2001 Successful ARC SPIRT Grants
- Edward Bryant, Brian Jones
- Bill Buttemer, Lee Astheimer
- Robin Chowdhury, Phillip Flentje
- Chris Cook, Steve Gower
- Andy Davis
- Rian Dippenaar
- Rian Dippenaar
- Tony Eyers, Chung Tung Chou
- Kristine French
- Kristine French
- Vic Gosbell, Ian Burnett
- Ann Hodgkinson, Robyn Iredale
- Brian Jones, Gerald Nanson
- Roger Lewis, Chao Zhang
- Clem Lloyd
- Roselyn Melville
- Sharon Nightingale, Geoff Brooks
- Josef Pieprzyk
- Anatoly Rozenfeld
- Geoff Spinks, Hugh Brown
- David Steel, Yan-Xia Lin
- Julie Steele
- Ah Chung Tsoi
- Linda Viney
- Gordon Wallace, John Norrish
- Gouxiu Wang, Hua Kun Liu, S Zhong
- Heather Yeatman
- Total
| Chief Investigator(s): | Edward Bryant Brian Jones | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $22,292 | $22,292 | $22,292 | $66,876 | ||
| Industry Partner: | Dunmore Sand And Soil | ||||
| Project Title: | Rapidly deposited sand sheets of the Illawarra region, south east Australia | ||||
| Project Summary: | The project aims to provide detailed mapping, three dimensional modelling and stratigraphic investigation of coastal sand sheets in southern New South Wales. The project will provide detailed sedimentological information for the regional sand mining industry and government agencies, broadening and challenging the current paradigm of coastal evolution during the Holocene. The project also hopes to provide information on hydrology, including the role of sand sheets as coastal aquifers and identification of anomalous deposits attributed to large scale tsunami events. A PhD thesis and the publications of several reports and articles to government agencies and refereed journals are expected. | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Bill Buttemer Lee Astheimer | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $60,000 | $48,000 | $50,000 | $158,000 | ||
| Industry Partner: | APLC | ||||
| Project Title: | Organophosphate pesticides and locust control: Sublethal effects on terrestrial vertebrates | ||||
| Project Summary: | The proposed research will provide the first comprehensive study of the sensitivity of Australian terrestrial vertebrates to the widely used organophosphate (OP) pesticide, fenitrothion. This information is essential for our industry partner to assess the impact of locust control activities on native wildlife and to inform their field practices. We will correlate the extent of cholinesterase inhibition, a biomarker of OP exposure, with physiological and behavioural parameters to evaluate sublethal effects on selected birds, mammals and reptiles under field conditions and i controlled laboratory experiments. Our novel, integrated approach will serve as a model for future pesticide assessment worldwide. | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Robin Chowdhury Phillip Flentje | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $75,000 | $55,000 | $50,000 | $180,000 | ||
| Industry Partner: | Wollongong City Council & Rail Access Corporation/Rail Services Australia | ||||
| Project Title: | Integrated approach for the assessment and management of landslide risk. | ||||
| Project Summary: | Landslides have an enormous economic and social impact in many countries. in Australia 82 people have died and landslides have destroyed 200 buildings and millions of dollars are spent in landslide remediation. The research project will facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of the processes and mechanisms of landsliding and will enable the development of effective strategies for risk assessment and management. The research will lead to reliable, real-time predictions, more effective early warning systems and to better strategies for preventative action and loss reduction. Early work has been successful for real-time prediction in August 1998 and has been recognised and adopted internationally. | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Chris Cook Steve Gower | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $122,860 | $120,000 | $85,000 | $327,860 | ||
| Industry Partner: | Australian Superconductors | ||||
| Project Title: | Design, construction and evaluation of a 20kJ superconducting magnetic energy storage system | ||||
| Project Summary: | This system will construct, and examine the overall system of, a 20kJ energy storage system using high Tc superconductors (known as superconducting magnetic energy storage system or SMES). It aims to integrate coil design, high Tc current leads, cryogenic power semiconductors and the power conditioning system into a functioning device. The research also seeks to reveal the rules governing the optimum charge and discharge rates, capacities and operating profiles for SMES. A 20 kJ SMES is significant to electrical engineering because it will provide levelling of short time voltage drops in 3 phase power supply networks. | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Andy Davis | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $22,292 | $22,292 | $22,292 | $66,876 | ||
| Industry Partner: | Wyong Shire Council | ||||
| Project Title: | Impacts of coastal development on estuaries: the utility of non-motile macro-invertebrates in rapid biodiversity assessment | ||||
| Project Summary: | Coastal environments, particularly estuaries, are under considerable pressure from urban expansion. In order to adequately protect and manage these productive systems a quick and cheap means of assessing their “health” is required. Non-motile invertebrates, such as sponges and ascidians, are excellent candidates for the assessment of stress in estuarine environments but, their utility as surrogates for other components for the fauna remains unknown. This project will i) determine whether non-motile invertebrates are useful for rapid biodiversity assessment in estuarine environments ii) provide a detailed inventory for the macrofauna of Southern NSW estuaries—a fauna which is currently poorly known. It is anticipated that findings from this study will be applicable to other temperate estuaries threatened by urban expansion. | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Rian Dippenaar | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $80,800 | $83,200 | $85,700 | $249,700 | ||
| Industry Partner: | BHP Innovations Pty Ltd | ||||
| Project Title: | The formation and stability of intermetallic phases in a Zincalum coating bath | ||||
| Project Summary: | The proposed project is designed to develop a sound understanding of the mechanism and rate of formation of inter-metallic phases (dross) in the molten metallic bath of the reaction vessel used for hot-dip galvanising of steel strip. This knowledge is the key to understanding the effect of process variables on the formation of dross, which causes quality problems. A fundamental understanding of the linkage between process variables and product quality will help the Australian industry to design remedial action for the prevention of excessive precipitate formation. Training will be provided for a researcher in advanced research techniques. | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Rian Dippenaar | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $22,292 | $22,292 | $22,292 | $66,876 | ||
| Industry Partner: | BHP Minerals Research | ||||
| Project Title: | Agglomeration of Fine Iron ORe Particles in a fluid bed cascade | ||||
| Project Summary: | A multi-billion dollar facility to produce hot priquetted iron from iron ore fines is being commissioned in Australia but the efficiency of the process is hampered by the sticking of particles in the reactors and transfer pipes. This project is aimed at establishing the mechanisms of sticking by studying the underpinning scientific principles in simplified systems. A fundamental understanding of the sticking problem will help the Australian industry to design appropriate counter measures. A researcher will be trained in collaboration with the industry partner to solve an industrial problem through fundamental scientific research. | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Tony Eyers Chung Tung Chou | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $22,292 | $22,292 | $22,292 | $66,876 | ||
| Industry Partner: | Motorola Australia | ||||
| Project Title: | Distributed caching for quality of service provision in mobile multicast IP networks. | ||||
| Project Summary: | Multicasting is an efficient method to deliver information from a sender to a selected group of recipients in communication networks. The recent groth in mobile communications has fuelled an increasing demand to provide multicast services such as video conferencing over mobile networks. These services generally require strict Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees which can be especially challenging to meet in the mobile environment because of its inherent unreliability and bandwidth limitation. This project will investigate the research issues related to designing distributed caching for ensuring QoS guarantees in mobile multicasting. The goal is to provide both mobile device and network designers with a systematic distributed caching design methodology. | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Kristine French | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $22,292 | $22,292 | $22,292 | $66,876 | ||
| Industry Partner: | State Forests | ||||
| Project Title: | The relationship between bat diversity and invertebrates in harvested forests. | ||||
| Project Summary: | Production forests consists fo a mosaic of patches of regenerating forest of different ages amongst unlogged areas. Each patch has a different vertical structure that potentially affects animal behaviour. At present we have little knowledge of how animals use different patches and how these influence regional biodiversity. This project investigates how the change in forest structure within these patches affects foraging of bats. It will take a multiorganim approach by investigating both predator (bats) and prey (moths and bats). Spatial scales of these two taxa will be investigated simultaneously allowing us to determine if prey distribution is influencing predator behaviour. | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Kristine French | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $22,292 | $22,292 | $22,292 | $66,876 | ||
| Industry Partner: | Wyong Shire Council | ||||
| Project Title: | The effect of urbanisation on bird populations | ||||
| Project Summary: | Fragmentation of habit in urban areas is known to affect the avian community. What is not understood is whether urban fragments of how birds use remnants and the surrounding urban matrix. As a result, management protocols to enhance urban diversity lack adequate direction. This project will investigate what species are affected by urban fragmentation, how fragmentation affects the population structure, feeding behaviour and reproductive output. It will determine what resources are used in fragments and surrounding areas and compare this to areas to continuous bushland. | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Vic Gosbell Ian Burnett | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $92,860 | $81,000 | $83,000 | $256,860 | ||
| Industry Partner: | Integral Energy CHK Engineering | ||||
| Project Title: | Power Quality survey and monitoring methodologies for the Australian electricity distribution industry. | ||||
| Project Summary: | The deregulation of the Australian electricity industry increases competition but threatens the quality of the electricity supply. State regulators are trying to protect quality by imposing codes and mandatory routine measurements. However, at present there are no credible quantitative measures of power quality, and the measurement of every relevant parameter at every point in the power system is impractical. This project will develop cost-effective methods for monitoring a large power system, including a specification for monitoring instruments, their number and location, methods of data compression, automatic recognition of the types of disturbances and characterisation by useful power quality indices. | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Ann Hodgkinson Robyn Iredale | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $50,000 | $22,292 | $22,292 | $94,584 | ||
| Industry Partner: | Department of State and Regional Development Shoalhaven Council | ||||
| Project Title: | Internationalisation, information flows and networking in rural and regional firms: Implications for regional development | ||||
| Project Summary: | This project will model the local and international strategies leading firms use to export, access new information and source inputs. The research involves interviews with 150 rural and regional NSW firms utilising an evolutionary methodology developed by this research team. It will be the first study to provide substantial evidence of how new information enters non-metropolitan regions and how it is used as the basis for design and technological innovations. It will also provide detailed analyses of the networks used by such firms and the relative significance of industrial clusters to their sustained growth. The results will highlight the similarities and differences in the internationalisation strategies of firms in different regions providing the basis for regional policies, that build on the existing relationships in such regions. | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Brian Jones Gerald Nanson | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $22,292 | $22,292 | $22,292 | $66,876 | ||
| Industry Partner: | Coleambally Irrigation | ||||
| Project Title: | Influence of palaeochannels on groundwater access and movement in the Coleambally Irrigation area. | ||||
| Project Summary: | This project will assess the influence of paleochannels and associated land units on groundwater access and movement using the Coleambally Irrigation District as a model. This will be achieved through integration of extensive existing and new borehole, soil, groundwater and electromagnetic data using Geographic Information System methodologies. A better understanding and management of water access to shallow aquifers in irrigation areas will improve the management and use of groundwater resources, and also assist in the control of downstream salinity problems. Such information will be widely applicable and important both in Australia and internationally. | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Roger Lewis Chao Zhang | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $22,292 | $22,292 | $22,292 | $66,876 | ||
| Industry Partner: | Email Limited | ||||
| Project Title: | Experimental development of thermionic cooling for domestic refrigeration | ||||
| Project Summary: | We plan to prove in practice the concept of solid-state cooling by thermionic emission for domestic refrigeration. The proposed experimental work follows naturally from the recent theoretical advances made in this area by us and others. A structure consisting of very thin, alternating layers of semiconductors is calculated to have high cooling efficiency. In contrast to standard compressor-based refrigerators, a refrigerator based on the new concept has no moving parts, is silent, vibration free, environmental friendly and low maintenance. The project links experts in semiconductor physics theory and experiment with Australia's largest manufacturer of domestic refrigerators, whose factory is regionally based (Orange, NSW). | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Clem Lloyd | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $52,000 | $52,000 | $52,000 | $156,000 | ||
| Industry Partner: | John Fairfax Holding Ltd The DART Foundation | ||||
| Project Title: | Trauma and the newsroom: Helping journalists avoid trauma to others and to themselves when reporting stressful situations. | ||||
| Project Summary: | Fair and effective journalism in Australia is impeded by traditional, but outmoded and unjust, reporting practices. This project is designed to produce better journalism in the reporting of victims involved in catastrophic events and stressful situations. journalists can cause traumatic stress among these victims by inappropriate reporting practices. Journalists are themselves vulnerable to traumatic stress from reporting catastrophes and stressful situations. Unlike other participants in traumatic events, journalists get no professional trauma counselling in their workplaces. This project aims to remove from the newsroom reporting and techniques likely to traumatise victims and introduce best-practice trauma counselling for journalists. | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Roselyn Melville | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $22,292 | $22,292 | $22,292 | $66,876 | ||
| Industry Partner: | Burnside | ||||
| Project Title: | Foster carers: redefining their role and responsibilities in response to deinstitutionalisation | ||||
| Project Summary: | Child welfare systems throughout Australia have difficulty attracting and maintaining adequate numbers of foster carers. This project critically examines the quality of carer support and training, and the role of foster carers within the current policy environment fo deinstitutionalisation. The research will assist in the development of policy and practice to more accurately reflect carer needs, such as improved carer recruitment and training. It is hoped that the research will raise retention rates and reduce costs associated with higher carer turnover. This will lead to improved outcomes for children in care can be expected as the numbers of experienced and well-supported foster carers increase. | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Sharon Nightingale Geoff Brooks | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $72,234 | $49,580 | $51,422 | $173,236 | ||
| Industry Partner: | BHP Steel | ||||
| Project Title: | High Temperature behaviour of resin bonded refactory composite | ||||
| Project Summary: | This project aims to establish a predictive model for behaviour of a refractory composite which plays a critical role in the stability of blast furnace operations and prolonging campaign life. effects of extrusion conditions and heating on volatile loss, structure and properties of resin bonded Al2O3-SiC-C used to seal the tapholes and protect hearth refractories will be studied. Results will be verified by comparison with analyses of core samples taken from a blast furnace. Data will be used to improve control of furnace operations, increase safety and extend furnace life thereby improving the competitiveness of Australia's steel industry. | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Josef Pieprzyk | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $81,360 | $70,000 | $72,000 | $223,360 | ||
| Industry Partner: | Nortel Networks Australia Pty Ltd | ||||
| Project Title: | Internet Electronic Voting Protocols | ||||
| Project Summary: | The right to participate in free elections is the cornerstone of any democratic society. The project investigates problems related to the conversion of paper-based voting into a fully fledged electronic equivalent. We are going to design and analyse a family of e-Voting protocols which can be used to conduct large-scale elections(for instance nation wide), small-scale voting (teleconferencing and on-line decision making), opinion testing of a target group, electronic collection of signatures for petitions and nation-wide referenda. | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Anatoly Rozenfeld | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $22,292 | $22,292 | $22,292 | $66,876 | ||
| Industry Partner: | Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Nucleat Fields (Aust) PTY LTD | ||||
| Project Title: | Development of a single photon emission tomography for imaging small laboratory animals | ||||
| Project Summary: | The goal of this research is to develop a device for imaging the distribution and kinetics of radiolabelled drugs in laboratory animals, such as rats and mice. The project combines the expertise and facilities of the collaborating partners and incorporates several innovative concepts, including a new high resolution detector and novel methods of photon collimation and image reconstruction. The major outcome will be a unique imaging capability that will allow, for the first time, radiochemists, pharmacologists and other basic researchers to study receptor-drug interactions non-invasively in live animals. | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Geoff Spinks Hugh Brown | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $ 71460 | $ 62800 | $ 62800 | $ 197060 | ||
| Industry Partner: | BHP Coated Steel Australia | ||||
| Project Title: | Rapid assessment of paint properties using indentation analysis | ||||
| Project Summary: | The aim of this project is to develop an instruments and supporting analysis methodology to allow the rapid assessment of paint film properties. The project will provide valuable knowledge on the mechanics of contact between probes and viscoelastic polymer coatings. Such information has general relevance to friction properties and adhesion of polymers. The information from the testing will also be used by the Industrial Partner to adjust paint baking processes so as to maintain optimal coating quality. Such quality improvements are important to the future expansion of BHP's business internationally. | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | David Steel Yan-Xia Lin | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $22,292 | $22,292 | $22,292 | $66,876 | ||
| Industry Partner: | Australian Bureau of Statistics | ||||
| Project Title: | Measuring interviewer effects for household surveys | ||||
| Project Summary: | Household surveys are a vital source of social and economic information for businesses and governments. The performance of interviewers can greatly affect the quality of information obtained from such surveys. This project will develop new statistical methods to measure the impact of interviewers on the quality of survey estimates for the sample designs used in practice. It will develop major new quality management tools that will improve the quality and interpretation of information obtained from household surveys. | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Julie Steele | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $22,292 | $22,292 | $22,292 | $66,876 | ||
| Industry Partner: | ASICS Tiger Oceania Pty Ltd | ||||
| Project Title: | Footwear for fat flat feet: Shoe design and obese children | ||||
| Project Summary: | Children's footwear has traditionally been based on cut-down versions of adult shoes, with minimal research pertaining to shoes designed for specific groups such as obese children. As childhood obesity is rapidly increasing, the nexus between obesity, foot biomechanics, and footwear warrants urgent investigation, particularly as foot discomfort, caused by increased weight-bearing, may hinder obese children from participating in activity, in turn, perpetuating their obesity. To remove this barrier to physical activity, this project will develop design recommendations for shoes to decrease high foot loading suffered by obese children and will have immediate benefits in shoe selection for all overweight/obese children. | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Ah Chung Tsoi | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $94,700 | $80,800 | $86,500 | $262,000 | ||
| Industry Partner: | Health Insurance Commission | ||||
| Project Title: | Automated detection of public fraud in the Medicare system using neural network techniques. | ||||
| Project Summary: | The expected outcome of this project is set of automated methods based on neural network techniques for the detection of public fraud committed by patients, receptionists, for monetary gain: or by people engaged in “doctor shopping” for illicit gain of drug supplies, in the Medicare system. This would reveal the true level of public fraud in the current Medicare system, as well as assisting the Health Insurance Commission in reducing their level of payments due to fraudulent activities | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Linda Viney | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $71,487 | $74,585 | $76,154 | $222,226 | ||
| Industry Partner: | Illawarra Area Health Service | ||||
| Project Title: | Are crazies credible? Working with consumers to evaluate a mental health service | ||||
| Project Summary: | The views of consumers of mental health services are often invalidated and undermined by simple statements such as: “that is not true, they're crazy”. The research aims to improve mental health services through credible consumer evaluation. It is innovative because it involves consumers as researchers in developing a non-medical consumer-directed model and credible methodology for evaluating current and planning future mental health services. The expected outcomes include: (a) a consumer-directed model to evaluate mental health services; (b) new methods that operationalise the consumer-directed model and overcome previous methodological problems with this client group; and (c) a regional evaluation as a template for international researchers and mental health services. | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Gordon Wallace John Norrish | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $22,292 | $22,292 | $22,292 | $66,876 | ||
| Industry Partner: | WTIA | ||||
| Project Title: | An electronic nose for detection and monitoring of welding fume exposure | ||||
| Project Summary: | Tests have shown that excessive breathing zone exposure to harmful fumes is likely to occur if the welders head position coincides with the bulk of the fume plume. The welder is unable to detect this exposure risk due to the protective helmet and unpredictable fume movement. The aim of the project is to develop a sensor for breathing zine fume measurement in arc welding situations. Polymer sensors have been used as gas and olfactory detectors and seem to be most suitable for this application. The research involves the development of a suitable sensor element and detection telemetry circuitry. | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Gouxiu Wang Hua Kun Liu S Zhong | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $60,234 | $74,080 | $63,922 | $198,236 | ||
| Industry Partner: | Aust Battery Technology Ltd & Lexel Battery Ltd | ||||
| Project Title: | Solid-state rechargeable lithium batteries for telecommunication and portable electronic devices | ||||
| Project Summary: | The aims of the research are to develop solid state rechargeable lithium polymer batteries and thin film microbatteries for telecommunications and for miniature electronic devices. The significance of this project is to develop advanced solid-state rechargeable technology and to stimulate advanced battery manufacture in Australia. The expected outcomes will be to produce prototype lithium polymer batteries for cellular phones, notebook computers and palm computers. Thin-film microbatteries will also be fabricated using a pulsed laser ablation technique. | ||||
| Chief Investigator(s): | Heather Yeatman | ||||
| 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ | ||
| $22,292 | $22,292 | $22,292 | $66,876 | ||
| Industry Partner: | Sanitarium | ||||
| Project Title: | Prospective study of key factors affecting consumers’ food choice | ||||
| Project Summary: | Social and retail environments within which people make food choices are changing rapidly and research methods are required to predict future trends. This prospective study will contribute to a theoretical framework describing influences on food choice and refine applied consumer research methodologies using qualitative and quantitative approaches. Regionally-based Australian health food companies need to grow their business by anticipating and understanding consumer trends in order to produce and market healthy foods that address consumer needs. This longitudinal study will identify key influences on the adoption of healthy food choice behaviours in teenage, young parent and middle age cohorts. | ||||
| Total | 2001 $ | 2002 $ | 2003 $ | Total $ |
| $1,297,083 | $1,185,425 | $1,152,878 | $3,635,386 |
Last reviewed: 17 May, 2012
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