Research Projects
Herbert River Blue Carbon investigation Waltham
Nathan Waltham
05 Mar 2024 - 13 Dec 2024
Working with landholders on floodplain to map out and identify suitable restoration project land suitable for environmental markets
Independent testing of solar panel cooling device (the B-Panel) (Old ID 23054)
Ahmad Zahedi
01 Aug 2016 - 31 Dec 2017
Provide independent testing of a solar panel modification claiming to boost average power output by 30%. Testing will help progress the concept and current prototype further towards commercialisation. Test a collaboration model for new, early stage start-ups being trailed by JCU and iNQ. Aims to explore how access to JCU's technical skills, equipment and technical mentoring plus guided linkage with local entrepreneurial activities at iNQ e.g. Involvement in Start-Up weekends and membership of iNQ plus access to one-on-one entrepreneurial assessment, mentoring and training activities at iNQ improves the chances of success for micro and SMEs in commercialisation ideas.
Improving the accuracy of weed killing robots with new image processing algorithms and near infra-red spectroscopy techniques (Old ID 23146)
Ron White
26 Jun 2017 - 18 Oct 2019
Automated weed species recognition remains a major obstacle to the development and industry acceptance of robotic weed control technology. Particular problems occur in rangeland applications, including high light variability and weed-camera distance variability, which cause camera dynamic range problems, image blurring, and occlusion by other plants. This project aims to develop robust image recognition systems combined with Near Infra-Red spectroscopic methods for these complex rangeland environments with special emphasis on the broad-acre grazing pastures in North Queensland. The developed imaging systems will be suitable for all weed killing applications with particular emphasis given to foliar spot-spraying and Herbicide Ballistic Technologies.
Genomics for Undiagnosed Infectious Disease Evaluation and Diagnosis in Northern Australia (Old ID 24759)
Matt Field
01 Jan 2018 - 31 Dec 2018
Diagnosis of scabies mostly relies on clinical symptoms as mites are extremely difficult to find in skin lesions of ordinary scabies (<20) which leads to under/misdiagnosis. This pilot project will address a long wanted need to develop a rapid diagnostic test for scabies. It is anticipated that this new DNA test will be highly sensitive and specific and will outperform standard microscopy. This will provide a powerful tool in scabies diagnosis particulary useful in clinical trials and epidemiologic studies.
Developing phylodynamic models of bacterial evolution to investigate the tuberculosis (TB) outbreak in Daru, Papua New Guinee (Old ID 26449)
Michael Meehan
01 Jan 2019 - 31 Dec 2019
Australia's nearest neighbour, Papua New Guinea (PNG), is listed by the WHO as one of 30 high TB-burden countries, and Daru Island, off the southern coast of PNG, has been identified as a major TB hotspot. Given the immediate and porous border between Daru and Far-North Queensland (FNQ), cross-border transmission of drug-resistance tuberculosis into mainland Australia is a major public health concern. Here we use phylodynamic models (i.e mathematical models of infectious disease transmission supplemented with genetic data) to investigate the scale and severity of TB transmission in Daru and prevent similar outbreaks among FNQ communities.
Digital Extension Toolbox (Old ID 26535)
Rachel Hay
01 Mar 2019 - 31 Jul 2019
To encourage practice change in agriculture, DAF extension staff must be able to leverage "social" to deliver targeted and timely messages to discreet stakeholder groups at the hyper-local, project or peer level. This proposal is for the creation of a Digital Extension Toolbox, inclusive of a Community of Practice and Best Practice guidelines: a dynamic action-learing and risk management project designed to nimbly support staff in performing their work agilely over social engagement channels. Thisis is a pilot, desinged as an agile sprint, running from Feb-Jun 2019. During this time, we will develop a Best Management Practice (BMP) for each of four social engagement channels. Once a BMP has been deemed ready for trial, we will develop a Community of Practice and intiate a live trial. Online activity will be monitored, engagement metrics collected and oversight propvided by our 'Toolbox Investors': a matrix of committed internal stakeholders. The end goal being to provide DAF extension staff with a Toolbox full of relevant social media tools and instructions for their safe use.
Characterising IOCG and SEDEX deposits in the Mt Isa block with Cu-Zn isotopes (Old ID 26545)
Paul Dirks
15 Jun 2019 - 15 Dec 2020
The Economic Geology Research Centre (EGRU) at JCU has proposed to establish Cu and Zn isotope lines at JCU, and build a reference database for Cu-Zn isotopes from mineral deposits in the Mt Isa district, starting witht eh well-known Mt Isa deposit. It is proposed to conduct an exploratory, proof-of-concept study of limited initial scope and time, to assess the usefulness of Zn-Cu isotopes for exploration in the Mt Isa area. If initial results are promising, we intend to extend the study.
Elliot Springs – Offset Management Plan compliance for Black-throated Finch Scientific Study (Old ID 27038)
Lin Schwarzkopf
22 Oct 2020 - 30 Nov 2023
We will be determining the efficacy of using remote acoustic monitoring tools for black-throated finches (southern subspecies), by deploying automated recorders for one week each in a variety of locations around Qld where black-throated finches may occur, and manually surveying these areas once at the beginning of deployment and once at the end. Acoustic recordings will be analysed using human listening and automated artificial intelligence screening for black-throated finch calls. The results from the two methods will be compared to determine if acoustic monitoring is sufficient to monitor the occurrence of these finches in various locations.
Developing culturally appropriate tools to screen for common mental health disorders in older adults aged 45 and over living in the Torres Strait. (Old ID 27232)
Sarah Russell
10 May 2021 - 30 Oct 2022
The aim of the study is to develop culturally appropriate mental health assessment tools for older adults (e.g. aged 45 and over) living in the Torres Strait. Data from yarning circles with Torres Strait community members and health care staff will be used to identify how mental health disorders are expressed in the Torres Strait. A Delphi process will then be used to identify appropriate tools for assessing these domains of mental ill health for use in older adults in the Torres Strait. These tools will then be piloted to determine acceptability and validated for use in the Torres Strait.
An eDNA molecular diagnostic tool for soil microbial biosecurity (Old ID 27431)
Ryan Orr
25 Nov 2021 - 30 Jan 2023
We intend to sample sterilising footbath units on banana farms for the presence of a pathogenic soil-borne fungus that causes Panama disease in bananas. If successful this method would replace visual inspection of farms for biosecurity monitoring of the disease allowing for identification of farm infection long before traditional methods. We aim to adapt existing environmental DNA and quantitative PCR methods for this application.