Science

Photosynthesis is the source of all biological solar energy capture, and the source of most atmospheric oxygen. All photosynthetic oxygen production occurs in the oxygen evolving centre of a structure known as photosystem II. However, much remains to be understood about the detailed mechanism of using captured solar energy to generate free charges which go on to oxidise water into oxygen.

Dielectric materials are vital for the functioning of all modern electronic devices, being found in capacitors and elements such as touch screens. They are also central to a range of other technological applications, such as photocatalytic reactors. Developing new, practical dielectric materials with high permittivity but low dielectric loss can have significant impacts on the global economy.

Astronomers can readily observe the fingerprint of the formaldehyde molecule in interstellar space. However, the mechanism to form formaldehyde under interstellar conditions is poorly understood. It is thought to occur via hydrogen reactions on the surface of carbon monoxide ices, but confirmation of such a pathway through modelling is challenging.

Gas-surface chemistry is vital to the functioning of technological society.  Reactions occurring on and with surfaces are pervasive in virtually all technological and industrial activities.  Being able to predict and thus engineer reactions at surfaces has profound importance to modern society, with applications from designing new heterogeneous catalysts for industrial processes to predicting the performance of space vehicles.

Gas-surface chemistry is vital to the functioning of technological society. Reactions occurring on and with surfaces are pervasive in virtually all technological and industrial activities. Being able to predict and thus engineer reactions at surfaces has profound importance to modern society, with applications from designing new heterogeneous catalysts for industrial processes to predicting the performance of space vehicles.

Objectives:

The potential of carbon-based graphene materials has been demonstrated and is one of the most important research areas in contemporary materials physics and engineering [1-3]. Other two-dimensional materials, such as black phosphorus and hexagonal boron-nitride, are presently also being developed and present a completely new type of materials physics.

Description of project:

Short-tailed Shearwaters have been studied continuously on Fisher Island, Tasmania since 1946, making this one of the longest continuous studies of any wildlife population in the world. Although life-history data have been collected sporadically over this time period, a detailed mark-recapture-recovery analysis has not yet been conducted. This study will produce age- and time-varying survival estimates for Short-tailed Shearwaters, and examine the effect of individual covariates such as egg size on first year survival.

Objectives:

Description of Work: