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 15 matching student topics
Displaying 1–12 of 15 results
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
Capture and reuse of phosphate nutrients
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
Supporting second hand clothing purchases
Clothing production and consumption systems are recognised as needing urgent change to reduce the world’s waste and carbon emissions. Each year, Australians purchase some 15kg of new clothing per person, with a similar amount discarded each year, and clothing and textiles have recently been identified by the Australian government as a waste priority area.One of the oft-repeated strategies for sustainable consumption is to purchase second-hand, with many services and systems rapidly emerging to support and commercialise this consumption practice. However, …
- Study level
- PhD
- Faculty
- Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice
- School
- School of Design
Road map to local circular communities: strategies, barriers, enablers.
The textile industry is one of the world’s largest, with global sales in 2016 of USD 1.5 trillion. It is also one of the most polluting industries, producing 20% of global wastewater, and contributing to 10% of carbon emissions. Fashion generates large amounts of waste, and has negative social and health impacts for workers.Circular economy would address these issues, keep clothes and textiles at their highest value and keep clothes in continuous circulation. The transformation of the sector requires a …
- Study level
- PhD
- Faculty
- Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice
- School
- School of Design
- Research centre(s)
-
Design Lab
Life cycle assessments in the hospital space for waste reduction
Recovering, recycling, reuse and reducing waste in the health sector becomes more and more important as it will help hospitals to become more sustainable and to reduce their impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Life cycle assessments of materials, for examples plastic packaging, is an important tool to establish the best practice for recovery and recycling of these materials.
- Study level
- Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Chemistry and Physics
- Research centre(s)
-
Centre for a Waste-Free World
Development composite electrode for next generation Li-ion batteries
Australia is rich in lithium battery materials and is poised to be the world leader in sustainable energy storage. The rapid growth in the automobile and energy sector created greater demand for high-performance Li-ion batteries with high energy density. Conventional Li-ion batteries utilise a graphite anode with a limited theoretical capacity. Therefore, we need to develop alternative electrode materials with high energy density and a longer lifespan.Silicon (Si) has received attention owing to its high specific capacity at ambient temperature. …
- Study level
- PhD
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Materials Science
Economics of sustainability
This project investigates how a society moves to strong sustainability and sustainable development in a more efficient and equitable way. Students can choose the scale unit of analysis, such as regions, countries, states, firms, organisation, households or even individual level. The research is very inspirational. Methodological approach to the research include theoretical and/or empirical elements.
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Business and Law
- School
- School of Economics and Finance
Resolving uncertainty in decisions to improve agri-food system outcomes for people and nature
Despite efforts to monitor and manage declining species and ecosystems around the world, biodiversity is still not routinely included in mainstream decision-making and continues to decline at the highest rate in human history. Added to this is the problem that both natural and agri-food systems are complex networks that are continually changing due to human and natural disturbances, with climate change likely to increase the impacts of extreme events like drought, fire and economic shocks on these networks.Because of large …
- Study level
- PhD
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Biology and Environmental Science
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Data Science
Centre for the Environment
Understanding the impacts of biodiversity-focused interventions to agri-food systems on people and nature
Despite efforts to monitor and manage declining species and ecosystems around the world, biodiversity is still not routinely included in mainstream decision-making and continues to decline at the highest rate in human history. Added to this is the problem that both natural and agri-food systems are continually changing due to human and natural disturbances, with climate change likely to increase the impacts of extreme events like drought, fire and economic shocks. Because of large uncertainties and trade-offs between many human …
- Study level
- PhD
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Biology and Environmental Science
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy
Centre for the Environment
Interactive art
This suggested practice-based research project seeks, overall, to ask how interactive art engages audiences, how it is created and, depending on the applicant's interest and expertise, how it might be a collaborative effort between artist and technologist.ituated within the nascent area of interactive art, contributing new understandings and research into the form and design of interactive art works; and new insights into audience experience of interactive art.The project can engage with themes and theories in its exploration of interactive art …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice
- School
- School of Design
- Research centre(s)
-
Design Lab
Reducing the environmental impacts of wound care in Qld public hospitals
If Australia’s healthcare system is to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 in line with other countries, all avenues for reducing healthcare waste should be explored. Therefore, there is an urgent need to understand the lifecycles of wound care waste streams and to improve their usage as per the waste management hierarchy. This study aims to investigate both the amount of wound care waste generated as well as disposal behaviours in public wound care clinics in QLD with the overall …
- Study level
- PhD
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Nursing
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Healthcare Transformation
Lab grown meat: uncovering consumer and industry perceptions and attitudes leading to developing marketing strategies for a new product category
This project will explore the current attitudes of Australian industry players, startups and consumers towards lab grown ‘real’ meats (ie chicken, beef etc - not vegetarian products). It aims to give projections regarding behaviour when a new product is launched and how to develop suitable marketing recommendations on how to launch, branding, costs, who would actually buy this new product, and creating demand for these products.
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Business and Law
- School
- School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations
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