Research Success

In pursuit of fungus-farming beetles (PDF File 378.5 KB) (opens in a new window)
Dr Markus Riegler and Dr Shannon Smith of the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment will lead a team of researchers investigating the scale of the threat posed by ambrosia beetles to commercial and native forests and orchards. The project will explore ambrosia beetle and associated microbial diversity to identify critical pests and pathogenic fungi and bacteria.

Resilience of Australian forests and woodlands to drought (PDF File 212.5 KB) (opens in a new window)
Dr Brendan Choat of the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment has been awarded a prestigious Australian Research Council Future Fellowship to examine the resilience of Australian forests and woodlands to drought. The project aims to develop new technology to improve remote measurement of plant water status for both natural and agriculture systems.

A sporting chance for water supply (PDF File 113.3 KB) (opens in a new window)
Professor Basant Maheshwari from the School of Science and Health is investigating the harvesting of stormwater to replace potable water supply for irrigation of local sports grounds. The project, which is a partnership with Liverpool City Council, is also examining how to improve the water quality in Wattle Grove Lake where aquatic life is dying.

Respect and violence prevention (PDF File 290.2 KB) (opens in a new window)
Professor Moira Carmody, Dr Michael Salter and Dr Geir Henning Presterudstuen of the School of Social Sciences and Psychology have been awarded funding to investigate the best ways of engaging men and boys in measures to prevent domestic, family and sexual violence. The year-long project, supported by the NSW Department of Family and Community Services, will evaluate world's best practice in violence prevention.

Medical educators: The missing pipeline (PDF File 290.7 KB) (opens in a new window)
Professor Wendy Hu from the School of Medicine will lead a team of researchers investigating gaps in the medical educator workforce for educating tomorrow's doctors. The project is supported by Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand Incorporated.

Policing for all the community (PDF File 102.8 KB) (opens in a new window)
Dr Michael Kennedy of the School of Social Sciences and Psychology is investigating the strength of partnerships forged between police and Sydney's Muslim community. With funding from the NSW Police force, Dr Kennedy will particularly look at how such relationships are tested by controversial events, such as in September 2012 when there were protests over a video that ridiculed the Prophet Mohammed.

Swell idea for marine construction (PDF File 80.7 KB) (opens in a new window)
Dr Chunwei Zhang from the Institute for Infrastructure Engineering is leading an investigation into ways of limiting the effects of a heaving motion on the work of offshore crane ships. The project, which is supported by a UWS Research Partnership Grant and Tianjin Haixu Technology Development Co, aims at improving the safety and reliability involved in a crucial aspect of gas and oil exploration.

Outcomes of co-evolutionary addiction (PDF File 179.2 KB) (opens in a new window)
Dr Markus Riegler of the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment is leading a research team to investigate what happens when insects and bacteria get together for their mutual benefit. This research is supported by funds from the Hermon Slade Foundation.

Digging the dirt on carbon storage (PDF File 278.9 KB) (opens in a new window)
Associate Professor Brajesh Singh and Professor Ian Anderson of the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment have been awarded funding to investigate the farming practices and soil conditions that will improve carbon storage in arable land. The project, which is supported by the Grains Research and Development Corporation, anticipates environmental, economic and social benefits in this important sector of Australian agriculture.

Fibres to weather a hotter, drier future (PDF File 84.3 KB) (opens in a new window)
Dr Robert Sharwood of the the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment has received funding to investigate how cotton, one of Australia's most significant agricultural exports, can better cope with hotter and drier growing conditions. The project is supported by the federal Department of Agriculture and the Cotton Research and Development Corporation in collaboration with the CSIRO in Narrabri.

Justice without prejudice (PDF File 89.3 KB) (opens in a new window)
Professor David Tait and Dr Meredith Rossner of the Justice Research Group will lead a research team to investigate how courtroom design influences the chances of getting a fair trial. This project is funded by industry partners and the Australian Research Council through its Linkage Projects grant scheme.

Young people and technology (PDF File 242.1 KB) (opens in a new window)
Dr Amanda Third of the Institute for Culture and Society is examining issues regarding young people and their wellbeing through technology use. This project is funded by the Australian Research Council through its Linkage grant scheme in collaboration with seven industry partners.

When algebra meets biology (PDF File 90.1 KB) (opens in a new window)
Professor Andrew Francis from the Centre for Research in Mathematics within the School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematics is leading an investigation into how algebra might be used to better explain the progress of evolution in bacteria. The project, which is supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery Project grant, aims to develop new algorithms for the modelling of evolutionary processes.

Young women and cigarettes (PDF File 2.4 MB) (opens in a new window)
Dr Emilee Gilbert from the School of Social Sciences and Psychology and the Centre for Health Research is leading an investigation into why young women smoke despite knowing the serious health risks. The project, which is supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery Project grant, aims to increase understanding of why young women are resistant to the anti-smoking message.

Sound selection above the din (PDF File 2.5 MB) (opens in a new window)
Associate Professor Jeesun Kim and Professor Christopher Davis from the MARCS Institute, and Professor Martin Cooke from the Basque Foundation for Science have been awarded an Australian Research Council Discovery Projects grant to investigate speech recognition in noisy situations. The interdisciplinary project will involve collaboration between human and machine speech recognition researchers, combining signal processing and cognition.