the Australian arid-zone 

*** 

2002: $75,000 2003: $77,000 2004: $79,000 



Summary: 

Water-holding frogs of arid-zone Australia have an Aboriginal heritage and cultural significance, but 

many aspects of their natural history, physiology and reproduction are poorly known or documented. 

We will examine behaviour, physiology, endocrinology, reproductive cycles and movements for 

these frogs (Cyclorana, Neobatrachus, Notaden, Heleioporus) while active on the surface, and 

cocoon formation, subterranean movements and dynamics of water exchange with the soil, metabolic 

depression, muscle ATP energetics, endocrinology and aspects of reproduction while aestivating 

underground. We have the expertise and prior experience to accomplish all aspects of the proposed 

studies.

2706 PHYSIOLOGY 

DP0208082 

Dr Daniel Markovich 

Title: The sulfate anion transporter gene, Sat1: physiology, regulation and developmental 

expression. 

*** 

2002: $45,000 2003: $47,000 2004: $49,000 



Summary: 

Sulfate is an essential nutrient for cell growth and survival. The kidneys and liver help regulate 

sulfate levels in the body, by yet unknown mechanisms. Recently, we cloned a gene, Sat1, expressed 

in mouse liver and kidneys, which may be responsible for body sulfate maintenance. In this study, we 

will determine the physiological importance of Sat1 in cell growth/survival and in controlling body 

sulfate levels. We will generate and characterise a Sat1 lacking mouse, study its expression during 

development and its effects on other genes. We will elucidate how body sulfate levels are maintained 

and its importance in cell growth/development. 

DP0209754 

Dr Philip Wood 

Dr S Orgeig 

A/Prof PB Frappell 

Dr C Kemper 

Dr G Johnston 

Title: Coping With Pressure: Respiratory Biology of Marine Mammals 

*** 

2002: $71,000 2003: $73,000 2004: $73,000 


APD - Dr P Wood 


Summary: 

Many marine mammals undergo severe, protracted lung collapse during deep dives. They also exhibit 

prolonged periods of apnea during sleep. In humans, lung collapse and sleep apnea both represent 

severe respiratory dysfunction. Pulmonary surfactant, a complex mixture that lines the lung, stabilises 

the lungs in terrestrial mammals, preventing lung collapse. Here, we propose a comprehensive 

examination of respiratory function in marine mammals. This study will significantly advance our 

knowledge of the diving physiology of Australian marine mammals. A detailed examination of the 

respiratory and surfactant systems of marine mammals may also reveal adaptations that enable these 

animals to endure sleep apnea and lung collapse. 

*** 

2707 ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION

DP0209711 

Prof Alan Baker 

Dr SN Whiting 

Title: Drought and Salinity Tolerance in Metal Hyperaccumulating Plants: A Functional 

Role for the Metals? 

2002: $60,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $59,000 



Summary: 

A few plant species can ?hyperaccumulate? metal ions to 100-1000 times the concentrations seen in 

?normal? plants. Just why these plants have evolved such an extreme response to metalliferous soils 

remains an enigma. Many of the hyperaccumulators so far described are endemic to xeric 

environments, or saline soils prone to rapid drying. We hypothesize that the metals might act as 

osmotica, enhancing plant survival during water stress. This will be tested for Australian native and 

non-native hyperaccumulator plants. The study will clarify our understanding of the evolutionary 

significance of hyperaccumulation, and has important applications for extracting metals from 

contaminated soils. 

DP0209647 

A/Prof William Boyd 

Dr S Pathirana 

Title: Evolution of palaeoenvironments on the volcanic landscapes of West New Britain, 

P.N.G. 

*** 

2002: $60,000 2003: $80,000 2004: $78,095 

Administering Institution: Southern Cross University 

Panel: DP-HCA Humanities and Creative Arts 

Summary: 

This research will define and explain the responses of environmental processes to catastrophic 

vulcanism in West New Britain (P.N.G.) during the last 10,000 years. It will provide a crucial 

perspective to our understanding of past human-landscape relationships, thus filling an important gap 

in models, of social response to environmental conditions, which are merging from current 

archaeological and palaeoenvironmental research. The project will develop predictive models for 

environmental recovery under various conditions. The close relationship between this research and 

the ground breaking regional archaeological study allows this unique case study to contribute to a 

global discussion of past human-landscape relationships. 

DP0208516 

Dr Barry Brook 

Title: Minimum sizes and habitat areas for viable populations 

2002: $49,000 2003: $52,000 

***

Administering Institution: Northern Territory University 


Summary: 

This project will address two critical issues in conservation biology: How large do wildlife 

populations need to be to ensure long-term persistence? How large an area needs to be preserved? 

At present, no such estimates exist for most species. I will develop realistic population viability 

analysis (PVA) models (encompassing all threats to persistence) on many bird, mammal, reptile, 

amphibian, invertebrate and plant species, and estimate the minimum population sizes and habitat 

areas required for long-term survival. My prior research has validated the predictive accuracy of 

PVA. This research will deliver practical guidelines for managing threatened species. 

DP0210662 

Dr Martin Burd 

A/Prof A Lill 

Mr F Govedich 

Title: The evolution of parental care in leeches: costs and benefits in a clade of 

hermaphroditic, invertebrate ectotherms 

*** 

2002: $49,000 2003: $52,000 2004: $54,000 



Summary: 

Parental care is a basic element of reproduction in many species. Nearly everything we know about 

parental care comes from study of vertebrates, especially birds and mammals. Leech is synonymous 

with exploitation, but many of these annelid worms are devoted parents. Because they differ 

dramatically from most vertebrates, leeches present an excellent, but as yet unused, opportunity to 

test our theories and understanding of the evoluton of parental care. We will examine the evolution 

of degrees of care and sibling competition in leech families, and use molecular markers to better 

understand the genetic structure of populations of these invertebrates. 

DP0209324 

A/Prof Mark Burgman 

A/Prof GD Cumming 

Title: Improving the Accuracy and Intelligibility of Decisions for Conservation using the 

Informed Regulator Rule 

*** 

2002: $75,000 2003: $77,000 2004: $32,000 



Summary: 

Standard conservation biology uses some obsolete statistical and experimental design methods that 

may damage conservation biology, the environment and the economy. This project intends to refine 

and test a methodology (the Informed Regulator Rule) to improve the quality and transparency of

conservation studies, compliance monitoring and auditing. Building on research in the psychology of 

statistical (mis)understanding, the project will test the Informed Regulator Rule by computer 

simulation and empirical tests of impact scenarios with emphasis on data from recent studies. The 

cognitive accessibility and utility of the rule will be assessed theoretically and in practice. 

DP0208686 

Dr Phillip Byrne 

Title: The evolution of sequential polyandry: An experimental approach 

*** 

2002: $82,000 2003: $100,000 2004: $98,000 


APD - Dr PG Byrne 


Summary: 

The notion that polyandry has evolved as an adaptive female strategy remains highly controversial 

because empirical work lags far behind theoretical advances. This study will empirically test current 

hypotheses for the evolution of polyandry using the Australian frog Pseudophryne bibroni as a model 

species. Aspects of the reproductive biology of this species make it ideal for critically testing diverse 

hypotheses that can not be easily tested in groups with internal fertilisation or with simultaneous 

polyandry. Understanding why females mate with multiple males will have extreme implications for 

sexual selection and mating system theory. 

DP0209786 

Dr Sean Connell 

Dr BM Gillanders 

Dr MJ Anderson 

Title: Understanding marine biodiversity across vast spatial scales 

*** 

2002: $64,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $59,000 



Summary: 

Large-scale studies of biodiversity are frequently recommended by ecologists, but their costs are 

prohibitive. More efficient, yet accurate, sampling and analytical procedures are needed. This 

proposal will provide new quantitative knowledge on patterns of diversity of marine species (fish & 

invertebrates) from local to regional scales across southern Australia and northern New Zealand. An 

innovative feature of this research is the contribution of new ecological information with novel 

analytical procedures to identify the consequences of using more cost-effective techniques on 

quantifying patterns of biodiversity. This understanding is fundamental to the on-going advancement 

of ecology and conservation biology. 

DP0209680 

***

Dr M Elgar 

Dr M Herberstein 

Title: Evolutionary signficance of sexual conflict in orb-web spiders 

2002: $75,000 2003: $77,000 2004: $79,000 



Summary: 

Multiple mating by females creates intense competition between ejaculates over the fertilisation of 

her eggs, and has a profound influence on male and female life history and mating strategies. In orbweb 

spiders, sexual cannibalism creates further conflicts of interest because the male may forfeit 

future matings. This project examines how life-history and mating strategies interact in these 

spiders, by identifying the mechanisms that determine the outcome of sperm competition; the 

selection pressures favouring sexual size dimorphism and male size variation; the influence of sexual 

cannibalism on male mating strategies; and the relationship between female feeding history and her 

mating behaviour. 

DP0208955 

Dr Diana Fisher 

Title: Why do females mate with multiple partners? Tests of key hypotheses in the wild. 

*** 

2002: $93,000 2003: $96,000 2004: $83,000 


APD - Dr DO Fisher 


Summary: 

Female animals commonly mate with several males at each reproductive cycle, but we do not know 

why. Six plausible, testable hypotheses have been proposed to explain how females could benefit 

directly, or by obtaining advantageous genes for their offspring. The few empirical investigations so 

far carried out have been in captivity and have not considered all alternative explanations. I propose 

to experimentally test the key hypotheses in the wild, using a small mammal uniquely-suited to this 

purpose because of its unusual, but well-known reproductive strategy. The results will improve our 

understanding of the role of female behaviour in evolutionary processes. 

DP0208659 

Dr Clifford Hearn 

A/Prof MS Johnson 

A/Prof WR Black 

Title: Ocean currents and genetic connectedness in a complex archipelago 

*** 

2002: $59,000 2003: $52,000 2004: $54,000 


Panel: DP-BSB Biological Sciences and Biotechnology

Summary: 

To what extent are marine coastal communities ?open?, i.e. how often do the oceans carry larvae far 

from their point of spawning, and what influence does such ocean transport have on the spread of 

genetic information? These are some of the most fundamental questions of biological oceanography; 

the project will provide new answers by using an extremely detailed genetic data set from the 

Houtman Abrolhos Islands off Western Australian together with an advanced numerical ocean model 

especially suited to that environment and developed in Australia. 

DP0210288 

Dr R Heinsohn 

*** 

Title: Biogeography of avian mating systems: polyandry, reverse-plumage dimorphism, and 

sexual selection in Cape York and New Guinea eclectus parrots 

2002: $49,000 2003: $52,000 2004: $54,000 



Summary: 

Current sexual selection theory explains how one sex can be strongly sexually selected through 

competition or mate choice, or how sexual selection can push both sexes in the same direction 

through mutual mate choice. However, the strong and independent sexual selection in both sexes of 

eclectus parrot is unique amongst birds, and poses a major challenge to existing theory. Here I 

propose novel field experiments and biogeographical comparisons of populations in Cape York and 

New Guinea that, when combined with molecular techniques and spectro-radiometry, will identify 

the elements of competition and mate choice responsible for their extraordinary reverse plumage 

dimorphism. 

DP0208661 

Dr Michael Henshaw 

Title: Sex in the city: social harmony and conflict resolution in insect societies 

*** 

2002: $35,000 2003: $34,000 2004: $34,000 



Summary: 

Explaining the organization of cooperative societies is a significant challenge to the field of 

evolutionary biology. Insect societies play a pivotal role in achieving this aim, as colonies of many 

species persist with apparent harmony despite the presence of numerous queens competing for 

reproductive dominance. This study evaluates alternative hypotheses for the resolution of 

reproductive conflict and the maintenance and evolution of cooperative societies, by examining 

colonies of the Australian multi-queened social wasp genus Ropalidia. Outcomes include robust tests 

of prominent hypotheses, explanations for cooperation's diversity and persistence, and the 

development of powerful molecular and behavioral techniques within Australia. 

***

DP0209507 

Prof Terence Hughes 

A/Prof DR Bellwood 

Dr SR Connolly 

Dr A Baird 

Dr C Chen 

Prof R Karlson 

Prof S Palumbi 

Prof R Steneck 

A/Prof P Wainwright 

Title: Biodiversity of coral reefs 

2002: $420,000 2003: $420,000 2004: $420,000 2005: $420,000 2006: $420,000 


APD - Dr A Baird 


Summary: 

An international team will provide the first robust measures of the biodiversity, abundance and 

functional roles of key coral reef species at a global scale. We will examine the processes underlying 

biodiversity patterns through a multi-disciplinary program of research, which focusses on ecological 

and evolutionary mechanisms at multiple scales. A modelling component will provide the mechanistic 

link between large-scale patterns and multi-scale processes. This research is highly relevant for 

conservation and management of reef resources across international boundaries. 

DP0208052 

Mr John Hunt 

Dr RC Brooks 

Dr MD Jennions 

Title: Putting sexual selection in a life-history context: What is meant by genetic quality? 

*** 

2002: $181,000 2003: $160,000 2004: $141,000 


APD - Mr J Hunt 


Summary: 

Theories of sexual signalling have been developed largely without reference to life-history theory and 

quantitative genetics. We will test recent theory that shows the costs of signals are best measured in 

units of future survival and reproduction. In a series of field and laboratory experiments on the 

cricket Teleogryllus commodus, we will test the idea that the "male genetic quality" referred to by 

good-genes models of sexual selection is quality in the general ability to acquire resources, rather 

than in how resources are allocated among fitness components. 

***

DP0210373 

Dr George Jackson 

Dr D Welch 

Title: Big squids in Australian waters, insights into their biology, movement and activity, old 

questions - new technology 

2002: $64,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $59,000 



Summary: 

This project will assess important biological parameters of shelf and slope ommastrephid squids. Lab 

based studies will explore age, growth, maturity rates and diet for the deepwater squid Todarodes 

filippovae. Cutting -edge telemetry technology (manual tracking, listening curtains and satellite popup 

tags) will assess movement, activity, metabolism and vertical migration of both T. filippovae in 

deep water and arrow squid (Nototodarus gouldi) on the shelf. A comprehensive understanding will 

be gained of the biology and lifestyle of these two key squid species that will be utilised by 

implementers of the South-east Regional Marine Plan, ecosystem modelers and resource managers. 

DP0208120 

Dr Geoffrey Jones 

Dr SR Thorrold 

Dr S Planes 

Title: LARVAL RETENTION AND CONNECTIVITY IN CORAL REEF FISH 

POPULATIONS: A MULTI-TECHNIQUE APPROACH 

2002: $103,000 2003: $95,000 2004: $95,000 2005: $95,000 

*** 



Summary: 

A key unanswered question in marine ecology and fisheries management is - are planktonic juveniles 

retained within or transported among populations? The only three techniques that can potentially 

quantify larval dispersal distances are genetic markers, natural chemical signatures and applied 

chemical marks. This project combines, for the first time, all three techniques to measure the scale of 

dispersal in two coral reef fish species. The relative importance of retention and connectivity will be 

measured, from a large scale encompassing different regions (Great Barrier Reef and Papua New 

Guinea) to a small scale focussing on individual reefs. 

DP0210196 

Mr Darrell Kemp 

Title: Life history constraints on sexual selection: an investigation using territoriality in 

butterflies 

*** 

2002: $91,000 2003: $66,000 2004: $68,000


APD - Mr D Kemp 


Summary: 

Contemporary studies into the evolution of male contest behaviour largely ignore the influence of life 

history. However, contest behaviour should be influenced by life history because the costs of fighting 

(injury or death) are extracted in a life history currency. Here I aim to measure reproductive value in 

a territorial butterfly, and to isolate the effects of this parameter, physiological condition and fighting 

experience upon male aggression. I propose an innovative experimental approach to unraveling the 

effects of these covarying life history influences which promises exciting and highly original insights 

into the evolution of contest behaviour. 

DP0209319 

A/Prof Michael Keough 

Title: Does the timing and frequency of transient pollution events affect sessile marine 

invertebrates? 

*** 

2002: $93,000 2003: $92,000 2004: $94,000 



Summary: 

Disturbances play a fundamental role in many coastal ecosystems, and understanding how they act is 

central to managing coastal areas. Humans are a major source of disturbances, especially through 

the controlled and accidental input of toxicants. Managing these inputs requires an understanding of 

how the timing and frequency of pollution events affect the animals exposed to these substances. I 

will use a new field dosing system to determine these relationships, using copper, a common 

pollutant, as a model. The results will provide a broader understanding of the role of disturbance 

and produce a predictive model applicable to other pollutants. 

DP0212041 

Dr Siegfried Krauss 

Dr SD Hopper 

Dr DJ Coates 

Title: Managing the evolutionary potential of fragmented native plant populations 

*** 

2002: $49,000 2003: $52,000 2004: $54,000 

Administering Institution: Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority 


Summary: 

Many previously widespread plant species now exist in small fragmented populations threatened with 

extinction due to genetic decline. We will apply a novel and powerful new genetic approach for the 

assessment of the evolutionary potential of these populations. Through the most detailed 

characterisation of realized mating yet possible, we will determine if recently fragmented populations

are in genetic decline, and how anciently fragmented species avoid extinction. Our aim is to generate 

general principles for the early measurement and/or prediction of genetic decline in species most at 

risk, that will enable us to determine how and when remediation measures are required. 

DP0211759 

Prof Byron Lamont 

Dr SL Krauss 

Prof NJ Enright 

Title: Population dynamics and genetic variation of plants with contrasting fire responses 

*** 

2002: $64,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $59,000 



Summary: 

We combine the traditional concerns of population viability analyses with the modern techniques of 

DNA fingerprinting for precise genotyping of individual plants and their seeds. We expect major 

breakthroughs in our understanding of how fire-killed species have survived thousands of years of 

frequent burning by Aborigines (by identifying seeds dispersed long distances from burnt parents); 

how paternity of offspring changes over the lifespan of plants which retain their seeds for many 

years; at what age within-plant genetic variation is at a maximum as a guide to optimal fire 

management; and the extent that deleterious somatic mutations explain low seed set among longlived 

species. 

DP0210086 

Dr Sarah Legge 

Title: Ecology and phylogeography of bird migration between Australia and New Guinea: 

paradise kingfishers as a model species 

*** 

2002: $71,000 2003: $73,000 2004: $73,000 


APD - Dr S Legge 


Summary: 

This project examines the evolutionary causes and ecological consequences of intra-tropical bird 

migration between north Australia and New Guinea, one of the major migration systems of the 

southern hemisphere. I will use the buff-breasted paradise kingfisher as a model species, exploiting 

two features of its biology (an aerodynamically costly tail and a breeding distribution with a large 

latitudinal range) to shed light on the costs, benefits, and ecological correlates of intra-tropical 

migration. Molecular markers will be used to identify non-breeding distributions, migratory patterns, 

and the biogeographic histories of the different breeding populations within Australia. 

DP0208792 

***

Dr David Lindenmayer 

Title: Biodiversity conservation, vegetation restoration and landscape design 

2002: $75,000 2003: $77,000 2004: $79,000 



Summary: 

There has been considerable recent activity through major Government-funded programs to restore 

native vegetation. Despite extensive expenditure, the biodiversity conservation values of restoration 

remain very poorly known. This innovative project will address this major knowledge gap. It will 

generate quality data and new principles to guide restoration that maximizes biodiversity 

conservation. The principal aim is to estimate tree planting effects on vertebrates and assess whether 

the effects are consistent across different landscapes, farm units and regions. New insights from the 

project will aid the design of cost-effective and ecologically-effective restoration programs for future 

landscapes in rural Australian production environments. 

DP0209588 

Dr Adele Pile 

Title: The role of pulsed water events in structuring marine benthic communities along the 

southern Australian coastline 

*** 

2002: $45,000 2003: $47,000 2004: $49,000 



Summary: 

Marked differences in benthic community structure have been observed that are associated with 

pulsed cold-water events, possibly driven by internal wave phenomena. Such events have the 

potential to act as very important controls on both regional and local patterns of benthic biodiversity. 

To date, however, their effects and mechanisms of action have never been examined in Australia. 

The fundamental outcome from this project will be the first assessment of the occurrence, 

geographical extent and ecological consequences of pulsed water phenomena along the southern 

Australian coastline. 

DP0208401 

Dr Alistair Poore 

*** 

Title: Host plant choice by marine herbivores: ecological, genetic and historical constraints 

2002: $60,000 2003: $62,000 2004: $64,000 



Summary: 

Understanding the factors that determine plant choice by herbivores is crucial to predicting the 

ecological effects of herbivores on plants and herbivore adaptation to plants. This proposal aims to

establish how evolution of host choice by a marine herbivore is constrained by ecological, genetic 

and historical factors. It will determine how the spatial arrangement of plants modifies host use, and 

whether evolutionary change by herbivores is constrained by genetic relationships among herbivore 

traits. The generality of important evolutionary hypotheses that predict plant choice by herbivores 

will be tested by extending such theory to new organisms and environments. 

DP0208246 

Prof Richard Shine 

*** 

Title: Evolutionary ecology of snakes and lizards 

2002: $198,000 2003: $182,000 2004: $184,000 2005: $184,000 2006: $184,000 


APF - Prof R Shine 


Summary: 

Although reptiles provide excellent "model systems" with which to examine evolutionary and 

ecological processes, most research in this field has been dominated by studies on other kinds of 

organisms. I propose a broad-ranging series of studies that will use a diverse array of lizard and 

snake species to erect and test novel hypotheses on the evolution of phenomena such as mating 

systems, sexual dimorphism, foraging biology, and reproductive investment. My experimental 

studies will clarify the evolutionary role of phenotypic plasticity (that is, direct environmental effects) 

as well as genetic factors. 

DP0208368 

Dr Leigh Simmons 

Title: Sperm Competition and Sexual Selection 

2002: $85,000 2003: $72,000 2004: $75,000 2005: $78,000 2006: $80,000 


*** 


Summary: 

Competition between the sperm of two males within a single female has had profound implications 

for the evolution of male reproductive biology and behaviour. However, the reasons why females 

should mate with more than one male and thus generate sperm competition remains an evolutionary 

puzzle. Few studies have examined sperm competition from the female perspective and indeed, 

female perspectives are currently the subject of considerable debate. Using insects as models I will 

examine the benefits of sperm competition for females and thereby the selective pressures that favour 

multiple mating. Moreover, I will determine whether sexual selection can act after copulation. 

DP0211584 

A/Prof Peter Steinberg 

Prof SL Kjelleberg 

***

Title: Chemical Defenses Against Microbial Colonisation of Living Marine Surfaces 

2002: $75,000 2003: $77,000 2004: $79,000 



Summary: 

Microorganisms have a major impact on all ecosystems. Many of these effects are due to the 

formation of biofilms - cell clusters and their slime matrix - on living and non-living surfaces. Biofilm 

formation is often regulated by chemical signals. The aim of this project is to understand how 

naturally produced chemical signals mediate the formation of biofilms on surfaces of marine 

macroalgae (seaweeds) at both the ecological and molecular levels. By understanding colonisation 

of natural living surfaces, this project will lead directly to significant advances in control of 

microorganisms in a variety of applied areas (water treatment, biomaterials, antifouling). 

DP0211156 

Dr Paul Sunnucks 

Dr DM Rowell 

Title: Comparative population structure of forest invertebrate species - habitat specific or 

species specific? 

*** 

2002: $49,000 2003: $52,000 2004: $54,000 



Summary: 

Invertebrates that colonize decomposing logs are an important link in the food chain and major 

players in the recycling of forest debris. In addition, many threatened species occupy this habitat. 

Despite their undoubted economic and conservation significance, there is very little information on 

distribution, dispersal and population structure for any of these species. We will use genetic tools to 

investigate these patterns, and to determine whether they are specific to particular species, or the 

product of the habitat itself. Our results will indicate whether forest management strategies should 

focus on the preservation of individual species or their habitat. 

DP0209308 

Dr Kerrie Swadling 

*** 

Title: Partitioning of primary production by crustacean grazers in the Antarctic sea ice zone 

2002: $71,000 2003: $73,000 2004: $73,000 


APD - Dr KM Swadling 


Summary: 

Crustaceans are an important component of the Antarctic marine ecosystem. Large numbers live in 

or close to the sea-ice cover, using it as a refuge from predation and a source of food. However, the

impact of these animals on algae that grows in the sea-ice is unknown. This study will examine the 

diets and grazing rates of crustaceans in the Antarctic sea-ice ecosystem. These results will aid our 

understanding of the fate of algal production in sea-ice and will enable the construction of realistic 

carbon budgets for this ecosystem. 

DP0210791 

A/Prof Roy Swain 

Dr SM Jones 

Title: Flexibility in the timing of parturition: the key to viviparity in lizards? 

*** 

2002: $30,000 2003: $32,000 2004: $34,000 



Summary: 

Embryos of viviparous lizards usually gain adequate nutrients from yolk. Why then has 

placentotrophy evolved in some species, and what new opportunities has it opened up? The answer 

may lie in the advantages gained from flexibility in the timing of birth, made possible by 

supplementary transfer of storage lipids to embryos during gestation. We argue that this provides a 

pivotal opportunity for evolutionary divergence: some alpine species exploit flexible parturition; 

other species replace optional placentotrophy with obligate transfer. Our unique experimental 

approach, using two well-researched clades of viviparous skinks, will result in new testable 

hypotheses about the evolution of viviparity. 

DP0209099 

Dr Graham Thompson 

Title: Evolutionary genetics of kin recognition and task specialization in termite societies 

*** 

2002: $65,000 2003: $69,000 2004: $67,000 


APD - Dr GJ Thompson 


Summary: 

Social insects must be able to recognize kin and task specialize in order to maintain colony cohesion 

and maximize colony labour, respectively. While it is known that kin recognition and task 

specialization are two key mechanisms underpinning insect societies, the extent to which their 

expression is mediated by genetic versus environmental variables is not known. This project 

integrates classic approaches to the study of animal behaviour with recent advances in molecular 

genetics to test, for the first time, the role that genetic variables have in mediating kin recognition 

and task specialization in a major group of social insects, the termites. 

2708 BIOTECHNOLOGY 

DP0212000 

***

Prof Richard Harvey 

Title: Control of transcription by the cardiac homeodomain protein Nkx2-5 

2002: $75,000 2003: $77,000 2004: $79,000 

Administering Institution: Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute 


Summary: 

The transcriptional regulatory protein Nkx2-5, a member of the homeodomain superfamily, is 

essential for heart development and mutations in the human gene cause congenital heart disease. We 

seek to define the molecular mechanisms that regulate the transcriptional activity of Nkx2-5. We 

have previously identified a transcriptional activation domain in the C-terminal region that is bipartite 

in nature and conserved among Nkx2-5 proteins from diverse species. We will characterise the 

consequences of mutations in this domain in mouse models and search for interacting proteins. 

Results will advance our understanding of gene regulation in the context of heart disease. 

DP0210101 

Dr Jiri Stiller 

*** 

Title: Dissection of nodule and lateral root development in the model legume Lotus japonicus. 

2002: $45,000 2003: $47,000 2004: $49,000 



Summary: 

We propose to isolate and decipher the function of plant genes involved in nodule development, with 

the view to extend and compare this knowledge to lateral root formation. While nodulation and 

lateral root formation are distinct processes, they appear to share anatomical and biochemical 

features. Working hypothesis is that nodule formation borrowed functions from lateral root 

development. Our approach implements T-DNA and transposon insertional mutagenesis in the model 

legume Lotus japonicus. The success of this project will contribute significantly to the studies of 

plant-microbe interaction and plant morphogenesis. 

*** 

2801 INFORMATION SYSTEMS 

DP0211207 

Dr Boualem Benatallah 

Title: Scalable Composition and Deployment of Business-to-Business Web-based E-Services 

2002: $55,656 2003: $58,757 2004: $61,938 



Summary: 

The ubiquity of the Internet offers far reaching opportunities for

emerging Web applications. Separate businesses may be linked into a virtual enterprise that provides 

a one-stop shop for users. However, there is no model available for managing electronically 

accessible 

services (e-services) in a systematic manner which make them easy to compose and deploy. Our 

research proposes to address the fundamental issues related to fast and scalable composition of eservices 

in Web-based environments. We propose novel concepts for integrating a large number of 

dynamic and loosely coupled services. Another distinctive feature of our approach is the peer-to-peer 

collaborative execution of services. 

DP0210470 

Dr Margot Brereton 

Dr HC Purchase 

Prof SM Kaplan 

Title: An Empirically Derived Experimentally Validated Framework for Interactions in 

Information Environments 

*** 

2002: $50,000 2003: $70,000 2004: $70,000 



Summary: 

This project will investigate and design ways of interacting with the information infrastructure that 

maintain natural social interactions, take advantage of physical space and utilise our extensive human 

abilities to recognise and manipulate physical objects. 

Expected outcomes include: 

? a theoretical framework that describes the range of possible interactions that mediate information 

between the physical and virtual worlds. 

? a prototype instrumented information environment that demonstrates and validates naturalistic 

information transactions identified in the framework. 

This research is highly innovative in its field. It will use an iterative cycle of video observation, 

interaction analysis, user-centred device design, deployment and evaluation. 

DP0211336 

Dr Helen Hasan 

A/Prof EL Gould 

Dr K Crawford 

Dr L Warne 

Ms IM Ali 

Title: Systems to Support Knowledge Creation in Learning Organisations 

*** 

2002: $58,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $62,000 


Panel: DP-MIC Mathematics, Information and Communication Sciences

Summary: 

The proposed project will investigate the capacity of IT to support knowledge making for innovation 

in modern organisations. Prototypes of three flexible computer-based systems will be iteratively 

developed and evaluated for their support of knowledge workers in three different industries. The 

investigators are experienced in socio-technical approaches, which will be used to emphasise the 

integration between people and IT systems. An interpretive study will determine how the systems 

can contribute to organisational learning, performance, and responsiveness to change. The outcomes 

will inform the designers of such systems and show Australian organisations how to gain competitive 

advantage by expanding their capacity to learn. 

DP0209541 

A/Prof Jesse Jin 

A/Prof S Chang 

Title: Content-based image retrieval using interactive feedback 

*** 

2002: $38,000 2003: $57,500 2004: $65,000 



Summary: 

Storage and retrieval of visual information plays an important role in multimedia systems. We aim to 

develop a method to retrieve images and visual information from multimedia databases and 

multimedia systems. The method will go beyond simple similarity search to retrieval data on 

knowledge by accommodating knowledge acquisition and sequential learning techniques, and will be 

able to handle complex queries with partial information. The technology developed will find many 

applications in the multimedia area such as education, medical imaging, desktop publishing, 

advertising, business presentation, and engineering design. 

DP0211701 

Dr Jie Lu 

Mr G Zhang 

Title: Group Decision Support Systems for Fuzzy Multi-objective Decision Problems 

*** 

2002: $61,184 2003: $62,967 2004: $62,967 


APD - Mr G Zhang 


Summary: 

Most real-world decisions in organisations are made by groups addressing multi-objectives. Further, 

the decision objectives are frequently characterized by fuzzy parameters and decision makers often 

utilise fuzzy judgments in attempting to reach optimal solutions. The project is the first to address all 

these issues: fuzzy objectives, fuzzy judgements, multi-objectives and groups in decision-making. 

The project will develop a set of interactive decision-making methods to be used by groups solving 

fuzzy multi-objective decision problems with the allowance of fuzzy judgements, then develop a

group decision support system to implement the methods. These outcomes can be immediately used 

by suitable Australian organisations. 

DP0210999 

A/Prof Arthur Ramer 

Dr JP Tyszkiewicz 

*** 

Title: Asynchronous Continuous Time Conditioning 

2002: $69,619 2003: $70,385 2004: $71,160 



Summary: 

Methodology for reasoning about Asynchronous Temporal Conditional Events (ATCE) obtains, 

complete with logical calculus for causal relations, reasoning about continuous time belief change, 

and markov chain algorithms calculating joint distributions of ATCE's. 

Current techniques, including bayesian nets, are oblivious to temporal aspects; within our model 

they can be enhanced to recognize dynamic time changes. Ours is the first such unified model and 

first to link conditional objects with continuous time constraints. 

Need for structures we propose arises in diagnostic reasoning, bayesian learning, temporal 

databases, and time-dependent data mining. Several commercial products (like Microsoft Office 

Assistant)could apply them forthwith. 

DP0211789 

Dr Michael Rosemann 

Dr PF Green 

Title: Ontologically-based Evaluation, Comparison and Engineering of Integrated Process 

Modelling Techniques 

*** 

2002: $67,115 2003: $70,221 2004: $68,482 



Summary: 

Integrated process modelling techniques such as UML and ARIS form the conceptual platform for 

many management and IT projects. Though most IS development tools contain these techniques, 

anecdotal evidence indicates many shortcomings. This project uses a well-established theory 

developed in philosophy and applied in information systems domains for the evaluation of these 

techniques. The expected outcomes are evaluations of ARIS and UML. Thus, this project 

contributes to the development of two of the most popular modelling techniques. Based on the 

theory used and the results of an international empirical study, suggestions for the further 

development of these techniques will be derived. 

DP0209952 

Prof Penelope Sanderson 

***

Dr WJ Russell 

Title: Sonification for complex, mission-critical work environments 

2002: $75,000 2003: $92,000 2004: $92,000 



Summary: 

Human operators must often pay attention to an immediate task while monitoring background 

information, but intrusive alarms often capture operators' attention inappropriately. We investigate 

how continuous auditory information ("sonification") can provide low-level background information 

when all is normal, yet capture attention to abnormalities only when needed. The results of three 

experiments will determine the most effective combination of visual and auditory information 

delivery; how well sonification captures attention when needed; and whether sonification captures 

attention to deviations from expected changes. Our findings will help establish principles of 

attentional mapping that significantly extend current approaches to interactive systems design. 

DP0210654 

Prof Markus Stumptner 

Prof M Schrefl 

Title: Integration of Object Behavior in Federated Information Systems 

*** 

2002: $58,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $62,000 



Summary: 

Integration of autonomous object-oriented systems requires the integration 

of object structure and object behaviour. Research in federated information 

systems has so far mainly addressed integration of object structure. This 

project will investigate the integration of object behaviour, especially object 

life cycles. A major application area is the integration of business processes, 

which is typically required when companies merge or enter into 

consumer-producer relationships and constitutes a key capability for B2B e-commerce 

systems. Consistency criteria for behaviour integration 

will be defined and applied in a graphical integration tool that guides the 

definition of global behavioural views upon autonomous object-oriented systems. 

DP0211866 

Mr J Yearwood 

Mr A Stranieri 

Title: Mapping argumentation structures to narrative for eCommerce dialogue support 

2002: $73,000 2003: $75,000 2004: $76,000 2005: $48,829 2006: $48,829 

Administering Institution: University of Ballarat 

***

QEII - Mr J Yearwood 


Summary: 

Argumentation theories have proven to be essential for structuring reasoning and the provision of 

intelligent computer support. However, stilted human - computer interaction limits the effectiveness 

of argumentation for reasoning support. This research aims to realize a narrative model that, once 

mapped onto an existing argumentation model will enable users to dialogue with computer systems 

using story telling metaphors. This will facilitate the adoption of knowledge based support, 

particularly for e-commerce discourses involving multiple participants. Applied to legal reasoning, 

this approach has natural application for facilitating just outcomes for residents regardless of 

geographical location. 

*** 

2802 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND SIGNAL 

AND IMAGE PROCESSING 

DP0211110 

Prof Michael Brooks 

Title: A framework for the generation of high-precision and quantifiable methods in 

computer vision. 

2002: $78,712 2003: $64,512 2004: $64,512 



Summary: 

Computer vision is concerned with many challenging problems assuming a variety of mathematical 

forms. An example might be computing new views of a 3D scene given some existing views. This 

project aims to develop a procedural framework that enables a wide class of problems to be solved 

with both high precision and a quantifiable level of accuracy. Many practical vision-based 

applications will stand to gain from this work. 

DP0211972 

Dr Anthony Burkitt 

Dr DB Grayden 

Title: Adaptive learning of spatiotemporal patterns: Development of multi-layer spiking 

neuron networks using Hebbian and competitive learning. 

2002: $50,000 

*** 

Administering Institution: The Bionic Ear Institute 


Summary: 

The aim of this project is to develop a method for recognising patterns that change in time. The 

development of a reliable method that is fast and robust to noise will have wide application in many 

areas, especially computer speech recognition where timing plays a crucial role. Building-blocks

similar to those in the brain (spiking neurons) will be used. Automatic techniques will be used to 

teach groups of spiking neurons the differences between sequences of events by adjusting 

connections between them. The significance of this approach is that it captures information about 

timing that is missed in existing techniques. 

DP0210359 

A/Prof Lindsay Kleeman 

Title: Advanced Sonar Sensing for Robotics 

*** 

2002: $71,084 2003: $55,000 2004: $55,000 



Summary: 

Robotics research is heavily dependent on fast, accurate, reliable and cheap sensors. Sonar sensing 

can fulfil these requirements in air and underwater environments. This project will advance this 

sensor technology by providing sonar with high-speed accurate measurement and classification 

capabilities that function on moving platforms. The sonar will adapt and monitor differing 

environmental conditions allowing the sensor data to be integrated better with other sensors, such as 

laser and stereo vision. Interference rejection will be incorporated that will allow the sensor to 

operate in conjunction with other sonar. Applications of the technology will be robotic mapping, 

localisation, navigation and exploration. 

DP0210482 

Dr Holger Maier 

Title: Improving flow management for the control of blue-green algal blooms 

*** 

2002: $33,000 2003: $27,000 2004: $31,000 



Summary: 

Cyanobacterial (blue-green algal) blooms are a major water quality problem worldwide. They are 

toxic, produce odours and are estimated to cost around $200 million/year in Australia alone. Flow 

management is one of the most promising approaches for combating the cyanobacterial bloom 

problem in rivers. In this research, a new risk-based approach for quantifying the impact of flow 

management on cyanobacterial blooms is developed, which can be applied to rivers world wide. The 

utility of the approach is demonstrated for key sites in the Murray-Darling basin, providing a 

valuable decision support tool for river managers. 

DP0211809 

Prof Joseph Mathew 

Prof B Boashash 

Dr M Deriche 

***

Title: Automated Diagnosis of Faults in Rotating Machinery using Adaptive Network Based 

Fuzzy Inference 

2002: $30,000 2003: $56,000 2004: $56,000 



Summary: 

The long-term integrity of engineering assets depends on the quality of their maintenance which runs 

into billions of dollars per year in Australia. This project aims to develop a new fundamental 

automated technique for the detection and diagnosis of machinery faults. The innovation lies in the 

ability of this technique to not depend on knowledge of fault components in the discrete wavelet 

packet analysis. All other work conducted to date depends on knowledge of these components and 

their location. The results of this work will vastly improve the costly manually based diagnostics 

procedures in the maintenance of plant and industrial assets. 

DP0210118 

Prof Robyn Owens 

Prof MA Arbib 

Title: Visual Solutions for Automated Translation Between Spoken and Signed Languages 

*** 

2002: $65,000 2003: $65,000 2004: $67,000 



Summary: 

We propose to build a robust visual speech recognition system that analyzes images of spoken 

language and achieves a recognition of the utterances with at least human expert recognition rates. 

This visual speech recognition system will then be integrated with our existing gesture recognition 

system to improve performance, just as humans combine visual and audio data for language 

understanding. The result will be a system providing translation between English and the Australian 

sign language Auslan in a practical application domain. Significantly, our work will provide insights 

into the cognitive models of neural activity linking language and gesture. 

DP0209283 

Prof Kuldip Paliwal 

*** 

Title: Frequency-related features derived from phase spectrum for robust speech recognition 

2002: $50,000 2003: $62,000 2004: $65,000 



Summary: 

Though the currently available speech recognizers work reasonably well in noise-free environments, 

their performance deteriorates drastically even in the presence of a small amount of noise. In order to 

overcome this problem, new frequency-related features are proposed in this project for speech

ecognition. These features are derived from the phase spectrum of the speech signal, and are 

expected to be robust to the additive noise distortion. These features will make the speech 

recognizer less sensitive to noise and will enhance its utility in a number of applications in the 

telecommunication and business world. 

DP0209969 

Prof Kotagiri Ramamohanarao 

Dr C Liu 

Dr AD Blair 

Dr N Barnes 

Dr AR Pearce 

Title: Concept-based retrieval and interpretation for large data sets 

*** 

2002: $86,829 2003: $140,250 2004: $143,729 



Summary: 

Access to on-line information is growing at an exponential rate, fuelled by advances in computing 

and 

communications technologies. Current information retrieval methods are becoming ineffective due to 

their reliance on simple term-based methods, resulting in a massive number of matches, of which 

only 

a small proportion are relevant. We address this problem by developing new matching algorithms 

which 

understand the underlying meaning of documents in database repositories - by building semantic 

structures semi-automatically - and thus provide more relevant information to queries. 

This project will be of great benefit to a multitude of end-users in medicine, history, law and many 

other disciplines. 

DP0211847 

Prof AW Snyder 

Prof TR Bossomaier 

Title: The Physics of Network Computation 

*** 

2002: $63,000 2003: $70,000 2004: $70,000 



Summary: 

This project combines expertise in nonlinear soliton physics and computational sciences in order to 

provide new insights into the physics of network computation. Our proposal addresses the 

mathematics and computer modelling underlying nonconscious problem solving. We develop a new 

template concept, the meta-mode, which embodies the network structure of knowledge and the 

linking mechanisms, which underpin human creativity. We establish the optimal connectivity 

distributions to preserve distinct pattern classes yet allow model radical shifts in paradigms, and

develop algorithms for autonomous connectivity optimisation. We investigate nonlinear process 

such as solitons and random Boolean networks as realisations of these principles. 

DP0209297 

Prof Leon Sterling 

Title: Multi-Ontologies meet UML: Improving the Software Engineering of Multi-Agent 

Systems 

*** 

2002: $45,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $32,000 



Summary: 

Multi-agent systems are a new style of software well suited for open, dynamic, distributed, global, 

heterogeneous environments such as the Internet. Systematic methods are needed to allow multiagent 

systems to reason effectively with high level knowledge. This research draws on software 

engineering practice to develop a theory and methodology for multi-ontologies for expressing 

knowledge within multi-agent systems that facilitate adaptation and change. 

DP0211748 

Prof Svetha Venkatesh 

Title: Bridging the semantic gap for building effective content management systems: 

Computational media aesthetics 

2002: $51,000 2003: $53,000 2004: $55,000 2005: $57,000 2006: $60,000 

*** 



Summary: 

This project focuses on video abstraction and aims to bridge the semantic gap between the simplicity 

of available visual features and the richness of user descriptions. We examine how visual and aural 

techniques are brought together to influence the engagement of audience in a story portrayal. The 

major outcome will be a computational framework for extracting the semantics associated with 

audiovisual elements in television/film, and scalable software tools that can rapidly and consistently 

analyse media along various aesthetic dimensions. It will allow for high-level annotation of media 

and the building of more effective content management systems with enhanced user querying 

capabilities. 

DP0209539 

Dr Mary-Anne Williams 

Prof P Gärdenfors 

Title: Agent-Oriented Concept Management 

*** 

2002: $68,500 2003: $65,000 2004: $63,000



Summary: 

This project will develop innovative agent-oriented approaches to managing information. An 

understanding of the concepts used by a system will enhance its ability to share information. 

Knowledge and concept management are key components of an information economy, and it is 

widely accepted that the success of the next generation of information systems will be their agentoriented 

capability and their ability to interact with each other. In response, international funding 

agencies have targeted agent-oriented technologies as essential ingredients for prosperity in the 21st 

century. This project will help to ensure that Australia shares in that prosperity. 

DP0208969 

Prof Robert Williamson 

Dr S Mendelson 

Dr AJ Smola 

Dr PL Bartlett 

Title: Kernel and Margin Based Machine Learning Algorithms 

*** 

2002: $134,752 2003: $62,000 2004: $62,000 



Summary: 

Certain machine learning algorithms, such as support vector machines, utilizing 

the ideas of large margins and kernels have attracted much attention lately 

because of their impressive performance on real world problems such as optical 

character recognition. We plan to refine and extend such algorithms to a wide 

range of different machine learning problems such as gene sequence analysis, 

image processing and text classification. Expected outcomes include the 

development of software that allows the solution of hitherto unsolved machine 

learning problems, and the ability to solve problems larger than those solvable 

by the current generation of machine learning tools. 

DP0208790 

A/Prof Hong Wu 

Title: Adaptive Vector Filters for the Restoration of Digital Colour Images 

2002: $64,000 2003: $56,000 



*** 

Summary: 

Colour image restoration has very important applications in colour cameras, robotic navigation, 

video security systems, multimedia communications, and digital TV broadcast. Conventional vector 

filters have difficulty in simultaneously achieving three major objectives: noise suppression, detail

preservation, and chromaticity retention. This project aims at formulating and evaluating novel 

adaptive filters to accomplish the three objectives simultaneously. Theoretical basis will be 

investigated for devising different adaptive filters to restore colour images and video sequences 

contaminated by various types of noise. The new filters will provide significant improvement over 

exiting techniques, yielding better tools and packages for colour image processing and restoration 

applications. 

DP0211849 

Prof Abdelhak Zoubir 

Prof M Amin 

Title: Analysis of Polynomial Phase Signals with Missing Observations 

*** 

2002: $53,000 2003: $53,000 2004: $53,000 



Summary: 

Many non-stationary signals in radar, physics and communications can be modelled as polynomial 

phase signals. These signals are often incomplete due to missing observations from intermittent 

sensor failures, outliers, receiver errors, periodic interference and inaccessibility of data. The aim of 

this project is to develop robust and computationally efficient methods for recovering such signals 

from small data sets when there is a large proportion of missing observations. This will contribute to 

a conceptual advancement in the field of signal processing and will provide new methods for use in 

applications such as radar, astrophysics, seismology, vibration analysis and communications. 

DP0209565 

A/Prof Ingrid Zukerman 

Dr BL Raskutti 

Title: Query interpretation and response generation in large on-line resources 

*** 

2002: $69,233 2003: $69,233 2004: $67,732 



Summary: 

The unprecedented information explosion associated with the evolution of the Internet makes salient 

the challenge of providing users with answers to queries posed to Internet resources. The proposed 

project will apply machine learning and reasoning under uncertainty techniques to leverage the large 

amount of data found in the Internet in order to perform three tasks: (1) infer users' informational 

goals from their questions, (2) modify questions to improve the accuracy of retrieval engines, and (3) 

compose concise replies from the retrieved documents. The envisioned outcome of this project is a 

system that will generate replies to questions posed to on-line resources. 

*** 

2803 COMPUTER SOFTWARE

DP0211203 

Dr Manuel Chakravarty 

Dr G Keller 

Title: Portable High-Performance Computing Based on Flattening and Fusion 

2002: $54,884 2003: $54,382 2004: $56,925 



Summary: 

We aim at simplifying the development and improving the portability of computing intensive 

applications, such as those from computational science and engineering, which are of growing 

scientific and economic relevance (e.g., drug synthesis, virtual wind tunnel, and geologic surveys). 

Our focus is on achieving portable high-performance for a particularly expressive high-level notation 

supporting irregular algorithms (like sparse matrices and hierarchical N-body codes). We will 

develop a set of program transformations and integrate them into a compiler implementing an 

aggressive fusion strategy optimising for the memory hierarchy. We do not propose a new 

programming language, but work within an existing one. 

DP0211793 

Dr Manuel Chakravarty 

A/Prof G Heiser 

A/Prof J Potter 

A/Prof J Xue 

Title: A safe and efficient multi-language component framework based on dynamic 

compilation 

*** 

2002: $90,000 2003: $146,000 2004: $146,000 



Summary: 

Components are a versatile mechanism for the construction of extendible systems and for improved 

code reusability. Emerging environments like Microsoft's .NET support the interaction of 

components written in different programming languages. To date, such systems do not adequately 

isolate components which therefore must trust each other. This is unacceptable for components 

loaded across the Internet. We will develop a framework for secure execution of component 

software, based on hardware-enforced protection domains. To minimize the resulting runtime 

overheads we will provide a component model with lightweight context switching. A novel typed 

intermediate language and dynamic compilation techniques will offer complementary optimisations. 

DP0208046 

Dr Colin Fidge 

Title: Compilation of Specifications 

***

2002: $60,062 2003: $66,336 2004: $68,682 



Summary: 

Computer software now controls critical systems worldwide. International standards require such 

programs to be produced from mathematically-precise specifications, but the techniques and tools 

involved are highly complex and unfamiliar to most programmers. This project will show how a tool 

already used by software developers, the program compiler, can be extended to undertake much of 

the task automatically. This will be done by devising a compilation strategy, based on program 

refinement theory, that automatically translates specification statements in programs into executable 

code. Such an outcome will ultimately improve the speed, accuracy and cost-effectiveness of critical 

software development. 

DP0209722 

A/Prof Ian Hayes 

Dr KR Lermer 

Title: Derivation and timing analysis of concurrent real-time software 

*** 

2002: $55,000 2003: $55,000 2004: $55,000 



Summary: 

Safety-critical computer systems are commonly controlled by concurrent real-time software. 

Assurance of such systems requires rigorous methods for deriving the software and verifying its 

logical and timing correctness. This project will directly address this problem via a new paradigm for 

real-time programming that is based on a machine-independent concurrent real-time programming 

language, that explicitly represents timing deadlines within programs. This allows a partitioning of 

the development process into a machine-independent phase that derives a program to meet a highlevel 

specification, and a machine-dependent phase that checks that the timing deadlines within the 

generated machine code are guaranteed to be met. 

DP0211675 

Prof Brian Henderson-Sellers 

Mr TP Rout 

Prof RG Dromey 

*** 

Title: Creating and Assessing Processes for Object-Oriented and Component-Based Software 

Development 

2002: $123,000 2003: $193,000 



Summary:

This project is based on the principles of both theoretical and empirical software engineering. It 

focuses on the processes, technology and quality of software systems produced using componentbased 

development (CBD) which is achieving substantial software re-use. Among the main 

objectives of this project are the creation of a unified CBD process metamodel and associated family 

of reference processes together with a closely linked CBD assessment methodology. 

DP0211461 

Dr David Lowe 

Prof DR Jeffery 

Dr D Zowghi 

Ms A Aurum 

Title: Design-Driven Requirements for Internet-Enabled System Development 

*** 

2002: $120,000 2003: $150,000 2004: $150,000 



Summary: 

The nature of Web system development is significantly different from conventional, software and IT 

development. Amongst other factors, there is substantial uncertainty in both clients' understanding 

of their needs and developers' understanding of the systems domain. We will develop an uncertainty 

model relevant to the development model relevant to the development of internet-enabled systems, 

and then use this model to adapt the design process to support elicitation of requirements, as well as 

developing support for this adapted process. This will facilitate the development of systems that 

more accurately reflect clients' needs, and result in an understanding of what would be involved in 

reducing development costs. 

DP0211458 

Prof George Milne 

Dr O Diessel 

Title: Formal Specification and Realisation of Dynamic Reconfiguration in FPGA-based 

Systems 

*** 

2002: $61,429 2003: $86,745 2004: $70,419 



Summary: 

The project aims are: 

to significantly advance our understanding of the key concepts needed to successfully exploit 

dynamic, run-time reconfigurable computing, a technology that is now becoming increasingly 

available due to developments in FPGA (Field Progammable Gate Array) devices, and 

the development of an innovative high-level programming environment that will include a language, 

associated design methodologies, compilation techniques, and run-time support that will make 

dynamic reconfigurable computing accessible to a wide community of potential users.

DP0209483 

Dr Abdulkadir Sajeev 

*** 

Title: Viewable Measures for Component-Based Software Engineering 

2002: $50,000 



Summary: 

Software costs over US$300 billion per year worldwide with around 70% of large projects failing to 

complete in time. Reliable estimation of development effort is a great challenge in Software 

Engineering. This project aims to develop a reliable multi-dimensional software size measure and an 

effort estimation model for a new method of development called component based software 

engineering. We will validate our results theoretically and test it against empirical data from software 

industry. We will provide novel visualization techniques to comprehend measurements of large 

systems. The outcomes will help software projects better estimate deadlines and budgets thus 

reducing costs significantly. 

DP0209846 

Dr Zoltan Somogyi 

Title: Experimental runtime complexity analysis of logic programs 

2002: $64,512 2003: $64,512 

*** 



Summary: 

While declarative languages improve programmer productivity, they make it harder for programmers 

to understand the performance of their code. We will build a tool that will use profiling data and 

program analysis to allow programmers to predict the running time of their programs. 

DP0208112 

Dr Bing Bing Zhou 

Prof AM Goscinski 

Prof R Brent 

*** 

Title: Job Scheduling Strategies for General-Purpose High-Performance Computing Clusters 

2002: $60,988 2003: $63,162 2004: $65,336 



Summary:

High-performance computing is moving away from specialised platforms to cheaper clusters and it is 

expected that clusters will become the mainstream computing platforms for general-purpose 

applications. One major problem that hinders the application of clusters is the lack of effective 

scheduling facilities to efficiently allocate system resources to meet the performance requirements of 

various applications. We shall design a new and innovative job scheduling system to solve this 

problem. The emphasis will be on practical designs in the context of real operating systems. The 

successful completion of this research will greatly promote a wide application of clusters. 

*** 

2804 COMPUTATION THEORY AND MATHEMATICS 

DP0210524 

Prof Jonathan Billington 

Dr CA Lakos 

Prof K Jensen 

Title: Advanced Sweep-Line State Space Reduction Methods for Verification of Concurrent 

and Distributed Systems 

2002: $57,587 2003: $59,515 2004: $62,010 



Summary: 

The rigorous design and analysis of distributed systems, such as the Internet and its applications, is 

known to be a difficult problem. This project will develop new techniques for reducing the memory 

and time required for computer-aided verification of concurrent and distributed systems. The 

technique will be combined with other reduction techniques to increase their range of applicability. 

The reduction techniques will be implemented and evaluated using important transaction protocols 

for electronic commerce and internet enabled wireless communications. The technique will also be 

applied to so called 'object-oriented' modelling languages. 

DP0208553 

Dr Jennifer Davoren 

Dr T Moor 

Title: Mathematical, logical and computational foundations of hybrid control systems, and 

their application to design and synthesis problems in control engineering 

*** 

2002: $61,184 2003: $90,000 2004: $92,000 


APD - Dr T Moor 


Summary: 

Hybrid control systems are mathematical models of heterogeneous systems consisting of digital 

computer components interacting in real-time with continuous physical processes. Their many 

engineering applications include air traffic control, medical technology and automated transport. 

Motivated by such safety-critical and high-confidence applications, the project aims to develop a

unified framework of mathematical logics adequate to formally represent and reason about the 

structure, behaviour, and properties of hybrid control systems, and use this to develop 

methodologies for automatically synthesising hybrid control programs that are provably correct with 

respect to their specifications. Other outcomes include prototype software implementations of hybrid 

controller design tools. 

DP0211351 

Dr Kai Engelhardt 

Title: Building correct-by-construction distributed systems from specifications stating how 

agents' knowledge evolves over time 

2002: $50,000 



*** 

Summary: 

Many distributed computer system implementations fail to comply with their original informal 

requirement specification. These requirements typically refer to the migration of information through 

the system over time, but current specification languages are not rich enough to express such 

requirements on a sufficiently abstract level. This results in a huge error-provoking gap between the 

informal requirements and the starting point of formally verifiable development. To minimise this 

gap, we develop a particularly expressive specification language, a calculus for stepwise refinement 

from such specifications down to distributed systems, and an automated tool for checking and 

supporting refinement steps in the calculus. 

DP0209818 

Dr Vladimir Estivill-Castro 

Dr MR Fellows 

Dr ME Houle 

Title: Approximate proximity for applications in data mining and visualization 

2002: $47,200 2003: $52,529 2004: $54,252 2005: $27,557 

*** 



Summary: 

Data Mining, pattern recognition and visualization of relational information are all important data 

analysis techniques in which it is essential to determine which data points are in the vicinity of others. 

The huge size of the data sets involved and the need for real-time interaction preclude the use of 

conventional methods for the precise computation of the proximity information required. This 

project will develop efficient algorithms and data structures for gathering high-quality 

approximations of the full proximity information, and will use these innovations as the basis for new, 

practical tools for visualization, and clustering in data mining. 

DP0210416 

***

A/Prof George Havas 

Dr DE Bryant 

Dr P Adams 

Prof AP Street 

Title: Emerging applications of advanced computational methods and discrete mathematics. 

2002: $90,000 2003: $100,000 2004: $100,000 



Summary: 

Ongoing improvements in computer performance are revolutionising research in combinatorial 

discrete mathematics, and leading to exciting new applications in information technology and the 

biological and chemical sciences. As a result, substantial international research effort, both at 

universities and in commercial and industrial organisations, is being channelled into high-performance 

computation and theoretical problems in combinatorial mathematics. Our aim is to develop and apply 

advanced computational methods through the study of several unsolved theoretical problems in 

design theory and practical problems in exact matrix computation and drug design. 

DP0208238 

Prof Brendan McKay 

Title: Practical and theoretical aspects of structure enumeration 

2002: $120,000 2003: $130,000 2004: $130,000 2005: $66,831 2006: $68,836 

*** 


APF - Prof BD McKay 


Summary: 

Many areas of study involve processing of large numbers of 

objects in some class. These are countless examples in 

chemistry, physics, mathematics, and other disciplines. 

Structure Enumeration is the study of methods for efficient 

generation and analysis of such objects. The project will 

involve exploitation and extension of recent advances, many 

due to the CI, which have added orders of magnitude to what 

was possible only a few years ago. The outcome will be a 

combination of theoretical results and practical achievements, 

whose usefulness will be demonstrated with some serious 

applications in physics and mathematics. 

2805 DATA FORMAT 

DP0209658 

Dr Stephen Hanly 

Dr JS Evans 

***

Dr AJ Grant 

Title: Information Capacity of High Data Rate Wireless Networks 

2002: $100,000 2003: $100,000 2004: $100,000 



Summary: 

Future wireless networks must support huge data rates in order to meet 

the escalating demands of emerging Internet applications. Required 

capacities far exceed those which can be provided by existing wireless 

systems. Space-time coding is one very promising new technique which 

may provide a solution. In spite of the potentials of this technique, 

there are many important practical issues that affect the realizable 

capacities. We aim to investigate two such issues: the impact of 

channel uncertainty at the receiver, and the impact of multiple access 

interference. This research will provide new directions for the design 

of wireless data networks. 

DP0209243 

Dr Margreta Kuijper 

Dr U Parampalli 

*** 

Title: Innovative Decoding Methods for Increased Error Correction of Reed-Solomon Codes 

and Related Ring Codes 

2002: $65,000 2003: $85,000 2004: $85,000 



Summary: 

The project addresses the holy grail in the area of Reed-Solomon/BCH decoding, namely the 

derivation of algebraic soft-decision decoding algorithms. These codes are the most frequently used 

error-correcting block codes and their performance does not fulfill its full potential due to the lack of 

algebraic soft-decision decoding methods. In the project the system-theoretic behavioural view is 

employed, which has proved itself successful in this area in recent years. The project aims to connect 

soft-decision decoding methods with the decoding of ring codes. Outcomes are decoding methods 

and algorithms for the australian telecommunications industry that enable increased error correction 

for Reed-Solomon/BCH codes and related ring codes. 

DP0209890 

Dr David Taubman 

Dr S Nooshabadi 

*** 

Title: Hardware Implementation Strategies for JPEG 2000 

2002: $76,122 2003: $68,439 2004: $109,536



Summary: 

JPEG2000 is a new image compression standard, which is expected to become the dominant format 

for image communications over the internet and then make inroads into consumer peripheral devices, 

including digital cameras, printers and scanners. The standard is fundamentally different from and 

much more complex than its well-known predecessor, JPEG, and there are currently no published 

hardware implementations. The aim of this project is to investigate a wide range of potential 

implementation strategies to identify those which are able to minimize the consumption of various 

resources, including memory consumption, memory bandwidth, chip area and processing latency. 

DP0211096 

Prof Vijay Varadharajan 

Title: Security for Mobile Agent Based Systems 

*** 

2002: $78,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $62,000 



Summary: 

Mobile agents are emerging to be a significant technology in networked computing and pose 

fundamental challenges in security, for which no suitable solutions exist today. This research project 

addresses the theory, architecture and design of secure mobile agent systems. It achieves key 

conceptual advances by proposing a comprehensive security mode and a novel computational trust 

model for mobile agents. It develops new schemes for dynamic privilege management and offers 

new insights into the open research problem of protection against malicious hosts. It considers a 

novel calculus to formally reason about security properties and demonstrates practical secure agent 

based Internet applications. 

*** 

2899 OTHER INFORMATION, COMPUTING AND 

COMMUNICATION SCIENCES 

DP0211939 

Prof John Debenham 

Dr SJ Simoff 

Prof I Wilkinson 

Title: Shaping E-markets by Timely Information Discovery 

2002: $69,232 2003: $92,000 2004: $92,000 



Summary: 

The perturbation of market equilibrium through entrepeneurial action is the essence of market 

evolution. Entrepeneurship relies on intuition and information discovery. This project addresses the

problem of identifying timely information for e-markets with their rapid, pervasive and massive flows 

of data. This information will be distilled from individual signals in the markets themselves and from 

signals observed on the unreliable, information-overlaoded Internet. Distributed, concurrent, timeconstrained 

data mining methods will be managed using business process management technology to 

extract timely, reliable information from this unreliable environment. This project will derive 

fundamental insight into how e-markets evolve. 

*** 

2902 AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 

DP0208744 

Dr David Mee 

Dr RR Boyce 

Prof RJ Stalker 

Title: Minimizing hypersonic skin-friction by boundary-layer combustion 

2002: $83,000 2003: $106,000 2004: $95,000 



Summary: 

The high drag associated with hypersonic flight has been a major obstacle to development of 

hypersonic aircraft. It is generally accepted that half the drag of hypersonic vehicles will be caused 

by air friction on the aircraft's skin, due mainly to the turbulent boundary layer which forms on the 

skin. However, a new method of reducing skin friction, by injecting and burning fuel in the boundary 

layer, has been discovered. This project is aimed at investigating the range of conditions under 

which this method will be effective. By this boundary-layer "lubrication" much more efficient 

hypersonic flight will be possible. 

DP0209504 

Dr Ping Tan 

Title: Micro-electromechanics and finite element analysis models for adaptive structures 

*** 

2002: $80,000 2003: $70,186 2004: $70,000 


APD - Dr PP Tan 


Summary: 

Adaptive structures are becoming increasingly important due to their direct improvement of 

structural system performance. However, electroelastic behaviour and damage mechanism, which are 

primary concerns for adaptive structural design, are poorly understood. This project aims at 

developing micro-electromechanics and finite element analysis models to investigate the 

electroelastic properties and detect delamination for adaptive structures. It combines the fields of 

micro-electromechanics and composite material analysis in a computational framework to provide a 

useful and cost-effective tool for modelling the response of adaptive structures. It is a challenging 

task and will have significant impact in the adaptive structure design community.

DP0210716 

A/Prof Liyong Tong 

Dr Q Li 

*** 

Title: Active shape control of large thin-walled structures using ferroelectric single crystals 

2002: $86,000 2003: $97,000 2004: $96,000 



Summary: 

Ferroelectric single crystals were invented 5 years ago, and they possess many superior properties 

compared to conventional piezoelectric materials, particularly the induced strain up to 1.5%, an 

order higher than conventional materials. This project aims to poineer the application of these new 

and powerful smart materials as actuators and sensors to shape control of smart structures. The 

expected outcomes are (a) a new constitutive theory for the non-linear behaviour of ferroelectric 

single crystals; (b) a novel definition and formulation for the shape control problem; and (c) an 

innovative theoretical framework for design optimization of shape control of smart structures using 

ferroelectric single crystals. 

*** 

2903 MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING 

DP0211233 

Dr Zheng Jiang 

Title: Mechanics of Cold Rolling of Thin Strip 

2002: $104,269 2003: $111,223 2004: $103,000 2005: $103,000 2006: $103,000 


ARF - Dr ZY Jiang 


Summary: 

The main aim of this project is to generate a new theory for the cold rolling of thin strip (thickness: 

0.1 - 0.15mm) when the work rolls contact beyond the edges of strip. The new knowledge will 

improve the rolling of thin strip, which is very sensitive to many parameters,some of which could not 

be acccounted for by existing rolling models. The expected outcomes are (1)development of a 

sophisticated new theory for thin strip rolling, (2) development of novel methods, (3) comprehensive 

simulation model that can predict accurately is rolling parameters and in particular the shapes and 

flatness of strip. 

DP0208665 

Dr Brett Ninness 

*** 

Title: New Methods for Dynamic System Estimation 

2002: $91,000 2003: $96,000 2004: $91,000 2005: $82,000



Summary: 

The estimation of dynamic system models from records of normal operating data is a significant 

problem across many engineering applications ranging from (at least) chemical process control to the 

implementation of telecommunications networks. This project, based on a promising pilot study, will 

develop and analyse new methods for solving these problems. This will lead to significant advances 

in the simplicity, robustness and generality of methods for accurate model generation with attendant 

benefits of more efficient and higher performance operation of many engineering systems. 

DP0211244 

A/Prof Anh Tieu 

*** 

Title: Mechanics of mixed film lubrication in strip rolling 

2002: $71,000 2003: $79,000 2004: $81,000 



Summary: 

Rolling speeds of tandem cold rolling mills for thin steel strip are often limited by hot scratches and 

self excited chatter vibration, which forces the mill to slow down. Consequently the output is 

reduced and significant out-of-specification materials produced. Operating practices are guided by 

experience and trial-and-error method. In this project, a comprehensive model will be produced to 

quantify the effects of relevant parameters that can provide a much better understanding of the 

rolling process at speeds higher than previously possible, and help to improve its productivity as well 

as product quality. 

DP0208583 

Prof Xungai Wang 

Dr WB Fraser 

Title: Modelling and minimising energy consumption in ring spinning 

*** 

2002: $30,000 2003: $56,000 2004: $56,000 



Summary: 

Australia's 4-billion dollar natural fibre production is spun into yarns via ring spinning mainly. A 

major drawback of this spinning system is its high energy consumption. This project will examine, 

theoretically and experimentally, the key factors contributing to energy consumption in ring spinning. 

It will generate new knowledge on the relationship between yarn hairiness and the air drag on a 

rapidly rotating yarn package and on a ballooning yarn, and predict how this air drag affects the 

energy consumption during package build-up in ring spinning. This will lead to ways of minimising 

energy consumption in this most important spinning process.

DP0208577 

A/Prof Liangchi Zhang 

Dr K Xiao 

*** 

Title: Mechanical Characterization of Carbon Nanotubes 

2002: $97,000 2003: $118,186 2004: $114,000 


APD - Dr K Xiao 


Summary: 

Carbon nanotubes play important roles in the development of nanotechnology, a key technology in 

the twenty-first century. This project aims to establish the theories and techniques for characterizing 

the mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes. A novel method combining atomic analysis, 

predictive modeling and direct experimental quantification with atomic force microscopy will be used 

to achieve the objectives. The research will bring about new nanomechanics theories, resolve the 

existing paradox in nanotube deformation and provide an effective measuring method under complex 

loading. The achievement will contribute to the knowledge of nanotechnology and help the industry 

for further technical development. 

*** 

2905 MECHANICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 

ENGINEERING 

DP0210949 

Prof Robert Antonia 

Title: Small Scale Turbulence 

2002: $170,000 2003: $181,000 2004: $188,000 



Summary: 

The thrust of the project is to gain a fundamental understanding of turbulence, which is the usual 

state of fluid motion. The focus will be principally on the smallest length scales of turbulence 

because of the potential that exists for developing a theoretical framework which can predict the 

behaviour of these scales accurately. Important insight will be gained into the manner in which 

temperature is mixed and convected by a turbulent flow. 

DP0211269 

Prof James Hill 

Prof PC Arnold 

*** 

Title: An experimental and theoretical programme of research to resolve major obstructionto-flow 

problems in bins and stockpiles

2002: $30,000 2003: $80,000 2004: $80,000 



Summary: 

Many of Australia's industries rely on the efficient storage and handling of bulk solids materials such 

as minerals, chemicals, food-stuffs, agricultural products and pharmeceuticals. Often the handling 

processes are inefficient to the extent of affecting the economics of the industry. Here we propose 

two projects addressing those inefficiences resulting from stable obstructions, such as "rat-holes", 

and those experimental arising from the unusual flow characteristics of fine powders. The major 

objectives are to use experimental and advanced mathematical modelling techniques, to produce 

reliable design models which minimise the occurrence of stable obstructions and provide reliable 

methods for increasing fine powder flow rates. 

DP0208977 

Prof Rhys Jones 

Prof YM Xie 

Prof S Atluri 

*** 

Title: Designing for Safe and Durable Structures 

2002: $56,000 2003: $56,000 2004: $58,000 



Summary: 

This project creates advanced concepts and tools for the analysis/design of new structures, and 

structural modifications with safety and durability constraints. It involves the marriage of the 

alternative finite element techniques, for assessing durability, recent developments in structural 

optimisations, and advances in parallel processing techniques. This project builds on the applicants 

recent pioneering work, one of which won the best paper award at the 2nd Australasian Conference 

on Applied Mechanics. By marrying the skills associated with three internationally recognised key 

researchers this proposal represents a major advance in the basic understanding of structural 

optimisation and creates unique research linkages. 

DP0209766 

Dr Zhongxiao Peng 

*** 

Title: The study of wear debris using advanced technologies 

2002: $80,000 2003: $64,000 2004: $60,000 



Summary: 

A large portion of the operating cost of machinery is associated with wear due to the interaction 

between moving surfaces, which generates wear particles as by-products. The wear particles thus

carry information regarding the wearing process, and can be used to assess the machine's condition 

and further facilitate failure prediction and minimise maintenance. This project will explore the 

mechanisms and possible influence of corrosion on the wearing process. A new methodology will be 

developed to quantify the wearing process. This research will significantly advance our 

understanding with respect to wear and provide innovative means for identifying wear 

mechanisms/phases. 

*** 

2906 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING 

DP0211505 

A/Prof Rose Amal 

Dr D Beydoun 

A/Prof T Tran 

Title: Doped Nanocrystalline TiO2 - Synthesis and application for photoreduction reactions 

2002: $86,000 2003: $119,186 2004: $80,000 


APD - Dr D Beydoun 


Summary: 

The proposed project aims to develop a novel photocatalyst, prepared by doping nanocrystalline 

TiO2 with noble metals, for use in photoreduction reactions. The ability of this photocatalyst to 

reduce heavy metals and its potential to generate H2 in an inert environment will be explored. The 

project will benefit the environment by removing toxic compounds from polluted wastewaters as 

well as potentially generating substantial levels of H2 (an attractive energy source). Project outcomes 

include the development of an economical and cleaner process for treating waters contaminated with 

heavy metals and providing a valuable knowledge base from which photoreductive efficiencies can be 

drawn. 

DP0208804 

Prof Suresh Bhatia 

Dr DJ Bernhardt 

Title: Modelling of Adsorption Dynamics in Microporous Solids based on Molecular 

Dynamics Computations 

*** 

2002: $91,000 2003: $102,000 2004: $99,000 



Summary: 

This project seeks to incorporate non-equilibrium molecular dynamics calculations into particle scale 

models for adsorption kinetics. Molecular dynamics calculations will be performed for hydrocarbon 

molecules in small pores to obtain transport coefficients in pores of various sizes, at various bulk gas 

pressures and temperatures. These transport coefficients will be used in particle scale models to 

obtain a dynamic model, which will be utilised to interpret experimental data from the literature as

well as that being obtained in our laboratory. Such first principles-based modelling has not been 

performed before at the particle scale, and will mitigate the empiricism in existing approaches. 

DP0210758 

Dr Linda Blackall 

Dr WP Clarke 

Title: Fundamental Knowledge Generation of Organic Solid Waste-Microorganism 

Interactions 

*** 

2002: $111,000 2003: $107,000 2004: $97,000 



Summary: 

The management of organic solid waste is a major global environmental issue, exacerbated by 

increasing populations and urbanisation. However, there are biological processes (e.g. anaerobic 

composting) that show excellent potential as the solution to this global problem. We know that the 

rate-limiting step to biological organic solid waste degradation is the initial hydrolysis process carried 

out by microorganisms. We will study at a microscale the "organic solid waste surfacemicroorganism" 

interactions and compare data from digesters with the rumen which is a highly 

efficient model solid substrate digestion system. Our generated knowledge will be used in future 

practical applications. 

DP0209669 

Dr Graeme Bushell 

Dr G Bickert 

Dr GV Franks 

Title: The role of floc structure in the formation of sediments and filter cakes 

*** 

2002: $63,000 2003: $95,000 2004: $77,000 



Summary: 

The project aims to understand at a fundamental level if and in what way the fractal structure of 

aggregates of fine particles is preserved when forming sediments and filter cakes. The effect of this 

structure on processes for separating solids and liquids is significant: each year, millions of dollars 

stand to be saved though more efficient filtration, and more efficient thickening of mineral slurries. 

Improved understanding allows intelligent design of flocculation systems to optimise the 

performance of downstream solid - liquid separation processes, maximising economic and 

environmental returns. 

DP0209004 

A/Prof Kevin Galvin 

***

Title: Influence of Parallel Inclined Plates within Liquid Fluidized Beds 

2002: $58,000 2003: $58,000 2004: $65,000 



Summary: 

The aim of this study is to develop a fundamental understanding of the influence of a set of parallel 

inclined plates within a liquid fluidized bed. A broad range of systems that process particulate 

suspensions are very likely to benefit from this innovative arrangement. Considerably higher 

throughputs and improved separation performance are expected. A theoretical model will be 

developed and validated experimentally. The study will also examine whether a critical shear rate can 

be used to selectively separate particles on the basis of differences in density. This work will 

strengthen the potential exploitation of this new technology, and help train and educate a student at 

the PhD level in the area. 

DP0208711 

Dr Eric Kennedy 

A/Prof BZ Dlugogorski 

Prof RF Howe 

Prof Y Sakata 

Title: Gas-phase and catalytic reaction of halons under reducing conditions 

*** 

2002: $46,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $60,000 



Summary: 

Halons are ozone-depleting substances, but their use continues in most countries. This project 

pursues techniques to convert, rather than destroy, halons into benign and useful products. The aims 

of this project are to gain a fundamental understanding of the reactions of the most commonly used 

halons, 1301, 1211 and 2402, and perform a detailed examination of catalytic processes for 

conversion of halons to HFCs. The primary outcome from the study will be the development of a 

process specifically designed to convert halons into useful products. This will assist with efforts to 

phase out continued halon use. 

DP0209571 

Prof Martin Rhodes 

Prof JP Seville 

Title: Particle motion and particle-convective heat transfer near the walls of fluidized beds 

*** 

2002: $47,000 2003: $68,000 2004: $60,000 



Summary:

Background: Fluidized bed technology has important industrial applications ranging from petrol 

production to mineral processing for metal production. Such processes take advantage of the high 

rates of heat transfer in gas-fluidized beds. 

Objective of project: To improve understanding and modelling of heat transfer in gas fluidized beds 

through the application of state-of-the-art experimental (Positron Emission Particle Tracking) and 

modelling (Discrete Element Method simulation) techniques. 

Expected outcomes of project: New knowledge of the mechanisms of fluidized bed heat transfer. 

Improved the prediction of heat transfer coefficients with consequent improvements in the design 

and operation of fluidized bed processes. 

DP0208805 

Prof Jose Romagnoli 

Prof GW Barton 

Dr VG Gomes 

*** 

Title: An Integrated Framework for Optimisation and Control of Key Product Properties in 

Emulsion Polymerisation 

2002: $87,000 2003: $187,000 2004: $108,000 2005: $108,000 



Summary: 

Emulsion polymerization is of major industrial importance. In addition to process efficiency, the use 

of water as the reactor medium provides environmental benefits. This proposal is aimed at building 

an integrated framework to analyse, model, control and optimise emulsion polymerisation systems in 

order to understand, design and operate such complex systems to obtain desired polymer product 

characteristics. Complex kinetic, transport and evolution equations will be analysed and solved for 

predicting and controlling key product properties. This project will provide not only a significant 

advance in fundamental knowledge of polymerisation systems but will also enable production of 

cost-effective ?designer polymers? for a wide-range of applications. 

DP0209186 

Prof Geoff Stevens 

*** 

Title: The Role of the Interface in Solvent Extraction 

2002: $55,000 2003: $99,000 2004: $59,000 2005: $61,000 2006: $64,000 



Summary: 

This project involves a fundamental study of the kinetics of reactions that occur in solvent extraction 

processes used for separation of many of Australia's metals from minerals. The understanding gained 

from this will enable a greater efficiency to be obtained from Australia's minerals industry. In 

particular, it is intended to investigate the role of additives on the kinetics of metal extraction; these 

additives either enter the solution from the ore or are added as flocculants during the process, and

have a significant effect on the performance. With the move to smaller, shorter residence time 

contactors, this has become increasingly important if these new contactors are to be used efficiently. 

DP0211213 

Prof Mark Wainwright 

A/Prof T Tran 

Prof DL TRIMM 

Title: NOVEL Fe-Cr OXIDE AND SKELETAL (RANEY) CATALYSTS FOR WATER 

GAS SHIFT REACTION 

*** 

2002: $65,000 2003: $66,000 2004: $70,000 



Summary: 

The water gas shift reaction has an importance implication in the control of carbon 

monoxide/hydrogen ratios of gas mixtures used during the synthesis of methanol, diesel and 

hydrogen. The research study aims to develop and characterise Fe-Cr oxide and chromia-promoted 

Raney Cu catalysts for water gas shift reaction using a tube wall reactor. The catalyst fabrication is 

based on leaching and electrochemical deposition to promote the catalytic activity. The produced 

catalysts will be characterised and tested for catalytic activity, temperature stability and other 

physical properties to determine fundamental understanding for future commercial applications. 

DP0210378 

Mr Kean Wang 

*** 

Title: Preparing Carbon Molecular Sieve Membrane (CMSM) for Olefin/Paraffin Separation 

2002: $61,184 2003: $62,967 2004: $62,967 


APD - Mr K Wang 


Summary: 

Carbon molecular sieve membrane (CMSM) presents superior selectivity and stability for many gas 

separation processes. This technology is energy saving, environmental friendly and with minimal 

operating cost. The project will develop CMSMs for the separation of olefin/paraffin, particularly, 

the propane/propylene mixture which is currently separated by the energy intensive cryogenic 

distillation in industry. The project involves both experimental works and theoretical studies and will 

provide: (1) techniques for preparing CMSMs for olefin/paraffin separation; (2) methods 

characterizing the micro-structure of CMSMs; (3) mathematical models predicting multicomponent 

gas permeation/separation properties on CMSMs; (4) effect of impurities on the separation 

processes. 

*** 

2907 RESOURCES ENGINEERING

DP0211085 

Prof Graeme Jameson 

Dr AV Nguyen 

Prof JS Van Deventer 

Dr BS Gardiner 

Title: Behaviour of particles in flotation froths 

2002: $205,000 2003: $297,140 2004: $261,001 2005: $265,001 


APD - Dr BS Gardiner 


Summary: 

Froth flotation is widely used for the separation of mineral particles. Currently, there is an upper limit 

on the size of particles that can be treated. It has recently been found that the upper limit can be 

extended from a few hundreds of microns, up to millimetre sizes, by processing the particles in the 

froth. We will study the forces acting on particles in flotation froths, as well as froth drainage and 

entrainment, to find the factors that limit the flotation of large particles and objects. The work is 

relevant to water treatment and the separation of plastics for recycling. 

DP0209425 

Dr Jishan Liu 

Prof D Elsworth 

Title: Mechanism and Control of In-situ Minerals Extraction 

2002: $84,269 2003: $87,223 2004: $89,000 2005: $101,000 2006: $98,000 


ARF - Dr J Liu 

*** 


Summary: 

By introducing the theory of coupled hydraulic-mechanical-thermal-chemical processes and the well 

technology in petroleum engineering into in-situ minerals extraction, mineral values will be extracted 

directly from ore deposits without the need for mining. This work will have the potential to convert 

the known sub-economic mineral resources (about 37 million tonnes in Australia alone) into 

reserves. The five-year project will lead to a computer simulation assisted in-situ minerals extraction 

methodology for application in mining industry. 

*** 

2908 CIVIL ENGINEERING 

DP0209501 

Mrs Tatiana Bakharev 

Dr JG Sanjayan

Title: DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENTIFIC AND EXPERIMENTAL BASIS FOR 

MANUFACTURE OF BUILDING MATERIALS WITH SPECIAL PROPERTIES BASED 

ON GEOPOLYMERS 

2002: $81,000 2003: $77,186 2004: $79,000 


APD - Mrs T Bakharev 


Summary: 

This project seeks to develop a new class of building materials based on geopolymers. These 

materials will have superior corrosion resistance, fire resistance, heat and noise insulating properties. 

The project will study in detail the effect of processing parameters on microstructure of these 

materials, and effect of structure and composition on properties. A good understanding of this would 

result in environmentally friendly inexpensive inorganic materials with superior durability, chemical 

and fire resistance, heat and noise insulation properties that can substitute organic polymers and 

ordinary Portland cement concrete in special applications. 

DP0209919 

Prof Mark BRADFORD 

Dr B UY 

Dr HR RONAGH 

Title: Analysis and behaviour of members curved spatially in-plane 

*** 

2002: $195,000 2003: $213,000 2004: $169,000 2005: $112,000 2006: $110,000 


APF - Prof MA BRADFORD 


Summary: 

This project aims to study the fundamental behaviour of structural members that are curved in a 

plane oriented arbitrarily in space, which will benefit greatly the rational design of contemporary 

bridges and buildings. It builds on previously funded ARC research by the team and will augment 

extensively the numerical models developed. These models will be calibrated with a unique set of 

experiments that will encompass novel loading, boundary conditions and structural forms. The 

outcomes of this project will include accurate design methods of immense benefit to practising 

structural engineers dealing with the design of curved bridges and arches in particular. 

DP0211177 

Prof John Carter 

Dr DW Airey 

*** 

Title: Characterisation and modelling of structured soils 

2002: $185,000 2003: $213,000 2004: $205,000 

Administering Institution: The University of Sydney


Summary: 

The aim of this project is to undertake a fundamental study of the mechanical behaviour of structured 

soils in order to formulate appropriate constitutive models. This work is significant because it will 

contribute to the progress of soil mechanics as a science, advancing it from the study of reconstituted 

laboratory soils to that of real soils. The project should ultimately lead to cost savings in many 

geotechnical engineering practices because it will provide a better understanding of the response of 

real soil to loading, and provide greater confidence in predictions of the performance of geotechnical 

structures. 

DP0210669 

Dr Liang Cheng 

*** 

Title: NUMERICAL MODELLING OF LOCAL SCOUR BELOW OFFSHORE PIPELINES 

2002: $60,000 2003: $53,000 2004: $55,000 



Summary: 

This research will develop a numerical model for time-dependent local scour below offshore 

pipelines subject to steady currents and waves. No such model is currently available in the offshore 

oil and gas industry and the research community. Instead, design engineers have to use simple 

empirical formulae to estimate the scour potential in complex environmental conditions. This may 

result in unsafe or over conservative designs. Therefore the model developed in this project will have 

direct impact on the stability design of offshore pipelines. The design will be safer and more reliable, 

and improved design may lead to a reduced cost. 

DP0211516 

Dr Stephen Foster 

A/Prof MM Attard 

Title: Strength and Ductility of Steel Fibre Reinforced HSC Columns 

*** 

2002: $30,000 2003: $56,000 2004: $56,000 



Summary: 

Research has identified two problems in the use of HSC in columns; they are early spalling of the 

concrete cover and ductility. Ductility is an important feature of any structural member as it guards 

against unforeseen overload and sudden collapse. The provision of steel fibres has the potential to 

alleviate, if not solve, both problems. However, little research has been undertaken on the use of 

steel fibres in columns and questions such as the quantity of fibres needed to control cover spalling 

and the degree that fibre reinforcement aids ductility remain largely unexplored. These issues are 

addressed in this project. 

***

DP0210039 

Prof Raymond Gilbert 

Title: The impact of high strength, low ductility reinforcement on the ductility and 

serviceability of concrete structures 

2002: $100,000 2003: $100,000 2004: $65,000 



Summary: 

The behaviour of reinforced concrete structures has been adversely affected by the recent 

introduction in Australia of 500 MPa steel reinforcement(with higher strength and lower ductibility 

than the previously available 400MPa steel bars). Structures with reduced ductility, greater 

deflection and larger crack widths will result. Unexpected overloads may now cause fracturing of the 

steel, resulting in brittle and catastrophic collapse. This project aims to investigate, analytically and 

experimentally, the impact of the new reinforcement on the design and performance of concrete 

structures, including strength, ductility and serviceability, and to provide rational design guidance to 

the structural engineering profession. 

DP0209027 

Dr Wei Dong Guo 

Title: The response of beams subjected to axial load and lateral soil movements 

*** 

2002: $65,000 2003: $104,000 2004: $69,000 



Summary: 

Beams (piles, soil nails, and pipelines) are not only subjected to axial (vertical, axial and 

longitudinal)loading, but often withstand simultaneous lateral loading, due to either explicit 

structural loads, or due to loads induced by movement of the soils in which they are founded. Bridge 

piles adjacent to an approach embankment are one example. This project will provide experimental 

evidence to assist with the estimation of capacity, axial and shear resistance, the validation of unified 

solutions for beams subjected to simultaneous lateral soil movements and axial loads. Such 

experimental evidence and analytical solutions are not currently available. The evidence will also 

assist with solving a contradictory, existing design principle, which will lead to an economic and 

efficient design approach. 

DP0211317 

Dr Mohammed Hjiaj 

*** 

Title: Limit analysis for non-associated materials 

2002: $76,000 2003: $72,186 2004: $72,000 

Administering Institution: The University of Newcastle

APD - Dr M Hjiaj 


Summary: 

Numerical limit analysis, based on finite element formulations of the plastic bound theorems, is now a 

key method for predicting the stability of geotechnical structures. Unfortunately, these theorems are 

valid only for perfect plastic materials with an associated flow rule. This theoretical project aims to 

develop a formulation of the limit theorems that is suitable for incompressible non-associated 

materials. It will also focus on displacement finite element formulations for these materials. 

DP0211195 

Dr Mark Jaksa 

Prof G Fenton 

Prof H Poulos 

Prof GW Kaggwa 

Title: Reducing the Risk of Foundation Failures by Improving the Effectiveness of 

Geotechnical Investigations 

*** 

2002: $71,000 2003: $75,000 2004: $77,000 



Summary: 

Inadequate geotechnical site investigation is the major factor in construction overruns and delays. In 

some instances failure may occur. Alternatively, such investigation may result in over-designed 

foundations. This research will examine these issues through sites, based on numerical simulations of 

variable soil conditions and investigations. Case studies will be used to verify the modelling. A 

practical framework for planning and implementing geotechnical investigations, based on the 

variability of the soil profile will be developed. A key aspect of this framework is that, for the first 

time, site investigations will be linked to risk of foundation failure and cost of overdesign. 

DP0211279 

Dr Nasser Khalili 

Prof S Valliappan 

A/Prof SR Lo 

Title: A fully coupled elasto-plastic model for dynamic analysis of unsaturated soils 

*** 

2002: $30,000 2003: $78,000 2004: $79,000 



Summary: 

This research is concerned with an important and, as yet, unresearched class of problems in 

geomechanics dealing with dynamic analysis of unsaturated soils. The work is of significance as it 

will contribute to the progress of soil mechanics as a science, advancing it from the study of 

unsaturated soils to that of real soils, which are invariably unsaturated. The project should lead to

cost savings in many geotechnical engineering practices as it will provide a better understanding of 

the response of unsaturated soils to dynamic loading and provide a greater confidence in the 

prediction of the preformance of earth-structures. 

DP0210327 

A/Prof George Kuczera 

Dr SW Franks 

Dr A Metcalfe 

Title: Modelling long-term hydrological persistence using hidden state Markov models 

*** 

2002: $79,000 2003: $75,000 2004: $107,000 



Summary: 

Long-term climatic persistence has a pronounced effect on engineering risk assessment of drought 

and flood severity. Accurate risk assessment is essential for economic design of water resource and 

flood defence infrastructure. A new, physically realistic, framework for stochastic modelling of 

persistence is developed, in which the probability distributions of hydrological variables depend on 

underlying climatic states. These states are not directly observable, and occasionally change in a 

random manner. The research program, involving three PhD projects, will develop: estimation 

techniques and software using climate indices and multi-site data; a new approach to flood risk 

regionalisation; and seasonal rainfall forecasting methods. 

DP0211002 

Dr Andrei Lyamin 

*** 

Title: Adaptive Algorithms for Lower Bound Limit Analysis 

2002: $71,000 2003: $63,186 2004: $67,000 


APD - Dr AV Lyamin 


Summary: 

Lower bound limit analysis is a powerful new tool for predicting the maximum load that a 

geotechnical structure can sustain without collapsing. The results from this method are, however, 

dependent on the mesh used. This project aims to develop an adaptive meshing procedure for lower 

bound limit analysis that will iteratively optimise the mesh, subject to an accuracy condition on the 

computed collapse load. The aim is to produce a cost-effective solution method for use by practising 

engineers. 

DP0210229 

A/Prof Jennifer McKay 

Dr JD Pisaniello 

***

Title: Cost-effective integrated engineering and "community partnerships" solution to a 

latent water policy issue: private dam management and flood safety 

2002: $77,000 2003: $73,186 2004: $68,000 


APD - Dr JD Pisaniello 


Summary: 

Project aims to further develop an engineering model for cost-effective innovative flood safety 

design/review for private dams in Southeastern Australia and integrate this with community impact 

assessment. Together, this is a "community partnerships" solution to a significant water policy 

vacuum on private dam safety and flood policy. Expected outcomes: improved risk transparency for 

dam owners and State Government, minimising costs of failures, ie. loss of life, damage to public and 

private infrastructure and environment; giving owners an affordable and effective design/review 

procedure to better manage their dams, providing data on community responses and water law 

reform proposals consonant with international best-practice. 

DP0210702 

Dr Deric Oehlers 

Prof J Teng 

Title: Fibre reinforced polymer retrofitting of reinforced concrete flexural members 

*** 

2002: $53,000 2003: $64,000 2004: $62,000 



Summary: 

A cost-effective and durable technique for retrofitting reinforced concrete beams and slabs is to 

adhesively bond new advanced fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites to their surfaces. The 

potential plating market in Australia for bridges is $350 million, however, the technique can also be 

applied to strengthening other structures such as buildings. Tests have shown that FRP plates or 

sheets can debond prematurely, which at present severely limits the application. The aim of this 

research project is to quantify the debonding mechanisms, strengths and ductilities of adhesively 

bonded FRP plated beams to provide design rules that can be used in practice. 

DP0210614 

Prof Adrian Page 

*** 

Title: The Influence of Cement Type, Age and Curing Conditions on the Flexural Capacity of 

Masonry Walls 

2002: $30,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $60,000 



Summary:

The use of cements containing waste products such as fly ash and blast surface slag has increased 

markedly. This has desirable environmental and economic consequences, but the influence of these 

cements on the bond strength of masonry constructed from mortars containing these cements is 

unknown and in urgent need of clarification. This investigation studies this effect as well as the 

influence of age and curing conditions on masonry flexural strength at both a fundamental and 

applied level, thus allowing the impact of the use of mortars containing these cements on actual 

building performance to be assessed. 

DP0210837 

Prof Somasundaram Valliappan 

Title: Fuzzy finite element analysis of smart structures using concepts of optimization 

*** 

2002: $61,000 2003: $59,000 2004: $63,000 



Summary: 

The major aim of this research is to develop an innovative approach using fuzzy finite element 

method for the analysis and design of smart control systems for civil engineering structures subjected 

to vibrations due to earthquakes. The significance of this project is the proposal to combine, for the 

first time, techniques such as finite element, fuzzy logic and optimization in a unified manner. The 

final result will produce an efficient design tool for a structural system integrated with smart 

sensors/actuators for vibration control. 

DP0211955 

A/Prof Saravamamuthu Vigneswaran 

Dr HH Ngo 

Prof H Harada 

Prof H Moon 

Prof R Ben Aim 

*** 

Title: Hanging sponge aerobic bioreactor and membrane - adsorption hybrid system: a novel 

two stage system in wastewater reuse. 

2002: $62,000 2003: $68,000 



Summary: 

A novel two-stage system consisting of a downflow hanging sponge biological reactor (DHS) and 

submerged membrane-adsorption hybrid system (SMAS) will be developed in this study. The DHS 

modified to incorporate solid separation and superior organics, and nitrogen removal will be an 

excellent pretreatment system that features minimum energy requirement and on sludge production. 

The post treatment of SMAS is to be studied to optimize aeration, biological activity on activated 

carbon will remove the remaining organics, solids, bacteria and majority of viruses. The developed 

hybrid system will be a cost- effective system in water reuse in small communities. 

***

DP0211041 

A/Prof Yi-Min (Mike) Xie 

Title: Efficient and Robust Bi-directional Evolutionary Structural Optimisation Method for 

Large-scale Three-dimensional Topological Design 

2002: $53,000 2003: $55,000 2004: $57,000 

Administering Institution: Victoria University of Technology 


Summary: 

Structural optimisation is a process of searching for the best shape and topology of an engineering 

structure which will consume the least amount of material or energy. This project aims to further 

investigate the Bi-directional Structural Optimisation (BESO) method which has recently been 

proposed by the applicant's team. New algorithms will be developed to substantially improve the 

efficiency and robustness of the BESO method. The expected outcome of the project is a simple and 

effective optimisation technique that can be used for the conceptual design of a wide range of 

engineering structures. 

*** 

2909 ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC 

ENGINEERING 

DP0211608 

Dr Amine Bermak 

Title: A 3D CMOS Vision Sensor with Pixel Level Analog-to-Digital Converter and 

Intelligent Processing 

2002: $66,000 2003: $67,000 2004: $63,000 

Administering Institution: Edith Cowan University 


Summary: 

The aim of this research project is to build a smart vision sensor using advanced 3D technology. The 

smart sensor will consist of two vertically stacked levels comprising the vision sensor chip with pixellevel 

Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) and the processing chip for edge and motion detection. 

The pixel level ADC will be based on new architectures offering improved performance in terms of 

dynamic range, fill-factor, and signal-to-noise ratio. Both the vision and the processing chips will be 

realised in standard CMOS technology, which make the smart vision sensor very suitable for low 

cost consumer electronic applications. 

DP0211387 

Dr Farid Boussaid 

Title: Smart CMOS Vision Sensors in Deep Sub-0.25um CMOS Technologies 

*** 

2002: $73,184 2003: $74,781 2004: $74,967


APD - Dr F Boussaid 


Summary: 

This research project aims to develop a new generation of smart vision sensors featuring on-chip and 

pixel-level implementation of human vision based algorithms. Built in state-of-the-art deep sub- 

0.25um CMOS technologies, these imagers will feature extensive in-pixel processing power in 

contrast to the currently commercially available CMOS vision sensors. This will enable on-chip 

vision-based decision making but also increased on-chip image processing. These innovative systemon-chip 

features will contribute towards the positioning of CMOS imaging technology as the 

technology of choice for most digital imaging applications, in place of the existing, and so far 

unchallenged, CCD technology. 

DP0209310 

Dr Andres Cuevas 

Title: ADVANCED PHYSICS AND CHARACTERISATION OF SILICON MATERIALS 

AND DEVICES 

*** 

2002: $82,000 2003: $80,000 2004: $85,000 



Summary: 

Silicon, the semiconductor material that has revolutionised modern society through Microelectronics, 

is also at the centre of Photovoltaics, the technology that permits harvesting the energy from the sun 

to improve the quality of life and sustain it beyond the limitations of fossil fuel resources. By 

improving our understanding of the fundamental properties of silicon and advancing the solar cell 

devices made from it, this project aims to increase Australia's presence in the vast field of 

Microlectronics and maintain its leading position in solar energy technologies. 

DP0210197 

Prof Robin Evans 

Prof V Krishnamurthy 

Prof IM Mareels 

Dr MW Cantoni 

A/Prof DA Thomas 

Dr G Nair 

Title: Design of Large-Scale Interconnected Dynamical Systems 

*** 

2002: $127,146 2003: $170,000 2004: $170,000 



Summary:

Our aim is to develop a theory for the design, analysis and operation of large-scale interconnected 

systems. In recent years there has been an explosive growth in the implementation and use of largescale 

systems due to the ready availability of interconnection technology. However, there is no 

satisfactory systematic theoretical basis for identifying and quantifying potential advantages or 

pitfalls of large-scale interconnections. Several aspects of interconnected systems will be considered. 

For example, can large-scale systems composed of dynamical sub-systems linked through 

communication channels be systematically designed? How does overall system behaviour vary with 

scale and subsystem dynamics? Such questions are largely open and their resolution lies at the heart 

of this project. 

DP0210399 

Prof Greg Knowles 

Title: Low Power Architectures for the Wavelet Transform and JPEG2000 

*** 

2002: $38,000 2003: $52,000 2004: $31,000 



Summary: 

Recently a new international standard for image compression has been proposed, JPEG2000. This 

new method updates the well established JPEG standard and will be incorporated into digital 

cameras, web pads, etc. 

In this project we will investigate low power architectures for the wavelet transforms used in this 

standard, and combine this with an embedded processor core to deliver a complete system on a chip 

solution for low power JPEG2000. 

DP0208841 

Prof Vikram Krishnamurthy 

Title: Stochastic Sensor Scheduling in Statistical Signal Processing 

2002: $120,000 2003: $130,000 2004: $130,000 2005: $63,084 2006: $63,084 

*** 


APF - Prof V Krishnamurthy 


Summary: 

In several statistical signal processing applications, due to computational or communication 

constraints, at each time instant one can use only a few out of several possible noisy (stochastic) 

sensors. The stochastic sensor scheduling problem deals with how to dynamically choose which 

group of sensors to pick at each time instant. This project involves research in sensor scheduling for 

widely used stochastic dynamical systems such as Hidden Markov Models and Jump Markov Linear 

Systems. It focuses on the design and analysis of stochastic control algorithms such as dynamic 

programming and simulation based randomized methods. The research will lead to an integrated 

theory incorporating stochastic control, statistical signal processing and combinatorial optimization. 

We will also apply the resulting techniques to tracking maneuvering targets given noisy 

observations.

DP0211435 

A/Prof Chee Kwok 

Dr GD Peng 

Title: Microfabrication of integrated silicon optical cross-switches interfaced with silica 

optical waveguides 

*** 

2002: $78,643 2003: $130,000 2004: $90,000 



Summary: 

Project aims to fabricate novel silicon based optical switches in the form of cantilevered mirrors 

integrated to interface with silica optical waveguides integrated collimation lens. Significantly, it 

paves the way for low cost integration of optical switches with array waveguides for an all-optical 

dynamically reconfigurable dense wavelength division multiplexing network used in modern 

broadband telecommunication systems. International market demand for such devises is enormous. 

Expected outcomes include the development of arrays of low loss 2x2 integrated optical waveguide 

cross-switches prototypes, securing the intellectual property rights and disseminating the work 

internationally. 

DP0208928 

Dr Seyed Moheimani 

Title: Robust control of spatially distributed uncertain systems 

*** 

2002: $30,000 2003: $62,000 2004: $65,000 



Summary: 

This project is aimed at studying the problem of robust control of spatially distributed uncertain 

systems. This is an important area of research that has attracted extensive interest in recent years. 

This is mainly due to the introduction of new technologies such as MEMS and Smart Structures with 

capabilities such as distributed sensing and actuation. This research will establish a framework for 

the modeling of Uncertainly in the mathematical descriptions of spatially distributed systems and the 

design of robust control methodologies capable of maintaining robust closed loop stability as well as 

guaranteeng robust performance of the closed loop system. 

DP0211319 

A/Prof Muhammed Rahman 

Title: Improvements of Direct Torque Controllers for the Interior Permanent Magnet 

Synchronous Motor 

*** 

2002: $45,000 2003: $55,000 2004: $55,000



Summary: 

The Direct Torque Control (DTC) strategy has recently been applied successfully to the interior 

permanent magnet (IPM) motor which offers the highest torque/volume and efficiency of all known 

machines. Exploitation of the recently developed Neodynium-Iron-Boron material, of which 

Australia is the world's second largest producer, in the IPM motor and of new sensorless control 

strategies such as the DTC controller, promises to open vast application potentials, such as in the 

upcoming hybrid and totally electric automobiles, for these motors. The new DTC controller 

developed at UNSW shows high promise for delivering a high-performance, sensorless IPM motor 

drive. This project aims to investigate, and overcome, the remaining problems of this technique. 

DP0209337 

Prof Stuart Wenham 

A/Prof CB Honsberg 

Dr AB Sproul 

Dr J Zhao 

Dr JE Cotter 

*** 

Title: Development of Bulk Silicon Photovoltaic Devices 

2002: $310,000 2003: $330,000 2004: $370,000 2005: $180,000 2006: $180,000 



Summary: 

This project addresses a range of key issues relevant to silicon solar cells bound by the common 

feature of reducing cell costs by improving the cell's energy conversion efficiency. An innovative 

component of the project involves merging two streams of work whereby the high performance 

attributes of the world record efficiency laboratory devices are adapted for use with state-of-the-art 

commercial Solar Cell technology. The corresponding developments will be particularly important in 

an industry set to grow by more than a factor of ten over the next decade. 

*** 

2910 GEOMATIC ENGINEERING 

DP0211827 

A/Prof William Featherstone 

Title: Investigations of the Integrity of the Australian Height Datum 

2002: $30,000 2003: $105,000 2004: $107,000 



Summary: 

The Australian Height Datum (AHD) forms the fundamental framework for all vertical spatial 

information in Australia. It supports a wide range of applications in areas such as geodesy, 

surveying, mapping, telecommunications, resource exploration and environmental science. This

medium-term research programme will investigate the many issues surrounding the integrity of the 

AHD, and will rigorously redefine, correct and unify it within a global vertical framework. This will 

provide improved height information to the numerous users of the AHD in Australia, and allow 

Australia to contribute more fully to the global spatial data infrastructure. 

DP0209756 

Dr Simon Jones 

Dr A Zerger 

Title: Quantifying Uncertainty in Predictions of Global Change 

*** 

2002: $74,000 2003: $72,186 2004: $70,000 


APD - Dr SD Jones 


Summary: 

This project will develop and apply quantitative risk management models to assess whether data 

sources used in the predictions of global changes, in: (i) land use and land cover; (ii) biodiversity; and 

(iii) carbon emissions, are adequate. It will focus on the issues of data accuracy, scale and temporal 

resolution in order to assess whether spatial data sources meet environmental decision-making needs. 

The research has the potential to (a) aid the federal and state government(s), and international 

agencies, in making informed policy / management decisions and to increase their effectiveness in 

implementing international treaties and protocols; and (b) help ensure the future capacity of 

terrestrial ecosystems to provide resources for the world's growing population and their ability to 

absorb the associated carbon emissions. 

DP0208998 

Prof Chris Rizos 

Dr L Ge 

A/Prof HA Zebker 

A/Prof M Omura 

*** 

Title: Integrated GPS and interferometric SAR techniques for ground subsidence monitoring 

2002: $81,000 2003: $139,186 2004: $149,000 


APD - Dr L Ge 


Summary: 

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is commonly used for measuring ground subsidence due to 

underground mining and similar activities. However, GPS techniques cannot easily survey a dense 

enough grid of points to monitor subsidence across a wide area. This project aims to densify the GPS 

field measurements with the interferometric processing of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images. 

The outcomes of this research include optimal integration models, operational software systems and 

quality-control measures. A test area south of Sydney, where subsidence caused by underground

coal mining is having significant detrimental effect on surface infrastructure, will be monitored over a 

three-year period. 

*** 

2911 ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING 

DP0210502 

Dr Jurg Keller 

Dr Z Yuan 

Prof W Verstraete 

Title: Nitrogen Removal in Wastewater Treatment Using the Nitrite Pathway 

2002: $30,000 2003: $109,000 2004: $109,000 



Summary: 

Nitrogen removal from our wastewater is becoming very important in most parts of Australia to 

protect our unique aquatic environment. This removal is achieved biologically through two steps: 

Nitrification converts ammonium via nitrite to nitrate; and denitrification converts nitrate via nitrite 

again to harmless nitrogen gas. This project aims to develop a method that allows this process to go 

just via nitrite, instead of nitrate, to nitrogen gas. This would significantly reduce oxygen and/or 

carbon requirement in nitrogen removal. If successful, the new operating method will allow modern 

wastewater treatment plants to achieve a better effluent quality at lower costs. 

*** 

2912 MARITIME ENGINEERING 

DP0209656 

A/Prof Lawrence Doctors 

Title: Environmental Study of the Wavemaking Characteristics of High-Speed Ferries 

2002: $76,000 2003: $66,000 2004: $69,000 



Summary: 

The aim is to perform a study of the wave-making characteristics of high-speed ferries of the 

monohull, catamaran, and multihull type in order to be able to predict their environmental impact on 

river banks and sea shores. The significance is that a number of ferry services have been curtailed or 

cancelled as a result of suspected wave damage. The outcome will be a methodology for computing 

the wave system produced by such ferries in water of any depth. The nature of the rate of decay of 

the wave system will be included in the analysis. 

DP0211956 

Dr Martin Renilson 

Dr PA Brandner 

***

Title: The influence of sway-roll coupling on the dynamics of an inverted sailing yacht in 

waves 

2002: $47,000 2003: $65,000 2004: $63,000 

Administering Institution: Australian Maritime College 


Summary: 

The ability of a sailing yacht to re-right in waves after capsize will influence the safety of those on 

board in extreme conditions. 

The aim of this project is to incorporate the effects of sway-roll coupling into a numerical simulation 

of the behaviour of an inverted yacht in waves to assess design features which influence re-righting. 

Experimental work being conducted during 2001 will be extended to enable the forces on a model of 

an inverted yacht in a breaking wave to be determined. and incorporated along with theoretical 

predictions into the simulation. 

DP0210119 

Dr Jinzhu Xia 

A/Prof N Haritos 

Prof BF Ronalds 

Prof OM Faltinsen 

*** 

Title: Hydroelasticity of compliant offshore structures 

2002: $53,000 2003: $54,000 2004: $61,000 



Summary: 

Australia?s rich offshore oil and gas reserves are awaiting extensive deepwater extraction. However, 

there is still a lack of in-depth knowledge in the dynamic behavior of deepwater structures to ensure 

safe and cost-effective production. We hereby propose hydroelasticity theories and modelling 

techniques to investigate dynamic fluid-structure interaction problems for compliant offshore 

structures. We also propose innovative experiments to verify the theoretical work. One application is 

to configure a freestanding compliant tower to suit prospective deepwater oil and gas fields off 

North-West Australia. Expected outcomes include theoretical and experimental advances in 

deepwater offshore mechanics and practical computation tools for industry applications. 

2913 METALLURGY 

DP0208551 

Dr M. Ferry 

Prof RJ Dippenaar 

Dr L Strezov 

Title: Texture enhancement by inoculation in strip-cast metallic sheet 

*** 

2002: $66,000 2003: $66,000 2004: $66,000



Summary: 

A recent discovery by the applicants has shown the possibility of producing, by inoculation during a 

direct casting route, stainless steel strip that exhibits a remarkably strong crystallographic alignment 

of grains perpendicular to the sheet surface. The production of this so-called //ND fibre 

texture in thin strip by direct casting represents a vastly simplified route for the possible production 

of iron-base strip suitable for some magnetic applications. The principle aims of the project are to 

elucidate the mechanisms of formation of this highly textured steel sheet and to explore the feasibility 

of reproducing the texture in other metallic systems. 

DP0208126 

A/Prof Peter Hayes 

Title: A new methodology for the measurement of transition metals ions in complex, high 

temperature oxide systems relevant to non-ferrous metal production. 

*** 

2002: $66,000 2003: $48,000 2004: $48,000 



Summary: 

Complex multi-component molten oxide phases, known commonly as slags, are used in the high 

temperature production and refining of metals. The slag systems of commercial interest contain 

transition metals species, such as, Fe2+, Fe3+. Each of these species behaves as if it were a separate 

chemical component. Researchers at the University of Queensland have developed a new 

methodolgy, which enables the concentrations of these transition metal ions to be measured. 

These types of measurements cannot be made with any of the techniques currently in use. The study 

will provide data on high temperature slags in a number of industrially and scientifically important 

systems. This approach will be applicable to a wide range of chemical systems in the fields of 

extractive metallurgy, materials science and geology; systems which could not previously be 

characterised. 

DP0208923 

Prof Peter Hodgson 

Title: Development of ultrafine Grained Steels 

*** 

2002: $87,000 2003: $98,000 2004: $88,000 



Summary: 

This project will develop new methods to produce steels with much finer microstructures, and 

investigate how these microstructures form. This will markedly increase the strength and toughness 

of these steels, which is particularly required for the pipeline, off shore platform and large 

construction industries. The method to be used involves controlling the hot deformation of the steel

and control of the phase transformation during or after deformation. Current work has shown that it 

is possible to reduce the grain size from 5 to 1microns using quite simple methods. 

DP0208602 

Prof Graeme Murch 

Title: Prediction of Atomic Transport Properties in Multicomponent Engineering Alloys 

*** 

2002: $112,000 2003: $126,000 2004: $147,000 2005: $138,000 2006: $108,000 



Summary: 

Technological advances bring demands for new engineering materials and the improvement of 

existing ones. Since almost every property of such materials depends directly or indirectly on matter 

transport, it is imperative that the materials designer can accurately predict its direction and extent. 

This theoretical project, supported and tested by computer simulation, will provide this knowledge. 

It will develop a toolbox of robust and versatile expressions for predicting and interpreting matter 

transport in alloy systems at high temperatures. With these expressions in hand, the designer will be 

in a superior position to tailor the properties of such materials. 

DP0209958 

Dr Elena Pereloma 

Prof JJ Jonas 

Title: INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECT OF ALLOYING ELEMENTS ON SHEAR 

BAND FORMATION DURING THE WARM ROLLING OF LOW CARBON AND 

INTERSTITIAL FREE STEELS 

*** 

2002: $34,000 2003: $86,000 2004: $88,000 



Summary: 

This proposal involves the application of three dimensional atom probe field ion microscopy and 

advanced transmission electron microscopy techniques to study the phenomena of precipitation and 

solute atoms' interactions with dislocations in warm rolled low carbon steels and interstitial free 

steels. It is intended to examine the effect of alloying additions on in-grain shear bands formation, 

texture formation and formability of warm rolled and annealed low carbon steels. Ultimately, the 

project is concerned with developing of fundamental understanging of solute interactions which 

provide an improved basis for design of these economically significant steels. 

DP0209443 

A/Prof Veena Sahajwalla 

Title: Interfacial phenomena between carbon-alumina refractories and molten steel: A 

Monte Carlo simulation study 

***

2002: $30,000 2003: $59,000 2004: $59,000 



Summary: 

This project aims to carry out an atomic level investigation of the interfacial phenomena between 

carbon-alumina refractories and molten steel. For the first time, Monte Carlo computer simulations 

will be used to investigate the dissolution behavior of graphite particles distributed randomly in an 

alumina matrix. With support from experiments, these simulations are expected to identify 

mechanisms and effective solutions for minimizing carbon erosion and surface reactions. Leading to 

advanced refractory materials with enhanced wear resistance, this research will result in significant 

improvements to steel quality, lowered costs, reduced downtimes and will be of far reaching 

importance to steelmaking technologies. 

*** 

2914 MATERIALS ENGINEERING 

DP0210567 

Prof Mark Bush 

A/Prof H Kim 

Title: Determination of the Properties of Hyper-Elastic Materials by Deep Indentation 

2002: $30,000 2003: $62,000 2004: $62,000 



Summary: 

We seek to develop the scientific basis for the interpretation of the results of "deep" indentation 

testing of non-linear elastic (hyper-elastic) materials. Simple tests (such as indentation) produce 

complex strain fields. Interpretation of the resulting data in terms of stiffness, for example, requires 

a complex model of the deformation process that can be utilised to link the observed behaviour to 

the basic properties of interest. This project is dedicated to an understanding of the complex 

deformation associated with large strain indentation of hyper-elastic materials and structures, 

development of finite element based models for this deformation and creation of techniques for 

interpretation of the results of such indentation tests. 

DP0208590 

Dr Carlos Caceres 

*** 

Title: Anisotropy of strengthening by solid solution and precipitation in concentrated Mg-Al 

and Mg-Zn alloys 

2002: $40,000 2003: $66,000 2004: $64,000 



Summary:

The addition of solute increases the strength of Mg in some crystallographic directions but weakens 

the material in others. The weakening is called solid solution softening, and it can have profound 

effects on the mechanical behaviour of the material. Solid solution softening has been observed in the 

prismatic planes of single crystals of dilute Mg-Al and Mg-Zn alloys. Easier prismatic slip lowers the 

strain hardening rate and increases the ductility of polycrystalline alloys in comparison with pure Mg. 

Despite their obvious significance, these effects have not been studied in single crystals of 

concentrated alloys. This is the main object of this project. 

DP0211240 

Prof Shi Dou 

Dr J Horvat 

Prof H Weber 

Prof E Collings 

Prof J Habermeier 

Title: First Principles for Development of High Temperature Superconducting Wires 

*** 

2002: $222,295 2003: $233,899 2004: $217,899 2005: $203,899 2006: $209,899 


APF - Prof SX Dou 


Summary: 

Significant advances in research of high temperature superconductors (HTS) have been made in the 

past decade. However, the full commercialisation of HTS devices has not yet been achieved because 

the levels of electrical performance remain just below those required for technical and commercial 

success. In order to secure the future of HTS it will be essential to increase the critical current 

density, reduce the AC losses and lower the cost. The objective of the proposed cluster of projects is 

to provide new insights into fundamental HTS materials properties such as critical current density, 

flux pinning, flux dynamics and AC losses by focussing on the complex interplay between physics, 

fabrication and materials issues. The knowledge gained will make possible improvements in the 

development of HTS conductors. 

DP0210574 

Dr Arcady Dyskin 

*** 

Title: A NEW CONCEPT IN DESIGN OF MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES BASED ON 

TOPOLOGICALLY INTERLOCKED ELEMENTS 

2002: $66,000 2003: $67,000 2004: $70,000 



Summary: 

The project aims to develop a new concept in materials design based on assemblies of interlocked 

elements. Interlocking is achieved topologically by special arrangements of blocks without 

connectors. Such assemblies can form structures possessing special mechanical properties and serve 

as load-bearing skeletons in composites with a binder phase providing desired functional properties.

Various types of interlocked assemblies will be modelled, produced and tested to determine their 

mechanical and acoustic properties. A range of experimental techniques tailored for these unusual 

assemblies will be employed. The expected outcome will be the implementation of the new design 

principle in multifunctional materials and structures. 

DP0210446 

Prof Robert Gilbert 

Dr RP Rutgers 

Dr AK Whittaker 

Dr CM Fellows 

A/Prof M Monteiro 

Title: Structure-Property Relationships of Polymers with Controlled Architecture 

*** 

2002: $105,000 2003: $112,000 2004: $100,000 



Summary: 

Mechanical properties of a polymer (e.g., how elastic it is and how it dissipates energy when 

compressed) govern how well it performs as an adhesive, or its behaviour when melted and shaped 

into a consumer item. This project aims to relate molecular architecture to mechanical properties, 

using new techniques which permit the creation of polymers wherein each architectural characteristic 

is separately controlled. This has the potential to develop fundamental understanding for structureproperty 

relations for the type of branched polymers that are in common use in industry and for 

which adequate models do not currently exist. 

DP0208088 

Dr Peter Halley 

Dr Q Guo 

Title: Novel Tough Polymer Composites 

*** 

2002: $132,839 2003: $137,572 2004: $127,000 2005: $129,000 2006: $135,000 


QEII - Dr Q Guo 


Summary: 

Advanced composites are used in high value-added applications such as computer chip packaging 

and aerospace applications. In these applications epoxy systems are used despite their inherent 

brittleness. Much research has focused on toughening epoxy systems, but most tougheners cause a 

reduction in processing or material properties. This project focuses on developing novel epoxy 

tougheners during the polymerisation of the epoxy-based composite. Specifically we will use novel 

hyperbranched [star-like] polymers that have excellent processing properties, high reactivity for 

structure control and the ability to control toughening at the molecular and macroscopic level to 

produce novel technology for advanced composites.

DP0211530 

Dr Mark Hoffman 

Dr RJ Moon 

Prof J Rodel 

Prof G Pezzotti 

Prof KJ Bowman 

Prof KP Trumble 

*** 

Title: Crack Propagation within Graded Interfaces 

2002: $86,000 2003: $123,186 2004: $113,000 


APD - Dr RJ Moon 


Summary: 

Functionally graded interfaces are a technologically new way of joining materials in a wide range of 

biomedical and industrial applications. The reduction in the interfacial stresses resulting from the 

graded interface increases the structural integrity of the component, however, existing models do not 

fully address issues of plasticity and cyclic fatigue to their fracture. The intention of this study is to 

investigate how modifications to the ductile reinforcement phase and how the cyclic loading 

influence crack extension within a graded interface. These results will assist in future design and 

prediction of the in-service lifetime of components containing gradient interfaces. 

DP0210318 

Dr Erich Kisi 

Dr SJ Kennedy 

*** 

Title: Combustion Synthesis of Ternary Carbides 

2002: $30,000 2003: $90,000 2004: $90,000 



Summary: 

Ti3SiC2 belongs to a group of ternary carbides that exhibit an exciting combination of the high 

temperature properties of ceramics, with the electrical and thermal conductivity of metals. A great 

number of potential applications have been identified, however a cost effective large scale synthesis 

method has been lacking. Combustion synthesis, which uses the heat of reaction as the primary 

energy source, has great potential for this purpose. This program will use advanced in-situ neutron 

diffraction experiments to map and quantify combustion synthesis reactions in the Ti-Si-C system 

and related systems. The results of these studies will be used to design methods of production for 

Ti3SiC2 and related materials. 

DP0211709 

A/Prof Adrian Mouritz 

***

Prof B Cox 

Title: A Mechanistic Approach to the Compression Properties of Z-Pinned Composites 

2002: $45,000 2003: $46,000 2004: $31,000 

Administering Institution: RMIT University 


Summary: 

The proposed research is a fundamental investigation of the compressive mechanical properties and 

failure mechanisms of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites reinforced with z-pins. These 

composites are a new material with strong potential applications in aerospace structures subject to 

high compressive loads, however their compressive properties are poorly understood. Using 

theoretical modelling, finite element analysis and experimentation, the research program will greatly 

enhance the fundamental understanding of the strengthening and failure mechanisms of z-pinned 

composites. A key outcome of the research will be design guidelines for optimising the pinning of 

composites for maximum structural performance in aerospace applications. 

DP0211950 

A/Prof Abhi Ray 

Dr D Klimesch 

*** 

Title: A Fundamental Study Of The Behaviour Of Clay Brick Fines In Autoclaved Calcium 

Silicate Based Building Products 

2002: $85,000 2003: $112,186 2004: $93,000 


APD - Dr D Klimesch 


Summary: 

Clay brick fines constitute a significant proportion of Construction and Demolition waste, the 

disposal of which is a recognised global problem. This project aims to provide a fundamental 

understanding of the behaviour of clay brick fines in autoclaved calcium silicate based building 

products. Current practice of manufacture of these widely produced building materials does not use 

clay brick fines due to a lack of technical information on this renewable resource material. Findings 

of this study will provide a benchmark for the development of new generation building products 

worldwide utlilising clay brick fines. 

DP0208814 

Dr Mark Ridgway 

Prof H Bernas 

Title: Nanocavities in Si - Structural Evolution and Metal Gettering 

*** 

2002: $59,000 2003: $61,000 2004: $63,000 


Panel: DP-EE Engineering and Environmental Sciences

Summary: 

Nanocavities represent a novel means of minimising metallic contamination in the active region of Si 

microelectronic devices. We propose innovative experiments, using in-situ transmission electron 

microscopy and synchrotron-based x-ray methods, to achieve a fundamental understanding of the 

processes that govern nanocavity structural evolution and metallic impurity trapping. We seek to 

develop a patentable technology to enhance impurity trapping efficiency and thus dramatically 

increase the applicability of this industrially-relevant process. 

DP0211044 

Dr Andrew Ruys 

Title: Ceramic matrix nanocomposites 

*** 

2002: $30,000 2003: $66,000 2004: $71,000 



Summary: 

Using a novel process developed by the applicant, this project will create and study ceramic matrix 

nanocomposites of two types: (i) those in which the nanoparticles are homogeneously distributed in 

alumina and (ii) functionally-graded nanocomposites of controlled heterogeneity, that is, 

nanocomposites in which the nanoparticles are distributed heterogeneously in glass. Homogeneous 

nanocomposites of alumina are potentially of great importance to the mining industry as they can 

increase the toughness and wear resistance of mining components. Heterogeneous nanocomposities 

have the potential to revolutionise the dental restoration industry by combining greatly increased 

toughness with the aesthetic benefit of controllable translucency. 

DP0208234 

Dr Kiyonori Suzuki 

Title: Giant magnetic hardening in flash-annealed nanocomposite magnets 

*** 

2002: $59,000 2003: $98,000 2004: $43,000 



Summary: 

One of the most important properties required for permanent magnets is the coercivity. Recent 

results from an international collaboration between the Chief Investigator and researchers from the 

Japanese materials industry have shown that rapid heating can enhance the coercivity of chromiumadded 

iron-neodymium-boron-based nanocomposite magnets by 30 times. The aim of this project is 

to clarify the mechanism of this giant magnetic hardening effect and thereby establish a basis for 

further development of economically viable nanocomposite magnets with low neodymium content. 

Our novel flash-annealing process will allow exploration of new nanocomposite alloys, which may 

lead to Australian-owned patents. 

DP0209679 

***

Prof Michael Swain 

A/Prof PR Munroe 

Prof ED Doyle 

Title: Deformation and Adhesion of Thin Solid Films 

2002: $124,000 2003: $124,000 2004: $113,000 



Summary: 

Knowledge of the deformation mechanisms and adhesion of thin films on solid substrates is a major 

necessity for their mechanical property optimisation and commercialisation. The deformation 

mechanisms will be investigated by; 1) Nano-indentation with small spherical indenters, and 2) 

Transmission electron microscopy of focused ion beam milled cross-sections of such impressions. 

Adhesion will be evaluated using three techniques; 1) Tensile extension, 2) Nano-, and 3) Macroindentation 

again with spherical indenters. In addition numerical modelling will compliment the 

observations of the film cracking and delamination about the impresion. 

DP0209911 

Prof Jannie Van Deventer 

Title: The development of novel geopolymers incorporating calcium and cellulosic material 

*** 

2002: $88,000 2003: $110,000 2004: $110,000 



Summary: 

Geopolymer technology transforms waste aluminosilicate materials into commercially viable 

products, which possess superior physical and chemical properties compared to ordinary concrete. 

These high-tech materials have novel acid and fire resistance applications, e.g. in construction and 

for the coating of optical fibres. Understanding the chemical relationship between geopolymers and 

other cementitious materials is pivotal to further advances in inorganic polymers. This project uses 

surface reactivity, spectroscopy, electronmicroscopy and electron diffraction to determine the role of 

calcium and cellulosic additives in the phase composition, microstructure and properties of 

geopolymers. Therefore, the factors distinguishing geopolymers from alkali-activated cement and 

ordinary concrete are identified. 

DP0211328 

Dr X Wang 

Title: Enhancement and elucidation of flux pinning in doped Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O high 

temperature superconducting single crystals 

*** 

2002: $61,184 2003: $62,967 2004: $62,967 


APD - Dr XL Wang


Summary: 

The proposed project aims to study the effects of elevated doping on the intrinsic electromagnetic 

properties of Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O high temperature superconducting (HTS) single crystals grown by twodimensional 

and spiral-growth mechanisms with a particular focus on structure, conductivity and 

thermal neutron irradiation. Studies of the relationship between microstructures, anisotropy and flux 

pinning will lead to a better understanding of the pinning behaviour of Bi-based HTSC. The 

outcome will be better methods for introducing suitable pinning centres into Bi-based high 

temperature superconductors. 

DP0210957 

Dr Lin Ye 

Ms HY Liu 

*** 

Title: De-consolidation and Re-consolidation of Advanced Thermoplastic Matrix Composites 

2002: $70,000 2003: $78,000 2004: $76,000 



Summary: 

The project provides a comprehensive physical understanding on thermal de-consolidation and reconsolidation 

processes in advanced thermoplastic composites during re-heating/cooling processes, 

such as thermoforming and joining. Mechanistic models based on theoretical analysis, experimental 

studies and computational modelling will be established to provide a unified approach to predict deconsolidation 

and re-consolidation processes. Optimum processing-windows will be established, with 

which the undesired deterioration in material meso-structures and mechanical performance due to 

de-consolidation is effectively minimised. The outcomes of the project will fill the gap in the 

knowledge for thermoplastic composite processing and will improve the integrity of thermoplastic 

composite structures in practical applications. 

DP0208668 

Prof David Young 

Prof O Ostrovski 

Title: Studies in solid-gas reactions : precipitate formation and dissolution; carbide 

production and metal dusting 

*** 

2002: $134,000 2003: $105,000 2004: $101,000 



Summary: 

Reducing carbonaceous gases which become supersaturated with carbon can react with both oxides 

and metals. They reduce iron oxide and, if methane is used, produce iron carbide, a valuable 

material. However, they react with iron and alloy steels to destroy them, producing a dust of carbon, 

metal and metal carbides, a process in which iron carbide is thought to form only as a relatively

short-lived transient species. This program will study both reactions and determine the processes 

whereby new phases nucleate and grow or disintegrate. 

*** 

2915 BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING 

DP0210054 

A/Prof Christopher Bertram 

Prof R Kamm 

Asst Prof E Shim 

Title: Matched experimental observation and finite-element simulation of flow-induced 

oscillations in uniform and tapered-stiffness collapsible tubes 

2002: $88,000 2003: $97,000 2004: $85,000 



Summary: 

Flexible tubes that can be flattened are widespread in the body and can act to limit flow-rate. 

Limitation is usually associated with spontaneous oscillation (repetitive opening and closing). There 

are many candidate explanations, but none has been shown to correspond with a given experiment. 

Through computer models and matched experiments on this coupled system (the fluid flow interacts 

with the tube shape), we seek to demonstrate for the first time that a given theory/computer model 

encompasses the physics controlling a given observed oscillation. The solution will find application in 

other flexible-structure design problems in engineering, and also potentially in medicine. 

DP0210853 

Prof Marcela Bilek 

Dr DR McKenzie 

Prof PK Chu 

Title: Development of Cathodic Arc Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation (PIII) for 

biomaterials applications 

*** 

2002: $155,000 2003: $167,000 2004: $155,000 



Summary: 

Medical prostheses have intricate geometries, consisting of shapes such as screws, holes, wedges, 

cones and textured surfaces. Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation using metal or carbon ions 

produced by a cathodic arc has been found to be an excellent process for producing surface 

modification with the properties required in medical applications, such as low stress and excellent 

adhesion of very thick coatings. To date this process has only been applied to simple, flat substrates. 

Extending it to shapes of interest for biomaterials applications will require comprehensive 

understanding and control of the sheath dynamics, which our combined theoretical and experimental 

approach will provide. 

***

DP0209940 

Dr Justin Cooper-White 

Dr AJ O'Connor 

Title: Novel manufacturing methods for tissue engineering scaffolds 

2002: $86,000 2003: $94,000 2004: $91,000 



Summary: 

Novel methods of manufacturing biodegradable polymer scaffolds around which new tissue can be 

grown within the human body will be developed. Surfactant - polymer assemblies will be used to 

produce highly porous scaffolds of tunable pore size and connectivity, shape and strength. The 

results will create a new avenue for systematic investigations into the effects of scaffold structure on 

tissue growth. This research will lead to the development of reliable, well-controlled manufacturing 

techniques for tissue engineering scaffolds, revolutionising current scaffold manufacturing practices. 

It will enhance existing collaborations between the University of Melbourne and the Bernard O'Brien 

Institute of Microsurgery. 

DP0209957 

A/Prof Yosry Morsi 

A/Prof J Mazumdar 

A/Prof FL Rosenfeldt 

Title: Fluid dynamics and mechanical stress of tissue heart valves 

*** 

2002: $66,000 2003: $68,000 2004: $68,000 



Summary: 

Major problems with thrombo-embolic complications and leaflet failure and calcification still exist 

with bioprosthetic valves. Valves fabricated from polyether urethanes are efficient and can offer 

more resistance to calcification. No complete study on the haemodynamics and structure interactions 

is found in literature. Moreover, todate the effect of aortic wall motion on the blood flow has never 

been examined. A complete holistic approach to simulataneuosly simulating the fluid dynamics, the 

valve motion and the stress in a synthetic Polyether urethane valve is proposed. Cell adhesion study 

will also be carried out. The findings may yield to new insights into valve research. 

DP0211324 

Prof Mark Pearcy 

Asst Prof S Crozier 

Title: Biomechanics of the human spine measured using magnetic resonance imaging. 

*** 

2002: $110,000 2003: $123,000 2004: $119,000 

Administering Institution: Queensland University of Technology


Summary: 

Statistics show that 80% of the population suffer back pain at some time. However, because the 

spine is very complex our understanding of its mechanics and the causes of back pain are still limited. 

This project will investigate the anatomy and activity of the spinal muscles and the behaviour of the 

intervertebral disc in living subjects using innovative Magnetic Resonance Imaging techniques. 

Significant outcomes will be new definitive descriptions of the detailed anatomy of the spine and its 

mechanisms. This will enhance the accuracy and detail of models under development for predicting 

spinal function following disease, injury or surgical procedures. 

DP0209487 

Dr Qing Qin 

Title: Thermo-electro-chemo-mechanical properties of biological systems 

*** 

2002: $159,221 2003: $138,604 2004: $127,000 2005: $131,000 2006: $131,000 


APF - Dr QH Qin 


Summary: 

The proposal is aimed at developing a new theoretical framework for piezoelectric biological 

materials and structures, through theoretical analysis, computation and numerical simulations, as well 

as experimental investigations, to produce high-reliability, high-performance hydrogel components 

and smart soft tissue structures. It is envisaged that successful outcomes of this program will give the 

Australian biological industry a technology edge over their competitors and provide easy-to-use 

guidelines for the design of smart biological systems. 

DP0209499 

Dr Rosemary Thompson 

Prof P Tortoli 

Dr WB Fraser 

A/Prof C Macaskill 

Title: The effect of vessel wall structures on ultrasonic flow velocity measurements 

*** 

2002: $55,000 2003: $55,000 2004: $55,000 



Summary: 

The flow velocity within a nearly cylindrical vessel is often measured using an external ultrasound 

transducer via the Doppler principle. Thick vessel walls may present acoustically mismatched 

structures. This project aims to determine how such walls redistribute the energy in an interrogating 

ultrasound beam, and how this in turn affects the measurement of flow velocities. This is a 

fundamental issue, especially important in vascular disease where blood flow and blood vessels are 

affected by wall irregularities and lesions. The new knowledge generated by this project will have

practical importance and, by identifying achievable outcomes, potentially major cost savings, in 

medical ultrasound. 

*** 

2917 COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES 

DP0210283 

Dr Iain Collings 

Title: Adaptive Turbo Receivers for Mobile Data Communications 

2002: $50,000 



Summary: 

Next generation mobile networks will be required to offer high data-rate high mobility 

communications, in addition to current voice services. This project will determine the bounds of 

achievable performance of such networks by developing and analysing new optimal and near optimal 

adaptive receivers. In particular we will extend a revolutionary new technique called turbo 

processing, to achieve joint equalization and decoding with unknown rapidly time varying channels. 

The overall aim is to dramatically improve mobility and throughput of wireless data communication 

systems. 

DP0210989 

Dr Karu Esselle 

Dr TS Bird 

Title: Hybrid-resonator antennas for wireless communication networks. 

*** 

2002: $55,000 2003: $69,000 2004: $62,000 



Summary: 

The rapid emergence of modern wireless communication systems has led to a requirement for small, 

lightweight antennas. In this project, a new, broadband, low-cost, small and lightweight antenna 

architecture will be developed for wireless systems. The new architecture is based on a novel hybridresonator 

concept: a dielectric resonator tightly coupled to a metal patch resonator. The rapid design 

and optimisation of new antennas will be achieved by developing several new theoretical methods. 

Antennas targeted for the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (UNII) band (5-6 GHz) 

commercial wireless communication systems will be designed, fabricated, tested and integrated with 

the systems. 

DP0211564 

Dr D.B Hoang 

***

Title: Fair Intelligent Quality of Service Control and Path Discovery Mechanisms for Internet 

Scalable Architectures. 

2002: $50,000 



Summary: 

Until now the Internet only provides best effort service without guaranteeing the timeliness or actual 

delivery of data. Quality of Service (QoS) architectures have been proposed but not deployed due to 

a fundamental problem: either the architecture is not scalable or it does not guarantee end-to-end 

QoS. The project tackles the problem by introducing mechanisms for network path discovery in the 

network core. The solution allows an integration of both scalability and end-to-end QoS 

architectures. The outcomes allow network providers to provision network resources efficiently, to 

develop competitive Internet-based products; and the service providers to develop quality services 

such as high quality IP phone, multimedia distributions. 

DP0208390 

A/Prof David Sampson 

*** 

Title: Advances in optical coherence tomography 

2002: $80,000 2003: $80,000 2004: $80,000 



Summary: 

We propose to continue our research into the biomedical imaging technique of optical coherence 

tomography by making substantial new advances in the key areas of ultra-broad bandwidth 

operation, coincident confocal gate scanning, and dispersion compensation. These advances are 

aimed at improving resolution to the 1-5 micron range, which should allow a breakthrough to subcellular 

in vivo imaging, making visible sample histology in situ, which is currently not possible. We 

also plan to make advances in the key area of scanning delay line technology by employing acoustooptics 

in OCT for the first time. Acousto-optics conveys advantages in no-moving-parts, scan-speed 

and accuracy. 

DP0208092 

Prof Branka Vucetic 

Title: Novel Multistage and Iterative Receivers for Wireless Communication Systems 

*** 

2002: $52,000 2003: $55,000 2004: $57,000 



Summary:

The project is set up to develop novel detection techniques with the aim of improving the reliability 

and capacity in a range of wireless telecommunications services. Potential applications of the project 

outcomes are in cellular mobile, wireless LANs and mobile computing. 

*** 

2918 INTERDISCIPLINARY ENGINEERING 

DP0208694 

Dr Michael Coates 

Dr J Sharples 

Title: Measuring estuarine turbulence: opening blocked estuaries correctly to avoid ecological 

catastrophes 

2002: $53,000 2003: $52,000 2004: $54,000 



Summary: 

The unique estuaries of southern Australia have limited tidal effects and minimal summer river flows, 

allowing a sandbar to dam their mouths during this period. The high water levels that can result 

affect landowners so catchment managers artificially break these sandbars. Such practices have had 

catastrophic effects on the vulnerable estuarine ecosystems. Our project will provide critical elements 

of models of the dynamics of the artificial opening, allowing managers to predict the vulnerable 

periods. It combines new applications of state-of-the-art turbulence sensors and water-current 

profilers with other standard instrumentation in this situation. 

DP0210877 

Dr James Denier 

*** 

Title: A theoretical investigation into the effect of nonlinear wave interactions in promoting 

transition-to-turbulence 

2002: $30,000 2003: $55,000 2004: $59,000 



Summary: 

The problem of transition-to-turbulence remains one of the fundamental unanswered questions in 

fluid dynamics. An understanding of the processes leading to transition is necessary if the active 

control of turbulence is to be achieved. This project will focus attention on a new class of waves, 

which have only recently been described the CI, in order to determine how they are triggered and 

how they may serve to actively promote the early development of turbulence in a broad class of fluid 

flows. 

DP0210238 

A/Prof Bogdan Dlugogorski 

Dr B Moghtaderi 

***

Prof MA Delichatsios 

Prof RP Burford 

Title: Fundamental Fire Properties From Extinction and Piloted Ignition Experiments of 

Solid Fuels 

2002: $67,000 2003: $117,000 2004: $120,000 2005: $86,000 



Summary: 

Current approval methods for determining fire properties of construction materials are often 

incorrect in yielding properties that can be used in situations removed from test conditions. The 

main aim of this project is to obtain fundamental fire properties by examining the ignition and 

extinction processes of diffusion flames near solid surfaces. The project undertakes detailed study of 

flame spread in the direction opposite to the flow of air, which defines the initial fire growth and is 

important in fire propagation. Results from this project will provide scientific underpinning for the 

development of approval standards for new materials, which are needed to support Australia's 

transition from prescriptive to performance based building codes. 

DP0210065 

Prof Gao Lu 

Dr H Zhu 

A/Prof RL Frost 

Mr Z Han 

Dr J Li 

*** 

Title: Novel Nanostructures of Metal Oxides and Sulfides Intercalated Laponite for Catalytic 

Applications 

2002: $146,000 2003: $198,186 2004: $144,000 


APD - Mr Z Han 


Summary: 

The project aims to develop a novel synthesis approach for making nanocomposites of transition 

metal oxides and sulfides intercalated laponite clay. Such nanomaterials made by integrating template 

synthesis and intercalation have superior pore and surface properties promising for advanced 

catalytic applications. The project will provide insights into mechanisms of nanostructure formation 

and interactions of molecular species during synthesis. The best catalysts screened will be tested for 

two important reactions to establish the relationships between processing parameters, nanostructural 

properties and catalytic performance. Optimised synthesis parameters for high catalytic performance 

will be obtained. The project contributes to significant knowledge creation in nanomaterials science 

and catalysis. 

DP0211479 

Prof Ernest Tuck 

***

Dr JP Denier 

Title: Optimal nose shaping for delayed boundary-layer separation and transition in 

axisymmetric flow 

2002: $75,000 2003: $55,000 2004: $55,000 



Summary: 

The aim of this project is to design a smooth nose for a body of revolution placed in axisymmetric 

flow of a viscous fluid at high Reynolds number, such that the boundary layer on the body remains 

unseparated. This can always be done with a sufficiently long nose, but our objective here is to 

minimise the necessary nose length. Outer potential flows will be provided via ring sources. The 

potential flows will be used to determine inner boundary layer solutions. Transition-to-turbulence 

will be considered by undertaking 2D and 3D stability computations. 

DP0210991 

A/Prof Aibing Yu 

Title: Microdynamic modelling and analysis of gas fluidization of particle mixtures 

*** 

2002: $67,000 2003: $65,000 2004: $68,000 



Summary: 

The project aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms governing the 

particle-fluid flow in gas fluidization of mixtures of particles of different sizes. This will be achieved 

through detailed analysis of the particle-particle and particle-fluid interactions on the basis of the 

microdynamic or particle scale results generated by the newly developed discrete simulation 

technique. The microscopic findings will be implemented in the macroscopic, continuum-based 

modelling and tested by comparing numerical and experimental results. It will significantly enhance 

the present capability of modelling particle-fluid flow in gas fluidization which is widely used in 

mineral/chemical industries. 

*** 

2999 OTHER ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY 

DP0210913 

Dr Bassam Dally 

Dr HN Najm 

Title: Study of hydrocarbon flames under heat and gas recirculation conditions 

2002: $51,000 2003: $112,000 2004: $114,000 



Summary:

This project aims to study gaseous flames under heat and gas recirculation conditions. This 

technology has been proven to reduce fuel consumption, improve thermal efficiency and substantially 

reduce nitric oxides emission. The effect of mixing, turbulence and temperature on the structure and 

stability of these flames will be investigated. The project combines experimental and computational 

research applied to a laboratory scale burner and a small scale furnace. The main objectives are to 

better understand the chemical pathways in low temperature hydrocarbon flames under heat and gas 

recirculation conditions and to understand the effect of mixing and turbulence on the flame structure 

and pollutants emission. 

DP0210281 

Prof Brian Haynes 

Dr K Sendt 

Title: Carbon surface oxides: the key to understanding the chemical rate of carbon 

combustion 

*** 

2002: $88,000 2003: $134,186 2004: $129,000 


APD - Dr K Sendt 


Summary: 

This project employs a unique combination of experimental measurements and fundamental quantum 

chemical calculations to study the oxides which form on the surface of carbon as it burns. Our 

objective is to develop a quantitative model for the kinetics of carbon combustion which will be a 

profound improvement over existing approaches. Such a model would provide the basis for the 

improved prediction of carbon combustion and gasification in current (coal-burning) power 

generation appliances, as well as catering for new approaches to lowering greenhouse emissions 

which also depend on the combustion and gasification of carbon as coal, biomass or refuse-derived 

fuel. 

DP0209307 

Dr John Lucas 

Title: A Fundamental Investigation of the Thermoplastic Behaviour and Porous Structural 

Evolution of Coke and Char Particles 

*** 

2002: $30,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $67,000 



Summary: 

During heating, solid fuel particles undergo complex physical changes resulting in sophisticated 

structures in the residual material (coke and char) which influence the operational performance of 

these materials in ironmaking and power generation processes. The mechanistic understanding of the 

evolution of physical structure and the coupled role of gas evolution has not been well established. 

An interpretive and predictive mechanism to describe the process will be developed through 

experimental observations and mathematical modelling. The project will provide fundamental new

insights and understanding of operational issues concerning the complex behaviour of solid fuel 

residues in coal based industrial processes. 

DP0211053 

Dr Peter Veitch 

Dr MT Kelly 

Dr GD Love 

Title: Development of modal control systems for adaptive optics 

*** 

2002: $66,184 2003: $67,967 2004: $67,967 


APD - Dr MT Kelly 


Summary: 

This project will develop a simple, robust and low-cost modal servo system for dynamic control and 

correction of the propagation and focussing properties of light beams. This new system will 

incorporate a novel optical sensor, which will be developed in this project, and a new optical 

corrector being developed at the University of Durham. Currently available astronomical adaptiveoptics 

systems have produced excellent results but are expensive and complicated. A low-cost 

alternative will dramatically increase the use of adaptive optics in industrial, environmental and 

medical applications. The compensation of distortions in low-cost optical atmospheric sensors will 

be demonstrated. 

DP0211556 

Dr Michael Withford 

*** 

Title: Laser Micro-Fabrication of Optoelectronic Devices 

2002: $77,378 2003: $78,601 2004: $78,601 2005: $78,601 2006: $78,601 


ARF - Dr MJ Withford 


Summary: 

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. 

*** 

3002 CROP AND PASTURE PRODUCTION

DP0211421 

Prof Robin Graham 

Prof R Welch 

Dr DR Tivey 

Title: Optimising the Strategy for Breeding Micronutrient-Dense Staple Foods that Improve 

Human health and Nutrition 

2002: $70,000 2003: $91,000 2004: $97,000 



Summary: 

The project is part of a new paradigm for agriculture in which staple crops are bred with greater 

micronutrient density to improve human health. It generates strategic basic information on how 

nutrients interact in the body of animal models in absorption, transport and utilisation that will allow 

plant breeders to optimise the breeding strategy for maximum outcomes in health and minimum 

breeding cost. Animals deficient in the nutrients of most concern (iron, zinc, vitamin A - and inulin) 

will be fed new varieties with enhanced levels of these factors, and from the responses, a superior 

strategy will be developed. 

*** 

3005 VETERINARY SCIENCES 

DP0208178 

Dr Amir Noormohammadi 

Title: The Role of High-Frequency Antigenic Variation in The Pathogenesis of Mycoplasma 

infection 

2002: $71,000 2003: $73,000 2004: $73,000 


APD - Dr A Noormohammadi 


Summary: 

The main goal of the proposed project is to understand the molecular mechanisms of phase/antigenic 

variation and its effects on mycoplasma pathogenesis. In this context I will use the well-characterised 

Mycoplasma synoviae haemagglutinin, MSPA, to establish the role of its phase-variable expression in 

the type and extent of M. synoviae disease. Additionally, the relationship between MSPA phase 

variation and gene rearrangements in the MSPB-encoding gene will be elucidated. The results will 

contribute to our understanding of the pathogenesis of bacterial disease and of the evolution of 

pathogenic mechanisms in bacterial pathogens. 

*** 

3007 FISHERIES SCIENCES 

DP0209086 

A/Prof Garry Russ 

Prof AC Alcala

Title: Marine Reserves as Fisheries Management Tools: A Long-term, Experimental 

Approach 

2002: $25,000 2003: $25,000 2004: $25,000 



Summary: 

Marine reserves, areas permanently closed to fishing, are potentially valuable fisheries management 

tools. Reserves may sustain fisheries external to them by containing undisturbed breeding stocks and 

becoming net exporters of adults and propagules. Our studies in the Philippines suggest that such 

benefits may only eventuate after 5-15 years of effective protection. This project will continue our 

long-term (17-25 year) studies of abundance and yield at 3 established reserves, and use a replicated 

experiment at 3 new reserves, to test if reserves can enhance local fish biomass and catch. We will 

also compare effects of reserves in Australia and the Philippines. 

*** 

3008 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES 

DP0209303 

A/Prof Mark Burgman 

Dr M McCarthy 

Dr DA Keith 

Title: Testing the utility of habitat models in making conservation planning decisions 

2002: $30,000 2003: $58,000 2004: $68,000 



Summary: 

Habitat models are used in conservation decisions. The aim of this project is to develop a system for 

assessing models that explicitly tests and demonstrates the link between model reliability and 

planning outcome. This research is significant because it will explore the importance of a suite of 

implicit assumptions that underlie current approaches to conservation planning in Australia and 

internationally. The results of this research will provide natural resource managers and planners with 

a protocol for evaluating the reliability of the habitat maps at their disposal, and their utility in 

supporting decisions involving the allocation of land to different uses. 

DP0209021 

Prof Malcolm McCulloch 

Dr JM Lough 

Title: THE CORAL RECORD OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS IN THE GREAT 

BARRIER REEF:QUANTIFICATION OF ANTHROPOGENIC FLUXES 

*** 

2002: $95,000 2003: $112,000 2004: $88,000 


Panel: DP-EE Engineering and Environmental Sciences

Summary: 

The objective of this proposal is to quantify the environmental impacts of enhanced terrestrial fluxes 

and climate change on the coral reefs in the Great Barrier Reef. This will be achieved by using an 

integrated approach based on coral proxy records of river plumes and sea surface temperatures that 

are preserved in carbonate skeletons of the long-lived (200-400 year old) Porites coral. This will be 

integrated with monitoring and process studies of river flood plumes and coral reefs and provide a 

scientific basis to ensure the long-term sustainability of the GBR. 

*** 

3101 ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN ENVIRONMENT 

DP0209240 

Dr P. Kohane 

Title: Decorum as an Idea in Architecture, from the Renaissance to the Present. 

2002: $34,000 2003: $38,000 2004: $57,326 



Summary: 

Examines the theory and practice of decorum in architecture from the Renaissance to the present 

day. The principal aims are to set decorum within the history of ideas and to establish the relevance 

of the concept to modernism and contemporary debates on the nature of architecture. The project 

will be empirically innovative and significant to both historians and theorists. The expected outcome 

is a book-length study. 

DP0208352 

Prof William Logan 

Dr MR Askew 

Dr MC Langfield 

Dr J Sweet 

Dr A Smith 

Mr CD Long 

Title: UNESCO - Agency of Cultural Globalisation? Analysis of the Conflict between 

Universal Values and Local Cultural Identity in the Asia-Pacific Region 

2002: $91,776 2003: $94,450 2004: $94,450 2005: $94,450 


APD - Dr A Smith 

APD - Mr CD Long 

*** 

Panel: DP-SBE Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences 

Summary: 

Economic globalisation is accompanied by cultural globalisation. Whether to accept or attempt to 

resist this impact on local cultures is a critical issue for communities and governments throughout the 

Asia-Pacific region. This project will identify and evaluate those activities of UNESCO and its 

associated bodies, ICOMOS, ICOM and ICCROM, that tend to impose a common stamp on cultures

across the world, as well as the local resistance to those activities. Four fields covering tangible and 

intangible culture will be investigated: heritage places, museums, folklife and heritage education. 

Outcomes include improved heritage management; outputs include a book and refereed journal 

articles. 

DP0210366 

Dr Michael Ostwald 

*** 

Title: An Analysis of the Cultural, Social and Symbolic Performance of Computer-Generated, 

Post-Euclidean, Architecture in Australia. 

2002: $32,000 2003: $31,000 2004: $29,200 



Summary: 

Computer Aided Design software has recently provided architects with the ability to use post- 

Euclidean geometry for the creation of buildings. As the first of these buildings are only now being 

completed the social, cultural and symbolic performance of this new approach to design remains 

unknown. 

The present research seeks to redress this situation by analysing computer-generated public 

buildings, completed in Australia after 1998. These buildings represent a substantial outlay of public 

funding and a significant social investment in Australian cities. 

This research will result in a critical evaluation strategy for public and institutional bodies interested 

in procuring such buildings. 

DP0210962 

A/Prof Terence Williamson 

Dr VI Soebarto 

Prof AD Radford 

Dr H Bennetts 

Title: Building and Ethics: Understanding A Corpus of Contemproary Australian Award- 

Winning Houses as Responses to Ecological, Social and Built Contexts 

*** 

2002: $86,000 2003: $89,000 2004: $85,000 


APD - Dr H Bennetts 


Summary: 

The project aims to construct an understanding from an ethical framework of the interrelationships 

between attitudes, perceptions, rhetorical statements about and actual behaviours of a small corpus 

of contemporary award-winning Australian houses. The project is significant as it will create a 

conceptual advance in understanding the ways in which noted Australian houses respond in a 

cohesive ethical manner to ecological, social and built contexts. The expected outcomes include 

documentation of an (ethical) methodology for a cohesive analysis of buildings to assist the building

design and construction industry to make informed decisions in housing design and construction in 

the Australian context(s). 

3102 BUILDING 

DP0211167 

Prof John Gero 

Title: Complexity Measures Of Design Spaces As Basis For Mass Customisation Of Novel 

Designs 

*** 

2002: $30,000 2003: $61,000 2004: $64,000 



Summary: 

This project aims to develop, implement and test a means to determine the potential of any arbitrary 

design generator to produce a diversity of designs and to utilise that means to control the mass 

customisation of novel designs. Globalisation of markets has produced the need to be able to mass 

customise designs that are not simple variants of existing designs. Any improvement in Australia?s 

capacity to provide this service will improve both its internal efficiency and increase its 

competitiveness in the increasing international marketplace for designing through the production of 

the basis for a new class of designing tools. 

DP0209169 

Prof William McGeorge 

A/Prof M Loosemore 

Mr I Forbes 

Title: An investigation of the relationship between buildings, building users and 

organisational effectiveness in the hospital sector. 

*** 

2002: $58,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $63,000 



Summary: 

Significant changes in the Australian health-care environment are creating a mismatch between 

health-care priorities and building facilities. Many hospital buildings do not meet user needs by 

providing the flexible spaces needed for changing operating models and technologies. This is 

threatening the quality and cost effectiveness of health-care provision. This research will investigate 

the relationship between buildings, building users and organisational performance in hospitals. A 

model will be produced to explain these relationships and thereby, help managers more effectively 

manage building facilities. It will also redress a deficiency in management theory, which has ignored 

buildings as a factor of production. 

***

3199 OTHER ARCHITECTURE, URBAN 

ENVIRONMENT AND BUILDING 

DP0208319 

Dr Graham Treloar 

Dr BD Ilozor 

Title: Modelling greenhouse gas emissions associated with commercial building construction 

2002: $33,000 2003: $35,000 2004: $35,000 



Summary: 

A reliable model of greenhouse gas emissions for commercial building construction is required. 

Construction product manufacturing emissions are well known, but those associated with the 

construction process (representing up to 25% of the energy embodied in construction products) have 

not been fully elucidated. Commercial building construction requires more energy per square metre 

than residential building construction, due mainly to lifting of heavy items. The results will be used to 

develop cost effective strategies for optimising greenhouse gas emissions associated with the total 

emissions from commercial building construction and operation. This will improve the environmental 

performance of the Australian construction industry. 

3202 IMMUNOLOGY 

DP0212057 

Dr Gabrielle Belz 

Title: Dissecting the Parameters for the Generation of Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Immunity 

2002: $91,839 2003: $93,411 2004: $93,411 2005: $93,411 2006: $93,411 


QEII - Dr G Belz 

*** 


Summary: 

This project aims to identify mechanisms by which antigen-presenting cells, such as dendritic cells, 

prime CD8+ T cells to generate effector and memory populations at the molecular level. The specific 

intention is to identify reagents capable of licensing dendritic cells, and examine the down-stream 

gene products/pathways generated by these signals using microarray analyses. Such knowledge will 

provide new insight into CTL generation by providing greater understanding of how multicellular 

systems function both at the cellular and molecular level. 

*** 

3203 MEDICAL BIOCHEMISTRY AND CLINICAL 

CHEMISTRY 

DP0208535

A/Prof Don Phillips 

Dr SM Cutts 

Title: Molecular basis for the synergistic potentiation of anthracycline anticancer agents by 

formaldehyde-releasing prodrugs. 

2002: $141,378 2003: $135,601 2004: $137,601 2005: $137,601 2006: $137,601 


ARF - Dr SM Cutts 


Summary: 

AIMS: The overall aim is to develop a full understanding of the molecular basis for the synergistic 

activation of Adriamycin (and other anthracycline anticancer agents) by formaldehyde-releasing 

prodrugs such as AN-9. 

SIGNIFICANCE: Because Adriamycin is currently one of the most widely used anticancer agents, 

and this activity has the potential to be dramatically enhanced by the concurrent use of 

formaldehyde-releasing prodrugs, a biochemical understanding of these processes will provide the 

basis to exploit this synergy to provide improved treatment outcomes (eg, lower drug doses,reduced 

side-effects, improved activity against drug-resistanct tumours etc). 

EXPECTED OUTCOMES: The long-term outcome of this project is commercialisation to develop 

products for clinical use based on this synergy (eg, drug/prodrug combinations) and ultimately the 

development of tumour-directed therapy to yield a tumour-localised anticancer response. 

*** 

3204 MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY 

DP0208165 

Dr Geoffrey McFadden 

Title: Post-genomic investigation of the relict plastid and mitochondrion of malaria parasites 

2002: $135,000 2003: $137,000 2004: $139,000 2005: $141,000 2006: $143,000 


APF - Dr GI McFadden 


Summary: 

Malaria is a major global health problem. The malaria parasite has two substructures, a relict 

chloroplast and a mitochondrion, that are excellent targets for new and existing drugs. However, we 

do not know the key functions of these two compartments. The entire genetic blueprint (genome) is 

now available for the malaria parasite and I propose to determine exactly which parts of the genome 

service the relict chloroplast and mitochondria. This will sketch out a picture of their inner 

workings. Armed with this information we can take a rational approach to seeking an Achilles? Heel 

of malaria against which parasite-specific drugs can be developed. 

*** 

3205 PHARMACOLOGY AND PHARMACEUTICAL 

SCIENCES

DP0208295 

Prof David Adams 

Dr PF Alewood 

Prof DJ Craik 

Dr R Lewis 

Dr JW Lynch 

Title: Conotoxins: Novel probes for ion channel structure and function 

2002: $443,000 2003: $457,000 2004: $471,000 2005: $483,000 2006: $493,000 



Summary: 

Voltage-dependent and ligand-gated ion channels are intrinsic membrane proteins that play a central 

role in communication in excitable cells, particularly in the nervous system. The primary goals of this 

project are (i) to define at a molecular level, the structural and functional determinants of ion 

channel/conotoxin interactions and (ii) develop new probes that advance neurophysiological 

research. The diversity and distribution of ion channel types and subtypes being uncovered through 

the use of molecular biology and conotoxin probes presents an exciting opportunity for the future 

development of novel ion channel therapeutics. 

DP0208175 

Dr Hak-Kim Chan 

Prof JA Raper 

Asst Prof MW Rutland 

Prof MK Mazumder 

Title: Dispersion of Pharmaceutical Powders as Aerosols for Inhalation 

*** 

2002: $98,000 2003: $97,000 2004: $99,000 



Summary: 

The detrimental environmental effects of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) have led to an urgent need of a 

replacement for the existing CFC propellant driven medical inhalers. Generation of aerosols from 

dry powders has enormous potential as an alternative for delivery of drugs to the lung. The aims of 

the proposed research are to investigate specifically the powder surface properties and the orperating 

conditions on the dispersion of powders as aerosols for inhalation. The knowledge gained will 

acclerate the design of better powder aerosols, thus benefiting patients suffering from respiratory and 

systemic diseases. 

DP0209247 

Dr John Edwards 

Dr N McClure 

Dr KL Soole 

***

Dr MJ McLaughlin 

Dr G McEwan 

Title: Using a battery of tests to evaluate the potential toxicity of remediated and 

unremediated soils and dusts contaminated with metals 

2002: $54,000 2003: $55,000 2004: $59,000 



Summary: 

An in vitro model simulating the intact and immature infant intestinal epithelium will be used to 

determine the changes in solubility and uptake of metals following in situ remediation processes. The 

earthworm and bacterial luminescence toxicity tests indicate the ecotoxicity of contaminated soils. 

Many garden soils, household dusts, and industrial sites are contaminated with lead, cadmium, and 

other metals. These pose a risk to human health, especially of children, and ecosystem health 

These tests will be applied to prioritise sites where metal contamination exists and to evaluate the 

effectiveness of remediation techniques in reducing metal uptake and toxicity. 

DP0211215 

Prof Basil Roufogalis 

Dr CC Duke 

Title: Synthetic derivatives of capsaicin and gingerols as analgesics acting at the vanilloid 

receptor 

*** 

2002: $49,000 2003: $52,000 2004: $54,000 



Summary: 

This project aims to prepare alpha-hydroxyketones and gingerol derivatives acting at vanilloid (VR1) 

receptor with potential analgesic activity. These compounds will be tested for their ability to activate 

the VR1 receptor, desensitize the receptor and release neuropeptides associated with pain pathways. 

The development of these novel compounds will contribute towards understanding the mechanisms 

of VR1 receptor activation and provide information on how the VR1 receptor is regulated. We will 

determine and compare neurotoxicity of these compounds to capsaicin which is known to possess 

neurotoxic activity. The outcome of this project may result in effective agents for better pain 

management. 

*** 

3206 MEDICAL PHYSIOLOGY 

DP0209363 

Prof D Allen 

Title: The role of intracellular calcium in fibre-type specific gene expression in skeletal muscle 

2002: $70,000 2003: $72,000 2004: $74,000 



Summary: 

Muscles contain different fibre types whose composition can be changed by activity. The aim of this 

proposal is to identify the intracellular mechanisms which control fibre type. Our hypothesis is that 

different patterns of intracellular calcium determine the pattern of gene expression which determines 

fibre type. Understanding how gene expression is regulated is a central issue in biology. 

DP0208752 

Dr Simon Easterbrook-Smith 

A/Prof MR Wilson 

Dr JA Carver 

Title: The basis of recognition and disposal of dysfunctional proteins by clusterin 

*** 

2002: $64,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $59,000 



Summary: 

When proteins become damaged they can precipitate. A blood protein called clusterin prevents 

precipitation of damaged proteins. Clusterin does this by forming complexes with the damaged 

proteins. Clusterin is the first blood protein known to do this. We will discover which parts of 

clusterin are responsible for this activity. We will also discover whether cells can take up and dispose 

of the complexes of clusterin and damaged proteins. This work is important because some diseases 

(eg, Alzheimers disease) involve the toxic effects of abnormal protein precipitation. Understanding 

how clusterin works may help in developing better treatments for these diseases. 

DP0210479 

Dr Philip Poronnik 

Dr DI Cook 

Title: Molecular basis of G protein receptor-effector coupling in epithelial cells 

*** 

2002: $44,000 2003: $47,000 2004: $49,000 



Summary: 

Hundreds of extracellular stimuli act on specific receptors in the plasma membrane of cells resulting 

in an increase in intracellular calcium which acts as a second messenger to alter cell behaviour. There 

are, however, many receptors acting through a number of closely related proteins involving tightly 

regulated interactions which remain poorly understood. This project uses novel techniques to 

elucidate the molecular basis for these interactions by identifying the roles individual proteins play in 

this complex process. 

3207 NEUROSCIENCES 

***

DP0210004 

A/Prof Joel C. Bornstein 

Title: Behaviour of large networks of neurons in a functioning organ: a realistic computerbased 

model of the enteric nervous system 

2002: $49,000 2003: $52,000 2004: $54,000 



Summary: 

The organisation of the gut nervous system is well understood, but how nerve cells cooperate to 

control gut movements and secretions are matters of conjecture. We will test these conjectures by 

simulating the behaviour of the gut nervous system using an anatomically and physiologically realistic 

computer model to predict the way the gut responds to specific stimuli and test these predictions 

using novel methods for recording gut movements and nervous activity. This will provide the first 

complete description of how a mammalian nervous system generates complex behaviours and will 

provide substantial pointers to how other nervous systems achieve similar tasks. 

DP0208683 

Prof Mandyam Srinivasan 

Dr S Zhang 

Dr J Zeil 

Dr JS Chahl 

Title: Honeybee Navigation: Low-level and Cognitive Mechanisms 

*** 

2002: $80,000 2003: $55,000 2004: $55,000 



Summary: 

Anyone watching a honeybee find its way back home effortlessly after flying several kilometres in 

search of nectar would know that these insects are excellent navigators, despite their diminutive 

brains and relatively simple nervous systems. The aim of this proposal is to gain a better 

understanding of the mechanisms by which bees navigate repeatedly to an attractive food source, and 

recruit their nestmates to visit it. The findings should illuminate important principles of animal 

navigation, as well as suggest novel strategies for robot navigation. 

*** 

3210 CLINICAL SCIENCES 

DP0210249 

Prof Anne Ozanne 

Prof BE Murdoch 

Mrs P Watter 

A/Prof JM Ziviani 

A/Prof GA Jull

Title: Physiological, bahavioural and functional motor abilities in children with 

undifferentiated tongue movements during speech. 

2002: $55,000 2003: $65,000 2004: $61,000 



Summary: 

A subgroup of children with speech disorders who have difficulty moving parts of their tongue 

independently during speech has been identified. This study aims to investigate if this is a unique 

phenomenon of the tongue during speech, or indicative of more generalized patterns of motor 

movement. This will enable us to explore the similarities between patterns of movement in the 

articulators during speech and non-speech tasks and the upper limb. In turn, this will inform the 

debate about motor control mechanisms for speech and other body movements, which would lead to 

more effective treatment regimes. 

DP0211497 

Dr Sarah Robertson 

Title: Mechanistic basis of a reproductive lesion in transforming growth factor beta-1 

(TGFb1) null mutant mice 

*** 

2002: $90,000 2003: $92,000 2004: $94,000 



Summary: 

Null mutation in the gene encoding the cytokine transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGFb1) causes 

infertility in male and female mice. In recent experiments we have found that TGFb1 deficiency is 

associated with impaired ovarian and testicular steroidogenesis, arrested development of preimplantation 

embryos and disrupted mammary gland morphogenesis. The aims of the current project 

are to unravel the mechanistic basis of the reproductive lesion in TGFb1 null mutant mice and to 

determine the effect of exogenous systemic delivery of TGFb1 in alleviating this lesion. It is expected 

that the project will provide new insight into key roles for TGFb1 in governing male and female 

fertility, and shed light on the prospects for exogenous supplementation of TGFb1 for improving 

reproductive performance in wild-type animals. This knowledge has potentially important 

applications in the livestock breeding industry, in devising novel contraceptive vaccine strategies, in 

the human pharmaceutical industry, and in devising novel contraceptive vaccine strategies. 

DP0208388 

Dr Pamela Snow 

Dr MB Powell 

Title: The language abilities of young offenders: Missing links in theory and practice.. 

*** 

2002: $28,000 2003: $25,000 2004: $25,000 


Panel: DP-SBE Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences

Summary: 

Young offenders are a complex and challenging population, with high rates of comorbidity between 

attentional, learning, and behaviour problems. Few workers have, however, considered the 

underlying language processing and production skills in this population. Available evidence indicates 

a high level of vulnerability to language disorders in young offenders. These may contribute to poor 

academic performance and failure to develop prosocial skills. This study will explore language 

competencies and will describe their relationship to social skills, patterns of comorbidity, and type of 

offence (property Vs violent). Findings will be relevant to theories of juvenile offending and design 

of prevention/intervention programs 

*** 

3212 PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES 

DP0210155 

A/Prof R Rapee 

Title: A longitudinal examination of the contribution of specific risk factors to the 

development of anxiety disorders during adolescence 

2002: $25,000 2003: $35,000 2004: $35,000 



Summary: 

The aims of this project are to follow a group of adolescent girls from around 12 to 16 years of age 

to examine possible predictors for developing anxiety disorders. A large group of girls and their 

parents will complete questionnaires in the first year of high school and a smaller group will be 

assessed through interviews and direct observation. The girls will be reassessed at yearly intervals 

over three years. The project will tell us a great deal about factors that are important in the 

development of anxiety. This will help to plan prevention programs in the future. 

DP0211869 

Dr Shilu Tong 

Prof R Gerber 

Dr RC Wolff 

Dr K Verrall 

Title: Development of Environmental Health Indicators in the Context of Sustainable 

Development 

*** 

2002: $37,500 2003: $48,000 2004: $30,000 



Summary: 

Protecting and promoting community well-being and population health is an essential aspect of 

sustainable development (SD). It is critical, therefore, to develop rigorous environmental health 

indicators (EHIs) to provide solid bases for the planning of SD and environmental management 

decision-making. However, a framework for the development of EHIs has not been attempted. This

esearch aims to increase fundamental knowledge on the relationship between EHIs and SD, to 

identify a core and extended set of EHIs, and to assess implications of EHIs in the planning of SD 

and environmental management. A framework for identification and application of EHIs will be 

developed. 

*** 

3214 HUMAN MOVEMENT AND SPORTS SCIENCE 

DP0209570 

Dr Mark Febbraio 

Asst Prof R Mestril 

Title: Biological Role of Contraction-Induced Heat Shock Protein Expression 

2002: $44,000 2003: $47,000 2004: $49,000 



Summary: 

It is well known that mammalian skeletal muscle increases its expression of a group of highly 

conserved proteins, the heat shock proteins (HSP) in response to repeated contraction. However, the 

biological role of this expression is unclear. The aim of this project is to determine the biological role 

of contraction-induced HSP expression. We expect to show that HSP synthesis in response to 

exercise has three major roles; 1) to act to repair damaged proteins in recovery from muscle injury 2) 

to act as a "molecular motor" to translocate proteins from one region of a muscle cell to another and 

3) to be released into the circulation in order to act as a central signal to activate immune cells. Such 

a project will be significant because it will allow for a fundamental understanding as to why these 

proteins are produced in response to exercise. We expect to enhance our understanding of 

fundamental cell biology. 

DP0210105 

Dr Paul Treffner 

*** 

Title: Audio-visual Information for Speech-hand Gestures 

2002: $40,000 2003: $55,000 2004: $45,000 



Summary: 

How does audio-visual information influence human movement and communication? We will 

investigate whether speech and hand gestures involve shared information about the timing of 

rhythmic movements. Using dynamical systems theory and brain imaging techniques, we will study 

rhythms that emerge during simultaneous speaking and finger tapping in both stutterers and nonstutterers, 

and in left-handers and right-handers. The communicative interaction of two persons 

performing speech-hand gestures will be examined. Results will clarify how brain asymmetry affects 

gestural coordination in stutterers, how stuttering can be treated, and the hypothesis that speech and 

language evolved from a communication system based on hand gestures. 

***

3301 EDUCATION STUDIES 

DP0209137 

A/Prof Jill Blackmore 

Prof JM Sachs 

Ms P Thomson 

Title: An investigation of the declining supply of school principals in Australia 

2002: $25,000 2003: $40,000 2004: $40,000 



Summary: 

Leadership is critical when reforming schools for new knowledge economies. Yet international and 

Australian anecdotal evidence suggests a declining supply of applicants for school leadership. This 

study investigates the existence, extent and nature of, and explanations for, this paradox across three 

states and all education systems against international trends. Its unique contribution lies in its focus 

on (i) interactions between institutional structures, cultures and professional identity,(ii) context and 

location, (iii) the interplay of gender, race and ethnic difference. Innovative research methods, both 

qualitative and quantitative, will produce evidence to inform policy development on principal 

recruitment, selection, induction and professional development. 

DP0208759 

A/Prof Erica Frydenberg 

Dr R Lewis 

Ms E Cunningham 

*** 

Title: Developing Coping Skills: Following young people through the transition from primary 

to secondary schooling 

2002: $66,000 2003: $65,000 2004: $65,000 


APD - Ms E Cunningham 


Summary: 

This study provides a unique opportunity to determine developmental changes in coping by tracking 

a group of young people through the transition from primary to secondary school. The program 

targets coping efficacy and perceived control over internal states and thus is designed to increase 

adaptive coping behaviours whilst controlling for the degree to which family is supportive. Using a 

quasi-experimental design it is possible to test theories that suggest that coping efficacy beliefs 

mediate the relationship between family environment and actual coping behaviours. The study 

extends successful and innovative work in building resilience in the upper primary school population 

to the secondary population. 

DP0211777 

***

Dr Susan Grieshaber 

Prof N Yelland 

Title: Becoming numerate with information technologies in early childhood education 

2002: $30,000 2003: $47,000 2004: $45,000 



Summary: 

This project will create a detailed model of teaching and learning in numeracy using information 

technologies (IT) that will act as springboards for action for Australian teachers. It will investigate 

and document the ways in which numeracy can be learned through IT to produce students who are 

more technologically aware. Resulting data will inform the research and educational community 

about the cognitive and social aspects of young children learning numeracy using IT. In this way the 

findings will be of strategic importance for planning education opportunities to produce citizens of 

the 21st century. 

DP0210752 

A/Prof Peter Gronn 

Title: Patterns of Distributed Leadership in Australian Schools 

2002: $77,000 


*** 


Summary: 

Using fieldwork methods, this project documents new forms of distributed leadership in Australian 

schools. It will account for the recent emergence of distributed leadership, distinguish typical 

distributed models and highlight the institutional and systemic implications of these formations. The 

research is significant because it provides a pioneering qualitative analysis of the evolving division of 

labour in management and leadership in self-managing schools. Its focus on collectively co-ordinated 

activities should also prompt a re-definition of senior level school responsibilities. Moreover, the 

research outcomes will account for recent career recruitment difficulties experienced by employers, 

and stimulate improved career profiling, recruitment and development. 

DP0208895 

Prof Jane Kenway 

Title: Knowledge/economy/society: a sociological study of an education policy discourse in 

Australia in globalising circumstances 

*** 

2002: $40,000 2003: $45,000 2004: $44,000 



Summary:

Education policies that fuse knowledge, economy and society are globally influential. Such policies 

seek to promote economic and social enhancement. Yet critics claim that these policies have a 

narrow view of knowledge, society and the economy, and of current trends. This study adopts 

inventive methodologies to assess such critics' claims in the light of research by leading sociologists. 

It explores the ways that the knowledge/economy/society discourse is interpreted in national and 

supranational policy texts, by senior policy agents and in innovative educational programs in different 

educational settings. The research findings will enrich education policy research and benefit national 

education policy. 

DP0208435 

Prof A Luke 

A/Prof C Luke 

Dr C Kapitzke 

Prof BC Bruce 

*** 

Title: Multiliteracies, libraries and cybraries: Comparative case studies of Australia and the 

United States 

2002: $30,000 2003: $45,000 



Summary: 

Libraries are key sites for literacy learning. Commonwealth and state government policies stress the 

significance of libraries and ?information literacy?, and have called for the integration of new 

technologies into libraries. Despite an ongoing multi-million dollar investment in books and online 

connectivity, there are no large-scale studies of school libraries? transition into cyber libraries, or 

?cybraries.? This project examines the impact of online information technologies on school libraries 

in two comparative sites in Australia and the US. It describes new forms of text, knowledge and 

literacy enabled by networked cybraries, and documents how educational systems enable and impede 

such developments. 

DP0209421 

A/Prof C. Luke 

Title: Globalisation: New Media, New Literacies and Identities 

*** 

2002: $25,000 2003: $35,000 2004: $35,000 



Summary: 

This APF proposes three related projects that investigate (i) the social effects of new information 

technologies on literacy and identity, (ii) the impact of globalisation on education, and (iii) new 

forms of social identity among multiracial families and children. Each project will produce a book 

and refereed journal articles. This work is significant because it will generate new knowledge about 

the effects of globalization on: (i) shifts from print to digital literacies and identities among

Australian youth, (ii) the role, responsibility, and futures orientation of education systems, and (iii) 

changing family structures and identities in new socio-demographic contexts. 

DP0209652 

Prof Alison Mackinnon 

Title: Beyond access: women, higher education and the quiet revolutions of the 1950s 

*** 

2002: $20,000 2003: $20,000 2004: $20,000 



Summary: 

This project challenges the standard narrative of women in the 1950s through a study of the 

intersections of higher education, gender and place. By studying women graduates in Australia and 

the United States within the context of demographic, employment and cultural change, it develops 

life histories of graduate women over several decades of their post-universtiy lives, drawing on 

comparative sources. It offers a new framework for women's educational history, one that goes 

beyond access and focuses on the new identities that were formed as graduate women negotiated the 

contradictions of higher education and the dominant femininity of the period. 

DP0210349 

Dr Julie McLeod 

Dr JE Kenway 

Prof AG Mackinnon 

Dr A Allard 

Title: Young women negotiating from the margins of education and work: towards gender 

justice in educational and youth policies and programs 

*** 

2002: $40,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $35,000 



Summary: 

Young women who leave school early are the most economically disadvantaged young people in the 

labour market. We will investigate the educational, labour market, biographical and social 

experiences of these young women, and their inter-actions with teachers and youth service providers. 

We will identify trends, differences and similarities across rural and urban locations and across 

generations, and develop a profile of factors and programs most likely to help these young women 

negotiate their post-school lives. The research findings will enrich gender justice and social theory 

and contribute to policy and program development in the education and youth services sectors. 

DP0211663 

A/Prof Erica McWilliam 

A/Prof P Singh 

***

Prof JM Sachs 

Title: Managing Risk in Primary Schools: Teachers' Professional Identity and Work 

Practices. 

2002: $25,000 2003: $35,000 2004: $35,000 



Summary: 

This study seeks to investigate the ways that primary school teachers' identities and practices are 

being shaped in the context of differing State government mechanisms for risk management in 

relation to the care of children. The study will identify appropriate risk response conduct as it is 

understood by teachers from government and non-government schools in rural and urban locaions in 

Queensland and New South Wales. It will then analyse these data to show how risk response 

practices are impacting on pedagogic work and professional identity,including any context-specific 

variations that may exist in such practices. 

DP0211303 

A/Prof Vincent Meek 

Dr LC Goedegebuure 

Title: The transformation of higher education in Australia and the Netherlands: a 

comparative study of adaptation in the post-industrial era. 

*** 

2002: $25,000 2003: $35,000 2004: $35,000 



Summary: 

The project seeks to improve understanding of how higher education institutions respond to and 

increasingly turbulent/fluid environment. Comparatively grounded, the study examines how 

Australian and Dutch higher education institutions interpret environmental pressures (including 

government policy) and translate this into strategic responses, such as through the formation of 

strategic alliances with other institutions. The project provides information of theoretical and 

practical use on how higher education institutions operate in an increasing complex social, political 

and economic environment and better informs oplicy makers and institutional leaders alike about the 

intricacies and unintended consequences of the interaction of policy, environment and institutional 

behaviour. 

DP0211854 

Dr Hitendra Pillay 

Dr PG Taylor 

Title: E-Learning Advocacy : Understanding Students' Experience of New Learning 

Environments to Promote Quality Sustainable Developments. 

*** 

2002: $25,000 2003: $32,500 2004: $35,000 

Administering Institution: Queensland University of Technology


Summary: 

Increasing investment in new learning environments (NLEs) including e-learning is guided by limited 

empirical research. Learning in NLEs involves more than a set of skills - it requires a new mindset. 

This project will delineate the different opportunities and demands, the nature and development of 

undergraduate students' experiences of NLEs and compare those with equivalent programs taught in 

more traditional ways. Major outcomes involve understanding learners' experiences when engaging 

in ICT settings, and an understanding of the mutual constructions of the experience. Such 

understanding will inform development of e-learning programs and the nature of support necessary 

for optimising learning. 

DP0208022 

Prof John Smyth 

*** 

Title: On Becoming a Middle School Teacher: Reclaiming the Wasteland of the Middle Years 

of Schooling 

2002: $70,000 2003: $80,000 2004: $75,000 



Summary: 

This project aims to investigate how teachers in Australian government schools committed to the 

middle years of schooling (ages 14?16), are ?reinventing? their teaching in the current policy reform 

context. The research will explore how policies support or hinder teachers in establishing and 

sustaining educative relationships with young adolescents. Detailed ethnographic case studies will 

examine how teachers restructure and reculture what schools do to better serve students who are 

increasingly ?at risk?. The project will provide crucial understandings into the theory, policy and 

practice of teaching necessary to enable all young adolescents to experience a rewarding high school 

education. 

DP0211943 

Prof M Tennant 

Prof L Yates 

Dr N Solomon 

Dr C Chappell 

Title: Changing work, changing workers, changing selves: a study of pedagogies in the new 

vocationalism 

*** 

2002: $55,000 2003: $77,000 2004: $75,000 



Summary: 

Changes in the form of work have led to an emphasis on the development of new kinds of working 

identities. This project aims to map, analyze and theorize the way in which pedagogical strategies in

vocational education produce new worker identities. It examines contextual differences across 

different sectors and industries as well as forms of inclusion and exclusion. For policy-makers it 

provides a new mapping and evaluation of different types of institutional programs; for practitioners 

it brings new insights about effective practices; for theorists it offers a new, empirically-grounded 

theorisation of workplace knowledge. 

DP0209462 

A/Prof Johanna Wyn 

*** 

Title: Flexible career patterns: graduate redefinitions of outcomes in the new labour market 

2002: $50,000 2003: $68,000 2004: $68,000 



Summary: 

The research will identify graduate redefinitions of the meaning of ?career? and the construction of 

flexible career patterns in response to changes in the labour market. The centrepiece of the research 

program is the extension of a ten-year cohort of 1300 Australian graduates who are now 5-7 years 

out from graduation. The wider significance of the emerging themes is tested through comparison 

with a Canadian cohort and with a younger Australian cohort. The research findings are significant 

to the formation of responsive post-compulsory education and training policy and programs that 

meet the changing needs of young Australians. 

*** 

3302 CURRICULUM STUDIES 

DP0210309 

Prof Alan Bishop 

Prof RF Gunstone 

Dr B Clarke 

Dr DJ Corrigan 

Title: Values in mathematics and science education: mapping the relationships between 

pedagogical practices and student outcomes 

2002: $25,000 2003: $33,000 2004: $33,000 



Summary: 

Mathematics and science in schools both involve the teaching of values. Some value outcomes are 

intended by the teachers and are explicitly taught, particularly in science, while other values are only 

implicitly present in classroom practices, as is typically the case with mathematics. What is not yet 

known is what values students learn from different teachers and from their practices, and how these 

learned values impact on student engagement with these subjects. This project will explore the 

relationships between the values embedded in the pedagogical practices of primary and secondary 

teachers of mathematics and science, and student values outcomes. 

***

DP0208391 

Dr Barbara Comber 

A/Prof BR Kamler 

Title: Teachers Investigate Unequal Literacy Outcomes: Cross Generational Perspectives 

2002: $30,000 2003: $50,000 2004: $50,000 



Summary: 

Unequal outcomes in literacy remains the most intractable problem facing our educational 

community. This research will investigate both historical and contemporary literacy practice in terms 

of its differential effects on primary school children. It recognises the teacher as the most significant 

factor in improving student outcomes and builds teacher researcher communities to document 

teaching that makes a difference for 'at risk' children. Its unique cross generational methodology will 

make overt links between one generation of teachers and the next and produce new knowledge 

about literacy and disadvantage. Practical applications for teacher education and professional 

mentoring across generations will be developed. 

DP0211864 

Dr Carmel Diezmann 

*** 

Title: A Longitudinal Study of the Development of Primary Students' Knowledge About the 

Properties of Spatially-Oriented Diagrams in Mathematics 

2002: $50,000 2003: $52,000 2004: $52,000 2005: $52,000 


APD - Dr CM Diezmann 


Summary: 

Diagrams are important tools for the solution of novel (non-routine) problems and the organization 

of data because they integrate information in ways that facilitate reasoning. Diagrams also underpin 

many technological applications (E.g., hyperlinks on web-pages from a "network"). Groundbreaking 

research in the US with adults has identified the properties of general-purpose diagrams 

(networks, matrices, hierarchies). These properties constitute the "building blocks" of diagrammatic 

knowledge - like grammar in language. This study investigates children's knowledge of the 

properties of diagrams and the formation of this fundamental knowledge. The outcomes will 

enhance 21st century mathematical literacy, guide curriculum development, and inform teacher 

education. 

DP0211824 

Prof Barry Fraser 

Dr J Aldridge 

***

Title: Facilitating Equitable Science Learning Environments for Multicultural Societies: A 

Cross-Cultural Study in Australia, Taiwan and South Africa 

2002: $25,000 2003: $35,000 2004: $35,000 



Summary: 

In our multicultural society, science teachers must be sensitive to the culturally-specific needs of 

students from different cultural backgrounds. This cross-cultural study in Australia, Taiwan and 

South Africa aims to assess culturally-sensitive aspects of science classroom learning environments 

using multiple research methods. This information will be used to explore whether the size of 

discrepancies between actual and preferred learning environment (1) depends on students' cultural 

backgrounds and (2) is related to students' a) attitudes b) achievement and c) retention. Finally the 

study will examine the effectiveness of strategies for creating learning environments that are more 

suitable for minority students. 

DP0210979 

Dr Allan Harrison 

Title: Investigating ways to enhance teachers' science explanations and students' concept 

learning using cycles of reflective explanations 

*** 

2002: $25,000 2003: $45,000 2004: $40,000 

Administering Institution: Central Queensland University 


Summary: 

Explanation is central to learning because teachers explain phenomena to students and students are 

assessed on their explanations to other students and the teacher. Teacher explanations are not 

always effective and many lower secondary students provide descriptions when an explanation is 

needed. This projects aims for three outcomes: first, it researches teacher explanations for teachers. 

Second, it researches student-student and student-teacher explanations to find which explanatory 

types maximise concept learning; and third, it evaluates a cycle of reflective explanations model for 

enhancing science teacher explanations. 

DP0209902 

A/Prof Michael Matthews 

Title: The Effect of Historical-Investigative Teaching about Pendulum Motion on High 

School Students Understanding of the Nature of Science. 

*** 

2002: $55,000 2003: $55,000 2004: $48,000 



Summary:

This project will investigate the impact of historical investigative teaching about pendulum motion on 

students understanding of the nature of science - its methodology, its relationship to technology, and 

its interrelationship with society and culture. The project emerges from my well-reviewed book 

"Time for Science Education" (Kluwer,2000) that discusses the historical, methodological, technical 

and social aspects of the discovery of the laws of pendulum motion in the 17th Century. As the 

pendulum is a ubiquitous topic in primary and secondary school science programmes, the approach 

could make a significant contribution to raising public understanding of science. 

DP0208607 

Dr Jane Watson 

Title: Statistical Literacy for the Twenty-first Century: A Consolidated Model of 

Understanding for Application to Learning in Context 

*** 

2002: $50,000 2003: $50,000 2004: $50,000 



Summary: 

The overall aim of this project is to achieve a complete developmental model of school students? 

understanding of the concepts required to participate as statistically literate members of society. 

Australia is now an information- and data-driven society and to achieve its goals economically, 

scientifically, and socially, it requires citizens who can make decisions based on appropriate 

quantitative understanding. A major component of this is statistical literacy. The outcomes of this 

project based on the theoretical model will include assessment instruments, recommendations for the 

school curriculum, and trialed learning materials and technologies shown to contribute to 

understanding, for classroom use. 

*** 

3303 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF 

TEACHERS 

DP0208803 

Dr Merrilyn Goos 

Title: The role of technology-enriched, technology-mediated learning communities in 

reforming mathematics teacher education 

2002: $20,000 2003: $25,000 2004: $25,000 



Summary: 

This project examines the impact of a technology-enriched teacher education program on beginning 

teachers' integration of educational technologies into secondary school mathematics classrooms. It 

seeks to increase theoretical understanding of how beginning teachers are initiated into a 

collaborative professional community featuring both web-based and face to face interaction, and how 

participation in such a community shapes their pedagogical beliefs and actions. Of central interest is 

the role of technologically knowledgeable pre-service and beginning teachers as agents ofinnovation

and reform in secondary school mathematics. Outcomes will inform the design and implementation 

of models of pre-service teacher education and professional development. 

DP0210304 

A/Prof Jeffrey Loughran 

*** 

Title: Scholarship in Science Teaching: an examination of the relationships between science 

content, teaching and learning. 

2002: $25,000 2003: $35,000 2004: $35,000 



Summary: 

Excellent science teachers have profound impact on the students they teach. A central core of their 

excellence is the intertwined understandings they have of the content they teach and pedagogies for 

teaching this (termed pedagogical content knowledge). This knowledge is largely implicit, and hence 

not available to others. This research will develop enhanced methodologies to document and 

disseminate the knowledge of practice that underpins claims of professional excellence. Such 

research is crucial to the national and international moves to recognise, articulate, document, 

justify/validate, and share professional teaching excellence. 

DP0211198 

A/Prof Michael Prosser 

Prof P Ramsden 

Prof E Martin 

Dr K Trigwell 

Title: Relations between academics' understanding of their subject matter and their 

experiences of research and teaching 

*** 

2002: $30,000 2003: $45,000 2004: $45,000 



Summary: 

This project addresses an issue of international concern for higher education. Previous studies of 

associations between research and teaching have focused either on direct relations between 

outcomes, or on faculty and administrator opinions. We mean to explain the connection using a 

framework from our research into academics' understanding of their subject matter and approaches 

to teaching. We expect the outcomes to demonstrate that the key to the research-teaching 

connection lies in how active researchers and teachers experience the two activities, and that the 

association is mediated by the way in which they understand their subject matter. 

*** 

3401 ECONOMIC THEORY 

DP0210019

Dr Murali Agastya 

Title: Strategic Thought and Prediction in Strategic Environments 

2002: $55,000 2003: $76,000 2004: $70,000 2005: $70,000 2006: $70,000 


ARF - Dr M Agastya 


Summary: 

Game theory is now an integral tool for economics and business. It helps predict behavior in 

strategic environments and thus answers important questions: What form of auction to use in the 

pending sale of 3G spectrum? How should the government sell its bonds? How to detect implict 

collusion among companies? What division of benefits of joint research ventures will attract 

maximum participation? 

This project aims to greatly increase the predictive power of game theory and provide decisive 

answers to questions such as above. This is achieved by developing a theory that relates individuals' 

current behavior to their experiences in analogous environments in the past. 

*** 

3402 APPLIED ECONOMICS 

DP0209626 

Prof Elie Appelbaum 

Prof AD Woodland 

Title: Increasing Globalisation and its Economic Implications 

2002: $30,000 2003: $39,000 2004: $39,000 


ARF - Dr M Agastya 


Summary: 

This project will focus on globalisation and its economic implications. We will: (a) propose 

definitions and measure of the ?degree of globalization", (b) examine its relationship with the degree 

of uncertainty facing an economy, (c) study the effects of globalisation and uncertainty on 

productivity growth, (d) examine the effects of uncertainty on the economy and (f) provide empirical 

applications for the Australian economy. Our project will provide an important, innovative and 

comprehensive examination of globalization and its economic effects. In addition to making novel 

theoretical and empirical contributions, it will also facilitate meaningful analyses of policy issues in 

Australia. 

DP0209331 

Prof Patricia Apps 

Dr RV Breunig 

Prof R Rees 

***

Title: Taxation and the welfare state: implications of current policy directions for saving, 

fertility, economic growth and inequality 

2002: $80,000 2003: $90,000 2004: $90,000 



Summary: 

Current changes to taxation and welfare programs increase inequality by significantly lowering the 

net incomes of secondary earners, thus in turn reducing the net incomes of many low and middle 

wage families. The aim of the project is to investigate, both theoretically and empirically, the further 

effects on labour supply and saving in the short term and on family size and economic growth in the 

longer term. The study will produce new models and empirical results which will contribute to 

rigorous, informed debate on these issues. 

DP0209564 

Dr Jeff Borland 

Prof S King 

Title: Microeconomics of Professional Sporting Competitions and Labour Markets 

*** 

2002: $58,000 2003: $62,000 2004: $62,000 



Summary: 

This project will undertake theoretical and empirical research on the operation of labour markets in 

professional sporting competitions. It will examine two main topics - the effects of labour market 

regulations in sporting competitions; and the determinants of job tenure and job mobility of players 

and coaches. The main expected outcomes are new theories of how sporting competitions operate, 

and for the determinants of job tenure; and original empirical evidence on these issues. The 

significance of the research derives from its potential contribution to international knowledge of how 

labour markets operate, and to the improved operation of sporting competitions. 

DP0208912 

A/Prof G Kingston 

Ms HJ Bateman 

Dr LA Fisher 

Prof M Sherris 

Prof WE Schworm 

Title: Investing over the Life Cycle 

*** 

2002: $35,000 2003: $45,000 2004: $40,000 



Summary:

This project will investigate efficiency questions raised by the private and public management of 

assets within defined contribution pension plans. Because investment risk in such plans falls on the 

contributing household, they need to be managed with care. The first phase of the project will 

examine optimal equity investments on behalf of contributing households. The second phase will 

consider the scope and limits of market-timing endeavours involving switches between broad asset 

classes. The third phase will consider optimal currency hedging. The final phase will consider the 

optimal taxation of pension fund assets at different points in the household's life cycle. 

DP0208351 

Dr Pushkar Maitra 

Prof R Ray 

Prof M Chatterji 

Title: Resource Inflows, Intrahousehold Resource Allocation and their Impact on 

Expenditure Patterns, Child Health and Household Composition 

2002: $25,000 2003: $35,000 


*** 


Summary: 

This project will examine the impact of resource inflows in the household and intrahousehold 

distribution on different household outcomes like expenditure patterns, child health and household 

composition. The project will examine the interaction between private and public transfers. It will 

develop new tests to examine whether income accruing from different sources and accruing to 

different individuals are pooled so that the identity of the recipient or the source of the resource does 

not matter. The results of this project will also help to answer the important policy question of 

whether aid should be targeted to specific individuals within the household. 

DP0208327 

Dr Xin Meng 

Prof S Li 

Title: Private Wealth Accumulation, Wealth Distribution, and Social Welfare Reform in 

Urban China 

*** 

2002: $90,000 2003: $90,000 2004: $90,000 



Summary: 

During the 1990s, when the Chinese urban labour market and social security reforms accelerated, 

average urban household wealth increased more than three fold and the distribution of wealth 

widened. We will document this significant change and examine its relationship to past and future 

social welfare reform. This project will: 

Be the first study of wealth accumulation and distribution in China over the 1990s. 

Add to our knowledge of the interrelationship between wealth accumulation, distribution and 

political power during economic transition.

Contribute to a better design of a new social welfare system. 

Develop lessons and policy implications that will be broadly applicable to most transitional and 

developing economies. 

The project will produce at least seven journal articles and one book. 

DP0208795 

Prof Paul Miller 

Dr A Le 

Title: Youth in Australia: Education and Work 

*** 

2002: $53,000 2003: $55,000 2004: $50,000 



Summary: 

This project examines, in an integrated way, the education decisions, transition from school to work, 

and the early labour market experience of youth from 1975 to the present time. The recent emphasis 

on Australia as a Knowledge Nation and a New Economy indicates that study of education decisions 

is a high priority. Similarly, pathways from school to work and the cumulative disadvantage that 

many youth experience in the labour market are leading contemporary economic and social issues. 

The project is expected to yield insights into the determinants of educational attainment, best 

pathways and the channels of influence on labour market success and failure that will be policy 

relevant and publishable in refereed journals. 

DP0209429 

Prof John Piggott 

Ms HJ Bateman 

Dr H Morita 

Mr S Purcal 

Prof O Mitchell 

Prof J Whalley 

*** 

Title: The demand and supply of retirement provision 

2002: $60,000 2003: $80,000 2004: $77,000 



Summary: 

Population and a shrinking public sector mean increasing self-provision for retirement. This project 

examines various aspects of private retirement provision, focussing on both demand and supply in 

the retirement income industry. It will analyse institutional features of markets, pension funds and 

policy structures, and their implications for saving and investment behaviour, life-long financial 

strategies, efficient resource allocation, and retirement income adequacy. Specially emphasised will 

be: the role of housing as a retirement asset; the impact of governance structure on pension fund 

administration; and firm technology and employer-sponsored pension plans. Empirical research will 

embrace Australia, Japan and the US, allowing international comparison.

DP0210269 

Prof Alan Woodland 

*** 

Title: International Trade Policy and the Dynamics of Open Economies 

2002: $135,000 2003: $135,000 2004: $128,000 2005: $130,000 2006: $130,000 


APF - Prof AD Woodland 


Summary: 

The project is concerned with the relationship between an open economy's international trading 

conditions and the allocation of resources within the economy, particularly over time (dynamic 

effects). The trading conditions reflect international markets and governments' trade policies. The 

dynamic effects upon the economy include the rate of growth, saving and inter-generation welfare. 

The models developed to study these relationships will link international markets with domestic and 

future markets in a unified and consistent manner. The outcomes include a better theoretical 

understanding of these relationships and empirical inter-temporal models for the Australian economy 

that permit measurement of these dynamic effects. 

3404 ECONOMETRICS 

DP0209623 

Dr Jiti Gao 

Prof Dr ML King 

Prof Dr D Tjostheim 

Title: Nonparametric and Semiparametric Approaches in Nonlinear Time Series 

Econometrics and Financial Econometrics 

*** 

2002: $27,000 2003: $37,000 2004: $35,000 



Summary: 

This research proposal involves new theoretical investigations using nonparametric and 

semiparametric approaches in high dimensional nonlinear economic and financial dynamical systems. 

The main aims of this proposal are 

(i) to make new theoretical investigations of high dimensional nonlinear economic and financial 

dynamical models which incorporate to varying degrees, nonlinearity, and additivity; 

(ii) to develop novel computational procedures and programmes for the necessary statistical 

inference associated with new high dimensional nonlinear dynamical models; and

(iii) to apply the techniques and programmes to improve economic and financial model building and 

forecasts from better models. 

DP0208333 

Dr Gael Martin 

Dr DC Harris 

Title: Persistence in Economic Time Series: Interpretation, Measurement and Inference 

*** 

2002: $20,000 2003: $30,000 2004: $25,000 



Summary: 

An economic time series is said to be persistent if shocks to the series have a permanent effect. 

Accurate and unambiguous inferences regarding persistence are crucial to an understanding of the 

response of the variable to shocks, in particular to policy-induced shocks. In this project we will 

explore new ways of interpreting, measuring and conducting inference on persistence. The aim is to 

produce significant theoretical and methodological advances which, when applied to empirical 

problems, will enable reliable conclusions to be drawn regarding the propagation of shocks and, 

hence, the likely impact of interventionist government policies. 

DP0208669 

Prof Vance Martin 

Dr DC Harris 

*** 

Title: A Multivariate Dynamic Factor Model of the Australian Business Cycle: Specification, 

Estimation and Empirical Results 

2002: $30,000 2003: $38,000 2004: $38,000 



Summary: 

The project aims to extend greatly existing models of national and international business cycles by 

developing a general class of dynamic factor models for Australia. The project provides a significant 

contribution to business cycle modelling by solving the intractability problems common to existing 

classes of dynamic factor models. A key innovation is the development of a simulation based 

estimator to circumvent the statistical and computational problems associated with existing 

estimators. The expected outcome of the project will be a more reliable way to monitor the phases of 

the cycle and forecast turning points, which will be of substantial national benefit. 

DP0211352 

Prof Michael McAleer 

*** 

Title: Modelling a portfolio of financial assets: structure, estimation, testing and forecasting

2002: $107,373 2003: $85,000 2004: $80,000 



Summary: 

Information regarding financial returns and risk is essential for optimal portfolio selection and asset 

management. Returns and risk have typically been analysed for individual assets. The project 

provides a theoretical solution to the important practical problem of modelling a portfolio of financial 

assets in realistic situations. The significance of the research is the development of a new approach to 

analyse a portfolio of returns and risk, and the determination of its applicability using numerical 

simulation techniques. The expected outcomes are an optimal practical method for analysing a 

portfolio of assets, a scientific monograph, and publications in leading international journals. 

*** 

3501 ACCOUNTING, AUDITING AND 

ACCOUNTABILITY 

DP0208859 

Prof Robert Chenhall 

Title: Performance Management using Balanced Scorecards to Improve the Performance of 

Australian Manufacturing Organizations. 

2002: $35,000 2003: $45,000 



Summary: 

The balanced scorecard is a performance management technique that has been promoted to assist 

managers of Australian manufacturing companies improve the performance of their organizations. 

However, there is little empirical evidence to support an association between scorecards and 

enhanced performance and there is much to be discovered about how they promote effective 

outcomes. This study provides a significant conceptual advance by proposing that scorecards will 

enhance performance when they are 'comprehensive' in design. This enhancement in performance 

occurs as comprehensiveness assists product innovation and aligns manufacturing with strategy. The 

theoretical and empirical outcomes of the research are significant as the appropriate application of 

balanced scorecards can assist Australian firms compete effectively in global markets. 

DP0210370 

Prof Wai Fong Chua 

Prof R Simnett 

*** 

Title: Strategic Archetypes, Knowledge Management Practices and Knowledge Processes in 

the Provision of Assurance and Consulting Services 

2002: $30,000 2003: $45,000 2004: $40,000 



Summary: 

The Big 5 accounting firms have restructured fundamentally in the last two decades. They are now 

multi-product, knowledge-intensive firms that need to match their competitive strategy with their 

knowledge management practices in order to achieve high levels of firm performance. We know 

little about these contingent fits. By comparing a sample of the Big 5 accounting firms with 

comparable consulting firms, this project seeks to understand what types of knowledge management 

practices provide the best fit for particular strategic archetypes. The study therefore shows how 

?good? or ?poor? fits between strategy and knowledge management practices impact on project 

performance. 

DP0209673 

Prof Garry Marchant 

Title: The Balanced Scorecard: A Strategic Management Accounting Tool for Scenario 

Thinking and Strategic Decision Making 

2002: $20,000 2003: $20,000 

*** 



Summary: 

This project examines the use of models based on the balanced scorecard in scenario thinking and 

strategic decision making. The Balanced Scorecard is a set of financial and non-financial 

performance measures. Managers can refine their model about the critical cause-effect relations in 

the firm by scanning balanced scorecard reports. They can use this model for generating scenarios 

and making strategic decisions. This proposal responds to calls for focussed research on systems like 

the Balanced Scorecard that have "the potential to provide planners with a way of expressing and 

testing a sophisticated model of cause-effect in the organisation." 

*** 

3502 BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT 

DP0211283 

Prof Richard Badham 

Dr A Griffiths 

Prof SR Clegg 

Prof G Palmer 

Prof IP McLoughlin 

Title: Patterns of Commitment: Risks, Opportunities, and Alternatives in Introducing 

Normative Control in Industry. 

2002: $45,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $50,000 



Summary: 

Many companies seek to secure personal commitmetnt from employees to the flexible pursuit of 

corporate goals by changing to a post-bureaucratic system of normative control. There is, however,

a scarcity of detailed studies of how such a change is brought about and the effect this has on the 

degree of commitment and the form that it takes. Privileged access to a major change initiative in an 

industrial plant enables this project to provide an in-depth longitudinal study of these issues and, 

drawing on the results, to speculate about the positive and negative effects of alternative patterns of 

normative control for business and employees. 

DP0211061 

A/Prof Richard Dunford 

A/Prof IC Palmer 

Title: Patterns of change in organizational structures in hyper-competitive environments 

*** 

2002: $50,000 2003: $50,000 2004: $55,000 



Summary: 

Aim: Longitudinal study of organizational structures in a highly competitive industry, focusing on 

change from traditional to new organizational structures. Our conceptual framework of retention, 

coexistence, replacement and integration enables assessment of patterns of structural change over 

time and tests of resource based and institutional theories about why organizational structures 

change. 

Significance: Our conceptual framework is innovative and provides a template for assessing current 

arguments about structural change and performance. 

Outcomes: 

Theoretical: greater understanding of relevance of organizational change theories. 

Practical: provision to managers of knowledge about new patterns of structuring organizations and 

which ones are associated with superior performance. 

DP0208919 

Prof Russell Lansbury 

Dr J Kitay 

Mr NR Wailes 

Dr C Lee 

*** 

Title: The Impact Of Globalisation On Employment Relations: A Comparison Of The Auto 

And Banking Industries In Australia And Korea 

2002: $35,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $38,000 



Summary: 

The project compares the impact of globalisation on employment relations in Australia and South 

Korea by analysing changes in the auto and banking industries since the mid 1990s. It is expected 

that the interactions between economic factors, institutional arrangements and strategic decision 

making will have led to both continuity and change in employment relations during this period. The 

study will introduce a new theoretical dimension to comparative industrial relations by testing an

?interaction? approach. It will also provide a deeper understanding of the reasons for similarities and 

differences between employment relations in Australia and South Korea and indicate likely future 

developments. 

DP0210830 

Dr John Mathews 

Prof M Dodgson 

Title: Managing the Diffusion of Innovations: Understanding the Processes of R&D 

Collaboration in East Asia and drawing lessons for Australia 

*** 

2002: $62,500 2003: $75,000 2004: $75,000 



Summary: 

A series of collaborative R&D ventures have emerged in East Asia, within quite distinctive 

institutional frameworks. Unlike the case of many of the collaborative arrangements in the US, 

Europe or Japan, where mutual risk reduction is frequently the driving influence, in the case of 

Taiwan, Korea and Singapore it is technological learning, upgrading and catch-up industry creation 

that is the object of the collaborative exercises. The study is concerned with the evolving 

organizational architecture of these R&D alliances and seeks to draw comparisons between them and 

established collaborative arrangements in the USA, Japan and Europe, and draw lessons for 

Australia. 

DP0210724 

Prof Christopher Nyland 

*** 

Title: The Rise and Retention of the 'Authoritarian Taylorism' Perspective as Orthodoxy in 

the Employment Relations Field 

2002: $30,000 2003: $40,000 



Summary: 

In the late 1980s revisionist historians of the employment relationship began questioning the belief 

that Taylorism is an authoritarian, anti-union school of management. These scholars argued that the 

managers and theorists who predominated within the U.S. interwar Taylorist movement were unique 

in the management community in the extent to which they promoted industrial democracy, mutual 

gains, and gender equality. In the light of this knowledge, this project explores how it could be that 

the authoritarian Taylorist perspective became accepted by all schools within the employment 

relations field and what the notion of progressive Taylorism offers employment relations analysis and 

reform. 

DP0211679 

Dr Robert Ranzijn 

***

Dr E Carson 

Prof AH Winefield 

Title: Measuring and managing the intellectual capital of the ageing workforce 

2002: $35,000 2003: $45,000 2004: $30,000 



Summary: 

Many employees are retiring prematurely, placing increasing strains on the social security system. 

Moreover, their accumulated competencies, expertise, and organisational corporate wisdom 

(intellectual capital) may be lost. There is a growing recognition that much of the wealth of 

organisations resides in their intellectual capital. This project will develop a methodology to measure 

intellectual capital and will increase understanding of how companies can retain it. Potential longterm 

benefits include more efficient management of intellectual capital and enhanced retention of 

mature workers, with consequent savings in social security. The project will be benchmarked against 

similar developments in other countries. 

DP0209665 

Dr Glenda Strachan 

A/Prof J Burgess 

Prof LJ Dickens 

Title: Equal Employment Opportunity in Australia and Britain: Policy Approaches and 

Progress 

*** 

2002: $35,000 2003: $50,000 2004: $45,000 



Summary: 

Equal employment opportunity policies were introduced in Australia and Britain from the 1980s in 

response to women's disadvantaged workforce position. These policies aimed to eliminate barriers 

to women's equal participation. Similar approaches were taken in both countries, but Australia's was 

underpinned by legislation, while Britain's was employer led and voluntary. No independent 

examination of these programs has yet been undertaken. This project examines the rationale and 

model for EEO in both countries, compares outcomes achieved and the role of legislation in 

explaining differences in EEO outcomes. It will contribute to national policy analysis and produce 

refereed publications. 

DP0211298 

A/Prof Timothy Turpin 

Prof GE Fulop 

Dr P Couchman 

A/Prof S Garrett-Jones 

Title: Managing the risks of cross-sector R&D collaboration 

***

2002: $40,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $55,000 



Summary: 

One of the most interesting and dynamic forms of cross-sector R&D collaboration in Australia 

occurs through the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) Program. This study investigates how 

collaboration and 'risk' is managed among CRCs and their partners. It is pioneering research bringing 

two aspects of cross-sector collaboration into a single, longitudinal study. The study will produce 

new knowledge concerning: management processes in cross-sector R&D, organisational change and 

the impact of sustained collaboration on partners, and the role of public policy on collaborative R&D 

in Australia. 

DP0209041 

Dr Anthony Worsley 

Dr DA Crawford 

Ms E Lea 

Title: Examination of consumers' and food industry's use and views of plant-based food 

products 

*** 

2002: $65,184 2003: $65,184 2004: $65,184 


APD - Ms E Lea 


Summary: 

Plant food products such as cereal grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes can provide physiological 

benefits for consumers, value-adding opportunities for industry, and, ecological sustainability. This 

project will examine the factors driving consumer interest in this area and gauge the extent of 

industry and mass media influences over consumer demand. 

Major outcomes of the project include greater understanding of consumer use of these foods, 

segmentation of the consumer market, novel segmentation instruments, a stronger basis for 

communication between industry and consumers regarding plant foods, and identification of 

opportunities and barriers to the production and marketing of novel plant food products. 

*** 

3503 BANKING, FINANCE AND INVESTMENT 

DP0208021 

Prof Timothy Brailsford 

Prof RD Terrell 

Title: Investment Opportunities and the Impact of Interaction Between Global Integration, 

International Capital Flows and Price Movements in Emerging Stock Markets 

2002: $50,000 2003: $50,000 2004: $50,000 

Administering Institution: The Australian National University


Summary: 

Emerging stock markets now represent an integral component of international investment portfolios 

comprising billions of dollars. But stocks in these markets are perceived as excessively volatile and 

frequently inconsistent with economic fundamentals. This project investigates the linkage between 

emerging stock prices and both local and global economic influences; develops quantifiable timevarying 

measures of capital market integration based on fundamentals allowing ranking across 

markets; and explores how integration levels are affected by capital flows. The project will benefit 

the investment community and governments in understanding, and modelling, the impact of policy 

and trade flows on market integration and the consequent effect on stock markets. 

DP0209365 

Dr Katrina Ellis 

Dr K Pattenden 

*** 

Title: Back door listings: from hot rocks to hot stocks 

2002: $62,500 2003: $53,750 



Summary: 

The purpose of this research is to explain the incidence, characteristics and performance of firms 

who engaged in back door listings in the late 1990s. A back door listings is a means whereby a 

private company becomes listed by a merger with a public corporation. 

We are focussing on a research topic that has not been examined at all in academic research. This is 

despite the significance of the going public process and mergers. We will provide evidence on the 

performance of back door listings, and our results will be the basis of suggestions to market 

regulators and future researchers. 

DP0209729 

Prof Peter Swan 

*** 

Title: Illiquidity, momentum traders, incentives, and book to market: explaining and testing 

the factor drivers of stock market returns 

2002: $160,000 2003: $159,749 2004: $146,000 2005: $146,000 2006: $146,000 


APF - Prof PL Swan 


Summary: 

I build on my new illiquidity explanation for the equity premium based on the realisation that 

government bonds turn over many times faster than equity and that trading is both voluntary and 

endogenous. By introducing these new theoretical developments and new factors such executive 

incentives I aim to enhance our knowledge of what drives returns in global stock markets. As a result 

researchers will have a better understanding of, and controls for, market factors to enable sound

empirical work and companies will be able to lower the cost of capital via greater liquidity and 

improve their corporate governance structures and performance. 

3504 TRANSPORTATION 

DP0208269 

Prof David Hensher 

Prof P Stopher 

Prof P Bovy 

Title: Freight Transport and the Environment 

2002: $100,000 2003: $105,000 2004: $80,000 2005: $80,000 2006: $60,000 

*** 



Summary: 

Freight transport is a major contributor to traffic congestion and environmental blight in urban areas 

and adds sizeable costs to final consumption and the terms of trade, yet we currently lack any policyrich 

predictive demand models. This program fills this gap. Using ideas from supply chain alliance, 

stated choice methods and behavioural models we develop a research program to understand and 

predict the environmental and traffic impacts of the freight distribution task for key commodity 

classes in respect of origin, destination, trip timing, routing, selection of vehicle type and the way 

that consolidation is undertaken in freight distribution. 

*** 

3601 POLITICAL SCIENCE 

DP0210035 

Prof J. Camilleri 

Prof J Falk 

Title: Governance in a Shrinking, Fragmenting World 

2002: $30,000 2003: $40,000 2004: $20,000 



Summary: 

'The End of Sovereignty?' was a well received study in which the applicants examined the need to 

reconceptualize the 'sovereign state' in a rapidly globalizing world. Ten years later, this new study 

builds on that foundation. Through careful sifting of the empirical evidence, it examines both the 

challenge of globalization for governance, and institutional and normative responses to that 

challenge. In doing so, it aims to develop a clearer interpretation of the dynamics of global social 

change in relation to the national state, and a framework of analysis which, with whatever 

qualifications prove necessary, takes us beyond the sovereignty discourse. 

DP0209586 

***

Prof Brian Galligan 

Title: A scholarly and comprehensive account of Australian politics: The Oxford Companion 

to Australian Politics 

2002: $50,000 2003: $65,000 2004: $60,000 



Summary: 

The project aims to deepen the understanding of Australian politics by producing the first scholarly 

and comprehensive account in a form that makes it readily accessible to experts and general readers. 

The collaborative process will engage leading scholars working in all sub-fields of Australian politics 

and include all approaches. It will entail critical reflection upon, and synthesis of , past and present 

scholarship as well as new research on neglected areas and the application of new approaches to 

established bodies of work. 

DP0208994 

Prof Moira Gatens 

Dr DM Ivison 

A/Prof PR Patton 

Title: A naturalistic approach to rights, norms and practices of freedom. 

*** 

2002: $50,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $53,000 



Summary: 

We offer a naturalistic account of the dynamic relations between rights, norms and freedom. Case 

studies of the emergence of new rights for women and indigenous peoples will show how this 

approach generates new ways of understanding human rights, cultural norms and the interactions 

between them. Further outcomes will include a multidimensional approach to moral 

cosmopolitanism which provides a distinctive pluralistic alternative to current theories. 

DP0208692 

Prof Graeme Gill 

Title: Democracy and the Bourgeoisie: Post-Communism and the Transition to Capitalism 

2002: $70,000 2003: $90,000 2004: $89,000 2005: $41,000 2006: $22,000 

*** 



Summary: 

There is commonly perceived to be a relationship between social structure and regime type. This 

proposal seeks to understand the impact the type of bourgeoisie has upon the prospects for 

democracy. Its principal focus is contemporary Russia. In order to obtain theoretical purchase and 

historical perspective, the Russian experience will be compared with the effects on political

development of a range of other bourgeoisies, coming from the classic early industrialiser countries, 

the late industrialisers, a number of third world countries, and some of the post-communist states. 

DP0211164 

A/Prof Murray Goot 

*** 

Title: Please Explain! The Media Presence, Electoral Appeal and Political Impact of Pauline 

Hanson's One Nation Party. 

2002: $35,000 2003: $45,000 



Summary: 

The success of Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party is an important development in Australian 

politics. This project seeks to: examine the ways in which the media have reported the phenomenon; 

test competing explanations for the party's electoral appeal, including theories derived from the rise 

of the radical right elsewhere and explore the party's impact on the electoral strategies and public 

policies of the established parties. It will enhance our understanding of media practices and power, of 

the conditions under which populist parties may emerge, and of conservative politics under chall 

DP0208846 

Prof Jeffrey Jacobs 

Title: Democratising Taiwan 

*** 

2002: $25,000 2003: $35,000 2004: $31,500 



Summary: 

On 18 March 2000, over 12.6 million Taiwanese voters cast their ballots and elected two former 

political prisoners, candidates of the opposition political party, as president and vice-president. This 

peaceful transfer of power from government to opposition marked a key stage in a thirty year history 

of liberalisation and transition to democracy. How did Taiwan?s political system change from being 

one of Asia?s most authoritarian regimes to one of its most democratic? This project seeks to 

explore and answer the many aspects raised by this question. The answers have relevance to 

Australia?s peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. 

DP0209491 

Prof Robin Jeffrey 

Title: Slicing India: a new perspective for understanding contemporary India 

*** 

2002: $32,500 2003: $40,000 2004: $20,000 

Administering Institution: La Trobe University


Summary: 

This project exploits techniques of slice history, pioneered in AUSTRALIANS: A HISTORICAL 

LIBRARY. Using the 12-yearly religious festival, the Kumbh Mela, to define its slice years, the 

study compares over time the extent to which men and women were involved with, or divorced 

from, the ideas of an Indian nation, political decision-making and institutions, religious practices, a 

wider economy and the ecology of their dwelling places. The Project aims to identify neglected 

aspects of politics and society in modern India and thus sharpen understanding of India's current 

condition and potential. 

DP0210228 

Prof Aynsley Kellow 

Dr M Haward 

*** 

Title: Federalism and International Risk Management 

2002: $25,000 2003: $35,000 2004: $30,000 



Summary: 

The introduction of new quarantine disciplines with the World Trade Organisation agreements has 

given rise to tensions within the Australian Federation over the relationship between state and 

national quarantine measures. This project will review critically these developments in order to 

better understand and improve the process of risk assessment which is increasingly important after 

the Salmon case. The project will train a graduate student in risk assessment policy, produce several 

scholarly outputs and contribute to improved policy in an area of vital national importance. 

DP0209838 

A/Prof Leong Liew 

Prof RJ Robison 

Dr WF Case 

Dr MK Beeson 

A/Prof I Islam 

Prof K Hewison 

Dr VR Hadiz 

*** 

Title: Changing East Asia's Economic and Political Regimes: What Kind of Markets? What 

Kind of Polities? 

2002: $35,000 2003: $45,000 2004: $45,000 



Summary: 

The East Asian financial crisis in 1997 highlighted economic and political problems in the 

strategically pivotal region. In the wake of the crisis there was an expectation that East Asian 

governments and businesses would be forced to adopt 'western' political practices and economic

structures. This project will demonstrate why these expectations have not been realised, and how 

markets and political authority continue to be shaped by contingent domestic imperatives. Our 

explanation of the divergent outcomes will force a fundamental re-thinking of existing theoretical and 

policy paradigms, potentially influencing Australian policy towards the region. 

DP0211016 

A/Prof Marian Sawer 

Prof B Hindess 

Dr J Uhr 

Dr I Marsh 

Prof JS Dryzek 

Prof I McAllister 

Title: Democratic Audit of Australia 

*** 

2002: $150,000 2003: $150,000 2004: $150,000 



Summary: 

The Democratic Audit of Australia is an assessment of Australia's strengths and weaknesses as a 

democratic society. It will examine five key areas: (i) citizenship, law and rights; (2) representative 

and accountable government; (3) participation and government responsiveness; (4) democracy 

beyond the state; and (5) democracy and federalism. The audit process was pioneered in Britain and 

has now been applied in ten countries including New Zealand. 

The Audit aims to make a major methodological contribution to democracy assessment, as well as 

providing benchmark data for purposes of monitoring and international comparison. It will also 

promote public debate over democracy issues. 

DP0208119 

Prof Patrick Weller 

Prof J Wanna 

Dr H Patapan 

Prof RA Rhodes 

Title: Westminster Transplanted and Westminster Implanted: Explanations for Political 

Change 

*** 

2002: $50,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $55,000 



Summary: 

Why have Westminster systems,adopted across the world, been so resilient in different 

environments? By exploring how different nations have adapted the core executive components of 

Westminster by combining local traditions with inherited practices, the project will identify what 

conditions provided the stability and security that often emerged. By comparing performance across

nations it will explain why Westminster practices were so adaptable. This is the first longitudinal 

study seeking to explain political development in societies that inherited executive practices from the 

same source. It has the potential to identify how and why future constitutional transplants might 

succeed. 

*** 

3602 POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION 

DP0208794 

A/Prof Mark Considine 

Dr JM Lewis 

Title: Fostering Innovation Inside Government: The Role of Structural and Personal 

Networks in Improving Innovation Performance Among Politicians and Bureaucrats. 

2002: $100,000 2003: $105,000 2004: $91,000 2005: $80,000 2006: $80,000 


APF - A/Prof M Considine 


Summary: 

Innovation is the engine of the new global economy.The Prime Minster's Australia Day Statement 

'Backing Australia's Ability' put innovation at the top of the government agenda. Unfortunately most 

research and public policy ignores the participation of government itself, apart from its fiscal role. 

This new study takes the innovation question inside government to map the path to innovation and 

to analyse how networking determines outcomes. The study considers both structural and personal 

networks and considers variations in how they are related. Outcomes will include a new model for 

governmental innovation and methods for performance improvement inside governmental systems. 

DP0208956 

Prof Grant Harman 

Dr KM Harman 

Title: Enhancing the Technology Transfer Capability of Australian Univerities 

*** 

2002: $25,000 2003: $35,000 2004: $35,000 



Summary: 

This project aims to assist in achieving enhanced University capability in technology transfer which is 

regarded by government as cruicial to improving national innovation performance. I seeks to identify 

the determinants of effective technology transfer and provide in-depth understanding of the social 

process involved in transferring both inventions and associated scientific knowledge from universities 

to corporationss. Employing a contingent effectiveness model, the research will focus on the 

characteristics of the transfer agent, the transfer recipient, the transfer medium, the transfer object 

and the demand environment. Results and recommended strategies will be communicated to 

university and industry managers and government officials. 

***

DP0211704 

Prof F MARCEAU 

A/Prof TR TURPIN 

Title: Innovation Agents and Innovation Tracks. Research Scientists in the Australian 

National System of Innovation. 

2002: $70,000 2003: $75,000 



Summary: 

The project examines the backgrounds, careers and technology transfer activities of research 

scientists working in Australia. The project is significant because these scientists are the key 

innovation agents of the Australian National System of Innovation. Increasingly anxious about 

successful transition to a knowledge economy, governments are focusing on R&D but paying too 

little attention to Australia?s core innovation personnel. The project focuses attention onto scientists 

and the innovation tracks they and their work make across the economy, in both public and private 

sectors, with the aim of improving polices for their retention and full participation in Australian 

knowledge-based development. 

3701 SOCIOLOGY 

DP0208305 

A/Prof Janeen Baxter 

Prof PF McDonald 

*** 

Title: Negotiating the Lifecourse: Changing and Maintaining Household and Labour Market 

Links 

2002: $32,500 2003: $170,000 2004: $45,000 



Summary: 

This study builds upon and extends a unique longitudinal Australian project concerned with the way 

in which men and women negotiate employment and domestic responsibilities over the lifecourse. 

We are seeking funds to collect a third wave of data from our sample and to extend the project in 

three key areas concerning the domestic division of labour, women's employment and marital 

stability, and family formation. The significance of the project lies in its longitudinal design enabling 

us to address key social questions that have not been examined in Australia in the past. The project 

will deliver important information to policy-makers as well as providing a unique database for social 

researchers. 

DP0211360 

Mr Michael Bittman 

Prof J Wajcman 

***

Title: Domestic Technology and the Management of Time 

2002: $40,000 2003: $52,000 2004: $52,000 



Summary: 

This project will make a significant contribution to temporary debates about time poverty and workfamily 

balance. It proposes to analyse under-utilised data sources to investigate whether time 

pressure can be alleviated through the application of information and communications technology, 

such as personal computers, mobile phones and programmable domestic equipment. It is a 

widespread assumption that domestic technologies simply save time. This project explores the extent 

to which technologies in the home instead facilitate 'time-shifting- or the re-scheduling of tasks in a 

way that may reduce feelings of time pressure and enhance the quality of leisure time. 

DP0208038 

Dr D Brunckhorst 

Dr NC Reid 

Dr OJ Cacho 

Dr lA Lobry de Bruyn 

Dr TJ Lynch 

Mr G Marshall 

Title: Institutional transitions to sustainable agriculture: An inter-disciplinary analysis of a 

novel common-property resource governance system 

2002: $50,000 2003: $50,000 2004: $50,000 2005: $52,225 

*** 


APD - Mr G Marshall 


Summary: 

Efforts to overcome the severe degradation of land resources supporting agriculture and human 

communities continue to be constrained by institutions and social norms. The knowledge needed for 

a transition to sustainable agricultural landscapes through institutional change is inadequate. A 

collaboration between specialists in economics, politics, sociology, ecology and soil science at the 

University of New England and graziers in an upper Murray-Darling subcatchment will analyse the 

transition to a common-property institution on this subcatchment. It will make a distinctively 

Australian contribution to international efforts to understand such transitions, and serve as a model 

for progress towards sustainability elsewhere in Australia. 

DP0211641 

Dr C Feng 

Title: Party-state, Liberalism and Social Democracy: the debate on China's future 

*** 

2002: $32,100 2003: $32,100 2004: $32,100



Summary: 

The Chinese communist party-state is in transition. The possibilities range from liberal democracy, 

through social democracy to new forms of authoritarianism. One key to the future of China lies in 

the reflections of intellectuals and members of the ruling elite on this transition. This project 

examines the current debates in China on its destiny, in particular that between ?liberals? and the 

?new left?. In addition to highlighting the process and possible future of intellectual and political 

development in China, the project also contributes to the wider discussion of change in transitional 

post-communist societies more generally. 

DP0208442 

Prof Riaz Hassan 

*** 

Title: Institutional Configurations, Religioisty and Public Influence of Religious Institutions 

Muslim Societies: A Comparative Study 

2002: $45,000 2003: $55,000 2004: $40,000 



Summary: 

Religious fundamentalism is a growing and important part of social change in Muslim countries. 

Using current religious, political, and social conditions as contrasting environments the proposed 

research will investigate the competing theories of Islamic fundamentalism, sociological correlates of 

Muslim religiosity and public influence of religious institutions in contrasting institutional 

configurations by focusing on the Islamic Republic of Iran, Turkey and Nigeria. This will be 

achieved through a study of random/purposive samples of respondents in the three countries using 

survey methodology. The objective is to develop a theoretically and empirically grounded model of 

social, political and religious trajectories of Muslim societies. 

DP0209812 

Dr Paul Henman 

Prof M Dean 

Title: E-Government: prospects for public administration, citizenship and social theory 

*** 

2002: $30,000 2003: $40,000 2004: $40,000 



Summary: 

This project examines how electronic technologies effect modes of governing and citizenship in 

liberal democracies. It focuses on electronic client records and electronic communications in social 

security, taxation and primary health care. It uniquely adopts and extends a theoretical framework 

(of 'governmentality') and applies an innovative research design to the study of e-government. 

Attention is given to how e-government differently affects rural, urban, young, old, rich and poor

persons. Outcomes include theoretical developments in studies of technology, government and 

citizenship, and the identification of practical ways to realise governmental objectives such as active 

citizenship, individualised service delivery, access and equity. 

DP0208085 

Dr Sue Kenny 

Dr KM Brown 

A/Prof JA Onyx 

Prof TW Burke 

Title: Comparative dimensions of active citizenship: an analysis of indicators of inclusivity 

and exclusivity in civil society 

2002: $25,000 2003: $50,000 2004: $50,000 2005: $35,000 


*** 


Summary: 

Active citizenship is a key concept in debates around the nature of civil society and the changing 

forms of citizenship. To date, grounded studies of the concept have been few. The project's 

significance lies in its focus on developing indicators of active citizenship. This enables the empirical 

charting of active citizenship. The comparative aspect to the project will heighten our ability to 

understand these processes in Australia in relation to other countries. 

DP0209288 

Prof Deborah Lupton 

Title: FOOD AND RISK: RESEARCHING LAY PERCEPTIONS AND MEDIA 

REPRESENTATIONS 

2002: $22,000 

*** 

Administering Institution: Charles Sturt University 


Summary: 

The project will document and analyse issues concerning the risks associated with food in selected 

print news media and investigate lay people's notions of risk associated with the consumption of 

food. It will focus in particular on food poisoning and contamination, genetically-modified food and 

BSE and vCJD (`mad cow') issues, all of which have attracted a great deal of public attention and 

media coverage. This research will provide insights into what sorts of messages and meanings are 

being conveyed in the print news media and how people are dealing with food risks, how they make 

choices about food consumption and who they blame for these risks. 

DP0209963 

Dr Kevin McDonald 

Dr J Fitzgerald 

***

Title: Young injecting drug users, embodied identities and social worlds: an ethnographic 

study 

2002: $86,000 2003: $85,000 2004: $70,000 



Summary: 

This research explores the social experience of young injecting drug users, mapping processes of 

initiation, the hidden drug experience, and modes of maturing out of drug use. It analyses and 

compares the trajectories of young drug users in both rural and urban contexts, focusing on the 

experience of embodied selfhood, social worlds and identities, exploring injecting use as a medium of 

relationship with the self and the other, and mapping social networks and cultures of risk. It will 

develop key implications for national and local drug policy in three critical areas: prevention, harm 

minimisation and withdrawal. 

DP0209146 

A/Prof Patrick Mullins 

Em/Prof JS Western 

A/Prof RW Simpson 

Prof RJ Stimson 

*** 

Title: DETERMINANTS OF QUALITY OF LIFE IN CITIES: The South East Queensland 

Urban Region in Comparative Perspective 

2002: $42,500 2003: $110,000 2004: $50,000 



Summary: 

This is the Australian component of an international project on quality of life (QOL) in cities. It 

examines people's perceived QOL and relates this to objective indicators such as employment levels 

and neighbourhood safety. We examine the South East Queensland urban region; our collaborators 

focus on Detroit (USA) and Belo Horizonte (Brazil). Our research tests the recent proposition that 

QOL is the key element in the rise of the new economy characterised by increasing emphasis on 

consumption and expansion of the services sector. Understanding the relationship between QOL and 

the new economy is vital for future urban planning. 

DP0209923 

Dr Amaryll Perlesz 

Dr J Lindsay 

Prof M Pitts 

Dr R McNair 

A/Prof DA De Vaus 

Title: The invisible postmodern family: Investigating the interface between the private and 

public worlds of lesbian families 

2002: $30,000 2003: $40,000 

***



Summary: 

This study investigates family diversity and post-modern kinship through a study of lesbian parented 

families. These families are a recent and significant new family type and knowledge about them is 

crucial for understanding contemporary family life. We examine family structure including how 

family members define and describe their relationships, their roles and the social supports available to 

them. We examine the interface between the private lives of lesbian parented families and mainstream 

public institutions. The research will develop the field of family studies theoretically and empirically 

and will be of major significance to researchers, practitioners and social policy makers. 

DP0208637 

Dr Timothy Phillips 

Dr PD Smith 

Title: Everyday Incivilities 

*** 

2002: $25,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $30,000 



Summary: 

The study aims to provide the best available evidence on the seriousness of everyday incivilities 

between strangers in public places as a social problem in Australian society. This will involve 

gathering self-report data from socially diverse Australians for the purpose of exploring social group 

differences in (i) the type and prevalence of everyday incivilities experienced, and (ii) the social and 

psychological costs of exposure to everyday incivilities. The information gathered will be used to 

identify high risk social groups and public places, and serve as a basis for developing programs for 

reducing everyday incivilities. 

3702 SOCIAL WORK 

DP0211490 

A/Prof David Plummer 

A/Prof V Minichiello 

Mr R Fletcher 

*** 

Title: The pressures of modern manhood. Mapping the impact of homophobia on the lives of 

Australian men. 

2002: $20,000 2003: $30,000 2004: $30,000 



Summary: 

this study will construct a detailed map of the impact of homophobia on men;s behaviour, lifestyles 

and risk-taking (gay or not). It explores the possibility that through devices like taboo and loss of

face homophobia can (i) make certain behaviours and life patterns unpalatable and alienate men from 

safer, healthier behaviours; (ii) block retreat from danger : and (iii) promote risky, antisocial, hypermasculine 

posturing. from the innovative perspective of the interplay of homophobia with 

masculinity, we expect to uncover key insights into how homophobia makes an important 

contribution to the pressures of modern manhood. 

DP0209592 

Prof Peter Saunders 

Dr X Shang 

Prof X Zhang 

*** 

Title: The Role and Impact of the Social Support System on the Well-being of the Elderly in 

China 

2002: $48,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $50,000 



Summary: 

This research will examine how recent changes to the system of formal and informal support for the 

elderly in China has affected their well-being. The project will analyse two unique data sets that 

provide a wealth of information on the economic and social circumstances on the elderly in China in 

1992 and 2000. The proposed collaboration with Chinese researchers on aging will generate new 

insights into how the circumstances of the elderly are changing in a context of economic 

transformation and social change. The results will have implications for social policy development in 

China and shed light on theoretical debate over the role of confucianism in China's version of 'welfare 

orientalism'. 

3703 ANTHROPOLOGY 

DP0209045 

Dr Soren Blau 

A/Prof FD Pate 

Dr A Betts 

Title: Nomadic or sedentary? Determining lifestyle and subsistence of past populations in 

Central Asia using osteological, bone chemical and genetic techniques 

*** 

2002: $84,500 2003: $88,800 2004: $73,000 


APD - Dr S Blau 


Summary: 

The aim of the research is to apply a range of osteological analytical techniques to investigatge 

subsistence patterns of past populations from the heart of Central Asia. Morphological, bone 

chemical and genetic analyses will be undertaken on previously unstudied collections of 

archaeological human skeletal remains recovered from burial grounds located on the Ustiurt Plateau

and the banks of the Amu Dariya, Uzbekistan. In conjunction with the existing archaeological 

record, these anlyses will reveal the nature of subsistence patterns, economy and inter-relationships 

of ancient Central Asian peoples, with the ultimate aim of differentiating nomadic and sedentary 

lifestyles. 

DP0208348 

Dr Francis Bulbeck 

Dr CW Groves 

Title: The contribution of South Asia to the peopling of Australasia 

2002: $108,100 2003: $181,800 2004: $210,511 2005: $168,100 2006: $78,601 

*** 


ARF - Dr FD Bulbeck 


Summary: 

This project focuses on the human fossil record from three regions critical to understanding the 

origins of our species, Homo sapiens. Australia is crucial in view of its diverse array of "gracile" and 

"robust" human remains of Late Pleistocene/early Holocene age. Equally important are South and 

Southeast Asia as they lined the tropical route between Africa, our species' Late Pleistocene 

homeland according to the Out of Africa theory, and Australia. Osteological and archaeological 

evidence of the selection pressures that operated on earlier hunter-gatherers will be employed to 

explain the observed patterns of morphological evolution throughout the study region. 

DP0208095 

Dr Laurent DOUSSET 

Title: Australian Western Desert Kinship and Land Tenure Systems 

*** 

2002: $69,500 2003: $65,000 2004: $65,000 


APD - Dr LA DOUSSET 


Summary: 

The project aims to investigate the relationship between kinship and land tenure in Aboriginal 

Australia in the region between the NT/WA-border and Wiluna and Kalgoorlie following three 

aspects of group identification and differentiation. 

Formal aspects: investigation of kinship terminologies and land tenure systems among the various 

groups; analysis of the semantic shifts of terms in space according to the diffusion of social 

categories. Pragmatic aspects: analysis of alliance strategies and kin-network in relation to places of 

birth and ?regional group? membership. Dynamic aspects: examination of the impact of migration 

and settlement on terminologies, alliance strategies, and land tenure systems. 

DP0210464 

***

Dr Clifford Goddard 

Title: Ethnopragmatics: A fresh approach to studying discourse practices in cultural context. 

2002: $35,000 2003: $52,000 2004: $50,000 



Summary: 

Thhis project applies an innovative and rigorous linguistic framework to the study of culturallyshaped 

ways of speaking, using case studies of Malay, Australian English, and several other 

languages. Cultural differences in ways of speaking - e.g. a tolerance of sarcasm, a preference for 

subtlety or for directness or for hyperbole - run deep and cause much intercultural misunderstanding. 

They are usually deeply rooted in societal atitudes and cultural assumptions. The findings will have 

important implications for intercultural communication (both within a multicultural Australia, and in 

trade and international relations) and for the teaching of languages in cultural context. 

DP0210071 

Dr Francis Just 

Dr MM Minnegal 

Dr PD Dwyer 

Title: Victorian Fishers: an ethnographic study 

*** 

2002: $73,000 2003: $30,689 2004: $26,613 



Summary: 

The project will study fishers and their families in three Victorian coastal communities- Lakes 

Entrance, the Corner Inlet ports, and Portland - to investigate how the character of fishing 

communities and perceptions of fishing as a way of life are affected by socio-economic context. The 

project will contribute new conceptual understandings of the construction of identity in fishing 

communities, establish a basis for studying diversity in discourse and practice in contexts where 

access to marine resources is governed by legislative control and scientific advice, and has the 

potential to provide input to policy development within the Victorian and Commonwealth fishing 

industry 

DP0208167 

Mr David MacDougall 

Title: Visual Research in Social Aesthetics 

*** 

2002: $135,000 2003: $195,747 2004: $145,286 2005: $130,000 2006: $128,000 


APF - Mr DC MacDougall 

Panel: DP-HCA Humanities and Creative Arts

Summary: 

Despite a few pioneering efforts beginning in the 1930s, visual anthropology (like anthropology 

itself) has largely confined its interest in aesthetics to studies of indigenous art. It has focused 

instead on technology, religion, economics, social structure, politics and ideology as the dominant 

forces in society. I believe this has limited the potential of visual anthropology, which is in fact 

ideally suited to studying the broader role of aesthetics in human societies. The aim of this research 

is to examine how a reconsideration of the aesthetics of everyday life might form the basis for a 

revitalised visual anthropology. 

DP0210140 

Mr Benjamin Smith 

Title: Aboriginal outcomes from land claims, transfers and purchases in central Cape York 

Peninsula. 

*** 

2002: $65,984 2003: $62,967 2004: $62,967 


APD - Mr B Smith 


Summary: 

Description and analysis of current land-ownership and land-use outcomes amongst Aboriginal 

people on Cape York Peninsula, moving away from a common emphasis on traditional landownership 

to focus on emergent forms of use and interest resulting from the articulation of 

Aboriginal and 'mainstream' land tenure and property rights. The project aims to review the 

outcomes of land claims, transfers and purchases for Aboriginal groups, particularly the current and 

likely future outcomes for the development of local Aboriginal society and economy, and the ways in 

which land ownership and land use outcomes meet or fail Aboriginal aspirations. 

DP0209069 

Mr Peter Toner 

Title: Yolngu Music: Anthropological and Indigenous Perspectives 

*** 

2002: $76,200 2003: $64,600 2004: $62,967 


APD - Mr PG Toner 


Summary: 

The study of Yolngu music has involved some of Australia's most eminent anthropologists and 

ethnomusicologists, who have gone on to lead the development of their respective disciplines in this 

country. The history of this research is also very important to Yolngu people themselves, who have a 

deep intellectual interest in the music of their forebears and a profound desire to recover their 

cultural resources, which were recorded over the last 75 years. This project is a critical historical 

investigation of Yolngu music, from the inter-related perspectives of the musicians who produced it 

and the scholars who studied it.

DP0210203 

Prof Robert Tonkinson 

Dr MR Tonkinson 

Dr VK Burbank 

*** 

Title: Inequality, Identity and Future Discounting: A Comparative Ethnographic Approach 

to Social Trauma in Aboriginal Australian Communities 

2002: $38,000 2003: $66,023 2004: $48,171 



Summary: 

Via fieldwork in Aboriginal communities, this study examines the extent to which psychosocial 

processes of identity serve as a mechanism whereby social inequality becomes personal and 

community disadvantage. We focus on Aboriginal perspectives, their experiences and accounts of 

social traumas. The study's significance lies in the persistence of differentially high negative social 

indicators in Aboriginal communities. Its originality lies in conceptualizations of future discounting 

as a dimension of identity and of identity as a process critical to well-being. Outcomes include further 

understanding of the relationship between inequality,identity and well-being. 

DP0211816 

Dr Carol Warren 

Dr AE Lucas 

Dr G Acciaioli 

Dr J Schiller 

Mr J McCarthy 

Dr C Ballard 

Dr L Visser 

*** 

Title: Locating the Commonweal: Community, Environment and Local Governance Regimes 

in Reform Era Indonesia 

2002: $91,000 2003: $120,955 2004: $158,683 


APD - Mr J McCarthy 


Summary: 

The Indonesian government is currently implementing decentralisation legislation to address 

increasing regional discontent. In the context of political and economic crisis, these institutional 

reforms are intended to bring about greater popular participation in the political process and in 

resource management. This research will study several intersecting dimensions of reform in the local 

domain: popular participation in decentralised governance; resource access and management by local 

communities; and the implications of reform for local sustainability and equity. The research will 

produce a comparative analysis of emerging governance patterns in the Reform Era based on locally 

grounded case studies spanning the Indonesian archipelago.

DP0208215 

Prof A Wierzbicka 

*** 

Title: Values and ethics in a global world: a semantic perspective 

2002: $50,000 2003: $51,000 2004: $80,000 



Summary: 

The question: "How are we to live?" is of fundamental importance, on an individual, social and 

international level. Yet in an increasingly global and pluralist world it remains difficult to articulate 

any values that are intelligible, let alone acceptable, to everyone. Although the literature on the 

subject is constantly growing, the very language of the current debate suffers from ethnocentrism, 

with culture-specific English words like "fairness", "autonomy" and "tolerance" being widely used as 

would-be neutral conceptual tools. A framework for discussing ethics and values in a universal, nonethnocentric 

perspective is urgently needed. This project aims at providing such a framework and 

putting it to work. 

*** 

3704 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY 

DP0211327 

A/Prof LM Head 

Title: Foregrounding the suburban backyard: using hybrid spaces to develop new 

environmental theory for more effective management of human landscapes 

2002: $80,000 2003: $85,000 2004: $85,000 



Summary: 

Although human influences now pervade all Earth processes, environmental ideals of pristine past 

landscapes without people continue to dominate. The project addresses the challenge of managing 

environments for hybridity, change and human presence, rather than timeless purity. I will undertake 

the first in-depth ethnographic study of the suburban backyard, Australia's most hybrid ecosystem. I 

analyse how categories of environmental belonging - indigenous/introduced, wild/tame, hybrid/pure - 

are differentially applied to people, other species and landscapes, in policy and popular culture. This 

contributes to new theories of long term human-environment interactions and effective management 

of human landscapes. Outcomes will include books and museum exhibitions. 

DP0208102 

Prof Robert Stimson 

A/Prof PF Mullins 

Prof J Mangan 

Dr MJ Bell 

***

Dr SW Baum 

Prof GJ Hugo 

Prof AM Harding 

A/Prof KB O'Connor 

A/Prof RJ Birrell 

Mr P Williams 

Title: Spatially Integrated Socio-Economic Analysis: Australia at the New Millennium 

2002: $90,000 2003: $90,000 2004: $90,000 2005: $90,000 2006: $90,000 


ARF - Dr SW Baum 


Summary: 

A new spatially integrated approach is used to analyse and evaluate the divides in Australian society 

at the new millennium, drawing on perspectives from three key disciplines in the social sciences - 

economics, human geography and sociology. Pathbreaking microsimulation and GIS based spatial 

modelling techniques are used to generate new synthetic variables by integrating ABS Census and 

survey data to enhance the understanding of patterns and improve explanation of differential 

outcomes in the well-being of both people and places. The new decision support systems we develop 

will better inform policy responses to address distributional equity, efficiency and competitiveness. 

DP0209563 

Prof Michael Webber 

Title: Spatial structure of emerging labour markets in China: a study of social and political 

institutions in localities 

*** 

2002: $35,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $55,000 



Summary: 

This project will identify factors influencing the structure of emerging local labour markets in China 

during economic transition. It will (i) measure spatial variations in the degree to which markets for 

labour have emerged in China; (ii) characterise national, provincial and local influences over the 

operation of labour markets; (iii) evaluate competing explanations of labour market transitions; and 

(iv) evaluate the capacity of Chinese governments to direct economic change in new markets. The 

project will integrate geographical theory of local labour markets and theories of transition in China, 

extending and enriching both. 

3705 DEMOGRAPHY 

DP0210455 

Dr Martin Bell 

Title: Circular Mobility in Australia: Types, Measures, Patterns and Impacts 

***

2002: $35,000 2003: $62,000 2004: $50,000 



Summary: 

The rapid growth of circular mobility (temporary overnight absences from home) for work and 

leisure reflects newly emerging spatial relationships that trigger massive flux in local populations. 

This project will: develop new measures that capture the unique dimensions of this movement 

(frequency, duration and seasonality); show how circulation in Australia varies over time and space; 

develop model profiles; quantify local impacts; and propose means to accurately estimate service 

populations. The results will have direct practical application to local authority planning, place the 

study of circulation on a rigorous analytical footing and enhance international understanding in a 

field largely neglected hitherto. 

DP0211257 

A/Prof DAVID MEREDITH 

Dr DJ OXLEY 

Dr SH HORRELL 

Title: UNDERSTANDING COLONIAL AUSTRALIA / BUILDING A NATIONAL 

RESOURCE 

*** 

2002: $65,197 2003: $77,000 2004: $70,000 



Summary: 

Understanding colonial Australia uses new methods with old data to penetrate the workings of the 

convict labour markets, the levels of wellbeing they supported, and the ways in which families 

distributed those resources among their members. Australia's position in the league-table of living 

standards is established against the four countries which contributed people to European Australia: 

England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The outcome is a history of wellbeing and inequality in 

colonial Australia. A spin-off from this research is the creation of a unique national resource: a 

computerised longitudinal data base on Australia's first white citizens, the convicts. 

*** 

3706 HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE 

AND MEDICINE 

DP0208861 

Dr Susan Broomhall 

Title: Gender and the Production of Early Modern French Medicine 

2002: $72,500 2003: $62,967 2004: $66,000 


APD - Dr SM Broomhall


Summary: 

This project contributes to a long-term, large-scale research endeavour focused on the interaction of 

gender and the development of forms of science and technology in history. This project constitutes a 

significant investigation into the gendering of medical theory and practice. It is an innovative survey 

of early modern ideas about the production of medical knowledge and practices, about who had the 

right and authority to determine medical theory and about how women participated in this 

framework. The project is expected to result in a major research monograph and a number of key 

articles. 

DP0208425 

Dr S Gaukroger 

Title: The Emergence of a Scientific Culture in Early Modern Europe 

2002: $47,000 2003: $70,000 2004: $80,242 2005: $80,000 2006: $75,000 

*** 



Summary: 

The shaping of cognitive values around scientific ones was one of the most lasting and radical effects 

of the Scientific Revolution, and it is one of the most distinctive features of modernity in the West. 

This dominance of scientific values is absent from other scientific cultures (e.g. from Greek, medieval 

or Chinese science) and there is nothing intrinsic to the kinds of theories and results we find in the 

Scientific Revolution that would explain this development. The project looks at the particular 

legitimatory problems that science faced in the 17th and 18th centuries, and investigates how this 

reshaping came about. 

DP0208361 

Dr Libby Robin 

Dr DB Rose 

Title: Nature and Nation: Science, Environment and National Identity in Australia 

*** 

2002: $31,000 2003: $36,852 2004: $35,894 



Summary: 

Nature and Nation combines interviews and archival research to explore the intersection 

of three worlds in Australia: 

the natural world 

the scientific world that speaks for nature in settler society, and 

the cultural world that fosters and constrains science and other ways of knowing about nature. 

The primary focus is the workings of science in northern Australia, where the frontier has never 

closed. The aim is to elucidate the past, present and future roles of environment and science in

Australia's nation-building. Outcomes will include public lectures, journal articles and a major book 

for a general audience. 

*** 

3799 OTHER STUDIES IN HUMAN SOCIETY 

DP0209734 

Dr Hera Cook 

Title: Emotional Behaviour in England, 1930-1980 

2002: $65,000 2003: $66,000 2004: $64,000 


APD - Dr H Cook 


Summary: 

My aim is produce a study of emotional behaviour in England. This will be a contribution to the 

expanding history of gender and of the self. The project will demonstrate the importance, in terms of 

insights into cultural change, of recovery of previous emotional standards. Additionally it will test the 

claims that have been made about governmentality in the twentieth century. 

DP0209261 

Dr Gillian Whitehouse 

Ms DJ Zetlin 

Prof RC Hunter 

Ms M Smith 

Dr AC Preston 

Title: The production of pay (in)equity for women: a study of emerging occupations 

*** 

2002: $40,000 2003: $55,000 2004: $35,000 



Summary: 

The aims of this project are to extend understanding of current impediments to pay equity for 

women, and to elaborate the ways in which pay inequality is re-created in new contexts. The focus is 

on emerging occupations likely to provide increasing employment opportunities in the near future. 

This is highly significant research at a time of structural change and when new procedures for 

addressing pay equity are being developed in several States following pay equity inquiries. Expected 

outcomes include enhanced comprehension of the reproduction of pay inequality and evidence to 

assist the advancement of pay equity through identified mechanisms and strategies. 

3801 PSYCHOLOGY 

DP0209413 

***

Dr P Bordia 

Prof C Gallois 

Dr N DiFonzo 

Title: The boomerang effect of rumour denials: An attributional analysis 

2002: $25,000 2003: $35,000 2004: $35,000 



Summary: 

Rumours can have many harmful consequences. They may lead to damaged reputations, reduced 

morale, panic, stress and loss of interpersonal trust. Furthermore, they are very hard to manage. A 

simple denial of a rumour can often result in increased belief in the rumour. This boomerang effect 

makes it very difficult to combat harmful rumours. The proposed research applies causal attribution 

theory to explain the causes behind the boomerang effect. It uses a combination of laboratory and 

field experiments and aims to develop and test strategies to overcome this effect. 

DP0208796 

Dr Richard Bryant 

Title: Hypnosis and Emotional Numbing 

*** 

2002: $45,000 2003: $52,000 2004: $50,000 



Summary: 

Emotional numbing, or lack of emotional response, is a core problem in many clinical disorders. 

This project represents an innovative approach by using hypnosis to model emotional numbing in the 

laboratory and to investigate the mechanisms and effects of emotional numbing under experimental 

conditions. These studies will shed new light on the major factors that contribute to this form of 

emotional disorder, will lead to a new model of emotional numbing, and will have significant 

implications for our understanding and management of disordered emotional states. 

DP0211842 

A/Prof Denis Burnham 

Dr CW Davis 

A/Prof JA Bowey 

Dr AE Castles 

Dr V Ciocca 

Dr L Luksaneeyanawin 

Title: Speech perception precedes, indexes, and is changed by language acquisition 

*** 

2002: $50,000 2003: $70,000 2004: $70,000 



Summary: 

What is exceptional about human infants is not their sophisticated speech perception (for animals 

perceive human speech similarly) but their use of speech to regulate linguistic attention and bootstrap 

language. Using a new validated measure, language specific speech perception (discrimination ability 

for native minus non-native speech sounds), we can ascertain children?s distribution of resources in 

linguistic tasks. This measure will be used in conjunction with a raft of experimental psycholinguistic 

techniques to investigate speech perception bases of phoneme perception, tone perception, word 

meaning, reading, and their vestiges in adulthood, to arrive at a dynamic new conception of language 

development. 

DP0211947 

A/Prof Denis Burnham 

Dr E Vatikiotis-Bateson 

Prof K Sekiyama 

Dr HC Yehia 

Title: Watch my Lips: Perception and Production of Tone and Prosody by Humans and 

Machines 

*** 

2002: $50,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $54,000 



Summary: 

Speech is more than auditory segments for two reasons: suprasegmental information (tone, pitch - 

accent, stress, and prosody) conveys vital information for speech processing; and vital speech 

information (lips, face, and head movements) significantly improves speech recognition by humans 

and machines. In this project visual information for suprasegmental speech is investigated in a three 

pronged attack involving (i) sophisticated tracking of face and head movements, (ii) perceptual 

studies of human speech processing, and (iii) cross- language and child studies. Applications such as 

cochlear implants, automatic speech recognition, and speech synthesis will benefit from this next 

wave in basic speech science research. 

DP0211113 

Dr Nicholas Burns 

Dr TJ Nettelbeck 

*** 

Title: Speed of Information Processing Across the Ages: the Structure of Cognitive Abilities 

in Children, Adults, and the Elderly 

2002: $48,000 2003: $48,000 2004: $48,000 



Summary: 

Does speed information processing determine intelligence? The study addresses this question by 

examining the structure of cognitive abilities and speed of processing in children, adults, and the 

elderly. The project will advance theory by testing whether speed of processing mediates

developmental cognitive change during childhood and old age. Outcomes include contributing to a 

complete model of cognition, laying the foundations for a future major longitudinal study which will 

provide evidence on the direction of causality between speed of processing measures and cognitive 

abilities, and provide norms for a computerised, commercial test battery. 

DP0210500 

Dr R Carson 

*** 

Title: The neural basis of interlimb coordination 

2002: $40,000 2003: $52,000 2004: $45,000 



Summary: 

The aims of the proposed research program are to increase our understanding the control of 

voluntary movement. It is expected that the outcomes of this research program will have eventual 

application to a number of acquired movement deficits, in particular those arising from spinal cord 

and brain injury. This research will also be of diagnostic value in determining the integrity of the 

motor pathways, in both acquired and developmental movement disorders. 

DP0210520 

Dr R Carson 

Dr D Taaffe 

Title: The influence of resistance training upon movement control in the elderly. 

*** 

2002: $50,000 2003: $70,000 2004: $70,000 



Summary: 

The primary aim of this applied research project is to investigate the impact of resistance training in 

the elderly. We will assess the responses to training that occur in the elderly, and determine the time 

course and persistence of adaptation. It is anticipated that the knowledge derived will be applied by 

clinicians and health practitioners in the design of resistance training programmes for the elderly, and 

thereby enhance the performance of tasks encountered in daily living. 

DP0210609 

Dr Colin Clifford 

*** 

Title: Processing and Awareness in Dynamic Vision 

2002: $130,000 2003: $110,000 2004: $110,000 2005: $110,000 2006: $110,000 


QEII - Dr C Clifford


Summary: 

How is phenomenal consciousness related to processing in the brain? Is visual awareness a direct 

on-line monitor of visual processing, or do further interpretative processes intervene so that 

simultaneous neural activity can represent events experienced at different times? A novel technique 

for measuring asynchronies in the processing of different visual attributes will be used to examine the 

relationship between the dynamics of our subjective visual awareness and the time course of the 

underlying neural processes. The results will help to establish which neural computations are (and 

are not) accessible to conscious vision, thus serving to shape current theories of consciousness. 

DP0208147 

Prof Norman Feather 

Prof NT Feather 

Dr RJ Boeckmann 

Title: Legitimacy, Deservingness, and Entitlement: Studies in Social Justice 

*** 

2002: $40,000 2003: $50,000 2004: $45,000 



Summary: 

This research program aims to clarify the variables that affect whether authorities are seen to be 

legitimate or otherwise, and the conditions under which people are perceived to be entitled to 

benefits or to deserve either positive or negative treatment. We will also examine how personal and 

social values affect these kinds of judgments, and how judgments of legitimacy, deservingness and 

entitlement are related. The research program will advance theoretical understanding about social 

justice in a variety of contexts (eg., organizations, law, government, family). It will also have 

practical outcomes by suggesting ways of exercising authority that are seen as both effective and fair. 

DP0208412 

Prof Joseph Forgas 

Title: Feeling, thinking and doing: Affective influences on social cognition and behaviour 

2002: $85,000 2003: $80,000 2004: $70,000 2005: $71,000 2006: $68,000 


*** 


Summary: 

Affect has a major influence on how people think and behave in social situations, yet the 

psychological mechanisms responsible for these effects remain incompletely understood. The 

proposed experiments will investigate the circumstances that facilitate or inhibit affect infusion into 

social thinking, judgments and behaviours and explore the real-life consequences of these effects. A 

comprehensive theoretical model, the recently revised Affect Infusion Model will be tested as an 

integrative explanation for affect infusion phenomena. 

***

DP0211698 

Prof Barbara GILLAM 

Title: Binocular depth perception in complex visual arrays 

2002: $113,913 2003: $129,000 2004: $110,000 2005: $110,000 2006: $113,000 


APF - Prof BJ GILLAM 


Summary: 

Research on binocular depth perception reveals an influence of regions of surfaces which only one 

eye can see. These occur when surfaces occlude one another. Most of this research has been 

demonstrational only with theory and data undeveloped concerning the nature of these novel depth 

effects and their relationship with conventional stereopsis. We propose applying sophisticated 

measures of accuracy/precision to such new forms of depth perception to allow the testing of various 

theoretical assertions. We shall also explore some significant new perceptual roles for monocular 

regions. We beleive that our findings will entail a major revision of stereoscopic theory. 

DP0208257 

Prof Graeme Halford 

Title: A Method for Analysis of Complexity in Cognitive Processes: Applications to 

Prediction of Industrial Workloads 

*** 

2002: $40,000 2003: $40,000 2004: $40,000 



Summary: 

The project will develop a method for analysis of cognitive complexity in human and animal 

cognition. It will contribute to basic research because it will enable equivalences and relative 

complexities of cognitive functions to be determined, independent of content or methodology. It will 

have applications to education, because it enables complexities of concepts to be recognised and 

appropriate pedagogies determined. It also has application to human factors, especially industrial 

performance and decision making. It will advance on currrent methods because it enables workload 

to be analysed and predicted, so that it can be factored into job and system design. 

DP0211342 

Ms Irina Harris 

Title: How we recognise the orientation of objects: a combined neurophyschological / eye 

movement study 

*** 

2002: $68,000 2003: $68,000 2004: $68,000 


APD - Ms IM Harris


Summary: 

Neurophyschological evidence suggests that different visual attributes of objects (e.g. shape vs 

orientation in space) are processed by independent brain systems. This project aims to investigate 

this issue systematically, using both neurological patients and normal volunteers. By using sensitive 

experimental measures, including detailed analyses of subject's eye movements while they view 

objects, this research will provide valuable insights into how the visual system gathers and encodes 

information about different object attributes. 

DP0209427 

Dr Andrew Heathcote 

Dr BK Hayes 

Prof Dr DJ Mewhort 

Title: The Development of Speed Skill 

*** 

2002: $50,000 2003: $50,000 2004: $49,000 



Summary: 

The power function has been the unquestioned law linking practice to human response time for 30 

years and is the basis for all current theories of human skill acquisition. Our recent work has 

overturned the power law in favour of an exponential law. This project uses a combination of 

computer simulation and experimentation with both adults and children to determine the generality 

of the exponential law and to develop theory that can accommodate it. Developmental and practice 

effects will be compared in four fundamental cognitive tasks and new estimation methodologies 

tested, resulting in quantifiable improvements in education and training practices. 

DP0208829 

Prof Beryl Hesketh 

Title: Time discounting in late career financial and activity planning 

*** 

2002: $50,000 2003: $58,000 2004: $55,000 



Summary: 

A new career decision model of retirement activity and financial planning will be tested that 

combines hyperbolic delay discounting with exponential interest growth, while also examining the 

impact of risk framed in terms of changing goverment tax legislation and uncertain health. The role 

of expertise and simulated training in reducing time discounting will be examined, and results 

combined to form a late career web assistance program. Improving predictions of the decision to 

retire will benefit individuals, financial planners, investors and employing organisations. 

***

DP0210576 

Prof Beryl Hesketh 

Dr GA Starmer 

Title: The estimation of vehicle speed under varying environmental and individual state 

conditions 

2002: $35,000 2003: $45,000 2004: $42,000 



Summary: 

Using innovative occlusion and training research designs on a driving The proposed project examines 

the contribution of a mental model approach to the perception of time and speed of own and other 

vehicles using innovative occlusion and training research designs on a driving simulator. Participants 

will be asked to make time and speed estimations under varying environmetal conditions such as 

urban and rural scenes, straight and curved roads, and with and without engine noise, and under drug 

states. The generality of the findings will be tested on an instrumented car. The project will increase 

our understanding of factors influencing speed perception, a critical component of safe driving 

behaviour. 

DP0209423 

Prof M Hogg 

A/Prof DJ Terry 

A/Prof R Martin 

Title: Transforming attitudes into action: The role of social identity and collective selfconception 

in societal innovation and social change. 

*** 

2002: $118,455 2003: $100,000 2004: $100,000 



Summary: 

Basic and applied research are articulated with social practice and policy to develop new knowledge 

about the social psychology of societal innovation and social change. How, and under what 

conditions, can leaders and active minorities mobilise people to act in accordance with attitudes that 

accommodate changed circumstances? Our analysis integrates research on uncertainty, minority 

influence, and leadership, within the perspective of social identity theory and new attitude-behaviour 

relations research. This innovative integration significantly advances basic theory, and concretely 

addresses social change regarding cultural relations and immigration, sustainable natural resource 

management, healthy living, national economic activities, and business and organizational practices. 

DP0209312 

Dr Yoshihisa Kashima 

Dr GL Robins 

Dr ES Kashima 

***

Prof RS Tindale 

Title: The Formation and Maintenance of Stereotypes through Communication 

2002: $50,000 2003: $55,000 2004: $55,000 



Summary: 

Stereotypes are culturally shared beliefs about social groups. Although many stereotypes may be 

formed on the basis of hearsay, and often maintained through our everyday conversations, little is 

known about how they are formed, maintained, and transformed through interpersonal 

communications. This project examines this question with a view to developing a social 

psychological theory of how culturally shared beliefs may be formed, maintained, and transformed, 

especially when they can have undesirable consequences such as prejudice and discrimination. 

DP0209664 

Dr Jeesun Kim 

Title: Determinants of Audio-Visual effects in degraded and non-degraded speech 

*** 

2002: $65,184 2003: $66,000 2004: $66,000 


APD - Dr J Kim 


Summary: 

Seeing a speaker?s face can affect the perception of their speech in a number of ways. This project 

proposes a detailed comparison of factors that affect Audio-Visual (AV) facilitation of degraded 

speech detection and identification. Detection-based tasks should be more sensitive to signal based 

correlations whereas identification-based effects more sensitive to complementary information. The 

significance of the current proposal is that it offers both a strategy and a connected series of 

experiments for determining key behavioural constraints on AV speech integration. Understanding 

AV interactions will build links between neurophysiological processes and coherent perception and 

have important implications for AV application. 

DP0211353 

Ms Robyn Langdon 

Title: Normal and abnormal processes of social attention orienting 

*** 

2002: $20,000 2003: $20,000 2004: $20,000 



Summary: 

Human beings are capable of rapidly detecting the direction of another person?s eye-gaze and 

shifting attention reflexively in that direction. This project will compare shifts of attention to non-

social and social cues of direction to determine whether attentional shifts to gaze-direction are fast 

because humans are biologically hard-wired to respond to social cues of evolutionary significance 

(eyes) or because humans are well-practiced at using a number of different signals for direction in 

their environment. Findings from this work will than be used to investigate whether a selective 

impairment of responding to gaze-direction contributes to the social impairments so characteristic of 

people with schizophrenia. 

DP0211406 

Dr Michael Lee 

*** 

Title: Evaluating models of category learning that use general feature-based representations 

2002: $25,000 2003: $20,000 



Summary: 

Three competing models of human category learning will be evaluated by comparing their behaviour 

to human performance on an experimental task where each model makes qualitatively different 

predictions. A series of theoretical and algorithmic advances will be undertaken to ensure each of the 

category learning models uses the same feature-based representation. Because the three models 

propose very different learning processes, their comparison will give insight into the basic cognitive 

process of categorisation. The algorithms for generating feature representations and modelling 

human category learning will also have potential for application in data visualisation and information 

handling systems. 

DP0208035 

Prof Stephan Lewandowsky 

Dr ML Kalish 

Title: Models of Knowledge Restructuring 

*** 

2002: $45,000 2003: $55,000 2004: $50,000 



Summary: 

In a world of rapid change, people must frequently adapt cognitive skills to new technologies. This 

often requires restructuring of knowledge, from simple initial strategies to increasingly complex ways 

of mastering the task. This is not always easy and people sometimes resist knowledge restructuring. 

We present a network model of knowledge restructuring that combines attentional processes with 

error-driven learning. The model accounts for several existing results and makes predictions that 

guide the proposed research. Three factors will be examined empirically: (1) the role of directing 

attention to alternative strategies; (2) the imperfection of existing knowledge; and (3) the complexity 

of alternative strategies. 

DP0208141 

***

Dr Skye McDonald 

Title: Empathy, Attention and Reasoning: The role of automatic and controlled processing in 

emotion recognition following traumatic brain injury 

2002: $35,000 2003: $45,000 2004: $45,000 



Summary: 

Traumatically brain injured adults have difficulty identifying emotional facial expressions but little is 

known regarding their psychophysiological reactions to emotional expression, the efficacy of their 

visual search patterns of facial features or the extent to which they engage conscious processing and 

problem solving to assist interpretation. Nor is anything known about their ability to recognise 

dynamic emotional displays compared to photographs. This project examines each of these facets 

using static and dynamic portrayals. The project will inform neuropsychological theories of facial 

processing, test the ecological validity of previous research and improve understanding of 

psychosocial deficits after TBI and their treatment. 

DP0208630 

Dr Elinor McKone 

Title: Face recognition: Properties and origins of whole-face processing 

*** 

2002: $58,000 2003: $57,000 2004: $58,000 



Summary: 

Humans identify other individuals almost entirely by their faces. Correspondingly, research has 

demonstrated a "special" style of cognitive processing that is unique to faces (at least in ordinary 

adults). The present project will address two major theoretical issues: (1) the exact nature of the 

special processing for faces, and (2) the extent to which it is innate, or learned. New progress in 

understanding these issues will be made using a series of novel experimental techniques. These 

techniques isolate the specific contribution of the face recognition system, independent of 

contributions from object recognition, and from early visual processing. 

DP0209343 

Dr Michael Nicholls 

Dr JB Mattingley 

Prof JL Bradshaw 

Title: Cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying lateral biases in human vision 

*** 

2002: $40,000 2003: $60,000 2004: $55,000 



Summary: 

Under conditions of unconstrained viewing, humans show a consistent and reliable asymmetry in 

their perception of visual stimuli. This bias, which favours the left side, arises at a post-retinal level 

and is hypothesised to reflect hemispheric asymmetry in the control of visuospatial attention. This 

program of research investigates the mechanisms underlying lateral biases in visual perception, using 

the latest cognitive neuroscience techniques. The findings will provide important new information 

about the neural and cognitive bases for normal and disordered visuospatial perception. The goal is 

to develop a novel test of perceptual asymmetries for use in normal participants and neurological 

patients. 

DP0209471 

Prof Matthew Sanders 

Title: Designing family-friendly work environments: An evaluation of a worksite parenting 

intervention for working women with young children. 

*** 

2002: $50,000 2003: $70,000 2004: $50,000 



Summary: 

This project will investigate the influence of family factors on organisational well-being, and evaluate 

the implementation of an intervention which aims to decrease family risk factors and enhance family 

protective factors, to benefit the work domain. It is expected that family factors will predict work 

outcomes and that the intervention will significantly improve family and work functioning, compared 

to a control group. Due to the increasing prevalence of working mothers in the workforce, this 

research will provide important information to organisations for the purpose of policy development 

in the area of balancing work and family demands. 

DP0209249 

A/Prof Philip Smith 

*** 

Title: The Stochastic Dynamics of Visual Attention 

2002: $32,000 2003: $33,000 2004: $34,000 



Summary: 

This project develops and tests a class of mathematical models of how information is represented 

statistically in the human visual system and how that representation is modified by selective attention. 

These models synthesise current theories about how the visual system encodes information and how 

people make judgements on the basis of that information. The domain of application of the existing 

class of models will be extended to allow them to predict performance in more complex settings than 

has hitherto been the case. A program of experimental studies will test the models by measuring 

human performance in response to computer-generated stimuli. 

***

DP0210002 

Dr Arthur Stukas 

Title: When Targets Seek to Disconfirm Expectations: Possible Future Interactions and 

Target Awareness as Moderators of the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy 

2002: $30,000 2003: $35,000 2004: $35,000 



Summary: 

The self-fulfilling prophecy has been demonstrated in a series of experimental studies in which 

"perceivers" are led to hold erroneous expectations about "targets" with whom they interact and 

subsequently come to believe that targets have confirmed their expectations (perceptual 

confirmation). Objective raters have demonstrated that targets often do confirm expectations with 

their actions (behavioural confirmation). However, targets do not always succumb to perceivers' 

expectations. The research proposed here seeks to examine the active role that targets may take in 

creating confirmation or disconfirmation by adding a temporal context to interactions, making 

targets aware of expectations, and manipulating properties of expectations. 

DP0208300 

Dr Thomas Suddendorf 

Title: The nature of self-recognition: novel approaches to vexing questions 

*** 

2002: $65,000 2003: $50,000 2004: $50,000 



Summary: 

Mirror self-recognition has often been interpreted as evidence for the presence of some form of selfconcept/awareness. 

Children from age 2 onwards investigate their own bodies after seeing a novel 

mark on their heads in the mirror (surreptitiously placed in their hair by the experimenter). Younger 

children and most animals do not respond to their images in such a way (instead, for example, 

treating it as another individual). The present experiments probe the nature of self-recognition using 

novel digital video technology rather than mirrors. This technology allows us to manipulate the 

contingency and appearance of the image. Five studies investigate the performance of 2 to 4-year-old 

children, autistic children, chimpanzees and dolphins to determine whether they recognize themselves 

and what underwrites their performance on the tasks. The innovative use of modern technology is 

expected to answer some of the most persistent questions in psychology. 

DP0210645 

Dr James Tresilian 

*** 

Title: Spatio-Temporal Precision of Interceptive Action 

2002: $46,000 2003: $50,000



Summary: 

Interceptive actions like hitting a moving target require precise, accurate positioning and timing. This 

project aims to empirically document how spatial and temporal constraints affect performance of 

interceptions and to quantify the speed-accuracy trade-off for interceptions. The speed-accuracy 

trade-off for movements aimed at stationary targets has been extensively documented ? slower 

movements are more accurate. There has been no corresponding documentation for interception. 

This project will fill the gap and provide a rich data set for developing an understanding of 

interception through modeling work. An understanding of the factors governing interception has 

potential applications in road safety, sports and neurological rehabilitation. 

DP0209296 

Prof John Trinder 

Title: Cardiovascular and Respiratory Activity During Sleep Onset 

*** 

2002: $126,706 2003: $80,000 2004: $60,000 



Summary: 

Going to sleep requires that behavioural and physiological activities be modified. This is achieved by 

the integrated activity of sleep mechanisms and the circadian system. In this project we will 

investigate the nature of the regulatory control exerted by sleep mechanisms over respiration and 

cardiovascular activity at sleep onset, how sleep control interacts with circadian influence, and the 

nature of cardio-respiratory activity when sleep control is removed at an arousal from sleep. It is 

anticipated that a better understanding of the regulatory control exerted by sleep over other systems 

will improve our understanding of sleep disorders. 

DP0209615 

A/Prof Ricky van Der Zwan 

Prof P Wenderoth 

*** 

Title: Neural mechanisms for human form perception 

2002: $65,000 2003: $80,000 2004: $75,000 



Summary: 

This project aims to determine if there is a single cortical mechanism underlying the human ability to 

discriminate and recognise objects. It has been speculated that different classes of objects, or forms 

require different processes. Demonstrating a single process would be a significant advance towards 

understanding the neural mechanisms giving rise to our ability to segment visual fields into 

meaningful objects and background. This research provides a means for testing models of the neural

interactions thought to be generating human form perception and will help us discover how the 

visual cortex converts raw sensory input into object and form perception. 

DP0210851 

A/Prof Douglas Vickers 

Title: Developing an integrative theoretical account of some basic mechanisms and limiting 

factors in human perception and cognition. 

*** 

2002: $50,000 2003: $65,000 2004: $56,000 



Summary: 

The principal factors limiting cognitive performance are widely considered to be information 

processing speed, working memory capacity, and the effective control of cognitive processes. The 

proposed programme aims to develop and test a unifying theory relating these to two of the most 

basic achievements of the brain - discrimination and identification. This will help us to understand the 

underlying basis of differences and changes in cognitive performance. The outcomes have 

implications for the design, analysis and interpretation of studies of perception, judgement, memory 

and intelligence. The research also has applied relevance to neuropsychology, information handling 

and the design of system interfaces. 

DP0211150 

A/Prof Douglas Vickers 

Dr MD Lee 

Title: Developing a generative transformational theory of visual perception 

2002: $35,000 2003: $42,000 

*** 



Summary: 

This project will develop and test a generative, transformational computer model of visual 

perception, based on fractal encoding. This uses a powerful similarity metric to select 

transformations, that, when applied to image elements, generate a replica of the image. The model 

can detect and analyse structure in regular and semi-regular images, even when embedded in noise. 

This approach provides an explanation for several perceptual phenomena and illusions. It can 

reconcile opposed theories of perception and provide a unifying perspective on perception and 

cognition. Practical applications include the automatic recognition of objects in imagery and the 

detection of structure in complex data. 

DP0209523 

Prof Reginald Westbrook 

Title: The role of context in the acquisition, extinction and reinstatement of fear 

***

2002: $50,000 2003: $50,000 2004: $50,000 



Summary: 

Behavioural studies have identified a role for context in the development, extinction and reactivation 

of fear memories. Although there has been significant progress in delineating the neural pathways for 

fear conditioning, less is known about the substrates that represent the context of conditioning. This 

project studies the neural substrates of the processes by which context controls the acquisition, 

extinction and reactivation of fear memories. Specifically, it examines the role of information flow 

between the dorsal subiculum and the accumbens nucleus in the processes by which rats learn about 

environmental context and the control exerted by such contexts on fear memories. 

3802 LINGUISTICS 

DP0208153 

Dr Cynthia Allen 

Title: Linguistic Typology and the Demise of Morphological Case: The Development of the 

Genitive in the Germanic Languages 

*** 

2002: $25,000 2003: $35,000 2004: $35,000 



Summary: 

This project will investigate how changes to the case marking systems of the Germanic languages 

affected the expression of the relationships originally encoded by genitive case. New data will be 

gathered concerning changes in Dutch and English. The investigation will then be extended to the 

other Germanic languages. A primary aim of the project is to present a case study of how closely 

related languages can diverge significantly while undergoing a similar shift from one overall ?type? to 

another, adding to our understanding of what sort of changes the human language capability allows 

in the transmission of language across generations. 

DP0209779 

Prof Michael Clyne 

*** 

Title: Community languages in early 21st Century Australia 

2002: $65,000 2003: $65,000 2004: $62,000 



Summary: 

Drawing on the 2001 and earlier censuses, three in-depth studies and a survey of community 

institutions, this project will provide an up-to-date assessment of the use and maintenance levels of a 

range of community languages and of Australia?s changing language demography. It will test models 

of language maintenance/shift and the impact of census question changes on the calculation of

language shift. It will contribute to the international literature in the field as well as to a greater 

understanding of our own community. The latter will allow an informed approach to Australian 

language policy issues in the early twenty-first century. 

DP0210083 

Prof William Foley 

Title: Papuan Descriptive Linguistics of the West Sepik Region 

*** 

2002: $30,000 2003: $37,000 2004: $22,000 



Summary: 

The New Guinea area has an exceptional, but very poorly understood linguistic diversity, over 1000 

languages belonging to many unrelated families. This project will fill in gaps through on site 

fieldwork in Sandaun (West Sepik) Province, linguistically the most genetically diverse and least 

known province in all of Papua New Guinea. The grammatical descriptions resulting will enrich our 

understanding of linguistic variation, not only in New Guinea, but in the world as a whole. 

DP0210173 

Dr John Hajek 

Title: A Typological Study of the Sound Systems of the New Guinea-Melanesia Area 

*** 

2002: $35,000 2003: $50,000 2004: $50,000 



Summary: 

This project aims to complete the first detailed cross-linguistic study of the sound systems of the 

New Guinea Melanesia area. More than one quarter of the world's languages are spoken in this 

region which remains very little known from a linguistics perspective. Results of this study should 

have important ramifications for our understanding of: (1) the nature of languages in the region, and 

of language in general (2) phonological description and theory (3) phonological description and 

theory (4) linguistic diffusion and influence in an area that extends from Eastern Timor to Vanuatu 

and New Caledonia. 

DP0209445 

Dr Yongxian Luo 

Title: Tai, Sino-Tai and Sino-Tibetan: the Nature of Historical Relationship 

*** 

2002: $30,000 2003: $45,000 2004: $40,000 



Summary: 

What is the relationship between Chinese and Tai? Where did they originate? What is the position of 

Tai in Sino-Tibetan? The project will advance our present knowledge by conducting empirical 

investigations of these issues. Using a heuristic approach combining several methods, it will shed 

light on how Chinese and Tai have interacted and developed diachronically over 2,000 years. The 

model developed will open a window on the early history of Chinese and Tai languages and cultures, 

and will facilitate cross-linguistic comparison and explain linguistic complexities underpinning 

linguistic affiliation and language development. 

DP0209182 

Dr Kenneth Moore 

Title: A Social History of Australian English 

*** 

2002: $52,441 2003: $56,146 2004: $57,495 



Summary: 

This is a study of the development of attitudes towards Australian English in the period 1788 to 

2000. It will demonstrate the significance of the growth of Australian English as a marker of national 

identity in the nineteenth century, the suppression of Australian English in the first half of the 

twentieth century, and the acceptance of Australian English in the second half of the twentieth 

century. The completed study, in the form of a book, will lead to a new understanding of the role 

Australian English has played in Australia's social, political, and cultural history. 

DP0208771 

Dr Paul Sidwell 

*** 

Title: Linguistic prehistory in Mainland Southeast Asia: 2000 years of language and culture 

contact between Austroasiatic and Chamic speakers 

2002: $70,000 2003: $70,000 2004: $70,000 


APD - Dr PJ Sidwell 


Summary: 

The project focuses on the Austroasiatic language groups, Bahnaric, Katuic and Khmer, and one 

Austronesian, Chamic, which are located in Vietnam, Cambodia and southern Laos. These languages 

have been in contact for around 2000 years. I will investigate the history of language contact and 

change, leading to improved understanding of the particular and general processes involved, and the 

histories of the languages and their speakers. Outcomes will include improved reconstructions of 

proto-languages, papers describing in detail the typology and processes of language contact and 

change, and a substantial monograph on the (pre)history of Mainland Southeast Asia. 

***

3901 LAW 

DP0210997 

Dr Christoph Antons 

Title: Traditional knowledge and intellectual property: A comparison of current approaches 

in Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines 

2002: $53,973 2003: $43,973 2004: $43,973 2005: $43,973 2006: $43,973 

Administering Institution: Northern Territory University 

QEII - Dr C Antons 


Summary: 

The concepts of 'indigenous cultural and intellectual property rights' and 'traditional resource rights' 

have sparked a debate between resource-rich developing countries and technology rich industrialised 

nations, because of their importance for biotechnology and pharmaceutical research. This 

comparative study combines legal analysis and fieldwork to critically examine cultural assumptions 

about the relationship of indigenous communities to their symbols and their environment. The 

examination will extend to Southeast Asia to discover different concepts of 'indigenous' and different 

mechanisms for the interaction between state and customary law. Asian experiences with legislation 

in this field will provide useful insights for legislators in Australia. 

DP0208258 

Prof Donald Chalmers 

Dr D Nicol 

Prof L Skene 

A/Prof MO Otlowski 

Title: Legal and Ethical Regulation of the Use and Commercialisation of Human Biological 

Material 

*** 

2002: $75,000 2003: $140,000 2004: $149,323 



Summary: 

The Australian government has a policy of promoting expertise in genomics. An essential ingredient 

of research and development of the genomics industry is access to human biological material. A clear 

regulatory framework is required, consistent with national ethical principles. There is lack of clarity, 

legally and ethically, in relation to ownership (including derivative claims), consented and unconsented 

use, contracts, conflict of interest and benefit sharing in human biological material, 

including regenerative tissue. Clarification will facilitate ethical research and commercialisation. 

These issues will be analysed systematically with recommendations for Australia consistent with 

international standards. 

DP0208755 

***

Prof Hilary Charlesworth 

Prof GJ Williams 

Title: International challenges to the Australian legal system: trade and human rights 

2002: $57,000 2003: $100,000 2004: $136,520 2005: $72,000 



Summary: 

The traditional notion of the Australian legal system as self-contained can no longer be sustained. 

Australia's legal structure operates within an international framework in which norms permeate 

national boundaries and influence local debates. This project will examine how Australian law and 

parliamentary and judicial institutions have reacted to this challenge, using the areas of trade and 

human rights as case studies. It will contribute to a new theoretical understanding of the Australian 

legal system as well as providing practical guidance for policy makers. 

DP0210704 

Dr Richard Johnstone 

Title: The Nature of Regulatory Compliance: An Analysis of the Responses of Business 

Organisations to Constitutive Regulation of Working Relationships 

*** 

2002: $47,698 2003: $64,188 2004: $31,995 



Summary: 

This project examines an under-researched area of vital importance to the effective implementation 

of workplace regulation. It investigates the way in which business organisations respond to four 

areas of labour regulation (covering occupational health and safety, unfair dismissal, equal 

opportunity and harassment). To what extent do these areas of regulation have the capacity to bring 

about changes in the culture, policies and operating procedures of organisations? What obstacles that 

impede organisations? attempts to comply with the regulatory requirements? The project will result 

in the usual academic publications, and workshops for the government agencies administering the 

legislation involved in the study. 

DP0208109 

Dr Danuta Mendelson 

Mrs L Iacovino 

Dr BM McSherry 

Mrs MR Paterson 

Title: Electronic Health Records: Achieving an Effective and Ethical Legal and 

Recordkeeping Framework 

*** 

2002: $28,000 2003: $28,000 2004: $23,453 

Administering Institution: Deakin University


Summary: 

Health records are essential to efficacious treatment and affect every individual. They are 'sociallycritical' 

communications because the therapeutic relationship between doctor and patient is based on 

trust. Without any systematic ethical and legal safeguards or recordkeeping framework, the 

application of new technologies for networking health records lacks social credibility. This 

multidisciplinary study will provide a set of principles and standards relating to authenticity, 

ownership, access, privacy, and confidentiality of doctor-patient communications in a networked 

environment, which, if implemented, will benefit patients and the medical community thus furthering 

the development of a more efficacious national health system. 

DP0208853 

A/Prof Margaret Otlowski 

Dr SD Taylor 

Dr KK Barlow-Stewart 

Title: Genetic discrimination in Australia: an exploration of the nature and extent of the 

phenomenon within the legal and social context. 

*** 

2002: $81,000 2003: $102,655 2004: $82,694 



Summary: 

This project involves national, groundbreaking research into the newly-emerging phenomenon of 

genetic discrimination in Australia. Undertaken by a multi-disciplinary, cross-institutional team with a 

wide range of expertise, this innovative and topical research will investigate genetic discrimination 

across three key perspectives: consumers, third parties and the legal system. It will advance the 

existing knowledge base, both nationally and internationally, and establish comprehensive baseline 

data for further evaluative research. Important outcomes for each of the three sectors will be 

generated, as well as a comprehensive overview of this important new Australian social issue. 

Recommendations will inform the development of appropriate law and policy. 

DP0210133 

Prof Patrick Parkinson 

Dr JA Cashmore 

Dr JC Wilson 

*** 

Title: Children's involvement in decision-making about residence and contact in family law 

proceedings. 

2002: $70,000 2003: $74,000 2004: $132,369 



Summary:

This project aims to discover the extent to which children and young people are involved in decisionmaking 

about residence and contact when their parents divorce, and to examine how their views are 

taken into account. It will involve interviews with children and parents about agreements reached 

without court involvement, and interviews with children, parents, counsellors, separate 

representatives and judges in cases with court involvement. The findings will result in greater 

understanding of the factors that affect children's willingness and capacity to be involved in such 

decision-making and assist counsellors, judges and other court personnel in ascertaining and 

assessing children's wishes. 

DP0209859 

Prof Staniforth Ricketson 

A/Prof M Richardson 

Ms LP Hitchens 

Title: Establishing an optimal legal framework for online privacy. 

*** 

2002: $47,000 2003: $72,306 2004: $56,609 



Summary: 

Consumer confidence in the security of personal information is essential for the growth of electronic 

commerce. To compete internationally, Australia must establish a world-class legal framework for 

the protection of online privacy. New technologies for collecting and processing personal 

information pose threats to individual privacy. Other technologies may protect privacy. 

Increasingly, effective protection of privacy depends upon the coordination of legal rules and 

technological measures. This project will be the first study to investigate the optimal mix of 

regulatory tools for the protection of online privacy in Australia. Recommendations will be made to 

improve Australian privacy laws and policies. 

DP0208174 

Prof George Williams 

Prof Dr LY Behrendt 

Dr L Strelein 

Title: Public Law Implications of Treaty Between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous 

Australians 

*** 

2002: $70,000 2003: $100,000 2004: $134,083 



Summary: 

Australia is the only Commonwealth country that has never signed an official treaty with its 

Indigenous peoples. It is not surprising then that a treaty between Indigenous and non-Indigenous 

Australians has been cited as a goal of the reconciliation process by bodies including the Council for 

Aboriginal Reconciliation. Unfortunately, there has been little academic examination of the merits or 

content of a treaty, or of how a treaty might be accommodated within Australia's constitutional

structure. With the benefit of comparative analysis, this project will provide a scholarly investigation 

of the role that a treaty could play under Australian law. 

*** 

3903 JUSTICE AND LEGAL STUDIES 

DP0209001 

A/Prof Christopher Cunneen 

Title: A Comparative Analysis of Reparation Schemes for the Gross Violation of Human 

Rights and Their Applicability to Australian Indigenous Peoples. 

2002: $45,000 2003: $55,000 2004: $70,000 



Summary: 

Reparation schemes for the victims of gross violation of human rights have developed significantly 

over the last 25 years in various jurisdictions across the world. In Australia there has been a call for 

reparations for Aboriginal victims of forcible removal from their families (the Stolen Generations). 

The research aims to (a) analyse the international experience of reparations along specific criteria; (b) 

determine the effectiveness of various approaches and the applicability of various models to the 

Australian context; (c) determine other practices, policies or events in relation to Australian 

Indigenous people which might give rise to reparations. 

DP0210707 

Prof Margaret Thornton 

Title: The Neo-Liberal Legal Academy 

*** 

2002: $65,000 2003: $46,994 2004: $35,870 



Summary: 

Profound changes are occurring in the character of Australian public universities, particularly in 

respect of the commodification of education, of which no study has yet been undertaken. Using the 

discipline of law as a case study, this project proposes to study the ramifications of change with 

particular regard to legal academics, legal education and the constitution of legal knowledge. While 

the main focus will be directed to the Australian legal academy, comparisons will be effected with 

New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom which evince similar trends. The study is expected to 

remedy a lacuna in knowledge and to inform higher education policy. 

*** 

3904 LAW ENFORCEMENT 

DP0208510 

Prof John Clement 

Mr DL Thomas

Mr CL Ogleby 

Dr M Yoshino 

Title: Establishment of Identity from Quantitative Analysis of Facial Characteristics 

2002: $65,000 2003: $87,591 



Summary: 

This project will provide the Criminal Justice systems in Australia and Japan with more rigorous 

methods of identifying people from eye-witness and surveillance video reports. It builds on research 

previously undertaken into analysis of facial morphology, and provides an innovative approach to 

identification through the use of three dimensional modelling and high speed computer graphics 

augmented by Fourier analysis of shape parameters. The project is part of a formal collaboration 

with the National Research Institute of Police Science in Tokyo, providing an ethnically diverse data 

set of three dimensional graphical and mathematical models. 

DP0210921 

A/Prof Rob White 

*** 

Title: Youth Gangs: The Australian Experience 

2002: $45,500 2003: $35,934 2004: $29,244 



Summary: 

Little systematic research has been undertaken in Australia into the nature and activities of youth 

gangs. The aim of this project is to provide a national study of youth group formations, processes of 

group transformation (toward or away from gangs), and strategies the might be employed to curtail 

gang formation and gang-related behaviour. The study will involve interviews with young people in 

each capital city, and focus group discussions with youth service providers in each city. The research 

methods draw upon the instruments presently being developed by the Eurogang Research Network 

in order to facilitate cross-national comparisons. It will be the first national study of its kind, and will 

provide new conceptual insights into the character of youth group formation in Australia, baseline 

youth gang data, and analysis of possible intervention strategies. 

*** 

3999 OTHER LAW, JUSTICE AND LAW 

ENFORCEMENT 

DP0209260 

Dr Timothy Lindsey 

Prof M Hooker 

Title: Islamic Law in Contemporary Indonesia 

2002: $35,000 2003: $36,500 2004: $67,770



Summary: 

Law is at the heart of Islam and the absence of a distinction between religion and law creates 

inherent tension between Islamic law (syariah) and the modern nation state. As the Indonesian state 

struggles to redefine itself post-Soeharto, syariah's role has again become contested. Modern 

scholarship has, however, ignored contemporary Indonesian Islamic law. Working with leading 

Indonesian Muslim scholars this project will investigate Islamic legal institutions, substantive law and 

jurisdiction, surveying lawyers, judges and litigants. It will build bridges between Western, 

Indonesian and Middle-Eastern Islamic jurisprudence to expand Australian understandings of 

Indonesian Islam at a critical moment in bilateral relations. 

*** 

4001 JOURNALISM, COMMUNICATION AND 

MEDIA 

DP0211784 

Dr David Hill 

Dr K Sen 

Title: Media in a Post-Authoritarian State: Crisis and Democratisation in Indonesia. 

2002: $52,128 2003: $62,000 2004: $92,158 



Summary: 

The Indonesian experience since mid-1998 provides the opportunity to contribute to current 

theoretical debates internationally about the role of the media in the development and maintenance of 

democratic societies. This project will analyse the articulation of print and broadcast media into postauthoritarian 

politics in Indonesia since 1998, to address two related questions: (1) how the media is 

being transformed, both in terms of its structure and its texts, by the changed political economy of 

post-New Order Indonesia; (2) the potential of this media in enabling or hampering the development 

of a pluralist democracy in Indonesia. 

DP0211274 

Dr Albert Moran 

Dr MA Keane 

Mr AO Thomas 

Mr JE Malbon 

Title: Economic, Legal and Cultural Dynamics of TV Format Flows in the Asia/Pacific 

Region 

*** 

2002: $60,000 2003: $79,117 2004: $79,036 



Summary: 

Globalisation affects all nation-states, especially through TV systems. Little is known about the 

extended circumstances of these changes, especially the role played by transfer of ideas and 

techniques, particularly program formats. This investigation of the international dimension of 

national TV systems in Asia and the Pacific develops a comparative analysis of complex patterns of 

contemporary economic, legal and cultural sovereignty. By studying national, sub-regional and 

regional currents in TV "copycatting", we will generate significant lessons for TV industries, media 

policy and legal protection. A book analysing the meaning of format flow will become a landmark in 

the field. 

DP0209905 

Prof Thomas O'Regan 

Prof SD Cunningham 

Dr JD Thomas 

Prof EM Jacka 

Title: The new services industry model: Implications for audio-visual media 

*** 

2002: $68,000 2003: $107,000 2004: $107,439 



Summary: 

This project examines important current changes in the understanding of audio-visual media. 

Governments, academics, industry players and international organisations have developed a new 

'services industry model' to map future directions and policies for audio-visual industries. However 

little attention has been given to how this model may apply to the complex cultural and social role of 

audio-visual media. This project aims to fill this gap through a series of substantial publications on 

four key problems: the conversion to digital transmission platforms; public broadcasting and its 

future role; international policy dynamics, and the re-evaluation of longstanding domestic social and 

cultural policy objectives. 

DP0208532 

A/Prof David Rowe 

Title: Disposing of the Tabloid? A Critical Analysis of Contemporary Developments in the 

Print Media 

2002: $36,000 2003: $47,117 

*** 



Summary: 

By critically analysing the concept of newspaper tabloidisation, this Project aims to: test its empirical 

validity and theoretical integrity; compare and contrast changes in both broadsheet and tabloid 

newspapers; and understand the management of the tabloid stigma by media institutions and 

professionals. This task is especially significant because 'tabloid' is the most used but least precise 

typification of current media. Outcomes include: clarification of the existence and extent of

tabloidisation; greater understanding of the forces influencing the production and consumption of 

contemporary media; stimulation of informed public debate; and international publications and 

conceptual advances in sociology, media and cultural studies. 

DP0209313 

Dr Sanjay Srivastava 

Prof JG Sinclair 

Dr K Jain 

*** 

Title: Television, globalisation and social change in India 

2002: $70,000 2003: $82,000 2004: $94,337 


APD - Dr K Jain 


Summary: 

Since the economic liberalisation beginning in the late 1980s and the introduction of direct 

broadcast satellite television in 1991, television in India has become a highly dynamic and selfreflexive 

agent for an increasingly 'globalised' sensibility. This study seeks to examine the process in 

which a commercial, mass-mediated public culture has been generated. By engaging in an innovative 

and systematic approach which will integrate direct studies of audiences, program production, modes 

of commercialization and the role of the state, the study will provide the basis for a definitive book 

on this key aspect of Indian media culture. 

*** 

4003 CURATORIAL STUDIES 

DP0208732 

Dr Diane Losche 

Title: Explaining the Changing Roles of Collections, Curators and Exhibitions in the 

Production of Museum Images of the Pacific:1900-2000 

2002: $28,994 2003: $38,000 2004: $29,635 



Summary: 

This study advances the hypothesis, developed as the result of previous research, that museum 

representations of the Pacific between 1900-2000 were the result of the changing relationship 

between three factors: the construction of a particular cutural map of the region via the provenance 

attributed to collections, curatorial activities and exhbitions. It employs Edward Said's post-colonial 

theory to explain the factors involved in the production of particular images and their transformation 

through the colonial and post-colonial periods. This is done in three case studies of two museum 

anthropology departments: The Australian Museum and the American Museum of Natural History 

*** 

4101 PERFORMING ARTS

DP0210510 

Prof Adrian Kiernander 

Dr B Parr 

Dr J Bollen 

Title: Marking Masculinity in Australian Theatre, 1955-70 and 1985-2000: a movementbased 

analysis of performed masculinities in historical and cultural contexts. 

2002: $70,000 2003: $82,000 2004: $127,925 


APD - Dr J Bollen 


Summary: 

This project will chart variations and changes in the representation of masculinity in Australia during 

the second half of the 20th century, as revealed by a movement-based study of two contrasting 

periods of Australian theatre, 1955-70 and 1985-2000. Materials to be studied are written play 

scripts; film and video recordings of theatre performance; and theatre reviews which comment on the 

performance of gender. The outcomes of the research, in the form of conference papers, scholarly 

articles and a jointly-authored book, will enhance our understanding of the social effects of 

masculinity, and of theatre's impact on social change in Australia. 

DP0208641 

Prof Harold Love 

Title: SONG LYRICS FOR THE ENGLISH THEATRE 1660-1700: A PERFORMATIVE 

ANALYSIS 

*** 

2002: $40,000 2003: $43,213 2004: $36,613 



Summary: 

Restoration plays preserve the lyrics of over 1500 songs, ranging from sophisticated pieces set by 

Purcell to words written to popular ballad tunes. The project will collect the entire corpus of these 

lyrics and use them as the subject for a performance-oriented analysis, integrating words, music 

(when it survives) and what can be discovered about stage presentation. Cultural meanings will be 

established through close contextualisation. Rhetorical theory and the concept of 'musical wit' will be 

used to relate verbal meanings to musical procedures and both to theatrical presentations of the 

body. 

DP0211601 

Dr Kathryn Marsh 

Title: A cross-cultural study of the music play practices of children in school playgrounds 

*** 

2002: $34,800 2003: $64,900 2004: $82,466



Summary: 

This study seeks to observe, collect and analyse children's musical play in school playgrounds in a 

range of social, cultural and national contexts in order to determine the characteristics of music, 

movement and language; teaching and learning processes; degree of cross-cultural transmission; 

factors affecting language use; and effects of audiovisual media on games. This research will 

challenge misconceptions regarding children's musical play on which which major international music 

education pedagogies (Kodaly and Orff) are based and will inform current music education practices 

relating to learning processes and music repertoire. 

*** 

4103 CINEMA, ELECTRONIC ARTS AND 

MULTIMEDIA 

DP0209550 

Dr Dennis Del Favero 

Prof I Howard 

Adj/Prof R Gibson 

Prof J Shaw 

Title: The reformulation of narrative within digital cinema as the integration of three models 

of interactivity. 

2002: $90,000 2003: $140,000 2004: $80,000 


APD - Dr D Del Favero 


Summary: 

The rise of digital media has led to a decline in the use of traditional single-layered narrative and the 

corresponding loss of a major instrument of cinematic representation. This study investigates the 

reformulation of narrative within digital cinema through the integration of three models of 

interactivity so as to produce a new emergent digital narrative form. The study tests the proposition 

predicted in revisionist cinematic theory that narrative, when generated as a complex of digitally 

interactive forms, provides the opportunity to recapture the representational significance of narrative 

within digital cinema, through its enactment within a multi-layered, emergent virtual space. 

4104 DESIGN STUDIES 

DP0211100 

A/Prof Robert Woodbury 

Prof MC Burry 

Dr RW Amor 

Title: Ontology-based collaboration in design 

*** 

2002: $60,000 2003: $75,000 2004: $105,146



Summary: 

The design process of a building project establishes function, form and performance for the final 

building. When multiple participants from varying professions are involved there is a serious problem 

in coordinating, communicating, and locating information around each design decision. Establishing 

an ontology for this process, and using this ontology to structure all participant communication, will 

allow the requisite information from all participants to be considered for each design decision. This 

will greatly reduce rework and poor design decisions based on missed information. It will also ensure 

that participants are aware of all related information for their particular design tasks. 

4199 OTHER ARTS 

DP0208615 

Dr Ian McLean 

Dr J Stanton 

Title: The Reception of Aboriginal Art in the Twentieth Century 

*** 

2002: $52,000 2003: $70,273 2004: $58,288 



Summary: 

The investigation will analyse: 

* the reception of Aboriginal art during the twentieth century, and will demonstrate the extent of 

national investment in this reception; 

* the subtle and often ambivalent relationship between the disciplines of anthropology and art 

(including art historians, artists or curators) in the reception of Aboriginal art, as well as being alert 

to other factors (eg Aboriginal activism and political processes); 

* the historical importance of discourses of identity and nationhood in the reception of Aboriginal 

art; 

* the possibilities for re-thinking the received histories of Australian art in light of shifts in the 

reception of Aboriginal art. 

*** 

4202 LITERATURE STUDIES 

DP0211865 

Dr Mary Besemeres 

Title: Cross-Cultural Lives: a Study of Narratives by Migrants Between Languages 

2002: $66,184 2003: $68,870 2004: $64,867 


APD - Dr M Besemeres 


Summary: 

This project examines recent autobiographies of non-English-speaking migrants to Australia and 

investigates ways in which immigrants into a new language are challenged to become different 

persons, and how particular individuals respond to this challenge. It combines the disciplines of 

literary, cultural and ethnic studies to address issues profoundly affecting Australia as a multi-ethnic 

society. It seeks to identify some essential prerequisites for cross-culturally sensitive education 

programs, taking into account an individual's need for psychological and linguistic continuity. At the 

same time it opens a new theoretical perspective for literary and cross-cultural studies, based on 

close study of life-writing by migrants. 

DP0210115 

Dr Daniel Brown 

Title: Styles of Meaning-making in Poetry by Victorian Scientists 

*** 

2002: $39,000 2003: $35,337 2004: $42,023 



Summary: 

While much has been written about the attitudes of canonical poets to science in Victorian Britain, 

the complementary perspectives of scientists who wrote poetry have been entirely overlooked. What 

is most striking about their poetry (and indeed that of neglected feminist poets of the 1880s and 

1890s which the study will also examine) is the agreeable relations that it, unlike canonical Victorian 

poetry and most scholarship in the area, sees to exist between poetry and science. The substantial 

revisionary monograph I propose will focus upon the discursive modes that scientists brought to 

their poetry and the ontologies which underpin them. 

DP0211312 

Prof Margaret Clunies Ross 

*** 

Title: Old Norse-Icelandic Poetry, Poetics and Myth 

2002: $145,000 2003: $130,007 2004: $125,062 2005: $98,592 2006: $90,365 



Summary: 

I will investigate three central issues in Old Norse-Icelandic literature, leading an international team 

in reediting skaldic verse,writing a book on Norse poetry and poetics and concluding my study of 

myth in medieval Icelandic fantasy literature.The edition will provide a benchmark for specialists and, 

together with my analytical overview, make this important collection of medieval poetry accessible 

to non-specialists. The study of myth will show how a neglected genre belongs within the literature 

of fantasy. Expected outcomes: a new edition of Norse skaldic poetry; two books, on Norse poetry 

and poetics, and myth in Icelandic fantasy literature. 

DP0208448 

***

A/Prof Deirdre Coleman 

Title: Complexions of Empire: racial ideology, West Indian slavery and British romanticism 

2002: $28,500 2003: $50,000 2004: $91,303 



Summary: 

The aim is to undertake a major interdisciplinary study of British culture and colonialism in the 18th 

century, with a particular focus on identity formation, the development of racial ideology, and the 

rhetoric of abolitionism. By focussing on the representation of the West Indies and West Indian 

social identity and customs, in the context of social conditions in England, the project will advance 

our current understanding of the dynamic of metropolitan/colonial relations. 

DP0208446 

A/Prof Anne Freadman 

*** 

Title: A Generic Study of Colette's Short Writing 

2002: $61,184 2003: $26,159 2004: $26,159 



Summary: 

The study uses "genre" as a key to a literary-historical account of Colette's short writing in its 

cultural context. The corpus is generically ambiguous, since it first appeared as "articles" in 

magazines and was later collected in volumes, thus acquiring a more "literary" status as "essays". 

Taking into account both the conditions of publication and the rhetoric of these pieces, I shall 

investigate the network of cultural relations in which they participate, and their command of their 

readership. This will show how Colette made a place for "women's knowledge" in public culture and 

what that place was. 

DP0211515 

Dr Helen Fulton 

*** 

Title: The medieval town imagined: representations of urban culture in medieval literature 

2002: $26,000 2003: $22,000 2004: $59,522 



Summary: 

As the size and number of towns in north-west Europe expanded from the twelfth to fourteenth 

centuries, the cultural response to economic and social changes produced by urbanisation was 

articulated in literary texts. The project aims to examine ways in which towns and urban culture are 

represented in medieval English, Welsh and French literature, foregrounding the attitudes 

constructed by the texts towards towns, townspeople and the impact of the urban economy. The

esulting monograph and database of references will provide new evidence for the competitive 

relationships between feudal nobilities and emerging urban elites. 

DP0208339 

Dr Andrew McCann 

Title: Marcus Clarke's Bohemia: Literature, Popular Culture and Urban Experience in 

Colonial Melbourne 

*** 

2002: $26,000 2003: $42,000 2004: $42,000 



Summary: 

This study will contextualise Marcus Clarke's career in terms of the material culture of nineteenthcentury 

Melbourne, producing the first complete and theoretically informed monograph on 

Australia?s most important colonial prose writer. Clarke's self-conscious bohemianism highlighted 

the increasingly commercialised nature of nineteenth-century writing, the centrality of mass 

entertainment to urban life, the circulation of cultural capital between Europe and Australia, and the 

emergence of Australian literary nationalism in a larger imperial context. His career is thus uniquely 

positioned to elucidate the hitherto under-explored but pivotal relationship between literature and 

commodified popular culture in the specific context of an Australian settler-colony. 

DP0208600 

Prof Clive Probyn 

A/Prof B Steele 

*** 

Title: New critical editions of Henry Handel Richardson's Australian novels:The Fortunes of 

Richard Mahony (1917-29), The Young Cosima (1939), and Niels Lyhne (1896) 

2002: $32,330 2003: $46,420 2004: $52,583 



Summary: 

The aim is to produce, for the first time, complete and accurate texts of the writings of Henry Handel 

Richardson, the best known early twentieth-century Australian novelist. The outcome will be critical 

editions of the highest international quality, and the current proposal concentrates on what has been 

called the "great Australian Novel", The Fortunes of Richard Mahony (3 volumes, 1917 to 1929), 

and two additional books, in order to complete the new edition of her entire works (six novels, 1400 

letters, two volumes of music), of which eight volumes have already been published, in what has 

been called "the mother of all works of Australian literary scholarship" (The Age, 7 July 2000). 

DP0208599 

Dr Gillian Russell 

***

Title: Gender, sexuality and class as represented in the literature associated with adultery 

trials in Britain c.1760-1830 

2002: $40,000 2003: $49,697 2004: $60,662 



Summary: 

Using an interdisciplinary methodology, this project will examine the texts relating to trials for 

adultery in Britain c.1760-1830. While they have been examined by historians of divorce, the trials 

have not been studied in their own right. They illuminate issues of gender and sexuality; the history 

of the book; Georgian architecture, domesticity and household structures; urban culture, particularly 

leisure and sociability; master-servant relations; and class relations, particularly the impact of the rise 

of professional groups. The project will investigate the meanings of adultery as a contribution to the 

histories of sexuality, the public sphere and gender. 

DP0210644 

Dr Vanessa Smith 

Title: Gifts of Friendship: intimacy and exchange in cross-cultural contact 

2002: $106,839 2003: $124,461 2004: $136,559 2005: $102,810 2006: $94,810 

*** 


QEII - Dr VJ Smith 


Summary: 

This project will investigate an apparently contradictory phenomenon: the existence of explicit 

policies of friendship-making within Euro-American imperial exploration and colonial settlement. 

Focusing on the Pacific islands in the period 1767-1830, it will look at the interaction of European 

and Polynesian traditions and practices of friendship, particularly in relation to practices of exchange. 

The project will examine a huge body of archival evidence, which initial findings suggest will prove 

to be much more self-conscious and anxious about the ethical and ideological implications of crosscultural 

friendship-formation than current understandings of the operations of colonial discourse 

would allow. 

DP0208457 

Prof Robert White 

*** 

Title: PACIFISM IN ENGLISH LITERATURE 

2002: $45,400 2003: $35,834 2004: $29,194 



Summary: 

'Pacifism in English Literature' will be a single author monograph examining and analysing English 

literature from the point of view of classical pacifist thought. It will be a development from my two

former ARC-funded books, 'Natural Law in English Renaissance Literature' (1996) and 'Natural 

Rights in English Romanticism of the 1790s' (2001). This will be achieved by the same successful 

research process as the other books - by ARC funding giving teaching relief for one semester per 

year for three years. 

DP0210273 

A/Prof Gillian Whitlock 

Title: Past Tense: 'acts of memory' in contemporary Australian memoir 

*** 

2002: $36,265 2003: $49,590 2004: $39,282 



Summary: 

This project examines the turn to autobiographic expression - particularly fragmentary forms of 

memoir - by the intelligentsia in Australia in the fin de siecle of the twentieth century. Why and how 

did these styles of writing proliferate? How did they shape ideas and express uncertainties about 

national identity and citizenship during a phase of national commemoration, self-consciousness, 

jubilation and unease? In a monograph, 'Past Tense', and a series of articles and conference 

presentations these questions will be considered using a comparative, cross cultural approach which 

will make a contribution to understanding identity debates in contemporary Australian society. 

*** 

4203 CULTURAL STUDIES 

DP0211271 

Dr Melissa Butcher 

Title: Transnational Corporate relationships:Examining the Cultural Relationships within 

and between Australia and Asia Transnational Corporations 

2002: $61,184 2003: $62,781 2004: $62,967 


APD - Dr M Butcher 


Summary: 

This research seeks to explore how cultural practices within a transnational corporation (TNC), that 

is, values, beliefs and patterns of behaviour that inform communication, work and business practices, 

impact on the relationship between that company and its Asian partners.In so doing it aims to 

broaden the debate surrounding the impact of TNCs, contemporise their analysis by placing their 

operation within the current global context (charecterised by decentralised and highly mobile flows 

of people, finance, technology, and media) and enhance the analysis of Australia's interconnection 

with Asia. 

DP0208747 

***

Dr Gloria Davies 

Prof GR Barmé 

Title: Making a Spectacle of Disagreement: Media and Controversy in Modern Chinese 

Thought 

2002: $38,000 2003: $31,500 2004: $24,485 



Summary: 

Polemical and combative rhetoric, as well as tactics of dispute and provocation, are an integral part 

of key debates that have shaped a century of modern Chinese thought. This study is the first attempt 

to survey and analyse intellectual contestations and controversies in twentieth-century and 

contemporary China in relation to their publication in different forms of media (especially electronic 

media) that have been available to Chinese intellectuals and the concerned public. We expect to 

provide a new critical account of Chinese intellectual history and contribute to knowledge of the 

socio-political and cultural impacts of new media in a non-Western context. 

DP0211751 

Dr Lelia Green 

Prof Dr RM Quin 

*** 

Title: Family Internet: theorising domestic Internet consumption, production and use within 

Australian families. 

2002: $50,000 2003: $68,123 2004: $68,066 



Summary: 

The proposed research interrogates the role of the Internet in Australian domestic contexts, 

specifically among families with school-aged children. The investigation will inform discussion about 

ways in which the Internet is becoming integrated within family life, including the relocation of 

school and work agendas to the domestic sphere. 

The significance of the research lies in the growing sociocultural importance of the Internet and its 

potential role as a catalyst for, and an enabler of, knowledge creation and management. Age, gender, 

power, pleasure, competencies and roles relating to Internet use within Australian family settings will 

all be addressed. 

DP0209258 

Dr Alan Mckee 

A/Prof C Lumby 

Ms K Albury 

Title: Understanding pornography in Australia: public discourses and pornographic texts 

*** 

2002: $57,500 2003: $75,000 2004: $42,000



Summary: 

This project will offer a detailed, large-scale analysis of the place of pornography in Australian 

culture. It will interview 300 producers and distributors of pornographic texts, and almost one 

thousand consumers of these texts. Using insights from this research into the ways in which 

pornography is understood by those involved with it in Australia, one hundred popular pornographic 

videos will be analysed to understand what is in them, and how they are used. 

*** 

4299 OTHER LANGUAGE AND CULTURE 

DP0209556 

Dr Michael Dutton 

Title: The Paichusuo (the Chinese police station): How Governments Construct Private Lives 

2002: $47,000 2003: $90,000 2004: $124,000 



Summary: 

Employing the architecture of a Chinese police station to frame a series of questions about the 

policing of identity, this study could best be described as ethnography in a dual register. First, it is 

the only ethnographic study of a Chinese police station ever undertaken. Second, it employs the 

insights gained from this close scrutiny of grass roots level policing to raise a broader range of more 

philosophically orientated questions about governmentality and the social construction of subjectivity 

and identity. 

DP0208508 

Prof Colin Nettelbeck 

Title: Projecting Difference: A History of the Practice and Politics of French Cinema since 

1980 

*** 

2002: $56,000 2003: $72,000 2004: $31,542 



Summary: 

This cultural history project has dual aims. Firstly, it will examine how French cinema, as a narrative 

art, has since the late 20th century become a major vector for defining cultural identity (partially 

eclipsing the role traditionally occupied by literature). On the other hand, it will document and 

analyse the processes by which cinema practice - diverse and often fractiously critical of existing 

political structures - has become a central symbolic weapon in the French State's political defence of 

cultural autonomy and difference in a globalising world. The resulting synthesis will provide 

extensive new understanding of the dynamics of contemporary France. 

***

4301 HISTORICAL STUDIES 

DP0209235 

Dr Tomoko Akami 

Title: Understanding the World: Domei Tsushin (United News Agency), the Japanese State 

and International Politics 1936 - 52 

2002: $39,000 2003: $34,000 2004: $42,970 



Summary: 

Domei tsushin (United News Agency) was arguably the most important source of overseas events 

for the Japanese public during the war time. A rigorous scholarly examination, however, has been 

yet to come. Using new materials, this project will first examine Domei's role and its relations with 

the state during the war, and assesses its over all impact in international politics. Secondly, it will 

explore how its role, structure and relations with the state and the public changed (or unchanged) in 

the post-war peace time. I intend to produce a book manuscript at the end of the project. 

DP0208691 

Dr Michael Barr 

Title: Nation Building and Elite Formation in Singapore, 1966-85 

*** 

2002: $70,000 2003: $70,000 2004: $70,000 


APD - Dr MD Barr 


Summary: 

* The project will study elite formation, the praxis of elite governance, and the development of the 

relationship between elitism and nation building in Singapore from independence in late 1965 to 

approximately 1985. 

* This study is significant because it is arguably the pivotal axis on which the Singapore experience 

of governance rests, and yet it has not been the subject of a dedicated study. 

* It is expected that the study will produce a series of articles and a book that will contribute to our 

understanding of elite formation and nation building generally, as well as specifically in Singapore. 

DP0208995 

Dr Alison Bashford 

*** 

Title: At the Border: Health, Immigration Restriction and the Imagining of Australia, 1901- 

2001 

2002: $42,000 2003: $43,843 2004: $65,793 



Summary: 

This project traces and analyses connections between public health policies and immigration policies 

between 1901 and 2001 in Australia. It interrogates the changing regulation of Australia's population 

through border control and health screening of aspiring immigrants and citizens, as well as tourists, 

refugees and illegal entrants. Infectious disease control may well have been a major instrument 

through which movement over the national borders, and naturalisation into the population, have been 

governed and policed. The project will illuminate the significance of these interconnecting policies 

and practices for the historical, legal, and cultural imagining of Australia. 

DP0210690 

Dr Robert Cribb 

Title: The Indonesian Killings of 1965-1966 

*** 

2002: $42,500 2003: $47,159 2004: $35,029 



Summary: 

This project analyses the immediate and long-term causes of the killing of perhaps 500,000 

communists and others in Indonesia between October 1965 and March 1966. The project examines 

newly available archival and memoir material, as well as conducting fresh interviews, to explain the 

respective roles of the Indonesian armed forces, military-sponsored and independent militias, and 

civilian viglantes in initiating and carrying out the killings. The project sets this detailed examination 

in the context of the extreme political tension in Indonesia in the early 1960s and more-deeply rooted 

patterns of violence in Indonesian society. 

DP0208350 

Prof Ann Curthoys 

Prof E WRIGHT 

Prof L BEHRENDT 

Title: HISTORICAL EXPERTS AND INDIGENOUS LITIGANTS: the role of Historical 

Expert Evidence in Federal Court Cases 

2002: $75,000 2003: $113,240 

*** 



Summary: 

Since Mabo, historians are increasingly being called as expert witnesses in cases involving indigenous 

litigants. Historians perceive serious difficulties in the Court's treatment of qualitative, historical 

material, resulting in a possible denial of access to justice. The project investigates this treatment, 

pursuing issues such as expert evidence generally, the specific relationship between Law and History, 

and the particularity of cases involving indigenous claims. The investigation asks whether historians

as expert witnesses can retain both their historical professionalism and adapt to the requirements of 

the courts, or whether the courts? rules of evidence themselves require adaptation. 

DP0209444 

Dr Penny Edwards 

Title: GENDER IDEOLOGY, RACIAL MYTHOLOGY AND THE CULTURAL 

POLITICS OF CHILD REMOVAL IN COLONIAL BURMA, CAMBODIA AND 

WESTERN AUSTRALIA, 1886-1947 

*** 

2002: $65,000 2003: $70,000 2004: $68,000 


APD - Dr P Edwards 


Summary: 

The project aims to further understanding of colonial policies, missionary practices and public 

discourses supporting the removal of mixed-race children from Indigenous mothers and milieu. Its 

significance lies in its comparison of three diverse colonial regimes: British Burma, French Cambodia 

and Western Australia. Equally significant is its analysis of the transcolonial traffic in ideologies of 

race and gender and the contingent development and deployment of such universalizing tropes as the 

"Half-Caste Woman" to rationalize policies of child removal. The final outcome will be a book. 

Interim outcomes include a graduate workshop, an international conference and journal articles. 

DP0210531 

Dr Louise Edwards 

Title: Citizenship, Governance and Gender: Chinese Women in Political Action 

*** 

2002: $37,500 2003: $64,000 2004: $85,609 

Administering Institution: Australian Catholic University 


Summary: 

The project provides the first book-length analysis of Chinese women's involvement in politics in 

Greater China (PRC, Hong Kong, Taiwan, ROC) since 1900. Currently, Chinese women's 

participation within formal, informal and civil society politics is poorly understood. My project 

examines crucial interactions between discursive notions of citizenship and gender in the Chinese 

cultural context. I also provide a comprehensive examination of structural factors influencing 

women's political engagement. My project will be the first in Chinese Studies to adapt western 

notions of gender, citizenship and ideologies of governance to understandings of Chinese women in 

politics. 

DP0209849 

Prof Robert Elson 

***

Title: The idea of Indonesia: a history 

2002: $32,500 2003: $38,000 2004: $32,000 



Summary: 

This project seeks to discover the origins of the idea of Indonesia in the mid-nineteenth century and 

to explore its trajectory through to the present time, with particular reference to the fate of the idea 

and the various manifestations it has taken since the proclamation of the Republic of Indonesia in 

1945. The outcome will be a monograph which will provide essential historical context and analysis 

for understanding Indonesia's current travails and prospects as a unified, democratic nation state. 

DP0210780 

Prof Norman Etherington 

Title: Writing the new history of British Imperialism its European, African and Australian 

context. 

2002: $28,994 2003: $28,994 2004: $31,494 2005: $33,994 2006: $33,994 



*** 

Summary: 

I plan to complete several related projects already under way which are linked to the project title. 

The Oxford History of Missions in the British Empire will recast the way we think about the 

historical impact of Christian Missions. The Mapping Project compares the role played by surveyors 

and maps in the colononization of Australia and South Africa. Imperium of the Soul explores 

connections between deep currents of European intellectual life and the productions of key artists 

associated with British imperialism. 

I will be revising my book on Theories of Imperialism and researching new work on war and 

conquest. 

DP0211554 

Dr Andrew Fitzmaurice 

Title: A history of terra nullius 

*** 

2002: $35,000 2003: $50,000 2004: $42,240 



Summary: 

The concept of 'terra nullius' has been central to debates concerning the land rights of indigenous 

peoples. The term, however, has been understood almost in an historical vacuum. Partly in 

consequence, landmark legal rulings supposedly overturning the doctrine of terra nullius have left 

European colonisers' justifications of their appropriation of land largely conceptually intact. The 

central innovation of this history will be to show that when terra nullius, properly understood, is

ejected in order to establish native title, the implications for the European tradition of property 

rights and human rights more generally will be profound. 

DP0209817 

Dr Raelene Frances 

Title: Selling Sex: A History of Female Prostitution in Australia since 1788 

*** 

2002: $28,000 2003: $50,332 2004: $28,994 



Summary: 

Prostitution has played an important role in Australian society since the arrival of the First Fleet. 

There was always a high demand for commercial sex in 'frontier'settlements. In the twentieth century, 

the treatment of prostitution remained a highly contested area of public policy. This project will 

produce the first comprehensive history of this subject. It will analyse the changing roles of 

prostitutes and prostitution, examining the culture and economics of the sex industry as well as its 

symbolic, legal and political meanings. Of direct relevance to policy makers, it will also form the 

basis for international comparative studies. 

DP0209510 

Prof Patricia Grimshaw 

Dr SL Swain 

Title: Re-inventing Motherhood: Women, Breadwinning and Childcare in Australia, 1880- 

1980 

*** 

2002: $35,000 2003: $85,000 2004: $37,805 



Summary: 

The project aims to analyse the evolving experiences of working mothers in Australia from 1880 to 

1980 to ascertain how women and their families handled the tensions between work, survival 

strategies, and child care. It will challenge current views of a simple dichotomy between public work 

and private family lives, exploring the interlinking of forms of work and care, and their intersections 

with class, ethnicity and race.This will provide a significant new base for understanding the historical 

evolution of women's work and family life and for formulating social policy today in an age of the 

dual-income family. 

DP0208911 

Dr Anna Haebich 

*** 

Title: Imagining Assimilation. The Australian Experience 

2002: $101,839 2003: $96,461 2004: $95,478 2005: $94,810 2006: $113,003


QEII - Dr A Haebich 


Summary: 

The project will produce the first comprehensive cultural history of assimilation in Australia, with 

explanations of how this experience differed from other settler societies. This study is central to our 

understanding of Australia as a nation and to national development. Drawing on the concept of the 

'social imaginary', the project will generate new readings of assimilation linked to broader issues in 

public debate. Sources will include official publications and works from the media, the arts and 

popular culture. Expected outcomes include a monograph, two articles, and a museum exhibition 

brief. 

DP0209540 

Dr Robert Horvath 

Title: Ascending the Cross: Soviet Dissidents and the Universalisation of Human Rights 

2002: $53,000 2003: $55,000 2004: $53,000 2005: $53,000 

*** 


APD - Dr RG Horvath 


Summary: 

This project will study the contribution of persecuted dissidents to a diplomatic revolution. It will 

investigate how apparently powerless Soviet intellectuals like Sakharov and Solzhenitsyn used their 

moral authority to transform detente and challenge the notion that human rights was an internal affair 

of sovereign states. My hypothesis is that this challenge helped to provoke the 1970s human rights 

boom, which scholarship traditionally attributes to the inspirational role of President Carter and 

Western NGOs. By illuminating the role of non-Western citizens, this research calls into question 

prevailing assumptions about the specificially Western sources of the emerging international human 

rights order. 

DP0209093 

Dr Tana Li 

Prof CA Trocki 

Title: The Overseas Chinese Water Frontier of Southeast Asia, 1700-1900 

*** 

2002: $76,000 2003: $127,962 2004: $89,755 



Summary: 

This project proposes to view the South China Sea/Gulf of Thailand rim as a single economic region, 

a "water frontier" that endured for two centuries. Focusing on the Mekong delta and adjacent coasts, 

it will examine the major roles the Chinese played in the establishment of the Siamese and

Vietnamese states. Despite the frontier's marginalisation in the nineteenth century, the populations 

supplied the manpower and expertise that fueled the national and colonial economies which later 

developed around Saigon, Bangkok and Singapore. Our aim is to restore the "lost" history of this 

region and its peoples and to set new agendas for future research. 

DP0211416 

A/Prof Susan Magarey 

*** 

Title: A biography of Roma Flinders Mitchell 1913-2000 

2002: $50,000 2003: $50,000 2004: $50,000 



Summary: 

Dame Roma Mitchell is best known for her outstanding succession of public achievements. A 

biography of a prominent and widely-admired figure is no innovation. But a biography of such a 

figure who is also a woman, necessarily moves onto new ground. It brings questions of gender, 

gender-difference, and the relation of both to public life and power to the fore of its analysis. This 

project will compose a biography which is also a social history, and a social history which is 

distinctive because it is focussed on the life of a woman. 

DP0208815 

Dr Elizabeth Malcolm 

Title: POLICING IRELAND UNDER THE UNION: A SOCIAL HISTORY 

*** 

2002: $43,000 2003: $60,497 2004: $22,099 



Summary: 

Although Irish republicans argue that the union with Britain (1801-1921) was imposed upon the 

country, many Irish people worked for the British. This project aims to examine the 85,000 Irishmen 

who served in the Irish constabulary from the 1820s to the 1920s. The police were the most 

powerful arm of British government and yet the force was composed largely of rural Catholic 

nationalists. The book will consider how such men negotiated their complex and conflicting roles and 

identities. It will throw light on the mechanisms of British rule, on techniques of policing and on how 

native elites function in a colonial context. 

DP0209887 

A/Prof Janet McCalman 

Title: Respectability and health: private life and the health transition in two capital cities, 

London and Melbourne, 1850?1980 

*** 

2002: $53,000 2003: $65,000 2004: $60,000



Summary: 

This study will explore the relationship between the dramatic normative changes that occurred in 

working-class private life after 1850 and the health transition. Using grass-roots case studies and 

databases of both London and Melbourne, it will analyse the changing mortality experience of the 

poor?as infants, young, and older adults?in relation to changes in self-care, self-image and family life 

made possible by the transition in these two mercantilist cities from casualised to regular labour 

markets. It will then endeavour to relate these findings about life chances among the most 

disadvantaged to health and social policy for the future. 

DP0210901 

Prof Wilfrid Prest 

Title: William Blackstone: Life and Works 

*** 

2002: $101,295 2003: $169,831 2004: $154,523 2005: $131,000 2006: $126,713 


APF - Prof WR Prest 


Summary: 

The life and works of William Blackstone (1723-1780) have been largely overshadowed by his 

enormously influential Commentaries on the Laws of England. This project will deploy new evidence 

to explore Blackstone's elusive personal life and diverse public roles, as academic activist and 

administrator, architect, historian, law reformer, legislator, linguist, literary critic and scholar, 

politician and judge. Contextualising Blackstone within the rapidly developing scholarship of the 

British Enlightenment, the project's outcomes will include the first ever full-length scholarly 

biography, together with annotated editions of his largely unpublished correspondence and hitherto 

unexamined architectural writings. 

DP0208162 

A/Prof Kay Saunders 

*** 

Title: INVENTING PERFECT AUSTRALIAN WOMANHOOD: THE MISS AUSTRALIA 

QUEST AND THE ROLE OF DISABILITY IN POSTWAR AUSTRALIA 

2002: $73,000 2003: $73,000 2004: $45,887 



Summary: 

The Miss Australia Quest articulated the concept of perfect white womanhood in the postwar era. 

Sponsored by a major charity, the Spastics League, the Quest sought to locate representatives of 

conventional womanhood yet who had exemplary appearance, poise and moral virtue. Bodily and 

moral perfection ran counter to the sponsoring organisation which dealt with the severely disabled. 

With competitions held throughout the Commonwealth, the finalists were designated by their state of

origin. Hence both regions and then states competed alongside individuals. The broadcast of the 

Quest was a major television event until 1986. An analysis of the Quest allows interrogation of the 

role of fundraising for charity, the construction of celebrity, the nature of idealised young 

womanhood and interstate rivalries. Scholarly articles and a book alongside a projected exhibition at 

the new National Museum of Australia are anticipated. 

DP0210729 

Dr Bruce Scates 

*** 

Title: Beyond Gallipoli: An Australian History of Pilgrimage, Commemoration and the Great 

War 

2002: $31,800 2003: $33,484 2004: $70,000 



Summary: 

The Great War has cast a shadow across four generations of Australians: from 1915 to today, young 

and old have made pilgrimages overseas, seeking to discover the 'lost' graves of their countrymen. 

This project will determine who made such journeys and why. It will be both an historical study, 

charting ways in which the ritual of pilgrimage has changed, and an investigation into the motives 

and experience of today's travellers. Oral history, archival research and personal survey will offer 

new insight into the emotional world of loss and mourning and explore the intersection between 

popular memory, history and national identity. 

DP0210845 

Dr Hsu-Ming Teo 

Title: The popular culture of romantic love in twentieth-century Australia 

*** 

2002: $72,000 2003: $70,000 2004: $66,000 


APD - Dr H Teo 


Summary: 

In western culture 'love' is commonly cited as the reason for cohabitation or marriage, yet 46% of 

marriages are likely to end in divorce in Australia today. This project examines how the culture of 

romantic love has changed over the course of the twentieth century as changing patterns of work and 

gender relations, consumerism and the supplanting of spiritual ideals by sexuality and the cult of the 

body modified representations of love in literature, film and periodicals. The popular discourse of 

romantic love has transformed expectation of love, placing different demands upon what it is 

supposed to achieve. 

DP0209208 

Dr Steven Welch 

***

Title: Subversion and Dissent in the Third Reich 

2002: $8,000 2003: $37,500 2004: $35,000 



Summary: 

Through the new approach of analysing records of Germans put on trial by the Nazi regime for the 

crime of "subversion," for which an estimated 60,000 Germans were prosecuted, I will gain access to 

a hitherto neglected current of popular dissent and discontent within the Third Reich. My project will 

challenge the conventional view that German society in the Third Reich was overwhelmingly 

consensual, apart from a miniscule group of anti-Nazi resisters. The outcome will be a more 

nuanced, complex picture of German society revealing that many Germans exhibited an amibivalent 

mix of consensus and dissent toward the Nazi regime. 

DP0211764 

Dr Patrick Wolfe 

*** 

Title: Racial Classifications in Transnational Context: Aborigines and Islanders in Australia, 

Native Americans, African Americans and Afro-Brazilians. 

2002: $25,000 2003: $40,000 

Administering Institution: Victoria University of Technology 


Summary: 

This ongoing project seeks to develop a new and more powerful scholarly paradigm for 

understanding race through a comparative historical study designed to identify features which are 

common to concepts of race as they have emerged and shifted in the different societies studied, and 

to distinguish these from features which are specific to particular societies and/or eras. In addition to 

developing and demonstrating the approach, the project will reanalyse the racialisation of the four 

colonised groups, each of which have figured centrally in studies of race. One monograph and at 

least three major journal articles will result. 

DP0208252 

A/Prof Richard Yeo 

Title: A Cultural History of Information: Lessons from the Enlightenment 

2002: $82,000 2003: $90,000 2004: $74,194 2005: $85,000 2006: $66,040 


APF - A/Prof RR Yeo 


*** 

Summary: 

The significance of this project is that it places the idea of 'information explosion' in historical 

perspective. In early modern Europe (circa 1600-1800) there were already anxieties about 'the 

multitude of books', the expansion of the sciences, and threats to the ideal of a rounded education.

The attempted solutions, such as the use of commonplace books, journals, encyclopaedias and 

library catalogues, emerged as responses during the Enlightenment, and subsequently became part of 

our current system of information management. Outcomes will include a scholarly book and another 

which links earlier problems and responses to current debates. 

*** 

4302 ARCHAEOLOGY AND PREHISTORY 

DP0208831 

Prof Atholl Anderson 

Prof PS Bellwood 

Dr G Summerhayes 

Dr J Stevenson 

Title: Understanding the early phases of Neolithic dispersal in the western Pacific. 

2002: $94,000 2003: $110,500 2004: $141,050 


APD - Dr J Stevenson 


Summary: 

The project investigates the transition of mainland Asian cultures to a world of islands from 6000- 

3500 years ago by an archaeological and palaeoenvironmental study of near-Asian islands including 

the Philippines and Taiwan. This transition is the formative process that saw island colonisation 

extend out into the Pacific and Indian Oceans in subsequent millennia, and the project aims to build 

on earlier archaeological work by taking a colonisation approach that assesses resource richness and 

other environmental forces on the populations. Outcomes include a new and more detailed account 

of neolithic expansion including accounts of settlement pattern, subsistence development and 

environmental relationships. 

DP0210363 

Dr Richard Cosgrove 

Dr JH Field 

*** 

Title: Toxic Harvest: The antiquity of rainforest Aboriginal occupation and toxic plant use in 

long-term subsistence patterns 

2002: $68,000 2003: $101,800 2004: $106,768 



Summary: 

The project aims to investigate the antiquity of human occupation of Australian tropical rainforests 

and the role that toxic plants played in the adaptation process. International research suggests that 

people only permanently occupied rainforests in the last 5,000 years with access to agriculture. The 

fact that Australian rainforest Aborigines were hunter-gatherers using specialised processing 

technology to exploit toxic plant foods and living at high population densities suggests a more 

complex situation. Outcomes include contribution to international debates on the origin and antiquity

of human rainforest settlement, an understanding of the biological properties of rainforest plants and 

development of research partnerships with Indigenous communities. 

DP0211012 

A/Prof Roland Fletcher 

Dr MF Barbetti 

Dr C Pottier 

*** 

Title: Angkor and the Limits of Pre-industrial Urban Growth: magnitude, residence pattern 

and duration 

2002: $80,000 2003: $84,900 2004: $88,969 



Summary: 

Angkor, the medieval Khmer capital, was the largest pre-industrial, dispersed urban complex on 

Earth. New estimates of its extent and duration, and new interpretations of its residence pattern and 

decline will help to clarify the history of the city and to identify the operational limits of pre-industrial 

dispersed urbanism. 

DP0208538 

Prof Daniel Potts 

Prof DT Potts 

Title: Elam in the 2nd millennium B.C.: A multi-regional approach 

*** 

2002: $149,000 2003: $195,000 2004: $285,000 2005: $140,000 2006: $140,000 


APD - Dr L Weeks 


Summary: 

Although it was one of the Near East's most powerful ancient states, Elam has received less scholarly 

attention than its neighbours. Using an innovative approach targeting three unexcavated sites (Deh-e 

Now, Tepe Senjar and Liyan) in Iran, this project aims to investigate Elam at its height during the 

2nd millennium B.C. Archaeological excavations will be undertaken over a 5 year period and 

materials which have rarely received attention in the past will be analysed using a wide range of 

scientific techniques. The project will be the first major investigation of Elam in almost 25 years. 

DP0208824 

Dr R Sim 

*** 

Title: The Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands, Gulf of Carpentaria Archaeological Project 

2002: $91,200 2003: $80,800 2004: $70,700


APD - Dr R Sim 


Summary: 

This field-based project investigates patterns of past Aboriginal island use in the south-west Gulf of 

Carpentaria. It addresses the nature and chronology of island habitation, and how people in the Gulf 

responded to the post-glacial sea level rise. Did people in northern Australia become stranded on 

islands in the mid-Holocene as they did on Flinders and Kangaroos Islands in the south, or were 

watercraft already part of their material culture? This and other issues such as the cultural 

relationship between the present-day Yanyuwa and past island inhabitants, and the influences of early 

Macassan (Indonesian) contact will be investigated archaeologically. 

4401 PHILOSOPHY 

DP0209896 

Dr Mark Colyvan 

Title: The Role of Naturalism in Ontology and Scientific Methodology 

*** 

2002: $42,000 2003: $59,537 2004: $68,549 



Summary: 

Naturalism is the philosophical doctrine perhaps best described as a respect for the methods of the 

natural sciences. Although most contemporary philosophers would describe themselves as 

naturalists, exactly how this important doctrine is spelled out is a matter of much controversy. What 

is more, many substantial issues in both philosophy of science and in metaphysics depend crucially on 

how we understand naturalism. This project will investigate the various conceptions of naturalism, 

looking at both their motivations and their implications for philosophy and scientific and 

mathematical methodology. 

DP0209580 

Dr Karen Green 

Dr CJ Mews 

Title: Peace, Politics and Love: Christine de Pizan and the political thought of medieval 

women 

*** 

2002: $34,108 2003: $46,108 2004: $61,578 



Summary: 

The project aims to translate into English Christine de Pizan's 1412-14 work Le Livre de la Paix and 

to provide it with a scholarly introduction discussing the context of its production, its relationship to 

the political thought of other medieval political thinkers (both women and men) and its relevance for

contemporary feminist political thought. It also aims to produce an edited volume of essays on de 

Pizan as a political thinker. The project will both illuminate an unjustly neglected political theorist 

and make available to English audiences a better appreciation of women's distinctive contribution to 

political theory 

DP0208395 

Mr Lloyd Humberstone 

*** 

Title: Logical Theory and Sentence Composition -- A General and Comparative Study of the 

Principal Sentential Connectives 

2002: $28,994 2003: $28,994 2004: $28,994 2005: $28,994 2006: $28,994 



Summary: 

The aims are to get clear about the semantic and logical properties of 

the basic sentence connectives, and to adjudicate several debates on 

these matters. The significance is that the logic of sentence 

connectives is fundamental for the whole of logic. The expected aim is a large book - probably to be 

called *The Connectives* - in which all of this is set out. 

DP0209051 

Dr D Hyde 

Title: The logical and metaphysical challenge of vague language 

2002: $28,994 2003: $33,208 

*** 



Summary: 

Where do we draw the line between life and death, tall and short, right and wrong? The vagueness or 

indeterminacy of such concepts prohibits easy answers. This projects aims to provide a philosophical 

analysis of such concepts which abound in natural language with a view to showing that orthodox 

views in logic and metaphysics are challenged by their presence. This analysis is to be published as a 

monograph whose significance lies in the fact that it provides one of only four book-length 

treatments of the matter and does so from an entirely novel perspective. 

DP0211770 

Dr Peter Menzies 

*** 

Title: Singular Causation: A Conceptual Analysis 

2002: $34,594 

Administering Institution: Macquarie University


Summary: 

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. 

DP0210225 

A/Prof Paul Redding 

Title: Idealism, Pragmatism, and the Historical Norms of Rationality 

*** 

2002: $30,000 2003: $50,000 2004: $65,133 



Summary: 

This project engages critically with the remarkable "normative pragmatics" of Robert Brandom, 

essentially the first analytic philosopher in a century to defend Hegel's "logic" from a modern logical 

perspective. It develops Brandom's suggested "inferentialist" interpretation of Hegel, but shows how 

a presupposition distorts both Brandom's reading of Hegel and his substantive account of the norms 

of reason. A corrective is developed on the basis of the later work of Brandom's mentor, Wilfrid 

Sellars. The corrected account shows how the norms of thought need not be eternal to be rational, 

but rather, are rational because of the way they are historical. 

DP0208936 

Dr William Taylor 

Prof MP Levine 

Prof PQ Hirst 

*** 

Title: Philosophical Foundations of Architectural Discourse 

2002: $79,000 2003: $114,500 2004: $101,900 



Summary: 

Philosophy is involved with architectural theory and practice morally as well as aesthetically. This 

project examines 'integrity,' 'identity' and 'character' as concepts arising out of concerns with value 

and commitment in moral philosophy and architecture. Rather than ethics pasted on to a profession, 

it discusses ways in which moral philosophy and architecture inform one another by analysing ways 

in which moral concepts ramify architectural practice. This project seeks to establish the foundations 

of a new discipline. Research will explore how architectural language - references to coherency and 

enclosure, planning and the designed whole - is implicit in philosophical concerns for moral integrity.

This project aims to construct new ways of thinking through design, that is, to consider norms of 

human habitation more critically. 

*** 

4402 RELIGION AND RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS 

DP0208523 

Dr Mark Allon 

Title: The edition, translation, and study of the newly discovered Senior collection of 

Buddhist manuscripts from ancient Gandhara 

2002: $96,000 2003: $92,000 2004: $103,936 2005: $83,500 2006: $83,500 


ARF - Dr MW Allon 


Summary: 

This research will produce scholarly editions, translations, and studies of several of the newly 

discovered Buddhist manuscripts from ancient Gandhara (modern Afghanistan/Pakistan). These 

manuscripts, which are the earliest Buddhist manuscripts yet discovered (c. 1st century A.D.), 

represent the first major find of early Buddhist texts from this region, and some of the first examples 

of the literature of the Dharmaguptaka school of Buddhism. This research will substantially increase 

our understanding of the history of Buddhism in this region, of the formation of Buddhist literature, 

of Gandhari, the ancient language of this region, and of this little understood school of Buddhism. 

DP0208304 

Prof Michael Lattke 

Title: Historical-critical commentary on the Odes of Solomon in two versions, a most 

extensive German edition and an abridged English edition. 

2002: $28,994 2003: $28,994 2004: $28,994 2005: $28,994 2006: $28,994 

*** 



Summary: 

Since the sensational 1909 discovery of the first, Syriac, manuscript of the Odes of Solomon, an 

early Christian collection of 42 pseudepigraphical poems, there has never been published a 

commentary as detailed as other pioneering biblical and non-canonical commentaries. Writing such a 

commentary is based on applicant's extensive preliminary investigations: new edition, first complete 

concordance, annotated bibliography, monograph on ancient hymnology, German translation with 

introduction and notes, numerous articles. Further painstaking philological-critical research is 

indispensable for both German and abridged English commentary bringing the most ambitious 

research project on these enigmatic texts to completion within the next decade. 

***

DP0210152 

Prof Samuel Lieu 

Dr EC Hunter 

A/Prof MM Franzmann 

Dr LD Eccles 

Dr I Gardner 

Prof R Niu 

Prof A1 van Tongerloo 

Prof N Sims-Williams 

Title: Manichaean and Medieval Christian (Nestorian and Catholic) remains in Quanzhou 

(S. China) - an epigraphical, iconographical and historical investigation 

2002: $62,998 2003: $70,999 2004: $108,674 



Summary: 

This is a UNESCO-sponsored project, conducting research into Manichaean and Christian 

missionary activities around the port city of Quanzhou (Zaitun) in the 12th and 13th centuries. The 

research is being conducted in conjunction with the Quanzhou Museum of Maritime Contacts, and 

the results will be published for the Museum in a catalogue of Syro-Turkish inscriptions and 

sepulchral monuments. The catalogue will be accompanied by the first monograph in English on this 

topic, as well as by interim reports and articles. 

***

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