The Vacation Research Experience Scheme (VRES) provides eligible students with the opportunity to participate in a research project. If you're interested in research and thinking of pursuing a research degree the scheme is an opportunity to see if research is right for you. Further information about the scheme is available on HiQ.
QUT offers a diverse range of student topics for VRES. Search to find a topic that interests you.
Found 192 matching student topics
Displaying 181–192 of 192 results
Geopolymer monoliths for antimicrobial removal from wastewater
Geopolymers are inorganic cross-linked polymers useful materials due to their insulating properties, mechanical strength, adsorbent capacity, inherent resistance to temperature and strong acids/bases. Geopolymers can be tailored for specific contaminants by molecularly imprinting the contaminant of choice, leaving an imprint for the target molecule to be adsorbed.By incorporating activated carbon, conductive geopolymers can be created, which allows for electro-oxidation of adsorbed organic compounds into carbon dioxide, completely removing contaminants from the waste stream.Strategies like this one are promising for the …
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Chemistry and Physics
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Materials Science
Race, justice and the legal system
This VRES project will explore concepts of race, justice and the legal system. This VRES project will examine whether and how race, as a structure that hierarchically orders people, is conceptualised and informs concepts of justice and is enacted through the legal system.This project invites students to reimagine concepts of justice beyond the courtroom.
- Faculty
- Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice
- School
- School of Justice
Racism, Rights and Climate Justice: Where is race in climate change scholarship?
As the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance powerfully stating that “the global climate crisis is a racial justice crisis” (Achiume, 2022). This VRES project will conduct a review of current academic scholarship and policy to see whether and how race and racial injustice is addressed. It considers how we might better understand and respond to demands for ‘climate justice’ by attending to racial injustice, particularly in the context of settler …
- Faculty
- Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice
- School
- School of Justice
Benchmarking computational methods for structural optimisation
Structural optimisation is a powerful computational methodology for finding high-performing designs for structural components or material architectures. For example, what periodic scaffold would provide the highest possible stiffness for its weight?Solving such a problem computationally requires an understanding of the relevant equations required to model the physical properties of interest, as well as efficient implementation of a range of numerical methods including finite elements, finite differences and optimisation algorithms.With recent developments in 3D printing technologies it is now becoming possible …
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
Mathematical and computational models for diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI)
In 1985, the first image of water diffusion in the living human brain came to life. Since then significant developments have been made and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) has become a pillar of modern neuroimaging.Over the last decade, combining computational modelling and diffusion MRI has enabled researchers to link millimetre scale diffusion MRI measures with microscale tissue properties, to infer microstructure information, such as diffusion anisotropy in white matter, axon diameters, axon density, intra/extra-cellular volume fractions, and fibre orientation …
- 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 stress …
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
Does it matter where you work? Stereotypes towards older employees in hybrid workplaces
With the progression of digital technology, organisations are trending towards more hybrid ways of working. Alongside this trend, the proportion of older employees in the Australian labour force is rapidly increasing. As hybrid work becomes more common and the Australian workforce ages, it becomes increasingly important to understand how these dynamics shape how older employees are perceived and treated in the workplace. This VRES project aims to answer the question, “How does hybrid work influence attitudes towards older employees?”. To …
- Faculty
- Faculty of Business and Law
- School
- School of Economics and Finance
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Behavioural Economics, Society and Technology
Centre for Behavioural Economics, Society and Technology
Unravelling Software Innovation: Insights from GitHub Data
In the fast-paced and ever-evolving world of software development and engineering, understanding the mechanisms that drive technology creation and evolution is crucial. This VRES project aims to empirically test the theories and ideas of technology development proposed by Brian Arthur, focusing on combinational creativity and goal-oriented programming and software development/engineering. Using a comprehensive dataset of GitHub repositories, this study will analyse the historical data on contributions, forks, likes, and other metrics to uncover patterns and insights into how software technologies …
- Faculty
- Faculty of Business and Law
- School
- School of Economics and Finance
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Behavioural Economics, Society and Technology
Centre for Behavioural Economics, Society and Technology
Estimating economic value of biodiversity
Biodiversity preservation and restoration are central to conservation science. However, the multitude of methods for valuing biodiversity complicates comparative analyses across studies and policies, weakening conservation arguments. Our goal is to develop a comprehensive mathematical modelling approach to address this issue at a large scale, drawing on concepts from mathematical ecology, economics, and population dynamics. This interdisciplinary project is ideal for those interested in contributing to conservation efforts while gaining experience in applied mathematics.
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
Decoding HealthTech: Designing Interfaces for Meaningful Health Experiences
Quantify-me solutions of current digital health technologies show increasing advances in self-tracking vital data. However, beyond sensor technology for monitoring vital signs, there is limited advances on how to make sense of this data in relation to our personal wellbeing or health goals. Consequently, there is limited knowledge in relation to the design specifications to help people make sense of all this data in useful manner to support health decision making. This VRES project aims to develop the interface design …
- Faculty
- Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice
- School
- School of Design
Developing a New Platform for Testing Artificial Heart Valves
Artificial heart valves are used to treat a wide variety of heart diseases. Current artificial heart valve technologies are broken into two categories: mechanical valves, and bioprosthetic valves. Mechanical valves last longer but can cause severe damage to the blood, while bioprosthetic valves are more blood-compatible but have poor longevity. Our lab is developing a new polymer heart valve which is long-lasting and highly blood-compatible. Advanced durability testing is an important step in translating new heart valve technologies. The aim …
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Electrical Engineering and Robotics
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
BIOM10 Novel algorithms for microbiome data
Metagenomics data is complex, high-volume data and keeps evolving, requiring novel computational method development as the wetlab approaches changes and databases grow. Thus, novel computational methods are required to take advantage of them.There are several potential projects under this topic, including:using deep learning to improve metagenomics assemblydeveloping better tools to analyse the presence of resistance genes in metagenomics datadeveloping approaches for estimating the quality of genomes from novel generation sequencespredicting the function of small sequences using more than just sequence.Interested …
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
-
Centre for Microbiome Research
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If you have questions about the Vacation Research Experience Scheme (VRES), the application process, finding a topic or anything else, get in touch with us today.