Physics and astronomy research projects
Find information about Physics and Astronomy research project units and details of the projects available.
Summer scholarships
Summer scholarships are intended for Curtin’s outstanding recently completed first, second and third year students wishing to undertake research experience aligned with their Physics Stream of interest.
Streams of interest include:
- Astrophysics
- Applied Physics
- Materials Science
- Theoretical/Mathematical Physics
Examples of projects may be found below. Please contact the potential supervisor to discuss the details.
The scholarship is to be completed over a flexible six week period, upon discussion with the supervisor, before the end of February with a A$500 per week stipend offered.
Application process
If you are taking a Curtin Physics Major, as a single or a double degree, and are interested in being considered for one of the Summer Scholarships, apply here.
Project information
- Physics Project 1 – Core for all streams, available in both semesters
- Physics Project 2 – Recommended elective for students with a CWA 65 or greater, available in both semesters
- The preferred option is to take PP1 in semester 1 and PP2 in semester 2 and combine them into a single year-long project.
- The choice of project may have a big influence on the direction of your career – so this is an important choice!
- End of semester report (40%)
- Supervisor’s and UC assessment of your performance (40%)
- Presentation (oral or poster) (20%)
- Decide what projects you are interested in and go and talk to potential supervisors.
- Negotiate the details of the project and get an undertaking from the supervisor that they are prepared to take you on.
- Email project coordinator with the title of your project, and the name of your supervisor.
Please note that students who delay choosing their project to the Orientation week or later cannot be guaranteed that a desired project or supervisor will be available.
Current projects
You are welcome to choose any project from the categories below. Please get in touch with the prospective supervisor, and once an agreement has been reached provide the details to the projects coordinator, Jacob Martin at jacob.w.martin@curtin.edu.au.
Astrophysics Projects
Students interested in observational, instrumental, or data-intensive astrophysics are encouraged to consider projects in Astronomy, supported jointly by the Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy (CIRA) and the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research.
This vibrant research community is internationally recognised for its contributions to next-generation radio telescopes, including the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). Our expertise spans telescope design and instrumentation, high-performance data processing, and astrophysical analysis of the radio sky — from the Sun and our Galaxy to the most distant parts of the Universe.
Depending on the student’s background and interests, projects may involve:
- Observational astrophysics – using data from the MWA or SKA precursors to study pulsars, galaxies, and cosmic evolution.
- Instrumentation and systems engineering – contributing to the design, deployment, and calibration of antenna arrays and digital backends.
- Data science and high-performance computing – developing algorithms and pipelines for calibration, imaging, and transient detection in large radio datasets.
Students will gain experience with real observational data and state-of-the-art computing tools, working in collaboration with astronomers and engineers at CIRA. Research outcomes are often suitable for presentation at international conferences or publication in leading astronomy journals. Specific project details will be determined in consultation with the supervising staff at CIRA and the Physics and Astronomy discipline but some project examples are listed below.
Extragalactic radio astronomy
Supervisors: A/Prof Natasha Hurley-Walker, Kat Ross
Suitability: 3rd-year, Honours, Masters
Description:
Our nearest galactic neighbours are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, uniquely visible from the Southern hemisphere. These face-on dwarf galaxies offer astronomers a clear view of phenomena such as supernova remnants and regions ionised by massive stars, and inform studies of cosmic ray production and star formation. The MAGE-X project has taken tens of hours of data with the low-frequency radio telescope, the Murchison Widefield Array.
This project involves using existing well-developed pipelines to reduce the data on Pawsey supercomputers, producing new high-resolution images of these galaxies. Good progress will enable astrophysical studies in the latter stages of the project. This project would suit a student with strong computing abilities who is interested in working on high-performance supercomputers and/or developing their skills in radio interferometry.
Supervisors: Dr Nick Seymour
Suitability: Masters, Honours, 3rd year, Summer
Description:
Nearly all galaxies are thought to host black holes at their centre with masses of a million to a billion times that of the Sun. No longer esoteric objects of study, these black holes play a key role in the evolution of their host galaxies. Radio surveys can trace these black holes in both the local and distant Universe when other methods fail due to either low black hole accretion rates, or obscuration of the active black hole. Massive, spinning black holes can produce twin `jets’ of relativistic charged particles which manifest as large lobes strongly emitting radio waves.
There are several potential projects on this topic available, including:
- Studying a sample of the most massive black holes in the local Universe to understand why some are very radio luminous and some are not
- Conducting novel searches for black holes with very young radio jets using multi-frequency radio data combined with large area near-infrared surveys
- Conducting searches for new radio-loud QSO from wide-field surveys
- Modelling the radio and optical data of powerful radio AGN to measure their spin
- Estimating the population of high-z radio galaxies from the properties of rare, beamed blazars
- Assisting on-going studies of the most distant radio-loud black holes
Supervisors: Dr Nick Seymour
Suitability: Honours, 3rd year, Summer
Description:
The rate at which stars are forming is a key property of the galaxy and is strongly tied to the galaxy’s history. Star-forming galaxies emit across the entire electromagnetic spectrum from X-ray to radio due to a complex mix of stars, heated dust, cosmic rays in magnetic fields and compact objects. Hence, each waveband comes with caveats when using it to accurately determine a star-formation rate. This research area has two potential projects:
- Modelling the radio emission from extreme star-forming galaxies accurately accounting for the geometry of the synchrotron and thermal radio emission
- Using the WISE mid-infrared survey to select and study galaxies with extremely strong emission lines from star-formation
Solar system and planetary science
Supervisor: Prof Katarina Miljkovic
Suitability: Honours, 3rd Year
Description: This project explores how large impacts influenced the early crust and atmospheric evolution of Mars and Earth. Using the iSALE shock physics code, you will simulate impacts into varying crustal conditions—hot, cold, and volatile-rich—building on recent findings that show the thermal state of the crust significantly affects crater formation and gas release. You will simulate and analyse geological features of Martian craters to understand how subsurface environments such as cryospheres, groundwater, or saturated regolith influenced impact outcomes.
Key Goals:
- Mars Focus: Investigate how different subsurface conditions affected the formation and preservation of impact craters and how craters on Mars could be used as evidence of subsurface water/ice and past climate.
- Earth Analogy: Apply insights from Mars to Earth, where the largest impact structures are poorly preserved, but they had a profound effect on the formation of Earth’s crust.
- Climate Implications: Assess how impacts contributed to atmospheric evolution, gas production, and surface temperature changes on both planets—key factors in understanding early planetary environments.
This interdisciplinary project combines planetary geology, numerical modelling, and early Solar System evolution, offering students a chance to contribute to our understanding of how impacts shaped planetary surfaces and climates.
Supervisor: Prof Katarina Miljkovic
Suitability: Honours, 3rd Year
Description: This project explores the impact physics of a spacecraft smashing into asteroids and/or comets. We simulate collisions using the iSALE shock physics code. You will develop numerical models to simulate crash landing scenarios, analysing crater formation, energy transfer, and material ejection. Through this, they will gain hands-on experience in computational impact modelling.
In parallel, you will study the context of space exploration missions—past, present, and future—including NASA’s DART and ESA’s Hera missions to Didymos, historical missions like Deep Impact, LCROSS, and SMART-1, and upcoming ventures such as the Emirati Mission to Asteroids (EMA), set to launch in 2028 to visit seven asteroids.
This interdisciplinary project combines planetary science, computational physics, and mission design, offering a unique opportunity to contribute to our understanding of small body dynamics and planetary defence.
Supervisors: Prof. Katarina Miljkovic
Suitability: Honours, 3rd year
Description:
Water ice on the Moon is primarily found in permanently shadowed craters located near the lunar poles. These regions are of high scientific and strategic interest due to their potential as a sustainable resource for future lunar missions. Water ice is not only vital for supporting human life in a lunar base but also serves as a key component for producing fuel for interplanetary travel.
This research will use the iSALE shock physics hydrocode to investigate the effects of micrometeoroid bombardment as a mechanism for volatile delivery to the lunar surface, particularly in relation to the formation and evolution of permanently shadowed craters.
This work has direct relevance to NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon. It aligns with current scientific missions targeting the Moon’s permanently shadowed regions, like NASA’s VIPER and others.
Supervisors: Dr Hadrien Devillepoix, Dr Ellie Sansom
Suitability: 3rd year, Honours
Description:
The chance that one of the many Earth observation satellites capture the very instant of an asteroid impact on Earth are slim. But asteroid impacts leave dust trails that can be visible for hours. The project is about analysing evidence of superbolide dust trails left in the atmosphere by asteroid impacts, covering both visible (RGB) down to infrared wavelengths.
Supervisor: Dr Nick Seymour
Suitability: Honours, 3rd year, Summer
Description:
Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) represent an obvious existential threat to life here on Earth as frequently dramatised in fiction. There are long standing programmes with optical and infrared telescopes around the world and in space to discover and monitor NEOs. The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) has demonstrated the capability to detect both natural and artificial satellites of Earth such as the Moon and the International Space Station via reflected FM emission. This project will involve determining the feasibility using reflected FM as a ‘static radar’ to monitor and track NEOs with low frequency radio telescopes.
While the MWA will not be as sensitive for detecting NEOs as other programmes currently, future radio facilities, like the Square Kilometre Array, will have many orders of magnitude more sensitivity. This project will test the feasibility of detecting NEO objects which pass within one lunar distance to Earth. This will involve using databases of NEO close approaches to select past and future close approaches. Archival data will be studied on past approaches and novel techniques will be applied to search for the reflected FM emission. Plans will be made for future close approaches, e.g. Apophis in 2029.
Accretions, jets and slow transients
Supervisors: Adelle Goodwin
Suitability: Undergraduate, Summer, Honours
Description:
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most powerful explosions in the Universe. The bright flash of gamma-ray light is caused by the death of a massive star that forms a black hole, launching material at near the speed of light in the form of a jet. This outflow gathers up all the surrounding gas and dust, giving rise to shocks that produce an “afterglow” that is detectable from radio to very high energy gamma-rays.
While GRB afterglows have been well studied from optical to gamma-ray wavelengths, only a few have comprehensive and early-time radio coverage, which is crucial for understanding the physics of the jet and the lifecycle of the progenitor star. Additionally, the most interesting physics often occurs within minutes to hours of the explosion but few radio telescopes are capable of being on target fast enough to capture the earliest radio light that GRBs emit.
Luckily, our International team led by the primary supervisor has been awarded over 500 hours of observing time on the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) to perform radio follow-up observations of all GRBs discovered in the Southern Hemisphere skies. ATCA is capable of responding to alerts reporting newly detected GRBs, which cause the telescope to automatically repoint and begin observing the astronomical event within minutes of its discovery. For this project, you will process and analyse ATCA data to explore the radio afterglow of GRBs, and have the opportunity to learn to observe with ATCA.
Supervisors: Dr Nick Seymour
Suitability: Honours, 3rd year, Summer
Description:
Most galaxies host a super-massive black hole at their centre which enters active phases from time to time. The two most significant but different phases of activity are periods of high accretion (which we observe in the X-ray/optical/infra-red) and periods with powerful jets (observed in the radio). These two measurable outputs trace different aspects of the SMBH’s evolution. This project will attempt to link these phenomena both observationally and theoretically to determine a greater understanding of SMBH evolution. It can be tailored for varying levels from summer project to honours.
On the observational side we now have large samples of galaxies from deep/wide surveys with the multi-wavelength data to start untangling accretion and jet processes on a population of galaxies. In particular we now have unique broad-band radio data which can provide more accurate jet powers than have previously been possible. On the theoretical side we will apply simple models of SMBH accretion and jet power to study how an individual SMBH observable properties change with time. This will aid us in interpreting the large observational parameter space.
Supervisors: Prof James Miller-Jones, Dr Arash Bahramian
Suitability: 3rd year or Honours
Description:
If a dense stellar remnant such as a black hole or neutron star is in a close orbit with a less-evolved companion star, gas from the normal star can fall into the gravitational potential well of the central compact object, conserving angular momentum as it does so. As the gas spirals inwards, it heats up to the point that it emits bright X-rays. From the inner regions of the inflow, close to the black hole or neutron star, a collimated, relativistic outflow known as a jet can be launched, carrying huge amounts of energy away from the system. The jets are powered by the inflowing material, or potentially by the spin of the black hole. However, the detailed physical properties of these jets, and the connection between the inflowing gas and the outflowing jets, are not well understood. We are offering a range of projects to use some of the world’s premier radio telescopes to study these energetic jets, and their connection to the underlying accretion flow.
Supervisors: A Prof Natasha Hurley-Walker, Dr Ziteng Wang
Suitability:Summer, 3rd Year, Honours (three projects available)
Description:
The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is a low frequency (80 — 300 MHz) radio telescope operating in Western Australia and the only SKA_Low precursor telescope. The MWA has collected more than 20PB of data spanning nearly a decade of operations. In an undergraduate project in 2020, using just 24h of data, we detected a new type of repeating radio source, which we have localised to our own Milky Way. The object may be an unusual type of neutron star, or possibly a highly magnetic white dwarf: either way, it was entirely unexpected, and has opened up a new challenge in astrophysics.
Now that we know such sources exist, we have three important goals, which translate to three potential student projects with different focuses:
- Computational: Improve search techniques for unusual transients — what other strange sources are we missing because existing techniques are too slow?
- Observational: find more of these sources in order to correctly understand the population — where are they in the Galaxy? Are they inside supernova remnants? Are they kicked hard by the explosions in which they are born? How often do they emit radio waves?
- Theoretical: study their nature and their astrophysics — what is causing their radio emission? Can existing emission models be applied or modified to suit?
Supervisors: Dr Adelle Goodwin, Prof James Miller-Jones
Suitability: 3rd year or Honours
Description:
When an unlucky star wanders too close to a supermassive black hole at the centre of a galaxy it can be destroyed, producing a bright flare of electromagnetic radiation. About half of the stellar debris is swallowed by the black hole, with the rest flung outwards, forming a shockwave as it collides with the surrounding gas. This shockwave accelerates particles to high enough energy that they emit radio synchrotron radiation. By observing the properties of this radiation, we can determine the properties of the underlying outflows. In this project, we seek to understand the radio emission properties of these tidal disruption events, using observations from world-class telescopes such as the GMRT, MeerKAT, VLA, and ATCA.
Supervisor: Dr Kristen Dage
Suitability: Honours, 3rd year, Summer
Description:
When a neutron star or black hole accretes matter from a companion star, it forms an accretion disk. We generally assume this disk is flat. However, in some systems, we know that the geometry of the disk is warped, which can affect our understanding of the system’s overall behaviour. The enigmatic neutron star X-ray pulsar, SMC X-1, is the poster child of warped accretion disks.
This project makes use of a wealth of data from NASA’s Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), an X-ray telescope the size of a mini fridge located on the International Space Station. This project is flexible, and can be shaped into a third year, Honours or summer project to delve into the key system features like understanding that the impact of a warped accretion disk has on our understanding of how neutron stars and black holes behave.
Supervisor: Dr Kristen Dage
Suitability: Honours, 3rd year, Summer
Description:
How do black holes form? How is their formation influenced by their environment? We will perform the first large-scale survey of nearby open clusters to discover new black holes; their observed properties will refine the numerical simulations that are a crucial step in interpreting the origins of gravitational wave events. This project aims to discover the largest unbiased population of black holes hidden in the thousands of loosely bound star clusters in our Galaxy.
By combining X-ray, optical and radio observations of open star clusters, we will be able to search for unambiguous evidence of black holes in open clusters. This project will focus on developing data management skills, as well as understanding the details of X-ray, optical and radio observations.
Supervisor: Dr Kristen Dage
Suitability: Honours, 3rd year, Masters
Description:
Globular star clusters (densely packed clusters of millions of stars that are gigayears old) in other galaxies are important for a broad range of science cases, from understanding black hole formation and evolution, to understanding the dark matter content of galaxies. The upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory will discover over a million globular clusters in the many galaxies near us. It will be an avalanche of data, and the challenge will be to quickly and accurately identify them.
This project will develop tools to classify star clusters from photometric data bases using machine learning classification techniques. The test and training data sets will be drawn from existing surveys, and the overall goal will be to make a tool that can manage large datasets to separate out star clusters from foreground stars and background galaxies based on features in the datasets. This project will focus on developing transferable skills through data science techniques.
Supervisors: Dr Arash Bahramian
Suitability: Summer, 3rd year or Honours
Description:
Many known black holes and neutron stars in our Galaxy are found in a binary system as they pull material from their binary companion star. As the accreted material falls towards the black hole/neutron star, it emits a significant amount of light, making the system bright for days/weeks. These periods of bright activity are known as “outbursts”.
Understanding these outbursts enable us to peer into the nature of accretion physics and its many elusive aspects. I offer a range of projects under this topic on the topic of modelling the behaviour of accreting systems, to understand the underlying physics and potentially predict future behaviour of the system.
Epoch of reionisation
Supervisor: Dr Anshu Gupta
Suitability: 3rd year, Honours
Description:
Gravitational lensing is a powerful tool to probe the underlying matter (both dark and luminous), and even discover objects that would otherwise be unobservable due to magnification. We have discovered a unique structure with potentially four galaxy clusters along a single line of sight using data from the Australia-led MAGPI survey on the Very Large Telescope in Chile. Two of the foreground structures are at z=0.3 (3 billion years), and the background structures are at z=1.4 (9 billion years) and z=6.1 (12.5 billion years). The foreground structure has two merging galaxy clusters which could be gravitationally lensing the background galaxies.
This project will aim to map the mass distribution of the foreground structure at z=0.3 using the deep imaging from the Hyper Suprime-Cam on the Suburu Telescope, Hawaii and from the GAMA survey. The student will be fitting the spectral energy distribution of the galaxies using existing software such as EAZY to estimate the photometric redshifts. Estimating the photometric redshifts is essential to identify galaxies belonging to the foreground structure and develop a lens model. The project has huge scope and can be tailored to a 3rd year to an honours project.
Supervisor: Dr Ridhima Nunhokee
Suitability: 3rd year, Honours
Description:
The Epoch of Reionisation is the era, about 400 millions years after the Big Bang, when the birth of first stars and galaxies caused the surrounding intergalactic medium to change its state from neutral to reionised. We use the 21 cm hydrogen line, a spectral line created by the change in energy states of a neutral hydrogen atom. One of the main challenges in EoR experiments is the presence of foregrounds few orders of magnitude brighter than the 21 cm signal. Mitigating the foregrounds require accurate calibration and precise foreground removal techniques. The dominating factor in the observations is systematics. It is vital to understand the characteristics of these systematics to alleviate them in the data processing pipeline. We use observations from the Murchison WideField Array, a radio telescope located in the mid-west of Western Australia, considered ideal for its low-level radio frequency interference.
In this project, we aim to use machine and deep learning approaches to classify the features of the systematics and eventually attempt to mitigate them. This would make our 21 cm measurements cleaner and more robust. This project would suit a student who is computationally strong, with experience in Python and machine learning. Some statistical background would be useful.
Supervisor: Prof Cathryn Trott
Suitability: 3rd year, Honours
Description:
The statistical study of the Epoch of Reionisation (EoR) involves computing the power spectrum (variance) of the signal as a function of spatial wavenumber (k, measured in inverse Mpc). The angular scales are obtained by Fourier Transform of radio astronomy images, or equivalently, direct use of the visibilities measured by an interferometer. The line-of-sight scales are computed by obtaining data in individual frequency channels, mapping those channels to cosmological distances, and taking the Fourier Transform across frequency.
This procedure assumes that the information within the observation volume (FOV x depth) is statistically equivalent. However, the 21cm cosmological signal of the EoR evolves with redshift, and taking Fourier Transforms over large redshift ranges dilutes and biases the signal. In Trott (2016, MNRAS 1310, http://adsabs.harvard.edu/doi/10.1093/mnras/stw1310), we proposed using wavelets to perform wide bandwidth analysis, but with localised properties. This project takes those initial explorations and applies them to data from the Murchison Widefield Array, helping to understand how to best apply a wavelet analysis to real data.
Supervisor: Prof. Cathryn Trott, Mx Dev Null
Suitability: 3rd year / Honours
Description:
Detection and exploration of the weak neutral hydrogen gas from the first billion years of the Universe provides insights into the very first generations of stars and galaxies that existed. The SKA-Low telescope, under construction in the WA Outback has exploration of this era as a primary science case. However, radio frequency interference due to satellite constellations and ground-based emissions obscures the cosmological signal and prevents it detection.
The MWA is a sensitive instrument in a radio quiet environment, and a precursor telescope to the SKA-Low. It has accumulated more than 10 years of data for this experiment, on the path to the SKA-Low. RFI is a major problem for the current data. There are many sources of radio frequency interference that can impact science. Existing algorithms can detect bright and rapidly changing RFI, but other kinds of RFI are often missed. Flagging algorithms need tuning to avoid over- and under-flagging.
This project will tune a currently-available software pipeline that aims to detect low-level radio frequency interference. Improving its detection of RFI will help to provide the cleanest data with which to explore the early Universe.
Supervisors: Dr Arash Bahramian, Prof. Cathryn Trott, Dr. Sourav Das (EECMS)
Suitability: Summer, 3rd year or Honours
Description:
Upper atmosphere of our planet contains a large number of ionised particles within what is known as the ionosphere. The ionosphere is one of the main sources of disturbance in astronomical studies at low-frequency radio observatories. Characterising the impact of the ionosphere on astronomical observations is vital as we take deeper data to study the very early phase of the universe and as the largest radio observatory in the world, the Square Kilometre Array, comes online over the next decade.
In this project, we aim use data from astronomical observations taken by the Murchison Widefield Array to assess several strategies in modelling behaviour of the ionosphere over time and across the sky.
Pulsars and fast transients
Supervisors: A/Prof Natasha Hurley-Walker, Dr Pratik Kumar
Suitability: 3rd year, Honours
Description:
We have discovered a new pulsar that lies surprisingly far out of our Galaxy, and produces very bright and sporadic bursts of radio waves, PSR J0031-57. It may be a new ‘missing link’ between normal pulsars, and pulsars that only produce sporadic bursts, also known as ‘Rotating RAdio Transients’ (RRATs). However, since it is in such a surprising place in the sky, very few observations have been taken towards this source, and so we currently know very little about it.
We have undertaken new observations with the Parkes “Murriyang” radio telescope, which in combination with existing data from the Murchison Widefield Array, will allow us to ‘time’ the pulsar properly. We can compare the rates of the bright bursts to other known sources and see how this pulsar fits into the evolutionary lineage of pulsars, as well as better understand how it came to lie so far away.
Supervisors: Dr Bradley Meyers, Dr Ramesh Bhat
Suitability: 3rd year, Honours
Description:
Over the past several years, the field of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) has emerged as an exciting new frontier of astronomy. These intense, energetic bursts are thought to originate from cosmological distances, and they are potential new probes for cosmology; e.g. to measure the baryonic content of the Universe and the magnetic field of the Intergalactic Medium. Yet, the physics governing the origin of these energetic bursts still remains a mystery, despite a continuing flurry of theoretical ideas, and even as interferometric localisations become a routine. There had been no detected burst emission below ~300 MHz until the recent Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) detection in 2021 which has reinvigorated efforts towards low-frequency searches, especially for FRBs that repeat. The co-location of the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope and the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) present exciting opportunities to hunt for low-frequency emission from these enigmatic bursts.
Over the past years, the high-time resolution capabilities of the MWA have been pushed to enable voltage trigger and buffer modes. Along with the rapid-response observing mode now possible with the MWA, this can now be exploited for receiving and responding to the trigger alerts from facilities like ASKAP. This project will exploit and further develop these new capabilities in the quest to detect low-frequency emission from these bursts. A positive detection would mean the prospects of exciting science relating to FRB emission physics and their propagation and progenitor models, which will contribute to advancing our understanding of these mysterious bursts.
Supervisor: Dr Adrian Sutinjo
Description:
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are enigmatic extragalactic radio transients of unknown origin. Lasting for mere milliseconds, they reach us from galaxies billions of light years away. Theories as to their origin include giant flares from magnetars and merging neutron stars. Regardless of their origin, these bursts can be used as impulses with which to probe the structure of matter in the Universe, and they have recently been used to find the so-called ‘missing matter’ in the giant voids between galaxies.
The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) is currently the best tool for studying FRBs. The phased array feed (PAF) technology in ASKAP enables localization of the burst which permits follow up with optical telescopes to pinpoint the host galaxy of the burst. Furthermore, ASKAP is in the process of commissioning a burst detection system to enhance the rate of FRB detection. Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy (CIRA) is engaged in FRB research using ASKAP with a team of researchers and HDR students actively collaborating with CSIRO, Swinburne Institute of Technology and leading international institutions. A key question in FRB research is the emission mechanism of the burst. The current view is that such a luminous burst must be the result of a coherent emission process, similar to a laser in optics or an oscillator in radio frequency. Thermal emission is deemed unlikely because of the extreme temperature required to produce such an intense burst. Coherent emission process is characterized by random arrival of photons which follows Poisson statistical distribution. One of the research topics in FRB pursued at CIRA is detection of this coherent emission statistics.
Detection of random bursts and determination of the statistics thereof is constrained by the time resolution of the instrument. Currently, ASKAP is capable of receiving 400 MHz to 600 MHz of radio frequency (RF) bandwidth centered around 1 GHz to 1.6 GHz. Of that RF bandwidth, 336 MHz band is selected for processing such that the instrumental time resolution is approximately 3 ns. Hence, the statistics of bursts with time separation consistently larger than 3 ns can be inferred but the statistics of random pulses within the 3 ns is obfuscated by the impulse response of the 336 MHz signal bandwidth. The severity of the obfuscation depends on the receiver architecture and can vary from apparent incoherence of a coherent pulse train to an averaging effect which makes signal statistics more difficult to distinguish.
The objective of the project is to study receiver system architectures and signal processing techniques for coherent pulse detection that is less limited by the instrument’s time resolution. There are several ideas to explore. For example, a zero intermediate frequency (ZIF) receiver, similar to a homodyne receiver employed in coherent optical detection and correlation, is affected by the averaging effect of random pulses but does not render them incoherent. We will also explore pulse detection and estimation techniques to maximize the potential of the receiver system architecture.
Supervisors: Dr Bradley Meyers, Dr Ramesh Bhat
The clock-like stability of fast-rotating millisecond pulsars (i.e. radio-emitting neutron stars with rotation periods on the order of a few to several milliseconds) makes them highly sought after for several high-profile science applications such as searching for ultra-low frequency (nanoHertz) gravitational waves and probing the state of matter at supra-nuclear densities. Some of these applications require a systematic and thorough characterisation of individual systems that are routinely timed as part of pulsar timing array projects that aim to detect such low-frequency gravitational waves, originating from supermassive black-hole mergers in the early Universe.
In this project you will explore the use of long-term timing data sets on some of these millisecond pulsars to measure parameters to detect secular changes in the (projected) semi-major axis, or parallaxes and proper motions to infer aspects of their geometry and kinematics, and similar other parameters that are crucial to resolving the detection of the gravitational wave background.
Supervisor: Dr Clancy James
Description:
Fast radio bursts are millisecond flashes of radio waves coming from the distant Universe. Discovered in 2007, the ASKAP radio telescope in Western Australia is a world-leader in detecting them and identifying the galaxies – some billions of light years away – from which they originate. The hunt is on to discover what could possibly be producing such bursts – the progenitor must be about 10km in size, and emit as much radio energy as our Sun produces in a year. However, these bursts also experience a frequency-dependent delay according to the amount of matter they traverse during propagation, allowing them to be used as probes of the structure of the Universe. Importantly, we aim to determine the value of the Hubble Constant, which is currently the subject of intense debate, since measurements from Supernova 1a disagrees with those from the cosmic microwave background. This project – suitable for all levels – would involve using FRB data from ASKAP to answer these questions and more.
Supervisors: Dr Ramesh Bhat, Dr Bradley Meyers
Pulsars in compact binary orbits with another neutron star or white dwarf make very unique and powerful laboratories for conducting some of the exquisite tests of general relativity, especially in the strong-field regime. The observable phenomena include the shrinkage of the orbital size (i.e. orbital decay) due to gravitational-wave damping, the delay near the superior conjunction due to the gravitational potential of the companion (i.e. the Shapiro delay) and an advance of periastron that can be detected as a shift in time of periastron passage.
In this project you will work on the use of timing data from relativistic binaries to create public outreach materials where school students can be engaged by providing some hands-on experience of measuring the deviation in space time due to the effects like the Shapiro Delay, advance of periastron and orbital decay. For instance, timing data on the double pulsar system can be used to demonstrate how the orbit of a relativistic pulsar decay over a few years and measure it to an accuracy of better than 1 mm/orbit.
Supervisors: Dr Ramesh Bhat, Dr Bradley Meyers
Suitability: Summer, 3rd year
Description:
PSRs J0437-4715 and J2145-0750 are the nearest and brightest among the millisecond pulsars currently known, located within only a few hundred parsecs from us. Both are top-priority targets for high-profile pulsar timing array experiments that aim to advance nanohertz-frequency gravitational wave astronomy in the coming decade. They are also highly-sought-after for developing precision timing methodologies and high-fidelity polarimetric calibration. Both have been monitored with the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) at a monthly cadence over the past several years. These observations were made in the 100-200 MHz frequency band, an uncommon observing band for millisecond pulsars, which are generally studied at frequencies above 1 GHz.
However, such low-frequency observations are especially well suited to study plasma turbulence in the intervening interstellar material and map out its small-scale structure, and to pinpoint the locations of compact dense structures that are sprinkled in the interstellar space. They can also be used to explore high-precision timing prospects with the MWA and measure subtle variations in dispersion measures at unprecedented accuracies of the order of a few parts in a million. This project will involve a systematic analysis of high-time resolution data recorded with the MWA on these pulsars, to study variability and the time-frequency structure in pulse intensity, and characterise interstellar turbulence and locations of discrete structures along the lines of sight to the pulsar. This will help inform how low frequency measurements can be used to advance pulsar timing array projects.
Supervisors: Dr Ramesh Bhat & Dr Bradley Meyers
Suitability: Honours
Description:
Even after several decades of observational and theoretical advances, uncovering the physics that govern the emission of electromagnetic radiation from fast-spinning neutron stars (pulsars) remains an outstanding problem in astronomy. As well known, radio emission from pulsars displays a diverse, rich, and at times exceedingly complex, phenomenology; the most notable ones include the phenomenon of sub-pulse drifting, whereby the emission components (i.e. sub-pulses) steadily march in phase with pulsar rotation, and nulling, which refers to an apparent cessation of (detectable) emission, often lasting over durations ranging from a few to many pulsar rotations. Recently, yet another, quite an intriguing, phenomenon has been revealed in observations. This is called “swooshing,” which refers to episodic instances of radio emission arriving at earlier phases for tens of pulses before returning to nominal phase. Our recent investigation has revealed that PSR B0031-07, a pulsar well known for its remarkable sub-pulse drifting and large nulling fraction (cf. McSweeney et al. 2017, 2018, 2019; Ilie et al. 2020), possibly also shows some signatures of swooshing, with an emission shift clearly evident in one of its sub-pulse drift modes, when observations are made at frequencies above ~300 MHz.
In this project, you will undertake an in-depth analysis of new observational data collected using the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT; spanning 300 to 750 MHz) and the ultra-wide band low-frequency (UWL) receiver capability at the Parkes (Murriyang) telescope (spanning 704 to 4032 MHz). Together, these provide an unprecedented coverage in frequency from 300 MHz to 4 GHz. The main focus of the project will be a systematic and detailed characterisation of the observed “swoosh-like” phenomenon in this pulsar, including the frequency dependence of the observed emission shift and polarisation characteristics. If the observed phase shift of the drift mode is confirmed to be associated with “swooshing”, PSR B0031-07 will be the first pulsar to show swooshing, alongside the drifting and nulling phenomena, making it an excellent test-bed for the investigation of pulsar emission physics in the broader context of spark carousel models typically invoked to explain the sub-pulse drifting phenomenon.
Supervisors: A/Prof Natasha Hurley-Walker, Dr Ramesh Bhat
Suitability: Honours
Description:
The Galactic Centre glows across a wide range of wavelengths of light, but most intriguingly, produces a large amount of high-energy gamma-rays. The two leading theories are that these are produced either by self-annihilation of high-density dark matter, or a hidden population of energetic neutron stars rotating with periods of milliseconds (“millisecond pulsars”). However, such pulsars are difficult to detect in the dense plasma at the heart of our Galaxy.
Recently, several groups have detected new millisecond pulsars towards the Galactic Centre. Our group has found four such pulsars that are also associated with individual gamma-ray sources. We have obtained high-frequency observations with the southern hemisphere’s most sensitive radio telescope, MeerKAT, that will allow us to time these pulsars to high precision, and determine how they contribute to their associated gamma-ray sources. We can then compare this signature to the Galactic Centre gamma-ray excess to test both the dark matter and pulsar models.
Supervisors: Dr Kristen Dage, Dr Clancy James
Suitability: Honours, 3rd year, Summer
Description:
This project is aimed at characterising the high energy nature of pulsars using NASA’s Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope. Gamma rays are some of the most energetic particles detectable by telescopes, where astrophysical objects produce highly energetic gamma ray emission. However, the nature of gamma ray emission is poorly understood. This project will search for, and characterise, gamma ray counterparts to new pulsars being discovered in radio frequencies, as well as prepare for conducting these searches on a larger scale.
Engineering
Supervisors: Prof David Davidson, Dr Maria Kovaleva
Suitability: Honours, Summer
Description:
Strong mutual coupling between antennas in aperture arrays frequently degrades their performance. Even though the phenomenon of mutual coupling has been known for a long time, some effects have only been discovered recently in a scrupulous analysis of an SKA-Low prototype array. The aim of this project is to design a few microstrip patch antenna arrays for ISM Band (2.45 GHz), build their prototypes and measure radiation patterns with the purpose of using these measurements to accurately extract mutual coupling using an optimization procedure.
The project will include antenna design and simulation, assembling and soldering of manufactured prototypes and measuring the prototypes in the electronics laboratory. This project will provide a valuable contribution towards a new mutual coupling extraction technique that will be important for low-frequency radio astronomy with SKA-Low.
The summer version of this project will only concern numerical simulations of SKA-Low.
Theoretical/Mathematical Physics Projects
Theoretical Physics Group
Students interested in computational or theoretical physics are encouraged to consider projects in the Theoretical Physics Group. This is a research intensive group, which was (2007-2013) a node of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Antimatter Matter Studies. We specialises in the field of Quantum Collision Physics. Such processes occur all around us, and include all chemical reactions. More specifically, our area of expertise is for projectiles, which include electrons, positrons, photons, protons and antiprotons, colliding with atoms, ions and molecules. Applications include astrophysics, fusion energy, lighting, material and medical diagnostics.
Presently, there is considerable demand from astrophysicists and fusion physicists for the generation of electron/positron-atom/molecule collision data. Depending on the student’s background knowledge and scope of the project, individual research projects will range from data generation and evaluation, utilising super computer facilities, through to extending the computational capacity to be able to tackle new collision problems. The expectation is that the research outcomes would be published in the best physics journals. The specific details of the project will be determined by discussion with the particular staff of the Theoretical Physics Group. Some examples are listed below.
Contact Igor Bray at Igor.Bray@curtin.edu.au if you are interesting in undertaking a project in the group.
Supervisors: Prof Igor Bray and Prof Dmitry Fursa
The Theoretical Physics Group has been engaged in the biggest scientific research project on the planet, which is the building of the next generation fusion reactor known as ITER, see http://iter.org. The goal is to produce fusion energy as it happens deep in the core of our Sun. Our contribution has been to provide collision data of interest to the plasma modellers who are trying to understand all of the physics that will follow the fusion process.
Recent example is tungsten: it has been determined that tungsten will be a substantial component of the first wall, and hence reliable electron impact cross sections for this atom and all of its ions are required by the modellers. Collision data for many more atoms and molecules are required for modelling the ITER plasma. Our aim is to develop a computer code that is capable to model collisions with a much wider number of atoms and molecules than the present version of the CCC code allows for.
An even more difficult task is to extend the CCC code to study collisions with molecules. We are especially interested in the molecules that are present in ITER plasma: BeH, BeH2, Li2, Li_H, etc. We have already developed a computer code that produced the best in the world result for H2+ and H2 molecules and now aim to extend it to more complex systems.
This project will contribute to the International Atomic Energy Agency fusion research and will be our contribution to the Coordinated Research project (CRP): Atomic data for Vapour Shielding in Fusion Devices.
Here are theoretical and code development projects that you can participate:
Electron collisions with atoms
The project aims to provide a comprehensive set of collision data for electron collision with tungsten ions. We will use the relativistic formulation of the CCC method (RCCC) as W ions are relatively heavy. Tungsten ions show substantial fine-structure splitting that indicates that relativistic effects will play important role in modelling of atomic structure and collision processes.
Electron collisions with molecules
The present version of the CCC code will be extended to more complex molecules, such as BH. The aim is to provide a comprehensive set of collisions data relevant for fusion research. This includes a set of elastic and momentum transfer, ionization, excitation and dissociation cross sections. The study of nuclear motion will allow us to provide a set of fully vibrationally resolved cross sections.
Objectives:
- Understand what ITER is all about
- Understand the physics and the mathematical model behind the computer code
- Learn how to use supercomputers to run locally developed computational codes to determine the required data to a required accuracy
- Disseminate the data to existing databases for ready access to fusion researchers worldwide
Supervisors: Prof Dmitry Fursa, Prof Igor Bray
Modelling positron transport in various media is of immense importance for applications as diverse as atmospheric and astrophysical research and studies of radiation damage in tissue. Accurate modelling requires accurate collision data: cross sections for all relevant collision processes. We have developed the best in the world computer code (CCC) to model positron collision processes for a wide range of atoms. The code is being extended to model positron collisions with small molecules. We will have a special emphasis on the study of collisions with biologically important atoms and molecules.
Objectives:
- Review various applications of positron collisions with atoms and molecules
- Understand the physics and the mathematical model behind the computer code
- Learn how to use supercomputers to run locally developed computational codes to determine the required data
Supervisors: Dr Corey Plowman, Dr Liam Scarlett
Collision processes involving protons and antiprotons with molecular hydrogen and various small molecules play an important role in astrophysics, fusion research, and health sciences.
In Astrophysics, energetic protons and antiprotons originate outside the Solar system and arrive on the Earth as cosmic rays. Their propagation through intergalactic space is defined by the interaction with atoms and molecules present in the intergalactic medium of which atomic (H) and molecular hydrogen (H2) are the most abundant. Our sun is also a significant source of extra-terrestrial protons which collide with atoms and molecules in planetary atmospheres. On Jupiter, this effect is responsible for the production of electrons and ions that drive atmospheric dynamics.
In fusion research, the interaction of protons and their isotopes (deuterons and tritons) with molecules happens in the regions of cold plasmas at the edge of magnetically confined fusion experiments or in the divertor. Molecular hydrogen is the most abundant in those regions, but other molecules, such as lithium hydride (LiH), beryllium hydride (BeH) and boron hydride (BH) are present. Collisions with these molecules play an important role in the understanding of the physics of the fusion plasma and in the interpretation of various diagnostic techniques.
Objectives:
- Review various applications of proton collisions with atoms and molecules
- Understand the physics and the mathematical model behind the computer code
- Learn how to use supercomputers to run locally developed computational codes to determine the required data to a required accuracy
- Disseminate the data to existing databases for ready access to researchers worldwide
Supervisors: Dr Corey Plowman and Dr Liam Scarlett
Appropriate for 3rd year/summer/honours
As comets approach the centre of the solar system, the solar wind begins to strip away parts of them, producing a cloud of atoms and molecules called a coma that surrounds the comet. Solar-wind ions colliding with the coma produce excited hydrogen atoms that emit observable X-rays. Recently, hydrogen gas was also observed in cometary environments via UV photon observations with the Hubble Space Telescope. Detailed understanding of the coma and comet structure requires accurate predictions of the rate of production of the excited states. However, there is a substantial lack of data for the collisions leading to the excitation of hydrogen molecules in the coma. This project will extend state-of-the-art quantum collision codes to calculate these collisions and produce reliable data for astrophysical modelling.
Our group has developed a highly accurate scattering code for ions colliding with H2. In this project, the codes will be extended to dressed ions, such as C5+, C4+, C3+, etc. that are present in the solar wind. This will require implementing model potentials to represent the partially shielded charge of these projectiles.
In this project a student will:
- Review the literature on dressed ion collisions with hydrogen molecules
- Learn about molecular structure and atomic scattering theory
- Extend existing scientific codes to handle dressed ion projectiles
- Make use of supercomputing facilities to perform large-scale collision calculations
- Disseminate data in databases and scientific literature for access to researchers worldwide
Supervisors: Dr Corey Plowman and Kyna Schrick
Appropriate for 3rd year/summer/honours
Collisions between ions and light atoms occur all throughout the universe. As solar ions collide with interstellar gas or atmospheres, they interact, and cause measurable emissions of X-rays or visible light. This process also happens in fusion plasmas, where it can be used to monitor the volatile plasmas. Similar interactions are also relevant in radiation therapy, where ions travel through the body to kill tumour cells. In all of these environments, knowing how these particles will respond is essential to understanding, modelling, and predicating bulk behaviour.
For these applications, they need cross sections — a measure of probability for outcomes of a collision. Techniques have been devised for calculating these data for simple targets, but multi-electron targets cause additional complications. It is not feasible to represent each electron individually, so we use a sophisticated configuration-interaction (CI) approach to generate the electronic wave functions. These targets have been used for positron scattering, which showed good agreement with experimental data. Recently, this idea was extended to ionic projectiles (typically protons, antiprotons, or alpha particles), so we have many new, interesting collision systems to work with. For example, proton collisions with Alkali metals (including Li, Na, K) are poorly understood. Most theories use very approximate structure, and experiments disagree by up to 200%, so there is no consensus on the cross sections. Additionally, other targets like fluorine have been very rarely studied, so calculating some of the first data for those systems would be very valuable.
A project in this area would entail:
- Learning about atomic structure and scattering
- Constructing an accurate atomic structure model for a target using the CI method
- Performing scattering calculations to compute cross sections for different interactions
- Share data in database for others to use
Supervisors: Dr Corey Plowman and Prof Dmitry Fursa
Appropriate for 3rd year/summer/honours
Fusion energy projects like ITER require accurate data for modelling the various ions and atoms colliding within the plasma. Many of these atoms exist in excited levels due to the energetic environment. As a result, accurate cross section data is required for collisions of protons with atoms in initially excited states. However, it is difficult to prepare excited atoms experimentally and challenging to model them theoretically, making available data sparse.
This project will apply the highly successful CCC ion-atom collision code to calculate proton collisions with metastable excited states of helium. This will require developing accurate structure models for both singlet and triplet spectra and performing large supercomputer calculations to obtain accurate results for all relevant electronic transitions.
In this project a student will:
- Review the literature on proton collisions with metastable helium
- Learn about atomic structure theory
- Make use of supercomputing facilities to perform large-scale collision calculations
- Disseminate data in databases and scientific literature for access to researchers worldwide
Supervisors: Dr Nick Antonio, Prof. Alisher Kadyrov
Suitability: Summer, 3rd year or Honours
Atomic collisions occur across industrial and natural settings. Inside fusion reactors, various ions and atomic species collide with one another. These interactions can result in electron capture, ionisation or excitation. Understanding the likelihood of these various outcomes is vital to be able to perform various diagnostics on fusion reactors during their operation and to measure key properties of plasma, such as its temperature and density.
Another important application where ion-atom collisions occur is during hadron therapy, a modern treatment for cancer, which uses beams of heavy ions (such as protons or carbon ions) to eradicate tumours. Administering this treatment requires significant planning, including treatment simulation to ensure precise beam targeting at tumour sites. These simulations require accurate data of the underlying ion-atom collisions that occur during the treatment.
Ion-atom collisions are fundamentally quantum systems, which means that to accurately model them, one must apply the rules of quantum mechanics. To do this, we describe the system by a total scattering wavefunction, which contains all of the information about the collision such as the various outcome probabilities. There are many numerical methods that are capable of solving the Schrodinger equation for this scattering wavefunction. One of the most accurate methods is the Coulomb-Sturmian convergent close-coupling (CS-CCC) approach [Antonio and Kadyrov, Phys. Rev. A 112 (2025) 042816] . In the CS-CCC approach, the total scattering wavefunction is expanded in terms of a set pseudostates centred around the target nucleus. Substituting this expansion into the Schrödinger equation leads to a large set of fully-coupled differential equations. Solutions to these equations allow us to calculate cross sections (measures of probability) associated with each possible collision outcome. These cross sections are experimentally observable and are used in the aforementioned applications. However, this means that when modelling these collisions, we only ever indirectly know the solution to the Schrodinger equation (the scattering wavefunction).
The aim of this project is to develop a code within the existing CS-CCC codebase that can generate animated visualisations of the scattering wavefunction and electron density functions. This is an important endeavour for two reasons:
1) Through visualisation, we can advance the understanding of how to describe processes where an electron is captured by an incoming projectile to form a new atom, only by expanding the scattering wavefunction using functions originating from the target nucleus.
2) These methods will provide a powerful educational tool that can be used in various outreach and technical presentations on the work done using the CS-CCC method, maximising the accessibility of our work across multiple audiences.
Key learning outcomes and experiences to be gained from this project include:
- Use of supercomputers to run simulations of various ion-atom collisions using the CS-CCC software.
- Design and development of new code which will be included into the CS-CCC codebase.
- Conceptualisation of the underlying physics and mathematics which describe the CS-CCC formalism.
Supervisors: Dr Nick Antonio, Prof. Alisher Kadyrov
Suitability: Summer, 3rd year or Honours
Modelling collisions between partially stripped nitrogen ions and various atoms is important for a number of practical and fundamental reasons. Given the multi-electron nature of these systems, they allow us to explore the role electron-electron interactions play in the overall collision dynamics. Furthermore, there are many practical applications that would benefit from a complete understanding of these collisions. Modelling X-ray spectra from comets and performing impurity diagnostics in fusion plasmas are just a few examples. In particular, major fusion projects such as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) and the Joint European Torus (JET) are expected to contain dressed nitrogen ions within the reactors. How these ions affect properties of the plasma such as its temperature and density can be investigated using the charge exchange recombination spectroscopy (CXRS) technique, where a beam of H atoms collide with the nitrogen ions leading to electron capture. The CXRS approach to performing diagnostics on fusion plasmas is based on analysing the spectra of these excited ions. This requires accurate cross section data for all possible collision processes including electron capture, ionisation and target excitation.Â
This project aims to calculate accurate cross sections for partially stripped nitrogen ions colliding with the helium atom using the Coulomb-Sturmian convergent close-coupling (CS-CCC) method developed in our group [Antonio and Kadyrov, Phys. Rev. A 112 (2025) 042816]. The method expands the total scattering wavefunction using a basis of pseudostates. Substituting the expansion into the Schrodinger equation leads to a set of coupled first-order differential equations for the transition probability amplitudes which are used to calculate the aforementioned cross sections. Solving the close-coupling equations is computationally intensive and needs to be done on large-scale supercomputers.
Key learning outcomes and experiences to be gained from this project include:
- Use of supercomputers to run simulations of various ion-atom collisions using the CS-CCC software.
- Conceptualisation of the underlying physics and mathematics which describes the CS-CCC formalism.
- Learn how we can leverage and program graphical processing units (GPUs) in order to accelerate simulations.
- Hands on experience writing code to extend the CS-CCC software to include model potentials to approximate the interactions between the incoming partially stripped nitrogen ion and the two-electron helium target.
Supervisors: Dr Nick Antonio, Prof. Alisher Kadyrov
Suitability: Summer, 3rd year or Honours
Modelling collisions of fully and partially stripped ions with hydrogen and helium is important for understanding X-ray emission from comets and planets in the solar system. In addition, diagnostics of fusion plasma in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) and the Joint European Torus (JET) is performed using charge-exchange recombination spectroscopy (CXRS), where a beam of H atoms collides with impurity ions including highly-charged Ar ions, leading to electron capture (EC). Following the electron capture process the newly formed Ar ion with an additional electron emits a photon as it de-excites down to its ground state. It is this photon which is detected and used for various diagnostics on the reactor. To be able to apply CXRS when a fusion reactor is operational requires the knowledge of state-selective EC cross sections, which are difficult to measure.
The aim of this project is to perform accurate calculations of state-selective cross sections for EC in various partially-stripped argon ion collisions with hydrogen using the wave-packet convergent close-coupling (WP-CCC) method [Kotian et al., Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 66 (2024) 095014]. The method solves the three-body Schrodinger equation for a fully-stripped ion-hydrogen atom system by expanding the total scattering wavefunction in a two-centre basis of pseudostates. This leads to a set of coupled differential equations for the transition probability amplitudes. The latter are used to calculate the cross sections for elastic scattering, target excitation, and EC by the projectile and ionisation.
Key learning outcomes and experiences to be gained from this project include:
- Use of supercomputers to run simulations of various ion-atom collisions using the WP-CCC software.
- Conceptualisation of the underlying physics and mathematics which describes the WP-CCC formalism.
- Learn how we can leverage and program graphical processing units (GPUs) in order to accelerate simulations.
Applied Maths
Supervisors: Prof Victor Calo
Numerous phenomena from different areas of science and engineering are modelled by time-dependent partial differential equations. In general, it is impossible to find their analytical solutions. Thus, one seeks numerical approximations. In order to obtain accurate approximations, one requires to solve a large linear algebra matrix problem, which is time-consuming.
This project aims to develop fast solvers for the resulting linear algebra systems. The main idea is to perform directional splittings. We split a multiple dimensional problem into a series of one-dimensional problems. This significantly reduces the overall cost for solving the matrix problem to be of linear cost.
Objectives:
- Write numerical simulators to study the performance of the splitting schemes;
- Analyse the stability and approximability of the splitting;
- Generalise the splitting schemes to solve other time-dependent problems.
Supervisors: Prof Victor Calo
At the interface between two chemically active metamorphic minerals, a new phase grows and nucleates. In general, the reaction product is a rim, and its morphology depends on the large volumetric stresses associated with the chemical processes, i.e., mass transport and chemical reaction, as well as the curvature of the mineral interface.
By using a chemo-mechanical framework for the interactions of multicomponent solids, this project aims to identify the conditions under which the morphology of the rim varies from a uniform to a non-uniform layer.
Objectives: The primary goals of this project are to:
- Understand the impact of the diffusion coefficients, reaction rates and mechanical properties in the chemo-mechanical framework to perform relevant numerical simulations; and
- Postprocess simulation results to verify the rim growth-controlling mechanism.
Centre for Optimisation and Decision Science
Supervisors: Dr Shakib Daryanoosh
Overview: Quantum mechanics provides a fundamentally different framework for processing information, with applications ranging from quantum computation, communication, and metrology to the simulation of complex quantum systems. In recent years, the development of quantum processors has made it possible to experimentally investigate computational problems and physical systems that are difficult to study using conventional approaches.
This project will investigate fundamental concepts in quantum information and their application to quantum computing and/or quantum simulation. The initial stage will focus on the mathematical and physical description of the problem. These will then be used to investigate a suitable computational or physical problem, potentially involving quantum algorithms, quantum optimisation, quantum dynamics, and simulation of quantum systems.
The specific problem will be selected according to the interests and background of the successful candidate. The project may involve developing simulations using classical computers and, where appropriate, investigating implementations using available quantum-computing simulators.
The internship will involve an initial theoretical analysis phase in which the relevant background is studied. This is expected to comprise approximately the first four to five weeks. In the remaining period, depending on progress and the chosen direction, the project will develop an analytical calculation, numerical simulation or computational implementation of the problem under investigation.
This project fits within the Digital Transformation and Emerging Technology theme and contributes to the development of knowledge and skills relevant to emerging quantum technologies. It also aligns with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.
References
- A. Nielsen and I. L. Chuang, Quantum Computation and Quantum Information, Cambridge University Press, 10th Anniversary Edition, 2010.
- J. Preskill, Quantum Computation, lecture notes, California Institute of Technology.
Materials Physics Projects
Hydrogen Storage Research Group
The Hydrogen Storage Research Group (HSRG) at Curtin University conducts cutting-edge research on materials and systems for storing and transporting hydrogen — a key enabler of the clean-energy transition.
The group sits within the Physics and Astronomy discipline and is part of the Curtin Institute for Energy Transition.
The group sits within the Physics and Astronomy discipline and is part of the Curtin Institute for Energy Transition and the Curtin Materials Institute. Current research spans solid-state hydrogen storage materials, chemical hydrogen carriers, hydrogen generation by hydrolysis, thermal and electrochemical energy-storage systems, hydrogen transport and pipeline safety, ammonia electrosynthesis, and hydrogen sensing technologies. These projects are supported by advanced synthesis, gas-sorption, thermal analysis, electrochemical, spectroscopy and materials-characterisation facilities. Many projects are linked to real-world challenges in renewable hydrogen export, portable and emergency hydrogen generation, safer gas transport, next-generation batteries, green ammonia production and natural hydrogen detection.
Depending on background and interests, students may:
- Develop and test hydrogen-rich materials, metal hydrides and reversible hydrogen-carrier systems
- Investigate sodium borohydride or silicon-based routes for solid-state hydrogen generation
- Design and evaluate thermochemical and electrochemical energy-storage materials
- Study hydrogen transport, containment, pipeline compatibility and safety challenges
- Explore solid-state electrolytes, silicon-based solid-state batteries and interfacial chemistry
- Investigate ammonia electrosynthesis and solid-electrolyte interphase engineering
- Develop optical and Raman-based approaches for hydrogen sensing and leak detection
Students gain hands-on experience with state-of-the-art experimental tools and work within an internationally recognised research group. The specific details of each project will be determined in discussion with the group supervisors. Some example projects are listed below.
Supervisors: Prof. Craig Buckley, Prof. Mark Paskevicius, A/Prof. Terry Humphries, Dr Peter O Conghaile, Dr. Simon Doblinger and Dr. Aneeka Patel
Sodium borohydride, NaBH₄, is a promising solid-state hydrogen carrier for safe and efficient green hydrogen export due to its high hydrogen content, powder form and potential for circular use. This project will investigate two linked parts of the NaBH₄ hydrogen cycle: Part A, will focus on the regeneration of spent borate products back to NaBH₄, while Part B will focus on controlled hydrogen release through hydrolysis. Together, these studies aim to develop a practical pathway for storing, transporting, releasing and regenerating hydrogen using sodium borohydride.
Part A: Regeneration of sodium borohydride using green energy
This part of the project will investigate sustainable methods for regenerating sodium borohydride from the borate products formed after hydrogen release, enabling the hydrogen carrier to be recycled. The work will focus on improving conversion yield and energy efficiency using electrochemical and other renewable-energy-driven approaches, while examining how reaction conditions, electrode materials and borate speciation influence regeneration. Analytical techniques such as Raman spectroscopy and NMR may be used to identify reaction intermediates and products and clarify the underlying regeneration mechanisms. The outcomes will support the development of a closed-loop process in which sodium borohydride can be repeatedly used to store, transport and release green hydrogen.
Sodium borohydride will be the main material studied, but other metal hydrides may also be explored as comparison systems to assess differences in hydrogen yield, reaction rate, by-product formation and practical suitability. The project may involve batch and/or flow-through reactor experiments, gas-flow measurements, catalyst testing, and analysis of residual borohydride and borate products using techniques such as NMR, Raman spectroscopy or electrochemical methods. The outcomes will help determine how NaBH₄ hydrolysis can be integrated into a scalable hydrogen release system for renewable hydrogen export, portable power or emergency energy applications.
Part A: Regeneration of sodium borohydride using green energy
This part of the project will investigate sustainable methods for regenerating sodium borohydride from the borate products formed after hydrogen release, enabling the hydrogen carrier to be recycled. The work will focus on improving conversion yield and energy efficiency using electrochemical and other renewable-energy-driven approaches, while examining how reaction conditions, electrode materials and borate speciation influence regeneration. Analytical techniques such as Raman spectroscopy and NMR may be used to identify reaction intermediates and products and clarify the underlying regeneration mechanisms. The outcomes will support the development of a closed-loop process in which sodium borohydride can be repeatedly used to store, transport and release green hydrogen.
Part B: Hydrogen generation by sodium borohydride hydrolysis
This part of the project will investigate the catalytic hydrolysis of NaBH4 for on-demand hydrogen generation. The student will examine how reaction conditions, catalyst type, catalyst loading, NaBH4 concentration, stabiliser concentration and temperature influence hydrogen generation rate, yield and reproducibility. A key focus will be understanding catalyst deactivation during repeated cycling, including the formation of borate deposits, and testing strategies such as washing or regeneration to recover catalyst performance.
Supervisors Prof. Mark Paskevicius, Dr Amanda Berger, Prof. Craig Buckley
Elemental silicon has emerged as a promising solid-state hydrogen “carrier” due to its high hydrogen yield (0.14 kg H2 per kg silicon) when added to water, natural high abundance, inherent safety and low toxicity, when compared to compressed hydrogen or ammonia (NH3). The final product of silicon hydrolysis is also relatively benign silica (SiO2). However, the practical application of silicon hydrolysis is limited due to the rapid formation of surface passivation with pure water that slows the reaction and decreases yield. Overcoming this limitation by utilising alkaline solutions, for example sodium hydroxide (NaOH), dissolves surface SiO2 improving the reaction kinetics and overall H2 yield. Transition metal salts (e.g. Fe3+, Ni2+) can also be added to catalyse reaction kinetics by mediating electron transfer and disrupting surface SiO2 formation. Porous silicon will also improve the overall kinetics due to high surface area but may be further optimised through ball milling.
Aim
This project aims to investigate and optimise performance of porous silicon hydrolysis through use of pure water vs alkaline solutions (NaOH and KOH), as well as performance of solutions catalysed with FeCl3 and NiCl2.
Objectives
- Identify the optimal conditions for porous silicon hydrolysis including NaOH or KOH concentration and transition metal salt addition. This includes looking at reagent concentrations, silicon particle size, catalyst loading, reaction onset times and overall yield.
- Review and summarise the relevant and emerging research in the use of transition metal salts in the hydrolysis of silicon.
Significance
Understanding the impact of alkaline solutions and transition metal salts on the hydrolysis of silicon will inform on the cost, design and application of silicon-based hydrogen generation for portable power applications or emergency energy supply. This technology has the potential to provide hydrogen gas from a safe and highly abundant source.
Supervisors: Prof. Mark Paskevicius, Prof. Craig Buckley
New battery technologies offer the possibility for greatly enhanced energy storage capacities. High energy density is critical for most technological applications, such as for portable electronics and vehicles, i.e. more energy in a form that weighs less and takes up less space. Further breakthroughs are required to bring new batteries to reality, especially with regard to the electrolytes. Here, solid-state electrolytes could allow electrochemical reactions to proceed where liquid electrolytes fail, also providing higher electrochemical stabilities and enhanced safety.
Our group has synthesised new types of solid-state electrolytes that have interesting dynamics within the crystal structure. The anions within the structure rapidly reorientate up to 1E10 times per second, promoting the migration of cations, such as Li+, within the structure. These types of solid-state ion conductors have ion conductivities on par with liquids! The challenge is improving the ion conductivity at room temperature for battery applications.
This project will focus on the measurement, characterisation and analysis of electrochemical measurements on new solid-state batteries. The materials are air-sensitive and will be handled within an argon-filled glovebox. Measurements will be undertaken using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. Further analysis will be undertaken to test the voltage-stability and chemical compatibility of the solid-state electrolytes with typical anion and cation materials. It is expected that high-impact peer reviewed publications will result from this project.
Supervisors: Prof. Craig Buckley, Prof. Mark Paskevicius, Dr Joshua Butson
The concept of using the existent natural gas infrastructure to transport and store hydrogen produced from surplus renewable electricity is getting increasing attention. Several pilot projects are currently being conducted in Australia and abroad to test the feasibility of this approach, where only minor modifications to the existent infrastructure are required as the hydrogen content in the gas blend is limited to less than 15 – 20 vol%. In this project an assessment of the impact of blending hydrogen in typical gas production, transportation and storage systems at various hydrogen concentrations will be conducted, including challenges in long range pipeline transport (wave speed in hydrogen is three times faster than in methane), compression and decompression in small and large scale reservoirs (iso-entropic work of compressing hydrogen is ten times larger than in methane), compatibility of materials (hydrogen embrittlement in steel, permeability rates through polymeric materials is 4 – 5 times larger for hydrogen compared to natural gas). In this assessment relevant data from the literature will be gathered and simple analysis tools will be applied to estimate the increasing demands on the available systems at different scales (plant through city network, up to natural hydrogen production systems) when hydrogen concentration increases by comparing transport and operational efficiencies and safety risk profiles in different scenarios.
Supervisors: Prof. Mark Paskevicius, Dr Wanli Gao
Overview: Ammonia is an essential chemical for the global agriculture and industries and is increasingly regarded as a promising green energy carrier due to its high hydrogen storage capacity. However, the conventional Haber-Bosch process requires high temperatures and pressures, resulting in high energy consumption and substantial carbon emissions. These demanding conditions raise growing concerns regarding cost-efficiency and environmental sustainability for future applications.
The electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction presents a promising alternative for ammonia production under ambient conditions. This process initiates with the reduction of lithium ions at the cathode surface, leading to the formation of highly reactive lithium metal. Simultaneously, electrolyte decomposition at highly negative potentials forms a solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) on the lithium surface. Akin to Li-ion battery chemistry, the SEI formed in this lithium-mediated system is electronically insulating yet ionically conductive. This nanostructured SEI protects the electrolyte from continuous decomposition while allowing lithium-ion transport. The composition and structure of the SEI largely determine lithium transport, ammonia selectivity, and overall electrochemical performance.
Aims: To elucidate and engineer the SEI to improve stability and Faradaic efficiency in lithium-mediated ammonia electrosynthesis.
Objectives:
- Investigate the effect of electrolyte composition (e.g., lithium salt and proton donor) on SEI chemistry and morphology.
- Correlate SEI properties with electrochemical performance (ammonia yield rate, Faradaic efficiency, and stability).
Significance: Lithium-mediated ammonia electrosynthesis offers a promising alternative to the conventional Haber-Bosch process by enabling ammonia production under ambient conditions. This technology has the potential to support decentralised, renewable-powered ammonia production. A deeper understanding of SEI formation and engineering will accelerate the development of efficient and durable electrochemical ammonia synthesis systems.
Supervisors: Prof. Mark Paskevicius, Dr Wanli Gao, Dr Amanda Berger
Overview: Silicon-based solid-state batteries (SSBs) are promising candidates for next-generation energy storage due to the exceptionally high theoretical capacity of silicon anodes, enhanced safety offered by solid electrolytes, and potential for achieving higher energy densities compared with conventional lithium-ion batteries. However, their practical application remains challenging due to complex interfacial instability between silicon electrodes, solid electrolytes, and conductive additives. In particular, the large volume changes of silicon during lithiation and delithiation can generate mechanical stress, disrupt interfacial contact, and promote unstable interphase formation, resulting in capacity degradation and poor cycling stability. Therefore, understanding and controlling interfacial chemistry is essential for developing durable and high-performance silicon-based SSBs.
Aim: This project aims to prepare and evaluate solid electrolytes for silicon-based solid-state battery cells and develop a fundamental understanding of the key challenges associated with electrode-electrolyte interfaces through experimental investigation and literature analysis.
Objectives
- Prepare and evaluate solid electrolytes with suitable ionic conductivity and electrochemical stability for silicon-based SSBs.
- Review and summarise emerging research advances in silicon-based SSBs to guide materials design and experimental approaches.
Significance: Understanding the interactions between electrode materials and solid electrolytes will provide valuable insights into the mechanisms governing battery degradation and performance loss. The development and evaluation of suitable solid electrolytes will contribute to the advancement of high-energy-density and safer battery technologies. The knowledge gained from this project will support the rational design of next-generation solid-state batteries with improved stability, performance, and practical applicability.
Supervisors: Dr Peter O Conghaile, Dr. Simon Doblinger, A/Prof. Terry Humphries, Prof. Mark Paskevicius, Prof. Craig Buckley
The transition to a hydrogen-based economy will require efficient methods for storing and transporting hydrogen. While compressed and liquefied hydrogen are currently used, alternative hydrogen carrier materials offer opportunities for safer, more energy-efficient hydrogen storage and delivery. These include transition metal hydrides, liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs), and other hydrogen-rich compounds that can store hydrogen in chemical form and release it when required.
This project will investigate the electrochemical synthesis of hydrogen carriers and hydride-containing compounds relevant to hydrogen storage technologies. The student will gain hands-on experience in electrochemical techniques, materials synthesis, and product characterisation while exploring new approaches to producing compounds relevant to hydrogen storage, transport, and utilisation. Experimental work will involve operating electrochemical cells, analysing reaction products, and evaluating the performance of different synthesis strategies.
The project is suitable for students interested in materials science, chemistry, chemical engineering, physics, renewable energy, or hydrogen technologies. Students will develop practical laboratory skills while contributing to research aimed at enabling future large-scale hydrogen production, storage, and export.
Supervisors: Dr Jacob Martin, Prof. Charlie Ironside, Prof. Merv Lynch, Prof. Craig Buckley A. Prof. Mark Paskevicius,
Hydrogen is recognised as a major energy carrier for the near and long-term future. Australia, especially Western Australia, has recently been considered to be one of the most promising areas for natural hydrogen exploration, providing what has been deemed as gold hydrogen. The development of hydrogen sensors is crucially important for the detection and exploration of natural hydrogen. Considering the flammable and reactive nature of hydrogen, Raman-based laser sensors have great potential for remote hydrogen detection. This project aims to develop a compact Raman sensor for quantitative measurement of hydrogen concentration, as well as the para and ortho hydrogen ratio in the gas. The sensor can also be used for hydrogen gas leak detection, which is important for the safe storage and transportation of hydrogen.
This project would involve experimental research using lasers and different types of sensors capable of detecting signals from hydrogen, including single-photon detectors. The newly designed optics laboratory will be utilised for these studies under various hydrogen atmospheres and conditions.
Curtin Carbon Group
The Curtin Carbon Group is a multidisciplinary research team within the Physics and Astronomy discipline focused on carbon materials for the energy transition. The group combines experimental and computational approaches to understand and develop carbon in all its forms — from graphite and graphene to disordered and porous carbons.
Research areas include graphite for lithium-ion batteries, porous carbons for hydrogen storage and filtration, and high-temperature carbon processing for low-emissions manufacturing. Projects span atomic-scale simulations, ultra-high temperature synthesis and advanced materials characterisation, often in collaboration with industry.
Research from the group led to the spin-out company RapidGraphite, which developed a rapid process for producing synthetic graphite for lithium-ion batteries. RapidGraphite was subsequently acquired by InVert Graphite, which is working to scale the technology.
Students can gain experience in computational modelling, materials synthesis and characterization while working on problems relevant to the energy transition and advanced manufacturing. More information: Curtin Carbon Group
Some example projects are listed below. For more information about projects in the group, please email Dr Jacob Martin or message on Teams.
Supervisors:Dr Jacob Martin,Assoc Prof Nigel Marks
Graphite is where the lithium goes when you charge your lithium-ion battery. The layered structure of graphite enables the lithium to be safely stored between the layers, however, graphite is expensive to synthesise primarily due to the few chemical precursors that will convert into graphite and also due to the extreme temperatures required (3000°C half the temperature of the sun!). Recently the Carbon Group at Curtin University have made a breakthrough in the atomistic understanding of the graphitization process. We were able to resolve the critical defect inhibiting graphitization as a screw dislocation. This helical defect winds through the layers like a spiral staircase stopping the layers from separating to form graphite. The aim of this project is to use a custom graphite furnace we have designed to explore the speed of different precursors transforming into graphite. Advanced characterisation equipment will be used such as X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. This project is suitable for a student with an interest in materials science for green energy. There is also scope for an entirely computational project using molecular dynamics to study the movement of defects within the nanostructure of graphite.
Supervisors: Dr Jacob Martin, Assoc Prof Nigel Marks
Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms such as Machine Learning and Deep Learning are transforming areas previously considered to be innately human activities. One area where AI methods have potential to make huge inroads is materials science, where complex interatomic potentials have historically been developed using a mixture of chemical and mathematical intuition. The aim of this project is to apply AI algorithms to the simulation of solids and liquids containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The ultimate goal is an AI-based interatomic potential which can be used to perform cutting edge molecular dynamics simulations of high-technology materials such as graphene, diamond-like carbon and carbon fibre. This project is suitable for a student with an interest in materials modelling. Training in computational modelling will be provided, and prior experience is quantum-mechanical methods is not required. Commercial partners are currently involved in this project.
Supervisors: Dr Jacob Martin, Assoc Prof Nigel Marks
This project aims to address one of the major fundamental puzzles in carbon science; how to experimentally synthesize new phases of carbon predicted by theory. This could be approached via a combination of high pressure and high-energy ion irradiation to transform novel nano-carbon precursors. The expected outcomes include new phases of carbon with unexplored properties, an understanding of the pathways for synthesis of carbon materials, and new computational tools to understand nano-carbon materials under extreme conditions. This should provide benefits for industries seeking advanced materials for modern manufacturing. This project is suitable for a student with an interest in materials modelling. Training in computational modelling will be provided, and prior experience is quantum-mechanical methods is not required.
Supervisors: Dr Jacob Martin, Assoc. Prof. Andrew Woods, Assoc Prof Nigel Marks
Computational modelling of materials is providing insight into how to make better batteries, store hydrogen and produce entirely new materials. However, many computational models involve thousands of atoms that transform during the simulation. This poses a problem for interpreting the models and understanding what they tell us. The Carbon Group has been working with the Curtin HIVE (Hub for Immersive Visualisation and eResearch) in humanities to visualise atomistic materials using 3D immersive display technology. We have also worked with the Additive Manufacturing Microfactory in the John de Laeter centre who specialize in 3D printing to develop tactile models of disordered 3D graphenes. Most recently we have developed a VR game for the Oculus headset within the Unity game engine. This allows for periodic disordered carbons to be visualised from an atom’s eye view. In this project, new visualisation approaches will be developed to provide insights into disordered carbon nanostructures. A student with an interest in game development or 3D printing would enjoy this project. There is also scope for interdisciplinary work on the perception of time and space at the nanoscale with the School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry. We have a commercial partnership with an activated carbon company who is interested in developing our visualisations for educational purposes.
Supervisor: Dr Jacob Martin, Assoc Prof Nigel Marks
Materials under extreme conditions can become superconductors at room temperature, transform into new phases and can provide fundamental insights. The Curtin Carbon Group has ongoing collaborations with researchers that use diamond anvils to put carbon and silicon under extraordinary pressures. In this project a student would use computational approaches to explore how materials transform under extreme pressures. These results will directly inform experimental work undertaken by collaborators. For those students with a more commercial outlook, we have an ongoing partnership with a company interested in improving hard coating for cutting machines.
Supervisors: Dr Jacob Martin
The Curtin Carbon Group has found molecular magnets inside of candle flames as aromatic molecules with unpaired spins. These molecules provide long coherence spin systems that are needed for quantum computing with molecular magnets. In this project, a simple model based on tight-binding with the Hubbard model will be developed to be able to predict the spin configuration of aromatic species. This will enable many possible molecules to be screened for their spin stability. A student with some experience of python would be helpful.
Supervisors: Dr Jacob Martin,Assoc Prof Nigel Marks
Graphite plays a pivotal role in many nuclear reactors by serving as a moderator, slowing down fast neutrons to sustain nuclear chain reactions. Its exceptional thermal conductivity and stability make it a reliable material for dissipating heat and ensuring structural integrity. However, the build up of defects within the structure can lead to thermal runaway. This project explores how defects form in graphite during neutron bombardment and how thermal annealing can be used to safely remove them. By employing advanced computational tools, we aim to uncover insights that could improve reactor safety and efficiency, contributing significantly to low carbon sources of energy. This project is suitable for a student with an interest in materials modelling and nuclear science. Training in computational modelling will be provided, and prior experience in molecular dynamics methods is not required.
Supervisors: Dr Jacob Martin, Dr Mauricio Di Lorenzo, Prof Craig Buckley
Biomethane can be produced in anaerobic digestion of biomass and waste streams. Much of the carbon in these streams come from plants that captured it from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Methane pyrolysis is a process that thermally transforms the hydrocarbon into hydrogen and solid carbon. If biomethane is used, then the carbon produced is captured from the atmosphere making the process carbon negative. In this project, the reaction pathway for methane pyrolysis will be explored using computer simulations guided by experimental work to optimize the yield of methane. This project is a collaboration with the Hydrogen Storage Research Group.
Sanchez-Bastardo, Nuria et al. Chemie Ingenieur Technik 92.10 (2020): 1596-1609.
John de Laeter Centre
The John de Laeter Centre at Curtin University is a world-class research infrastructure hub specialising in advanced characterisation and isotope science. Established to honour Professor John Robert de Laeter (1933-2010), the Centre houses more than $60M of instrumentation across 14 key facilities—including atom-probe tomography, focused-ion-beam microscopy, laser-ablation ICP-MS, and X-ray diffraction systems.
Research at the JdLC supports geoscience, materials science, environmental studies and industrial applications—from tracing Earth and planetary evolution to characterising next-generation materials and supporting Western Australia’s minerals sector. More information: John de Laeter Centre
Students and researchers gain access to state-of-the-art tools and technical expertise, enabling high-impact projects that span elemental/isotope analysis, microstructure, and geochronology. Some example projects are listed below.
Supervisors: Associate Professor William Rickard and Professor Axel Schmitt
As part of an international effort to detect and monitor the use of uranium in nuclear facilities the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) collects environmental samples in countries under safeguard agreements and analyses them for the presence of uranium that has anomalous isotopic composition, which can be indicative of undeclared nuclear material or activities. Typical environmental sample analyses involve use of mass-spectrometry to scan a planchet with 10’s of 1000’s of particles for the presence of uranium and then performing precision analyses to determine the isotopic composition. This analytical procedure is highly effective though complimentary information about particle morphology and associated elements is often missing. To improve the information generated from environmental sampling analyses, the IAEA have prioritised R&D efforts in the use of electron microscopy.
This project will use microscopy and mass spectrometry facilities in the John de Laeter Centre to development and validate novel methods for nuclear material analysis.
Supervisor: Dr William Rickard
A FIB-SEM combines nanometre resolution imaging with precision patterning of a focussed ion beam enabling the instrument to manipulate a sample at very fine length scales. The Tescan Lyra FIB-SEM, located within the John de Later Centre at Curtin University, is a state-of-the-art instrument that is used for advanced microanalysis in 2D and 3D as well as high precision site-selective sample preparation.
Surface analyses (electron and ion imaging, chemical mapping (EDS), crystallographic mapping (EBSD)), sub-surface analyses (3D imaging, 3D EDS, 3D EBSD) and unique in-situ ToF-SIMS analyses are able to be correlated with site specific atom probe tomography or TEM results which enables a thorough characterisation of highly complex materials on a wide range of length scales.
In this project the student will get trained to operate the FIB-SEM and will run a series of experiments in order to optimise the data collection and data analysis methods for 3D imaging and 3D microanalysis. Other projects involving the ToF-SIMS will also be available.
Supervisors: Dr Zakaria Quadir, Dr David Saxey and Dr William Rickard
Uranium is a key mineral for our national economy. This project involves developing methods for 3D tomography at the nanoscale to determine the location of uranium-rich sites in within a uranium-bearing rock, and thus facilitate to develop a uranium liberation processes for the WA minerals industry. This project involves TEM data acquisition with the FEI Talos TEM in the Microscopy & Microanalysis Facility (MMF) within Curtin’s centralised research infrastructure hub JdLC, and then, exploit the advanced capabilities of the 3D reconstruction software to develop a data visualization techniques.
Computational Materials and Minerals Group
The Computational Materials and Minerals Group is based in Chemistry within Curtin’s School of Molecular and Life Sciences. The group develops and uses computer simulation methods to study problems across chemistry, materials science, physics and geoscience. Research spans minerals, crystal growth, energy materials, catalysis and other complex materials, with extensive use of high-performance computing. The group also develops the GULP materials simulation software, CrystalExplorer and as well as support the development of SIESTA, PLUMED and the commercial software CrystoGen.
Supervisor: Prof Paolo Raiteri
Computer simulations are now playing a fundamental role in almost every aspect of science, from studying electronic transitions in molecules to simulating the collision of galaxies, including all aspects of chemistry, physics, biology and material science. Analogously to instrumentations, a large variety of computational techniques have evolved to tackle different scientific problems, examples are data mining, machine learning, finite elements calculations and atomistic simulations.
In my group we focus on developing accurate computational models and applying them to answer pressing questions in the fields of chemistry, geochemistry and material science. Our too main tools of research and Quantum Chemistry and Molecular Dynamics. The former is the prime tool to model chemical reactivity and photophysical properties of molecules, while the latter is used to study the structural and thermodynamical properties of materials.
Several different projects that cover a wide range of topics in bio-chemistry, geochemistry and materials science are available.
- Formation and stability of (bio-)minerals
Living organisms have an extraordinary ability to produce functional materials to sustain their lives. Teeth, bone and shells are just few examples of materials that cells can produce by extracting ions from solutions and crystallising them using organic molecules as templates for the precipitates. Molecular dynamics simulations will be used to study how organic molecules affect the stability and growth of ionic aggregates that are found in the path towards the production of (bio-)minerals.
- Unravelling the binder magic of cobalt in hardmetals
Tungsten-Carbide-Cobalt is one of the most widely used composite material in mining cutting tools. Due to the toxicity and cost of cobalt, there is a growing pressure to find an alternative binder to replace it. Molecular dynamics simulations will be used to unravel why the use of cobalt as a binder phase has proven to be the most successful and look for alternatives.
- Growing crystals one ion at a time
The biggest challenges in computational chemistry relate to the small system sizes that can be afforded in atomistic simulations, which often hinder a direct comparison with experiments. In this project you will develop a new technique to perform molecular dynamics simulations at constant chemical potential and/or with an external electric field. You will then use these techniques to study the growth kinetics of salts from an electrolyte solution.
- Interfacial free energy
The morphology of crystals grown from solution is determined by the cost of cleaving the perfect crystals along different planes and the interfacial free energy with the growth solution. In this project you will use Molecular Dynamics and enhanced sampling techniques to develop a methodology to compute the interfacial free energies of crystals and amorphous materials in contact with water.
- Grand-canonical molecular dynamics simulation of ice growth
Ice formation is ubiquitous in our everyday life and controlling/preventing the freezing of water in undercooled conditions is critical in many applications in food preservation and environmental restoration through the use of cryogenically preserved seeds. Despite the significant interest, there is still a lack of general and efficient implementation for modelling crystal growth from undercooled electrolyte solution. This project will explore the use of a constant osmotic pressure algorithm to determine the ice growth rate from different solutions.
Supervisor: Dr Peter Spackman
Carbon dioxide capture and storage is a critical area of research in the fight against climate change. Understanding the theoretical limits of CO2 adsorption in porous materials could provide valuable insights for developing more efficient carbon capture technologies and potentially guide policy decisions on direct air capture (DAC) initiatives.
This project aims to explore these limits using computational modelling techniques, with potential far-reaching implications for both technology development and climate policy.
The study will focus on:
- Investigating the theoretical upper bounds of CO2 adsorption in porous materials
- Simulating adsorption behaviour under environmentally relevant conditions
- Assessing the implications of these theoretical limits for direct air capture feasibility
Using coarse-grained modelling and Grand Canonical Monte Carlo simulations, the project will probe a wide range of possible interatomic potentials to establish theoretical limits for CO2 adsorption. This approach allows for a broad exploration of material properties that may not be easily accessible through experimental methods.
The findings from this study could have significant policy implications. If the research demonstrates fundamental physical limitations on CO2 adsorption efficiency, it could influence policy decisions regarding the viability and resource allocation for direct air capture technologies. Conversely, if the results suggest higher theoretical limits than currently achieved, it might encourage increased investment in DAC research and development.
The project offers students an opportunity to develop skills in:
- Computational materials science
- Statistical mechanics and thermodynamics
- Machine learning and data science
- Scientific programming and data analysis
- Modelling of complex systems
- Understanding the interplay between scientific research and policy-making
This interdisciplinary project bridges chemistry, materials science, computer science, and environmental policy. The computational skills gained are highly transferable and increasingly valued in both academia and industry. Furthermore, the research contributes to the broader field of carbon capture and storage, addressing one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time while potentially informing critical climate policy decisions.
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Raffaella Demichelis
Minerals are materials that play a vital role in our life. From being what keeps us standing up (our bones) to making up our environment (e.g. coral reefs) and providing potential solutions to environmental problems (e.g. carbon dioxide geosequestration).
I develop virtual models that help understanding how these minerals form, react, and transform. These models provide the atomic details underpinning chemicaland physical processes, allowing predictions to be made and to interpret experimental observations.
Projects are focused either on the crystal structure and growth of biologically relevant materials, or on the more general topic of mineral structure and reactivity. They are aimed at broadening the students’ knowledge in these areas while enabling them acquiring skills in computing and in data science, skills that are becoming more and more relevant in the job market. The projects have the flexibility to be adjusted according to the student’s interest and skills.
Aside from the chemical/physical content, you will have the opportunity to learn digital skills related to data analysis and supercomputing – which are becoming increasingly valuable in the job market.
Possible research project available:
- Computer Modelling of carbon dioxide geosequestration
Chemical reactions occurring at the surface of minerals in deep Earth and in space can naturally store carbon dioxide either as a dissolution and reprecipitation process of a mineral phase, or through acting as catalysts to produce organic matter. Therefore, there is a great potential for application in both harvesting CO2 and catalysing its reduction.
However, the reaction mechanism and the catalytic role of the mineral surface are mostly unexplored due to the complexity of the natural environments in which these reactions take place. For example, there is a lack of knowledge in the kinetics of the dissolution of such phases and reprecipitation as carbonate mineral, and the link of these processes with temperature, pressure, pH and composition of the solution. Another big question is related to the link between mineral phase composition and reactivity towards CO2 reduction.
Computational modelling can here be used to investigate:
- crystal and surface structure and composition of the mineral;
- solution composition;
- the dynamics and adsorption at the mineral-water-CO2 interface;
- H2O and CO2 reduction at the mineral surface.
Within this framework, I can offer a range of projects based on student’s interest and progress of my group.
- Computer simulations of biomineralisation
Living organisms can synthesize crystalline materials (biominerals, like calcium and magnesium carbonates, calcium phosphates and oxalates) with a level of accuracy that is far beyond what is achievable with our current knowledge in materials synthesis. Learning how to mimic this chemistry would therefore introduce a new perspective into the designing of new materials, other than offering insights on how to prevent or promote crystallization for industrial (e.g. scale formation in desalination membrane) and conservation (e.g. coral reef) purposes.[1]
With computer modelling we can explore:
- structural, spectroscopic and thermodynamic features of biominerals – including rare and unstable phases;
- surface science;
- ion pairing and cluster formation in solution;
- interaction with biologically active molecules that act as growth modifiers.
- Metal-organic complexes for extractive metallurgy
Metals can be extracted from ores using organic ligands that form stable complexes in aqueous environments. Their structure, stoichiometry, and equilibrium constants (stability) are often difficult to obtain experimentally due to the complexity of the reaction environment.
Computational methods based on quantum mechanics can support research in this field through providing such information. Ligands that are sustainable and non-toxic will be studies, which would provide an improvement to what is currently used in this field. These data can then be used to build pH-potential diagrams (Pourbaix diagrams) that can guide the design and optimization of such processes at an industrial scale.
Applied Physics Projects
Centre for Marine Science and Technology
The Centre for Marine Science and Technology (CMST) is a multidisciplinary research group formerly housed within the Physics umbrella at Curtin and now operating within a dedicated marine-science/engineering faculty. Founded in 1985, CMST brings together scientists and engineers to tackle ocean-related challenges through advanced acoustics, imaging and ecosystem modelling. More information: CMST at Curtin University
CMST’s core expertise spans:
- Underwater acoustics and marine-soundscapes — modelling, measurement and impact on fauna.
- Marine habitat mapping and stereoscopic imaging technologies.
- Hydrodynamics and ocean-environment monitoring for industry and government needs.
Students may be involved in field-work, hardware/algorithm development, data analysis, or ecological-acoustic studies — gaining direct exposure to cutting-edge marine research technologies and cross-disciplinary collaboration. The specific project details will be determined in discussion with CMST staff. Some example projects are listed below.
Supervisor: Prof. Christine Erbe
The marine soundscape can be split into its biophony (the sounds of whales, dolphins, fish, crustaceans etc.), geophony (the sounds of wind, rain, waves, ice etc.) and anthrophony (the sounds of human/industrial operations). Ship traffic is the most persistent source of man-made noise in the marine environment with potentially significant bioacoustic impacts on marine fauna, most of which rely heavily on acoustics for their critical life functions. CMST has recorded the marine soundscape around Australia for 15 years at various sites. Using publicly available position logs of large vessels, we can 1) compute received levels of individual ships, 2) calculate source levels of individual ships by sound propagation modelling, and 3) determine the contribution of shipping to the local noise budgets. This project will suit a mathematically skilled student with some experience in scientific software development, data analysis and numerical modelling. An acoustic background is NOT necessary.
Supervisor: Prof. Christine Erbe
We are looking for two Honours students interested in studying cockatoo acoustics for a year. Black cockatoos, Calyptorhynchus sp., are endangered and specially protected in Western Australia. There is a regular citizen science survey, called the Great Cocky Count, which has provided crucial information on black cockatoo populations.
Cockatoos are noisy. They produce sounds that differ by species, age, gender and behaviour. We want to explore whether passive acoustic listening can provide additional data on population size, distribution and demographics. We have preliminary recordings of Carnaby’s cockatoos near the Curtin University Bentley campus, and of red-tailed black cockatoos in John Forrest National Park. The Honours students will be involved in additional field work, including recordings and visual observations, establish a call repertoire of these two species, correlate calls with behaviour and demographic parameters, and potentially look at changes in calling behaviour as a function of human disturbance.
Supervisor: Prof. Christine Erbe
Striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) are an offshore, pelagic species of dolphin, which are most commonly seen along the edge of the continental shelf or over deep-water canyons. We have little information about the Australian population. Threats are direct catches, fisheries bycatch and pollution. Curtin University’s Centre for Marine Science & Technology has photographic and passive acoustic data for this species, and we are looking for a 1-year Honour’s student to study the bioacoustics of Australian striped dolphins, with the overall aim of characterising their sound repertoire to aid long-term passive acoustic monitoring. We are hoping to fill this position as soon as possible, January 2017 the latest. Depending on timing, there might be opportunities for additional field work.
Supervisor: Prof. Christine Erbe
Acoustic tags are increasingly used to track behavioural patterns of numerous marine species, but the long-term performance of the pinging tags and stationary receivers is rarely tested. Biofouling of the receivers, for example, holds potential to significantly reduce performance, affecting the results of marine studies. This project aims to assess directionality, source levels and detection ranges of some acoustic tags in a practical environment and the propagation of their signals. A number of acoustic tag receivers are located at the Mullaloo Beach Lab site. Working in collaboration with Mullaloo Beach Surf LifeSavers tags are to be periodically located in and around the array while tag source levels are also tested. Matlab programming skills will be developed. Kayaking experience preferred.
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Andrew Woods
Stereoscopic 3D Displays are increasingly being used in a wide range of application areas including scientific visualisation, industrial automation, medical imaging as well as gaming and home entertainment. The Centre for Marine Science and Technology (CMST) has been conducting research into stereoscopic imaging topics for the past 20+ years. Over the past few years several third-year physics students have worked on projects related to 3D displays and have revealed some very interesting results. Projects in this area would interest students with an interest in optics, displays, visualisation, and/or data analysis.
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Andrew Woods
A recent journal paper has identified that spectrally impure inks are a major source of crosstalk in printed anaglyph 3D images. The purpose of this project would be to perform optical measurements on a range of new ink types to find inks which offer better spectral performance for 3D purposes. The project will also involve some sleuthing to investigate whether some new technologies, such as quantum dots, might offer some opportunities for better ink spectral quality. A Matlab program is available which can be used to simulate the 3D performance of different inks types. The project may also offer the opportunity for the student to learn about colour management in printers as another way of improving 3D print quality. The mentioned journal paper found that there is considerable opportunity to improve 3D print quality we just need to test the proposed methods. There is prospect for a conference or journal paper to come out of this work.
Supervisor: Dr Chong Wei, Prof. Christine Erbe, Dr Andrea Rassell, Dr Jacob Martin
Climate change is caused by rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide in the parts per million are routinely measured in the parts per million level using the photoacoustic effect. This little-known effect uses a pulsing source of light to general an audible tone. This tone comes from the CO2 absorbing heat and allows you to hear climate change. In this educational project funded by the Acoustical Society of Australia we aim to aid in the public communication of science by making climate change audible with simple demonstrations of the photoacoustic effect. A project student would help develop a low-cost demonstration and associated teaching materials for the photoacoustic effect using LED torches. This will be made available online and will be taken to schools as part of Curtin outreach. There is also funding for a student to attend the Acoustics Australia Conference in November 2025 in Busselton.
Supervisor: Dr Chong Wei, Prof. Christine Erbe, Dr Andrea Rassell, Dr Jacob Martin
Large whales make very low frequency calls that are below human hearing range of 20 Hz. CMST has been collecting these songs from off the coast of Rottnest Island for many years and has a library of calls in the infrasound. In this project, we will make use of tactile bass shakers that couple low frequencies directly into the body through bone conduction to feel infrasound recorded in the Perth Canyon. The project student would be taught how to analyse the low-frequency recordings using computational tools and then develop audio to be played on the wearable tactile bass to experience the whale songs. The outcomes of this project are focused on outreach and are also being undertaken with Noongar elders who have been supporting the project. There is also funding for a student to attend the Acoustics Australia Conference in November 2025 in Busselton to demonstrate the tactile bass system.
Industry projects
Petritek is looking for students (contact Jacob Martin in the first instance).
Project 1:
Petritek have designed a new type of sensor for performing much more accurate measurements in industry. At the moment it outputs arbitrary units. We would like a student to come and work with us to fully characterize how those arbitrary units can be translated into useful data under different scenarios. We can manufacture all of the test rigs etc. as necessary.
Project 2:
This project aims correct for scatter and other blur artefacts by measuring a dynamic point spread function across the scan volume and then deconvolving that function from real images.
- Local contact: Brendan McGann
- External contact: John Sutton
Aeolius Wind Systems (AWS) is a small WA based business which utilises advanced laser radar technology for measuring wind fields at prospective wind farm sites, and for forecasting power output from wind turbines.
AWS and Curtin University are sponsoring a PhD scholarship to further improve the accuracy of wind forecasting and is seeking a motivated and talented student to work with the team. The proposed research themes are listed below.
An honours project to improve the pointing accuracy of an existing laser stabilisation system is also on offer.
The research will also provide a potential pathway for the successful student to gain employment in the renewables industry sector.
Interested students should contact John Sutton in the first instance on 0417 919 415 or aeoliuswindsystems@gmail.com.
PhD – Project Themes
- Hybrid Wind Forecaster
Research aim:
- Evaluate novel approaches for improving the accuracy of 10-minutes-ahead wind energy forecasts through the use of a hybrid lidar/machine learning strategy. In this context, the large spatial data sets of 3-D wind field behaviour upstream of the windfarms generated by lidar will be used to train machine leaning tools. This varies significantly from current practices where the forecast is based on measured windspeed at the windfarm itself;
- Develop and evaluate prototype (s) neural network models for application at targeted windfarms. These windfarms operate in different environments (terrestrial, shoreline and offshore) and involve a range of atmospheric conditions affecting forecast skill;
- Undertake a benefit cost analysis and economic assessment of the financial and operational impacts arising from the use of the forecaster at the selected windfarm under operational settings. Project the impacts across the broader Australian Power network.
- Real time wind lidar processing and low signal-to-noise ration reconstruction based on convolutional neural network.
Research Aim:
- Investigate strategies for enhancing the measurement range/sensitivity of newly developed Coherent Doppler lidar technology using convolutional neural network or similar machine learning technologies. The research will develop novel approaches for extracting Doppler shift values from the raw data at very low signal to noise ratios with the objective of improving instrument measurement range.
- Evaluate the skill of various strategies using data from long range solid state and fibre lidars in different environments/atmospheric conditions. The researcher will have access to large data sets from marine and terrestrial environments, and the opportunity to design and run experiments using measurement infrastructure at various wind farms.
Honours Project
- Precision Laser Pointing System
Long range scanning lidar retrieves three spatial dimensions windspeed data by rotating an infra-red laser beam through azimuth and elevation angles. Measurement range of new technology now exceeds 25km. The quality of the data is dependent on the correct calibration of the beam angle. Instruments are deployed for long periods during which the device may move due to mechanical vibration. The movement results in significant drift in the inclination from the initial calibrated angle.
Research Aim:
- Evaluate the skill of an existing electro-mechanical angle adjustment system to identify opportunities for improvement. The adjustment system is currently configured for use on a Lockheed Martin WindTracer lidar which is available for the research;
- Develop strategies for improving the pointing accuracy of the lidar using more advanced, commercially available components (e.g. Precision servo-inclinometer, step motors). The objective is to improve measurement accuracy fourfold.
- Construct a prototype system and undertake tests to confirm performance on operating lidar platforms. Resources to purchase required components will be made available for the exercise.
Medical Research Sciences
Supervisors: Dr Peter Fearns
Description:
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) uses differences in magnetisation relaxation times T1 and T2 to differentiate tissues and structures in patients. The Bloch equations describe the nuclear magnetisation as a function of time. Spatial data is formed through a series of electromagnetic excitation and read-out pulses. We would like to use a Bloch Simulator, Sycamore, to demonstrate basic pulse sequences then test the applicability of Sycamore for modelling Fast Low Angle Shot (FLASH) gradient echo sequences. Sycamore is python based with a C++ backend.
Computational Biophysics
Supervisor: Prof Ricardo Mancera
Type-2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with an increased risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The molecular mechanisms behind this association are, however, not well understood. Both of these age-related, chronic diseases feature the accumulation of amyloid protein aggregates (beta amyloid or Aβ in the brain in AD and amylin in the pancreas in T2D). Recent studies at Curtin suggest that Aβ and amylin can co-exist in AD brain and synergistically interact to potentiate cell death and amyloid deposition. These findings suggest that amylin may cross-aggregate with Aβ, forming stable molecular complexes with increased toxicity. The direct interaction of these amyloid proteins is poorly understood, but could play a major role in the genesis and progression of pathological conditions in the brain and pancreas.
This project will offer the opportunity to use either biophysical or molecular dynamics simulation methods to study the interactions of Aβ and amylin and the structure of Aβ-amylin complexes. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) determinations will be used to obtain direct measurements of the kinetics and affinity of binding between Aβ and amylin, as well as of their interactions as pre-formed oligomers with model cell membranes. Molecular dynamics simulations will be used to investigate the structure of the oligomers formed between Aβ and amylin in phospholipid bilayers as well as the changes induced in the structure and stability of these membranes. The outcomes of the project will shed much needed light into the cross-seeding mechanisms that underlie the pathological roles of these proteins in AD and T2D, which could be targeted with anti-aggregation drug molecules.
Supervisor: Prof Ricardo Mancera
Primordial cells (protocells) are presumed to have combined primitive nucleic acids (most likely RNAs) that acted as catalysts and carriers of genetic information, within a protective membrane made up of amphiphilic molecules. The aggregation of simple amphiphiles such as fatty acids, which have been found in meteorites, would have led to the spontaneous formation of simple vesicles. Recent experimental evidence suggests that certain nucleic acid bases, amino acids and sugars can stabilize these vesicles against the deleterious effects of high salt concentrations that likely existed on Earth nearly 4 billion years ago. However, the molecular mechanism of formation and stabilization of these vesicles under harsh prebiotic conditions remains unknown, as is the reason of why specific nucleic acid bases and sugars were selected through biophysical evolution.
This project will use molecular dynamics simulations to characterize the stability of model membranes made of simple fatty acids and representative of lipid vesicles with and without a high concentration of salt and with and without simple sugar molecules, amino acids and nucleic acid bases. The predicted structure and stability of these lipid membranes will provide insights into how certain simple organic molecules were selected by biophysical evolution to stabilize these precursors to proto-cells in early Earth.
Supervisor: Prof Ricardo Mancera
Cryopreservation (the storage of cell and tissues at liquid nitrogen temperatures: -196°C) requires the use of so-called cryosolvents to promote the vitrification of water to minimize ice formation. Cryosolvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide, glycerol and ethylene glycol can cross cell membranes, inducing vitrification inside cells. These agents, however, are toxic to cells and can indeed damage cell membranes themselves by changing their structure and functionality.
This project will use molecular dynamics simulations to predict the changes to the structure and stability of model cell membranes in the presence of aqueous solutions of different polyalcohols and sugar alcohols commonly used in cryosolvent mixtures, such as ribitol, xylitol, inositol, erythritol, mannitol and sorbitol. Elucidation of the mechanism of interaction of such poly-hydroxylated molecules with cell membranes will allow the future rational design of optimal multi-component aqueous mixtures of cryosolvents with improved cryopreservation properties. This will have applications in areas as diverse as the freezing of eggs and embryos and the preservation of germplasm from endangered plants.