The document lists 12 thesis projects available for students to undertake, each supervised by faculty members and focusing on various computing technologies and applications such as quantum computing, gesture recognition interfaces, medical image segmentation, and software agent modeling. The projects involve both theoretical research and practical software development. Students must meet certain prerequisites and contact the listed supervisors to express interest in the projects.

1. Thesis Title No. of
Number students
New computing technologies
DCL1 3
Supervisor: Dr D. Levy [dlevy@ee.usyd.edu.au]
Select one of the following radical new computing technologies: DNA computing,
Quantum computing or Molecular electronics. Each student in the group that selects this
topic will carry out a theoretical study one of these areas and will consider the underlying
science, potential performance, developments in the technology, implementation
techniques, design methods, economics, potential market, time to market and barriers to
deployment of the technology.
Thesis Title No. of
Number students
Finger mouse
DCL2 1
Supervisor: Dr D. Levy [dlevy@ee.usyd.edu.au]
Using a web cam focussed on the user’s hand, create software to interpret the user’s hand
gestures so as to duplicate the functions of usual mouse interface. Extend the interface so
that the user’s finger can act as a drawing tool.
Thesis Title No. of
Number students
Segmentation of Prostate Boundaries from CT scans using
DCL3 Statistical Shape Model 1
Supervisor: Dr S. Ourselin, CSIRO, Telecommunications and Industrial Physics
<Sebastien.Ourselin@csiro.au>
Co-Supervisor: Dr D. Levy <dlevy@ee.usyd.edu.au>
Description: The use of statistical shape models is a promising approach for robust
segmentation of organs in medical images. This project will explore current research in
this area, especially in automatic model-based segmentation. Based on the state-of-the-art,
the student will propose a computational framework which will be applied for
segmentation of the prostate in CT scan images.
Requirements:
* Highly competent in C/C++ programming and Mathematics

2. * Interest in Machine Learning
* Distinction WAM or better
* Able to spend some time at CSIRO at Marsfield
* Willingness to assign Intellectual Property rights to CSIRO
Rewards:
* Stipend ($) for suitably qualified student (must satisfy ALL requirements above)
* Potential employment offer or scholarship for postgraduate study for suitable student.
Interested students must contact Dr Ourselin as soon as possible.
Thesis Title No. of
Number students
An UML model compiler
DCL4 1
Supervisor: Dr D. Levy [dlevy@ee.usyd.edu.au] and Jianfan Zou <jeffz@ee.usyd.edu.au>
XMI (XML Metadata Interchange) is the OMG standard for interchange of model and
design data between different tool sets. The project is to demonstrate how Java code can
be automatically generated from a UML model that is defined in a XMI file. The solution
can be written in Java with Java support for XML parsing. It is expected that simple class
diagrams and statecharts of UML model can be represented in XMI files and a model
compiler is built to compile the UML model in XMI format to generate Java class
skeletons. The model compiler which can generate fully executable code will get high
mark.
Prerequisites:
Knowledge about XML, UML, Java
Thesis Title No. of
Number students
Evaluation of predictability of TCP/IP stack of Linux
DCL5 operating systems. 1
Supervisor: Dr D. Levy [dlevy@ee.usyd.edu.au] and Jianfan Zou <jeffz@ee.usyd.edu.au>
Normal TCP/IP stack is one of sources of unpredictability for distributed real-time
applications since it does not distinguish the traffics from applications in different
priorities. Some Linux real-time variants use such technologies as Lazy Receiver
Processing and Resource Kernel to improve predictability of TCP/IP. The project is to

3. investigate and evaluate the gains of those new technologies in improving predictability of
TCP/IP stack .
Prerequisites:
Knowledge about C/C++, Linux, TCP/IP
Thesis Title No. of
Number students
A Simulation System for Rational Rose RealTime
DCL6 1
Supervisor: Dr D. Levy [dlevy@ee.usyd.edu.au] and Dongxi Jin <dxjin@ee.usyd.edu.au>
Develop a simulation system running a model-driven software. The system model will be
created using RealTime UML on the Rational Rose RealTime software environment. The
model of simulation is based on an embedded application such as washing machine. For
its demo on Windows, an executable control system model with a simulative GUI
interface should be provided.
Required skills include UML, RealTime UML, and C++.
Thesis Title No. of
Number students
An embedded system model from RealTime UML
DCL7 1
Supervisor: Dr D. Levy [dlevy@ee.usyd.edu.au] and Dongxi Jin <dxjin@ee.usyd.edu.au>
Develop an embedded control system using RealTime UML. The system is used for
control of speed of a DC motor running under real time operating system VxWorks.
Rational Rose RealTime Toolset will be used to support model creation with RealTime
UML. For running under RTOS VxWorks, a platform specific model should be generated
for the target machine.
Required skills include RealTIme UML, C++, and VxWorks.
Thesis Title No. of

4. Number students
DCL8 Modelling an Earthquake Disaster Scenario with 1
Intelligent Software Agents
Supervisor: Dr D. Levy [dlevy@ee.usyd.edu.au] and Sena Seneviratne
<seneviratne22@yahoo.com.au>
Intelligent agents and computing grids are used to simulate large scale human behaviour
to aid planning. In this project you will work on two intelligent software agents, Citizen1
and Nurse1, to model health related behaviour in an earthquake disaster scenario. Citizen1
requests first aid from the nearest hospital or health service based on some simple health
rules. The Nurse1 Intelligent Agent would receive the message and would instruct the
Citizen1 in some simple medical procedures, full specifications of which will be
available.
You will be expected to use the Gaia Methodology for Agent-Oriented Analysis and
Design and will be provided with tutorial material on how to do this.
REQUIRED SKILLS
Java programming.
Thesis Title No. of
Number students
Making a Small Agent Community of Software Intelligent
DCL9 Agents 1
Supervisor: Dr D. Levy [dlevy@ee.usyd.edu.au] and Sena Seneviratne
<seneviratne22@yahoo.com.au>
In this project you will create a small Agent Community with 5 agents. (Software
Intelligent Agents will be provided). You will use the Web Services Definition Language
(WSDL) to deploy the intelligent agents in a simple peer-peer grid in the local domain and
will be expected to become skilled in the implementation of WSDL code.
You will be given the example scripts and will be expected to write new script to deploy
agents under the Globus grid computing environment.
REQUIRED SKILLS:
Web-services knowledge in either .NET or Java is essential

5. Thesis Title No. of
Number students
Design, Development and Delivery of Educational
DCL10 Multimedia (Using Macromedia package) 1
Supervisors: Gosia Mendrela <gosia@ee.usyd.edu.au> and Dr D. Levy
<dlevy@ee.usyd.edu.au>
The aim of this project is to modify the existing course content material originally
designed for face-to-face delivery to fully online mode containing reach & interactive
educational multimedia. Create reusable learning objects compliant with the international
standards for e-Learning. These will be later assembled together to create personalized e-
Learning module.
In this project you will be using Macromedia MX studio package: (FlashMX,
DreamweverMX + ColdFusion MX ).
Knowledge of basic instructional design would be an advantage.
Thesis Title No. of
Number students
Creating Rich Learning experience: managing,
DCL11 configuration and distribution of Learning Objects 1
Supervisors: Gosia Mendrela <gosia@ee.usyd.edu.au> and Dr D. Levy
<dlevy@ee.usyd.edu.au>
Learning objects contribute to the scalability and reuse of content and media assets within
an organization. Instead of designing complete course, curriculum design teams can now
build reusable LOs, and multiple LOs are configured to present different topics. But, in
order to enchase learning and cost-effective practices, curriculum design teams must learn
to design, build and connect objects using a well-defined set of learning objectives.
This project will concentrate on using Macromedia MX studio to manage, distribute and
coordinate Learning Objects.
Thesis Title No. of
Number students
Real-time labs with POSIX
DCL12 1

6. Supervisor: Dr D. Levy [dlevy@ee.usyd.edu.au]
Redesign the set of labs used in the VxWorks part of the real-time computing laboratory
to that they are fully real-time Linux and POSIX compliant. Extend the labs to illustrate
some of the more advanced features of the real-time POSIX specification. Implement your
redesigned labs on a Linux system using POSIX threads.

7. Thesis Title No. of
Number students
Firewall Security for Web Services
DCL13 2
Supervisors: David Peterson <peterson@ee.usyd.edu.au> and Dr D. Levy
<dlevy@ee.usyd.edu.au>
Current SOAP-based architectures are designed to traverse existing IP firewalls by
tunneling communications over HTTP. Whilst this makes integration of software systems
across organization boundaries possible, it also circumvents existing firewall approaches
and exposes these organizations to a new kind of security threat.
The objective of this project is to develop a firewall security system for SOAP-based web
services. The system will transparently inspect both incoming and outgoing SOAP
messages and enforce user-specified security policies (including authentication,
authorization and selective SOAP data-scrubbing) in addition to providing a logging and
audit capability for tracing the history of web service invocations.
Tasks:
- Analysis of system requirements and development of a project specification
- Design and implementation of prototype SOAP firewall software system which
meets the identified requirements
- Development of one or more demonstration applications which exercise the key
elements of the SOAP firewall solution
Student 1 (Firewall Module): Design of algorithms for efficient SOAP packet inspection
and implementation of these algorithms under the Apache Axis web services toolkit.
Examination of the use of the new WS-Routing specification to enforce the traversal of
SOAP messages through the firewall module. Integration with security policy
specification developed by (Student 2). Exploration of integration with underlying
operating system and firewall layer (e.g. iptables under Linux).
Student 2 (Management Module): Design of (or augmentation of an existing) security
policy markup language for describing allowed/denied SOAP invocations (both inbound
and outbound) across the SOAP firewall. Design and implementation of declarative
(XML-based) language for expressing security policy and data-scrubbing requirements.
Design and implementation of a logging/auditing scheme for SOAP invocation history
using an SQL database and a web-based (JSP) or GUI-based (Java Swing) user interface.
Integration with the SOAP firewall module developed by (Student 1).
Prerequisites: Strong software development skills in the Java programming language.
Strong knowledge of web service concepts including SOAP and XML. Software design,
configuration management (cvs) and Linux/Unix skills an advantage.

8. Thesis Title No. of
Number students
Dynamic Middleware Infrastructures using CORBA
DCL14 2
Supervisors: David Peterson <peterson@ee.usyd.edu.au> and Dr D. Levy
<dlevy@ee.usyd.edu.au>
Conventional CORBA-based middleware infrastructures can benefit from the inclusion of
support for dynamic behaviours. Support for dynamic behaviour is a key element in the
development of next-generation adaptive and dependable middleware platforms.
The objective of the project is to add software features supporting dynamic behaviours to
the Mico open-source CORBA ORB [1]. The features are to be determined, but may
include a dynamic reconfiguration interface for CORBA objects, a fault-tolerant
replication interface for CORBA objects and a declarative language for graceful
degradation.
Tasks:
- Analysis of system requirements and development of a project specification
- Design and implementation of prototype CORBA services (and underlying ORB
modifications as necessary) to support the selected project focus.
Prerequisites: Object-oriented software development skills in the C++ language.
Knowledge of Linux/Unix OS environment. Software architectural design, UML analysis
and configuration management (cvs) skills an advantage.