QUT offers a diverse range of student topics for Honours, Masters and PhD study. Search to find a topic that interests you or propose your own research topic to a prospective QUT supervisor. You may also ask a prospective supervisor to help you identify or refine a research topic.
Found 11 matching student topics
Displaying 1–11 of 11 results
Engineering response to climate emergency with zero carbon footprint for building construction by 2030 using circular economy principles
We as engineers can make a contribution to address the current climate emergency.The Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council report (2016) found that if Australia's built environment sector reaches zero carbon emissions for the operation of residential and commercial buildings by 2050, it could contribute 28% to the country's 2030 emissions reduction target and save up to AU$20 billion.In this project we will consider the application of the circular economy, which is based on the principles of designing out waste and …
- Study level
- PhD, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Materials Science
Centre for a Waste-Free World
Electrothermal film heaters
Flexible electrothermal heaters have attracted a growing interest because of their broad applications in wearable electronics, including warming garments, and as flexural warmers for medical devices and vehicles. Traditional electrothermal materials such as ferro chromium (FeCr)-based alloys have disadvantages such as heavy weight, rigidity and low heating efficiency. Indium tin oxide (ITO) is widely used in commercial products due to its high transparency and high electrical conductivity. However, the finite reserve of indium has resulted in an increasing price of …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Chemistry and Physics
Identifying emergent ecosystem responses through genes-to-ecosystems integration at Stordalen Mire
Permafrost thaw induced by climate change is predicted to make up to 174 Pg of near-surface carbon (less than 3m below the surface) available for microbial degradation by 2100. Despite having major implications for human health, prediction of the magnitude of carbon loss as carbon dioxide (CO2) or methane (CH4) is hampered by our limited knowledge of microbial metabolism of organic matter in these environments.Genome-centric meta-omic analysis of microbial communities provides the necessary information to examine how specific lineages transform …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
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Centre for Microbiome Research
Carbon markets
Carbon markets are recent social innovations of our modern economy. These national and international carbon markets are expected to play crucial roles in addressing climate change. There are many shortcomings of existing structures of the carbon markets. Rich literature discusses loopholes in these markets which undermine their ability to assist with global efforts of emission reduction and abatement. This project aims to discuss both theoretical and empirical issues relevant to these loopholes.
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Business and Law
- School
- School of Economics and Finance
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy
Exploring green infrastructure optimisation for climate change adaptation and mitigation
Green infrastructure refers to public and private green spaces in cities that provide water cycle benefits. These green spaces range in the range from single trees on city streets to urban parks, and waterway walkways. Some are natural, such as the remains of native plants, while others are more geometric, for example green roofs and green walls. Green infrastructure can increase the sustainability and vitality of cities through benefits such as greening and cooling, water quality, and managing hotter weather. …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Architecture and Built Environment
Modelling of electrochemical CO2 capture and conversion
Renewable electricity is remarkably cheap, and is only going to get cheaper. However, existing state-of-the-art CO2 capture and conversion processes use thermal energy (typically generated by burning natural gas). This modelling project will investigate electrochemical techniques for capturing CO2 from air (direct air capture) and converting it to useful chemicals and materials.
- Study level
- PhD
- School
- School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering
Keeping carbon – ensuring soil carbon gains through improved grazing management persist through drought in Australia's tropical and semi-arid grasslands
Drought is the biggest barrier to sequestering soil organic carbon (SOC) in soils over the long-term. While options are limited during dry periods, how we manage our pastures prior to drought can influence the resilience of SOC to losses and enhance recovery.
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Biology and Environmental Science
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy
Co-benefits of trees on farms: soil carbon
Soils are now in the ‘front line’ of global environmental change. Soils are the largest global pool of actively cycling organic C and N. Maintaining and increasing soil organic matter (SOM) is a prominent strategy for mitigating atmospheric CO2 and adapting agriculture to climate change.At the same time the global biodiversity crisis has led to increased scrutiny on supply chains to scrutinise farms ecological footprint. Planting or retaining trees in the landscape has the opportunity to achieve both outcomes, however …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Biology and Environmental Science
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy
Post-translational modification of proteins in cancer
The Protein Ablation Cancer Therapeutics (PACT) laboratory are interested in understanding how post-translational modifications contribute to the tumorigenic functions of proteins in cancer cells. We hypothesise that particular post-translational modifications are required for the cancer-associated function of a protein and that prevention of these would be a useful approach to treating cancer.The aim of this project is to select a candidate protein from our database of potential targets, confirm the protein is modified, identify the key modified lysine in the …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
Using time-controlled grazing to sequester carbon in Queensland rangelands
Time-controlled grazing (TCG), or cell grazing is a management strategy in which cattle are stocked and rotated across small paddocks or “cells” according to fodder availability. Grazing takes place in short durations at high stocking densities, in an effort to mimic the grazing patterns of wild ungulate herds.This management strategy has gained traction in recent years due to claims that it improves both pasture productivity and diversity, whilst also increasing long-term carbon pools. Limited data is available on the impact …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Biology and Environmental Science
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy
Using a natural β-carboline dimer compound to target metabolic vulnerabilities linked to glycolysis in prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is an androgen dependent cancer and treatments are aimed at preventing activation of the androgen receptor. Part of the development of resistance to therapies involves prostate cancers reprogramming their metabolism to overcome metabolic stress induced by these therapies and support growth and survival. This reprogramming involves increases in the rate of glycolysis and intermediate pathways branching from glycolysis. Previously in our laboratory, the natural compound, beta-carboline dimer, BD, was identified to have potent effects on cell viability, cell …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
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