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 171 matching student topics
Displaying 13–24 of 171 results
Development of high value products from mining waste resources
Mining represents one of the largest industry sectors in Australia. It is central to creating 1 million direct or indirect jobs and generates significant wealth to Australia. However, the mining industry produces a substantial amount of waste material which ideally needs to be recycled.
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering
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
The Daigou phenomenon: exploring the heterodox behaviours of entrepreneurial Chinese shoppers
As demand for Australian-made products increases, a new type of entrepreneur has emerged. Daigous, or purchasing agents, serve as important ‘middlemen’ – connecting Chinese customers with Western brands. Daigou have become a paradox. They have been associated with ‘unorthodox’ behaviours such as stockpiling highly sought after products, for example, they have previously created market-wide shortages of infant formula. On the other hand, Daigou are increasingly enacting opportunistic behaviours, boosting demand for premium Australian products such as, cosmetics, skincare and vitamins.Recently, …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy
- School
- School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations
Tailoring 2D materials via interface engineering
2D materials are crystalline materials with only a single layer thickness. The best known 2D materials is graphene, but it also encompasses a large family of materials , such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs).2D materials are set for breakthroughs in fundamental research and transformative technologies. They have few surface dangling bonds and unique atomic-level uniformity which make them very appealing for developing optical, electronic and energy applications.These materials also bring a new degree of freedom to combine highly distinct materials, …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Chemistry and Physics
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Materials Science
Tailoring novel separator for high performance aqueous zinc metal batteries
Developing sustainable and clean energy sources (e.g., solar, wind, and tide energy) is essential to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality. Due to the discontinuous and inconsistent nature of common clean energy sources, high-performance energy storage technologies are a critical part of achieving this target. Aqueous zinc metal batteries with inherent safety, low cost, and competitive performance are regarded as one of the promising candidates for grid-scale energy storage. However, zinc metal anodes with irreversible problems of dendrite growth, hydrogen …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- School
- School of Chemistry and Physics
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Materials Science
New antimicrobial compounds with biofouling properties
Bacteria can readily adhere to the surface of synthetic materials and form a biofilm which is much more difficult to combat than circulating bacteria due to their extreme resistance to antibiotics. Thus, biofilms are of particular concern in the healthcare system, where they increase infection rates by contaminating medical devices, delay chronic wound healing and contribute to tooth decay. In systems used to transport water and oil, biofilms are associated with pipe blockages and corrosion which can result decreased efficiencies …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Chemistry and Physics
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Materials Science
Compensation consultants: Whom do they serve? New evidence on pay for performance
It is common that companies routinely retain compensation consultants to provide guidance in setting executive pay packages. Most importantly, they offer recommendations about formulating appropriate compensation contracts for top management. Research shows that the size and structure of CEO compensation packages significantly affect firm performance (known as pay-for-performance) and, in particular, excessive CEO compensation is associated with the destruction of shareholder wealth. It is, therefore, interesting to investigate whether the use of compensation consultants actually benefits shareholders (e.g. improve firm …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Business and Law
- School
- School of Accountancy
An airway chip for screening viral infection mediated immune responses
Respiratory infections such as influenza, SARS-COV-2, COVID-19, and MERS are increasingly prevalent. Complications and related deaths arising from these infections are often the result of a “cytokine storm”, whereby there is an over production of proinflammatory soluble factors by immune cells, which dictates symptoms severity and mortality risk. Recent works showed that immunomodulatory therapy, with or without antiviral agents, may improve recovery outcome. However, the screening of suitable immune-modulatory and antiviral agents relies heavily on animal models which can't capture …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering
An airway chip for screening viral infection mediated immune responses
Respiratory infections such as influenza, SARS-COV-2, , and MERS are increasingly prevalent. Complications and related deaths arising from these infections are often the result of a “cytokine storm”, whereby there is an over production of proinflammatory soluble factors by immune cells, which dictates symptoms severity and mortality risk [1]. Recent works showed that immunomodulatory therapy with or without antiviral agents may improve recovery outcome. However, the screening of suitable immune-modulatory and antiviral agents relies heavily on animal models which cannot …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
The pulse of sustainability: Interventions to sustainably increase legume production and consumption
Legume-supported value chains, from production to consumption, provide benefits to people and nature that include improved ecosystem functions and resource use efficiency, as well as farmed animal and human health provisions. Environmental co-benefits of legumes include reduced nitrate leaching, increased food sources for pollinators, a greater structural diversity of farmland, and improved soil fertility. Despite the potential of legumes to improve the sustainability of cropping systems and enhance human health, the production and consumption of legumes in Australia is low.Multiple …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Biology and Environmental Science
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy
Characterising a DNA repair protein as an anti-cancer therapeutic target and diagnostic marker in brain cancer
Cancer is the single biggest clinical problem facing the world and will account for half of all global deaths by 2030. Even though there have been significant advances in immunotherapy, we are still unable to cure most cancers. New therapeutic targets, individualised to patient needs, must be identified and validated in order to improve cancer outcomes.Brain cancer causes more deaths in people under the age of 40 than any other cancer and more deaths in children than any other disease. …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health
BIOM01 - Novel therapeutic strategies for targeting dementia
Dementia exhibits the presence of Lewy bodies in the cerebral cortex, which are composed of α-synuclein (αSYN) or Amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques, as well as hyperphosphorylated tau (P-tau) tangles in various forms of dementia. The exact pathological mechanisms underlying this disease are not well understood; however, there is evidence suggesting the involvement of inflammatory activity. Microglia, macrophage cells residing in the brain responsible for clearing external pathogens and dead cells, are of particular interest.Our study aims to investigate whether Lewy bodies …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
-
Centre for Microbiome Research
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