E Y E O N T H E P R I Z EATOM PROBEUNLOCKS ANCIENTMINERAL HISTORY

NatureCurtin named one of Asia Pacific’s rising stars in research

Digital dealersUnderstanding the impact of the online illicit drug market

THE MAGAZINE OF CURTIN’S OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

SUMMER 2016/17

That sinking feelingWhich of the planet’s major ice sheets will be the first to go?

Curtin is committed to achieving its vision for 2030: to be a recognised global leader in research, education and engagement.

Curtin will:

• Support, profile and build scale in key areas of research strength.

• Identify and enable areas of emerging research capability.

• Foster a strong performance culture for research, enhanced by analytics and targeted support programs.

• Improve our postgraduate research outcomes and establish an innovative Curtin PhD framework.

• Secure our position and deepen our capability in knowledge exchange and commercialisation.

OUR AREAS OF STRENGTH

MINERALS AND ENERGY

ICT AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

HEALTH

CURTIN’S RESEARCHSTRATEGY

NEWS Curtin named one of Asia Pacific’s rising stars in research 2

PROFILE Doctor Evelyne Deplazes 4

BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger 5

PUBLIC HEALTH Digital dealers: understanding the impact of the online illicit drug market 6

RENEWABLE ENERGY Shining a light on clean energy storage 8

CLIMATE SCIENCE That sinking feeling 11

BUSINESS Hands up: new research to rouse volunteers 12

MARKETING In the lab of luxury 14

BIOSCIENCE Fighting bacteria one spot at a time 16

EARTH SCIENCE Atom probe unlocks ancient mineral history 18

PROFILE Denis Fougerouse 19

AGRIBUSINESS Growing enterprise for women in rural Papua New Guinea 21

COMMERCIALISATION Innovations 2016 22Premier’s Science Awards 2016 25

HIGHER DEGREEES BY RESEARCH Graduate Studies overview 2016 26

OFFICE OF R+D Q+A: Professor Chris Moran 28

CENTRES AND INSITUTES 28

Director: Charlie Thorn

Editorial TeamEditor: Jarrad LongSub Editor: Anita ShoreWriters: Karen Green, Kitty Drok, Nicholas Brant and Susanna Wolz.

Design: M3 Design Co. Photography: James Rogers

The move from Queensland has been a big one, but my wife and I have settled in and love Perth. We have a young family here, which has just grown by one, with a baby girl having arrived in October.

Upon joining Curtin in August, after a 12-year appointment at The University of Queensland, I was struck by the breadth of high-quality research being undertaken here, as well as the collegiate, cross-disciplinary outlook of the research staff. It’s through collaboration and teamwork that I feel Curtin can really take the next step in its research journey.

It’s also getting us noticed. Curtin was named the most collaborative Australian university in the 2016 Nature Index, based on the number of co-authored journal articles in the field of natural sciences. Nature also ranked us the third-fastest ‘rising star’ in the Asia Pacific, owing to a 150 per cent increase in our article count since 2012 (see page 2).

We have had some noteworthy award winners too – botanist Professor Kingsley Dixon was named 2016 Scientist of the Year at the Premier’s Science Awards, in recognition of his efforts in conservation science, restoration ecology and plant science. Congratulations to Professor Dixon. Fireballs in the Sky, the outreach program encouraging citizen scientists to learn about meteorite science, was recognised at the same awards, earning the Chevron Science Engagement Initiative of the Year. The program went on to win the prestigious Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Innovation in Citizen Science. Congratulations to Professor Phil Bland and the Fireballs team. See page 25 for more about both these impressive achievements.

In August, the annual Curtin Commercial Innovation Awards celebrated some of the University’s newest and most commercially relevant innovations. Congratulations to all the finalists, all of whom presented work with real-world application, ranging from a new way to keep fruit and vegetables fresh, to a digital shipwreck reconstruction, to a breakthrough for cancer treatment.

Congratulations to Dr Ryan Loxton and his team for their software that helps optimise mine plant shutdowns. See page 22 for the full story on all this year’s finalists.

Research and Innovation Week in August/September was an opportunity for Curtin researchers to share their innovations, capabilities and achievements. Our new St Georges Terrace premises provided the ideal location for daily ‘lunchbox’ seminars from some of the University’s prominent researchers in disciplines as varied as public health, economics, sustainability and engineering. On the final day, the ‘3 Minute Thesis’ competition saw our talented PhD students race the clock to explain their research in three minutes with the aid of a single slide. Congratulations to Lucas Marie from the Faculty of Humanities for his winning presentation, on his research project, Hip Hop can Change the World.

Curtin’s new Strategic Plan 2017-2020 outlines a comprehensive plan for the University that builds on the successes of recent years. There will be particular emphasis on strengthening our research collaboration, internally between faculties, and externally with industry and other institutions, to maximise the impact of our research. We will also seek to improve our postgraduate research outcomes and establish an innovative Curtin PhD framework.

I’m looking forward to helping deliver Curtin’s vision to become a research intensive university.

Professor Chris Moran Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research Curtin University

NOWR&

D 01NOWR&

D 01

There’s a lot to celebrate after a highly productive and successful year of research at Curtin.Thank you to everyone who has welcomed and supported me during my first few months at Curtin.

R&D SUMMER 2016 OVERVIEW

SUBJECT AREAS

INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC COLLABORATING INSTITUTIONS BY SUBJECT AREA 2015

Curtin is strongest in EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Physical Sciences

Physical Sciences

Life Sciences

Life Sciences

Chemistry

Chemistry

Earth and Environmental Sciences

Earth and Environmental Sciences

International Domestic23

91

166

362

29

39

24

23

TOP 5 INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATORS

‘Real-time detection of an extreme scattering event: Constraints on Galactic plasma lenses’ published in Science Jan 2016altmetric.com/details/5023120 date obtained 20/10/2016

based on Nature Index 2016 Rising Stars weighted fractional count (WFC) 2015

by collaboration score

Institutions may be counted in more than one subject area

1

2

345

1

2

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) 6.09

Max Planck Society5.70

3 University of Cambridge4.40

4 Durham University4.04

5 University of Oxford4.04

altmetric.com ATTENTION SCORE

403

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Released in July, the Nature Index identifies the countries and institutions showing the most significant growth in research

publications, across more than 8,000 global institutions.

Curtin increased its journal contribution by more than 80 per cent from 2012 - 2015.

Curtin Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry, said this was an outstanding achievement and was testament to Curtin’s continued focus in improving its research performance.

“The journals in the Nature publishing group are amongst the best in the world and to be recognised amongst the world’s top research institutions is extremely rewarding,” Professor Terry said.

“The rankings demonstrate that key activities such as reorganising our mining school and taking a leading role in the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, have significantly boosted our physical sciences, and Earth and environmental sciences article output.”

Since 2012, Curtin has increased its contribution to articles in the Earth and environmental sciences index by 54 per cent.

The top 100 most improved institutions in the Nature Index over the four-year period are ranked by the increase in their contribution to 68 high-quality journals.

From this top 100, the supplement profiles 25 rising stars that are already making their mark, and have the potential to continue to grow over the next decade.

“Curtin University has shown a remarkable increase in output in the Nature Index in the past four years, rising from less than a hundred articles in 2012 to over two hundred in 2015, taking it into the top 500 universities worldwide and just into the top 10 in Australia,” Managing Director of Springer Nature, David Swinbanks, says.

“Output is particularly strong in astronomy, with large numbers of articles involving authors from many institutions worldwide, but there is also significant output and strong contributions in earth and environmental sciences from Curtin’s Applied Geology Department, the Institute for Geoscience Research and the Department of Environment and Agriculture.

“Growth in output continues into 2016 and Curtin is certainly an institution to watch.”

Earlier this year, Curtin University was named as the most collaborative of the Australian universities and the biggest Australian mover in the Nature Index results for 2016.

Curtin named one of Asia Pacific’s rising stars in research

WEIGHTED FRACTIONAL COUNT 2015

ARTICLE COUNT 2015

ARTICLE COUNT

NUMBER OF COLLABORATING INSTITUTIONS 2015

Domestic

International

53

496

RISING STAR in Australia

#3

24.16

233

2012 2013 2014 2015

93

160182

233

TOP ASIA-PACIFIC COLLABORATORS

19 7

#34 in Asia-Pacific academic institutions in 2015

Number of institutions/companies in country that collaborate with Curtin

based on absolute change

in WFC 2012-2015

CHINA INDIA25JAPAN

Curtin University has been ranked in the top 100 of the world’s leading institutions for growth in high-quality science, and in the top three in Asia Pacific by the Nature Index 2016 Rising Stars supplement.

By Susanna Wolz

Dr Evelyne Deplazes, NHMRC Early Career Research Fellow in the School of Biomedical Sciences, has returned to Curtin in the continuation of a research career that looked impossible when she was in high school.

Deplazes grew up in Switzerland, but didn’t complete school because of health issues. This made her ineligible to attend a Swiss university, and her love of science and chemistry could no longer be pursued. Several years later, after following her partner to Australia, she discovered that there are alternative entry pathways into Australian universities. She grabbed the second chance with both hands, studied from the local library, sat the entrance exams and enrolled in a double degree in chemistry and computer science at Curtin.

Recognising her passion for solving puzzles and interest in research, Deplazes completed Honours in computational chemistry at Curtin, followed by a PhD in computational biophysics at The University of Western Australia. After spending four years at the University of Queensland as a postdoctoral fellow using computational methods to study the binding of spider venom peptides to cell membranes and membrane proteins, she has now come full circle to join the staff at Curtin.

Deplazes’ research interests centre on biological applications of experimental and computational biophysics, and she is using these tools to study the way peptides isolated from spider venoms work. These venom peptides have evolved to target particular proteins in their prey’s nervous system. By understanding how spider venom peptides achieve their biological acitivity, rational design of new peptide-based drug and insecticides becomes possible.

Deplazes uses molecular dynamics simulations to understand the structure and dynamic properties of venom peptides and how they interact with cell membranes and membrane proteins. This is combined with spectroscopic techniques to measure binding affinities and validate the computational models. By getting a more complete picture of how venoms work on a molecular level, a peptide isolated from spider venom may one day be used to develop drugs to treat a range of neurological disorders or develop biodegradable insecticides.

Profile

Doctor Evelyne DeplazesNHMRC Early Career Research FellowSchool of Biomedical Sciences

By Kitty Drok

WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER

Biomedical science

NOWR&D 05

Australia is well-known as the home of venomous animals. From snakes and spiders to stonefish and scorpions, over millions of years our native fauna have evolved an array of chemical compounds to specifically target the nervous or cardiovascular systems of their predators and prey. These compounds are fast-acting, extremely potent, and incredibly selective in their action – exactly the qualities we want in pharmaceuticals.

Dr Evelyne Deplazes, Research Fellow in the School of Biomedical Sciences, is using molecular dynamics simulations and data from spectroscopy experiments to investigate how venom peptides bind to cell membranes, with a view towards peptide-based drug design. It’s not a new idea: venomous animals have a long history as a source of medical treatments. Snake venom was documented in the seventh century BCE to treat arthritis, and cobra venom has been used since the 1930s to treat conditions including polio, multiple sclerosis and chronic pain.

“We’ve only been able to study spider venoms more recently,” explains Deplazes. “You get a lot less venom milking a spider than you do milking a snake! We’ve only recently had chromatographic techniques sensitive enough to separate out the venoms into their individual components and analytical techniques to characterise their structures routinely. Spider venoms are very complex mixtures and contain hundreds of distinct components, most of which are peptides that target the nervous system.”

As our understanding of the nervous system develops and the actions of the various ion channels in cell membranes become better understood, new therapeutic targets are emerging that spider venoms may be able to unlock. Specific ion channels have been identified for their involvement in pain sensation, so peptides that selectively inhibit these channels might be useful leads in the development of novel painkillers. Equally, as the neurological basis for blood pressure regulation, cardiac arrhythmia, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and stroke become better understood, venom peptides that interact with these pathways will become a basis for new treatments.

“Most of these venom peptides involve interactions with receptors in cell membranes,” says Deplazes. “Understanding that interaction is the key to understanding how they work, and which bits of the peptide structure are important for that activity. We are combining computer simulations of the interaction with experimental data to get a more complete picture of how things work at the molecular level. Once we have that understanding, we can start tweaking the peptide properties to suit our purpose. The aim is to use rational design approaches to create a venom peptide analogue with all of the potency, selectivity and specificity of the original venom, but the activity we want to be therapeutically useful.”

Deplazes is currently working on venom peptides from the Peruvian green velvet tarantula as a lead for chronic pain treatment, and venom from the Trinidad tarantula with potential for stroke treatment. But she is keen to search further – who knows what therapeutic potential may be lurking in our funnelwebs, WA trapdoors and redback spiders?

Digital dealers: understanding the impact of the online illicit drug marketAmazon, eBay – the age of online shopping is definitely here, and our spending and consumption patterns are changing as a result. So what happens when online marketplaces meet illegal activities, like buying cocaine?

By Kitty Drok

THOSE REPORTING LAST YEAR DARK-NET PURCHASE

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Public health

A djunct Research Fellow Dr Monica Barratt and Professor Simon Lenton, Deputy Director at the National Drug Research Institute, have been studying the impact of

online drug markets since the first, Silk Road, launched in 2011.

“Silk Road was a game-changer,” explains Barratt. “Prior to 2011, people just shared information about drugs online, you couldn’t reliably purchase prohibited drugs. But then a combination of technologies made ‘cryptomarkets’ possible.”

Cryptomarkets are digital platforms on the dark web that rely on anonymising software like the Tor hidden server and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to facilitate the trade of goods and services. Relying heavily on encryption technologies to conceal the identities of users, they even support customer feedback ratings and comments, discussion forums and product suggestions.

Barratt navigated the dark web to anonymously interview customers buying prohibited drugs through Silk Road, in a novel research effort to understand the impact and implications of this new market.

“We wanted to know how buyers’ drug use and related harm trajectories were affected by the increased availability of prohibited substances through Silk Road,” says Barratt.

Most buyers experienced a ‘honeymoon period’ of increasing drug use after their first successful

online purchase. As Barratt describes: “They realised they no longer needed a dealer, they were fairly sure the drug quality would be good (based on online reviews), and they had reliable access to a whole range of drugs. One participant reported it as being like ‘kids in a candy store’.”

It is generally accepted that increased drug availability is associated with increased use and subsequent harm. But cryptomarkets may support more complex usage patterns. Barratt found evidence to suggest that consistently high drug availability reduced the need for drug hoarding, which helped some buyers moderate their use. As one participant described: “If you live above a bakery, you don’t need to buy a whole cake. You know cake is always there, so you can buy just one piece. If you feel like more later, you can always go back downstairs and buy another piece.” She also found evidence that the desire for drugs can become satiated, just by its ready availability.

For some, high availability may stabilise and reduce use and therefore reduce harm, but for others, high availability can facilitate intense use and subsequent harm. Ultimately, online drug markets reflect the e-commerce trend across society, providing access and convenience while posing new challenges for self-control. If anything, they highlight the need for open conversation about what drug use means and how it can be managed, to inform government policy and law enforcement in the world of online dealing.

DARK-NET MARKET DRUG PURCHASES BY COUNTRY MAPPED AGAINST BITCOIN VALUE IN $US

AustraliaUKUSCanadaNZBitcoin

20

18

16

14 $520

$540

$500

$480

12

10

8

6

42

02014 2015 2016

Percentage of respondents reporting use of illicit/NPS/prescription drugs in the last 12 months.https://www.globaldrugsurvey.com/past-findings/ the-global-drug-survey-2016-findings/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin#/media/File:Bitcoin_price_and_volatility.svg

OF THE 126 DEALERS IN OUR DATASET WHO NAME REGIONS WHERE THEY WILL NOT SHIP, 112 EXCLUDE AUSTRALIA.http://www.economist.com/news/international/21702176-drug-trade-moving-street-online-cryptomarkets-forced-compete

GLOBALLY ALMOST IN 1 IN 10 (9.3%) REPORTED EVER BUYING DRUGS OFF THE DARK-NET 1 in 10https://www.globaldrugsurvey.com/past-findings/the-global-drug-survey-2016-findings/

https://www.globaldrugsurvey.com/past-findings/the-global-drug-survey-2016-findings/

2015 20164.5% 6.7%

Renewable energy

Deep within one of Curtin’s most tech-heavy buildings, Professor Craig Buckley and his staff are warming to the idea of creating

low-cost hydrogen storage technology.

Backed by an Australian Research Council grant, the team is investigating storage options for Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) thermal energy plants. These plants operate by mirrors reflecting sunlight onto a tower where it is converted into heat energy for electricity production.

A lack of viable storage options has long been renewable technology’s Achilles heel, but Buckley is hoping to change that.

He and his team are pinning their research efforts on metal hydrides – a chemical energy storage medium where compounds form by binding hydrogen with a material such as sodium and its alloys.

The CSP thermal energy storage system relies on paired metal hydrides, with a high-temperature hydride (HTMH) acting as the heat storage medium and the lower-temperature hydride (LTMH) storing hydrogen.

At night, and in times of cloud cover, hydrogen is released from the LTMH and absorbed by the HTMH, which produces heat used to generate electricity.

Buckley hopes metal hydrides will replace molten salts – the current storage technology for large-scale CSP plants such as the Crescent Dunes solar power tower in Nevada.

Crescent Dunes generates 110 MW hours of power and supplies roughly 75,000 homes with electricity. Metal hydrides could be far more efficient.

“We are trying to replace the molten salts because they are very low energy density at 153 kilojoules per kilogram, whereas a metal hydride is between seven to 55 times more energy dense, depending on the hydride used,” he explains.

It costs approximately $110 million to set up roughly 32,000 tonnes of molten salts for Crescent Dunes and HSRG’s cost analysis shows that implementing hydrides as an alternative storage option could be up to 50 per cent cheaper.

While the technology is progressing, it will still be some time before metal hydrides become a viable option.

“We would probably see hydrides rolled out on the market in the next 10-20 years,” Buckley says.

SHINING A LIGHT ON CLEAN ENERGY STORAGE

A lack of viable storage options has long been renewable technology’s Achilles heel, but Buckley is hoping to change that. ”

“

Curtin’s Hydrogen Storage Research Group (HSRG), part of the Fuels and Energy Technology Institute, is delving into chemically-based storage options for solar power to make renewable energy a viable option for powering commercial and heavy industry throughout

By Nicholas Brant

NOWR&D 09The Concentrated Solar Power thermal energy storage system

TOWER

HELIOSTATS

THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE TANKS

STEAM GENERATOR

AIR-COOLED CONDENSER

POWERLINES

TURBINE GENERATOR

RECEIVER

Climate science

By Karen Green

R&D

Scientists fear that polar ice sheets are on the brink of collapse from the effects of human-induced global warming. Which one of the planet’s three major ice sheets will be the first to go?

N ow isn’t the first time the Earth has experienced elevated atmospheric CO2 and rising global temperatures. Around three

million years ago, during the mid-Pliocene Epoch, global warming was the result of volcanic activity. Then, during the last interglacial period between 120 and 130 thousand years ago, global temperatures again rose to about one or two degrees Celsius higher than today’s temperatures, which led to a reduction in the volume of the planet’s ice sheets and higher sea levels.

So, what do these ancient paleo events mean for life on Earth, particularly the world’s coastal populations?

Marine geoscientist Dr Mick O’Leary at Curtin’s Department of Environment and Agriculture has some critical answers. For the past five years he has worked on the major project, ‘Pliomax’, an international research collaboration of US, Australian and German research organisations, led and funded by the US National Science Foundation. The research aim was singular: to estimate accurately the mid-Pliocene’s peak sea level.

O’Leary’s study of Western Australia’s ancient fossil shorelines revealed that WA’s coastline has been minimally affected by tectonic movements, which can also be responsible for sea level rises, and enabled the Pliomax project to use WA’s geomorphology to investigate the sea-level rise that occurred during the mid-Pliocene.

“There’s been a global temperature rise of one degree in the past 100 years, and

atmospheric CO2 has now reached the same level as during the mid-Pliocene warm period,” O’Leary explains.

“The mid-Pliocene therefore offers a natural analogue for a warmer, higher CO2 world.

“In particular, knowing the sea levels and volume of polar ice during the mid-Pliocene and last interglacial periods gives us a better idea of how vulnerable the Greenland and two Antarctic ice sheets are to current global warming.”

Ocean, ice and gravityAs global temperatures rise, so too does the fear that within the next century, either the Greenland or one of the two Antarctic ice sheets will reach breaking point. Which ice sheet melts first, and when, will determine the pattern and scale of sea level rise across the planet. The reason for this, O’Leary explains, is gravity.

“The three ice sheets exert a powerful gravitational attraction, pulling ocean water towards them. The larger the ice sheet, the larger the gravitational pull, and vice versa.

“So, if an ice sheet diminishes due to melting, water will migrate away from the ice sheet, due to its own reduced gravitational effect and the increased effect of the other two ice sheets.”

He describes this as the ‘climate change paradox’. A melting ice sheet could actually make the sea level fall along coastlines located near the ice sheet, while the regions furthest from the ice sheet will experience sea level rise greater than the global average.

These impacts have been further characterised by recent fluid dynamics simulations of the collapse of the three polar ice sheets, which showed that each would produce a distinct pattern of sea level change.

“If the East Antarctic ice sheet melted, the sea level across much of Australia, for example, would be lower than the

global average, whereas Pacific Island communities would experience a rise of up to 1.5 metres,” O’Leary says.

“But if the West Antarctic ice sheet was to melt, Australia would experience a sea level rise of more than one metre; however the rise in Broome would be 20 centimetres greater than that in Sydney, which is closer to the ice sheet.

“If the Greenland ice sheet collapsed, Australians would see a rise similar to the global average, while people living in Northern Scandinavia and Scotland would actually experience a fall in their sea levels.”

It’s therefore a major climate change misconception that all coastlines will experience a sea level rise of between 60 centimetres and a metre this century. These predictions, O’Leary cautions, are based on modelling that calculates the volume of ice melt divided over the area of the oceans – it’s a globally averaged measurement. The real behaviour of the ocean surface in response to an ice sheet melt will be far more complex.

Furthermore, while satellite data over the past 20 years suggests an average sea level rise of three millimetres per year, there are significant local and regional variations – including hotspots in the western Pacific and over northern Australia that are experiencing rises three times the global average. This may be due to current patterns, thermal expansion or atmospheric effects. The extreme La Niña event in 2011–12, for example, delivered a massive pool of warm water, driven by enhanced trade-winds flow, and higher than average sea levels to the north and west of Australia.

In addition, the gradual melting of individual ice sheets and glaciers over time causes changes in the Earth’s gravitational field and rotational state. Shoreline positions may also be altered by tectonic movements, and by the expansion of land previously under the weight of glacial ice.

TOGETHER, THE TWO ANTARCTIC ICE SHEETS ARE ABOUT TWICE THE SIZE OF AUSTRALIA, AND HOLD ABOUT 90 PER CENT OF THE EARTH’S FROZEN WATER.

WEST ANTARCTIC ICE SHEET

EAST ANTARCTIC ICE SHEET

AUSTRALIA

NEW ZEALAND

UNITED KINGDOM

UNITED STATES

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Climate science

“These phenomena can all contribute to geographic variation in sea level change. So there’s massive uncertainty in current climate and ice sheet models,” says O’Leary.

To isolate the effect of ice-sheet melts on sea-level rise, he’s now following up his work on Pliomax and studying Australian coastal sediments and morphology, for a project led by Macquarie University and funded by the Australian Research Council.

“We’re taking a novel approach by using the coastal imprint combined with simulations of ice sheet collapses to identify which ice sheets contributed to past sea level rises.

“Basically, we’ll be able to ‘fingerprint’ the meltwater sources for sea-level rise during the last interglacial period using inverse modelling of the distinct geometry of Australia’s sea-level record.”

The research outcomes will help answer three major scientific questions: which polar ice sheets are the most vulnerable to warming, how fast would sea levels rise, and what are the likely impacts on the world’s coastlines during the 21st century?

Polar ice and tropical lifeMore than 30 years ago the United Nations was already focused on modern-day climate change.

In 1988, the UN Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In its fifth assessment report in 2013, the IPCC assumed a ‘steady as she goes’ approach to emissions.

The scientific community, however, is not confident that emissions will moderate, let alone reduce. It’s taken only one century for the global sea level to rise as much as 20 centimetres – about the same amount as the preceding 2,000 years, which was due mainly to glacier melts and thermal expansion of the oceans. There’s a greater than 90 per cent probability this century will see a global sea level rise of between 0.8 and one metre.

While many island nations are dreading the higher seas that will erode their coastlines, swamp communities and wash away crops and livelihoods, there’s a wider perception that there’s time to reverse the trend and that surely ‘science will save us’. However, already there’s been a global temperature rise of one degree, and, as O’Leary says, even a modest rise of two degrees could result in a significant rise in global sea levels.

It’s no surprise, then, that the United Nations Refugee Agency predicts that events linked to climate change will become the biggest drivers of community displacement, and is anticipating a humanitarian crisis of ‘climate-change refugees’.

Unfortunately, current generalisations about rising sea-level are disadvantaging many communities that rely on scientific reports to guide coastal planning and mitigation strategies. But any way you look at it, a potential ice-sheet collapse is a critical concern for Pacific island nations. As O’Leary emphasises, “The further you are to a melting ice sheet, the higher the sea will be rising around you”.

“Many of these distal, tropical communities have high-density populations that could face environmental and economic devastation. Whole cultures would be swallowed by the sea.”

We can only hope that governments worldwide have their ears to the Earth ready for the answer to one of the century’s biggest environmental questions: just how vulnerable are the planet’s ice-sheets to global warming?

Business

HANDS UP:new research to rouse volunteersBy Karen Green

HOW AUSTRALIANS SPEND THEIR TIMEAustralians on average volunteer 39 hours of their time each year to community causes – about three per cent of the time they spend watching television. All figures below are per annum.

182HRS

676HRS

34.6DAYS

39HRS

442HRS

49DAYS

COMMUNITY CAUSES1 FACEBOOK2

EXERCISE4 TV6HOUSEWORK5

PHONE3

1: 743 million hours of volunteering in Australia in 2014, divided by 2014 'working age' national population. http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/3101.0Main+Features1Jun%202014

2: A typical user spends over 8.5 hours a week on Facebook https://www.sensis.com.au/assets/PDFdirectory/Sensis_Social_Media_Report_2015.pdf

3: When it comes to mobile phone use, the average Australian spends 49 days each year glued to their device. http://www.news.com.au/technology/gadgets/mobile-phones/new-research-shows-how-many-days-per-year-users-spend-staring-at-mobile-phone-screens/news-story/a105e9a6d9ca27628cd72b3d24a4ca27

4: In 2011-12, adults spent an average of just over 30 minutes per day doing physical activity. http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4364.0.55.004Chapter1002011-12

5: Adults with no children only spend about 16 hours a week on housework like cooking, cleaning and washing. http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/kids/will-you-take-on-a-job-where-you-are-required-to-work-almost-100-hours-a-week/news-story/03db21de616b2d23e11c1bf93f06959c

6: ABS statistics for 2013 indicate that adults spend 13 hours a week watching TV http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/lookup/4364.0.55.004Media%20Release22011-12

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In contrast with days gone by, almost two-thirds of Australians will go an entire year without volunteering any time to not-for-profit organisations and causes. Nationwide there is a growing need for benevolent assistance, so how can we convince non-volunteers to lend a hand?

It stands to reason that, as Australia’s population ages and various sectors battle with budget cuts to community services, the demand for volunteer support will ever increase.

Unfortunately, there has been a chronic decline in volunteer participation, and many not-for-profit organisations are concerned about their viability.

At Curtin Business School, Associate Professor Kirsten Holmes is leading the most comprehensive study of volunteering to date, prompted by the recognition that while scholarly research on the topic is scarce, Australian society depends on volunteers.

“Traditionally, people volunteered in a more sustained manner. Now, participation

is more episodic – we pitch in at different stages of our lives, perhaps according to our need for work experience, our social activities and our children’s recreational activities,” Holmes explains.

“People’s lives are now more fluid and fragmented than they were a generation ago. Models of working have altered, and we change jobs and leisure pursuits more frequently.”

Despite doing everything in our lives differently, there has never been a greater demand for volunteers to help deliver an increasing range of services and build social capital.

Holmes’s project seeks to address the problem via three levels of analysis: the micro level of the individual volunteer or non-volunteer, the mezzo level of the organisation and the macro level of society.

The research included 12 focus groups and several case studies of ‘exemplary’ volunteering organisations in different sectors, including an arts festival, online volunteering for a museum and a hospital. This was followed by a nationwide survey of volunteers and non-volunteers.

“At the mezzo level it’s clear that volunteer organisations must build relationships with non-volunteers,” Holmes says.

“To improve their ‘recruitability’ many now provide training, for example, or use online marketing strategies to attract new volunteers.

The research outcomes will include a tool to measure someone’s propensity to volunteer, as well as guidelines to help organisations build strategies and governments to develop policy to create a sustainable volunteer sector.

“It’s crticial to increase social participation by converting non-volunteers into volunteers – to encourage people to be more community-minded and introduce them to the benefits of volunteering,” Holmes explains.

The three-year project is supported by an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant, and is a comprehensive collaboration involving Curtin, Macquarie and Flinders universities; William Angliss Institute; Erasmus University of Rotterdam; peak volunteering organisations in WA, Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory; and WA’s Department of Local Government and Communities.

To date, the findings have been presented at international conferences in the US and Sweden, and at the National Volunteering conference in Canberra.

Marketing

By Karen Green

In the lab of

Curtin Business School is again leading the way with marketing research innovations, with its new Luxury Brand Consumer Research Laboratory.

W hile the billion-dollar global market research industry is clear on strategies for utilitarian products, the consumer’s

relationship with luxury brands is more mysterious.

In 2014, Professor Ian Phau acted on the shortage of industry-based research being undertaken in this area of consumer behaviour and established the Luxury Brand Research Cluster. One of the longstanding issues with research in the realm of ‘luxury’ consumption, Phau explains, is that conventional surveys of consumer behaviour are not reliable.

“Emotional experience is fundamental to luxury consumption, but the experience can be a complexity of many, shifting emotions – pleasure, pride, anger, envy and guilt,” he says.

“Because self-report surveys don’t capture the consumer’s experience in real-time they don’t reflect the actual experience of luxury consumption. Instead, they record the consumer’s perception of their emotional experience, or even their preferred experience.”

A promising new approach is now being explored in a research field of psychophysiology, which combines human physiology and psychology and employs biometric technologies able to detect autonomic emotional reactions in real-time.

Embracing the potential of these tools, CBS recently established its own laboratory for psychophysiology methods, where Dr Billy Sung is now testing the application of biometric technologies in luxury marketing research.

“Because human emotions are accompanied by involuntary physiological responses, which are universal, these tools can reliably measure the continuous experience of emotions in real-time,” Sung explains.

“At the laboratory we’ve installed technologies able to decode facial expressions, and measure brainwave activity, heart rate, skin temperature and eye-pupil movement.

“We can therefore examine the emotional processes that underlie consumers’ reactions to luxury marketing stimuli – a shift between pleasure and frustration, for example, will reflect in specific facial muscles, left-brain activity and heart rate.”

His recent study investigated the consumer behaviours of 125 low-income participants to a brand of chocolate that was presented as both a luxury and then as a non-luxury product, using both conventional self-surveys and with psychophysiological methods.

Interestingly, the psychophysiological tests revealed participants were less engaged when the product was branded to be luxurious.

“This may be due to frustration because the luxury product highlights a desire for a higher income, or perhaps because a ‘luxury’ implies frivolity and therefore foolishness to this group of consumers,” Sung says.

“Clearly the luxury industry must carefully manage the consumer emotional experience, by considering their target market and tailoring communication and branding methods.”

The findings are already impacting industry and have informed the development of a new store for Gabriel Chocolate. Recognising the relevance of the research to both industry and academia, Curtin awarded its 2016 Innovation Award for CBS to the Luxury Branding Research Cluster (see page 23)

“We’ll continue to add new biometric technologies to the lab, and market research firms will soon be able to access the facility for customised studies,” says Phau.

“New Australian and international industry collaborations with the team are likely to deliver many insights into luxury brand marketing.”

curtin.edu/luxury-branding

“At the laboratory we’ve installed technologies able to decode facial expressions, and measure brainwave activity, heart rate, skin temperature and eye-pupil movement.”

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Bioscience

By Karen Green

FIGHTING BACTERIA ONE SPOT AT A TIME

DBS:

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A novel blood assaying technique requiring only a tiny sample of dried blood could revolutionise patient care in remote locations such as highland areas of Papua New Guinea.

Microbial resistance to antibiotics has grown to be a major global health issue. While the over-administering of antibiotics often takes

the blame, there is also the problem of incorrect dosages being prescribed.

Developing nations are particularly vulnerable, because determining the optimal dosage usually involves the challenge of storing and transporting vials of patients’ blood over vast distances for analysis. It’s also impractical for pregnant women and neonates due to the volume of blood required. Consequently, studies often exclude these vulnerable populations.

Alternative solutions for blood assaying are therefore an increasing focus in pharmacokinetics – a research field central to drug development.

At Curtin, Professor Kevin Batty has been overseeing studies involving the development of assays for blood samples

sent from PNG as ‘dried blood spots’ (DBS). Batty, together with several Western Australian researchers, has used the technique to determine the optimal antibiotic treatment for severe bacterial infections in children in Papua New Guinea, where acute bacterial meningitis and pneumonia are major causes of mortality and neurological damage in children.

“DBS are basically a pin-prick of blood on blotting paper,” he says.

“The method offers an alternative to the logistically challenging and costly process of venous blood collection, where multiple samples of patient blood are drawn and then centrifuged to provide plasma samples for analysis.

“These must then be stored and transported at temperatures below minus 20 degrees Celsius.”

DBS overcomes these challenges and furthermore, Batty explains, it is suitable for pregnant women and neonates.

While DBS was therefore considered innovative, limitations in the sensitivity of analytic equipment has hindered the development and application of assays. At Curtin, however, the availability of mass spectrometry-based technologies, together with the leading analytical skills of Dr Madhu Page-Sharp, have seen Curtin build impressive capabilities in antimicrobial research.

Funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council, the PNG project also involved researchers at The University of Western Australia (UWA), Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research and University of Papua New Guinea.

“The key outcome has been to determine the optimal dosage of a frontline antibiotic, ceftriaxone, with our DBS assays using a small fraction of the standard volume of blood for PK studies,” Batty says.

The team’s success has encouraged the School of Pharmacy to strengthen its focus in the area, recently appointing Dr Brioni Moore as Senior Research Fellow. With extensive experience in clinical studies in PNG, she and Page-Sharp are working with their UWA collaborators, as well as teams from WA hospitals and other research organisations, to develop DBS assays for children and neonates with serious infections.

“DBS is now the cornerstone of our pharmacokinetic studies,” Moore confirms. “Expertise in DBS assay development provides a platform for collaborations that will fill many knowledge gaps about drug therapies, particularly for vulnerable sub-populations.”

healthsciences.curtin.edu.au/schools-and-departments/pharmacy/research

One in ten children in Papua New Guinea die before the age of five. This appalling rate of childhood mortality is in part due to widespread antibiotic resistance, and to the challenges of pharmacokinetic research into sub-populations most at risk of severe infections and death.

BIRTH RATE1

INFANT MORTALITY

RATE2

Japan 7.8 2.08

Australia 12.1 4.37

US 12.5 5.87

Brazil 14.3 18.60

PNG 24 38.5

India 19.3 41.81

Somalia 40 98.39

1. Birth rate = annual births per 1000 people2. Infant mortality rate = number of infants under

one-year old per 1000 live births Figures from The World Factbook:

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/ the-world-factbook/geos/so.html

Earth science

ATOM PROBE UNLOCKS ANCIENT MINERAL HISTORY

By Karen Green

In 2015, Curtin was fortunate to secure the geoscience expertise of Denis Fougerouse as he was finalising his doctoral research on the processes of gold mineralisation.

The University’s recent acquisition of an atom probe was primarily responsible for Fougerouse joining the Department of Applied Geology, where he has acquired skills in advanced microanalytical techniques, including atom probe microscopy. Accordingly, he has been able step up his research into the geochemical and structural processes that influence gold distribution in sulphide ores.

His application of APM sees his work at the fore of research in the area, with a recent study now challenging the present theories on how colloidal gold atoms bond with a host mineral surface. The research outcomes have implications for gold mineralisation processes and will eventually lead to improved gold recovery.

In 2016, he described the study in a paper published in American Mineralogist – the first publication from research using the Geoscience Atom Probe – and has co-authored a further two papers, in Science Advances and Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta.

Fougerouse completed his master degree in France and his PhD at the Centre for Exploration Targeting at the University of Western Australia.

geology.curtin.edu.au

Profile

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Denis FougerouseDepartment of Applied GeologyWestern Australian School of Mines

Curtin has the only atom probe in the world dedicated to geoscience research, so an important part of our work is the development, optimisation and application of APM techniques to geological materials.Using the new Geoscience Atom Probe, Curtin researchers are detecting gold nanoparticles that have a diameter one thousandth the diameter of a human hair.

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The application of atom probe microscopy (APM) to geological materials is in its infancy, yet within a year of installation at Curtin, an atom probe dedicated to geoscience has supported major advances in two research areas: gold mineralisation processes and zircon-based geochronology.

In 2015, the national Science and Industry Endowment Fund awarded $12.4 million to Curtin, CSIRO and The University of Western Australia to jointly establish the Advanced Resource Characterisation Facility (ARCF). The grant enabled Curtin to acquire an atom probe, now housed in the John de Laeter Centre, and to accelerate the University’s capabilities in nanogeoscience.

With its ability to visualise the composition of individual atoms in 3D, the Geoscience Atom Probe is shedding light on the distribution of precious metals in ores.

Dr Denis Fougerouse recently completed the first atom probe study of gold in arsenopyrite, a refractory ore that often hosts large quantities of gold. Using needle-shaped specimens infinitely smaller than speck of dust, his study has challenged prevailing theories of how gold is embedded into mineral ores.

“The way gold particles are deposited in a host ore was thought to be determined by the concentration of gold in the metamorphic fluid,” Fougerouse explains.

“Using the atom probe, we revealed that it is the growth rate of the mineral which determines how atoms of gold bond with another surface.

“Slow crystal growth will promote the formation of nanoparticles, and rapid growth will distribute the gold atoms homogeneously throughout the ore.”

He expects the study will facilitate improvements in extraction techniques that not only increase the recovery of precious metals, but also reduce the high energy consumption of extractive methods – both of which are important for the sustainability of Australian mineral industries.

Professor Steve Reddy, Science Leader for the Geoscience Atom Probe, is also using APM the drive research in nanogeoscience, in the field of geochronology.

“Atom probe microscopy is emerging as a major field for understanding trace elements in zircon and other minerals used for dating geological processes,” he says.

Reddy is leading an international team applying APM to study the mobility of trace elements in zircon. Working with Assistant Professor Emily Peterman from Bowdoin College in the US, the team recently published its research outcomes in the journal Science Advances. The paper describes their innovative use of APM to investigate the mechanisms responsible for lead-loss in 2.1-billion-year old zircon.

“Zircon is a time capsule of information about geological processes, because it can withstand severe physical and chemical processes and is common in igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rock,” he explains.

“Radiometric dating in zircon relies on the decay of its uranium to lead, but lead can be lost from zircon and this compromises the dating technique. APM has the potential to resolve the mechanisms responsible for lead loss and yield the ages of lead nanoparticles – something that other characterisation techniques are unable to do.

“Curtin has the only atom probe in the world dedicated to geoscience research, so an important part of our work is the development, optimisation and application of APM techniques to geological materials.”

geoscienceatomprobe.org

GROWING ENTERPRISE

FOR WOMEN IN RURAL PNG

By Nik Malane

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Agribusiness

Women in rural areas of Papua New Guinea (PNG) aren’t transitioning to more empowered, entrepreneurial positions in agribusiness, despite already being an integral part of food production. Dr Gina Koczberski and Professor George Curry from Curtin’s Department of Planning and Geography are launching a research project to investigate why this is occurring and what can be done to change it.

T he four-year project, funded by a $1.2 million Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research ‘National Competitive Grant’, commences in late 2016 and is an exciting collaboration with CARE International, the PNG University of Technology

and PNG’s three main national agricultural research institutions: Coffee Industry Corporation, Oil Palm Research Association and the Cocoa and Coconut Institute.

Data will be collected across five provinces from rural individuals and households, private and public sector organisations from the main commodity crop industries, and the fresh food produce sector in PNG, with the aim of identifying both the pathways and the factors that influence successful transition from smallholder to entrepreneurial positions in agribusiness, as well as improving access to networks and business development services for PNG women.

Papua New Guinea ranks 134 out of 148 countries on the Gender Inequality Index (GII) and is one of the few countries that did not meet the 2015 Millennium Development Goal targets set for the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment. Yet existing data collected among smallholder households reveals that women are central to family livelihoods and wellbeing in rural PNG.

“They produce the bulk of subsistence food crops, contribute to household income and fill valued social and community roles. They also take on most of the responsibility for childcare and domestic tasks. Women tend to spend more of their income than men on meeting the needs of their families, so income gains for women lead to direct improvements in the quality of life of their families,” Dr Koczberski reveals.

However, few studies have focused on the opportunities or barriers to women engaging more strongly in the agricultural sector, especially as managers of small-scale agricultural enterprises. The project aims to address knowledge gaps and build on existing socio-economic research.

“Presently, there is very little knowledge on how intra-household factors such as gender roles and relationships constrain women in establishing their own small agricultural enterprise. Also, rural women in PNG carry very heavy workloads in both subsistence and commodity crop production and other household livelihood activities, and have limited access and control over customary land for commercial economic activities. How labour and land access issues affect women’s ability to become small business entrepreneurs is unknown,” says Dr Koczberski.

The researchers expect project findings will have a significant and demonstrable impact on the PNG community, translating into policies that improve economic and social opportunities for women, such as those that assist women to access markets, training and income opportunities. The research will also inform a joint Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and World Bank Group ‘Pacific Gender Research Partnership’ project, which commenced in 2015.

INNOVATIONS 2016Commercialisation

New software that enables an optimal, streamlined approach to mine plant shutdown scheduling was the overall winner at the 2016 Curtin Commercial Innovation Awards, resulting in $15,000 for its inventors.

MINE MAINTENANCE OPTIMISATION

Keeping a large mining operation running smoothly and effectively is a big task, and efficiency is key in maximising profits. While maintenance requiring a

shutdown is an inevitability, the time spent with mines not functioning is often far longer than it needs to be, cutting into profits by substantial amounts.

Working in collaboration with market-leading mining services firm and project sponsor Linkforce Engineering, Associate Professor Ryan Loxton and his research team, Dr Reza Parand, Dr Yufei Sun, Mr Chongyi Liu and Mr Praveen Jayakumari, have developed cutting-edge algorithms that reduce maintenance downtime costs and optimise resource use in shutdowns.

These complex algorithms are used to automatically generate a shutdown schedule for mining operations, making scheduling far more efficient and potentially making huge savings.

Search YouTube for Optimising mining maintenance

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12016 AWARD WINNER

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BIOMETRIC MARKET RESEARCH

Market research is an important part of economics, but collecting data has always been a fairly imprecise process. Now, research led by Curtin’s Dr Ian Phau is

bringing a new, more scientific practice to the measurement of consumer reaction.

Curtin’s mobile marketing lab can measure heart rate, skin conductance, eye gaze and brainwaves as well as tracking emotion through facial recognition software, giving unprecedented insight into how people react to advertisements and brand products.

Curtin eventually plans to allow partners such as market research firms access to the lab under licensing arrangements, and a number of Australian and international businesses have already expressed interest in the lab’s commercial potential.

Search YouTube for Putting real evidence into consumer marketing

SELECTIVELY TARGETING CANCER STEM CELLS

A run Dharmarajan and his Curtin research team have isolated components of a protein that occurs naturally in the body. These peptides are able to interfere with the

signals that allow cancer cells to grow. It also affects cancer stem cells, making them less resistant to chemotherapy.

This breakthrough has huge potential in cancer treatment and offers hope for new, safer drugs. The protein breaks down into domains and from there to smaller peptide parts, which block cancer growth signals while being much less likely to have unexpected or detrimental effects on the body.

Used in combination with other currently available treatments, this new discovery is set to aid greatly in the fight against cancer and save lives.

Search YouTube for Peptides target the seeds of cancer

5KEEPING FRUIT AND VEG FRESHER, LONGER

F ruits and vegetables are a vital part of a healthy diet and a large industry, but keeping them fresh on the way to the consumer can be a challenge. Nearly half of all fruit

and vegetables spoil before they are bought, and one of the main reasons for this is a hormone called ethylene. This causes over-ripening of fruit, spoilage of vegetables and loss of petals in flowers.

Curtin’s Zora Singh and Alan Payne have developed non-toxic compounds that can help solve this problem by preventing produce from reacting to ethylene, which have been shown to slow ripening and extend the shelf life of produce and to reduce petal loss in flowers.

This advancement promises to reduce food waste, meaning that land and water can be utilised more sustainably, benefiting the environment and economy.

Search YouTube for Making fruit and vegetables last longer

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3THE FUTURE OF WIRELESS AUDIO

Wearable audio tech company Nuheara have developed new wireless earbuds called IQbuds that feature some outstanding capabilities and represent a new level in

wireless wearable technology.

Working closely with Nuheara, a Curtin research team led by Professor Sven Nordholm is developing new algorithms to achieve an exceptional level of sophistication in blending digital audio streams with sounds from the real world. These algorithms integrate seamlessly with Nuheara’s revolutionary IQ buds. The earbuds connect with Bluetooth devices and allow the wearer control over what they hear. They can be used to augment the sounds in the environment like a hearing aid or block it out for some peace and quiet.

Search YouTube for Smart tech comes to earpieces

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Commercialisation

VIRTUAL HOME VISITS

T he Virtual Home Visits game was developed by Anne Furness and her Curtin research team as a way for students to experience how to assess risks in a client’s home without the

need for every student to physically visit a client.

Developed using HTML5, the ‘serious game’ is accessible and can be played on a desktop or mobile device. It gives the sense of being in a client’s home, with students to identify and classify hazards that could result in falls, formulate a risk management plan and determine the service the client needs.

Packaged in a game, the solution is much more engaging than classroom learning. The digital training process is preparation for students and should aid them in helping the elderly, allowing people to remain in their homes longer and avoid institutional care.

Search YouTube for A serious game: VR improving quality of life

3D IMAGING OF THE HMAS SYDNEY AND HSK KORMORAN

Two wartime shipwrecks off Western Australia are being digitally reconstructed in 3D with the help of Curtin’s innovative technology. Highly detailed images of the

wrecks were captured by remote controlled vehicles fitted with customised camera and lighting gear.

These images are being processed into a 3D model with more technology from Curtin, software developed by Dr Andrew Woods which, with the Pawsey Centre supercomputer, can vastly speed up the time needed to process the images. Without this innovation the data would take more than one thousand years to process.

It will allow the wrecks to be studied in great detail, and the software has other potential applications in mine safety, forensic analysis of crime scenes, or even game and movie production.

Search YouTube for Massive 3D reconstruction system

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FOR MORE INFORMATION Contact Curtin University’s Office of IP Commercialisation. Tel: +61 9266 1778 Web: curtin.edu.au/research/ip-commercialisation

INNOVATIONS 2016

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Curtin University professor and eminent botanist Professor Kingsley Dixon has been named WA Scientist of the Year at the 2016 Premier’s Science Awards, in recognition of his efforts in conservation science, restoration ecology and plant science.

Professor Dixon, widely known for discovering the chemical in smoke that causes the Australian bush to flourish after a bushfire, received the award from Premier Colin Barnett.

In another outstanding achievement, Fireballs in the Sky, a citizen science project led by Professor Phil Bland, was named Chevron Science Engagement Initiative of the Year.

Curtin’s University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry said it was fantastic to see Curtin’s researchers and outreach programs rewarded for the impactful and influential work they do.

“I congratulate both Professor Dixon and the Fireballs in the Sky team, and applaud the efforts of all of our finalists, whose work reflects the broad diversity of research fields present at Curtin, and the depth of talent that exists amongst our researchers,” says Professor Terry.

“These accolades reflect Curtin’s strong focus on research, both in environmental and planetary science, and our commitment to engaging with the community as we strive to understand more about our own world and the wider universe.”

Professor Dixon is a professor with Curtin’s Department of Environment and Agriculture and a Visiting Professor at Kings Park and Botanic Garden.

His work in conservation science, restoration ecology and plant science has been fundamental to conserving threatened species and transforming ecological restoration practice in Australia.

His discovery of the chemical in smoke that is responsible for germination in Australian species has had widespread application, being valued at $100 million per annum in terms of potential global benefits to agriculture, mining restoration and horticulture.

As Foundation Director of Science at the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority for 32 years, he is acknowledged as the driving force behind the creation of its world-recognised research laboratories.

2016 Premier’s Science Awards

Curtin professor named WA Scientist of the Year

Fireballs in the Sky, the outreach arm of the Desert Fireball Network project, is an innovative Australian citizen science program that invites people around the world to learn about fireball and meteorite science and contribute to fireball sightings via a smartphone app.

With this data, the fireball’s pre-Earth orbit and eventual landing position are tracked. More than 89,000 Western Australians have engaged with the program through hands-on activities, talks and events, and it has received international media coverage.

The smartphone app has had 23,000 downloads worldwide and in 2015 it was awarded the National iAward for Innovation in Education.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research, Professor Chris Moran, said Curtin had a total of five finalists in the running for awards. They included Professor Zheng-Xiang Li, from the Curtin WA School of Mines, who was also in contention for Scientist of the Year; and lecturers Dr Kaiming Bi and Dr Jun Li, both from Curtin’s School of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, who were shortlisted for the Woodside Early Career Scientist of the Year award.

“Every one of the Curtin finalists has undertaken work that has had an exciting impact within their respective fields,” Professor Moran says.

The Premier’s Science Awards are held annually to celebrate the State’s best in scientific research and science engagement.

The free Fireballs in the Sky app is available for both iOS and Android users.

Graduate StudiesOverview 2016 Graduate profile

Higher degrees by research

This has been another very busy and successful year for graduate studies at Curtin that has seen the opening of the Graduate Research School and transition to full operation. The school moved to its new location in Building 101 at the start of March 2015. Teams of graduate studies officers provide support for future and current students and academics, and provide advice on scholarships and theses. There is also a senior projects officer and training/events officer.

Ensuring training opportunities for our students has been a major focus. The regular seminar and workshop series was again enhanced through the INSPIRE conference, that brings together higher degree by research (HDR) students from all five universities in Perth for a variety of skills training.

Curtin’s “Pathways to your Future” program was well attended and provided insights into the post-study world. The working with industry theme was further enhanced by Curtin students’ participation in IPREP – an innovative program matching small teams of students who are “under examination” with industry sponsors to have a real-life problem-solving experience. As with INSPIRE, the program involves all five Perth universities working collaboratively for the benefit of our HDR students.

Part of the training focus this past year has been ensuring that our students understand the importance of researching with integrity. All students must now complete the online unit ‘Research Integrity’ prior to gaining candidacy.

In 2014, our HDR students contributed to more than 20 per cent of Curtin’s research output and are an important part of the research effort. In addition, 300 students were approved to graduate.

Curtin continues to strive for excellence in research through the recruitment and training of HDR students and by providing a vibrant and collegiate environment in which all students can flourish.

curtin.edu.au/research/conduct-research

Live cell imaging is the study of living cells using time-lapse microscopy, and is used by scientists to study the structure and function of living cells in order to better understand cellular-related diseases, such as sickle-cell disease or Alzheimer’s disease. As cells are translucent, to be seen under a microscope, and to see the complex structures that make up cells, they can be stained with a fluorescent chemical probe, which makes them glow. However, fluorescent probes can be phototoxic and cause cell death, limiting the ability to observe them over a long period of time.

Chiara Caporale has discovered new probes to study cells that are not toxic. Working with her supervisor Dr Max Massi at Curtin’s Department of Chemistry, Caporale has found that iridium probes of specific chemical composition are luminescent but nontoxic to cells, and can therefore be used in live cell imaging. Caporale has also discovered that these luminescent iridium probes can be localised to a specific organelle within the cell called the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), which further prevents cell damage. Until now, nontoxic iridium based probes for the ER were not available.

Caporale’s research on luminescent iridium has made an instrumental contribution to the advancement of nontoxic methods of live cell imaging, for which there is a high demand. In July this year Caporale received the prestigious Don Stranks Award from the Royal Australian Chemistry Institute (RACI) for her research. The award is regarded as the top student award in the discipline of inorganic chemistry.

“There is a continuous request for probes with better and better properties for the development of biological imaging,” says Massi. “My research is a small step forward in understanding the different diseases related to the ER of the cell and to the development of a better diagnostic technique.”

scieng.curtin.edu.au/science/chemistry

Chiara Caporale School of Applied Chemistry Faculty of Science and Engineering

Professor Garry AllisonAssociate Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research Training

Kit PrendergastDepartment of Environment and Agriculture Faculty of Science and Engineering

In the face of ever-increasing urbanisation, the resilience of southwest Western Australia’s famed biodiversity is heavily reliant on the abundance and diversity of bees. Through her research, Forrest Scholar Kit Prendergast aims to identify the native bee communities of urbanised southwest WA and their ecological traits, to help better understand what factors contribute to their distribution and abundance, and examine how introduced honeybees affect native bees.Her results will be important for identifying management options to maximise thriving bee communities and optimise the conservation of native bees without jeopardising WA’s internationally-renowned honeybee industry in this biodiversity hotspot.

The study will also improve our understanding of how native bees respond to urbanisation and whether the ubiquitous introduced European honeybee (Apis mellifera) is a threat to native plant-pollinator communities.

Kit Prendergast has created a Facebook group for the project – “Bees in the ‘burbs in a biodiversity hotspot” – a citizen science initiative that invites the Western Australian public to report observations of native bees via a communal spreadsheet and to share their photos of native bees.

The project is supervised by eminent botanist Professor Kingsley Dixon, who was named WA Scientist of the Year at the 2016 Premier’s Science Awards (see page 25). Dr Bill Bateman is co-supervisor, along with Dr Myles Menz from the University of Bern, Switzerland.

Having completed a first class honours project on horses, published in 2016 in The Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, Prendergast is driven by a passion for animals great and small.

“The beauty, complexity and behaviours of biota are a never-ending source of intrigue and excitement for me, and I’m fascinated by discovering and learning about diversity, evolution, and ecological interactions,” she says.

“I will continue to strive to identify science-based approaches to preserve the health of ecosystems.”

Frederik SeersholmDepartment of Environment and Agriculture Faculty of Science and Engineering

In order to understand the impact humans have had, and continue to have, on our planet’s biodiversity, a more complete historical record of habitat range and population size of animal species is required.

By analysing the DNA from ancient bone fragments, Forrest Scholar Frederik Seersholm’s research seeks to describe how the biodiversity of the globe has fluctuated during the past 100,000 years.

Before modern genetic analysis, scientists were limited to analysing large, well preserved bones and making assumptions based on their shape. Now, scientists can analyse bones so fragmented that their distinguishing features have been lost.

“The advantage of analysing such fragmented bones is that a more complete picture of the biodiversity from a given location will be generated, as bones from species with small fragile bones can be assessed together with bones from better-preserved fossils,” Seersholm says.

“In addition, genetics open up for a far greater level of detail when studying population dynamics of the past. For example, genetics can be used to estimate inter-familial relations within the individuals of one species or it can be applied to study how animals have evolved and adapted to climatic changes or an increasing hunting pressure over time.

“Furthermore, if we want to reintroduce species to their natural habitat we need to know what that habitat was.”

Seersholm credits his grandfather for his passion for history, describing him as a “walking encyclopaedia” on Vikings and the middle ages in his native Copenhagen.

“My interest in DNA and genomics on the other hand, came later,” he says. “During my first years at university I developed a keen interest in genomics. In particular, I enjoy the statistical modelling and the programming challenges that arise from the analysis of up to hundreds of gigabytes of DNA sequencing data.”

Forrest Scholar profiles

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The Forrest Research Foundation Scholarship is awarded to PhD candidates with the highest calibre of academic achievement and with potential to make a positive difference to the world. The highly exclusive scholarships have been made possible by the donation of $65 million dollars by Andrew and Nicola Forrest, to build world-class innovation capacity in Western Australia. forrestresearch.org.au

INSTITUTES AND CENTRES UNIVERSITY RESEARCH INSTITUTESAustralia–Asia-Pacific InstituteCurtin Health Innovation Research Institute – BiosciencesCurtin Institute for ComputationCurtin Institute of Radio AstronomyCurtin University Sustainability Policy InstituteFuels and Energy Technology InstituteNanochemistry Research InstituteNational Drug Research InstituteThe Institute for Geoscience Research

UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CENTRESCentre for Culture and TechnologyCentre for Infrastructure Monitoring and ProtectionCentre for Population Health ResearchCentre for Research in Applied EconomicsCentre for Smart Grid and Sustainable Power SystemsJohn Curtin Institute of Public Policy

EXTERNAL COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH CENTRESAustralasian Joint Research Centre for Building Information ModellingAustralia–China Joint Research Centre for EnergyAustralia–China Joint Research Centre for Tectonics and ResourcesBankwest Curtin Economics CentreCentre for Crop and Disease ManagementCentre for Marine Science and TechnologyCentre for Sport and Recreation ResearchCisco Internet of Everything Innovation Centre Curtin Corrosion Engineering Industry CentreCurtin Water Quality Research CentreCurtin–Monash Accident Research CentreNational Centre for Student Equity in Higher EducationSino–Australian Joint Research Centre for Ocean Engineering

Office of R+D

with PROFESSOR CHRIS MORANDeputy Vice-Chancellor, Research

Q&A

Professor Chris Moran joined Curtin as Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research in August. Previously, Professor Moran was Director of

the Sustainable Minerals Institute at the University of Queensland, a position he held since 2007.

1. Coming from a minerals and energy background, is the breadth of research activity you now oversee at Curtin a challenge?It is a challenge, but throughout my research career I’ve had a very wide breadth of involvement in different areas of research from microscopic to the macroscopic; from deep process understanding of natural systems to practical optimisation of engineered systems, so my basic enjoyment is around systems - the connected problems of interdisciplinary research. So if there’s a health researcher, a social scientist and engineer in the room, I’m in the right room.

2. Collaboration is a key word in Curtin’s new research strategy and the sector generally. Have you seen a trend towards more collaboration in recent years?Yes. Most universities have a certain level of human capital that allows them to do research projects, but it’s only through collaboration that they’ll be the best in the world.The multidisciplinary approach is important in order to solve some of the world’s fundamental science problems, as well as the more practical problems facing industry and society, all of which tend to be complex. These can really only be addressed if you put together teams of people who want to work with people from other disciplines, and who view progress as solving problems and seeing the big picture, rather than something more narrow.The government and industry bodies funding the projects realise this too, so resources are more readily available for collaborative research.

3. The mining boom is over. What does that mean for Curtin?We’re actually producing more mined product in Western Australia than we ever have. What has come to a temporary pause is the massive investment in infrastructure that enabled increased production over the past decade. But we’re left with a new norm of export which is much higher than ever before.

Part of the rebalancing is for expensive producers to go out of the market, while bigger, lower-cost producers like BHP are still positioned quite well. It’s impossible for smaller operators to match the processes of the larger companies, so a good question for researchers is, can you work with smaller operators and find clever ways to make them profitable? We’re always searching for higher productivity mining with higher robustness for when the price changes.

4. With a new medical school about to open, do you see medical research being the next growth area for Curtin?It's definitely one of them. Curtin's already grown very rapidly in health and I see that continuing. The health services sector is a huge part of our economy and getting bigger. At the same time, there have been significant increases in government funding for human health futures.

5. How do you see research at Curtin evolving over the next decade?The national innovation agenda is a massive opportunity for Curtin. Technology, and the application of technology to solve tomorrow’s problems, is in Curtin’s DNA. There’s a statement about looking ever forward literally written on the wall outside. And being on the back doorstep of Asia, there’s huge markets for groups that can figure out innovative ways of gaining efficiency in big systems. Again, I think we’ll do very well if we’re smart enough to join ourselves up and view those big team efforts as exciting things to do.Overall, Curtin’s research culture needs to grow in two ways – firstly, in terms of quality, by attracting the best researchers in the world, which Curtin has been doing very well, and secondly, in terms of scale. In fact, I think it’s quite feasible for Curtin to define its own growth trajectory rather than follow that of other universities that have become research intensive. We can do this by taking on the large-scale industrial, community and societal challenges. I find that idea really compelling.

CENTRES OF EXCELLENCEARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky AstrophysicsARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems

MULTI-INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH CENTRESAustralian Housing and Urban Research InstituteCentre for Data LinkageCentre for Exploration TargetingCentre for Microscopy Characterisation and AnalysisCRC Mining International Centre for Radio Astronomy ResearchJohn de Laeter CentrePawsey Supercomputing CentrePlanning and Transport Research CentreSustainable Built Environment National Research CentreWestern Australian Biodiversity Science InstituteWestern Australian Energy Research AllianceWestern Australian Marine Science InstituteWestern Australian Satellite Technology and Applications Consortium

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH CENTRESAntarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research CentreAustralian Seafood CRCCRC for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the EnvironmentCRC for Greenhouse Gas TechnologiesCRC for Infrastructure Engineering and Asset ManagementCRC for Living with AutismCRC for Remote Economic ParticipationCRC for Spatial InformationCRC MiningDeep Exploration Technologies CRCLow Carbon Living CRCLowitja InstituteWound Management Innovation CRCYoung and Well CRC

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