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 72 matching student topics
Displaying 25–36 of 72 results
Scene Understanding for Underwater Imagery
Underwater ecosystems, including coral reefs and seagrass meadows, play a critical role in maintaining marine biodiversity, providing coastal protection, and supporting fisheries and tourism economies that millions depend upon globally. These habitats are increasingly vulnerable to climate change, pollution, and other anthropogenic impacts, demanding urgent efforts to monitor and restore them. Accurate scene understanding of underwater imagery enables fine-scale ecosystem monitoring across spatial and temporal scales, supporting essential activities such as habitat and biodiversity assessment, validation of aerial and remotely …
- Study level
- PhD
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Electrical Engineering and Robotics
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Robotics
Development of a machine learning algorithm for high throughput cell response data in drug therapy
High-throughput screening assays are essential for accelerating drug discovery, but current assays often rely on endpoint measurements that do not capture the dynamic response of cells to drug treatment. Machine learning algorithms (MLAs) have the potential to enable real-time, high-throughput monitoring of cell response to drug treatment by analyzing complex datasets generated by multiplexed live-cell assays. This research project aims to develop an MLA for enabling high throughput cell response data in drug treatment. The project will involve three main …
- Study level
- Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Computer Science
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Curvature dependence of reaction-diffusion wave front speed with nonlinear diffusion.
Reaction-diffusion waves describe the progression in space of wildfires, species invasions, epidemic spread, and biological tissue growth. When diffusion is linear, these waves are known to advance at a rate that strongly depends on the curvature of the wave fronts. How nonlinear diffusion affects the curvature dependence of the progression rate of these wavefronts remains unknown.
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Design, derivation, and implementation of mesh-free finite volume solvers based on 3D unit cell morphology to estimate biomass particle effective parameters
The aim of this PhD project is to use lignocellulosic morphological features extracted from high resolution micro-CT images of biomass particles undergoing a dilute acid pretreatment process to perform computational homogenisation over representative unit cell configurations. Mesh-free finite volume solvers will be developed based on 3D point cloud data sets to estimate virtual biomass particle effective parameters, such as diffusivity, thermal conductivity, and permeability. The simulation results will be analysed to provide a fundamental understanding of the impact that changes …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
Understanding and designing for digital self-care
The aim of this project is to better understand self-care practices with digital technologies amongst young adults and to explore opportunities for digital technology design.Self-care is a process of purposeful engagement in practices that promote holistic health and well-being of the self. Holistic health implies overall health and this encompasses more than just physical health but also includes mental, emotional and even spiritual health of a person. For some people, cooking can be a form of self-care to eat healthily …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Computer Science
Exact and approximate solutions of diffusion on evolving domains
Classical applications of mathematical analysis involve solving partial differential equation models on fixed domains, e.g. 0 < x < L. Applications in biology, however, involve studying diffusive transport on rapidly evolving domains, e.g. 0 < x < L(t), where L(t) represents the length of the evolving tissue. While many problems have been addressed for the case where L(t) increases, less attention has been paid to cases where we consider diffusion on an oscillating domain.In this project we will construct exact …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
Polymer particles as precision sensors for molecules
Polymer particles are a billion-dollar industry with a diverse range of applications from biomedical to industrial coatings. As a prime example, point-of-care testing devices rely on polymeric particles with various size and functionality to conveniently allow instantaneous, selective, and precise diagnostics. However, as new applications arise and current applications advance, these demand the preparation of increasingly complex material and particle systems.The Soft Matter Materials Team has developed a simple method to form uniform particles without any additives, initiators or stabilizers. …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Chemistry and Physics
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Materials Science
Probing the origins of life on Earth
The history of life on Earth is written in the fossil record. In this project, you will investigate stable isotope evidence for extremely early evolving organisms. Through careful petrography and with the use of isotope ratio mass-spectrometers, you will help unravel the history of microbial metabolisms that powered the ecosystems recorded by 3 billion-year-old microbial fossils.
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Searching for Life on Mars on Earth
NASA's newest Mars rover, Perseverance, has just arrived on the red planet. Tasked with searching for ancient life in the geological record of a ~4 billion-year-old crater lake, the mission science team must use our only available analogue - the Earth - as their guide to exploration.
- Study level
- PhD
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Equation learning for partial differential equation models of stochastic random walk models
Random walk models are often used to represent the motion of biological cells. These models are convenient because they allow us to capture randomness and variability. However, these approaches can be computationally demanding for large populations.One way to overcome the computational limitation of using random walk models is to take a continuum limit description, which can efficiently provide insight into the underlying transport phenomena.While many continuum limit descriptions for homogeneous random walk models are available, continuum limit descriptions for heterogeneous …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Data Science
Natural disaster (landslide, earthquake) mitigation using remote sensing, geophysics, and site monitoring
Extreme weather events can exacerbate slope and dam stability issues. Risk mitigation, stabilisation works, and engineered solutions to slope or dam failure require detailed site and subsurface characterisation – generally undertaken after a failure, but often resulting in unacceptable delays to remediation, impacting communities, transport, and water resources.This project will develop pre-emptive risk mitigation measures for at-risk sites, utilising remote sensing, geophysical, and monitoring approaches.
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Empowering communities with DataCare: ethical data practices for smart cities
Smart cities hold immense potential for progress, but their success hinges on citizen empowerment and ethical data practices. Our research initiative, DataCare, aims at reshaping the landscape of smart cities by prioritising citizens, communities, and small businesses. This project, developed in collaboration with Brisbane Residents United (BRU), focuses on transforming smart cities from profit-driven entities to community-led developments.BRU is a community association serving as a vital grassroots advocacy and peer support network for suburban and local resident groups across Greater …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice
- School
- School of Design
- Research centre(s)
- Digital Media Research Centre
Design Lab
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