Researchers for The University of Western Australia will share in more than $11 million in Federal funding for 16 projects that will provide economic, commercial, environmental, social and cultural benefits to the Australian community.

The Australian Research Council announced outcomes of the Discovery Projects 2025 scheme, with more than $342 million in funding for 536 new projects across the nation.

Professor Rob Atkin, from UWA’s School of Molecular Sciences, will lead a project to investigate locally concentrated ionic liquid electrolytes, which have enhanced performance.

The project has the potential to provide benefits for new batteries with increased energy storage capacity and durability that are crucial for integrating renewable energy sources.

Professor Charlie Bond, from UWA’s School of Molecular Sciences, will lead a team to discover a way to safely modify ribonucleic acid, which is essential for many biological functions.

Researchers aim to design and test protein fusions with other nuclease proteins, to  build regulated and safe-to-use proteins that can be used in agriculture biotechnology.

Professor Graeme Cumming, from UWA’s Ocean Graduate School,  will head a project that aims to understand interactions between societies and ecosystems in and adjacent to protected areas.

The research will improve monitoring of social-ecological dynamics and enhance protected area resilience to climate change and other disturbances.

Dr Luke Davies, from the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, will lead a team of researchers to examine galaxy environments.

The project we will use state-of-the-art data and software to determine how galaxy environments shape their visual appearance.

Professor Serena Dipierro, from UWA’s School of Physics, Mathematics and Computing, will lead a project that aims to introduce a new mathematical model to describe moving bushfire fronts.

Bushfire knowledge is of importance for Australia, from an economic, environmental, biological, and social point of view.

Professor Arcady Dyskin, from UWA’s School of Engineering, heads a project to develop rock exploration processes that are an alternative to conventional drilling and data-driven AI monitoring methods.

The study aims to develop thermal drilling that will bring economic and environmental benefits and contribute to the advancement of the Australian mining industry.

Professor Li Ju, from UWA’s School of Physics, Mathematics and Computing, will lead a project to fill a gap in seismology.

The team aims to create and characterise the first high-sensitivity, field-deployable rotation sensor for a six-component seismometer that will allow imaging in places not feasible or too expensive, such as the seafloor and volcanos.

Dr Natasha LeBas, from UWA’s School of Biological Sciences, will head a project to determine the genomic parameters that enable rapid adaptation in the wild.

It will combine genomic analysis with field data on species whose habitat drastically changes when land clearing occurs and will benefit the management of vulnerable biodiversity.

Professor Shayne Loft, from UWA’s School of Psychological Science, will lead an investigation into explanations and quantitative predictions for how humans use automated advice.

The outcomes are expected to guide the design and evaluation of automated systems and inform work design and training.

Professor Jakob Madsen, from UWA’s Business School, will lead a project that shows income inequality measured by income shares is currently mismeasured.

It aims to develop a framework to construct corrected measures of income shares that include the omitted capital income and cover a longer period than previous inequality measures for Australia, the US, UK, Germany and Scandinavia.

Professor Francis Mitrou, from UWA’s Medical School and The Kids Research Institute Australia, will lead a project to explore how Australian fathers shape the trajectory of their children’s wellbeing.

The research will advance equitable parenting and could inform the development of innovative and targeted policies or interventions.

Professor Kathryn Modecki, from UWA’s School of Psychological Science and The Kids Research Institute Australia, well lead a team to answer vital questions scientists and parents face as adolescents turn to digitals tools to cope with growing challenges.

The project will combine a nationwide survey of parents with insights into parent and teen daily life from smartphone data to improve the health and wellbeing of adolescents and caregivers.

Professor Hongqi Sun, from UWA’s School of Molecular Sciences, will run a project that aims to address future chemical manufacture in space exploration and settlement.

Expected outcomes include theory development for photothermal catalysis and design strategies for building solar-driven, zero-emission, green chemical manufacture bases in Space or on Mars.

Professor Thomas Wernberg, from UWA’s Oceans Institute, will lead a team to uncover the resilience and consequences of climate-change on kelp forests on the Great Southern Reef.

It will help secure the legacy of the Great Southern Reef, a global biodiversity hotspot and one of the largest, most unique and valuable, but consistently overlooked, ecosystems in Australia.

Dr Hugh Wolgamot, from UWA’s Oceans Institute, will lead a team to develop a new phase of offshore renewable energy hydrodynamics.

The project aims to deliver fundamentally new hydrodynamic methods for design and control of floating offshore renewable energy structures to lower costs for the growing industry.

Professor Gillian Yeo, from UWA’s Business School, and her team will investigate if sharing the “mental load” at home and at work can close the leadership gender gap.

The results will inform policies aimed at ensuring gender equity in the mental load, with implications for closing the leadership gender gap.