Transcript
LIST OF
POTENTIAL
PhD
PROJECTS
UNSW Canberra
List of Potential PhD Projects at UNSW Canberra
CONTENTS
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS..........................................................................3
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Economics of Development
Leadership
Logistics and Business Intelligence Group
SCHOOL OF ENGINEEING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Aerospace, Civil and Mechanical
Engineering...........................................................................................................15
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Acoustics & Vibration
Civil Engineering
Composite Materials & Structures
Computational Fluid Mechanics
Flow Visualisation
Geotechnical and Infrastructure Engineering
Guidance and Control
High Speed Aerodynamics
Mechanical Engineering
Neural Networks
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Information Technology and Electrical Engineering...............................................35
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Adaptive Systems
Air Traffic Management
Artificial Intelligence
Atmospheric Science and Astronomy
Biometric Security
Cognitive Engineering
Computational Decision Making
Computational Intelligence
Computer Science
Control Theory and Control Applications
Forensic Instrumentation
High Frequency Engineering
Image Processing
Information and Communication
Laser Instrumentation
Networking
Network Science, Web Science and Management
Network Security
Optical Devices
Quantum Optics
Underwater Networks
Wireless Communications and Signal Processing
SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES.................................66
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SCHOOL OF PHYSICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL & MATHEMATICAL
SCIENCES............................................................................................................67
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Applied Mathematics
Astronomy
Atmospheric Physics and Meteorology
Chemistry
Chemistry/Physics/Mathematics
Geography
Oceanography
Physics (Advanced Materials)
Statistics
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SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
http://bus.unsw.adfa.edu.au/index.html
ECONOMICS OF DEVELOPMENT
Project:
Addressing state fragility
Program Code: 1541
Supervisor:
Prof Satish Chand (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Prof Michael Hess (
[email protected])
Aim: Investigate the nexus between defence and economic development.
Objectives:
(i)
How does economic development affect security in hostile environment?
(ii)
What are the means to reducing state fragility?
(iii)
What are the mechanisms via which economic development affect peace?
Description of work:
Development is difficult in dangerous places. And achieving security in places
lacking development is equally problematic. This research project investigates the
nexus between defence and development.
There are strong theoretical reasons to believe that the level of security to person
and property determine the level of effort and investments in any location. This in
turn determines the level of income, employment, and levels of welfare in the general
population.
The School of Business @ADFA has initiated a large research project aimed at
exploring the defence-development nexus. In particular, this research explores the
use of development as the means to achieving long-term security in fragile states.
The project has secured seed funding from the Asia-Pacific Civil Military Centre of
Excellence to study the contributions of host communities to sustaining peace in
post-conflict Bougainville. A PhD scholar has been recruited from Papua New
Guinea to assist with this research.
It is envisaged that the country coverage of this work will, subject to funding and
availability of research personnel, be extended to Afghanistan, Fiji, East Timor,
Indonesia, Pakistan, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. Doctoral students
and post-doctoral fellows will form the core of this project. A student has been
recruited to work on this issue in Pakistan.
Method:
The PhD scholars will first review the rapidly evolving literature on the relationship
between defence and development. A mix of qualitative and quantitative data will
then be collected to establish the causal links between the level of security and
income generation in post-conflict states and the contributions of the above to
reducing state fragility. Ideally, we would like the scholar to investigate these
linkages at the level of individual households and firms in their home countries.
ADFA has large group of alumni who either are or have participated in peacekeeping
missions abroad. The project will collect data from these personnel. This will be
done via: (i) candidature of former peacekeepers turned scholars; and, (ii) through
formal interviews of the others as part of the data gathering exercise.
The research methodology to be employed will include the conduct of purpose
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designed surveys, focus group discussions, and use of secondary sources for
economy wide information. Much of the methodology for this research is being
tested and its refinement will be part of ongoing research.
Pre-requisites:
We expect the prospective student(s) to have some familiarity with basic statistics
and undergraduate level economics. However, no prior knowledge of econometrics
is assumed.
The student will spend one semester doing post-graduate level coursework in
quantitative research techniques within the School of Business. During this time, the
student will also review the literature and refine his/her research question.
The student will spend a semester collecting data in the field. Analysis of the
collected data and thesis writing will extend over the remaining two years.
Supervisory support:
Professors Chand and Hess will provide joint supervision.
Research on how best to address fragility is both timely and is of policy relevance.
And ADFA provides the platform to conduct this research while the School of
Business lends the tools for the conduct of this research.
Project:
Economic vs. Social Needs in Supply Chain Networks: The
Case of Oncology Drugs
Program Code: 1541
Supervisor:
Dr Daniel D Prior (
[email protected])
Objectives:
The conflict between economic (the profit motive) and customer needs is a welldocumented phenomenon facing firms. However, few studies consider the nature of
this trade-off across supply chain networks, particularly in life or death customer
circumstances. This study seeks to understand this trade off across three primary
dimensions. First, the nature of supply chain networks is such that the responsibility
for fulfilling customer needs is distributed amongst supply chain network members.
How does this distributed mode of responsibility influence end user outcomes?
Second, most supply chain network members divide their focus between working
collaboratively with other supply chain network members and on internal issues. To
what extent does customer orientation exist in specific actors within the supply
chain? How does this affect the economic-social trade-off? Third, what approaches
or methods (i.e. resources, systems, capital) have supply chain members used to
adapt to these circumstances?
Description of Work:
• An initial literature review
• A qualitative phase involving interviews and/ or case studies
• A quantitative phase involving survey development, administration, and
analysis of results using structural modelling or regression-based techniques
• Potentially an experimental design
Desirable Applicants: To apply for this project, applications should meet the criteria
for admission to a PhD at UNSW; have industry experience in supply chain
management excellent writing skills, and the ability to work independently. Please
address these requirements in your application. Applicants should also be prepared
to submit certified transcripts, certified identification, their three best pieces of writing
in English, and a dissertation or thesis completed as part of their previous studies.
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Project:
Land tenure and productivity
Program Code: 1541
Supervisor:
Prof Satish Chand (
[email protected])
Objectives:
This project assesses the impact of land tenure system on the level of investments
and productivity at the level of an enterprise.
Description of work:
There are strong theoretical reasons to believe that security of property rights to land
will impact on the level of effort and investments expanded by an entrepreneur. This
proposition is expected to hold across market and mixed economies.
The School of Business @ADFA has a large research project aimed at exploring the
impact of the various land tenure regimes on productivity. The empirical analysis
done to date has drawn on data from the smallholder oil palm sector in Papua New
Guinea.
The project has collected data to test the impact of land reform on investment in
housing at the level of the household. Purpose designed surveys have been
conducted for this purpose in Port Moresby and Suva.
China recently embarked upon an ambitious land tenure reform project. There are
compelling reasons to believe that these reforms will impact on domestic investment
and thus the rate of economic growth. The Chinese experimentation provides fertile
grounds to test the link, if any, between land tenure and productivity. This work can
be undertaken both at the level of the individual farms and that at the level of
households.
Method:
The PhD scholar will examine the impact of changes to land tenure regime on the
levels of investment and productivity within PRC. Ideally, we would like one scholar
to investigate the linkage at the level of individual farms while the other student will
examine the same issue for settler housing.
The research methodology to be employed will include the conduct of a purpose
designed surveys to collect the primary data for subsequent analysis. The collected
data will be analysed using econometric techniques. Much of the methodology for
this research has been tested and is being refined as part of an ongoing research
within the School of Business at UNSW Canberra.
Pre-requisites:
We expect the prospective student(s) to have some familiarity with basic statistics
and undergraduate level economics. However, no prior knowledge of econometrics
is assumed.
The student will spend one semester doing post-graduate level coursework in
quantitative research techniques within the School of Business. During this time, the
student will also review the literature and refine his/her research question.
The student will spend a semester collecting data in the field. Analysis of the
collected data and thesis writing will extend over the remaining two years.
Supervisory support:
Professor Satish Chand will provide primary supervision. Professor Chand has a
large externally funded research project to investigate the impact of land tenure
reform on productivity within the Pacific islands, and is in the process of extending
this project into Asia.
The Peoples’ Republic of China is an excellent case study for several reasons
including the following three: (i) land reforms are being experimented within several
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parts of the nation; (ii) macroeconomic data is available for this analysis; and (iii)
there is a sufficiently large number of households and enterprises affected by
ongoing reforms to land tenure. The last allows for serious econometric analysis of
the impact of land tenure reforms on productivity.
LEADERSHIP
Project:
Leadership in a complex world
Program Code: 1541
Supervisor:
Dr James Warn (
[email protected])
Objectives:
The aim of the research is to investigate the concept of leadership in complex social
contexts.
Description of Work:
Contemporary leaders operate in a world of complex challenges and are expected to
perform within complex, rapidly changing and uncertain environments. Issues are
multifaceted, interactive with other sets of issues, problems are ambiguous, their
underlying causes are unclear, and once one problem is addressed it seemingly
becomes interconnected with other issues.
The research would positioned broadly within the research cluster for the School of
Business The key domains of the cluster are rebuilding fragile states (business,
social, peacekeeping and peace-building operations), governance and change
(exercise of collective power across boundaries) and the management of skills and
knowledge in these complex situations.
The research could address
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leadership in situations of complex governance arrangements (e.g. civil-military
interaction in humanitarian assistance).
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experience of leadership from a cross cultural or cross generational perspective
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leadership in crisis contexts
The research could explore issues such as how leadership is construed, defined,
emerges and is meaningful in these contexts. The research would need to be able to
define leadership using an appropriate framework and categorise instances of
leadership in order to achieve focused analysis of specific events or situations. The
models would enable the leadership variable being investigated to be linked to
outcomes or other consequences. The research might consider implications for
conceptualizing leadership and the language in which leadership is explained and
constructed.
A viable project would need access to organizations or key actors or groups so as to
obtain data sets, capacity to collate data sets or access for interviews or means to
obtain primary data.
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LAND BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE GROUP
Logistics Informatics as Industrial Informatics addresses the research area of
business automation. As the Internet becomes more wide spread and pervasive, the
vision of intelligent and collaborative industrial environments empowered by CyberPhysical Systems and Internet of Things with all transport providers, logistics
consortiums, supply-chain partners, coalition forces, inter-agency operators, sub
contactors, and end-users with dynamic, agile and reconfigurable enterprise
structures has become a reality. As industrial systems have become more intelligent,
automated, dynamic and distributed; the monitoring and control of operations has
shifted towards the digital paradigm and is increasingly carried over the Internet as is
the case for sales of e-services. Logistics activity represents approximately 9-15% of
Australia’s GDP [2002-2012] or $57-$86 billion and it has been found that the
introduction of collaborative logistic systems can achieve a 500% return on
investment [Gardner 2002]. Weaknesses in logistic capabilities create a multi-billion
dollar cost burden on the Australian economy [The Age Jan 2011]. Logistics and
supply-chain are vital to the global economy, especially in developing countries
where the 90% of logistics companies are SMEs. They provide the engine for growth
of value added products and services in the supply chain marketplace and delivers
substantial social and economic benefits for Australia. The Transport and Logistics
research at UNSW at Australian Defence Force Academy performs multi-disciplinary
research incorporating business, ICT, engineering and industrial informatics. As a
result of this research, the following projects are available as research topics for
potential PhD students:
Project:
Aged Care Mobility and Transportation
Program Code: 1541
Supervisor:
Professor Elizabeth Chang (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Dr George Leu (SEIT)
Objectives:
There are a number of problems associated with logistics and mobility for aged or
disabled persons. The contribution of this project lies in the development of smart
aged care logistics and mobility through the use of intelligent Cyber Physical
Systems and integration of intelligence sensor based medical devices and intelligent
transportation technologies
Description of Work:
This project involves design and development of frameworks, algorithms, knowledge,
information analysis techniques for better management of aged care mobility.
Project:
Ambient Security in Logistics Network
Program Code: 1541
Supervisor:
Professor Elizabeth Chang (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Professor Jian Kun, Dr. Xiao Mao (SEIT)
Objectives:
This research studies methods and techniques for safeguarding infrastructure,
Logistics facilities and frontline operations, International and National Security
Measures in Logistics and Supply Chain; Types of attacks, vulnerability and weak
points in Logistics Networks; Inter-modal security, monitoring and control of malicious
activities, Security techniques, Biometrics, X-Ray, Sniffer, CT-Scan, and Sensors
Networks, Electronic dog for Goods tracking, Container tracking, Vehicle tracking and
Material tracking.
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Project:
Collaborative Logistics
Program Code: 1541
Supervisor:
Dr Naeem Janjua (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Professor Elizabeth Chang
Objectives:
Logistics activity represents approximately 9-15% of Australia’s GDP between 20022012. The introduction of collaborative logistic systems can achieve a 500% return
on investment [Gardner 2002]. Collaborative supply chains and logistics networks
involve vertical industry collaboration and horizontal industry services. Weakness in
logistic capabilities creates a multi-billion dollar cost burden on the Australian
economy. The contribution of this research will be to provide seamless integration
between SME logistics providers and multi-national corporate logistics providers
through the use of service-oriented e-Hub and Partner to Partner (P2P) connectors.
This project develops methodologies and systems to allow logistics companies to
form coalitions with worldwide logistics providers. Using this approach, supply chain
services and physical resources are coupled and extended beyond their typical
region of operation. It involves the coupling of e-Transportation, e-Warehousing, eHub Connector and one-stop-shop, P2P (Partner to Partner) and B2B (Business to
Business). This has the potential of allowing medium sized, regionally based,
logistics providers to compete on the world stage with giant logistic providers such as
UPS and FedEx. The research work will build a virtual collaborative logistics
consortium that is especially suited to SME (small medium enterprise) supply chain
providers, partners and alliances.
Description of Work:
The research will propose a cutting edge IT infrastructure which will allow the
seamless exchange of information between the international logistics partners
wherever they are and whenever it is necessary. This enables global supply chain
management for all national / international clients, partners, customers, suppliers,
sub-contractors and buyers around the world to track the details and movement of
goods anywhere at any time. The system will also support the need for
communication and co-ordination between all partner transporters and warehouses
around the world.
Project:
Congestion management and prediction
Program Code: 1541
Supervisor:
Professor Elizabeth Chang (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Professor Greg Martin
Objectives:
The research aims to reduce traffic congestion & improve the throughput of key
roadways. It aims to use cutting edge crowdsourcing, cloud and cyber-physical
systems as well as wireless sensor network technologies & data mining techniques
to improve our commute to work time (when the roadways are most stressed). The
contribution of this work is to include accurate real-time traffic prediction using a
hybrid exponential smoothing and neural-nets-based approaches and traffic flows
forecasting using swarm intelligence. Among the work in this area also include
Congestion issues, impact and global view, congestion management through
collective intelligence and crowd sourcing, Logistics issues in Infrastructure
Strategies, Planning and Policy, Intelligent Logistics Infrastructure Design and
Development, Intelligent strategy for planning and design (including ports, Air or
Sea), Intelligent strategy for planning and design of highway, overpass, road, rail and
freight corridors. The research also includes urban and regional development model
through data mining for the specific characteristics of road user background and
travelling behaviour and enablement of the study on road user demographic
background and how this has affected the local industry and urban regional business
development, including the prediction of population growth, and its impact on local
business and services in 5, 10 or 25 years’ time
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Description of Work:
This project involves design and development of algorithms, knowledge, information
analysis techniques, good mathematical knowledge as well as possible numerical
modelling.
Project:
Data Risk Management
Program Code: 1541
Supervisor:
Dr Omar Hussain (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Professor Tharam Dillon
Objectives:
Due to the distributed nature of defence and logistics operations, their operational
data is stored in many different information repositories which are spread over
various geographical locations. Such data stored in such distributed locations is
crucial to generate highly confidential intelligence knowledge and operational plans in
Defence. Similar is the case for managing supply chain operations in the logistics
domain. Hence, to facilitate such operations, an Enterprise System that identifies the
relevant information from different distributed information sources and integrates
them to the Enterprise Information Repository on which analytics can be performed is
needed. The literature approaches this problem as a data warehousing one, but in
reality, it is a much bigger and more complex one that demands to be looked at from
the Data Quality perspective. The objective of this project is to design, model,
develop and test such a framework for data cleansing and data quality to support the
Defence and Logistics Enterprise Systems.
Description of Work:
This project involves design and development of algorithms, risk modelling
knowledge, information analysis techniques, good mathematical knowledge as well
as possible numerical modelling.
Project:
Defence Logistics
Program Code: 1541
Supervisor:
Professor Elizabeth Chang (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Dr. Omar Hussain and Dr. Naeem Janjua
Objectives:
The research incorporate wide array of issues facing to the Defence Industry
nationally and internationally. Key research areas including the development of
cutting edge frameworks, methods, technologies and accounting frameworks in the
area of automated warehousing, intelligence asset management, integrated Interagency and multi-national forces operations, intelligent civilian contact management
and vendor logistics performance, contingency planning and support logistics life
cycle sustainment, situation awareness in ad-hoc environment, NATO and
International standards for Defence Logistics security and safety.
Description of Work:
The contribution of the research in above areas including developing innovative
solutions, techniques, methods, tools and proof of concepts through prototype
systems, scientific or engineering methods or practical system proof.
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Project:
Green Logistics
Program Code: 1541
Supervisor:
Professor Elizabeth Chang (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Professor Tharam Dillon;
Objectives:
In cooperation with Fleetwood Corporation, who provides transportable mobile
homes for resources, oil and gas exploration industries right across Australia, this
project aims to reduce energy consumption and related emissions for Fleetwood's
BHP, Rio Tinto and Woodside Camps. The contribution of this research is to reduce
both energy use and emissions in line with the upcoming carbon-trading schemes.
The project requires developing prototype systems and field-testing and possible
deployment in real world.
Description of Work:
This project involves design and development of algorithms, knowledge, information
analysis techniques, good mathematical knowledge as well as possible numerical
modelling.
Project:
Green Logistics
Program Code: 1541
Supervisor:
Professor Elizabeth Chang (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Professor Satish Chand, Dr. Naeem Janjua,
Objectives:
Global warming is becoming a big problem and carbon emissions from a variety of
sources are the cause of it. To control emission, a number of carbon emission
reduction policies and schemes such as the Kyoto Protocol & COP15 treaty have
been reached and put in place. Many accounting models have already been
proposed in the current literature to solve the problem of responsibility ambiguity.
However, the current accountability models are proposed for the general industries
and not for the aviation industry. We feel that these models cannot be applied directly
to the aviation industry since factors of influence are significantly different. In
Aviation, it involves a mix of international and national factors such as the
accountability and the implications of members and non-members of the climate
change treaties in different countries. Hence, taking into account all the determinant
factors and different stakeholders involved in the process of the carbon accounting,
we are proposing an efficacious and fair accountability model for the aviation industry
in our research. This accountability model can be used to assist Australian
government in coming up with a fair tax ‘relief/subsidy’ scheme for the aviation
companies for a more sustainable tourism to the country; since inclusion of aviation
into the carbon reduction scheme is going to be taxing to the aviation and tourism
industry growth. This research is to improve carbon emissions by the replacement of
diesel fuelled large trucks and semitrailers by Bio-Fuel or Gas fuelled vehicles
through wireless sensor technologies and real time data mining. This project is in
collaboration with JR Bulk Liquids Transportation Pty Ltd. The research work
includes: the study of social, economic and environmental impact of Carbon
emission, the possible enforcement of green logistics as pre-conditions for Defence,
National and International trades, monitoring Transportation Net Green House
Emission in world comparison view, and Transport emission per capita, IEA Reports,
a world view of penalties. An approach to calculate CO2 cost from Air, Rail, Land,
Sea and other transportation mediums, a methodology for Multi-national approach to
Green Trade Logistics and alternative fuel and underlying technologies for Green
Logistics, measuring, monitoring, controlling and reducing emissions.
Description of Work:
This project involves design and development of algorithms, knowledge, information
analysis techniques, good mathematical knowledge as well as possible numerical
modelling.
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Project:
Program Code:
Supervisor:
Co-Supervisor
Intelligent Asset Management
1541
Professor Elizabeth Chang (
[email protected])
Dr Naeem Janjua (
[email protected]), Professor Michael
O’Donnell; (
[email protected]), Mr Michael Forsyth
Objectives:
The project manages the inspection and maintenance of enterprise asset, Defence
Asset, mining industry asset, Agriculture, earth moving and construction heavy lifting
equipment asset, and Logistics asset including trains assets such as to prevent train
derailments and/or complete shutdowns of the south, west, east and north-bound
train network, for the logistics industry, including supply chain, agriculture, resources
and Defence industry. This research project sponsored by Fastrack Australia, aims to
develop a Cloud based solution coupled with RFID solutions to manage big data on
behalf of government and industry and individual users, to provide reliable
identification information for heavy industry equipment, vehicles, robots and lifting
gear equipment such as chains, shackles, slings, hooks used in the industry.
Equipment have to be certified according to Australian Safety Standards. However,
the problem that the certifying authorities face is to uniquely identify these items
because it is quite easy to move items across and lose the identification information.
Currently, metal tags are used to provide identification, but the problem with this
approach is that data entry needs to be performed manually, which can result in data
entry errors and tags can be easily switched from one certified item to another
uncertified item.
Description of Work:
This project implements High Frequency (HF) RFID tags to tag all lifting gear
equipment. The key advantage of using RFID to track lifting equipment is that once
RFID tags have been embedded in the equipment, they are difficult to remove and
replace. It aims to develop a new inspection & maintenance system that incorporates
condition monitoring, RFID, barcode and mobile devices.
Project:
Intelligent Transportation
Program Code: 1541
Supervisor:
Professor Elizabeth Chang (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Dr. George Leu (SEIT)
Objectives:
Road Users are central to safe and effective management of road traffic.
Connections between smarter vehicles and smarter infrastructure offer new
possibilities and new challenges. The contributions of the project is to develop a set
of measurement for evaluation of the intelligent vehicles with human to system,
human to environment, human to infrastructure interaction. Among the research work
also include Vehicle-to-Vehicle and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure communications,
Infrastructure to Driver and Vehicle-to-Driver communications, Collision avoidance
and automatic road enforcement systems, Spatial Information aided travel, transit,
and routing, Intelligent fleet, heavy vehicles and road transportation, Intelligent
Aircraft loading and balancing systems, Traffic monitoring, prediction, and
optimization
Description of Work:
This project involves design and development of algorithms, CPS frameworks,
information analysis techniques and good mathematical knowledge as well as
possible numerical modelling.
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Project:
Linked Data Analytics in Logistics Operations
Program Code: 1541
Supervisor:
Dr Omar Hussain (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Dr Naeem Janjua (
[email protected])
Objectives:
Big Data provides a wealth of data from which to process knowledge. But to achieve
this, the first crucial step is to transform data to the relevant meaning in the domain in
which knowledge has to be synthesized. For example, to synthesize knowledge from
supplier management to operational strategy in the context of a Logistics ecosystem,
it is first important to transform the relevant data related from supplier management
to a state which has some meaning in operation strategy. Once this is done, the
resulting new information from supplier management can be used to carry out
meaningful analytics and learning in the area of operational strategy of the supply
chain. This approach is known as Learning by Transfer. The objective of this project
is to apply this principle for learning by transfer in Defence and Logistics operations.
Description of Work:
This project involves design and development of algorithms, knowledge, information
analysis techniques, good mathematical knowledge as well as possible numerical
modelling.
Project:
Logistics Big Data Analytics
Program Code: 1541
Supervisor:
Professor Elizabeth Chang (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Dr. Naeem Janjua and Professor Tharam Dillon
Objectives:
The research will carry out data analytics, finding correlations and pattern
recognitions through intelligent computational technologies, various statistical
analytic methods and software that turn the large complex data set into meaningful
information and knowledge. In here, we study and conduct research into the following
topics: Complex data structures including trees, graphs, text and spatial-temporal
data; Mixed information types including image, video, web and text; Data that is
distributed across multiple data sources; Joint mining of structured, semi-structured
and unstructured information; Rare events whose significance could be masked by
more frequently occurring events; Data, text and content mining; Web mining and
document management; Knowledge discovery, representation and knowledge
mining; Integrating a knowledge base from a data mining system and applying this
knowledge during the data mining; Integrating a wide range of data mining
techniques and methods and deriving incremental new knowledge from large data
sets and prior knowledge. The types of knowledge extracted from information mining
activities include: Embedded structures and relationships leading to associations
between these embedded structures and embedded trees rather than just between
simple variables; and also Knowledge that conforms to a certain model structure to
enhance the model. The sources of information addressed in such mining activities
include: Information gathered by a corporation or enterprise about its clients;
Information provided by customers or viewers as a result of their own choice such as
product reviews and trustworthiness information. Such information is of considerable
importance in trust, reputation and risk assessment systems; and Information on
social networking sites, to permit opinion mining.
Description of Work:
This project involves design and development of algorithms, information analysis
techniques, good mathematical knowledge as well as numerical modelling.
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Project:
Performance Analytics for Logistics Intelligence
Program Code: 1541
Supervisor:
Dr Naeem Janjua (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Professor Satish Chand, Professor Elizabeth Chang
Objectives:
This project is sponsored by Blue Logistics, Queensland. In this project, through real
time GPS data, we track all targeted vehicles in terms their route, time, travel
patterns, speed, fleet movement over the cities, town, and country and fuel
performance, etc. By mapping them on the Google map we carry out targeted realtime data analytics and discover travel patterns, productivities and in conjunction with
road elevation and Google earth data, we work out the energy consumption, carbon
emission, fuel (LNG, Diesel, Bio) performance, vehicle performance, logistics
operators/driver performance, bottleneck routs, and with time stamps from the black
boxes embedded in the heavy vehicles.
Description of Work:
This project involves design and development of algorithms, knowledge, information
analysis techniques, good mathematical knowledge as well as numerical modelling.
Project:
Provenance of Goods and Asset, Track n Trace technology
Program Code: 1541
Supervisor:
Professor Elizabeth Chang (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Professor Michael ODonnell, Prof Ruhul Sarker (SEIT)
Objectives:
We track and trace everything, like for example quality of service against SLA
agreement, reputation of the service provider through crowd sourcing and text
mining, e-Warehousing orders, distribution and dispatchers etc. These factors are
traced because they are important for the day-today running of the operations. The
contributions in this project include developing techniques that will assist in the
provenance of goods and asset. It aims to use low cost approximated GPS systems,
Cyber-Physical Systems and Internet of things, coupled with RFID systems to track
Goods, Containers, Vehicles and Assets movement; Real time optimization of
human, material and infrastructure resources to all transport logistics operators,
service providers, manufacturers, mining industries, and joint Defence operations.
Description of Work:
This project involves design and development of algorithms, knowledge, information
analysis techniques, good mathematical knowledge as well as possible numerical
modelling.
Project:
Relational Inertia: Explaining Habitual Group Purchase
Decisions in Business Markets
Program Code: 1541
Supervisor:
Dr Daniel D Prior (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Dr Omar K Hussain, Prof Elizabeth Chang
Objectives:
Current research into purchase decisions in business markets suggest that
commitment and switching costs are the primary reasons for customer loyalty. This
study suggests that a third category also exists. “Relational inertia” occurs when
repeat purchases from one supplier are due to habit or conservatism. This study
considers two perspectives. At the individual level, purchase decisions are one of
many demands that individuals face. Drawing on bounded rationality theory and job
demands theory, it is likely that individuals consent to repeat purchases due to
excess cognitive load. At the firm level, relational inertia may result from cultural
conservatism, decision avoidance from senior managers and the presence of specific
firm processes that align to the supplier. The overall objective of this study is to
September 2014
13
uncover the degree to which i) relational inertia is present in different purchase
contexts (e.g. industry, product type, firm size, location) and, ii) to determine its
relative effects on firm purchase decisions.
Description of Work:
• An initial literature review
• A qualitative phase involving interviews and/ or case studies
• A quantitative phase involving survey development, administration, and
analysis of results using structural modelling or regression-based techniques
• Potentially an experimental design
Desirable Applicants: To apply for this project, applications should meet the criteria
for admission to a PhD at UNSW; have industry experience in business-to-business
interactions and excellent writing skills.
Project:
Risk Optimization-based Logistics management
Program Code: 1541
Supervisor:
Dr Omar Hussain (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor TBA
Objectives:
Various approaches in the existing literature optimize operations in different logistics
areas, such as procurement, production and distribution. However, all of them
synthesize knowledge in an area only from the past observations which are related to
it. This process of knowledge synthesis is classified as historic-based process of
logistics operations optimization. However, in today’s information centred age, Big
Data provides a wealth of information from different relevant areas to analyse it in
real time and synthesize knowledge for another area. For example, analytic
techniques can be applied on the real-time Big Data information coming from
production planning and control (production logistics area) to synthesize knowledge
and make decisions relevant to supplier management, ordering and order control
(procurement logistics area). Furthermore, it is not necessary for the information
coming from different areas to be relevant to the same supply chain; it can also be
from other similar production units or supply chains. This process of knowledge
synthesis is termed as the current-trend based process of supply chain operation
optimization, where real-time information from other parts of the supply chain are
utilized to make optimization decisions, improve efficiency, reduce wastage and
losses. The objective of this project is to design, model, apply and test such a
framework for managing operations in the logistics ecosystem by using knowledge
across different areas.
Description of Work:
This project involves design and development of algorithms, risk modelling
knowledge, information analysis techniques, good mathematical knowledge as well
as possible numerical modelling.
Project:
Satisfying Users with Buying Centre Decisions for Complex
Products and Services
Program Code: 1541
Supervisor:
Dr Daniel D Prior (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor
Objectives:
Most firms use ‘buying centres’ – groups of representative individuals – to make
purchase decisions on behalf of the firm. These individuals exercise purchase
authority on behalf of the firm as a whole and so this raises an important agency
problem: do they serve all stakeholders’ interests equally well? This study seeks to
investigate the degree of stakeholder perceived justice present in buying centre
September 2014
14
decisions. Three perspectives are of interest in this study. First, the formation of the
buying centre shapes decisions, particularly in terms of membership stability, the
definition of responsibility scope, and the parameters of the decision-making process.
Second, the nature of the product/ service may influence the buying centre decision
process; more complex products are likely to require greater expertise; services are
likely to be more subjective. Third, user evaluations are likely to focus on
engagement with products and services over time. These usage experiences are
separate from the purchase process.
Description of Work:
• An initial literature review
• A qualitative phase involving interviews and/ or case studies
• A quantitative phase involving survey development, administration, and
analysis of results using structural modelling or regression-based techniques
• Potentially an experimental design
Desirable Applicants: To apply for this project, applications should meet the criteria
for admission to a PhD at UNSW; have industry experience in business-to-business
interactions and excellent writing skills.
Project:
Smart Port
Program Code: 1541
Supervisor:
Professor Elizabeth Chang (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Professor Greg Martin
Objectives:
ALC 2012 estimates that every 1% increase in efficiency will save Australia around
$1.5 billion. The problems are very complex, as asserted by Michael Pal, Fremantle
Port Authority in 2011. The key issue has been the monopoly-based control of
container movement and all port and road operators’ activities, which affect SMEs'
productivity and resulting financial loss in Australia Ports. The project seeks to
support national strategy on Port Management, addressing fundamental issues of
port infrastructure development, freight networks, logistics networks and its impact on
urban planning
Description of Work:
This project involves design and development of optimization and simulation
algorithms, knowledge analysis techniques and good mathematical knowledge.
Project:
Trust in Logistics Services
Program Code: 1541
Supervisor:
Professor Elizabeth Chang (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Dr Farookh Hussain; Dr. Nelia Hyndman-Rizk
Objectives:
Trust and Reputation is vital to Transport Logistics Industry, Government,
Consumers, Business etc, especially if we look at long-term
strategies. Recommendation systems through collective intelligence and
crowdsourcing techniques to determine the trust and reputation of service providers
and making recommendations to the customers; The contribution of this research is
to build a set of methodologies for evaluating the trust, security and accountability
mechanisms, analysing cascading failures and calculate the value at Risk Models,
and their application to government, extended enterprises and the consortium
industry. Another aspect of the research work include defining a new conceptual
framework for an enhanced Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) infrastructure –
Service Space – with regard to service distribution and service discovery. We will
explore the junction of the frontiers of several ICT disciplines: software architecture,
information retrieval, distributed systems, business intelligence and SOA. The
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framework will integrate web services, social networking and the Web 2.0 technology
by conceptualising and realising a number of original web-compliant SOA
architectural styles for service-oriented computing. The research will integrate Web
2.0 practices into the area of web services / SOA. In particular, the concept of being
able to search for an entity in order to form a coalition with it is central to the idea of
the formation of Digital Ecosystems. Traditional service discovery mechanisms,
which are typically non-semantic in nature, suffer from many issues, most notable of
which is the imprecision of search results. Moreover, there is no method by which
the quality of a service provider that has been nominated as a result of the search
process can be ensured. The recommendation systems will provide methods that
filter and rank the result of search processes based on the quality of the service
providers retrieved as a result of the search process. The proposed system keeps
track of the quality of all the service providers and displays them for the end-user the
recommendation dashboard during the search-retrieval process.
Description of Work:
This project involves design and development of algorithms, knowledge, information
analysis techniques, good mathematical knowledge as well as numerical modelling.
September 2014
16
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
http://seit.unsw.adfa.edu.au/
Aerospace, Civil and Mechanical Engineering
ACOUSTICS & VIBRATION
Project:
Adaptive modal superposition mirror
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
Dr Andrew Lambert (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Dr Murat Tahtali (
[email protected])
Objectives:
Traditional adaptive optics (AO) deformable mirrors use segmented actuator patterns
requiring elaborate manufacturing techniques. The range of surface curvatures used
for corrective action can be described by Zernike polynomials, which are a sequence
of orthogonal polynomials on the unit circle. The vibration modes of a circular
membrane exhibit striking similarities to Zernike polynomials; it fact, they can be all
expressed as functions of Bessel functions. This leads to the possibility of using a
vibrating membrane mirror in adaptive optics. The objective of this project is to
design, manufacture and test a modeshape mirror capable of reproducing the
essential Zernike polynomials to be used in adaptive optics.
Description of Work:
This project involves design and conduct of laser experiments, high levels of signal
processing and analysis techniques as well as possible numerical modelling.
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Project:
Adaptive modal superposition mirror
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
Dr Andrew Lambert (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Dr Murat Tahtali (
[email protected])
Objectives:
Traditional adaptive optics (AO) deformable mirrors use segmented actuator patterns
requiring elaborate manufacturing techniques. The range of surface curvatures used
for corrective action can be described by Zernike polynomials, which are a sequence
of orthogonal polynomials on the unit circle. The vibration modes of a circular
membrane exhibit striking similarities to Zernike polynomials; it fact, they can be all
expressed as functions of Bessel functions. This leads to the possibility of using a
vibrating membrane mirror in adaptive optics. The objective of this project is to
design, manufacture and test a modeshape mirror capable of reproducing the
essential Zernike polynomials to be used in adaptive optics.
Description of Work:
This project involves design and conduct of laser experiments, high levels of signal
processing and analysis techniques as well as possible numerical modelling.
September 2014
17
Project:
Characterisation of Self Compacting High Performance
Concrete
Program Code: 1631
Supervisor:
Dr Obada Kayali (
[email protected])
Prof Evgeny Morozov (
[email protected])
Objectives:
Self Compacting Concrete (SCC) is the way for the future of concrete technology.
The necessity of using highly efficient superplasticisers and viscosity modifying
agents means that it is highly probable that such sophisticated polymers may affect
the processes of hydration, setting, and almost all of the mechanical and durability
characteristics of the hardened concrete. The objective of this project is to conduct
micro and nano-analysis on SCC and analyse the effects of the characteristics that
SCC possesses on its long term mechanical and durability properties
Description of Work:
• Production of SCC using the state of the art methods.
• Conducting a micro/nano study using SEM, XRD and Spectrotomography.
• Analysis of microstructural results and relating them to macrostructural
mechanical and durability characteristics.
Project:
Creep and Shrinkage of Lightweight High Performance
Concrete
Program Code: 1631
Supervisor:
Dr Obada Kayali (
[email protected])
Prof Evgeny Morozov (
[email protected])
Objectives:
High performance lightweight concrete has been produced in Australia and China
based on an invention by Dr Kayali, the Supervisor of this research. The new
concrete is an environmentally sustainable material due to many benefits that range
from using waste products, to reducing cement use and increasing the durability of
structures. The concrete science and industry must be supplied with evidence of
systematic scientific study that shows and analyse the characteristics of this concrete
on long term structural performance. High on the list of main structural performance
properties are shrinkage and creep. These two characteristics make essential
differences when designing prestressed, post-tensioned and high strength concrete
structures.
Description of Work:
• Produce lightweight high performance concrete.
• Study the creep characteristics
• Study the shrinkage characteristics.
• Analyse the properties on both the microstructural and the macrostructural
scales
Project:
Optimization of Self Compacting High Performance Concrete
Program Code: 1631
Supervisor:
Dr Obada Kayali (
[email protected])
Prof Evgeny Morozov (
[email protected])
Objectives:
With Self Compacting Concrete (SCC) becoming the dominant method of concrete
production, it is necessary to be able to obtain optimum mix designs. The
optimisation will take into consideration the environmental necessity to reduce
cement use, using waste materials, reducing energy consumption, reducing overall
cost, increasing ease of production and placing, reducing short term shrinkage and
cracking problems and designing for long term durability and sustainability.
September 2014
18
Description of Work:
• Study and analyse the rationale that underlies the different design procedures
used in SCC.
• Theorise models that will take into consideration the objectives of the
research.
• Design a large number of different mixes based on the models in step 2
above.
• Test and analyse the results.
COMPOSITE MATERIALS & STRUCTURES
Project:
Blast responses of panels made of a hybrid-fiber engineered
cementitious composites.
Program Code: 1631
Supervisor:
Dr. Y.X. (Sarah) Zhang (
[email protected])
Prof. Paul Hazell (
[email protected]) (joint supervisor)
Objectives:
Explosive loading is one of the typical loadings encountered for defence and
protective structures in military fields. Some strategic important civilian infrastructures
such as government buildings, embassy buildings, bridges, nuclear plants might be
the targets for a terrorist bomb attack. The application of construction materials with
outstanding blast resistance capability is essential for defence or protective
structures. Thus development of blast resistant construction and building material
and understanding structural responses to blast loading are very important.
In recent years, Zhang and her associates developed new hybrid-fiber ECCs
reinforced with PVA fiber and steel fiber and studied the mechanical behaviour and
impact resistance of ECC panels. It is found the material exhibits improved strength
and very good strain capacity and good capability to resist impact via extensive
experimental and numerical studies and numerical. But the blast resistance of the
ECCs are not know yet and hitherto no research on the blast response of ECC
material or ECC panels have been reported.
In this research the structural behaviour of ECC panels under blast loading is
investigated. 3-D numerical modelling using LS-DYNA, which is an explicitly dynamic
finite element software package will be employed to investigate the structural
behaviour of the ECC panels under blast loading. To compare the blast resistance,
the structural behaviour of a conventional steel rebar reinforced concrete panel is
also studied. The success in the simulation of the structural responses of concrete
structures using commercial FE tool is highly dependent on the constitutive models of
the material and the equation of state. Thus the research will focus on the
development of dynamic material models for the ECC under tension and
compression with strain rate effect considered. Experimental studies will also be
conducted to obtain the physical structural responses of the panels under blast
loading.
Through this research it is expected that efficient constitutive model under blast
loading with strain rate effect for ECCs and modelling and analysis techniques for
predicting the blast responses of ECC panels will be developed. The outcome of this
project will largely promote and enhance the applications of the new ECC composites
in defensive and safety-sensitive structures and will improve structural safety of these
kinds of structures.
September 2014
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Project:
Characterisation of Mechanical behaviour of metal foams
under static and dynamic loadings
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
Dr. Y.X. (Sarah) Zhang (
[email protected])
Co Supervisor: Prof. Paul Hazell (
[email protected])
Objectives:
Metal foams such as aluminium foam has been used increasing in many industries
such as mechanical engineering, aeronautical and aerospace engineering due to
their unique mechanical capability for energy absorption and impact resistance. In
this research, the mechanical behaviour of aluminium foams under static and
dynamic loading with varying strain rates will be investigated through extensive
experimental, analytical and numerical studies for an insightful investigation.
For experimental studies, the mechanical behaviour of the foam under varying strain
rate will be bested to investigate the mechanical behaviour of the foam under
different loading conditions including static loading, impact and blast loadings.
For analytical studies, micromechanics theory will be applied to study the mechanical
properties of the materials.
For numerical studies, multiscale finite element analysis method and procedures will
be developed so as to study the mechanical behaviour of the foam under different
strain rate insightfully.
The results from the three different methods will be used to validate against each
other.
The candidate needs to have good academic backgrounds on Engineering
Mechanics and numerical analysis.
Project:
Characterisation of Mechanical behaviour of Nanophotonic
composites.
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
Dr. Y.X. (Sarah) Zhang (
[email protected])
Co Supervisor:
Dr. Zhen Luo
School of Electrical, Mechanical and Mechatronic Systems
The University of Technology
Objectives:
A mutiscale numerical modelling technique and model and micromechanic analytical
method will be developed in this research to model the effective macroscopic
properties of Nanophotonic composites in this research. Based on the model,
parametric studied will be conducted to study the effect of a series of geometry of the
cells such as the shape and topology of the unit cell to achieve the most optical
structural design for the metalmaterial with the most desired properties.
The candidate needs to have good academic backgrounds on Engineering
Mechanics and numerical methods.
Project:
Design Optimisation of Composite Structures
Program Code: 1661/1663
Supervisor:
Prof Evgeny Morozov (
[email protected])
Objectives:
The project is concerned with the development of design optimisation procedures
formulated for composite materials, thin-walled and sandwich structures, hybrid
metal-composite structural components with applications in aerospace, marine,
offshore, shipbuilding and other industries. The relevant modelling approaches and
optimisation techniques are to be developed and implemented.
September 2014
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Description of Work:
• Development of mechanical and numerical models
• Model implementation into the FE code
• Structural design and analysis
• Development of the theoretical and specialised numerical optimisation techniques
• Sensitivity analysis of the composite components-demonstrators
• Material characterisation and prototype testing
Project:
Dynamic collapse of metallic lattice structures
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
Prof Paul Hazell (
[email protected])
Dr Mahmud Ashraf (
[email protected]) (Joint Supervisor)
JointDr Yixia (Sarah) Zhang (
[email protected])
Supervisor:
Objectives:
Metallic lattice materials have shown promise for lightweight sandwich panels
that provide protection against blast and shock propagation. However, little is known
of their dynamic spall characteristics (when compressed) and their collapse under
dynamic loading. Using a plate-impact technique, where a shock is imparted to the
face-plate of a sandwich structure, the collapse of a cellular structure can be
interrogated with the response of the structure being monitored in real-time using
piezo-resistive gauges and Heterodyne velocimeter (Het-v) techniques (a laserbased Doppler-shift technique used to track velocities of surfaces or interfaces). A
typical experimental approach is provided below in Fig. 1.
Cover plate
Cellular structure
Flyer plate
PMMA
Het-v probe
v=100 m/s – 950 m/s
Gauge assemblies
Fig. 1: A typical experimental set-up that will provide the core approach to this study.
Note: this facility is not currently available at UNSW Canberra.
In addition to the experimental approach summarised above, it is expected
that a modelling approach will be adopted using LS DYNA to enhance our
understanding of the physics of collapse with special attention given to micro-lattices.
The novelty of this PhD research package will be to (a) optimise designs of
cellular structures to maximise the energy absorption and shock mitigation; (b)
enhance our understanding of the physics of lattice collapse; and (c) examine their
failure characteristics when a tensile pulse is subsequently applied.
It is intended that new designs of blast mitigating structures will result..
September 2014
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Project:
Green bricks – building a better way
Program Code: 1631
Supervisor:
Dr Obada Kayali (
[email protected])
Dr Andrew Neely (
[email protected])
Objectives:
A novel building material which uses the waste fly-ash from coal-fired power stations
to make bricks has been developed and is currently undergoing production start-up in
a dedicated factory in China. This project will firstly establish the cradle to grave
energy requirements for the manufacture of these bricks using established analytical
techniques. This work is required to help establish the “green” credentials of these
novel building products. This project will also establish an experimental method to
measure the thermal properties of the range of bricks produced using fly-ash. It is
anticipated that numerical modelling of the thermal behaviour of the bricks could also
be performed using FEM. This work will lead to recommended recipes to optimise the
thermal properties of the bricks both via composition and via geometry.
Description of Work:
Identify the main components of the manufacturing process and use the literature to
establish approximate energy budgets for each process.
• Set up a computational model to calculate the overall energy budget for a
range of parameters.
• Design and perform experiments to measure the thermal conductivity and
heat capacitance of the bricks at a range of humidity levels.
• Determine the dependence of these thermal properties on the brick
constituents.
• Vary the geometry of the bricks to optimise the thermal performance
.
Project:
Impact and penetration of comminuted ceramic materials
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
Prof Paul J Hazell (
[email protected])
JointDr Yixia (Sarah) Zhang (
[email protected])
Supervisor:
Background:
The penetration of comminuted (i.e., highly fracture and fragmented) materials is of
interest for several reasons. These include the possibility of being able to predict the
penetration into pre-fractured concrete, ceramic and glass materials. Of particular
interest is the possibility of predicting the resistance of such materials to penetration
by projectiles and the strength that they offer during the penetration (and compaction)
process. Such materials are known to be pressure-dependent in their behaviour and
therefore it is thought that a Drucker-Prager relationship is appropriate. Also, the
inter-particle friction of the individual particles is thought to play a large part in the
resistance to penetration – particularly when these materials are compacted.
Objectives:
The goal here is to provide insight into the behaviour of highly compacted, highly
fractured material so that it is possible to establish a family of constitutive
relationships that define the break-down from intact to fractured to highly comminuted
material. This is particularly important for modelling the dynamic behaviour of
ceramic materials. The challenge will be implementing these models into a
continuum explicit code..
Description of work:
This project will be experimental and computational in nature. The student will be
required to independently carry out experimental characterisation tests using
universal testing machines as well as manufacture powder compacts for ballistic
testing. Computational studies may involve minor code development including the
September 2014
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possibility of modifying existing constitutive models in commercial Hydrocodes to
successfully simulate the dynamic behaviour of a powder compact. Technical and full
supervisory support will be available.
Project:
Integrated metal-composite joint design for the filament
wound transmission shafts
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
Prof Evgeny Morozov (
[email protected])
Mr Alan Fien (
[email protected])
Objectives:
Adhesive bonding of high-loaded composite transmission shafts does not provide
sufficient strength and stiffness. In order to create a highly rigid and efficient joint, it is
necessary to search for fundamentally novel design and engineering solutions. The
fastening should be designed in the way that the torque is transmitted from the metal
fitting to the filament wound shaft through the reinforcing material, rather than a layer
of the binder. This could be achieved by integrating the metal fitting into the
composite material during the formation of the joint.
Description of Work:
• Develop novel design solution for metal-composite joint with integrated metal
fitting, using CAD technology
• Perform finite-element parametric analysis and design optimisation
• Prototype design and manufacture
• Prototype testing
Project:
Long term durability of hybrid FRP-Concrete beams
Program Code: 1631
Supervisor:
Dr Amar Khennane (
[email protected])
Objectives:
Composite materials, particularly fibre-reinforced polymers (FRP) are increasingly
being used in infrastructure applications. However, there remain concerns regarding
their long-term performance under load for civil engineering applications.
Understanding the mechanisms of composite failure under load is an important issue
for structural design. In particular, it is useful to have a theory capable of assessing
how the environment and details of the constituents and microstructure affect the
resulting composite material behaviour. The objective of this work is to assess the
long term behaviour a hybrid beam (FRP-Concrete) for infrastructure and to develop
through life estimation methods
Project:
Mechanical and structural behaviour of a new fire resistance
construction material
Program Code: 1631
Supervisor:
Dr. Y.X. (Sarah) Zhang (
[email protected])
Co-supervisor: An appropriate co-supervisor will be appointed.
Objectives:
Fire resistance capability of the construction materials play a significant role for the
safety of the structures and personnel in case of fire. Material properties of
conventional concrete or steel/FRP reinforced concrete material deteriorate severely
in fire conditions causing imminent structural failure which expose life and facilities at
great risk especially in some structures, such as tunnels or underground structures
which usually need longer evacuation time. In this research, a hyrid fiber reinforced
high performance concrete material with excellent fire resistance capability will be
developed. The material properties of the new materials varying with temperatures
up to 1500 degrees will be tested in fire furnace to investigate the degradation of the
material properties under fire loading. A curved shell structural component
September 2014
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representing the lining of the tunnel made of this material will be built and the whole
structure will be tested in fire furnace to investigate the fire resistance of the
structures. The structural behaviour of the structure under fire loading will also be
investigated numerically using computer simulation. The material models tested and
the finite element model will be further validated by the numerical modelling. Once
validated, parametric studies will be carried out to investigate the effect of a series of
parameters, such as the thickness of the wall, the shape of the shell, etc.
It is expected a new construction material with excellent fire resistance capability will
be developed and the material properties under temperate effect will be investigated.
Fire resistance performance of a tunnel-like curved shell structure will also be
investigated experimentally and numerically. The material will have very promising
prospect of applications in engineering structures. The research outcome will provide
importance reference to structural design and lay sound foundation for the
application of this material.
Project:
Modelling and characterisation of the fibre reinforced reactive
powder concrete
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
Prof Evgeny Morozov (
[email protected])
Dr Obada Kayali (
[email protected])
Objectives:
The project is concerned with the experimental material characterisation and micromechanical modelling of the reactive powder concrete reinforced with randomly
oriented short fibres. The modelling will involve identification of the input parameters
and development of the relevant testing procedures of the material characterisation.
The model validation will be performed by comparison of the theoretical/numerical
predictions and experimental results obtained for the structural components –
demonstrators
Description of Work:
• Development of micro-mechanical (FE) model for the reactive powder
• concrete reinforced with randomly oriented short fibres
• Specimens design, manufacture and testing
• FE analysis of the structural components - demonstrators (beams)
• Demonstrator manufacture and testing
• Model validation
Project:
Production of High Performance Fibre Reinforced
Geopolymer Lightweight Aggregate Concrete
Program Code: 1631
Supervisor:
Dr Obada Kayali (
[email protected])
Prof Evgeny Morozov (
[email protected])
Objectives:
With the emphasis on sustainability of building activities, the geopolymers have
regained interest from the industry. Dr Kayali, the supervisor of this research, has
patented a new unique lightweight aggregate that posses superior qualities and is
made from fly ash. The combination of geopolymers and the new lightweight
aggregates to produce high quality structural concrete is technically a very promising
objective. More importantly this combination is an environmentally important and
responsible objective as it lies at the core of sustainability of concrete materials and
production.
Description of Work:
Fully understand the geopolymers and the method of their manufacture within ease
and cost efficiency.
September 2014
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Arrive at an easy to produce mix design using geopolymers instead of cement,
together with fibre reinforcement and the newly produced lightweight aggregates.
Test and analyse the results in view of the microstructural and mechanical properties
whether characteristic or required of such material
Project:
Progressive damage modelling and crash simulation for
laminated composite structures
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
Prof Evgeny Morozov (
[email protected])
Objectives:
The project is concerned with the development of a modelling approach to the
simulation of the dynamic response of thin-walled composite structural components
subjected to crushing loads. The progressive damage model should be developed
and implemented into a FE code using a material characterisation process that is
based on the material’s experimentally recorded behaviour. The material
characterisation involves impact testing of the composite specimens. The
performance of the implemented models will be evaluated by comparison of the
results of numerical modelling and experimental data obtained from the dynamic
testing of composite laminated structural components.
Description of Work:
• Development of numerical progressive damage model
• Model implementation into the FE code
• Specimens design, manufacture and impact testing
• FE analysis of the laminated components-demonstrators
• Demonstrator manufacture and testing
• Model validation
Project:
Radio Frequency Health Monitoring of Composite Structures
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
Dr Murat Tahtali (
[email protected])
Objectives:
The objective of this thesis is to investigate and develop a Radio Frequency (RF)
method to monitor internal stresses in composite structures. The premise behind the
method is that a conductive fibre will reflect an incident RF wave and that the
frequency of the reflected wave will be modulated as a function of the strain induced
in the conductive fibre due to the stress in the surrounding composite matrix.
Project:
Response mechanics of a hybrid-fibre engineered
cementitious composites under impact
Program Code: 1631
Supervisor:
Dr. Y.X. (Sarah) Zhang (
[email protected]) - Chief
Prof Paul Hazell (
[email protected]) – Joint supervisor
Objectives:
Hybrid fibre reinforced engineering cementitious composite (ECC) is a highperformance fibre-reinforced cement composite and it is a promising engineering
material for protective structures due to its excellent mechanical properties, such as
high tensile strength, large pseudo strain-hardening, capacity to resist microcracking, and high energy absorption.
A great deal of research has been conducted to develop the ECC material and to
understand the mechanical behaviour of the materials and structural members under
various loadings including high-velocity impact loading. Hitherto nearly all the
research on the mechanical behaviour of the material has focused on the
experimental investigations and nearly no micromechanics theory and method has
September 2014
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been developed although ECC is actually a micromechanically designed material.
Although micromechanical theory could be a very effective method to study the
material and mechanical mechanism accurately, there is a significant gap in the
research and development of such kinds of theories and methods.
In recent years, Zhang and her associates developed new impact resistant hybridfibre ECCs reinforced with PVA fibre and steel fibre and the new ECC has been
found to have enhanced capability for impact resistance and energy absorption via
extensive experimental and numerical studies.
The proposed research aims to understand the response mechanisms of the new
ECC under impact loading and to develop deep understanding of the response and
damage mechanism of the material and structures under impact, and to provide a
framework for design and development of blast-resistance materials via theoretical
and numerical studies. The specific objectives are
•
•
•
•
to establish in-depth understanding of the damage and failure mechanism
of the material under blast loading;
to develop and advance theory and knowledge in micromechanics on
hybrid-fibre ECC;
to investigate the mechanical behaviour of the ECC material, and develop
suitable constitutive models for the ECC material under tension and
compression with strain rate effect.
to develop effective numerical methods and modelling technique for
accurate modelling of the structural performance of ECC panels under
blast loading
The candidate needs to have strong backgrounds and knowledge on Mechanics.
Experience and knowledge on Finite Element Method and modelling is desired.
Project:
Structural performance of an innovative bridge decks system
Program Code: 1631
Supervisor:
Dr. Y.X. (Sarah) Zhang (
[email protected])
Co-supervisor: An appropriate co-supervisor will be appointed.
Objectives:
The structural behaviour of a new bridge deck psystem with a high performance
hybrid-fiber reinforced concrete material will be investigated in this research. The
high-performance hybrid-fiber reinforced concrete material which has superior
material properties such as high tensile strength, high strain capability and excellent
resistance to dynamic loading will be used to replace the traditional concrete
materials. Ongoing research on the material properties and structural behaviour
including impact and cyclic dynamic loading has been carried out in Dr. Zhang’s
research group and a new hybrid-fiber reinforced concrete material has been
developed and demonstrated to have excellent impact resistance capability. In this
research the structural behaviour of the new bridge deck system using the material
will be investigated numerically using finite element analysis and modelling
technique. Material model of the material under dynamic loading will be developed.
The structural behaivor of the new system under both static loading and dynamic
loading under the traffic loading will be investigated.
September 2014
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Project:
Structural performance of FRP strengthened concrete beam
under cyclic loading.
Program Code: 1631
Supervisor:
Dr. Y.X. (Sarah) Zhang (
[email protected])
Co-supervisor: An appropriate co-supervisor will be appointed.
Objectives:
Fibre reinforced polymers (FRPs) have been used to reinforce and strengthen the
concrete structures and lot of research has been done in this area. But the structural
behaviour of FRP strengthened concrete structures under cyclic loading has not
been investigated widely. Thus it is important to study the structural performance
especially the interfacial failure between the FRP and concrete under cyclic loading.
Dr. Zhang and her student have developed effective numerical models and finite
element analysis software for the structural behaviour of FRP strengthened concrete
slabs under cyclic loading. This research will study of the structural behaviour of FRP
strengthened concrete beams under fixed point cyclic loading experimentally and
numerically. A new finite element model will be developed to model the debonding
between the FRP and concrete. Effective material models and bond slips models will
be developed and validated.
The candidate needs to have background and knowledge on Finite Element Analysis
and Method and experience and interest on programming using Fortran is desired.
COMPUTATIONAL FLUID MECHANICS
Project:
Aeromechanical modelling of hot jet engine components
Program Code:
1661
Supervisor:
Dr Andrew Neely (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor
Dr John Young (
[email protected])
Objectives:
Gas turbine engine components are subject to both low and high cycle fatigue loads
during operation. To improve engine reliability, durability, and maintainability through
improved engine structural integrity it is necessary to understand the interaction of
high-cycle and low cycle fatigue in these components. Existing research is already
underway at UNSW Canberra to investigate fatigue interaction in the fan section of
aero engines.
This project will extend the work into the turbine section of the engine where the
addition of thermal loading becomes the major contributor to the fatigue life of the
rotating components. The work will be numerically based through a combination of
computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and finite element modelling (FEM) analysis to
investigate the fluid structure interaction in the turbine section.
Description of Work:
• Develop CFD and FEM models of the rotating turbine blades.
• Apply high-cycle (aerodynamic, vibration) and low-cycle (rotational and
thermal stresses) fatigue loads on the component.
• Incorporate fluid-structure interaction into the numerical modelling.
• Predict stress and strain histories during engine operation.
• Investigate the interaction of these loads with internal and external cooling
geometries in the turbine blades.
September 2014
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Project:
Numerical modelling of Brain Cooling
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
Dr Andrew Neely, SEIT UNSW Canberra, Assoc Prof Christian
Lueck, Canberra Hospital
Email:
[email protected]
Co-Supervisor SCUT
Objectives:
Therapeutic hypothermia is a method of treatment being trialled for use in ischaemic
stroke patients. In this treatment the brain is deliberately cooled in an attempt to slow
the death of brain tissue downstream of a blood clot to buy the doctors time to
remove the clot. A number of methods of cooling the brain have been investigated by
various researchers including cooling of the scalp, cooling of the cerebral spinal fluid
and cooling of the blood supply to the brain. This PhD project will use numerical
engineering tools (FEM) to model the heat transfer in the brain and assess the
performance of these different brain-cooling methods.
The project will be performed in collaboration with an ongoing clinically based
research project which is assessing the performance of a blood cooling scheme for
inducing therapeutic hypothermia. The numerical project will use measurements
obtained from the clinical work to validate the simulations. The work will be
performed in collaboration with staff from Canberra Hospital.
Description of Work:
• Model the thermal regulation process in the brain.
• Conduct detailed transient FEM simulations of brain cooling via the different
cooling strategies.
• In collaboration with clinical specialists, blood-cooling strategies will be
modelled and validated
• Some experimental support for the clinical work may be needed to measure
temperature distributions using infrared thermography during clinical MRI
scans
FLOW VISUALISATION
Project:
Image Processing of Axi-symmetric Interferograms for Flow
Field Visualisation
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
A/Prof Harald Kleine (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Dr Murat Tahtali (
[email protected])
Background:
One of the ongoing projects in this group is the investigation of axisymmetric
compressible flows that are established when a shock wave exits an open shock
tube. This rather simple scenario generates a large number of secondary waves and
flow features, and the details of this process are not fully clarified. We have
conducted a number of studies to investigate this flow pattern, and one of the test
campaigns has yielded a large number of time-resolved interferometric visualisation
results such as the ones shown below. One important task that to-date has not been
tackled is to evaluate the obtained results to extract information on the density
distribution in this flow. This information is crucial for a comparison with other
experimental data and the results of numerical simulation.
Objectives:
High-speed interferograms of an axi-symmetrical flow field are used to visualise its
expansion. Without unwrapping the fringe patterns, the analysis remains mainly
qualitative. However, a technique called the Abel transform, similar to tomography,
can be used to unwrap the fringe patterns and obtain pressure gradients. The project
September 2014
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described here has the aim of developing a computational tool that can reconstruct
an axisymmetric density distribution from interferograms of high-speed flows. These
interferograms are provided as time-resolved records, which can then be used to
determine how the density field develops in space and time.
Description of work:
It is expected that this project will deliver a fast and efficient algorithm that allows one
to determine the density distribution in a transient, axisymmetric flow field recorded in
sequences of line-of-sight interferometric visualisations. The principal techniques for
image acquisition are well established and a large amount of expertise and highclass equipment for this purpose is available in the School. There already exists a
large amount of image data that is suitable for the proposed analysis. Image
registration algorithms that have been developed in the School for atmospheric
imaging can be adapted and expanded to this application.
Project:
Reconstruction of three-dimensional flow patterns from lineof sight visualisations
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
A/Prof Harald Kleine (
[email protected])
Co Supervisor: Dr Murat Tahtali (
[email protected])
Background:
Density-sensitive flow visualisation techniques such as shadowgraphy, schlieren or
interferometry have a so-called line-of sight character. This poses serious problems
when the flow field is three-dimensional, as the visualisation record can only provide
a projected view of the flow which will not reveal how the flow changes along the line
of sight. A possible solution is to apply a tomographic approach, where several
projected views, each taken from a different view angle, are combined to reconstruct
the flow field in all its spatial dimensions. An example of such visualisations is given
below. One piece of information that is very important for the design of vehicles
travelling at supersonic speeds is the knowledge of the exact shape of shock fronts,
contact surfaces and expansion zones. This information can be extracted from the
aforementioned tomographic views.
Objectives:
The quantitative analysis of three-dimensional compressible flows remains one of the
major challenges in fluid mechanics, and only few and specialised attempts have
been made to tackle this problem. Typical visualisations of such flows have a line-ofsight character, that is, they integrate all information of the flow along the depth of the
flow field. It is the aim of this project to develop robust and efficient algorithms that
can be used to extract the spatial distribution of the flow field from adequate
visualisations, with special emphasis on sequences of images obtained from timeresolved recordings. The high number of such image records – typically more than
100 in a single experiment – poses a particular challenge as the algorithm for image
processing has to be highly efficient and fast. The final goal of the project is to create
a tool that allows one to reconstruct how three-dimensional features observed in a
high-speed compressible flow evolve with time.
Description of work:
• It is expected that this project will deliver a fast and efficient algorithm that
allows one to reconstruct a three-dimensional, transient flow field from a
sequence of line-of-sight visualisations, obtained with techniques such as
schlieren or interferometry. This project will deal with the general case of a
fully three-dimensional flow and the main objective is to determine the threedimensional shape of the observed flow features. The principal techniques for
image acquisition are well established and a large amount of expertise and
high-class equipment for this purpose is available in the School. There
already exists a large amount of image data that is suitable for the proposed
September 2014
29
analysis. Image registration algorithms that have been developed in the
School for atmospheric imaging can be adapted and expanded to this
application.
GEOTECHNICAL AND INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING
Project:
Behaviour and stabilisation of potentially liquefiable alumina
tailings
Program Code: 1631
Supervisor:
A/Prof S.R. Lo (
[email protected]) & Dr Rajah Gnanendran
Objectives:
Alumina tailings, commonly known as red mud, are potentially liquefiable. Its disposal
and stabilisation is of directly relevance to both Australia and China. The primary
objectives of our research in this area are:
• Understanding the liquefaction behaviour of red mud.
• Developing innovative solutions in stabilisation red mud. At presence we
intend to focus on two approaches:
o Using chemical additives
o Using e-PVD
Description of Study:
We intend to take in 1 to 2 PhD candidates to conduct PhD research in this
pioneering area.
• The research approach can be based on experimental studies, mathematical
modelling and finite element analysis.
• We intend to incorporate the critical soil mechanics framework, and hopefully
developed constitutive (mathematical) modelling.
• In the case of e-PVD, finite element studies will be used to modelling the
electro-osmotic consolidation process.
Project:
Behaviour of granular base materials as unsaturated
geomaterials.
Program Code: 1631
Supervisor:
A/Prof S.R. Lo (
[email protected]) & Dr Rajah Gnanendran
Objectives:
Motorways have to be designed to very high performance level to ensure safety at
high car speed. One component that controls the performance of a motorway
pavement system is the behaviour of road foundation constructed with granular base
(GB) subject to cyclic loading. A granular base (GB) material is a heavily compacted
well-graded silty sandy gravel. It may be unbound (ie no cementing agent added) or
stabilised (ie with cementing agent added to give an unconfined compressive
strength of ~2MPa). Traditional pavement design is based on empirical rules, and
the associated prescriptive requirements may place severe environmental pressure
because of the need of extensive quarrying and haulage over long distances.
Furthermore, some of the empirical rules on fines content, role of cement additives
are inconsistent.
As part of an effort to develop analysis-based design for pavement foundations, a
new research area, referred to as “Pavement Geotechnics”, has been initiated
recently.
A significant component of pavement geotechnics is on material behaviour and
modelling. As the pavement foundation material is in an unsaturated state its
behaviour of is also governed by the fundamentals of unsaturated soil mechanics.
We are the only research group in Australia, and one of the few internationally, that
have a track record in this area of research.
September 2014
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Description of Study:
We intend to take in one PhD (maybe two if we have outstanding applicants) to
conduct PhD research in this pioneering area. The research work involves:
• Conducting cyclic triaxial testing on GB materials (unbound or stabilized) with
using unsaturated soil mechanics testing technology.
• Synthesizing the test results to establish the stress state parameters
(including matric suction) for characterizing the influence of fines. This in
return will ensure under top model the role of fines using initial stress state
parameters.
• Characterizing the cumulative effects of load repetitions framed in term of
stress state parameters.
Project:
Liquefaction of silty geo-materials materials
Program Code: 1631
Supervisor:
A/Prof S.R. Lo (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Dr Rajah Gnanendran
Objectives:
Liquefaction in (loose near-saturated) granular material is confusing as it can be
triggered by both rapid monotonic loading and/or cyclic loading. Furthermore most
studies are based on either clean sand or sand with a small amount of fines.
However, a silty soil can also liquefy. Both mine tailings and coal ash are silt that
may be prone to liquefaction. The primary objectives of our research in this area
are:
• Advancing the modelling of the influence of fines on sandy soil by having a
unifying framework for both static and cyclic liquefaction.
• Understanding the liquefaction of silts, and hopeful extend our liquefaction
theories for sandy soil to silty soil.
• Understanding the effects of slight unsaturation on liquefaction behaviour.
• The influence of the soil grains being crushable.
Description of Study:
We intend to take in 1 to 2 PhD candidates to conduct PhD research in this
pioneering area.
• The research approach is largely experimental and using our specially
developed in-house triaxial stations that can perform both instability testing
and impart cyclic stress pulses of varying (in a given test) waveform. One of
such station also incorporates unsaturated soil testing technologies.
• We intend to synthesise/ interpret the experimental findings within the critical
soil mechanics framework, and hopefully developed constitutive modelling to
characterise liquefaction behaviour.
• For study on silty soil, we will be using actual coal ash from a particular ash
disposal site. This also allows some insights into the effects of crushable
grains, noting that some of the grains of coal ash are crushable glass
particles.
Project:
Pavement geotechnics: Behaviour of subgrade under cyclic
loading.
Program Code: 1631
Supervisor:
A/Prof S.R. Lo (
[email protected]) & Dr Rajah Gnanendran
Objectives:
Similar to Project “Behaviour of granular base materials as unsaturated
geomaterials.” but the focus is on in situ soil as functioning as pavement foundation.
Project:
September 2014
Soft clay engineering involving sensitive soil or rate
dependent soil (or both)
31
Program Code: 1631
Supervisor:
A/Prof S.R. Lo (
[email protected]) & Dr Rajah Gnanendran
Objectives:
The challenge of geotechnical work involving thick deposits of soft clay is well known
in infrastructure engineering. The primary objectives of our research work in soft clay
engineering are:
Advancing the modelling of geo-structures on soft soil (in the context of infrastructure
engineering). The advances can be made at the constitutive (material) modelling
level or at the analysis model level or both.
Development of innovative solutions, including but not limited to use of
geosynthetics.
Description of Study:
Several PhD projects involving a combination of experimental, constitutive modelling,
and FEA-based cased studies can be configured depending on the aptitude of the
student.
GUIDANCE AND CONTROL
Project:
Integrated Guidance and Control of Underwater Vehicles
Program Code:
1661
Supervisor:
Dr Sreenatha G Anavatti (
[email protected])
Objectives:
The proposed work is aimed at integrated guidance and control of AUV. The work
involves the development of an overall objective of combining the two schemes and
the development of the two subsystems in a coupled fashion. Intelligent systems like
Fuzzy Logic and Neural Network provide very good platform for handling non-linear
coupled and time-varying systems. These techniques will be applied to design the
integrated guidance and control system. Dynamic path planning will be utilised for
the guidance scheme to avoid collisions.
HIGH SPEED AND AERODYNAMICS
Project:
Modelling of NO Fluorescence for nonequilibrium
thermometry and velocimetry at high speeds
Program Code: 1663
Supervisor:
Dr Sean O’Byrne (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor A/Prof Andrew Neely (
[email protected])
Objectives:
This project builds upon previous successful projects in the school related to
understanding the physical processes involved with boundary layer separation in
hypersonic flows in thermal nonequilibrium. We have developed a suite of
experimental techniques based upon laser-induced fluorescence of the nitric oxide
molecule that are capable of measuring translational temperature, rotational
temperature, vibrational temperature and velocity in low-density flows. The purpose
of the project is to develop a framework in which direct simulation Monte Carlo
(DSMC) calculations can be used to better design the experiments performed using
our techniques by simulating the fluorescence expected from these computational
simulations.
Description of Work:
• Develop a cutting-edge model for nitric oxide fluorescence that includes
saturation, absorption quenching and thermal nonequilibrium processes.
• Use this model to generate fluorescence maps from DSMC-generated maps
September 2014
32
•
of flow field quantities
Develop a new algorithm using Bayesian statistical methods that can
generate velocity maps from fluorescence images while minimising the
amount of tunnel run data for a given degree of uncertainty in the results
MECHANCIAL ENGINEERING
Project:
Development of a PIV for micro-flows using non-laser based
method
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
Dr Jong-Leng Liow (
[email protected])
Objectives:
To develop an LED based PIV and the associated analysis program to measure flow
characteristics of micro-channels.
The use of particle image velocimetry (PIV) in fluid flow is an important analytical and
diagnostic tool, particularly for ensuring that the simulation results are validated by
experimental measurements on the flow field of interest. In recent years, there has
been active development of PIV for studying micro-flows. A major drawback is the
use of laser based techniques for illuminating the region of interest but stricter
requirements have restricted the use of high intensity lasers. Currently the
illumination power of LEDs has increased tremendously and the green wavelength
LED has a wavelength close to that of the lasers used for PIV. It is proposed to
develop a PIV system using LED rather than laser. In parallel a code will be
developed to analyse the images obtained from the PIV setup.
Description of Work:
• Develop a simplified set-up with the current microscope set-up to illuminate the
test section with LED based high intensity flashes.
• Develop PIV procedures to extract flow velocity data and methods to optimise
data recovery as the signals can be faint.
• Extend the framing rate to allow for high framing rate micro-PIV.
• Validate the micro-PIV system by measuring the velocity field of liquid flows in
micro-channels.
Pre-requisites:
The prospective student(s) should have some experience in programming in C++ as
this is a useful platform for the development of the PIV analysis software.
Project:
Development of Genetic Programming Methods for Rule
Extraction and Knowledge Representation
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
Dr Tapabrata Ray (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor An appropriate Co-supervisor will be identified.
Brief: Concept design is a critical step in the process of design where multiple
promising concepts are identified. Development of effective and efficient optimization
methods to support concept design is a challenge as the number of variables
representing a concept might vary from one to another while there could be some
commonality in terms of several set of variables. The objective is to develop
optimization methods that are capable of handling such classes of problems.
Skills Required: Good Matlab coding skills will be required. An understanding of
optimization methods and in particular population based approaches such as
Evolutionary Algorithms would be useful.
More details of the research activities at
September 2014
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http://seit.unsw.adfa.edu.au/research/sites/mdo/
Project:
Development of Methods to Solve Multifidelity Optimization
Problems
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
Dr Tapabrata Ray (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor An appropriate Co-supervisor will be identified.
Brief:
In reality, most design optimization problems involve computationally expensive
analysis. The aim of this work is to develop methods that can simultaneously deal
with estimates arising from multifidelity analysis codes. The use of such multifidelity
estimates during the course of optimization is the second phase of the project.
Skills Required: A candidate from Computer Science/Engineering would be
preferred. Good coding skills in C#/C++/MATLAB is required. An understanding of
optimization methods and in particular population based approaches such as
Evolutionary Algorithms would be useful.
More details of the research activities at
http://seit.unsw.adfa.edu.au/research/sites/mdo/
Project:
Development of Methods for Flowfield Prediction
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
Dr Tapabrata Ray (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor An appropriate Co-supervisor will be identified.
Brief:
There is an ongoing need to understand fluid flows. Computation of such flowfields
are computationally expensive and only a limited set of flowfields can be numerically
simulated or identified experimentally. The aim of the project is to be able to develop
a mathematical model for flowfield prediction given a set of snapshots.
Skills Required::
A candidate with a good Mathematics background would be preferred. Good coding
skills in C#/C++/MATLAB is required. An understanding of optimization methods,
approximation methods and numerical methods to solve differential equations would
be useful.
More details of the research activities at
http://seit.unsw.adfa.edu.au/research/sites/mdo/:
Project:
Encapsulated drop formation in micro-channels
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
Dr Jong-Leng Liow (
[email protected])
Objectives:
The formation of liquid drops using micro-channels has been put forward by many
researchers. The advantage of using micro-channels is that the shearing of a liquid
by a second liquid can be used to control the size and type of drops that are formed.
Micro-devices with simple or complex channels can be configured and produced that
will allow a sequence of steps to be applied to the drop formation and the drops
formed. This gives rise to the possibility of creating micro-factories that can take the
raw material (liquid) and produce a product that has characteristics for a particular
application (drops with coating and trace chemicals present). This project will look at
the formation of droplets that encapsulate multiple droplets of other liquids and model
the drop formation process
Description of Work:
September 2014
34
•
•
•
•
Carry out a survey of the current status with encapsulated drop formation using
micro-devices.
Design and manufacture micro-devices for encapsulated drop formation using
the micro-milling facility available.
Study the characteristics of encapsulated drop formation using Newtonian and
non-Newtonian fluids.
Develop a model to predict the drop encapsulation processes.
Project:
Incorporation of material layers, circuits and other small scale
features into micro-devices with end milling
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
Dr Jong-Leng Liow (
[email protected])
Objectives:
The use of micro-end milling gives rise to a 2.5D structure which is based on the
base material that is being milled. However, a single base material is limited in its
properties. For example, use of a plastic means that electricity cannot be conducted.
Hence sensor signals cannot be collected for measurement. Layers of other material
can be built on the base material and then micro-machined to provide useful
structures. This can be done as many times as possible to form a 3-D structure
where signals can be transmitted and other physical effects can be incorporated
through different materials. Thereafter the micro-device can be packaged similar to
the computer chips. This project will study the conditions for deposition of different
material for micro milling using a variety of methods including spin coating and
electro deposition.
Description of Work:
• Familiarisation with the area of spin coating and electro deposition.
• Develop methods to optimise spin coating and electro deposition of material that
can then be easily micro machined to produce micro-devices.
• Investigate and model the conditions for optimising the spin coating and electro
deposition of material.
Project:
Measurements of CO and CO2 in an automobile exhaust
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
Dr Sean O’Byrne (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Dr Alan Fien (
[email protected])
Objectives:
This project aims to develop an automobile exhaust sensor using diode laser
absorption spectroscopy of the CO and CO2 molecules in a motor vehicle while the
vehicle is being driven. This capability can be used to determine whether the engine
is running too lean or too rich and, if implemented in each branch of the exhaust
manifold, can make measurements sufficiently quickly to resolve the processes
occurring during each part of the 4-stroke internal combustion cycle. Such a sensor
can be used to keep the engine operating at peak and can sense when the engine
operation needs to be tuned over the lifetime of a vehicle
Description of Work:
• Develop computational models of the absorption process and quick-fitting
routines to determine temperature and species concentrations in the vehicle
exhaust.
• Implement a diode-laser-based sensor using a vertical cavity surface-emitting
laser that can measure exhaust composition and temperature in a car while it
is running, at frequencies in excess of 100 Hz.
• Compare the output of the sensor to standard methods of measuring exhaust
composition.
September 2014
35
Project:
Micromachining of plastics using micro-end mills
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
Dr Jong-Leng Liow (
[email protected])
Objectives:
This project aims to 1) provide an understanding of the mechanics of the micro-end
milling process, and 2) develop a novel way of manufacturing micro-devices that is
applicable to plastic materials. The manufacture of micro-devices is currently
primarily by lithography or soft polymer moulding, which limits them to silicon, glass
and soft carbon based polymers as their starting material. This also places limitations
on the scope of micro-devices that can be produced. Although developments are
being carried internationally to expand the processes available for micro-device
manufacture, the CNC machining process found in every mechanical workshop and
industry has not been developed to any significant extent for the manufacture of
micro-devices. The use of plastics for micro-device manufacturing has been
expanding rapidly but there is no research as to the behaviour of plastics during
micromachining.
Description of Work:
• Carry out cuts with end-mills (diameters from 25 to 200 micrometres) and
vary the feed-rate, rpm of the end-mill, depth and width of cut, and base
materials (soft plastic through to hard metals).
• Measure the surface roughness and accuracy of the cut using the atomic
force microscope (AFM) available in ITEE.
• Develop a model to predict the surface roughness and cut accuracy, taking
into account end-mill deflection, material properties and cutting parameters
Project:
Numerical simulation of drop formation in micro-channels via
VOF/Level set methods and immersed boundary methods
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
Dr Jong-Leng Liow (
[email protected])
Objectives:
Develop immersed boundary methods and VOF/Level set methods for the numerical
simulation of multiphase fluid flows in micro-channels.
The use of numerical simulation is a convenient means of understanding the twophase flow in a micro-device. The flow of two or more phases requires the accurate
tracking of the fluid interfaces as surface tension is an important physical parameter.
Discretisation of the surface tension term often gives rise to parasitic currents or error
that can grow with time and distort the results. Currently, the use of the volume of
fluid method is a well-known technique for modelling two phase flow problems. An
equally promising approach is that of the level set method. It is proposed that it is
possible to merge the better attributes of both techniques to bring about a more
accurate method for multi-phase flow simulation.
The use of a structured grid for modelling provides efficiency over an unstructured
grid. However, there are drawbacks. The structure grid has many unused cells when
modelling a micro-device resulting in wastage of memory and calculations on cells
with no fluid. The use of a structured grid also gives rise to difficulties in correctly
modelling geometries that are not rectangular but curved. Recent work has been
done on using the immersed boundary method and extending it to 3-D problems for
VOF based codes, using higher order discretisation (pseudo spectral accuracy) and
improving the speed and robustness of the solution of the algebraic equations
through the use of preconditioning and Krylov methods. Recent advances in the
tracking of the liquid-liquid and gas-liquid interface include high order interface
reconstruction (Liovic et al. 2006) has not been incorporated into current CFD
packages and significant smearing of the interface limits the accuracy of the results.
The project will look at building on earlier work in 2D and 3D multi-phase codes for
September 2014
36
micro-fluidics simulation and incorporating the newer ideas as outlined. The effect of
surface tension on the accuracy of the code as well as the 3 phase contact line will
be looked at to improve the code for multiple fluid interfaces.
Description of Work:
• Continue development of a volume of fluid code for multiphase simulation
incorporating the immersed boundary method to handle irregular boundaries.
• Improve the current preconditioned generalized residual method (which is a
member of the Krylov subspace method) to provide better stability when solving
the algebraic equations with the immersed boundary method coded.
• Applying the code to study drop and bubble formation in micro-channels where
the code is validated through results from experimental work being carried out in
the supervisor’s research group.
Pre-requisites:
The prospective student(s) is expected to be able to program in Fortran as this
requires the writing of computational fluid dynamics code. An understanding of
numerical methods in the solution of the equations of fluid flow will be an asset.
Project:
Surfactant effects on droplet formation in micro fluidic
channels – MD modelling
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
Dr Jong-Leng Liow (
[email protected])
Objectives:
Droplet formation in micro fluidic channels and micro-devices has significant
applications in chemical and biological processing as well as in biomedical
engineering. The diameter of the droplet formed is critically dependent on the
physical properties of the dispersed phase and the dynamics of fluid flow. Surface or
interfacial tension of the liquid-air, liquid-liquid and solid-liquid interfaces of the
dispersed phase is one of the most important properties affecting the droplet
formation mechanism. Other properties such as the viscosity of the dispersed phase
and the concentration of the surfactants can also affect the droplet formation and the
droplet diameter. This project will:
• investigate the effects of the polysaccharide concentration in the dispersed
phase on the viscosity of the solution using Molecular Dynamics (MD)
simulations
• investigate the interfacial forces between the surfactant and the
water/polysaccharide mixture at the critical concentrations and determining
liquid-liquid interfacial tension using MD simulations;
• develop a hybrid MD and micro-fluid mechanics code to simulate the droplet
formation process.
Description of Work:
• Familiarisation with the NAMD MD code.
• Build a model of a polysaccharide molecule(s) and carry out modelling of the
motion of the molecule within a micro-channel to investigate slip effects and
non-Newtonian flow behaviour.
• Relate the results to the behaviour of the polysaccharide molecule(s) to
experimental results on the drop formation in micro-channels.
• There may be a possibility at the later stages of the project to spend time with
collaborators in USA on this molecular dynamics project.
Pre-requisites:
The prospective student(s) is expected to have some familiarity with experience in
computer programming and use of computational packages and an understanding of
chemistry
September 2014
37
NEURAL NETWORKS
Project:
Bio-control application of Neural Networks
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
Dr Sreenatha G Anavatti (
[email protected])
Objectives:
This research proposes the development of computational algorithms for gene
sequencing using neural networks. This is turning out to be a very hot topic of
research with computational biologists. Significant effort and collaboration between
engineering scientists and biologists all over the world is put in this direction. The
potential of the research lies in reducing the computational effort using clustered,
parallel neural networks or suitable other algorithms. This research work will have a
collaborator from CSIRO who is an expert in gene sequencing.
UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES
Project:
Control of height and speed using visual sensing in a UAV
Program Code: 1663
Supervisor:
Dr Matt Garratt (
[email protected])
Objectives:
In past work, non-visual sensing modes (e.g. GPS) have been combined with visual
sensing to determine either range given speed or speed given range. The problem of
how vision might be used in a standalone mode without a secondary sensing mode
has not been tackled. For example, is it possible to use image motion to determine
height above terrain when there is no available measure of ground speed?
Preliminary experimental work suggests that bees deliberately impart a lateral
sinusoidal displacement of known amplitude upon their flight path in order to
generate image motion in a defined way. As the velocities corresponding to the
lateral wiggle are a function of the amplitude, the bees would be able to deduce
range from the lateral image motion and thereby control their height. Apparently,
bees can also regulate their flight speed based on the longitudinal image motion.
With range known from lateral optic flow and forward speed known from longitudinal
optic flow, the bees are able to regulate both speed and height using the one sensory
system. The objective of this project is to investigate whether such as scheme could
be implemented on an unmanned helicopter.
Description of Work:
•
Using existing in-house rotorcraft simulation, develop a robust scheme for
controlling the height and speed of a helicopter from simulated image
motion.
•
Refine the algorithm to incorporate obstacle avoidance techniques.
Implement and test on a UNSW Canberra unmanned helicopter.
Project:
Flight Control System for UAVs
Program Code: 1663
Supervisor:
Dr Sreenatha G Anavatti (
[email protected])
Objectives:
This research proposes the development and implementation of flight control
systems for school’s fixed wing UAV. Currently, we have flight tested fuzzy logic and
neural network based controllers for simple flight paths. These need to be developed
further to include manoeuvring paths and for various types of missions.
Development of on-board implementable control logics is a challenging problem for
UAVs since the payload capacity is restricted along with restricted computational
power. Hence, the development of control algorithms needs to cater for these
restrictions and provides the impetus for newer tools.
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Project:
Miniature Vision Sensors for UAVs.
Program Code: 1663
Supervisor:
Dr Matt Garratt (
[email protected])
Objectives:
The objective of the proposed thesis is to investigate and develop a small embedded
vision sensor for control of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The work will
leverage the unique parallel processing architecture of Field Programmable Gate
Arrays (FPGA) to develop a novel, small, low-power unit for determining optic flow
and stereo range. This work will build on preliminary work demonstrated at UNSW
Canberra that shows that it is possible to compute optic flow using FPGA
Description of Work:
•
Determination of the most efficient algorithm for processing of optic flow and
stereo, taking in to account the parallelisation possible with an FPGA. This stage
will be progressed in MATLAB. Initial work will focus on use of the optic flow
interpolation algorithm. Later work will look at alternative and more elaborate
algorithms for calculating image motion.
•
Implementation of algorithms in embedded hardware. This step will make use of
existing hardware at UNSW Canberra initially, but may involve design of new
circuits to support high performance FPGA chips.
Once the algorithms are proven on a real-UAV, work will progress towards use of the
optic flow information in a feedback loop to control the trajectory of one of the UNSW
Canberra UAV platforms.
Information Technology and Electrical Engineering
ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS
Project:
An Artificial Brain to Play GO
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
Prof Hussein Abbass (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Dr Michael Barlow
Objectives:
Developing a computer system that is capable of playing GO at a professional level
is one of the greatest challenges facing artificial intelligence research at the moment.
This project will look at advanced artificial intelligence techniques to build a humancompetitive professional GO player. The project will develop a large-scale neuralbased system to model strategies at both the tactical and strategic levels of GO. The
research will focus on a computational neural architecture for GO inspired by a
number of models in human psychology.
Description of Work:
• Understanding neural architectures, strategies, and thinking models
• Understanding a number of architectures and models in Cognitive
Science
• Developing a large-scale neural architecture for GO
• Developing multi-stage methodologies for training the architecture
• Testing the competitiveness of the GO player
September 2014
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Project:
Robots that tell Stories
Program Code: 1643 or 1885
Supervisor:
Prof Hussein Abbass (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Dr Michael Barlow
Objectives:
Storytelling is the art of narrating stories. Computer generated stories are common in
virtual world. However, the research in this area relies to a large extent to scripted
stories or stories with fixed themes. A robot that interacts with human should not use
a fixed storyboard or fixed themes. The interaction requires from the robot to adapt in
a changing environment. This project aims at equipping a robot with the ability of
telling stories on the fly. These stories will be auto-generated by the Robot based on
the situations it will encounter in the environment.
Description of Work:
• Developing an understanding of basic linguistics and the principles of
natural language processing
• Developing an understanding of Chomsky Hierarchy and formal grammar
• Develop methodologies for representing and evolving stories
• Testing the methodology and scoring it against human-generated stories.
AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
Project:
Multiple Queue Management for Ground-Air Interaction
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
Prof Hussein Abbass (
[email protected])
Objectives: One of the most fascinating types of interaction in an Air Traffic
environment occurs in the Airport area, where ground movements interact with air
movements. Understanding this interaction, identifying ways to simulate it efficiently,
and modelling it properly require efficient algorithms for managing multiple interdependent queues. This project aims at developing a new algorithm in this direction.
Expected Background Knowledge:
• Knowledge or demonstrated ability to do programming in parallel highperformance computing environment using C or JAVA
• Good knowledge of Queuing Theory, Flow Modelling, and Discrete Event
Simulation
Description of work:
• A literature review
• Creating a new algorithm that is fast and scalable for multiple inter-dependent
queues interaction
• Testing the new algorithm
Project:
Evaluation Algorithms for Future Air Traffic Concepts
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
Prof Hussein Abbass (
[email protected])
Objectives: The Air Traffic Environment is changing, with many exciting concepts
being introduced across the globe. Evaluating these concepts require a modelling
and simulation environment and algorithms to identify any problems quickly and
efficiently. The group developed efficient simulation environment for this purpose, as
well as evaluation algorithms. This project will extend this work with producing novel
algorithms for the evaluation that are better than the existing ones.
Expected Background Knowledge:
• Knowledge or demonstrated ability to do programming in parallel highSeptember 2014
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•
performance computing environment using C or JAVA
Good knowledge of stochastic processes
Description of work:
• A literature review of evaluation algorithms, Monte Carlo Simulation,
Sampling Techniques, and others
• Creating a new algorithm that is fast and scalable for massive search spaces
• Testing the new algorithm
Project:
Scalable Air Traffic Management Simulation Environment
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
Prof Hussein Abbass (
[email protected])
Objectives: The Air Traffic Environment is changing, with many exciting concepts
being introduced across the globe. The group developed an efficient simulation
environment for this purpose. The objective of this project is to design and implement
a new simulation environment with new features. Because of confidentiality, these
features won’t be discussed here, but they represent challenges that need to be
overcome.
Expected Background Knowledge:
• Knowledge or demonstrated ability to do programming in parallel highperformance computing environment using C or JAVA
• Good understanding of Simulation and Simulation Architectures
Description of work:
• A literature review
• Designing and implementing the new simulation environment
• Evaluating the simulation
ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE
Project:
Generative Design of Adaptive Virtual Worlds
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
Dr Kathryn Merrick (
[email protected])
Web: www.itee.adfa.edu.au/~s3229187
Objectives:
A new generation of persistent virtual worlds such as Second Life and There has
opened the way for new kinds of remote environments to support commerce,
education, defence, health, design and other industries. Design approaches for
virtual places to support these industries have drawn on architectural concepts from
the physical world. However, virtual places offer possibilities beyond physical places,
including remote collaboration, adaptive spaces and intelligent environments. The
objective of the project is to develop new models for generative design of adaptive
virtual worlds.
Description of Work:
• Survey of existing literature for computational creativity and generative
design, including cellular automata, shape grammars and motivated
agents
• Design of computational models of artificial agents capable of creative,
generative design behaviour in virtual environments
• Implementation of the models in simulated applications or in live virtual
worlds such as Second Life and There
• Evaluation of the application using empirical metrics, case studies or user
September 2014
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studies. This will include comparison to existing techniques for generative
design.
Project:
Learning How to Learn Using Computational Models of
Motivation
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
Dr Kathryn Merrick (
[email protected])
Objectives:
Computational models of motivation – such as novelty, interest and curiosity – can
provide a way for artificial agents to select their own learning goals. Agents identify
highly motivating experiences then learn how to repeat those experiences. Existing
work with motivated agents has focused agents with a fixed learning mechanism to
learn about highly motivating goals. This project will develop new motivated learning
approaches in which agents are also motivated to select between different action
approaches in different situations. This may include reflexive responses, learning by
trial-and-error or learning by mimicry
Description of Work:
• Review of psychological literature describing motivation and learning.
• Design computational models of motivation that can mediate between
different learning approaches.
• Implement the models in simulation and at least one live application, such
as virtual world or the Lego Mindstorms NXT robotic platform.
• Evaluate the models using empirical metrics and/or case studies. This
may include comparison to existing computational models of motivation or
motivated learning.
Project:
Mimic This: Societies of Curious Robots
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
Dr Kathryn Merrick (
[email protected])
Objectives:
In robotic systems, curious agents offer a way for developmental robots to select
their own goals. Such robots have a range of potential applications, including support
for tool use, fault tolerance and robot reconfigurability. Existing work with curious
robots has focused on reward based learning approaches such as reinforcement
learning. Such robots can learn by trial-and-error, but cannot draw on the
experiences of other robots. This project will develop new models for curious robots
that can learn to mimic interesting behaviours of other robots using supervised
learning techniques. Models will be implemented and tested on the Lego Mindstorms
NXT platform.
Description of Work:
• Review of relevant robotics and artificial intelligence literature
• Design computational models of curious supervised learning for
continuous, real-world environments.
• Implement the models on the Lego Mindstorms NXT platform
• Evaluate the models using empirical metrics and/or case studies. This
may include comparison to existing computational models of motivation or
motivated learning.
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ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE AND ASTRONOMY
Project:
Adaptive modal superposition mirror
Program Code: 1661
Supervisor:
Dr Murat Tahtali (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Dr Andrew Lambert (
[email protected])
Objectives:
Traditional adaptive optics (AO) deformable mirrors use segmented actuator patterns
requiring elaborate manufacturing techniques. The range of surface curvatures used
for corrective action can be described by Zernike polynomials, which are a sequence
of orthogonal polynomials on the unit circle. The vibration modes of a circular
membrane exhibit striking similarities to Zernike polynomials; it fact, they can be all
expressed as functions of Bessel functions. This leads to the possibility of using a
vibrating membrane mirror in adaptive optics. The objective of this project is to
design, manufacture and test a modeshape mirror capable of reproducing the
essential Zernike polynomials to be used in adaptive optics.
This project involves design and conduct of laser experiments, high levels of signal
processing and analysis techniques as well as possible numerical modelling.
Project:
Multiple Object Adaptive Optic
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
Dr Andrew Lambert (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Dr Murat Tahtali
Objectives:
Large Field of View telescopes observe celestial objects through regions of
atmosphere that are different and temporally changing. Traditional adaptive optics
(AO) techniques involving single mirror correction will only correct a small region of
this atmospheric effect, and typically destroy imagery outside this region. It is
possible to assign different correcting elements to each region, but the logistical
difficulty and light loss in determining the distortion at each region and the actual
shape taken by the corrector, mean that other techniques must be investigated to
predict the turbulent structure and evolution across the whole field of view from a
limited set of measurements. Non-optical methods must also be designed to
determine the state of each corrector. This project will involve design of correctors,
wavefront sensors, and control algorithm design to address MOAO implementations
Description of Work:
• Investigate commercial and custom designed deformable mirrors;
Determine non-optical methods for determining their shape;
• Develop algorithms for the prediction of turbulence evolution both
spatially and temporally from limited observations of optical wavefronts;
• Design control algorithms within embedded FPGA hardware for the
manipulation of wavefront sensed data to control an array of deformable
mirrors; Implementation of such a system on a small wide-field of view
telescope as a proof-of-principle suitable for adoption of large telescope
instrumentation.
The project will involve laboratory work, materials science, simulation and algorithm
development, astronomical observation, and development of high-speed digital and
analog electronics.
September 2014
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BIOMETRIC SECURITY
Project:
3D Fingerprint Identification
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
Prof Jiankun Hu (
[email protected])
http://seit.unsw.adfa.edu.au/staff/sites/hu/
Co-Supervisor Prof Ian Petersen
Objectives:
Conventional authentication mechanism relies on password or possession of token.
However, password and token cannot genuinely identify a person as both password
and token can be presented by someone else. Biometrics such as fingerprint, face,
iris etc are quite uniquely representing individual. Therefore they are good tools for
identity authentication. This project investigates latest biometrics authentication
technology, i.e., 3D fingerprint identification.
Description of Work:
• Studying and analysing existing 3D fingerprint identification algorithms
• Investigating 2D fingerprint to 3D fingerprint mapping algorithms
Skills Required::
Good math background especially statistics and concrete programming skills. Image
processing knowledge will be a plus.
Project:
Biometric Cancellable Template Design
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
Prof Jiankun Hu (
[email protected])
http://seit.unsw.adfa.edu.au/staff/sites/hu/
Objectives:
Conventional authentication mechanism relies on password or possession of token.
However, password and token cannot genuinely identify a person as both password
and token can be presented by someone else. Biometrics such as fingerprint, face,
iris etc are quite uniquely representing individual. Therefore they are good tools for
identity authentication. However, biometrics stored in the template also needs to be
protected. This project investigates how to protect biometrics stored in the template.
Description of work:
• Studying and analysing existing cancellable template algorithms
• Designing new cancellable template algorithms
Skills Required::
Good math background especially statistics and concrete programming skills.
Project:
General Biometrics Security
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
Prof Jiankun Hu (
[email protected])
http://seit.unsw.adfa.edu.au/staff/sites/hu/
Objectives:
Conventional authentication mechanism relies on password or possession of token.
However, password and token cannot genuinely identify a person as both password
and token can be presented by someone else. Biometrics such as fingerprint, face,
iris etc are quite uniquely representing individual. Therefore they are good tools for
identity authentication. This project investigates the latest development in the field of
biometrics such as bio-cryptography etc. This project is in collaboration with Carnegie
Mellon University (USA).
Description of work:
September 2014
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•
•
Studying and analysing existing relevant biometrics security algorithms
Designing new algorithms
Skills Required::
Good math background especially statistics and concrete programming skills. Image
processing or machine learning will be a plus.
COGNITIVE ENGINEERING
Project:
Emotional Linguistic Cues to Play Games
Program Code: 1643 or 1885
Supervisor:
Prof. Hussein Abbass Email:
[email protected]
Objectives: A true gaming experience occurs when the human becomes situated
and embodied within the game. Integrating the human emotion in a game would
engage the human and improve the game experience. This project will build a model
to extract linguistic cues that capture human emotion and integrate these cues in an
intelligent manner within a game. The project will develop an artificial intelligence
model to extract and integrate these cues within a game.
Expected Background Knowledge:
• Good programming skills
• Good knowledge of signal and speech processing
• Ability to learn or good understanding of cognitive linguistics
Description of work:
• A literature review of models for human emotion
• A literature review of linguistic cues for human emotion
• Creating an artificial intelligence model to extract emotion-based linguistic
cues
• Creating an artificial intelligence model to integrate the extracted cues with a
gaming environment
• Testing the system.
Project:
Adapting Games to Human Mental Resources
Program Code: 1643 or 1885
Supervisor:
Prof. Hussein Abbass Email:
[email protected]
Objectives: Engaging in a game can be mentally demanding. It is difficult to estimate
the long-term impact of mental load of the gaming experience. This project will
develop artificial intelligence models to extract cues of cognitive load and use these
cues to adjust and adapt a game to maintain and sustain a healthy gaming
experience. Cognitive load is defined here as the rate of depletion of mental
resources as a player engages and plays a game.
Expected Background Knowledge:
• Good programming skills
• Good knowledge of signal and speech processing
• Ability to learn or good understanding of cognitive psychology
Description of work:
• A literature review of models for cognitive load
• A literature review of cognitive load in games
• Creating an artificial intelligence model to measure indicators for mental
resources
• Creating an artificial intelligence model to integrate the information on mental
September 2014
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•
resources with a gaming environment
Testing the system.
Project:
Controlling games using the eye
Program Code: 1643 or 1885
Supervisor:
Prof. Hussein Abbass Email:
[email protected]
Objectives: Eye tracking is a fast evolving technology. Currently, a number of
problems exist in many eye-tracking systems when head movements occur, and
other sources of noise interfere with the video signal. This project is to develop
efficient and fast techniques for generating a smooth and robust control of objects on
a screen using artificial intelligence models. The expected outcome of this project is a
better eye tracking system and an artificial intelligence model that integrates eye
movement with actions in a game environment.
Expected Background Knowledge:
• Good programming skills
• Good knowledge of signal and speech processing
• Ability to learn or good understanding of cognitive psychology
Description of work:
• A literature review of eye tracking technologies and methods
• A literature review of cues that can extracted from the eye and eye
movements
• Creating an artificial intelligence model for eye tracking
• Creating an artificial intelligence model to integrate the cues from the eye
tracking model within an game
• Testing the system
COMPUTATIONAL DECISION MAKING
Project:
Interdependent Combinatorial Optimization in Complex
Systems
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
Prof Hussein Abbass (
[email protected])
Objectives:
This project aims at understanding the dynamics of interdependency between
combinatorial optimization problems. In complex systems, it is natural that two or
more sub-systems are interconnected. Each of these sub-systems attempts to
optimize its own performance. However, the optimal solution for one sub-system
depends on the optimal solution for the other sub-systems. This interdependency is
not understood well in the combinatorial optimization literature. This project will make
a breakthrough in this area.
Description of Work:
• Understanding what makes a combinatorial optimization problem hard
• Developing a framework for analysing interdependency of combinatorial
optimization problems
• Developing methodologies for solving interdependent combinatorial
optimization problems.
• Testing the competitiveness of the different methodologies.
Project:
Computational Scenario Planning for Disaster Management
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
Prof Hussein Abbass (
[email protected])
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Objectives:
Scenarios are pen-pictures of plausible futures, used for strategic planning. The aim
of this project is to expand the horizon of scenario-based planning through
computational models that are able to aid the analyst in the planning process of a
disaster. The investigation builds upon the advances of Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) to create a novel, flexible and customizable
computational capability-based planning methodology that is practical and
theoretically sound. The project relies on fusing skills in Strategic Management and
Scenario Planning with Evolutionary Computation, Simulation, and Graph Theory.
Description of Work:
• Developing an understanding of scenario planning
• Building skills in evolutionary computation, computational intelligence,
simulation and graph theory
• Developing methodologies for representing and simulating large scale
disaster scenarios
• Evaluating the system on a number of real-world situations.
COMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Project:
Noise Multi-objective Evolutionary Algorithms
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
Prof. Hussein Abbass Email:
[email protected]
Objectives: Real world problems almost always have multiple objectives that need to
be optimized simultaneously despite the conflict that may exist among these
objectives. Evolutionary multi-objective optimisation (EMO) is an efficient way to
solve these problems. The objective of this project is to develop new EMO algorithms
that are able to scale-up to many objectives under high level of noise. The successful
manifestation of such algorithms will be tested on large-scale combinatorial realworld optimization problems in domains such as air traffic flow management and
planning.
Expected Background Knowledge:
• Knowledge or demonstrated ability to do programming in parallel highperformance computing environment using C or JAVA
• Good understanding of Search and Evolutionary Computation
Description of work:
• A literature review of evolutionary multi-objective optimization algorithms
• Creating new scalable evolutionary multi-objective optimization algorithms
• Testing the new algorithms
• Using the most efficient algorithm in real-world problem solving
Project:
Evolutionary Algorithms Through Adaptive Decomposition
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
Prof. Hussein Abbass Email:
[email protected]
Objectives: Evolutionary algorithms are implicitly parallel search techniques inspired
by evolutionary principles. Work in evolutionary algorithms can take many forms
including biologically motivated models and statistical modelling of an optimization
problem. The objective of this project is to develop decomposition techniques for
evolutionary algorithms in optimization and/or machine learning problems. The
decomposition needs to be self-organizing, as such, it is not a fixed predefined
scheme of decomposition.
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Expected Background Knowledge:
• Knowledge or demonstrated ability to do programming in parallel highperformance computing environment using C or JAVA
• Good understanding of Optimisation theory
Description of work:
• A literature review of evolutionary algorithms for optimization and/or machine
learning problems
• A literature review of decomposition techniques
• Creating a new evolutionary algorithm technique that is based on selforganized decomposition principles
• Testing the new technique
Project:
Neural Networks for Big Data
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
Prof. Hussein Abbass Email:
[email protected]
Objectives: Big data are massive datasets in the order of terabytes and beyond.
Scaling up neural networks to datasets of this size is not a trivial task. The objective
of this project is to design neural networks that can discover relationships in Big Data
efficiently.
Expected Background Knowledge:
• Knowledge or demonstrated ability to do programming in parallel highperformance computing environment using C or JAVA
• Good understanding of Neural Networks
Description of work:
• A literature review of Neural Networks and Big Data
• Creating new algorithms for Neural Networks to handle Big Data
• Testing the new algorithms
COMPUTER SCIENCE
Project:
Agent based evolutionary algorithms for solving constrained
multi-objective optimization problems
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
A/Prof Ruhul Sarker (
[email protected])
Objectives:
The objective of this research is to develop a new agent based evolutionary algorithm
for solving multi-objective constrained optimization problems.
Description of Work:
• Studying and analysing the existing multi-agent and evolutionary computation
based approaches for solving different optimization problems.
• Designing and developing a new agent based evolutionary algorithm for
solving small and medium scale constrained multi-objective optimization
problems.
• Analysing the algorithm performance and carrying out the sensitivity analysis
of different parameters required by the algorithm.
• Solving a reasonable number of well-known benchmark problems and
comparing them with the state-of-the-art algorithms.
Skills Assumed:
Knowledge of optimization /operations research /management science and good
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computer programming skills.
Project:
Job-shop scheduling with production interruption
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
A/Prof Ruhul Sarker (
[email protected])
Objectives:
The objective of this research is to develop a new evolutionary algorithm for solving
and resolving job-shop scheduling problems when the production process is
interrupted by any internal or external factors.
Description of Work:
• Studying and analysing the job-shop scheduling problems and their solution
approaches.
• Designing and developing a new evolutionary algorithm for solving and
resolving medium scale job-shop scheduling problems where the production
can be interrupted by internal and external factors.
• Analysing the algorithm performance and carrying out the sensitivity analysis
of different parameters required by the algorithm.
• Solving a reasonable number of benchmark problems and comparing them
with the state-of-the-art algorithms (if any).
Skills Assumed:
Knowledge of optimization /operations research /management science and good
computer programming skills.
Project:
Multi-methodology for constrained optimization
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
A/Prof Ruhul Sarker (
[email protected])
Objectives:
The objective of this research is to develop a new solution approach by combining
multiple evolutionary and related algorithms within a population based stochastic
search structure for solving constrained optimization problems.
Description of Work:
• Studying and analysing the existing evolutionary computation based
approaches and traditional optimization techniques for solving constrained
optimization problems.
• Designing and developing a new solution approach where multiple
evolutionary and related algorithms will explore the solution space in parallel
by exchanging information at a regular interval.
• Analysing the algorithm performance and carrying out the sensitivity analysis
of different parameters required by the algorithm.
• Solving a reasonable number of well-known benchmark problems and
comparing them with the state-of-the-art algorithms.
Skills Assumed:
Knowledge of optimization /operations research /management science and good
computer programming skills.
Project:
Solving large scale multi-objective optimisation problems
using evolutionary algorithms
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
A/Prof Ruhul Sarker (
[email protected])
Objectives:
The objective of this research is to develop a new evolutionary algorithm for solving
large-scale multi-objective constrained optimization problems by dividing the tasks
September 2014
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and using parallel machines.
Description of Work:
• Studying and analysing the existing evolutionary multi-objective algorithms for
solving single and multi-objective constrained optimization problems.
• Designing and developing a new evolutionary algorithm for solving largescale multi-objective constrained optimization problems that will allow an
intelligent way of dividing the tasks for implementation in parallel machines.
• Analysing the algorithm performance and carrying out the sensitivity analysis
of different parameters required by the algorithm.
• Solving a reasonable number of well-known benchmark problems and
comparing them with the state-of-the-art algorithms.
Skills Assumed:
Knowledge of optimization /operations research /management science and good
computer programming skills.
CONTROL THEORY AND CONTROL APPLICATIONS
Project:
Consensus, Estimation and Control in Complex Large-Scale
Quantum Systems
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
Prof Ian Petersen (
[email protected])
Objectives:
Advances in experimental physics are leading to exciting new possibilities in the area
of quantum technology. The dynamics of quantum systems are fundamentally
different from classical systems. New methods in control theory are needed to allow
for these dynamics and to exploit the opportunities arising. The control challenges in
these emerging quantum technologies require the control of systems with complex
interactions of many particles and subsystems, as well as decoherence effects
resulting from interaction with the environment. The aim is to build a substantial
research effort to address these challenges by developing new theories of
consensus, synchronisation, estimation and control for complex large-scale quantum
systems. This project is supported by an Australian Research Council Laureate
Fellowship for Professor Petersen
Description of Work:
• This research will involve fundamental control theory research in the area of
Consensus, Estimation and Control in Complex Large-Scale Quantum
Systems
Project:
High-Bandwidth Control for Unmanned Helicopters
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
A/Prof Hemanshu R Pota (
[email protected])
http://www.ee.adfa.edu.au/staff/hrp/
Co-Supervisor Dr Matt Garrat (
[email protected])
Objectives:
This PhD work is a part of the project to develop high bandwidth control methods and
advanced dynamic modelling for Rotorcraft Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (RUAVs). This
will enable new roles such as the precision landing of RUAVs to the moving deck of a
ship in rough seas. This and numerous other potential RUAV tasks are presently
limited by the simple controllers used for such a responsive dynamic system. Highbandwidth control will be achieved by: a) developing higher fidelity modelling of
helicopter dynamics, b) application of non-linear control techniques with novel
extensions, c) sensing critical but previously unmeasured states of the helicopter
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system, and d) flight test validation. The advances will expand RUAV uses in many
military and civilian applications.
Description of Work:
• Design on acceleration measurement control for disturbance rejection
• Design of state feedback optimal H-infinity Controllers for unmanned
helicopters
• Implementation of the control algorithms on high fidelity simulation and
special experimental test rig
Project:
High Precision Control of Agricultural Equipment
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
A/Prof Hemanshu R Pota (
[email protected])
http://www.ee.adfa.edu.au/staff/hrp/
Co-Supervisor Dr Ray Eaton (
[email protected])
Objectives:
This PhD is a part of the project to develop robust control methodologies to precisely
guide articulated off-road vehicles and attached trailers which are affected by slip.
The significance in the research lies in the generic hybrid modelling approach to
vehicle control, whereby the generic nature and relative simplicity of a kinematic
model is beneficial in determining the trajectory tracking controller, yet the benefits of
consideration of the vehicle's dynamics are also afforded without explicitly needing to
know them. It is expected that a new class of non-linear control methodologies will be
developed and experimentally verified, which deliver robust and precise trajectorytracking performance for slip affected vehicles.
Description of Work:
• Obtaining velocity kinematic models of tractor-implement system with sideslip velocities
• Obtaining input-output pairs for the dynamic model which satisfy passivity
conditions
• Design of controllers for the velocity kinematic that incorporate passive
dynamic models
• Implementation of the controller on the experimental tractor-trailer system
Project:
Interconnected Power Systems and Complex Dynamic
Networks
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
A/Prof Hemanshu R Pota (
[email protected])
http://www.ee.adfa.edu.au/staff/hrp/
Co-Supervisor Prof David J. Hill (
[email protected])
Objectives:
Analysis of complex dynamical networks has been used to predict synchronisation of
nodes with similar dynamics and certain types of network configurations.
Interconnected power systems form a complex dynamical network, but there is
neither an apparent regularity in the interconnections nor do all the nodes have
identical dynamics. Traditionally interconnected power systems are analysed using
tools which penalise strong interconnections but the practical reality is that strong
interconnections help in synchronising the system. Complex dynamical network
analysis rewards strong interconnections so it is natural to analyse interconnected
power systems in this framework. The PhD work will involve the analysis and control
of power systems with large wind generators.
Description of Work:
• Literature review of complex dynamical network analysis with irregular
networks and non-identical nodes.
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51
•
•
Modelling of power systems with large wind generation.
Design of controllers in the complex dynamical networks’ framework for
synchronising nodes with non-identical generation nodes.
Project:
Learning Control and Performance Optimisation of Complex
Quantum Systems
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
Dr Daoyi Dong (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Prof Ian Petersen (
[email protected])
http://routh.ee.adfa.edu.au/P1.html
Objectives:
Quantum Technology has been recognised as one of the most promising frontier
technologies. Although great progress has already been made, a lot of fundamental
research is still needed for this area to become mature enough to foster wider
practical applications. Much research in this area can be formulated as quantum
control problems. Quantum control theory is drawing wide attention with research in
this regard involving controllability, optimal control, feedback control, etc. A
challenging task is the development of new theories and algorithms for the control
analysis and synthesis of complex quantum systems. Learning control has been
proven to be a potential design method for optimising control performance for
complex quantum systems. The objective of this project is to develop new learning
algorithms to enhance control performance in the engineering of complex quantum
systems. This project is in collaboration with Prof Rabitz at Princeton University
(USA).
Description of Work:
• Formulate a collection of practical tasks arising in the quantum domain as
control problems for complex quantum systems with a well-defined
performance index.
• Develop new learning algorithms to achieve improved control performance for
complex quantum systems.
Project:
Modelling and control of quantum nanosystems
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
Dr Matthew Woolley (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Prof Ian Petersen (
[email protected])
Objectives:
Recent experiments have demonstrated the quantum-coherent control of
electromagnetic, electronic and mechanical degrees of freedom. These experiments
have been motivated both by the prospects of quantum computation, quantum
simulation and quantum communication, and by fundamental interest in novel
quantum dynamics. Of particular interest are many-body superconducting quantum
circuits and optomechanical systems, as well as the non-equilibrium dynamics of
quantum conductors. Here we will develop proposals for the observation of novel
dynamics and the realisation of quantum information processing protocols in these
systems. Ideally, this will lead to implementation with experimental colleagues.
Projects will likely involve collaboration with senior members of the ARC Centre of
Excellence in Engineered Quantum Systems and international colleagues.
Description of Work:
This project will require the use of the analytical tools of quantum mechanics,
quantum optics, mesoscopic condensed matter theory and control theory.
Computer algebra systems, such as Mathematica, will be heavily used.
Numerical analysis will also be required. The work will be theoretical, rather
than experimental, though an understanding of contemporary quantum
September 2014
52
physics experiments will be developed.
Project:
Quantum Estimation and Control Algorithms with
Applications to Quantum Optical Systems
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
Dr Daoyi Dong (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Prof Elanor Huntington (
[email protected])
Objectives:
Quantum Technology has been recognised as one of the most promising frontier
technologies. Although great progress has already been made, a lot of fundamental
research is still needed for this area to become mature enough to foster wider
practical applications. Much research in this area can be formulated as quantum
estimation and control problems. Parameter estimation (e.g., quantum state
estimation, quantum phase estimation) and control design are two of critical tasks in
the development of quantum technology. The objective of this project is to develop
new theories and methods to enhance estimation and control capabilities as applied
to quantum optical systems.
Description of Work:
• Formulate a collection of practical tasks arising in quantum optics as
estimation and control problems with a well-defined performance index.
• Develop new theories and algorithms to achieve improved estimation and
control performance for quantum optical systems.
Project:
Quantum-inspired learning algorithms with applications to
quantum control
1643
Dr Daoyi Dong (
[email protected])
Program Code:
Supervisor:
Objectives:
Quantum information processing is a rapidly developing field. Some results have
shown that quantum computation can more efficiently solve some difficult problems
than the classical counterpart. Some methods have also been explored to connect
quantum computation and machine learning. For example, the quantum-computing
version of artificial neural network has been studied from the pure theory to the
simple simulated and experimental implementation. Quantum or quantum-inspired
evolutionary algorithms have been proposed to improve the existing evolutionary
algorithms. Taking advantage of quantum computation, some novel algorithms
inspired by quantum characteristics will not only improve the performance of existing
algorithms on traditional computers but also promote the development of related
research areas such as quantum computers and machine learning.
On the other hand, the development of quantum control theory has been
recognised as one of key tasks for practical quantum technology. Learning control
has been proven to be a potential design method for optimising control performance
for complex quantum systems. Quantum-inspired learning algorithms may be
especially suitable for specific quantum control tasks. The objective of this project is
to develop new quantum-inspired learning algorithms and apply these algorithms to
enhance control performance in the engineering of quantum systems. This project is
in collaboration with Prof Tarn at Washington University (USA).
Description of Work:
• Develop new quantum-inspired learning algorithms (e.g., quantum-inspired
PSO algorithm, quantum-inspired differential evolution algorithm) and test
their learning performance by simulation
• Apply these new quantum-inspired learning algorithms to several typical
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quantum control problems and compare the control performance with existing
design methods
Project:
Research in Decentralized and Distributed Robust Control
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
A/Prof V. Ougrinovski (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Prof Ian Petersen
Objectives:
Interconnected control systems are widespread in engineering, defence and
communications applications. Examples of such systems include a team of
unmanned aerial vehicles
pursuing a set of coordinated objectives, a platoon of vehicles on the highway, an
array of actuated micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), to name a few. Such
systems are coupled dynamically or via team objective constraints and are
characterized by a high level of complexity including modelling uncertainties and
changes in the system configuration. The project will look into methodologies of
robust control design for distributed and large-scale uncertain systems, which make
use of the interconnection structure of the system.
Description of Work:
• Develop new mathematical methodologies of robust control design for
uncertain distributed and large-scale nonlinear interconnected systems.
Possible theoretical applications and models involve control of large systems
consisting of interacting agents, control of large-scale networked systems.
• The project will involve mathematical research in the area of modern control
theory.
Project:
Program Code:
Supervisor:
Co-Supervisor
Robust Control of Quantum Ensembles
1643
Dr Daoyi Dong (
[email protected])
Prof Ian Petersen (
[email protected])
http://routh.ee.adfa.edu.au/P1.html
Objectives:
Quantum Technology has been recognised as one of the most promising frontier
technologies. Although great progress has already been made, a lot of fundamental
research is still needed for this area to become mature enough to foster wider
practical applications. Much research in this area can be formulated as quantum
control problems. Quantum control theory is drawing wide attention with research in
this regard involving controllability, optimal control, feedback control, etc. Although a
number of results on control design of single quantum systems have been presented,
there are few results for the control analysis and synthesis of quantum ensembles. A
quantum ensemble consists of a large number of single quantum systems. Quantum
ensembles have wide applications in emerging quantum technology including
quantum computation, long-distance quantum communication, and magnetic
resonance imaging. The objective of this project is to develop new theories and
methods to enhance control capabilities and robustness in the engineering of
quantum ensembles. This project is in collaboration with Prof Rabitz at Princeton
University (USA).
Description of Work:
• Formulate a collection of practical tasks arising in the quantum domain as
control problems for quantum ensembles with a well-defined performance
index.
• Develop new theories and control algorithms to achieve improved control
performance for quantum ensemble control problems.
September 2014
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Project:
Robust scanning controllers for Atomic Force Microscopes
(AFM))
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
A/Prof Hemanshu R Pota (
[email protected])
http://www.ee.adfa.edu.au/staff/hrp/
Co-Supervisor Prof Ian Petersen (
[email protected])
http://routh.ee.adfa.edu.au/~irp/P1.html
Objectives:
The overall aim of this project is to increase the image scan rates of scanning AFM.
Our control applications research laboratory has a scanning AFM. The work in this
project involves both theoretical design of controllers and their experimental
implementation. The AFM consists of a three degrees-of-freedom piezoelectric stack,
a cantilever, and an optical arrangement to measure the cantilever tip-position. The
image is the cantilever tip-position as the sample is moved in the x-y direction.
Presently a PhD student is working to increase the x-y scan rate of this AFM. The
proposed PhD is to include the cantilever dynamics and z-position loop in the design
of the controller.
Description of Work:
• Model the z-position loop using experimental data and theoretical analysis.
• Obtain a suitable representation of the hysteresis nonlinearities and sensor
noise.
Project:
Program Code:
Supervisor:
Co-Supervisor
Objectives:
Secure control and estimation
1661
A/Prof Valeri Ougrinovski (
[email protected])
Prof Ian R. Petersen (
[email protected])
The emergence of technologies relying on information networks have brought into
prominence new challenges in the area of cyber-security concerned with security of industrial
control and data acquisition systems. This project will involve research into the theory of cyber
secure distributed control and estimation systems networks, focused on systems cooperation
in the presence of strategic adversaries. It will develop methodologies for mitigation of
stealthy attacks on complex control systems interconnected in the topology of a network.
These methodologies will provide a systematic means for achieving a trade-off between
system performance and its resilience to cyber threats of malicious nature.
There is a number of directions this research can take, therefore more than one student are
welcome to undertake this project.
Description of Work:
This project involves mathematical modelling and analysis of control systems
cooperating over communication networks as well as numerical simulations of
developed control and estimation algorithms.
FORENSIC INSTRUMENTATION
Project:
Analysis of bulk organic explosives for forensic laboratories
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
A/Prof Charles Harb (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Prof Elanor Huntington
Objectives:
Analysis of bulk organic explosives is a straightforward task for well-equipped
forensic laboratories, but it is more difficult for them to analyse trace amounts of
organic explosive residues; this usually requires an elaborate sequence of solvent
September 2014
55
extraction from swabs and some form of chromatographic or electrophoretic
separation. Suitable detection techniques include ion mobility spectrometry (IMS),
mass spectrometry and thermal energy analysis, however, such analytical systems
lack the sensitivity to analyse explosive residues in vapour samples because of the
very low vapour pressures. We aim to develop a cavity-enhanced spectroscopic
instrument as a high-throughput screening tool for trace explosive detection, and
potentially for other threats such as biological or chemical hazards. The method that
we shall use to achieve this aim is cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS), which is
a laser-based direct-absorption technique. CRDS offers a significant increase in
sensitivity, sufficient to permit detection of organic explosives in the vapour phase.
Description of Work:
• Design and build the CRDS System;
• Design and build the detection and modulation/demodulation systems;
• Make measurements on different substances of interest, and catalog the
data.
• Investigate algorithms to pattern match the database with unknown samples.
HIGH FREQUENCY ENGINEERING
Project:
Antennas in Dissipative Media
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
Dr Greg Milford (
[email protected])
Objectives: The application of modern telecommunications networking protocols
and inexpensive electronics has created a new paradigm for underwater (sub-sea)
communications, with many potential military, scientific and commercial applications.
Systems using radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic wave propagation offer a
solution to some of the limitations of underwater acoustic systems. However the
correct specification and design of the underwater antenna is essential to achieve the
desired performance with an RF underwater system. Additionally, body-worn or invitro antennas experience a similar dissipative electromagnetic environment, hence
the scope of this project isn't necessarily restricted to sub-sea applications. This
project will investigate the fundamental behaviour of insulated and bare conductors
immersed in a dissipative medium, and develop a quantitative understanding of the
reactive and radiated field coupling mechanisms between antennas in a dissipative
medium. This understanding will then be applied to develop antenna design
procedures that maximise communication link performance for the specified
frequency, bandwidth, range and lossy medium parameters.
Expected Background knowledge and skills:
• Good theoretical understanding of electromagnetic and microwave
engineering
• Good programming skills and experience with one or more computational
tools. (Matlab, C, Fortran, etc).
• Experience with commercial circuit and full wave simulation tools desirable.
Description of work:
• From first principles investigate the behaviour of antennas in a dissipative
medium.
• Apply this knowledge to the design of underwater antennas for various
application scenarios (bandwidth or data rate, range, physical size and shape,
etc).
• Devise and conduct open-water experiments to validate analytical predictions of
radio link performance.
September 2014
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Project:
Dispersion Engineering of Transmission Line Metamaterial
Structures
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
Dr Greg Milford (
[email protected])
Objectives:
The non-conventional propagation characteristics of left hand transmission lines (LH
TL) offer a new degree of freedom for the design of high frequency wave-guiding and
wave-radiating components. A distinguishing feature of LH TL structures is the nature
of the frequency dependent propagation coefficient, from left-handed to right-handed
as frequency increases across the pass-band. A number of interesting applications
have been proposed for 1D and 2D LH TL structures (frequency selective
waveguides, leaky wave antennas, etc), however accurate characterisation and
control of the dispersion characteristic is necessary for these ambitions to be
realised. This project will investigate the application of evolutionary computation (EC)
methods to the optimisation-based extraction of the LH TL unit cell dispersion
characteristic from frequency response data. As this extraction process is based on
equivalent circuit modelling of the unit cell structures, the project will also involve
investigations into the selection of appropriate equivalent circuit models for various
LH TL structures to accurately capture the unit cell’s frequency dependence. The
application of these techniques to better LH TL unit cell design will also be explored.
Expected Background knowledge and skills:
• Good theoretical understanding of electromagnetic and microwave
engineering
• Good programming skills and experience with one or more computational
tools. (Matlab, C, Fortran, etc).
• Experience with commercial circuit and full wave simulation tools desirable.
Description of work:
• Investigate planar topologies that produce LH TL unit cells, and develop
appropriate equivalent circuit models for these structures.
• Determine the applicability and limitations of using equivalent circuit based
optimisation methods for extracting the dispersion characteristic from simulated
and measured frequency response data.
• Use this knowledge to devise new LH TL structures with superior performance
characteristics.
• Design, fabricate and characterise the performance of demonstration LH TL
structures.
Project:
Nonlinear Metamaterials for Terahertz Applications
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
Dr Greg Milford (
[email protected])
Objectives: Planar antenna structures are well suited to portable communications
devices due to their small size, low cost and ease of integration with associated
electronics. The design of these antennas generally requires use of full-wave
electromagnetic simulators to include the effects of the conducting and dielectric
environment surrounding the radiator. Unfortunately accurate full-wave simulations
can be computationally expensive, thereby making the design process that
necessarily requires multiple simulations a costly process. This project will
investigate the application of evolutionary computation (EC) methods to planar
antenna design, with a view to supplementing the electromagnetic simulations with
optimisation based modelling of the antenna's structure and performance, such that
fewer full-wave simulations need to be used. This will require tight coupling of the
optimiser and electromagnetic simulator to minimise the computational cost in
arriving at the optimum antenna design.
September 2014
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Expected Background knowledge and skills:
• Good theoretical understanding of electromagnetic and antenna engineering.
• Good programming skills and experience with one or more computational
tools (Matlab, C, Fortran, etc).
• Experience with commercial circuit and full wave simulation tools desirable.
Description of work:
• Determine the applicability and limitations of EC methods to planar antenna
design.
• Develop methods of integrating full-wave electromagnetic simulators with the
EC optimisers to minimise the overall computation cost.
• Use this approach to devise new antennas with superior performance
characteristics.
• Design, fabricate and characterise selected antennas to demonstrate the
methods developed in this project.
Project:
Optimisation Aided Design of Planar Antenna Structures
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
Dr Greg Milford (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Prof Hussein Abbass (
[email protected])
Objectives:
Planar antenna structures are well suited to portable communications equipment due
to their small size, low cost and ease of integration with associated electronics. The
design of these antennas generally requires use of full-wave electromagnetic
simulators to include the effects of the conducting and dielectric environment
surrounding the radiator. This project will investigate the application of evolutionary
computation (EC) methods to the optimisation of antenna structures to achieve the
specified design goals, with a view to determining which algorithms work best under
various circumstances. This will require tight coupling of the optimiser and
electromagnetic simulator to minimise the computational cost in arriving at the
optimum antenna design.
Description of Work:
• Determine the applicability and limitations of EC methods to planar antenna
design
• Develop methods of integrating full-wave electromagnetic simulators with the
EC optimiser to minimise the overall computation cost
• Use this approach to devise new antennas with superior performance
characteristics.
Project:
Stability and Control of Nonlinear Transmission Line
Metamaterials
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
Dr Greg Milford (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Prof Hussein Abbass (
[email protected])
Objectives: The inclusion of nonlinear (NL) elements in a distributed left-handed
transmission line (LH TL) structure adds an extra dimension to the dispersion
engineering potential of these structures. It has been shown that these distributed
nonlinear structures display a range of unstable behaviour similar to that observed
with lumped devices (eg. radio frequency power amplifiers) and homogenous bulk
materials (eg. harmonic generation in nonlinear optical materials). This project will
investigate the mechanisms responsible for instability in NL LH TL structures.
Previous research at UNSW Canberra has led to methods for detecting and
predicting Hopf-type bifurcations in these structures, but much more work needs to
be undertaken to further develop theoretical and numerical methods to describe
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these structures. The knowledge and insight gained from this analysis would then be
used to devise design strategies to control and/or exploit these instabilities.
Expected Background knowledge and skills:
• Good theoretical understanding of electromagnetic and microwave
engineering.
• Good programming skills and experience with one or more computational
tools (Matlab, C, Fortran, etc).
• Experience with commercial circuit and full wave simulation tools desirable.
Description of work:
• Investigate the application of traditional control systems theory to NL LH TL
structures for stability analysis and performance characterisation.
• Apply these analysis techniques to the design of NL LH TL structures.
• Develop techniques for fabricating and controlling distributed nonlinearities.
• Fabricate and characterise planar NL LH TL structures with distributed
nonlinearities for harmonic generation and/or parametric amplification.
Project:
Subsea Radiowave Propagation
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
Dr Greg Milford (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Prof Hussein Abbass (
[email protected])
Objectives: The frequency dependent attenuation of radiowave propagation in
seawater has traditionally restricted undersea radio wave communication to very low
carrier frequencies or very short link distances. Recently the proposal to adapt
modern wireless communication and networking technology to the underwater
environment has generated renewed interest in short range radiowave links.
Accurate knowledge of the propagation characteristics, in particular attenuation and
phase velocity, or alternatively the sea water media's conductivity and permittivity, is
essential for accurate radiowave link analysis and design. This project will investigate
the dependence of sea water conductivity and permittivity on frequency, salinity,
temperature and electric field strength, and examine the consequences for radiowave
link design. This will require an in-depth study of the relationship between the
chemistry of aqueous solutions and their effective electrical parameters. An essential
aspect of this project is experimental validation of theoretical and electromagnetic
simulation predictions.
Expected Background knowledge and skills:
• Good theoretical understanding of electromagnetic and microwave
engineering.
• Good programming skills and experience with one or more computational
tools (Matlab, C, Fortran, etc).
• Experience with commercial circuit and full wave simulation tools desirable.
Description of work:
• Study the fundamental behaviour of salt water chemistry to gain a deep level
understanding of the electromagnetic properties of salt water solutions.
• Develop laboratory based simulation and measurement methods for
characterising the electrical properties of salt water solutions.
• Apply this knowledge of the salt water's electrical behaviour to design
radiowave links that exploit the dispersive media properties to achieve desirable
link performance.
• Devise and conduct open-water experiments to validate analytical predictions of
radio path behaviour.
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IMAGE PROCESSING
Project:
Program Code:
Supervisor:
Co-Supervisor
Automated digitising and cataloguing of insects and plants
1661
Dr Andrew Lambert (
[email protected])
Dr Murat Tahtali (
[email protected])
Dr John LaSalle (
[email protected])
Dr Robert Furbank (
[email protected])
Objectives:
The objective of this thesis is to develop an automated 3D digitising and cataloguing
platform for insects and plants. The specimen will be digitised into a 3D model and,
through feature extraction, catalogued using an adaptive algorithm.
This project involves design of opto-mechanical equipment and the development of
image processing software.
Project:
General Image Processing
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
Prof Jiankun Hu (
[email protected])
http://seit.unsw.adfa.edu.au/staff/sites/hu/
Co-Supervisor
Objectives:
This project investigates image processing related issues such as medical image
encryption, transmission, e-health and pattern recognition etc.
Description of Work:
• Studying and analysing related image processing algorithms
• Designing new algorithms
Skills Required::
Good math background especially statistics, solid image processing knowledge and
concrete programming skills.
INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION
Project:
E-government service design, implementation and benefit
realisation
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
Dr Ahmed Imran (
[email protected]),
Dr Tim Turner (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor
Objectives
Public sector ICT and e-government is quickly transforming the structure and service
delivery of government agencies across the world. This study aims to investigate egovernment intervention design at different levels (such as Government to
Government, G2G or Government to Citizen, G2C) through a single/ multiple case
studies to add new knowledge, best practices and challenges associated with such
interventions in different countries.
Description of Work
• Studying of diffusion and adoption theories, nature and characteristics of public
sector ICT / organisational culture impacting ICT.
• Studying of information system design issues and flaws, value measurement of
publics sector ICT
September 2014
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•
•
In-depth case study of one/ several ICT interventions in the public sectors
Critical analysis and reflection of the case
Skills Required
• Qualitative study techniques, research skills, information system
fundamentals. Knowledge and experience in the publics sector will be an
advantage
Project:
ICT for development (ICT4D research); challenges of an ICT
intervention an implementation in an unusual context
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
Dr Ahmed Imran (
[email protected])
http://seit.unsw.adfa.edu.au/staff/sites/ahimran/
Co-Supervisor
Objectives
The objective of this research is to add to the body of knowledge on the complexity
and challenges within the developing country context in order to design better
information systems for specific contexts. The environment, culture and influence of
politics and power will be explored and analysed in relation to information system
intervention and implementation. Role of IT in development has different meaning.
The study will have scope to explore its development potentiality and societal benefit,
particularly in societies belong to the other side of the digital divide.
Description of Work
• Study of ICT for development, societal benefit and implications, diffusion and
innovation theories, relevant Information system theories. understanding the
culture and people in developing countries
• Critical analysis and reflection of the case
• Field work in developing country
Skills Required
•
Qualitative study techniques, research skills, Information system
fundamentals, knowledge and experience in developing country will be an
advantage.
LASER INSTRUMENTATION
Project:
Continuously Tuneable Wavelength-Measurement
Technology for Optical DWDM Communication Systems
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
A/Prof Charles Harb (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor Prof Elanor Huntington
Objectives:
This project is designed to address the needs for the next generation of tuneable
optical wavelength sources for optical telecommunications, biotechnology,
antiterrorism, and medical diagnostics. We propose to develop a simple, accurate,
extremely fast, low cost, and compact wavelength meter for use with tuneable lasers.
The proposed system will increase the speed for testing tuneable lasers – by factors
of thousands (or millions). If successful, this technology can replace large, bulky
wavemeters and optical spectrum analysers with compact, fast modules. It tunes
tuneable lasers more precisely, diagnoses DWDM channels more economically, and
provides tuneable intelligence for optical telecommunications.
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Description of Work:
• Design and build the wavelength locking system;
• Design and build the detection and modulation/demodulation systems;
• Make measurements at different wavelengths, and catalogue the data;
• Investigate digital signal processing techniques that compare the data with an
unknown wavelength.
Project:
Hyperspectral Data Representation for Signal Enhancement
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
Dr Xiuping Jia (
[email protected])
Objectives:
As the advance of the technology in sensor design and manufacture, hyperspectral
imagers have become available since late of 80s. A typical hyperspectral data cube
is composed of about 100 to 200 spectral measurements and provides rich spectral
information of the ground cover materials, in general. However, not all the
measurements are important and essential for individual applications where users
have their focused culture or natural classes of interest. The use of the unnecessary
measurements creates difficulties in machine learning processing and reduces the
reliability of thematic mapping. Another problem is that the original measures may not
be the distinct features. Data representation is required to generate better signatures
of the classes of interest. In this project, supervised feature selection and generation
will be investigated. The outcome is significant practically and scientifically.
Description of Work:
• Examine the materials spectral characteristics quantitatively
• . Evaluation of current feature selection and generation methods
• Develop new effective techniques
• Implement and validation
Project:
Large scale network measurement
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
Dr Weiping Zhu (
[email protected])
Objectives:
A large network as the Internet is often divided into a number of domains (like ISPs)
and all domains are independently managed. One ISP cannot access other ISPs
networks. However, we need to find the characteristics of the whole network, such as
link-level loss rates, link level delay distribution, available bandwidth, network
topology. etc. to understand the network behaviours. Using the characteristics, we
can further to set up models and study the interactions between different
components. The key question here is how to find those characteristics without direct
measurement, simply rely on end-to-end measurement. The research at this moment
are focused on the following three areas:
a) Loss tomography, which aims to estimate/infer loss rates of each link by
end-to-end observation. We have some good results for a tree topology
and is going to extend them into a general topology
b) Delay tomography, which is for estimating delay distribution. In this area,
we also have some good results by using sequential imputation. The work
needs to be extending to general topology.
c) Temporal tomography, which aims to find the temporal/spatial
correlations, such as transition matrix, of the links. In this situation,
observations are related to each other, as Markov chain. With transition
matrix, we will be able to understand the temporal correlation between
network states. Hidden Markov model, etc. are under investigation to
uncover the temporal information.
d) Spatial tomography, in contrast to temporal tomography, aims to find
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spatial correlation between links in a network, such as a link has heavy
delay, whether this delay will have any impact to its neighbours and by
how much.
Topology estimation/identification can use in some bioinformatics techniques, such
as inferring motif.
Project:
Stochastic Network Control
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
Dr Weiping Zhu (
[email protected])
Objectives:
TCP has been used in the Internet for 30 years. Despite of its success, it has shown
the sign of strain. Previously used feedback control falls short of providing what we
want, in particular the necessity to handle the dynamics of traffic. Network community
starts to worry about this but has not come out with a rescue. This research aims to
build a stochastic model that considers the impact of feedback delay on the addictive
increase and multiplicative decrease used by TCP, and investigate the degree of the
impact on the resource utilization, transmission rate, transport latent, jitter, etc. The
findings will lead to a proposal of a new protocol.
Project:
Subpixel Information Retrieval from Remote Sensing Data
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
Dr Xiuping Jia (
[email protected])
Objectives:
Remote sensing image data generated by various sensors, especially,
hyperspectral sensors, have limited spatial resolution. Subpixel signal retrieval is
challenging. One of the issues is the collinearity when a least squared solution is
involved. The problem damages the subsignal inversion robustness. This project will
investigate the problem and develop effective solutions.
The outcome is significant practically and scientifically.
Description of Work:
• Examine the collinearity problem quantitatively
• . Evaluation of current studies
• Develop the techniques to overcome the problem
• Implement and validation
Project:
Super Resolution of Remote Sensing Data
Program Code: 1643 or 1845
Supervisor:
Dr Xiuping Jia (
[email protected])
Objectives:
Remote sensing image data generated by various sensors, especially, hyperspectral
sensors, have limited spatial resolution. It is valuable to improve the resolution via
post possessing. Mathematical modelling and computer power can be used to
generate finer classification map than the original pixel resolution. Super resolution
has been investigated in different ways in recent years, including super resolving
data and super resolving decision. There are wide issues and research in this area.
The outcome is significant practically and scientifically
Description of Work:
• Evaluation of current studies
• Improve the modelling or reducing computational complexity
• Implement real data processing framework.
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Project:
Traffic control over overlayed networks
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
Dr Weiping Zhu (
[email protected])
Objectives:
The emergence of Ipv6 allows a node to use multiple paths connecting itself to a
destination to transfer data for high performance. The questions that one needs to
consider are:
•
How to select paths dynamically that can maximize its performance?
•
How to distribute packets to each path that can balance the traffic on the
available paths?
•
How avoid competition with other users (game theory in distributed control)?
•
How to predict traffic on each path/link (related to network tomography)
•
Relayer selection and functions
•
Interconnection between overlays
•
Whether the above steps will lead to a stable system?
We have some basic results in this direction, but a lot of them require further
investigation
NETWORKING
Project:
General Networking
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
Prof Jiankun Hu (
[email protected])
http://seit.unsw.adfa.edu.au/staff/sites/hu/
Objectives:
This project investigates latest development in Networking such as P2P etc..
Description of Work:
• Studying and analysing P2P networking and applications algorithms
• Designing new algorithms
Skills Required::
Good math background especially statistics, solid networking knowledge and
concrete programming skills.
Project:
Internet of Things
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
Prof Jiankun Hu (
[email protected])
http://seit.unsw.adfa.edu.au/staff/sites/hu/
Co-Supervisor Prof Ian Petersen
Objectives:
Internet of things is considered as a next big topic in networking. This project
investigates latest development in Internet of Things.
Description of Work:
• Studying and analysing Internet of Things algorithms
• Designing new Internet of Things algorithms
Skills Required::
Good math background especially statistics, solid networking knowledge and
concrete programming skills.
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NETWORK SCIENCE, WEB SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT
Project:
Identifying Influential Actors in Evolutionary Complex Networks
Program Code:
1885
Supervisor:
Dr Alireza Abbasi (
[email protected])
Objectives:
The thorough understanding and modelling of the selection mechanisms in the evolution of
networks can help to predict and manage the structural changes of the networks over time. This
research aims to investigate quantitatively the network evolution processes during the evolution of
real complex networks and also the behavioural attachment patterns of the actors who are
affecting on the network changes. This requires the use of nature-inspired algorithms and
techniques and further development of a theoretical framework for networks evolution and
adaptation through the use of different multi-disciplinary theories. One of the important outputs of
this study is to identify actors that facilitate the network evolution which has implication for
decision makers and managers to control the way networks evolve.
Description of Work:
• Understanding network dynamics and the structural factors driving the changes
• Understanding the behaviours of actors which affects their link formation during the evolution
of networks
• Understanding the flow and diffusion of resources (information) over the network
• Developing mathematical modelling and simulation techniques for extending the existing
models of network dynamics and evolution
• Evaluating the models against the existing methods and techniques
Project:
Utilising Social Media for Effective Emergency Response
Management
1885
Dr Alireza Abbasi (
[email protected])
Program Code:
Supervisor:
Objectives:
Information communication technologies and in particular social media platforms have been
extensively used during emergencies and natural disasters for exchanging information between
public (citizens often on the scene) and authorities. This research aims to investigate how the new
technologies enhance the individuals and communities’ resilience against emergencies and
disasters. To do so, it is required to determine, classify, and critically assess the patterns of
information exchange between different parties involved in managing disasters, particularly
between public and authorities, which can advance the level of situational awareness gained from
public and facilitate more effective decision making.
Description of Work:
• Understanding emergency and disaster management challenges especially in regards to
communication and data collection and dissemination
• Understanding the impact of ICT, including digital and social media, information systems and
knowledge management systems, on the performance of organizations and their personnel
• Understanding how ICT supports better functioning of individuals and communities, including
public / private organizations.
• Developing a system to extract and process the valuable public (online) data and provide
beneficial information for managers and decision makers
• Developing new methods / tools for measuring the resilience of the community against
emergencies and natural disasters
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Project:
Mining and Analysing Social Networks for Business Applications
Program Code:
1885
Supervisor:
Dr Alireza Abbasi (
[email protected])
Objectives:
This research includes the techniques and methods to extract and analyse the (online) interaction
of people and organizations using available digital information or social media such as social
networking sits, wikis, forums and blogs in order to develop business applications. This research
addresses both technical and social challenges such as data gathering and management issues;
stability, reliability and precision of data for the social, cultural, legal and ethical issue for the later
challenges. This study aims to improve the efficiency of business operations through providing
opportunities for adopting and exploiting new technologies.
Description of Work:
• Understanding the techniques, algorithms and tools for mining and analysing the interaction
data available online
• Understanding the big data challenges
• Understanding the technology adoption models
• Developing models, tools and techniques for utilising and exploiting new technologies
effectively to improve business processes and performance
NETWORK SECURITY
Project:
General Cyber Security
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
Prof Jiankun Hu (
[email protected])
http://seit.unsw.adfa.edu.au/staff/sites/hu/
Objectives:
This project investigates general cyber security issues such as access control, social
engineering, face book, privacy etc.
Description of Work:
• Studying and analysing existing relevant cyber security algorithms
• Designing new algorithms
Skills Required::
Good math background especially statistics, solid networking knowledge and
concrete programming skills.
Project:
Host-based Intrusion Detection
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
Prof Jiankun Hu (
[email protected])
http://seit.unsw.adfa.edu.au/staff/sites/hu/
Objectives:
Firewalls cannot prevent new attacks. This project investigates how to detect attacks
that have penetrated the firewalls.
Description of Work:
• Studying and analysing existing host-based intrusion detection algorithms
• Designing new host-based intrusion detection algorithms
Skills Required::
Good math background especially statistics, solid networking knowledge and
concrete programming skills.
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Project:
Network Intrusion Detection
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
Prof Jiankun Hu (
[email protected])
http://seit.unsw.adfa.edu.au/staff/sites/hu/
Objectives:
Network attacks are happening daily and have caused huge damage to our society.
This project investigates latest network intrusion detection technology such DDoS
attack detection.
Description of Work:
• Studying and analysing existing network intrusion detection algorithms
• Designing new network intrusion detection algorithms
Skills Required:
Good math background especially statistics, solid networking knowledge and
concrete programming skills.
Project:
Wireless Sensor Network Security
Program Code: 1885
Supervisor:
Prof Jiankun Hu (
[email protected])
http://seit.unsw.adfa.edu.au/staff/sites/hu/
Objectives:
Wireless network especially sensor networks are pervasive. This project investigates
security issues in wireless sensor networks such as key management and back hole
detection.
Description of Work:
Studying and analysing existing sensor network security algorithms
Designing new sensor network security algorithms
Skills Required::
Good math background especially statistics, solid networking knowledge and
concrete programming skills
OPTICAL DEVICES
Project:
Program Code:
Supervisor:
Co-Supervisor
Automated digitising and cataloguing of insects and plants
1661
Dr Murat Tahtali (
[email protected])
Dr John LaSalle (
[email protected])
Dr Robert Furbank (
[email protected])
Objectives:
The objective of this thesis is to develop an automated 3D digitising and cataloguing
platform for insects and plants. The specimen will be digitised into a 3D model and,
through feature extraction, catalogued using an adaptive algorithm.
This project involves design of opto-mechanical equipment and the development of
image processing software.
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Project:
Plasmonic nano-antennas at optical wavelengths.
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
Dr Haroldo T. Hattori (
[email protected])
Prof Elanor Huntington (
[email protected])
Objectives:
Plasmonic waves are electromagnetic excitations that propagate at the interface
between dielectrics and metals (surface waves). Devices based upon the
propagation of plasmonic waves have opened the possibility of developing very
compact optical devices. Among a multitude of plasmonic optical devices, nanoantennas offer the most promising applications. These nano-antennas generate high
intense electrical fields in very small regions, which allow the selective attraction of
certain nano-particles, investigate molecular processes in living cells and create new
biological and chemical sensors
Description of Work:
• Design these nano-antennas to operate with semiconductor materials (GaAs
or InP platforms).
• Integrate these nano-antennas with active devices such as quantum dot
lasers.
• Examine the possibility of creating novel bio-sensors and novel bio-imaging
systems.
• Fabricate these devices with either focused ion beam milling systems and/or
electron beam.
• Lithography and reactive ion etching systems
• Characterise the fabricated nano-antennas and test it with selective biological
applications.
QUANTUM OPTICS
Project:
Experiments in Coherent State Quantum Computing
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
Prof Elanor Huntington (
[email protected])
Co-Supervisor A/Prof Charles Harb
Objectives:
There is considerable international research effort focused on the development of
viable quantum computer technologies. Linear Optical Quantum Computing has
proven to be a successful test-bed for experimental quantum computation with
seminal experimental demonstrations of quantum logic operations on single photons.
All of these schemes encode the quantum information on two different modes of an
optical field and are known as "dual-rail" encoding schemes. A series of alternative,
potentially superior, optical quantum computation schemes have been proposed
based on "single-rail" encoding schemes.
Single-rail optical quantum computing is an alternative, and potentially superior,
approach to optical QC. The basis states are coherent states (multi-photon states
that exhibit classical optical coherence) that can be created deterministically from
well-stabilised lasers. Such states are non-orthogonal, but can serve as qubits under
appropriate conditions.
Such experiments will require quantum optics outside the realm of coincident
measurement techniques and involve real-time quantum control, thus providing new
techniques of direct relevance to our other optical quantum computation schemes.
The goal of this project is to demonstrate basic quantum logic operations on nonclassical optical states suitable for single-rail encoding schemes. Successful
completion of this project has the potential to demonstrate an alterative optical
quantum computation scheme which may be more amenable to scale-up that
existing schemes.
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Description of Work:
• Design and build the “cat-state” source;
• Design and build the detection systems;
• Measure the states and compare to theoretical models.
Project:
Program Code:
Supervisor:
Co-Supervisor
Optimal control of Quantum Optical Systems
1643
Prof Elanor Huntington (
[email protected])
Prof Ian Petersen (
[email protected])
http://routh.ee.adfa.edu.au/~irp/P1.html
Objectives:
There is considerable international research effort focused on the development of
viable quantum computer technologies. Linear Optical Quantum Computing has
proven to be a successful test-bed for experimental quantum computation with
seminal experimental demonstrations of quantum logic operations on single photons.
All of these schemes encode the quantum information on two different modes of an
optical field and are known as "dual-rail" encoding schemes. A series of alternative,
potentially superior, optical quantum computation schemes have been proposed
based on "single-rail" encoding schemes.
Single-rail optical quantum computing is an alternative, and potentially superior,
approach to optical QC. The basis states are coherent states (multi-photon states
that exhibit classical optical coherence) that can be created deterministically from
well-stabilised lasers. Such states are non-orthogonal, but can serve as qubits under
appropriate conditions.
Such experiments will require quantum optics outside the realm of coincident
measurement techniques and involve real-time quantum control, thus providing new
techniques of direct relevance to our other optical quantum computation schemes.
The goal of this project is to demonstrate the application of modern control
techniques such as LQG, H-infinity and Kalman filtering to non-classical optical
states suitable for optical quantum computation.
Description of Work:
• Design and build the non-classical plant;
• Define H-infinity control objectives;
• Design and construct optimal controllers.
UNDERWATER NETWORKS
Project:
High Capacity Underwater Networks
Program Code: 1885 or 1643
Supervisor:
Prof Michael Frater (
[email protected])
Objectives:
This project is part of a larger program to build a low-cost, large-scale, high-capacity
underwater sensor network consisting of thousands of nodes. The aim of this project
is to understand the bounds on the performance of underwater networks, and to
develop better networking protocols.
Description of Work:
• Apply ideas from information theory to underwater networks
• Investigate scalability of networking protocols for underwater networks
• Develop improved protocols for underwater networks.
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Project:
Distributed Processing in Underwater Sensor Networks
Program Code: 1885 or 1643
Supervisor:
Prof Michael Frater (
[email protected])
Objectives:
This project is part of a larger program to build a low-cost, large-scale, high-capacity
underwater sensor network consisting of thousands of nodes. The aim of this project
is to develop algorithms for sharing and processing sensor data from large numbers
of low-quality sensors. Applications include measurement of environmental data such
as ocean currents, and direction finding for underwater transmitters.
Description of Work:
• Investigate suitability of distributed processing algorithms for underwater
networks
• Adapt and improve selected algorithms for the underwater environment
• Implement algorithms in a large-scale sensor network.
WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS & SIGNAL PROCESSING
Project:
Networks Wireless Self Organising
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
Dr. Mark C. Reed (
[email protected])
Objectives:
The aim of this project is to research self-organizing wireless Heterogeneous
Networks (HetNets) and specifically investigate techniques and methods to improve
the performance of such systems. The goal is to develop a simulation environment of
a Self Organising Heterogeneous Network and realize new performance enhancing
approaches to self-organising networks. The candidate should have excellent
programming skills with motivation and a desire to learn about a new area. Skills in
wireless communications and mathematics are highly desirable.
Description of Work:
The work will involve simulations and mathematical analysis of wireless cellular
networks to assist in developing novel outcomes. MATLAB is the simulation platform
of choice.
Project:
Compressed Sensing for Radar and Radio Communications
Program Code: 1643
Supervisor:
Dr. Mark C. Reed (
[email protected])
Objectives:
The aim of this project is to research compressed sensing techniques for Radar and
communication systems. Specifically this project will investigate techniques and
methods to improve the performance and efficiency of Radar and radio
communication systems. The goal is to develop a simulation environment and use
mathematical analysis to validate the results. The candidate should have excellent
programming skills with motivation and a desire to learn about a new area. Skills in
wireless communications and mathematics are highly desirable.
Description of Work:
The work will involve simulations and mathematical analysis of radar and wireless
radio systems with the aim of developing novel outcomes. MATLAB is the simulation
platform of choice.
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SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
http://hass.unsw.adfa.edu.au/
For all of the research areas listed below, please contact the Postgraduate
Coordinator, A/Prof Craig Stockings:
[email protected].
INTERNATIONAL AND POLITICAL STUDIES PROGRAM International Relations
(IR) theory Cosmopolitanism and global politics International organisations Political
and social theory Ethics and world politics International political theory (IPT) Ethics of
war/just war theory Questions of moral responsibility and agency/moral agency
Human rights Democracy and democratisation Terrorism Critical approaches to
international relations The role of political ideas Theories of citizenship State
personhood Political culture Respect and toleration Social cohesion and national
identity Liberal multiculturalism Breastfeeding and state policy Political economy and
economic ideas Asian politics & Asian regional security Australian politics and
foreign/defence policy Politics and international relations of Southeast Asia AustraliaAsia relations Australian political history Burma 19th and 20th century Sarawak
Arabs in southeast Asian history and politics Southeast Asian politics Alternative
security agendas and policy Critical approaches to war, strategy and peace Ethnic
conflict Ethics of intelligence collection Ethics of secession International statecraft
Critical security studies anticipatory war 'Preventive’ and ‘pre-emptive’ self defense
Responsibility to protect/humanitarian intervention Convergence of aid and security
policy Air power Koreas · Politics and international relations of Southeast Asia ·
Australia-Asia relations · Terrorism · Maritime security issues · Non-traditional
security.
HISTORY PROGRAM · History of the two World Wars · Australian history ·
Australian military history · Cold War conflicts · German history · British & Empire
history (including colonial defence) · Economic history · Asian history · Naval history.
SOUTHEAST ASIAN SOCIAL INQUIRY PROGRAM ·Agency and local politics in
post-authoritarian and decentralised Indonesia · Indonesian literature and cultural
history · Islam and globaliasation · labour issues · Local community and disaster
relief · Religion and social development in Southeast Asia ENGLISH PROGRAM ·
Australian literature and literary history in all aspects · War literature and the cultural
representation of conflict · Scholarly editing and bibliography · Book history,
censorship, and literary production and reception · American studies · Film and
literary adaptation studies · Postcolonial and indigenous literatures · Early modern
and nineteenth-century British literature.
ETHICS PROGRAM · Applied Ethics · Business Ethics · Theoretical Ethics · Military
Ethics & the Ethics of Conflict · Ethical Decision-making · Political Philosophy
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SCHOOL OF PHYSICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL &
MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
http://pems.unsw.adfa.edu.au/
APPLIED MATHEMATICS
Project:
Efficient Operation of Bioreactors using Nonlinear Dynamical
Systems Theory
Program Code: 1881
Supervisor:
A/Prof H.S. Sidhu ([email protected])
Co-Supervisor Dr Mark Nelson
Project Description & Objectives:
A recent novel strategy, using two bioreactors in series with one forcing the other,
has shown promising results in terms of yield improvement. Work so far has been
preliminary, and has relied only upon numerical calculations. This approach is not
only slow but has been reported to omit optimum operating conditions. This
interdisciplinary project will apply systematic, efficient and robust mathematical
techniques from dynamical systems theory to such reactor engineering problems. We
will also establish a general framework by which multiple reactor chemical or
bioengineering systems (such as sludge wastewater treatment plants, production of
ethanol via fermentation tanks) can be efficiently investigated to determine optimum
reactor performance.
Project:
Developing realistic models for stressed ecosystems
Program Code: 1881
Supervisor:
Dr Zlatko Jovanoski ([email protected])
Co-Supervisor A/Prof Harvinder Sidhu and Dr Isaac Towers
Project Description and Objective:
Many ecosystems are “stressed” when external perturbations such as pollution, land
clearing and sudden shocks to the environment arise. However, most current
models that are used by ecologists do not take the changing environment into
consideration. Recent models developed by our group directly couple the dynamics
of one or two species with their environments. This is achieved by treating the
carrying capacity, a proxy for the state of the environment, as a state variable in the
governing equations of the model. Thereby, any changes to the environment can be
naturally reflected in the survival, movement and competition of the species within
the ecosystem.
In the case of two competing species (such as the classical predator-prey models)
with variable carrying capacity, we have shown from our earlier work that the
dynamics can be different. Here, the ultimate state for the ecosystem depends on
the developmental rate of the environment (for instance rehabilitation of the
environment). For a range of values below some threshold, persistence of both
species which are in equilibrium with its environment can occur. However, beyond
this threshold, the prey always dies out. This has immediate consequences relating
to conservation that may need to be addressed. In other words, it may be necessary
Our current models, however, do not adequately represent realistic ecosystems. The
species have a single age-structure and both the species and environment change
instantaneously to external perturbations and stressors.
In reality, the feedback about the state of the environment (available resources)
reaches with a delay due to various factors such as generation and maturation
periods, differential resource consumption with respect to age-structure, hunger
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threshold levels, migration and diffusion of populations, markedly differing birth rates
in interaction species and delays in behavioural responses to a changing
environment.
Realistic models must account for these disparate sources of feedback by
incorporating (multiple) time delays. In other contexts, it is known that delays can
cause instability in the system giving rise to oscillatory or even chaotic dynamics.
We will employ a combination of analytic and numerical methods to investigate the
dynamics of an ecosystem with time delays. Of particular importance is to establish
critical values for the onset of instabilities which often signals changes in the
dynamics of the ecosystem. This can lead to a better understand of the long term
survivability of a particular species whose environment is stressed.
Project:
Multi-step combustion mode
Program Code: 1881
Supervisor:
A/Prof H.S. Sidhu ([email protected])
Co-Supervisor Dr Zlatko Jovanoski and Dr Isaac Towers
Project Description & Objectives:
Inefficient combustion arising from instabilities during industrial processes adversely
affects the environment and has serious safety and economic implications. Current
modelling schemes are (i) single-step kinetics which oversimplify the process; (ii)
detailed schemes that allow only numerical investigation without providing a deeper
understanding of the underlying behaviour. To enable a better understanding of
combustion dynamics we will investigate reactions ranging from two- to multi-step
kinetics in several configurations using mathematical tools developed by our group.
In the process, we will be tackling the fundamental problem of efficient algorithms for
analysing the stability of solutions from differential equations. This has immediate
applications to various fields of science.
Project:
Nonlinear Effects in Bent Optical Waveguides
Program Code: 1881
Supervisor:
Dr Zlatko Jovanoski ([email protected])
Project description: A detailed theoretical study of non-linear effects in bent optical
waveguides is proposed. This involves the numerical modelling and solution of the
equations describing the propagation of light in non-linear bent waveguides. With the
continuing development of optical communications systems it is fundamentally
important to understand how light beams that have intensities in the non-linear
regime are affected by bends in the waveguide. Once this behaviour is modelled, the
potential exists to exploit the polarization and pulse propagation properties of nonlinear light beams in bent structures to systematically design optical devices for use
in future all-optical communication systems.
The specific aims are:
• To begin the basic mathematical analysis using continuous-wave theory
that will be used to synthesize the theory of bends and nonlinearities.
• To extend the basic theory to include the effects of polarisation, taking into
account different waveguide structures. This is the first stage of this grant
proposal.
• To build into the theory the effect of propagating frequency-dependent
pulses, and comparing results to continuous-wave theory.
• To move to a more advanced mathematical regime and examine the full
theory of bends and nonlinearity, where now the nonlinearity may be high
enough to change the transverse modal field.
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Project:
Optimizing performance of chemical reactions via periodic
operation
Program Code: 1881
Supervisor:
A/Prof H.S. Sidhu ([email protected])
Co-Supervisor Prof A.A. Adesoji & Dr Mark Nelson
Project Description & Objectives:
The project examines the use of mathematical analysis to determine the best
parameters for minimum resource use for a exothermic chemical reactor (such as
that used for the production of hydrogen (a clean fuel) from liquefied petroleum gas).
This makes the new reactor applicable to petrochemical and fuel cell industries for
both stationary and mobile purposes like cars, space craft and oil tankers.
More specifically the project aims to:
•
Evaluate the unsteady-state model for the periodic flow catalytic reactor
(PFCR) in order to provide a basis for computer-aided prediction of its
performance for wide ranging input conditions as may be encountered in
practical situations.
Optimize cycle parameters (frequency, split, etc) to achieve thermal self-sustainability
simultaneously with coke minimization in the PFCR and hence, establish a dynamic
optimal control strategy for product selectivity for either stationary or mobile
application.
Project:
Pattern formation in a predator-prey model with nutrient
enrichment
Program Code: 1881
Supervisor:
Dr Isaac Towers ([email protected])
Co-Supervisor Dr Zlatko Jovanoski and A/Prof Harvinder Sidhu
Project Description and Objective:
Ecological systems are characterised by the interaction between species and their
natural environment. Such interaction may occur over a wide range of spatial and
temporal scales.
Predator-prey dynamics change when the environment is no longer constant but
changes with the presence of a biotic or an abiotic resource. The effect of the
resource is accounted for by including an addition rate equation to the predator-prey
model. In this project the carrying capacity of both the predator and prey are
assumed to depend on the resource density. In this way we can model the effect of
environmental enrichment on the stability of the predator and prey populations. This
leads to the so called ratio-depend models. The ratio-dependent predator-prey
models are known to exhibit very rich temporal dynamics.
On the other hand, we live in a spatial world, and spatial patterns are ubiquitous in
nature, these patterns modify the temporal dynamics and stability properties of
population densities at a range of spatial scales, their effects must be incorporated in
temporal ecological models that do not represent space explicitly.
Pattern formation in nonlinear complex systems is one of the central problems of the
natural, social, and technological sciences. Spatial patterns and aggregated
population distributions are common in nature and in a variety of spatiotemporal
models with local ecological interactions.
We investigate the emergence of a ratio-dependent predator-prey system with
resource enrichment and reaction-diffusion. We seek to understand the effect of
nutrient enrichment on the process of pattern formation. Specifically,
:
• understand the combined effects of enrichment and of diffusion on pattern
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•
•
•
formation,
investigate how enrichment changes the symmetry-breaking bifurcations that
lead to spatiotemporal patterns and their stability.
determine if stationary patterns are sensitive to the initial conditions,
establish the role enrichment plays on spatially chaotic patterns.
Although this project is theoretical in nature, it may however be applicable to an
aquatic community in a real marine environment.
ASTRONOMY
Project:
Star Formation in Dark Clouds
Program Code: 1892
Supervisor:
Dr Robert G. Smith ([email protected])
Objectives:
This project examines star formation in dark clouds in the plane of the galaxy.
Background: The earliest stages of star formation which can be reasonably studied
are when a dense core forms within a dusty envelope in a dark cloud. This is
followed by the formation of a disk and bipolar outflows. As the star evolves, the
envelope transfers all its mass to the disc and the disc in turn transfers this to the
core (which will eventually become a star) and the outflows disappear. Each of these
stages has characteristic signatures which can be seen in different parts of the
spectrum, radio, infrared and optical. The problem is recognizing which dark clouds
are likely to form stars and determining what type (i.e. mass) of star is likely to be
formed. One step on the way to understanding these problems is identifying and
studying more stars at this stage of their evolution.
Description of Work:
• Initially, data from available online catalogues of infrared observations
(2MASS and Spitzer GLIMPSE) will be used to first map the dust density
distribution in the dark cloud regions to locate likely sites of recent star
formation and then (from the catalogue colours), to identify candidate Young
Stellar Objects (YSOs) within these clouds;
• Subsequently, the YSO’s will be studied using ground-based infrared, optical
and radio telescopes to identify their evolutionary status and characterize
their disks and/or envelopes;
• The initial dust density distributions will be combined with existing radio
atomic and molecular line surveys for those dark clouds in which YSO’s are
identified to distinguish between those with and without star formation.
ATMOSPHERIC PHYSICS AND METEOROLOGY
Project:
A new Radio Acoustic Sounding System (RASS) for probing
fog
Program Code: 1892
Supervisor:
Dr John Taylor ([email protected])
Objectives:
To develop a combined acoustic and electromagnetic instrument, a RASS, that
operates in the 2.4 to 3.0 GHz band and is able to resolve the temperature structure
in the lowest 150 m of the nocturnal boundary layer. This instrument will then be
utilized in an investigation of methods for predicting local fog formation and
clearance.
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Description of Work:
• We have a RASS that operates at a radio frequency of 1.275 GHz. The initial
part of this project would be to use this as the basis of a “mini” RASS that
operates at approximately twice the frequency, hence has double the spatial
and temporal resolution, of the present instrument.
• Once the developed and tested we could use the temperature and wind profiles
from the RASS and a high frequency sonar to test a range of models for fog
formation and clearance. Earlier work suggests that a dynamical onedimensional model may be useful for “now casting” fog clearance.
Project:
Development and application of an improved electromagnetic
wind profiler.
Program Code: 1892
Supervisor:
Dr John Taylor ([email protected])
Objectives:
To improve the range and resolution of our existing 1275 MHz boundary layer wind
profiler by incorporating pulse coding and compare the wind and turbulence
information from this instrument with the Bureau of Meteorology’s operational 70
MHz spaced antenna profiler located at Canberra Airport.
Description of Work:
• We have a prototype 1275 MHz boundary layer wind profiler that we used
for a successful field experiment in south eastern Australia in 2000. We
would like to modify this system to include pulse coding to improve its range
and resolution. The initial part of this project would involve working on the
hardware and software for the system.
• Once completed, we would look at data obtained simultaneously from our
1275 MHz system and the Bureau of Meteorology's operational 70 MHz
boundary layer wind profiler installed at Canberra airport. This part of the
project would focus on the information about the atmosphere that can be
acquired by having these two systems (almost) co-located.
Project:
Testing the representation of boundary layer turbulence in
mesoscale meteorological models
Program Code: 1892
Supervisor:
Dr John Taylor ([email protected])
The numerically-based forecasting of mesoscale meteorological phenomena, such
as sea breezes, thunderstorm outflows and other density-driven flows, are dependent
on the accuracy of the turbulence parameterization in the model. This is because
density-driven flows in the atmosphere are generally embedded within the
atmospheric boundary layer, and characteristics such as their propagation speed and
velocity structure will be dependent on the vertical exchange of momentum within the
boundary layer.
Ground-based remote sensing instrumentation provides information on some key
atmospheric turbulence parameters beyond the height range that is readily
accessible to surface- and tower-based instrumentation, and over much longer
periods of time than can be acquired with airborne sensors such as aircraft or
moored balloons and kites.
Within the Lower Atmosphere Research Group in the School of PEMS, UNSW
Canberra, there is an extensive set of spectral data from acoustic wind profilers, or
SODARs (SOund Detection And Ranging systems), collected in regions in Australia
ranging from tropical far northern Queensland to the Canberra region in south
eastern Australia. A wide range of interesting mesoscale phenomena have been
captured in this data. The principles of deriving turbulence information from sodar
data are relatively well understood, so that this data set provides a valuable resource
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for testing the turbulence parameterisations built into mesoscale models.
The objectives of this project would be:
1. To complete the analysis of the sodar data set to extract turbulence
parameters and estimates of the parameter reliability;
2. Compare cases from the sodar data set with selected numerical runs for a
range of flow phenomena: sea breezes and plateau winds; frontal systems;
convective outflows; atmospheric solitary waves; etc.
3. Use a statistical approach to compare model predictions with observations
over the full periods of the available data sets.
The Lower Atmosphere Research Group in PEMS has used the meteorology
component of the CSIRO model TAPM (The Air Pollution Model) in previous studies,
and it will also be used in addressing objectives 2 and 3 above. For the case study
component (2) we intend to access numerical simulations from other mesoscale
models such as MM5. This component of the work will be in collaboration with the
Centre for Dynamical Meteorology and Oceanography at Monash University, who
were also involved in the northern Queensland sodar deployments as part of ARC
DP0558793.
CHEMISTRY
Project:
Dinuclear ruthenium complexes as therapeutic agents
Program Code: 1871
Supervisor:
A/Prof Grant Collins ([email protected])
Brief outline of proposed research
We have recently demonstrated the potential of inert bulky dinuclear ruthenium
complexes as DNA and RNA binding agents. These ruthenium complexes show a
significant selectivity and affinity for non-duplex structures
loops. They bind non-covalently in the minor groove and preferentially target specific
non-duplex DNA/RNA sites by matching the shape, symmetry and functionalities of
the metal complex to the nucleic acid target. However, for a dinuclear ruthenium
complex to be converted into a therapeutic agent requires significantly stronger
binding at non-duplex sites that control a disease (such as cancer and HIV-AIDS).
The aim of the proposed research is to synthesise analogues of our current dinuclear
ruthenium complexes that can covalently bind non-duplex sites. Two basic
approaches are proposed for the ruthenium complexes: (i) the incorporation of labile
chloro ligands, and (ii) the incorporation of “dangling” amines, which upon
intracellular activation can covalently react with DNA/RNA.
Di- and trinuclear ruthenium complexes containing chloro groups or “dangling”
amines will be prepared, and their binding to specific non-duplex DNA and RNA
structures will be examined by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. In
addition, the intracellular transport and organelle localisation will be studied using
confocal microscopy. Finally, all the analytical results will be correlated with the
determined therapeutic effect against a variety of disease types.
Project:
New compounds of iridium for use in supramolecular
assemblies
Program Code: 1871
Supervisor:
Dr Lynne Wallace ([email protected])
Objectives:
This project will involve the development of synthetic methods for the preparation of
novel redox-active iridium(III) complexes that have the potential for use in many
areas such as nanotechnology, photovoltaic devices or anti-cancer therapy. The
redox and optical properties of the new species will be characterized and their
suitability for incorporation into supramolecular assemblies will be investigated.
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Description of Work:
• Synthesize and purification of new and established iridium(III) polypyridyl
complexes, both mononuclear and multinuclear.
• Investigate the electrochemical and spectroscopic behaviour of the free
complexes in various media to extend our knowledge of such systems; and
utilise this knowledge in the design of new complexes.
• Extend the work to include measurements on host-guest species and
multinuclear complexes and assess their potential for use in various types of
supramolecular assemblies such as molecular switches, photovoltaics or
electrochromic devices.
Project:
Studies in desalination and water treatment
Program Code: 1871
Supervisor:
Prof Ric Pashley ([email protected])
Brief outline of the proposed research project
There are several projects in desalination and water treatment. Each project is
directly linked to commercial applications.
1. We recently developed a novel bubble column evaporator (BCE) method for
measuring the latent heat of vaporization (Hv) of concentrated salt solutions.
[see: J. Phys. Chem. B 113, 9311-9315 (2009).] However, although
established in principle, the method used was crude and hence only gave
values to about 3% accuracy. There is a need to develop an improved method
which will enable new values to be obtained for concentrated electrolyte
solutions, above 1M. A second part of this project involves the study of the
BCE as new method for the controlled production of fine particles.
2. The two main industrial processes for seawater desalination are membrane
reverse osmosis (SWRO) and thermal distillation (such as MSF methods).
However, both methods have some serious disadvantages. Mixed bed ion
exchange resins have been used for many years to remove scale-forming
ions such as Ca2+ and Mg2+ from feed water and to produce distilled
quality water from tap water. However, this process could, in principle, also
be applied to the desalination of seawater, overcoming the main
disadvantages of the current methods. The aim of the project is to develop a
specifically designed ion exchange resin suitable for the efficient desalination
of seawater and brackish water.
3. We previously established that at high salt concentrations, air bubble
columns can be produced at high bubble volume fractions without the
bubbles coalescing. As they pass through the column, these bubbles rapidly
pick up water vapour, which can then be condensed to produce high drinking
quality water. This system will be developed and studied for its potential
application as a sustainable, energy efficient seawater desalination process.
4. We are currently working with a NSW company on a new combined
blackwater/greywater household treatment and recycling system. Currently,
17% of households in Australia treat their waste water on site. Mostly they
use septic tanks which are hard to maintain and often leak contaminated
water into the groundwater. A novel household treatment and recycling unit
will not only prevent this contamination but will also reduce household water
usage.
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CHEMISTRY/PHYSICS/MATHEMATICS
Project:
Interactions in Biological Systems
Program Code: 1871, 1881
Supervisor:
A/Prof Cliff Woodward ([email protected])
Objectives:
Molecular interactions, such as the hydrophobic force, van der Waals interactions
and electrostatics are of great importance in the study of many biological systems.
For example, interactions between proteins are vital for the explanation of many
diseases and cures. Furthermore, the interaction of bio-molecules and man-made
molecules (such as drugs and polymer) are of great importance to the pharmacy
industry. This project uses a range of theoretical methods to study these
interactions. These include mathematical modelling and computer simulation. It
involves collaboration between theoreticians and experimentalists in Sweden and
Brazil.
Description of Work:
• develop theoretical methods for the description of interactions in biosystems
• develop computer algorithms for numerical solutions of the theory
• apply the methods to a range of model scenarios including those
determined by experimental partners
• Related publication: Lund, Mikael; Jungwirth, Pavel; Woodward, CE. Phys
Rev Letts, 100(25), 258105/1-258105/4, 2008
Project:
Study of Ionic Liquids
Program Code: 1871, 1881
Supervisor:
A/Prof Cliff Woodward ([email protected])
Objectives:
Ionic Liquids are a new class of environmentally friendly liquids that are set to
revolutionize modern industry. We have begun a study of the properties of ionic
liquids, together with researchers in industry in Australia, as well as researchers in
Sweden. Our study uses mathematical techniques that we have developed in our
group for polymeric fluids, in order to study the equilibrium properties of ionic liquids
at charged interfaces and in the presence of nanoparticles. Our work will also
investigate the dynamical properties of ionic liquids, especially electro-kinetic
phenomena.
Description of Work:
• develop methods, based on density functional theory, suitable for
application to ionic liquids
• develop computer algorithms for numerical solutions of the theory
• apply the methods to a range of model scenarios including those
determined by industrial partners
• Related publication: Woodward, CE.; Forsman, J,. Phys Rev Letts 100(9),
098301/1-098301/4,. 2008
Project:
Theory of Nanoparticle Polymer Mixtures
Program Code: 1871, 1881
Supervisor:
A/Prof Cliff Woodward ([email protected])
Objectives:
We will use state of the art theoretical methods to study the microscopic structure of
nanoparticle/polymer mixtures. These systems are important for many applications
in science engineering and medicine. Specific applications include: self-healing
materials; detection methods for security applications; drug release; quantum dots
etc.
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The suitable candidate for this project will be in the area of either mathematics,
computer science or chemical/materials engineering. This project will use novel
mathematical and computational modelling, so the applicant needs to have a
background in these areas.
Description of Work:
• develop methods, based on density functional theory, suitable for
application to nanoparticle/polymer mixtures
• develop computer algorithms for numerical solutions of the theory
• apply the methods to a range of model scenarios
• related publication: Forsman, J, Woodward, C E, Phys Rev Letts 94(11),
118301/1-118301/4, 2005
GEOGRAPHY
Project:
Alternative food economies and urban agriculture in Australian
cities
Program Code:
Supervisor:
Alec Thornton
Co-Supervisor Scott Sharpe
Objectives:
A key aim of this study is to understand local attitudes and perceptions towards
various forms of urban agriculture (e.g. community, market and backyard gardens) as
a contributor to alternative local food networks. The urgent research problem that this
project will address is identifying pathways for cities to improve local food security in
an era of rapid urbanisation, escalating food costs and global warming. Expected
outcomes of this study are to (a) determine the relevance of local alternative food
networks to communities and city councillors and (b) constraints and opportunities for
civic engagement in urban food production.
Description of Work:
This project will involve qualitative and quantitative research methods, in the form of
interviews and questionnaire surveys of those engaged in urban agriculture.
Participant observation and action research are also considered.
Project:
Bystander Anti-racism: a study of enablers and constraints
Program Code: 1081
Supervisor:
Dr Scott Sharpe
Co-Supervisor
Objectives:
Well-publicised incidents of racial vilification have raised the issue of the role of
bystanders in combating or condoning such actions. Preliminary work suggests that a
lack of bystander action in racist incidents can compound the injury suffered since
victims perceive this lack as tacit support for the perpetrators of such actions. Yet
should ‘speaking out’ be the only strategy? More recently, researchers have drawn
attention to a series of more subtle actions and everyday incivilities that form the
backdrop for these more obvious incidents and which increase the sense of hostility
racialised subjects feel in public space. Sharpe and Hynes have indicated that direct
approaches to speaking out against racism are not without potential deleterious
effects, especially in the case of more subtle events, since they risk entrenching
victimhood and further racialising subjectivities.
Description of Work:
• Contribute to the theorisation of the ‘event’
• Distinguishing between intensive and extensive concepts of racialised
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•
•
•
•
subjectivity
Examining the range of variables that enables or constrains bystanders for
standing up for victims of racial abuse
Examining how context and geography shapes bystander responses to racist
incidents
Exploring some of the more subtle forms or both racial incivilities and ‘slow
anti-racism’
Investigate the role of new media in shaping perceptions of public incidents of
racism
Project:
Biofuels Research, Policy and Adoption in Agricultural
Systems
Program Code: 1081
Supervisor:
A/Prof Stuart Pearson ([email protected])
Objectives:
To improve the understanding of the drivers of biofuel research, policy and
agricultural adoption in Australia and China.
Description of work:
• Complete an environmental scan to develop a systematic understanding of the
drivers of biofuel policy in Australia and China.
• Develop insights into the similarities and differences in the ways biofuel
research, policy and adoption occurs in Australia and China.
• Explore the way risk and uncertainty emerge in the way biofuel research, policy
and adoption in agriculture occurs.
• Determine the most useful analytical framework for evaluating the impact of
biofuel research on policy and agricultural practice.
Project:
Comparative analysis of Australia and China’s marine
resources management approaches and scenarios for the
future
Program Code: 1081
Supervisor:
A/Prof Stuart Pearson ([email protected])
Objectives:
To improve the understanding of the drivers in Australia and China’s approaches to
Ocean (or Coastal) management and develop credible future scenarios to inform
discussion.
Description of Work:
• Complete an environmental scan to develop a systematic understanding of the
drivers of ocean (or coastal) policy in Australia and China with a focus on the
slow-moving variables and possible triggering events.
• Develop a set of scenarios that are built out of the existing evidence and trends
to discuss.
• Interview managers, regulators, investors and other stakeholders about the
ways these scenarios interact with current models of change.
• Determine the usefulness of environmental scanning to identify opportunities
and threats in Ocean policy.
Project:
Implications of peak oil (energy stress) on lifestyles in urban
and rural environments in Australia
Program Code: 1081
Supervisor:
Dr Paul Tranter ([email protected])
Dr Scott Sharpe ([email protected])
Objectives:
Based on recent spikes in global oil prices, this project examines implications for
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quality of life in urban and rural locations in Australia.
Possible themes:
• Impact of increased oil prices on children’s rights and freedoms
• Development of policies to respond to or adapt to increased oil prices
• Impact of oil prices on food production, health, and transport
• Oil alternatives in rural and urban Australia.
• Increased oil price and its affects on community
Project:
Investigating the use and design of static and interactive
cartograms
Program Code: 1081
Supervisor:
Dr Amy Griffin ([email protected])
Objectives:
Static and animated cartograms are becoming more commonly used (and misused)
as forms of data visualization in a number of disciplines and in the mass media. The
main objectives of this project are to 1) compare the ability of users to understand
information in cartograms generated with a variety of different algorithms and 2) to
compare the performance of cartograms with other forms of representing thematic
information (e.g., choropleth maps).
Description of Work:
• Generate static and interactive cartograms using a number of different
algorithms/methodologies.
• Design and carry out user studies that investigate the perceptual and
cognitive processes cartogram readers employ when viewing cartograms.
• Develop a series of design guidelines that can be used to help cartogram
producers generate cartograms that are effective in representing thematic
data.
Project:
Maps and emotions
Program Code: 1081
Supervisor:
Dr Amy Griffin ([email protected])
Co-Supervisor
Objectives:
Cartographers studying the use of maps have devoted considerable attention to
understanding the perceptual and cognitive processes involved in map reading, and
have developed several sets of guidelines for designing maps that are useful to end
users. However, cartography as a field has almost completely ignored the role of
emotions in map use. This is despite the fact that psychologists know that emotions
are important for many processes we undertake using maps, such as decision
making. The objective of this project is to develop methods that can reliably measure
a map reader’s emotional state both in the lab and ‘in the wild’.
Description of Work:
This project involves the development of methodological procedures to measure
emotional states, and that lead to reliable and robust information about how people
feel when undertaking a variety of map reading tasks. Case study applications that
demonstrate the utility of including measurements of emotional states when studying
map use will also be developed.
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Project:
Marina development in Australia and China – organising the
knowledge of environmental and economic impacts
Program Code: 1081
Supervisor:
A/Prof Stuart Pearson ([email protected])
Objectives:
To improve the understanding of the issues associated with marina developments in
Australia and China with the purpose of improving decision-making.
Description of work:
• Complete environmental fieldwork in Australia to describe the current legal,
social, economic and environmental impacts
• Integrated this with an understanding of the way these are organised and
managed by local and regional governments.
• Identify the opportunities that integrated management provides in change
management, development controls, tenure, access, offsets, water quality and
safety
• Assess options, including polycentric governance models to provide more
adaptive and participative management of coastal zone issues associated with
marinas.
Project:
Marine Parks: Sustainable Growth in Conservation
Program Code: 1081
Supervisor:
A/Prof Stuart Pearson ([email protected])
Objectives:
To explore the use of Marine Protected Areas to achieve environmental and political
outcomes in Australia and China.
Description of work:
• Develop an understanding of the arrangement of marine parks in Australia and
the rationale and process of their declaration.
• Explore the issues associated with marine protected areas from a variety of
viewpoints.
• Identify risks and opportunities associated with Marine Protected Areas and how
these might be managed.
• Develop an evaluative and knowledge framework for evaluating marine
protected areas.
Project:
Research Impact in Australia and China
Program Code: 1081
Supervisor:
A/Prof Stuart Pearson ([email protected])
Objectives:
To improve the understanding of research impact and the drivers of research
investment in Australia and China’s natural resource management fields.
Description of work:
The impact of research done on natural resource management (the management of
soils, water, fish stocks, biodiversity or vegetation) is a fertile area that offers benefits
to private and public investors around the World. However, it is also challenging to
track the impact of the research investment. Because of complexity in attribution,
spill-overs, discounting and program design there is considerable confusion about
the marginal returns on additional research investments. There is a need to better
understand how research impact can be evaluated and how improvements can be
included in ongoing research programs.
• Complete an environmental scan to develop a systematic understanding of the
drivers of natural resource management research investment decisions in Australia
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and China.
• Develop specific case-study insights into the ways research programs procure
knowledge to achieve impact from the triple bottom line perspective (social,
environmental and economic)
• Explore the ways risk and uncertainty knowledge of natural resource management
are considered in research investments.
• Determine or develop the most useful analytical framework for evaluating the
impact of research to guide practice, policy and research.
Project:
Resource governance for sustainable community
development and economic growth
Program Code: 1081
Supervisor:
Dr Alec Thornton ([email protected])
Co-Supervisor Prof Satish Chand ([email protected])
Objectives:
This study aims to (a) analyse the power relationships existing between foreign
mining companies and governments in developing countries where they operate and
(b) the legitimacy of ‘good governance’ claims amidst negotiations between these
companies and governments that seek to trade natural resource wealth for GDP
growth. So-called ‘good governance’ is the exercise of power in the management of
economic and social resources for development. In addition to good governance,
transparency and accountability by all stakeholders in the national extractive industry
are essential ingredients for economic performance. Project objectives are to develop
frameworks for extractive industries in post-conflict regions to operate as a
productive asset, based on the principles of sustainable development, which will
grow the economy without undermining indigenous people residing in mining affected
areas.
Description of Work:
This research will use a resource governance approach in a quantitative and
qualitative examination of extractive industry/host country relationships, to determine
to what extent government policy and foreign investment in resource extraction can
contribute to economic and social development.
Project:
Seeing environmental change from tree growth
Program Code: 1081
Supervisor:
A/Prof Stuart Pearson ([email protected])
Objectives:
To improve the understanding of the drivers of tree growth in Australia’s semi-arid
environments using tree rings and correlations to circulation systems.
Description of work:
• Complete environmental fieldwork in semi-arid Australia to recover wood
samples with a research team.
• Develop insights into the ocean and atmosphere circulation systems that drive
regional climates that are recorded in the trees’ growth.
• Collect environmental data and concepts to interpret ring width variations
measured using a microscope.
• Analyse the ring widths and other data to identify key drivers of environmental
change in Australian semi-arid environments and in surrounding oceans.
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Project:
Uncertainty visualization
Program Code: 1081
Supervisor:
Dr Amy Griffin ([email protected])
Co-Supervisor
Objectives:
All kinds of scientific endeavours involve measurement. No scientific measurement is
perfect – that is to say, measurements include errors. Policy makers then take data
and make decisions based upon that data (at least sometimes!). However, often,
policy makers have little to no understanding of the uncertainties that are related to
that data and do not take them into account when making decisions. Typically these
uncertainties, if they are reported at all, are communicated with tables that are easily
ignored by data end users. Therefore, having good ways of communicating
uncertainties to data users is critically important to improving the extent to which
decision making processes take data uncertainty into account. The objective of this
project is to develop and empirically test new methods for representing uncertainty in
spatially referenced data with the end users of that data.
Description of Work:
• Develop uncertainty representation methods that can be applied to geospatial
data.
• Design and carry out user studies to test the effectiveness of these
representation methods for supporting decision making.
• Develop ways in which we can encourage GIScientists to regularly use and
adopt visual methods for representing uncertainty in geospatial data.
OCEANOGRAPHY
Project:
Characterisation of ocean forecast errors from an ocean
forecasting system
Program Code: 1082
Supervisor:
Dr Xiao Hua Wang ([email protected]) and Dr Gary
Brassington, Bureau of Meteorology
Co-Supervisor
Description of Work:
A state-of-the-art prediction system makes several assumptions about the errors of
the observing system, the ocean models, the atmospheric forcing and data
assimilation methodology. Correctly modelling and estimating these errors and
validating or improving these assumptions is critical to further improving
performance. This project will focus on the available database of forecast innovations
and increments from the BLUElink ocean prediction system and determine the
systematic bias as well as the statistical distribution. Specific methods will then be
developed to deconstruct and attribute error to different components of the system as
well as hypothesis testing.
Project:
Generalised dependence for the ocean sea drag
Program Code: 1082
Supervisor:
Dr Xiao Hua Wang ([email protected]), Prof Alex Babanin,
Swinburne University and Prof. Guan Changlong (OUC)
Co-Supervisor
Description of Work:
The sea--‐drag coefficient is the main property which is employed to parameterise
the air--‐sea interactions in large--‐scale models, from engineering applications to
climate research. Over the last 30 years, however, scatter of the experimental
dependences for the sea drag parameterised as a function of wind speed and/or
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wave age did not improve. The proposed project would intend to develop a
generalised parameterisation of the sea drag as a function of multiple environmental
forcings, for use in meteorological, climate and ocean engineering applications.
Project:
Impact of East Australian Current observations Tasman Sea
eddies in an ocean model
Program Code: 1082
Supervisor:
Dr Xiao Hua Wang ([email protected]) and Dr Eric Schulz,
Bureau of Meteorology
Co-Supervisor
Description of Work:
Can observations of the East Australian Current using a HF ocean surface radar
improve model forecast skill of meso-scale eddies in the Tasman Sea?
The study will use observations at Coffs Harbour (30S, 153E) which extend
approximately 100 km east across the East Australian Current (EAC) and perform
assimilation impact studies on a domain encompassing upstream of Coffs Harbour,
the EAC separation (at approximately Smoky Cape, 31 S), and the Tasman front
(across to New Zealand), with a particular emphasis on meso-scale eddies.
OSR observations
The HF OSR measures surface currents in the top few tens of centimetres of the
ocean, on a few km resolution with a range of around 100km over 10 minute time
scales. The OSR is part of the IMOS ACORN facility and is planned to commence
operation in February 2012. Routine data delivery could be expected by mid 2012.
Observations show the EAC is largely barotropic, so OSR should be representative
of the depth-integrated current.
The Ocean Model CLAM? Assimiliation
The HF OSR provides currents in regions where the two radars overlap (and the
subtended angles of the ray are greater than ~20 Outside of this region there is
another equally extensive area where there is only one useful current vector
component resolved. While not suited to visual interpretation, single current vector
components can be assimilated into ocean models.
The model already assimilates altimetry, SST and temperature and salinity profiles,
so any skill improvement will be in excess of this. The assimilation of HF OSR
observations may also be useful in the situation where altimetry is degraded (due to
loss of satellites or other problems). It would be useful to quantify the impact of
assimilating OSR currents in the absence (or reduction) of altimetry.
Possible candidate data-sets for skill evaluation are feature tracking, surface drifters
(these are probably drogue to a few metres depth), or synTS. The first two sources
will probably generate sparse data-sets. Maybe the evaluation will be achieved by
looking at the increments in SSH?
Links to other Work
We have previously looked at the impact of observations on models using the error
estimates in the data assimilation system (Oke et al., 2009). It would be instructive to
see how data withholding experiments compare to the observation network design
study tool.
Oke, P. R., Sakov, P. & Schulz, E.W., 2009, A comparison of shelf observation
platforms for assimilation in an eddy-resolving ocean model, Dynamics of
Atmospheres and Oceans, 48, 121-142, doi:10.1016/j.dynatmoce.2009.04.002.
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Project:
Internal Tides and Waves in the South China Sea
Program Code: 1082
Supervisor:
Dr Robin Robertson ([email protected])
Objectives:
• Learn to use a prominent ocean circulation model
• Investigate internal tides and waves in the South China Sea
Description of Work:
Large internal tides exceeding 50 m have been observed in the South China Sea.
These tides generate internal waves and induce mixing on the continental shelf.
They also induce non-linear solitons. The goal of this project is to investigate the
internal tide and wave fields in the South China Sea using both hydrostatic and nonhydrostatic models. The model results will be compared to observational data. This
work has implications for the regional oceanography of the South China Sea and for
investigations of internal tides and waves in other active regions, such as Australia’s
North West Shelf.
Project:
International Group for High Resolution Sea Surface
Temperature (GHRSST) TWP+ data set
Program Code: 1082
Supervisor:
Dr Xiao Hua Wang ([email protected]) and Dr Helen Beggs,
Bureau of Meteorology
Description of Work:
Helen Beggs leads the GHRSST Tropical Warm Pool Diurnal Variability (TWP+)
Project which aims to quantify diurnal warming of the surface ocean over the Tropical
Warm Pool to the north of Australia and to validate and compare various diurnal
variation models over this region.
The International Group for High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature
(GHRSST) TWP+ data set would be a great resource for any PhD student with a
background in either physical oceanography, air-sea heat exchange, marine
meteorology and/or satellite oceanography. Further information on the TWP+ Project
can be found at https://www.ghrsst.org/ghrsst-science/science-team-groups/dvwg/twp/ .
The GHRSST Workshop on Tropical Warm Pool and High Latitude SST Issues
(Melbourne, 5-9 March 2012) would be an excellent opportunity for a new PhD
student to choose a TWP+ related research project that matches their interests and
abilities. The workshop will focus on presentations relating to initial research for the
TWP+ Project and using the TWP+ data set during the three working days of the
GHRSST workshop. Further information on the GHRSST Workshop can be found at
https://www.ghrsst.org/ghrsst-science/Meetings-and-workshops/workshop-ontropical-warm-pool-and-high-latitude-issues/ including a draft agenda which lists the current TWP+ research activities.
Project:
Program Code:
Supervisor:
Co-Supervisor
Nepheloid layers in the Changjiang (Yangtze River) estuary
1082
Dr Xiao Hua Wang ([email protected])
Dr Houjie Wang, OUC; Dr Weibin Guan, Second Institute of
Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, China
Objectives:
This project will characterize the nepheloid layers in the Changjiang estuary and
develop new numerical models to investigate these layers. It will examine the role of
the nepheloid layers in determining coastal ocean dynamics and in transporting
sediments from the river to the East China Sea. A comparison study of the nepheloid
layer and sediment processes before and after the construction of the Three Gorges
Dam (TGD) will also be conducted in this project.
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Description of Work:
• Collect and synthesize pre- and post-TGD sediment, hydrology and
meteorology data from the Changjiang estuary and build a multivariate marine
and meteorological database for model forcing, validation and calibration;
• Develop high resolution hydrodynamics and sediment transport models that are
capable of reproducing nepheloid layer process in Changjiang estuary;
• Combine observations and models of Changjiang estuary to extend our
knowledge about the structure and evolution of nepheloid layers and extent to
which current theory and models can make reliable and general predictions of
these layers pre- and post-TGD.
Project:
Nonlinear response of western boundary currents to variable
wind forcing
Program Code: 1082
Supervisor:
Dr Andrew Kiss ([email protected])
http://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/pems/research/kiss/
Objectives:
This project will investigate the nonlinear response of western boundary currents
(WBCs, such as the Kuroshio) to variations in wind forcing. Western boundary
currents have intrinsic variability due to their instabilities, but they are also driven
(indirectly) by winds which have their own time-dependence, such as an annual
cycle. Observed WBC variability may therefore be due to the interaction between
intrinsic instabilities and variations in wind forcing. Western boundary currents are
nonlinear, and initial investigations (Kiss, 2007) have shown that their response to
variable forcing includes nonlinear resonance and chaos, as expected for a driven
nonlinear oscillator.
The chaotic response is particularly interesting, because it leads to variability on
timescales far longer than either the forcing variability or the intrinsic WBC variability,
which may possibly pay a role in climate variability.
Description of Work:
The project will investigate this problem using MITgcm, Q-GCM or a similar model,
using a dynamical systems (“chaos theory”) approach to analyse the dynamics. Initial
experiments will use an idealized “box ocean” to cleanly reveal the physics. Further
work could investigate the effects of more realistic bathymetry and boundary shape,
and also the effects of two-way ocean-atmosphere coupling.
Reference:
A. E. Kiss (2007) “Nonlinear resonance and chaos in an ocean model”, Proc. CSIRO
Centre for Complex System Science & COSNet.
Workshop on Turbulence and Coherent Structures in Fluids, Plasmas, and Granular
Flows, The Australian National University, 10 - 13 January 2006, World Scientific
Lecture Notes in Complex Systems.
Project:
Predictive mapping of seabed cover, benthic habitats, benthic
biodiversity using multibeam bathymetry and backscatter
data
Program Code: 1082
Supervisor:
Dr Xiao Hua Wang ([email protected]) and Dr Zhi Huang,
Geoscience Australia
Co-Supervisor
Description of Work:
Coastal marine benthic environment, which is dreadfully under-studied, has
significant economic and conservation values. Sustainable management of this
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marine ecosystem requires high quality physical and biological datasets on the
benthic environment and scientific evidence on the interactions between these
physical and the biological variables. Modern mutlibeam sonar systems, with different
sonar frequencies, are capable of accurately mapping large area of seabed from
water depth of a few metres to thousands metres. They can provide high-resolution
and near-complete coverage of bathymetry and acoustic backscatter data for
mapping seabed substrata, benthic habitats and benthic biota.
The proposed project would involve intensive field campaigns collecting
multibeam data, water column data, sediment samples and biological data. The
collaboration with OUC is critical for the collection and analysis of these data. We
would provide expertise in the areas of data analysis, modelling and result
interpretation.
Project:
Sediment transport dynamics in the Great Barrier Reef,
Queensland, Australia
Program Code: 1082
Supervisor:
Dr Xiao Hua Wang ([email protected])
Co-Supervisor Dr Xueen Chen, OUC
Objectives:
Due to land clearance and grazing in the catchment areas of the Great Barrier Reef
(GBR) rivers, the inshore regions of the GBR are subject to enhanced fluxes of
suspended sediments from river runoff, causing bleaching and disappearance of
nearshore coral reefs. This project will, for the first time, combine observation and
numerical models to investigate the sediment transport dynamics in the GBR region.
By quantifying the sediment transport and defining its pathways from rivers to the
outer shelf of the GBR, the proposed research will directly address the water quality
issues of the GBR, thus help to better evaluate the impact of the land degradation on,
and manage and protect the GBR marine ecosystem that offers Australia with
tremendous economic, social and cultural values.
Description of Work:
• Collect and synthesise published historic sediment, hydrology and meteorology
data from the shelf of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and build a multi-variate
marine and meteorological database for model forcing, validation and calibration
• Develop high resolution hydrodynamics and sediment transport models that are
capable of reproducing nepheloid layer process on the shelf of the GBR;
• Combine observations and models of the GBR shelf to investigate the dynamics
of nepheloid layers and extent to which current theory and models can make
reliable and general predictions of nepheloid layers
• Also, sediment transport and pathways from the nearshore zone to the outer
shelf of the GBR within and above the nepheloid layers will be investigated.
The nepheloid layer effect on the BBL hydrodynamics and coastal ocean
circulation will be determined.
Project:
The Influence of Monsoons and the Southern Oscillation on
Transport and Mixing in the Indonesian Seas
Program Code: 1082
Supervisor:
Dr Robin Robertson ([email protected])
Co-Supervisor Dr Susan Wijffels, CSIRO, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Objectives:
• Learn to use a prominent ocean circulation model
• Improve transport simulations and estimates of mixing for the Indonesian Seas
• Determine the links between the transport and mixing and monsoons and the
Southern Oscillation
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Description of Work:
Present estimates of the transport through the Indonesian Seas from simulations fail
to correctly estimate the flow. Crude estimates of the tidal currents and mixing have
been shown to improve these estimates. By incorporating mean currents into tidal
simulations and simulating both the currents and the tides properly, further
improvements will be gained. The student will perform simulations using a widelyused ocean model and investigate the dependence of the transport and mixing on
the winds and conditions associated with monsoons and El Nino/La Nina. This work
has important implications both regionally for climate in the Austral-Asian region and
globally for the thermohaline circulation or global conveyor belt.
Project:
Tidal Influences on the Amundsen Ice Shelf (or other ice
shelves)
Program Code: 1082
Supervisor:
Dr Robin Robertson ([email protected])
Objectives:
• Learn to use a prominent ocean circulation model
• Determine the amount of melting of the ice shelf attributable to tides
• Investigate lifting and flexure of the ice shelf by tides.
Description of Work:
Collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) is expected to raise sea level by 6
m, a potentially disastrous event. The Amundsen Ice Shelf, believed to be a key
lynchpin for the WAIS, is melting at a rate over 10 times faster than other Antarctic
ice shelves. Along with the melt ponds, tides are believed to be a significant factor in
ice shelf dynamics and thermodynamics. In this project, the student will simulate
tides in the Amundsen Sea, including the ice shelf cavities. Using the model results,
the student will quantify tidal effects on the ice shelf, including lifting, flexure, and
melting from below.
Project:
Tides, Sea Ice, and the Thermohaline Circulation
Program Code: 1082
Supervisor:
Dr Robin Robertson ([email protected])
Objectives:
• Learn to use a coupled sea ice-ocean model
• Determine tidal effects on sea ice
• Investigate tidal influences on deep water production
Description of Work:
Tides have been identified as the prominent factor in sea ice dynamics over the
continental shelf in the Weddell Sea. Presently, few sea ice models include tidal
dynamics and few tidal models include sea ice, making tidal effects on sea ice
difficult to investigate. For this project, the student will investigate tidal effects on sea
ice using a coupled sea ice/ocean model. Model output will also be used to
determine changes in deep water production, which typically accompany changes in
the sea ice cover. This project has obvious implications for climate work not only in
the Antarctic and Arctic, but also globally from the connection between deep water
production and the global thermohaline circulation.
Project:
Transport and Mixing in the Straits of the Indonesian Seas
Program Code: 1082
Supervisor:
Dr Robin Robertson ([email protected])
Objectives:
• Learn to use a prominent ocean circulation model
• Perform fine scale simulations of the transport and mixing in the key straits of the
Indonesian Seas
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Description of Work:
Pacific Water is transformed in localized regions through mixing as it passes through
the Indonesian Seas. Due to its localized nature, coarser scale models estimate the
mixing poorly, particularly for narrow straits. Finer resolution simulations provide
more accurate estimates; however, the entire Indonesian Sea region is too large for
the optimal resolution. It is proposed that the student perform a series of fine scale
tidal simulations, including mean currents, for key straits in this region: Lombok,
Ombai, Makassar, and Timor. These simulations will identify localities of mixing and
provide improved estimates of the flows through the straits. Besides being useful for
shipping and naval operations, this work has important climate implications, both
regionally and globally.
Project:
Using hyperspectral remotely sensed data for monitoring
coastal water quality
Program Code: 1082
Supervisor:
Dr Xiao Hua Wang ([email protected]), Dr Zhi Huang,
Geoscience Australia, and Dr Xiuping Jia
Co-Supervisor
Description of Work:
Airborne Hyperspectral Remotely Sensed data has very high spatial and spectral
resolutions. It is therefore most suitable for fine-scale and detailed investigation of
coastal water quality. The hyperspectral reflectance is jointly influenced by a range of
physical and biochemical conditions in the near-surface water. These water quality
factors include chlorophyll, phytoplankton, dissolved organic materials, suspended
sediments, dissolved oxygen, and surface temperature, etc. The hyperspectral data
can thus be used to accurately estimate the concentrations of these water quality
parameters and to monitor their seasonal and annual changes.
The proposed project would involve intensive field campaigns collecting
hyperspectral data and water quality data at selected seasons. This would be
followed by solid data analysis to quantify the relationship of various water quality
factors to the reflectance at specific wavebands, which is highly significant and
challenging. The collaboration with OUC is critical for the collection and analysis of
these data. We would provide expertise in the areas of data processing, modelling
and result interpretation.
Project:
What ocean do Lagrangian observing platforms (e.g., Argo
and drifting buoys) observe?
Program Code: 1082
Supervisor:
Dr Xiao Hua Wang ([email protected]) and Dr Gary
Brassington, Bureau of Meteorology
Co-Supervisor
Description of Work:
In the mid- and high-latitudes the ocean circulation is composed largely of eddies
and fronts. In isolation an ocean eddy is relatively stable being in quasi-geostrophic
balance and retaining a closed material surface around its core water mass. It is
only through the disruption or destruction of this balance through eddy- interactions
that an exchange in mass with its environment takes place. Only at these times is it
possible for a Lagrangian observing platform to enter or exit the eddy circulation.
This poses many interesting questions such as how frequently do these platforms
observe eddies and what are the implications for constructing climatologies of the
ocean and ocean forecasting. This research would make use of state of the art high
resolution ocean models, analysis of altimetry and the in situ Argo and drifting buoy
observations available at the Bureau of Meteorology and the global ocean
observing system.
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PHYSICS (ADVANCED MATERIALS)
Project:
Coherent transients in inorganic crystals by frequencyswitching of diode lasers
Program Code: 1871, 1892
Supervisor:
Prof Hans Riesen ([email protected])
Objectives:
Coherent transient experiments, including optical free induction decay, photon
echoes and optical nutation, facilitate an understanding of subtlest details of
electronic structures in the solid state. The project aims to investigate the application
of coherent transients in chemically interesting systems, such as coordination
compounds, by laser-frequency switching of semiconductor (diode) lasers.
Description of Work:
• Establish the facile induction of coherent transients by laser frequency
switching of diode lasers by utilizing archetypal materials such as ruby,
emerald and the like.
• Transfer the technology to more challenging systems such as coordination
compounds.
• Studying the effects of external electric and magnetic fields on the coherent
transients.
• Gain a full theoretical understanding of the observed transients.
Project:
Crystal-fields and magnetic exchange in ternary rare earth
intermetallic compounds
Program Code: 1892
Supervisor:
Professor Seán Cadogan ([email protected])
Objectives:
Ternary rare-earth intermetallic compounds are important from both theoretical and
applied points of view. These compounds usually contain a transition element and a
metalloid element, in addition to the rare-earth, and this combination allows us to
study the role played by the f-d-p electrons in determining the magnetic structure of a
compound. We can also probe the fundamental magnetic exchange and crystal-field
interactions across a series of related compounds.
The crystal structures of ternary compounds can be quite complex, involving more
than one rare-earth site, and in some cases the different rare-earth sites show quite
independent magnetic behaviour from one another, which is somewhat unusual in
metallic systems. In this project we will investigate the magnetic exchange and
magneto-crystalline anisotropy mechanisms in ternary rare-earth intermetallics in
terms of fundamental building blocks whose local point symmetries form the basis for
the behaviour of the more complex ternary structures.
This work is mainly theoretical/computational and will involve the development of
computer programs to carry out crystal-field and exchange calculations for a variety
of ternary structures.
Description of Work:
• Analysis of the structural information on various series of ternary
intermetallics;
• Development of computer programs to carry out crystal-field and magnetic
exchange calculations;
• Determination of the underlying fundamental crystallographic symmetries of
complex ternary structures;
• Explanation of the magnetic and structural behaviour of complex ternaries in
terms of local exchange and crystal-field interactions.
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Project:
Determining the magnetic structures of rare earth compounds
Program Code: 1892
Supervisor:
Professor Seán Cadogan ([email protected])
Objectives:
Rare earth intermetallic compounds are important from both theoretical and applied
points of view. The magnetic structures adopted in these compounds allow us to
probe the fundamental magnetic exchange and crystal-field interactions across a
series of related compounds. Such compounds are also the basis for the World’s
strongest permanent magnets and they underpin the coming generation of magnetic
refrigeration materials. The aim of our research is to investigate the interplay
between the crystallography and the aforementioned fundamental interactions as
these lie at the heart of the intrinsic magnetic behaviour of rare-earth compounds.
In this project we will prepare a number of series of intermetallic compounds
containing rare-earth elements and study their crystallography and magnetism using
a variety of experimental techniques (x-ray and neutron diffraction, Mössbauer
Spectroscopy, Magnetometry etc). We will determine the magnetic structures of
these compounds and we will investigate the changes in magnetic structure that
often occur when one cools the sample. Such changes are usually the result of
competition between different terms in the crystal-field interaction and this project
offers the scope for computer modelling of the intrinsic magnetic behaviour of a rareearth compound.
Description of Work:
• Preparation of compounds by argon-arc melting and annealing, with
characterisation by standard techniques such as x-ray diffraction;
• Carry out basic measurements of a compound’s magnetic properties using
magnetometry and ac-susceptibility;
• Determine the magnetic structures and their temperature evolutions by
neutron diffraction and Mössbauer Spectroscopy;
• Explanation of the magnetic structural behaviour in terms of exchange and
crystal-fields.
57
Project:
Fe Mössbauer studies of meteorites
Program Code: 1892
Supervisor:
Professor Seán Cadogan ([email protected])
Objectives:
The classification of meteorites usually involves three major categories which are
distinguished on the basis of the amounts of metallic Fe-Ni and Fe-bearing silicates
they contain. Irons are mainly Fe-Ni metal, Stones are mainly silicates with a small
amount of metal and Stony Irons have roughly equal amounts of metal and silicates.
Stony meteorites can be further subdivided into chondrites and achondrites. About
85% of observed meteorite falls are chondrites that most likely originated in asteroidlike objects which were never large enough to undergo melting in the early stages in
the formation of the Solar System.
We have a set of meteorite samples that were collected in two hot desert regions: the
Nullarbor Desert in Australia and the Sahara Desert in North Africa. Meteorites falling
in such dry regions tend not to weather away too quickly.
In this project we will carry our 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy on a number of
meteorites to identify the oxidation states and crystal chemistry of the Fe-bearing
meteoritic phases. When a meteorite reaches Earth, all the iron is present as either
Fe0 or Fe2+, with effectively no Fe3+. Therefore, any Fe3+ present in a recovered
meteorite can only have been formed on Earth and reflects the interaction of the
meteorite with the climatic conditions present at the crash-site. Such information is
important to the study of terrestrial climate and involves question such as whether or
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not meteorites record a signal of the terrestrial climate at the time of their fall. This
information can also be used to determine the ‘Terrestrial Age’ of the meteorite i.e.
how long has the meteorite been on Earth. We will also study the nanoparticles of
Fe-oxides and hydroxides present in a meteorite and investigate their magnetic
behaviour at low temperatures.
Description of Work:
57
• Preparation of meteorites for Fe Mössbauer Spectroscopy measurements;
• Carry out basic measurements of a meteorite’s magnetic properties using acsusceptibility;
57
• Obtain Fe Mössbauer spectra over the temperature range 4–300 K;
57
• Analysis of the Fe Mössbauer spectra, identification and quantification of the
Fe-bearing phases present in the meteorite;
• Study the magnetic ordering of the nanoparticle Fe-oxides/hydroxides at low
temperature.
Project:
Fundamental magnetism and magnetocaloric effects in rare
earth alloys and compounds
Program Code: 1892
Supervisor:
Dr Wayne Hutchison ([email protected])
Objectives:
Rare earth intermetallic alloys such as RNiAl4 (R = rare earth) have fundamentally
interesting magnetic properties, including metamagnetism. Additionally, it has been
discovered recently that the magnetic transitions in these alloys show large
magnetocaloric effects, and could be the basis for refrigeration schemes. Rare earth
compounds such as HoF3, an enhanced nuclear paramagnet also show potential for
use in very low temperature refrigeration. This project will involve further
fundamental study of such compounds in order to identify potential refrigerants and
develop possible schemes for using such alloys.
Description of Work:
• Synthesis of alloys and compounds with characterisation by standard
techniques such as x-ray diffraction;
• Carry out measurements to characterise magnet materials using a number of
appropriate techniques including heat capacity, magnetisation and
susceptibility, neutron diffraction, and low temperature (millikelvin) nuclear
orientation;
• Select the most suitable materials for refrigeration in various temperature
regimes. Develop and test prototype refrigeration schemes.
Project:
Light-driven water flips in crystalline solids: science and
applications in optical data storage
Program Code: 1871, 1892
Supervisor:
Prof Hans Riesen
Objectives:
The project aims to exploit our recent discovery of a thousandfold increase in the
efficiency of non-photochemical spectral hole-burning upon partial deuteration of Cr3+
doped NaMgAl(oxalate)3·9H2O with the effect vanishing on complete deuteration.
This observation is a significant discovery in hole-burning spectroscopy of inorganic
systems in the solid state. The mechanism is based on photo induced 180o flips of
the partially deuterated water molecules of crystallization. Importantly, the nonphotochemical holes are stable up to 120 K and hence suitable for applications at
liquid nitrogen temperatures.
Description of Work:
• Water flips induced by d-d and f-f transitions of one or more of the transition
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•
•
metal and lanthanide ions in inorganic hydrates will be explored by holeburning spectroscopy. Because of their low electron-phonon coupling, f-f
transitions are prime candidates for higher temperature hole-burning
materials.
The dependence of spectral hole-burning properties, such as quantum
efficiency and spontaneous hole-filling on: structural details, the temperature,
the potential barrier height, rotational tunnelling splittings, external electric
and magnetic fields and the degree of deuteration, will be investigated in a
range of selected compounds.
The potential of the selected materials as the active media in portable
frequency standards, in laser stabilization schemes and in optical data
storage and signal processing devices will be explored.
Project:
Magnetic resonance and silicon based quantum computing
Program Code: 1892
Supervisor:
Dr Wayne Hutchison ([email protected])
Objectives:
The general aim of this project is the use of magnetic resonance, directly, to
measurements on spin systems which have application as spin based quantum
computers (QC). The technique is also applied to investigations of the principal
materials and fabrication processes. The emphasis is on electron spin resonance
(ESR) studies of the phosphorus in silicon (Si:P) system. But will also have scope to
include low temperature nuclear magnetic resonance applied to radioactive probes.
Description of Work:
• Use of continuous wave and pulsed electron spin resonance techniques to
study spin dynamics and materials issues in silicon doped with n - type
impurities such as phosphorus;
• The studies will involve both bulk doped and ion implanted samples, as well as
the fabrication of devices on a submicron scale;
• Low temperature (millikelvin) nuclear orientation and nuclear magnetic
resonance will be applied to beta-ray emitting 32P in these systems to study and
manipulate nuclear spin polarisation.
Project:
Predicting wear and pre-empting knee prosthesis failure: a
multidisciplinary study
Program Code: 1892
Supervisor:
Dr Laura Gladkis ([email protected]), A/Prof Heiko Timmers,
and Prof Paul Smith, ANU School of Medicine)
Description of Work:
Total Knee Replacements are increasingly being performed on younger, and more
active, people for whom the rate of revision due to wear is more than double that of
traditional populations. The proposed study will utilize a state-of-the-art mechanical
knee simulator to examine the effects of prosthesis malalignment and high demand
activity on wear. Wear dynamics will be assessed using a novel system of highly
sensitive radioisotope labelling. Bioactivity of the wear debris will be evaluated via a
novel assay system. The resultant knowledge will potentially increase the longevity of
total knee prostheses and reverse the trend of increasing revision rates.
Project:
Samarium activated storage phosphors for personal radiation
monitoring and medical imaging.
Program Code: 1871, 1892
Supervisor:
Prof Hans Riesen
Objectives:
The project aims to exploit our recent discovery of a novel class of X-ray storage
phosphors. In particular, nanocrystalline BaFCl:Sm3+ is an efficient photoluminescent
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storage phosphor with a mechanism that is based on the reduction of Sm3+ to Sm2+
upon exposure to ionising radiation. The objectives of this project are to enhance the
sensitivity of the phosphor by optimising the preparation methods and testing of the
phosphor for personal radiation monitoring and medical imaging. The importance of
the former has been highlighted by the recent events in Fukushima, Japan. The
phosphor may allow a reduction of X-ray dose in medical imaging, a highly desirable
outcome.
Description of Work:
• A range of different preparation routes will be investigated in order to optimise the
sensitivity of the storage phosphor
• The dependence of the sensitivity as a function of particle size, samarium
concentration and co-doping by other metal ions will be investigated.
• The phosphors will be investigated by advanced laser spectroscopy, synchrotron
based powder X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption and electron microscopy.
• The potential of the phosphor in personal radiation monitoring, clinical dosimetry
and medical imaging will be explored. This includes building reader units,
employing LEDs and lasers, for dosimetry and medical imaging.
STATISTICS
Project:
Analysis of recovery/recapture data for Short-tailed
Shearwaters Puffinus tenuirostris
Program Code: 1881
Supervisor:
Dr Leesa Sidhu ([email protected])
Description of project: Short-tailed Shearwaters have been studied continuously on
Fisher Island, Tasmania since 1946, making this one of the longest continuous
studies of any wildlife population in the world. Although life-history data have been
collected sporadically over this time period, a detailed mark-recapture-recovery
analysis has not yet been conducted. This study will produce age- and time-varying
survival estimates for Short-tailed Shearwaters, and examine the effect of individual
covariates such as egg size on first year survival.
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