Current Chancellor's Research Fellows

Chancellor's Research Fellow 2025

Project: Developing a First Nations Regional Sustainable Intergenerational Community Masterplan.

Summary: The Intergenerational Indigenous Living project aims to create a sustainable, culturally vibrant community honouring Australia's First Nations and Marginalised peoples' traditions, values, and aspirations. At its core, the project establishes a passive housing community that provides shelter and nurturing for families and elders. This community integrates essential services such as a retail precinct, community health centre, schools with childcare facilities, seniors' living spaces, palliative care facilities, and community gathering centres. A central focus is empowering elders to lead culturally significant initiatives, reclaiming their rightful place as custodians and leaders. The project seeks to provide permanent housing, ensuring these elders' comfort, security, and dignity.

Sponsor: Professor Sara Wilkinson

Chancellor's Research Fellow 2025

Project: Metasurfaces for quantum-engineered photonic chip.

Summary: This fellowship project aims to develop a photonic chip for quantum information processing, based on a novel type of material: metasurfaces. Metasurfaces can provide additional degrees of freedom to qubits while maintaining a small footprint, making them an ideal platform for transitioning quantum devices from academia to industry. The project is expected to have broad impact, maximising economic and commercial benefits. By advancing computational power, sectors such as cybersecurity and quantum sensing for mining will benefit significantly. Moreover, it will greatly support Australia's local quantum industry by enhancing expertise and education in quantum nanophotonics.

Sponsor: Professor Milos Toth

Chancellor's Research Fellow 2025

Project: Quantum-Enhanced Mid-Infrared Imaging with 2D materials.

Summary: This project aims to develop a compact device platform for quantum-enhanced mid-infrared (MIR) imaging, merging quantum photonics, material science, nanotechnology and imaging algorithms. Addressing challenges in low MIR radiation detection efficiency at room temperature, it leverages 2D materials to convert MIR radiation into visible light detectable by standard silicon-based photodetectors. Outcomes include advanced sum frequency generation-based MIR detection mechanisms and nanofabrication techniques, enabling an integrated chip-based, laser-free platform for next-generation MIR imaging systems. Anticipated benefits encompass quantum-enhanced sensing, imaging, and communication across diverse applications in the MIR range.

Sponsor: Professor Igor Aharonovich

Chancellor's Research Fellow 2025

Project: Bacteriophage lysins: a new approach to antimicrobial therapy for mycobacterial infections.

Summary: This project aims to develop new antimicrobial solutions for mycobacterial infections – a leading cause of deaths from infectious disease worldwide. Existing treatment for drug-resistant mycobacteria requires prolonged antibiotic therapy and is highly ineffective. This project will determine the feasibility of using lysins (proteins produced by viruses) to kill mycobacteria and whether they improve the activity of existing antibiotics. Expected outcomes include advancing our knowledge of combining lysins and antibiotics to improve the treatment of mycobacterial infections and developing a strong candidate for clinical translation. Benefits of this work include the development of new therapies to combat bacterial infections and improve human health.

Sponsor: Associate Professor Bernadette Saunders

Chancellor's Research Fellow 2025

Project: Leveraging a next-generation vegetation model to enhance grassland resilience under climate change.

Summary: This fellowship project aims to develop a process-based vegetation model to assess the resilience of grasslands to climate and environmental change and to support sustainable land management. The model will provide realistic and robust representations of natural and human processes unmatched by existing approaches and leverage field and satellite observations for high predictive capability. It will be used for basic research and as a real-world decision support tool, enabling collaborations with researchers, land managers and industry. Outcomes will benefit sustainable land use, fire management, ecosystem conservation, and carbon storage, with positive impacts for the economy, society and public health.

Sponsor: Distinguished Professor Alfredo Huete

Chancellor's Research Fellow 2025

Project: Powering Up, Down Under: An energy history of Australia for a changing climate.

Summary: Rapid decarbonization of energy systems is an absolute necessity – yet political debate and policy development concerning this task is strikingly ahistorical. How and why have energy systems changed in the past? And in what ways might an interdisciplinary study of energy history in Australia – bringing together history and political economy in novel ways – recast this contemporary challenge? By understanding how and why energy use has shifted in the past, we can better understand the forces at work in driving and obstructing this crucial work today. With this knowledge, we might better craft policy and build communities around new energies.

Sponsor: Professor Anna Clark

Chancellor's Research Fellow 2025

Project: Australian nuclear stewardship of radioactive wastes: From ANSTO to AUKUS.

Summary: This project aims to evaluate and transform Australian nuclear stewardship of radioactive wastes consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which demands “free, prior and informed consent”. Co-designed with the First Nations-led project partner, the Australian Nuclear Free Alliance (est. 1997), the project investigates international best practice in siting both low- and high-level radioactive waste repositories and generates new knowledge on a time-critical debate in environmental and Indigenous-Settler relations using innovative decolonising methodologies such as Indigenous-led scoping studies, self-determined community outputs, and agonistic dialogue. This should provide significant benefits to communities most affected by, or at risk of, radioactive waste siting processes. 

Sponsor: Professor James Goodman

Chancellor's Research Fellow 2025

Project: Uncovering the Developments of Smaller-Scale Chinese Platforms and Digital Migrant Creators.

Summary: Although current research into global digital platforms focuses mainly on Silicon Valley giants, smaller-scale Chinese platforms are becoming increasingly influential – politically, commercially and culturally. Continuing to ignore these platforms therefore creates significant economic and social risks. To mitigate them, this project aims to provide a nuanced, in-depth, micro-level analysis of several such smaller-scale platforms and their creators. In doing so, it will yield insights that will benefit not only future researchers, but also Australian companies targeting Chinese customers, and policymakers aiming to position Australia as a key global digital economy player, as envisioned in the government’s Digital Economy Strategy 2030.

Sponsor: Professor Anna Cristina Pertierra