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 40 matching student topics
Displaying 13–24 of 40 results
Mathematical modelling of spatial plant patterns in a sub-Antarctic island
Various spatial patterns naturally emerge in ecology. These include stripes, spots, hexagons, and donuts, to name just a few. However, it can be puzzling to figure out how these patterns form.Systems of partial differential equation models can be used to simulate these patterns, and thereby provide ecologists with testable hypotheses for how these patterns formed.
- Study level
- Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Data Science
Centre for the Environment
Mathematical and computational models for diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI)
In 1985, the first image of water diffusion in the living human brain came to life. Since then significant developments have been made and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) has become a pillar of modern neuroimaging.Over the last decade, combining computational modelling and diffusion MRI has enabled researchers to link millimetre scale diffusion MRI measures with microscale tissue properties, to infer microstructure information, such as diffusion anisotropy in white matter, axon diameters, axon density, intra/extra-cellular volume fractions, and fibre orientation …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Data Science
Centre for Biomedical Technologies
A mathematical model of disrupting cell-to-cell communication by bacteria
The emergence of resistance of bacteria to antibiotics presents a global healthcare challenge that intensifies the search for strategies to increase the effcacy of therapy. Several mechanisms are involved in resistance of bacteria against antibiotics such as mutations in genes, horizontal gene transfer, and biofilm formation. Bacteria can communicate with each other through production and response to local concentration of small molecules called autoinducers.This mechanism is called quorum sensing (QS).It has been suggested that QS can influence the resistance of …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Data Science
Optimising sampling design for model discrimination of coral reef recovery
Natural disturbances including severe storms and bleaching events have devastating impacts on the Great Barrier Reef's health. Unfortunately, the increasing pressures associated with climate change are causing these disturbances to occur more frequently, for a longer duration and with more intensity.It's essential to understand the recovery dynamics between major disturbances so we can manage the health of the Great Barrier Reef under increased environmental pressures. Many studies modelling reef recovery assume a specific form for the growth dynamics. However, the …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Data Science
Creation of fibrous tissue at moving interfaces
Extracellular matrix (ECM) secreted by cells is composed of a meshwork of fibres infiltrated with proteins and/or minerals. This fibre meshwork often matures after its creation by rearranging its structure according to local mechanical clues, or by the infiltration of new molecules.In this project, the fibre meshwork will be represented by a continuous anisotropic field. You will derive evolution equations to describe fibre creation at moving cell membranes and the subsequent maturation of the meshwork.Applications of this model include the:investigation …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Emergence of curvature-dependent growth in mathematical models of tissue invasion
The growth of biological tissues in 3D-printed scaffold pores occurs under strong geometric controls depending on the shape and size of the pores. How this control emerges from the interaction between spatial constraints and biological processes such as cell migration and cell proliferation remains largely unknown. Existing phenomenological models of tissue growth hypothesise growth laws which directly involve curvature without considering cellular mechanisms.Recently, a reaction–diffusion mathematical model of tissue growth in porous scaffolds was proposed to investigate cell-level behaviour using …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Moving boundary problems in mathematical biology
Invasion of biological cells or ecological populations involves moving fronts that invade into previously unoccupied regions of space. Such moving fronts are driven by a combination of motility, such as random diffusion, and proliferation, such as logistic growth. Understanding how best to model such invasive fronts is important as moving fronts of cells are associated with wound healing and cancer progression and moving fronts in ecology are associated with the spreading of weeds and invasive species.Previously both continuum and discrete …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
How many species were saved by national parks?
National parks are the cornerstone of modern conservation efforts. They now cover more than 10% of the Earth’s land surface and are found on every continent and sea.We can prove that these national parks stop human destruction of habitat. We can prove that they benefit the lives and livelihoods of people who visit and surround them. However, we can't yet prove that they have stopped the extinction of a single species. This isn't because we don’t believe that they've helped. …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
Equation learning for partial differential equation models of stochastic random walk models
Random walk models are often used to represent the motion of biological cells. These models are convenient because they allow us to capture randomness and variability. However, these approaches can be computationally demanding for large populations.One way to overcome the computational limitation of using random walk models is to take a continuum limit description, which can efficiently provide insight into the underlying transport phenomena.While many continuum limit descriptions for homogeneous random walk models are available, continuum limit descriptions for heterogeneous …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Data Science
Developing optimal management approaches to sustain the Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is under significant threat from climate change.There are many options for management approaches to help sustain the reef, and many more are being developed. However, optimally planning these management actions is a difficult mathematical problem as they need to deploy over a large scale. This results in long timeframes for developing and executing these actions.This project will involve adapting the Modern Portfolio Theory to develop optimal management approaches to sustain the Great Barrier Reef.Modern Portfolio Theory …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Data Science
Considering economics when prioritising species conservation
There are limited funds available for saving threatened species globally. Investing that money wisely can help ecologists and the government achieve more bang for their buck, and help more species and ecosystems.We can use many approaches to help guide those investment decisions, including mathematical optimisation and operations research. However better considerations of economic factors are needed in order to reflect the complexity of real ecosystems and governments.
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Data Science
AI, data, and mathematical thinking in education
This project explores how emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, influence mathematical thinking, teaching, and learning. It focuses on how students and teachers engage with data-rich and AI-supported environments.The project aligns with ongoing work in quantitative reasoning, modelling, and educational innovation, including research on adaptive learning technologies.
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice
- School
- School of Education
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