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 19 matching student topics
Displaying 1–12 of 19 results
Laser light sensors that see through containers
Raman scattering has been used as a powerful 'fingerprinting' technique for more than 80 years, and is widely used by security and law enforcement for detecting hazardous threats. To better safeguard the community, QUT has developed a unique eye -safe laser Raman sensing system for detecting threats, that works at distance from a target (> 10 m) and operates in real time. Increasingly however, threats are being concealed in order to avoid detection. This project will investigate what range of …
- Study level
- Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Chemistry and Physics
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
Optical coherence tomography imaging of arterial tissue
The sudden rupture of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques and subsequent thrombosis formations are responsible for most acute vascular syndromes, such as myocardial infarction and stroke. Many victims who are apparently healthy die suddenly with no prior symptoms.Such deaths could be prevented through surgery or alternative medical therapy, if vulnerable plaques were identified earlier in their natural progression.While intravascular methods have been developed to visualize various features of vulnerable plaques, there is no single technique that can accurately predict plaque rupture in …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Virus Search Algorithms
Meta-heuristics are powerful search algorithms for solving intractable optimization problems. There are many population based approaches, like genetic algorithms, evolutionary algorithms, particle swarm, etc. but most of these have a static population size.Viruses arise and attack populations periodically. They typically appear when populations become abundant. Viruses infect population members, and often reduce the number of individuals. Viruses create spaces for more individuals and balance competition.The concept of viruses may be mimicked and could be a useful optimization paradigm.
- Study level
- Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering
Network Flow Improvement
Network flow is impeded by the arcs present in the network and their associated length/weighting. Arcs can be added or removed to debottleneck the network. But which ones? At what cost?
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
Optimal ecosystem management in rapidly changing systems
Delays in acting in collapsing ecosystems can be catastrophic. With every passing year, the chances that the ecosystem has progressed past some point of no return increases. Yet the research and development needed to develop a new technology can take a long time. Balance between these two dynamic processes is needed to determine the optimal length and effort for developing new technologies. This project will develop a method for finding the optimal schedule for developing technological readiness, social acceptability, a …
- 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
Next-generation traffic signals for Safe, Efficient and Green Intersections
There is a full PhD scholarship available in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) to support the newly awarded ARC Linkage Project on Next-generation traffic signals using artificial intelligence-based video analytics for safe, efficient and green intersections. The stipend has a cash value of $32,500 per annum for 3 years.To apply for this position, please submit the following documents via email to m1.haque@qut.edu.au:a detailed curriculum vitae (CV) highlighting academic achievements, research experience and …
- Study level
- PhD
- School
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Optimising bone shape with memory networks
Bone is a dynamic tissue that optimises its shape to the mechanical loads that it carries. Bone mass is accrued where loads are high, and reduced where loads are low. This adaptation of bone tissue to mechanical loads is well-known and observed in many instances. However, what serves as a reference mechanical state in this shape optimisation remains largely unknown.
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Optimisation of piezoelectric materials for robotics applications
Piezoelectricity, which translates to “pressure electricity”, is the phenomenon in which certain materials convert mechanical energy to electrical energy, and vice versa. Such materials are common-place and are used in a variety of applications including sensor, actuator, and energy harvesting technologies. The capabilities of such piezoelectric materials have not yet been fully realised. We plan to use computational structural optimisation to design new piezoelectric materials and components that may contribute to novel sensing technologies for robotics applications. Essentially, robots need …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
Optimising delivery of a novel nose-to-brain treatment for brain cancer
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an aggressive brain cancer with no curative treatment and poor prognosis. One of the biggest challenges with treating GBM is the inability of treatment to cross the blood-brain barrier resulting in poor drug distribution in the brain. Fortunately, scientists have recently developed a novel nose-to-brain delivery system that uses nanoparticles loaded with a chemotherapy drug called paclitaxel. Initial treatment investigations in vivo are showing significant promise in reducing and controlling the tumour burden. While exciting, before …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
Optimal conservation management in uncertain Antarctic environments
Species and ecosystems in Antarctica are threatened. Optimal biodiversity conservation is an interdisciplinary field combining mathematical modelling and optimisation with ecology and conservation. We can use mathematics to understand the system, model how management actions might impact it, and then optimise which actions should be used. For example, we can explore where protected areas should be placed, how species should be managed, or how tourist impacts should be reduced. However, the complexities of conservation in Antarctica necessitate the application of …
- 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
Optimising sampling design for model discrimination of coral reef recovery
Natural disturbances including severe storms and bleaching events have devastating impacts on the Great Barrier Reef's health. Unfortunately, the increasing pressures associated with climate change are causing these disturbances to occur more frequently, for a longer duration and with more intensity.It's essential to understand the recovery dynamics between major disturbances so we can manage the health of the Great Barrier Reef under increased environmental pressures. Many studies modelling reef recovery assume a specific form for the growth dynamics. However, the …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Data Science
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