Student topics

Join the team to be part of an exciting QUT-lead project into materials for Lithium-ion batteries. The project is part of the Federally supported Future Battery Industries - Cooperative Research Centre, which hosts projects all-over the country that are aiming to boost the industry, create clean energy jobs, and enable a sustainable future.In this role you gain access to QUT's one-of-a-kind in Australia, Advanced Battery Facility. At the facility we build lithium batteries in a range of shapes and sizes. …

Study level

Master of Philosophy, Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Science

School

School of Chemistry and Physics

Research centre(s)

Centre for Materials Science
Centre for Clean Energy Technologies and Practices

Robust prediction of human-induced global warming and future climate requires more accurate climate models. Currently, aerosol-clouds interactions represent the largest source of uncertainty in our global climate models. To reduce this uncertainty, we need a better understanding of aerosol sources, chemical and physical properties, and processes impacting their growth to sizes where they can act as Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) and interact with incoming solar radiation.The Southern Ocean is a region of the world where climate and weather models, including …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Science

School

School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

Research centre(s)

Centre for the Environment

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

Shotgun metagenomic sequencing has become commonplace when studying microbial communities and their relationship with the health of our planet, and their direct effects on our own health. Currently, there are >180,000 shotgun metagenomes publicly available, but until recently trying to treat these data as a resource has been challenging due to its extreme size (>700 trillion base pairs).Recently we have developed a tool that can efficiently convert this base pair information into a straightforward assessment of which microorganisms are present …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Health

School

School of Biomedical Sciences

Research centre(s)

Centre for Microbiome Research

Many environmental issues are globally significant problems and countries have to engage and interact with each other to resolve them despite having different domestic priorities. Current challenges around climate, land degradation, biodiversity loss, and plastics are just some of the issues that are influenced by international standards, agreements and institutions.

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy

Faculty

Faculty of Business and Law

School

School of Law

Aerosols, tiny solid or liquid particles, play an important role in global climate regulation, firstly, by scattering and absorbing incoming solar radiation and, secondly, by their ability to take up water vapor from the atmosphere and serve as nuclei for cloud droplet formation (Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN)).With oceans covering 71% of the Earth’s surface, marine aerosols present a significant proportion of the global aerosol budget. Production of particles in the marine environment occurs via 2 pathways: 1) wave breaking and …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy

Faculty

Faculty of Science

School

School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

Research centre(s)

Centre for the Environment

Aerosol liquid water content (ALWC) is a ubiquitous constituent in atmospheric aerosol particles. The degree of ALWC present in aerosol particles is influenced various factors, including relative humidity, temperature, particle mass, size distribution, and aerosol composition. Comprehensive analyses on ALWC have been conducted in the Northern Hemisphere, but similar work has rarely been done in the Southern Hemisphere due to the scarcity of aerosol particle measurements. In the atmosphere, ALWC scatters radiation and reduces visibility, significantly affecting air quality, weather, …

Study level

Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Science

School

School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

In recent years, with the rise in climate change impact, urban heat has become a major issue for many cities to tackle consequently. Extreme heat events are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change, which has directly caused a substantial increase in heat-related morbidity and mortality. This indispensably puts an extra burden on medical systems and national finance. Meanwhile, the urban heat island effect has been exaggerating the consequences caused by the increased extreme heat in metropolitan areas. …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Engineering

School

School of Architecture and Built Environment

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

Drought is the biggest barrier to sequestering soil organic carbon (SOC) in soils over the long-term. While options are limited during dry periods, how we manage our pastures prior to drought can influence the resilience of SOC to losses and enhance recovery.

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Science

School

School of Biology and Environmental Science

Research centre(s)

Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy

Time-controlled grazing (TCG), or cell grazing is a management strategy in which cattle are stocked and rotated across small paddocks or “cells” according to fodder availability. Grazing takes place in short durations at high stocking densities, in an effort to mimic the grazing patterns of wild ungulate herds.This management strategy has gained traction in recent years due to claims that it improves both pasture productivity and diversity, whilst also increasing long-term carbon pools. Limited data is available on the impact …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Science

School

School of Biology and Environmental Science

Research centre(s)

Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy

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