Dr James (Xi) Zheng and Dr Oliver Griffith, both from the Faculty of Science and Engineering, and Professor Hanlin Shang from the Macquarie Business School, have been named Future Fellows by the Australian Research Council (ARC), an acknowledgement of the predicted benefits of their high-quality research projects.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Sakkie Pretorius, said the recognition was indicative of the vast talent among Macquarie University’s researchers.
“I am continually impressed by the calibre of Macquarie University’s ARC applicants and extend my warmest congratulations to our three new Future Fellows,” he said.
“Their dedication to solving real-world problems will have far-reaching impact. This is something of which they should be proud – the University community certainly is.”
The successful Macquarie University projects are:
Advancing robust autonomy in cyber-physical systems
Future Fellow: Dr James (Xi) Zheng, School of Computing, Faculty of Science and Engineering
This project enhances the safety of cyber-physical systems such as unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous vehicles and smart-farming technologies in Australia. It will leverage large language models for generating realistic scenarios of potential hazards and extracting formal models for rigorous testing. This interdisciplinary approach aligns with Australia's goals for national safety and innovation in autonomous systems, addressing key challenges outlined in the national regulatory frameworks for autonomous vehicles and mining. The anticipated outcomes of this project include improved methods for safe autonomous operations, fostering safer commercialisation pathways and bolstering Australia’s global market competitiveness in autonomous technology sectors.
Funding awarded: $960,412 over four years
Transposons as a means for rapid evolution of a complex organ
Future Fellow: Dr Oliver Griffith, School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering
This project aims to assess the role of transposons in the complex changes required for the evolution of a placenta, a new organ that has evolved more than 100 times in vertebrates, including our own ancestors. The project will use new genomic resources, genomic techniques and gene manipulation to provide a mechanistic understanding of how changes in the expression of genes can support the evolution of a placenta. Expected outcomes of this project include a new understanding of how complex organs originate and evolve in animals. This will benefit society because it will provide a deep understanding of our own evolutionary history and a framework for future studies to investigate the origin and evolution of organs more broadly in animals.
Funding awarded: $919,631 over four years
Functional panel data analysis: Harnessing big data for society
Future Fellow: Professor Hanlin Shang, Department of Actuarial Studies and Business Analytics, Macquarie Business School
Panel data models measure cross-sections of complex data sets, such as subnational demographic and high-frequency financial data. They are critical for solving pressing societal and economic challenges, yet current methods fail to capitalise on opportunities afforded by unprecedented volumes and sources of data. This project aims to develop new theories, better methods and faster algorithms to analyse function-valued panel data to produce accurate forecasts. Expected outcomes of this project involve advances in big data-analytic theory and easy-to-implement algorithms for forecasting demographic and financial data. Improved forecasts will bring significant benefits to financial markets, superannuation and insurance industries, governments and society.
Funding awarded: $1,153,682 over four years
