College of Science & Engineering
Sophia Love
- Doctor of Philosophy (Natural and Physical Sciences)
- sophie.love@jcu.edu.au
Elle Robertson
- Doctor of Philosophy (Agriculture, Environmental and Related Studies)
- elle.robertson@jcu.edu.au
Romain Vaucher
- Senior Lecturer, Sedimentology
- romain.vaucher@jcu.edu.au
Jenny Fisher
- Associate Dean, Learning and Teaching
- jenny.fisher@jcu.edu.au
Ambili Narayanan
- Doctor of Philosophy (Natural and Physical Sciences)
- ambili.narayanan@my.jcu.edu.au
Sarfaraz Ali
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow
- sarfaraz.ali@jcu.edu.au
Mikaeylah Davidson
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow
- mikaeylah.davidson@jcu.edu.au
Liuxin Chen
- Adjunct Lecturer
- liuxin.chen@jcu.edu.au
Rafael Cabral Carvalho
- Lecturer, Marine Geoscience
- rafael.cabralcarvalho@jcu.edu.au
Tom Lloyd
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Global Ecosystems
- tom.lloyd@jcu.edu.au
A climate-aware future for sustainable sea cucumber harvesting
This project will future-proof Australia’s sea cucumber fisheries by developing a validated national-scale species
distribution model. Using advanced remote sensing, machine learning, and the largest sea cucumber survey ever
conducted, it will generate new insights into habitat associations and population densities across Australian
waters. The expected outcome is a tool to ensure sustainable fishery practices into a changing climate. This
initiative will support conservation of these often-overlooked, threatened species while maintaining a sustainable and profitable industry. Ultimately, the project contributes to biodiversity protection and the long-term viability of sea cucumber fisheries across the entire Australian marine region.
Geoscience Outreach
This project funds a portable set of iPads to support hands-on geoscience engagement with students from primary school through to masters level. In an outreach context, the equipment enables interactive, curriculum-linked activities delivered in schools, on campus and at wider events, with a particular focus on students from rural and remote areas and low socio-economic backgrounds. Beyond outreach, the tablets support undergraduate and masters geological mapping students, who can use them for digital field mapping and data capture in place of traditional paper-based methods.
By giving students at every stage direct experience of digital geoscience tools, the project aims to build scientific literacy, confidence and aspiration towards higher education, while equipping degree-level students with industry-standard field skills.
Digital Twin
Digital Twin in Education is an emerging approach that creates a dynamic digital representation of a learner, educator, or educational environment using data from learning activities, assessments, behaviours, and interactions. By continuously integrating and analysing educational data, digital twins can support personalised learning, monitor student progress, predict learning outcomes, and enable data-driven decision-making. When combined with Artificial Intelligence, digital twins have the potential to provide adaptive interventions and improve teaching, learning, assessment, and student engagement.
The Coral Sea Frontier - NMF RV Investigator deep-sea biodiversity assessment of the Coral Sea Marine Park
Deep-sea biodiversity assessment of the Coral Sea Marine Park. RV Investigator will undertake a 36-day research voyage to the Coral Sea to investigate benthic (on or near the seafloor) marine life in the southern and eastern areas of the Coral Sea Marine Park. The Coral Sea Marine Park is the largest marine park in Australian waters, covering 989,836 km2 and reaching depths of 6000 metres. The marine park is managed by Parks Australia and protects 34 vast reef areas, and 67 cays and islets. Researchers will focus their surveys on two of the three key ecological features of the marine park: the reefs of the Marion Plateau and the Tasmantid Seamount Chain. This will be the first modern deep-water investigation of marine life found on the extinct volcanic peaks of the northern Tasmantid Seamount Chain, which rise over 3000 m from the seafloor, and the offshore Kenn Plateau. This research will be critical for understanding of regional biodiversity and natural values of the Coral Sea, helping to inform management of the marine park by Parks Australia. The voyage has a strong focus on education, outreach and engagement with public audiences, and support for these activities is being provided by Bush Blitz and The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census. https://www.csiro.au/en/about/facilities-collections/mnf/voyages-schedules/voyages/2025/october/in2025_v06
CLOVER – Climate-smart Optimisation for Valuable & Efficient iRrigation
CLOVER – Climate-smart Optimisation for Valuable & Efficient irrigation – will help farmers use water more wisely by combining reliable weather forecasts, crop growth information, and smart irrigation systems into one easy-to-use tool. The project will build and test this digital system on working farms and provide training to farmers and advisers so they can make confident decisions about when and how much to irrigate. By reducing wasted water, energy, and labour, CLOVER will increase farm profits and resilience during dry times. The project will also create a community of practice where farmers, researchers, and industry partners share knowledge and learn from each other. Together, these activities will support the Grant’s goals of improving drought preparedness, building capacity in regional communities, and demonstrating innovative technologies that strengthen climate resilience across Australian agriculture.
Demonstrated physically at Salvetti Farming in the Atherton Tablelands and virtually through digital twins in Mackay, Bundaberg, and across other cropping systems, C.L.O.V.E.R connects technology, climate intelligence, and community knowledge. Through the AI-Climate Smart Irrigators Community of Practice, it builds capacity, fosters collaboration, and delivers enduring economic, environmental, and social benefits for Australian agriculture.
Fingerprinting environmentally sustainable ores using neodymium isotopes (Old ID 27841)
The rare earth elements (REE) are a critical resource as the world transitions to an energy system dominated by green energy. However, current extraction methods rely on strong acid leaching, which has the potential to create environmental contamination. Alternative REE extraction methodologies, including phyto‐extraction (using plants) and bacteria induced bioleaching are currently being investigated. This project aims to utilise radiogenic and stable neodymium isotopes to characterise the isotopic fractionations induced during different REE extraction techniques. This isotopic fingerprinting will provide a method to verify more sustainably generated REE concentrates, enabling the Australian REE industry to be positioned as a world leading environmental producer.
Fish tissue proteomics as baseline evaluation for safer cultivated seafood with known allergen profile
Cultivated seafood is far less researched than traditional livestock alternatives. We will address this critical knowledge gap through high throughput proteomic analysis of various tissues from different fish species, used for cultivation, with a focus on comparative composition of allergenic proteins (allergens), and directly compare with cultivated meat. Closing this lack of industry-wide target product, protein, and allergen profiles is essential for success in the alternative protein field and will promote regulation of safe cultivated foods.
Satellite Based Water Analysis and Drought Planning in Northwest Qld
This project will utilize satellite imagery to map and monitor small water bodies and farm dams to
improve grazing land management. The project aims to extract time series of water areas from
the satellite images, perform time series analysis to assess the shrinkage or expansion of the
water bodies, water levels, and determine their precise locations.
The focus is on understanding the availability and dynamics of these water resources, which are
vital for livestock, domestic use and wildlife habitats.
This project will be a partnership between SGNRM and JCU.
Northern Australia Plant Biosecurity Facility
This proposal aims to establish the only Australian plant quarantine facility north of the 27th parallel (Brisbane), and therefore the only one in the Australian tropics. The facility will enable effective research on tropical invasive plants, which currently can only be developed via proxy facilities far from the relevant habitats. This poses severe limitations to biosecurity research in the Australian Tropics. JCU is a leading institution in tropical environmental research, and as a broad and diverse base of biosecurity researchers that will be expand their capacity to develop world class research on plant biosecurity under safe and adequate conditions. Research ranges from the impact of reintroduction of new genotypes on weed fitness, genetic variability and sensitivity, impact of climate change on weed expansion, the role of plant-animal interactions on plant control, and others.
Lead Scientist - Group on Earth Observations Global Ecosystem Atlas
The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) is a global partnership that promotes the use of Earth observations (EO) as evidence for environmental decisions, policies and finance. GEO’s recently adopted Post-2025 Strategy envisions a bold direction for the future. It calls for transformative programs that will enable GEO to deliver a portfolio of initiatives, providing Earth intelligence needed to unlock transformational change in the way that societies interact with the planet. As part of this vision, the Global Ecosystems Atlas initiative has been established as an international collaboration convened by GEO to create an urgently needed common reference to facilitate harmonized and coherent national, regional, and global reporting of the state of ecosystems. To move the concept closer to its realization as a full proof-of-concept by the Convention of Biodiversity (CBD) Conference of the Parties (COP) in October 2024, GEO is planning to contract Associate Professor Nicholas Murray to perform the role of Lead Scientist. The Lead Scientist will lead the design, planning and execution of atlas activities in 2024 and coordinate the globally distributed Science Core Team.
A new brominated diphenyl ether from the marine sponge Dysidea herbacea
- 2000
- CSIRO Publishing
- Researchers:Peter Junk
Community structure of corals and reef fishes at multiple scales
- 2005
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
- Researchers:Terry HughesDavid Bellwood
Climate change, human impacts, and the resilience of coral reefs
- 2003
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
- Researchers:Terry HughesDavid Bellwood
Shade acclimation of rainforest leaves to colonization by lichens
- 2002
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Researchers:Betsy Jackes
Detection and further characterisation of the toxins and associated genes of Bacillus cereus
- 2005
- Researchers:Paul Horwood
Title:
Engineering Research Leader
Start Date:
01 Jan 2024
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01 Jan 2024
Start Date:
01 Jan 2023
End Date:
01 Jan 2023
Start Date:
01 Jan 2021
End Date:
01 Jan 2023
Start Date:
01 Jan 2024
Title:
English
Title:
Hindi
Title:
Australian Computer Society
Start Date:
01 Jan 2025
Title:
Telugu
Start Date:
01 Jan 2023