Advanced remote sensing systems research

We are an energetic group of people working in the area of plasma physics research, but with a particular interest in novel imaging systems and associated inverse methods that also have a range of important applications in science and industry.

Our coherence imaging systems are being used on frontline fusion devices around the world for measuring quantities as diverse as supersonic plasma flows, ion temperatures in the centre of fusion plasmas, plasma density and internal electric currents. These systems may well underpin any Australian diagnostic contribution to the ITER tokamak under construction in France. Download the strategic plan for Australian fusion science (PDF, 4.3MB). The technology is a recent finalist in the Australian Innovation Challenge 2012.

We also develop more traditional plasma diagnostic systems spanning the microwave to optical regions and specialise in developing the tomographic techniques and inverse methods for recovering the underlying plasma properties.

Research projects

• Coherence imaging
• Understanding plasma instabilities in the H-1 heliac
• Plasma dynamics in MAGPIE
• Tokamak edge physics
• Inverse methods and tomography

Contact

John Howard

(02) 612 53751