Newsletter
Our newsletter will provide details of Hub activities, recent successes, research projects, findings, publications and events.
Grant funding success for Hub Researchers
25 November 2022
The ARC has announced outcomes for Discovery Projects for funding commencing in 2023 (DP23). Two research groups from the Hub have been awarded Discovery Projects. This is testament to the research excellence of the lead researchers and their teams, as well as the depth of research quality in the Hub.
Successful Discovery Projects 2023
Researchers: Dr Shu Kee Lam, Prof Deli Chen
Title: AI in agriculture: hybrid machine learning models for nitrogen simulation.
Funding amount: $476,538
Summary: Agricultural simulation models are used to guide nitrogen management to reduce nitrogen loss and its environmental impact, but they were developed using constrained datasets, which restricts them to site- or regional-specific simulations. This project adopts a novel approach to addressing these problems by applying machine learning-based data analytics. The project will refine the linkages between nitrogen losses and their key drivers, and improve the existing agroecosystem models through data imputation, parameter optimisation and module enhancement. The outcomes of this project will lead to an accurate prediction of nitrogen losses from agriculture, advancement in agroecosystem models and their adaptability to a global context
Researchers: Prof Uta Wille, Prof Ute Roessner
Title: How are plants responding to damage by oxidizing air pollutants?
Funding amount: $389,000
Summary: This project aims to obtain detailed understanding of the chemical processes by which the air pollutants ozone and nitrogen dioxide damage plants. Through an interdisciplinary approach involving physical organic chemistry and analytical biochemistry, this project intends to discover important reactions between plant biomolecules and air pollutants, identify biochemical mechanisms for pollution damage in crop model plants and reveal the plant defence mechanism at the molecular level. Expected outcomes include the much-needed scientific foundations to support the development of more pollution-resilient crops in the future, ultimately enabling a breakthrough for the triple challenge of environmental pollution, climate change and food security.
