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 24 matching student topics
Displaying 13–24 of 24 results
Optimal conservation management in uncertain Antarctic environments
Species and ecosystems in Antarctica are threatened. Optimal biodiversity conservation is an interdisciplinary field combining mathematical modelling and optimisation with ecology and conservation. We can use mathematics to understand the system, model how management actions might impact it, and then optimise which actions should be used. For example, we can explore where protected areas should be placed, how species should be managed, or how tourist impacts should be reduced. However, the complexities of conservation in Antarctica necessitate the application of …
- 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 the Environment
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
Optimising a soft robot using a differentiable physics simulator
A physics simulator is a valuable tool for designing robots. For example, it helps in optimising geometry, choosing appropriate materials, predicting dynamics, and improving control algorithms without having to build a real robot. This allows designers to rapidly test multiple designs before fabricating the robot.Soft robotics is the field that deals with the design of robots using materials like rubbers and plastics that readily deform when a load is applied. This gives a lot more freedom in designing robots that …
- Study level
- Vacation research experience scheme
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Electrical Engineering and Robotics
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Robotics
Computational methods for multi-scale structural optimisation
Structural optimisation is a powerful computational methodology for finding high-performing designs for structural components or material architectures. For example, what periodic scaffold would provide the highest possible stiffness for its weight?Solving such a problem computationally requires an understanding of the relevant equations required to model the physical properties of interest, as well as efficient implementation of a range of numerical methods including finite elements, finite differences and optimisation.With recent developments in 3D printing technologies it is now becoming possible to …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours, Vacation research experience scheme
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
A new physics informed machine learning framework for structural optimisation design of the biomedical devices
The machine learning based computer modelling and simulation for engineering and science is a new era. The optimisation analysis is widely used in the design of structures.
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Centre for Biomedical Technologies
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, Vacation research experience scheme
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Architecture and Built Environment
Investigating the application of sustainable AI practices in construction
The construction industry plays a vital role in the global economy and there is a growing interest in utilising artificial intelligence (AI) to improve its productivity and efficiency. Despite the industry's significant contribution to the economy, it has faced challenges such as large cost overruns, extended schedules, and quality concerns. Nevertheless, AI is making significant strides to remove these issues by revolutionising various aspects of the construction industry. This is evident from enhancing project planning and design to improving construction …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours, Vacation research experience scheme
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Architecture and Built Environment
Mathematically optimizing the management of protected areas in the Antarctic ecosystems
Antarctica’s biodiversity is fragile and rapidly changing. Plants and animals as well as human activity are much higher within ice-free areas, which cover little of the continent. For these reasons, protecting of ice-free environments is critical for Antarctic ecosystem survival. Threats to the ecological integrity of Antarctica are increasing through climate change, biological invasion, and increasing human activity. Protected areas help to reduce these threats, and they are a cornerstone of conservation. Consequently, there is the need to create more …
- Study level
- Vacation research experience scheme
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Data Science
Sampling to optimise training data
Training data is needed for fitting supervised machine learning models but may not always be plentiful, especially when labelling needs to be performed manually. In such a situation we may wish to target the new sample cases to be labelled to improve model performance for the least additional resource.In this project we’ll look at how active learning techniques - techniques which make use of the model outcomes – can be used to effectively determine a sampling strategy.
- Study level
- Vacation research experience scheme
- 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, Vacation research experience scheme
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Data Science
Food literacy projects (see description for options)
Food Literacy is a collection of knowledge, skills and behaviours required to plan, manage, select, prepare and eat foods to meet needs and determine food intake. It is the scaffolding that empowers individuals, households, communities or nations to protect diet quality through change and strengthen dietary resilience over time. Areas for further research include, but are not limited to:identifying models to integrated food literacy into dietetic practice e.g. through the Nutrition Care Processdevelop population level indicators for food literacy that …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences
My flow: Menstrual cycle Femtech for elite athlete performance optimisation through wearable technology
There is a need for additional studies to monitor on-field performance parameters in female elite athletes (Meignié 2021). We know that wearable sensors can be used to monitor the physiological and biochemical profile of athletes (Seshadri 2019), and a combination of several wearables is going to be more effective for accessing all relevant parameters (Düking 2016). However, there is limited research on the effects of menstrual cycle phases on elite athlete performance (Meignié 2021).This proposed research aims to bridge the …
- Study level
- PhD
- Faculty
- Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice
- School
- School of Design
- Research centre(s)
-
Design Lab
Contact us
If you have questions about the best options for you, the application process, your research topic, finding a supervisor or anything else, get in touch with us today.