QUT offers a diverse range of student topics for Honours, Masters and PhD study. Search to find a topic that interests you or propose your own research topic to a prospective QUT supervisor. You may also ask a prospective supervisor to help you identify or refine a research topic.
Found 241 matching student topics
Displaying 217–228 of 241 results
Separating nonlinear optical effects in optical limiters
Optical limiting uses a medium’s nonlinear response to allow light at low intensities to be transmitted, but restricts transmission at high intensities so as to safeguard sensitive detectors including the eye. A popular nonlinear process used in optical limiters is two photon absorption where two high intensity light photons are simultaneously absorbed thereby reducing the light transmission through the medium. Unfortunately, in gold nanoparticle optical limiters a second nonlinear process can arise – saturated absorption which leads to an increase …
- Study level
- Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Chemistry and Physics
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Materials Science
Programming polymers
Radical polymerisations play a key role in both commercial and fundamental research (45% of all world polymer production, 100 million tons per year). However, radical polymerisations still suffer from synthetic drawbacks like all-carbon polymer backbones, which largely prevent their (bio)degradability. We will develop a polymerisation technique that allows to incorporate function into polymers - from degradability to catalytic activity.
- Study level
- Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Chemistry and Physics
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Materials Science
Low cost, long life metal-ion capacitors and supercapacitors for renewable energy storage
Australia boasts rich wind and solar energy resources. To avoid fluctuations placing severe burden on the power grids, a reliable and efficient battery storage is required.The present technology based on lithium-ion batteries suffers from high manufacturing cost, poor safety and short life-span.A new kind of storage devices, metal-ion capacitors (MICs), are expected to overcome the storage and the charging speed of the traditional batteries in the near future, opening new avenues for renewable energy resources. The basic structure of MICs …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Chemistry and Physics
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Materials Science
Growth and characterisation of epitaxial graphene for electronic and sensing applications
The extraordinary properties of graphene, a single sheet of carbon atoms (e.g. monodimensional structure, high conductivity, low-noise characteristics) are expected to be exploited in the next generation of electronic devices and gas sensors. These applications require a perfect control of the growth of graphene layers, and an optimum integration with the processes and materials used in the semiconductor industry.This project aims at studying the growth of graphene obtained by heating crystalline SiC at high temperature in Ar atrmosphere and ultra …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Chemistry and Physics
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Materials Science
Two dimensional heterostructures on SiC for new electronics
The present electronic technology is approaching the limit to the smallest circuit element achievable, and the future electronic devices will depend critically on the development of novel approaches. Two dimensional materials seem to offer an exciting perspective, and the advent of graphene (a single layer of carbon atoms in a honeycomb structure) sparked a huge interest, but its application to electronics are limited by the absence of a band gap.A new perspective has been open by other 2D materials which …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Chemistry and Physics
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Materials Science
Life cycle assessments in the hospital space for waste reduction
Recovering, recycling, reuse and reducing waste in the health sector becomes more and more important as it will help hospitals to become more sustainable and to reduce their impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Life cycle assessments of materials, for examples plastic packaging, is an important tool to establish the best practice for recovery and recycling of these materials.
- Study level
- Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Chemistry and Physics
- Research centre(s)
-
Centre for a Waste-Free World
Internet of Mobile Energy
The emergence of the two-way communication model and Distributed Energy Sources (DES) is transforming traditional power systems from largely centralised energy production to more decentralised and connected management systems. This is called the 'smart grid'.As the smart grid evolves, electric vehicles (EVs) are emerging as unconventional and highly-disruptive participants in the grid that can add significant benefit and flexibility. Notably, EVs are equipped with a relatively high capacity battery that stores energy to power the vehicle.EV batteries, coupled with the …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Computer Science
Forecasting disease spread risk based on human movement patterns
This project aims to forecast the risk of infectious disease spread, such as COVID-19 and dengue, based on human movement patterns. We'll use multiple data sources that describe people movement in order to understand individual and population level mobility patterns, and use empirical disease case data to model the effect of movement on the spread of disease.
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Computer Science
Trust in Internet-of-Things with blockchain
Blockchain is an unchangeable, distributed database that provides trust in data once it is stored on the database. However, in Internet-of-Things (IoT), the data is an observation of physical context and is susceptible to noise, drift, or malicious alterations. Sensors may even be decoupled from their intended context by an attacker, which may compromise the blockchain data and its value for guiding decisions.This project aims to develop an innovative approach for pervasive trust in IoT, underpinned by blockchain. The research …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Computer Science
Leadership and digital transformation
Digital transformation and digitalisation are on top of the CIOs' agenda. However, organisations embarking into these initiatives struggle to understand the nature of leadership capabilities required for effective DT. Furthermore, the complexities associated with pandemics such as Covid19 has forced organisations to change the traditional view of leadership. The uncertainties require well-rounded leaders who can create vision and execute tactically to influence change, develop digital capabilities and foster enterprise agility.
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Information Systems
Developing models of failure for porous materials
Classical fracture mechanics accurately predicts the failure strength of samples with sharp flaws such as pre-existing cracks. However, to predict the failure of porous materials we need to develop an understanding of how stresses are concentrated around smooth flaws in the material such as rounded pores, and how these stress concentrations contribute to failure.Finite fracture mechanics combines the energy criterion for failure from classical fracture mechanics with a stress criterion from macroscopic failure theory. The coupled criterion has by now …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
Computational methods for multi-scale structural optimisation
Structural optimisation is a powerful computational methodology for finding high-performing designs for structural components or material architectures. For example, what periodic scaffold would provide the highest possible stiffness for its weight?Solving such a problem computationally requires an understanding of the relevant equations required to model the physical properties of interest, as well as efficient implementation of a range of numerical methods including finite elements, finite differences and optimisation.With recent developments in 3D printing technologies it is now becoming possible to …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
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