At the boundary between the basalts of the western suburbs of Melbourne and the Silurian sedimentary rocks of the eastern suburbs, the Merri Creek meets the Yarra River. The location is rich in the history of contact between Indigenous and European peoples, and in the industrial history of Melbourne. It holds the complex geological story of the lavas and turbidities that underpin the geography of Melbourne, told by Dr James Driscoll and Mr Rob Gell AM.
In 2019, to celebrate International Year of the Periodic Table and the 150th anniversary of Dmitri Mendeleev’s 1869 discovery, Melbourne artists Damon Kowarsky and Hyunju Kim were commissioned to design 51 images describing the birth of the universe through to the charting of the elements on the Periodic Table. These 51 images were installed on hexagons in the gallery at Quantum Victoria.
Australia’s caves were formed over millions of years, and exploring them is a journey to a hidden underworld that holds many wonders. But caves and karst landforms need our protection. They house complex ecosystems, critical habitat for plants, animals, and micro-organisms which, in many cases, cannot survive elsewhere. The biggest threat is overuse from tourism – which builds positive awareness, but also damages their natural integrity.
Sustainability is becoming core to big business. CSIRO’s Chief Scientist, Professor Bronwyn Fox, is concerned that Australia is at risk of being cut out of global supply chains if we cannot provide evidence of reducing our carbon emissions. She seeks to leverage our mining sector’s use of digitisation, automation, and control for on-shore manufacturing, creating a suite of technologies that change the way we think about time and space.
It should come as no surprise that quantum computers are inherently good at solving problems in quantum mechanics. Most of these opportunities lie at the intersection with chemical engineering or materials science, meaning the types of technological issues critical to addressing climate change and power generation will be among the first to benefit from quantum computers as their power increases.
