24th July 2014
Personal internet cryptography, anti-bacterial coatings for medical implants and a better way to identify carotid plaque risks are three of six QUT projects funded in the latest round of five-year ARC Future Fellowships.
QUT's 2014 ARC Future Fellowship recipients are:
- Associate Professor Xavier Boyen - $796,552 to build public-key ciphers that can be operated manually from a mental key in seconds to let users regain their internet privacy even against spyware and malware lurking on their very own mobiles and computers.
- Dr Kathryn Fairfull-Smith - $771,004 to develop smart polymeric coating that will discourage bacterial attachment and ensure great long-term control over bacterial biofilms. When developed, these coatings could be used in many areas including medical implants and marine engineering systems.
- Dr Wenbiao Hu - $641,804 to examine the social and environmental predictors of seasonal flu outbreaks to identify where, when and who is most susceptible to changes of risk in flu-epidemic -prone regions of Queensland, Shanghai, and Gansu province in China. The model would lead to a more rapid and efficiently targeted response to epidemics and reduce their health and economic impacts.
- Professor Zhi-Yong Li - $769,896 to combine computer modelling MRI, mechanical measurement and pathology analysis to investigate the progression of plaque in the carotid arteries and quantify the blood flow and plaque stress conditions that could lead to plaque rupture. The project will ultimately identify plaque rupture risk indicators.
- Dr John McMurtrie - $766,504 to design and synthesise co-crystals which will have unique magnetic and optical properties that will influence design of new smart, solid-state materials with potential for use in future high-technology applications.
- Dr Michael Milford - $676, 174 to solve the challenging problems of place recognition of current robotic and personal navigation systems by modelling the visual recognition skills of humans and the rodent spatial memory stem. A member of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Robotic Vision, Dr Milford's project aims to produce advances in robotic and personal navigation and breakthroughs in understanding of the brain.
Media contact: Niki Widdowson, 07 3138 2999 or n.widdowson@qut.edu.au
