Projects

As our lives move online, the way we prove who we are has become more important than ever. Current digital identity systems, like the ones used for banking, healthcare, or e-governance, rely on cryptography that may soon be broken by powerful quantum computers. This project focuses on creating a next-generation digital identity system that is quantum-safe, decentralized, and privacy-preserving. The idea is to use blockchain as a secure and tamper-proof record keeper while adopting post-quantum cryptography to protect against future quantum threats. Unlike today's centralized systems, individuals will control their own credentials and share only the information needed, without exposing all of their personal data. By combining blockchain's trust, quantum-resilient security, and privacy controls, this work aims to build a future-proof identity framework that can protect people's important data in everyday digital interactions.

Microplastics (MPs), identified as the biggest anthropogenically mediated threat to the biosphere as per recent UNEP report, is becoming a critical menace to sense and control to ensure the future of our food security, health, and ecosystems. Lacking viable alternatives, it is unreasonable for plastics to be completely banned by any nation and yet effective trade and environmental policies could be implemented based on scientific findings to mitigate its effect. In this work, we propose to assess the degree and distribution of this contaminant systematically and objectively with high precision using non-contact, non-invasive spectroscopic and imaging techniques, such as, Raman and Terahertz spectroscopy and imaging.

This project explores how education, digital technologies, and policy interact with structural barriers in rural India. Using Tamil Nadu as a case, it examines youth aspirations, work opportunities, and pathways for inclusive, knowledge-driven growth.

Bioaerosols are a good measure of both biodiversity but also estimates of the health of an environment and those populations that are exposed to it. Using atmospheric and eDNA measures we can estimate the risk to health of the environment in a range of ecosystems including those altered with urbanisation and climate change.

This project advances next-generation quantum technologies by developing powerful methods to control two of the most promising platforms: neutral atoms and superconducting qubits. By combining novel control strategies with state-of-the-art hardware, the research aims to enhance quantum coherence, improve gate fidelities, and accelerate the path toward scalable quantum computing.

Elephants and humans have been interacting in the Indian subcontinent for millenia. This study will aim to exmine the interactions between humans and elephants, mapping the distribution of elephants and human land use and their changes over time. We will use spatial data on conflict and other interactions and people's perceptions of elephants in an aim to share lessons on reducing conflict and enabling coexitsnce in India and Nepal across ecosytems and borders. This will support both local communities and wild elephants.

Human use of the urban skies is rapidly increasing, with skyscrapers and other human made structures rising upwards, drones becoming more common and air taxis being developed in Australia, India, China, the USA and beyond. However, many native species also use the urban skies and their airspace, and aerial connectivity between green spaces in cities is currently ignored and unexplored in urban planning, policy and conservation. This project aims to address this key gap by quantifying the vertical human footprint in the urban airspace in 3D, modelling aerial connectivity and prioritising areas for conservation actions in 3D. This innovative project will help reduce human-wildlife conflicts in the vertical airspace, enabling a better plan for shared use of the urban skies by both people and airborne organisms. This should provide significant benefits for urban biodiversity and a model for cities worldwide and an innovative PhD study.

This project explores how social licence and equity for AI in healthcare can be developed through governance across Australia and India. It analyses public trust, policy frameworks, and online narratives, generating practical guidance to support ethical, legitimate, and inclusive adoption of health AI.

Internationally there is an increase in the use timber and other bio-based elements in structural applications. These novel construction materials present unique challenges, particularly when considering the use of bio-composite materials and the mechanisms by which structural elements are connected. This project explores the fire performance of timber and bio-based connections, demonstrating performance under both standard and real fire exposure conditions.

This project aims to develop an experimentally validated framework to understand the complex thermo-hydro-mechanical processes involved in CO₂ sequestration in mafic rocks using coupled Acoustic Emission (EA) and Ultrasound monitoring techniques.