Making a difference: Outcomes of ARC supported research 2019–20

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Making a Difference 2019-2020

A MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO

UNDERSTANDING OUR WORLD THROUGH FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH

• Smashing the quantum speed record
• Millisecond radio reflexes field a curveball from deep space
• Giant tsunami followed dinosaur-killing asteroid
• Ancient hyena poo sheds new light on human evolution
• The making of a superplume: Huge underground mountains of hot rock
• Synthetic bio-computers may hold the key to solve the unsolvable
• Glitching neutron star opens up to researchers

INDUSTRY DRIVEN RESEARCH TO GENERATE ECONOMIC IMPACTS

• Protecting wheat from salty soils
• Debunking the myth about wheat breeding and allergies
• Gone with the wind—reducing agricultural methane emissions
• The key to success is a company’s culture
• Deodorising sheep makes them less appealing to blowflies
• Recycling denim in a new way
• Reinventing sugarcane into energy
• Breakthrough in plant nutrient detection
• Spearheading a mathematical approach to solve business problems

DEVELOPING INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES

• 2D materials found to thrive in space conditions
• Artificial leaves to absorb CO₂
• Ultrathin graphene film efficiently absorbs energy from the warm rays of the sun
• 20 years of research leads to airport explosives detector
• Tweaking silicon to improve solar cells for cheaper energy

ADVANCING ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT

• Help or hindrance? Untangling the role of woody liana vines
• For a fish, it’s not just who you are, but where you are
• ‘Whoopi’ the manta ray shows how healing’s done
• Plastic pollution harms oxygen-producing ocean bacteria
• Mangrove dieback reveals an unexpected source of methane
• Revealing the world’s biggest parrot: ‘Heracles’
• Scientists measure the loss of Shark Bay seagrass
• Fighting pollution with maths
• Leading an evolution in coral

INDIGENOUS RESEARCH AND COLLABORATION

• Indigenous collaboration vital to conservation research outcomes
  *Please note: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this publication may contain the names or images of deceased persons.
• Including Indigenous stories in the Australian Dictionary of Biography
  *Please note: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this publication may contain the names or images of deceased persons.
• Celebrating and preserving Indigenous ceremonies
• Understanding extreme bushfire behaviour and firestorm development

STRIVING FOR CULTURAL AND SOCIAL OUTCOMES

• Examining the cultural legacy of Melbourne’s first Archbishop
• Values influence where we spend our time and money
• The uplifting history of Australian aviation
• Dancing kids achieve boosted abilities to self-regulate
• Early differences and disadvantage in health outcomes for LGBQ people
• Climate and economic factors driving farmers from the land
• Emotional intelligence gets the grades

IMPROVING HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

• The Big Anxiety Festival
• The lasting impact of caregiving for a dying loved one
• Uncovering the mechanism to human viral immunity
• DIY pressure pump breaks down technology barrier
• Illuminating the golden staph
• Exploring cognitive ageing and its impacts on individuals
• Sleeping ‘on-call' or not

Publication information

ISSN (Print) 2209-6000

ISSN (Online) 2209-7414

Published: August 2020

^©Commonwealth of Australia 2020

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The details of the relevant licence conditions are available on the Creative Commons website as is the full legal code for the CC Attribution BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence legal code. Requests and enquiries regarding this licence should be addressed to ARC Legal Services on +61 2 6287 6600.

Images:

• ^{Front cover: Glitching neutron star opens up to researchers (page 13). Artist’s impression of the inside of a neutron star—Credit: Carl Knox, ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav).}
• ^{Back cover: Mangrove dieback reveals an unexpected source of methane (page 45). Credit: Southern Cross University.}
• ^{Contents page:} 
  • ^{The key to success is a company’s culture (page 19).}
  • ^{Mangrove dieback reveals an unexpected source of methane (page 45). The research team encountering some obstacles on the way to measuring methane emissions from a forest of dead mangroves in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Credit: Southern Cross University}
  • ^{Understanding extreme bushfire behaviour and firestorm development (page 58). Image: 2014 Grampians Fire, Victoria, exhibiting a towering fire cloud or ‘pyrocumulonimbus’. Credit: Randall Bacon.}
  • ^{Dancing kids achieve boosted abilities to self-regulate (page 66). QUT early childhood researcher Kate Williams has developed a fun rhythm and movement program linked to pathways in the brain to support young children's attentional and emotional development. Credit: QUT}
  •  ^{The lasting impact of caregiving for a dying loved one (page 75). Helping the needy stock photo. Istock.com/Lighthaunter.}