Vacation Research Experience Scheme student topics

Several open-source projects drive modern-day IT applications. However, some open-source projects are compromised by malicious attackers, who add malware to the code to compromise the security of the application users. This project will investigate approaches for securing open-source software.We have an in-house tool to analyse GitHub open-source software. You are expected to focus on the following issues:investigate the literature on open-source software and its securitywork with the project supervisor to develop a design for securing the open-source software.

Faculty

Faculty of Science

School

School of Information Systems

Existing machine learning-based intelligent systems are autonomous and opaque (often considered “black-box” systems), which has led to the lack of trust in AI adoption and, consequently, the gap between machine and human being.In 2018, the European Parliament adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which introduces a right of explanation for all human individuals to obtain “meaningful explanations of the logic involved” when a decision is made by automated systems. To this end, it is a compliance that an intelligent …

Faculty

Faculty of Science

School

School of Information Systems

Research centre(s)

Centre for Data Science

Have you ever wondered how scientists can monitor the health of cells in a human organ model without causing any harm to them? This project explores the fascinating field of biomedical engineering, where the goal is to enhance an existing "organ-on-a-chip" model by incorporating a smart biosensor. This innovative model functions as a tiny laboratory that simulates the environment of a real organ through a combination of microfluidics and tissue engineering. Conventionally, cell health monitoring relies on techniques like microscopy …

Faculty

Faculty of Engineering

School

School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering

Research centre(s)

Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Centre for Biomedical Technologies

Smart use of rich data sets and state-of-the-art models in a central framework provides opportunities to address problems that were previously out of reach. This is particularly true in managing and responding to flood scenarios where an integrated platform can gather forecasted and measured weather and streamflow data and use those data in foresting systems, enabling an integrated visualisation platform for data sharing and real-time decision making.Water engineering research team is developing analytical and visualisation frameworks that can support an …

Faculty

Faculty of Engineering

School

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Research centre(s)

Centre for the Environment

3D concrete printing is an advanced technology that offers flexibility in design with reduced resources for more economical and sustainable concrete construction. Complex structures can be built with greater precision without using formwork. For successful 3D printing, a concrete mixture requires efficient printability characteristics. This research is attached to an existing funded project titled "Sustainable 3D printed concrete for bespoke infrastructure", funded by industry partner, Everhard Industries and Building 4.0 CRC.

Faculty

Faculty of Engineering

School

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

The stability of tailings storage facilities (TSFs) poses a critical challenge in mining, frequently leading to significant environmental issues including acid mine drainage (AMD) and heavy metals mobilisation, contaminating water bodies and soil. Current technologies like dry stacking and thickening while effective, can be energy-intensive and costly. This underscores the need for innovative technologies to ensure TSF stability and protect ecosystems and communities from the harmful impacts of mining activities.Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP) is a promising process that utilises …

Faculty

Faculty of Engineering

School

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Research centre(s)

Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy

The high ammonia content in wastewater poses environmental toxicity and continues to challenge contemporary wastewater treatment systems. A pioneering granular sludge-based reactor has been innovated, demonstrating high-efficiency ammonia removal. However, further optimization is crucial to enhance the performance of the Granular Sludge Reactor (GSR) system, particularly concerning operational factors.This project is geared towards testing various operational factors in lab-scale bioreactors. The student involved in this project will play a pivotal role in reactor design, commissioning, and operation, gaining hands-on experience …

Faculty

Faculty of Engineering

School

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Research centre(s)

Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy

Since the advent of the laser in 1960, laser light has been used to identify materials through their unique molecular 'fingerprint' contained in their scatter or fluorescence. Laser induced fluorescence (LIF) is now routinely used to identify hazardous materials, detect harmful aerosols, determine the quality of food and detect biological materials in planetary exploration. While LIF is very effective it has proven to be difficult to detect materials that are concealed in containers or packaging. This project will investigate what …

Faculty

Faculty of Science

School

School of Chemistry and Physics

Research centre(s)

Centre for Materials Science

AI that is pre-programmed is limited on its tasks and human bias. Learning systems offer richer behaviour, where collaborators and I have created the following that need developing (projects bulleted)A symbolic system that works in Boolean and Integer domains without noiseNeed to translate this to real-valued, noisy domains. Code exists, but the data sets do not and integration is still uncertain. Most intriguing is how future use can influence current learning, i.e. "will this be useful in the future?"A lateralized …

Faculty

Faculty of Engineering

School

School of Electrical Engineering and Robotics

Research centre(s)

Centre for Robotics

Memory Mosaics is one of the QUT Design Lab’s Meaningful Play projects (https://research.qut.edu.au/designlab/projects/meaningful-play/). Using participatory and co-design methodologies, we collaborate with researchers, centres, industry, and other stakeholders to reimagine possibilities for engagement with meaning and playfulness.Memory Mosaics is a project in the Meaningful Play suite. It is a gentle game for families, carers, and people with dementia. The design is based on a notion that memories are personal yet communal, often recalled most vividly through collaborative efforts.This project taps into …

Faculty

Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice

School

School of Design

Research centre(s)

Design Lab

This topic will focus on reconstructing past environments (+40,000 years) of the southeast South Australia (Mount Gambier) through palaeoecological analysis of wetland and cave sediments.  This is supported by an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant (LP210200704 Deep Time Extinctions and Environments in Australian Underwater Caves).

Faculty

Faculty of Science

School

School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

Research centre(s)

Centre for Future Enterprise

Students will be directly affiliated with the Australian Research Council Discovery Project “Understanding and Combatting ‘Dark Political Communication’” (DP240103362). The project, led by QUT researchers, and including a team based at Deakin University in Melbourne, aims to better understand the rapidly-evolving, and increasingly sophisticated, tactics deployed by political actors to manipulate public attention and opinion.For this project, students will focus on coding and analysing data from a series of sources, including interviews, mainstream newspapers, YouTube, TikTok and Twitter/X. This work …

Faculty

Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice

School

School of Communication

Research centre(s)

Digital Media Research Centre