Student topics

Arable land, water resources and biodiversity are under pressure from increased human populations and resource needs. On top of that, natural and agri-food systems are rapidly changing due to natural disturbances, with climate change likely to increase the impacts of extreme events like drought and wildfire.With climate change, negative impacts on agriculture are predicted with disruptions to food supply; many ecosystems have already been impacted by increased frequency and severity of extreme fire events; coral reefs will be threatened by …

Study level

Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Science

School

School of Biology and Environmental Science

Research centre(s)

Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy
Centre for the Environment

Nutrients such as ammonium and phosphate species are essential in agriculture. However, release of excessive amounts of nutrients to waterways may result in eutrophication which can lead to toxic algae blooms, killing of fish and destruction of the environment.Compounding this issue is the fact that phosphate rock sources are gradually being exhausted. Hence, finding a means to capture and reuse phosphate species from sources such as wastewater treatment plants is potentially attractive.Consequently, this project involves the development of new phosphate …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Engineering

School

School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering

Extreme heatwaves and other extreme weather events are contributing to the fragility of cities and urban infrastructure, which requires urgent attention. Urban heat islands are an exemplar for metropolitan fragile areas, which exacerbate the impact of climate change and global warming on natural hazards, such as wildfires, storms, floods, and droughts, which pose a critical threat to Australian and international communities (Degirmenci et al., 2021). Decision support systems (DSS) can help city planners and policymakers to optimise their decision-making by …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Business and Law

School

School of Management

Research centre(s)

Centre for Future Enterprise

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

Sub-Antarctic islands have unique ecosystems and landscapes under increasingly pressure from climate change. In many cases this is compounded by the introduction of invasive species since their discovery by humans in the 1800s.Understanding ecosystem and environmental responses to climate change and separating them from human-induced causes of change is essential for their future protection. To do this requires quantifying long-term, natural rates and variability of change, establishing the ‘baseline’ status of ecosystems and the environment prior to human arrival, and …

Study level

PhD

Faculty

Faculty of Science

School

School of Biology and Environmental Science

Research centre(s)

Centre for the Environment

As the world transitions from fossil fuels to biomass based fuels there is a corresponding drive to create new technologies to enable this situation to come to fruition.Biofuels represent one option in terms of mitigating the impacts of global warming.The conversion of biomass to biofuels typically requires a catalyst. Many different materials have been investigated, with zeolites showing considerable promise.However, zeolite catalysts can be expensive and thus there is a challenge to create new catalysts which are low cost.This project …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Engineering

School

School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering

Antarctic ecosystems are complex, and data is limited since it is expensive to collect. Species interact in food webs which can be modelled as mathematical networks. The relationships between species are not always known, or we might know they interact but not how strongly. Noisy (or imperfect) data can be used to model these species interactions to give more certainty about how the ecosystem works as a whole – although the worse the data is, the less information it contributes. …

Study level

Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Science

School

School of Mathematical Sciences

Research centre(s)

Centre for Data Science
Centre for the Environment

To conserve species in disturbed natural environments, we need to use mathematical models to predict the consequences of different interventions. Unfortunately, these models are based on partial information of complex systems, and the systems themselves are subject to substantial observational and process noise.We often use ordinary differential equations to describe ecosystems, like the classic logistic growth model:dn/dt = r n (1 - n / k)However, these models are deterministic, and they assume we know the values of the key parameters …

Study level

Master of Philosophy, Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Science

School

School of Mathematical Sciences

Research centre(s)

Centre for Data Science
Centre for the Environment

According to dynamical systems theory, crises occur because couplings within a system (geophysical, ecological and social) create instabilities. Nonlinear feedbacks means that relatively small changes in circumstances can cause a rapid change to the system state. For example, a small increase in tourism visitors could lead to the invasion of a new species. Or, a gradual change in the average global temperature could lead to the collapse of Antarctic ice-shelves.In the coming decade, the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic are likely to …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Science

School

School of Mathematical Sciences

Research centre(s)

Centre for the Environment

Satellite images are a frequent and free source of global data which can be used to effectively monitor the environment. We can see how the land is being used, how it’s being changed, what’s there – even where animals are in the landscape. Using these images is essential, particularly for regions where data is expensive to collect or difficult to physically access, like Antarctica. In Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic islands, satellite images can be an easy and quick way to …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Science

School

School of Mathematical Sciences

Research centre(s)

Centre for Data Science
Centre for the Environment

Conservation and land-use conflicts arise when people have different needs and interests concerning a protected area or land space. The management of these types of conflicts often has to broach disciplinary divides to ensure that appropriate consideration is given to the many complex and diverse issues that surround them, such as social justice, food production, biodiversity, the history of a place, and the attitudes and values of local stakeholders. The Law School invites students to express an interest in research …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy

Faculty

Faculty of Business and Law

School

School of Law

Feminist approaches to environmental guidance consider a whole-of-systems approach and acknowledge that the domination of the environment and oppression of women and other groups in society are interlinked. Dr Katie Woolaston and Dr Rowena Maguire are interested in talking to students who are considering using feminist or alternative theories to analyse environmental governance. Particular areas of interest include wildlife and conservation, methods of collaboration, waste management, and the circular economy.

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy

Faculty

Faculty of Business and Law

School

School of Law