The Research School of Physics performs research at the cutting edge of a wide range of disciplines.
By undertaking your own research project at ANU you could open up an exciting career in science.
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Astrophysics


Gravitational waves from ultralight boson clouds around black holes
Dr Lilli (Ling) Sun, Distinguished Profes Susan Scott, Dr Karl Wette
Design a rail gun to operate in vacuum producing a force of 1mN
In space, no-one can hear you scream. Is this true?


Continuous gravitational waves from neutron stars
Distinguished Profes Susan Scott, Dr Lilli (Ling) Sun, Dr Karl Wette


Radioimpurities in particle detectors for dark matter studies
Dr Michaela Froehlich , Dr Zuzana Slavkovska, A/Prof Stephen Tims, Professor Gregory Lane


Optimising a Neutron Star Extreme Matter Observatory
Dr Bram Slagmolen, Dr Lilli (Ling) Sun, Dr Vaishali Adya, Distinguished Prof David McClelland
Reducing Entropy in Lunar Supply Chains


Space radiation modelling
Launching nano-satellites from the Earth's Moon


Gravitational waves from newborn neutron stars
Dr Lilli (Ling) Sun, Distinguished Profes Susan Scott, Dr Karl Wette


Multi-messenger gravitational-wave astronomy
Distinguished Profes Susan Scott, Dr Lilli (Ling) Sun, Dr Karl Wette
Determining the orbital characteristics of a constellation of nano-sats orbiting the Moon
Active orbital control systems for nano-sats orbiting the Moon


Calibration of gravitational wave detectors
Dr Lilli (Ling) Sun, Dr Bram Slagmolen, Distinguished Profes Susan Scott


Paving the way to study the chronology of the Early Solar System
Dr Stefan Pavetich, Dr Michaela Froehlich , A/Prof Stephen Tims, Mr Dominik Koll


Exotic nuclear structure towards the neutron dripline
Atomic and Molecular Physics


Atomic ionization in super-strong laser fields


Atomic magnetometer for exploring physics beyond the standard model


Interactions between Antimatter and Ultracold Atoms
Dr Sean Hodgman, Professor Stephen Buckman, Dr Joshua Machacek
Electron scattering from surfaces at high energies


Optical quantum memory


Attosecond time-resolved atomic reactions


Benchmark positron scattering experiments
A/Prof. James Sullivan, Professor Stephen Buckman, Dr Joshua Machacek


Positron applications in medical physics
A/Prof. James Sullivan, Professor Stephen Buckman, Dr Joshua Machacek


How does a quantum system reach equilibrium?


Coherent control of quantum-mechanical systems


Measuring and modelling free-ion hyperfine fields
Professor Andrew Stuchbery, Emeritus Professor Tibor Kibedi, Mr Brendan McCormick
Biophysics


Understanding drought-resistance in Australian plants with 3D X-ray microscopy


Specific ion effects


Positron applications in medical physics
A/Prof. James Sullivan, Professor Stephen Buckman, Dr Joshua Machacek


Femtosecond laser for ultra-precise cavity drilling in modern dentistry
Clean Energy


Migration of carbon dioxide injected in aquifers: convection, diffusion and dissolution


Renewable Chemical Fuels using III-V Semiconductors
Dr Siva Karuturi, Professor Chennupati Jagadish, Professor Hoe Tan
Improving extraction of Critical MineralsÂ
Professor Mark Knackstedt, Dr Nicolas Francois, Prof Adrian Sheppard
Engineering in Physics
Design a rail gun to operate in vacuum producing a force of 1mN


Plasma surface interactions under extreme conditions


Nuclear lifetimes - developing new apparatus and methods
Professor Andrew Stuchbery, Emeritus Professor Tibor Kibedi, Professor Gregory Lane, Mr Ben Coombes


Computer simulation of expanding plasmas


Nuclear structure studies with particle transfer reactions
Dr AJ Mitchell, Professor Gregory Lane, Professor Andrew Stuchbery, Emeritus Professor Tibor Kibedi
In space, no-one can hear you scream. Is this true?


System calculations for hunter killer satellites


Optimising a Neutron Star Extreme Matter Observatory
Dr Bram Slagmolen, Dr Lilli (Ling) Sun, Dr Vaishali Adya, Distinguished Prof David McClelland


Wood-based Mechanical Metamaterials
Dr Nicolas Francois, Dr Mohammad Saadatfar, Mr William Leggate, Professor Mark Knackstedt


Exploring physics with neural networks
Dr Aaron Tranter, Professor Ben Buchler, Professor Ping Koy Lam


Vibration control for optical interferometry
Launching nano-satellites from the Earth's Moon


Ultra-fast lifetime measurements of nuclear excited states
Professor Gregory Lane, Dr AJ Mitchell, Professor Andrew Stuchbery, Emeritus Professor Tibor Kibedi
Optical Sensors for Inertial Navigation


Magnetic nozzles and plasma generated by a remote source
Fibre Optic Sensor Arrays for Vibrometry and Acoustic Sensing
Dr Chathura Bandutunga , , Dr Paul Sibley, A/Prof Malcolm Gray
Field Deployable Laser Stabilisation using Digitally Enhanced Fibre Interferometers
Improving extraction of Critical MineralsÂ
Professor Mark Knackstedt, Dr Nicolas Francois, Prof Adrian Sheppard
Determining the orbital characteristics of a constellation of nano-sats orbiting the Moon
Engineering Inter-spacecraft laser links
Active orbital control systems for nano-sats orbiting the Moon


Calibration of gravitational wave detectors
Dr Lilli (Ling) Sun, Dr Bram Slagmolen, Distinguished Profes Susan Scott


Plasma Thrusters for Spacecraft


Particle simulation of dual frequency processing plasmas
Environmental Physics


Understanding drought-resistance in Australian plants with 3D X-ray microscopy


Migration of carbon dioxide injected in aquifers: convection, diffusion and dissolution


High pressure non-equilibrium plasma discharges in chemically reactive systems


Surface forces and the behaviour of colloidal systems
Reducing Entropy in Lunar Supply Chains
Radioactivity in our environment


Nanobubbles
Fusion and Plasma Confinement
Studies on the effect of He irradiation on the microstructure and mechanical properties of W/ W alloys


Nano-bubble formation in fusion relevant materials


Diagnosing plasma-surface interactions under fusion-relevant conditions
Materials Science and Engineering
Studies on the effect of He irradiation on the microstructure and mechanical properties of W/ W alloys


Measurement of optical and mechanical losses of mirror coatings
Dr Johannes Eichholz, Dr Bram Slagmolen, Distinguished Prof David McClelland


Neutron and X-ray imaging/tomography techniques at ANSTO and AS (Australian Synchrotron)


Higher-order spatial mode optical cavity analysis for thermal noise measurements
Dr Johannes Eichholz, Dr Bram Slagmolen, Distinguished Prof David McClelland


Ultrafast Laser Cleaning - The Light Touch


Efficient optical interconnect for quantum computers


Solid state synapses and neurons - memristive devices for neuromorphic computing


Fundamental investigation of fission tracks for geo- and thermochronology
Electron scattering from surfaces at high energies


Mathematical making


Tomography of dynamic processes (3D movies)


Controlling the properties of 2D materials by defect engineering
X-ray scatter in 3D microscopes


High-bandwidth stabilisation of a 2µm-band laser
Dr Johannes Eichholz, Dr Bram Slagmolen, Distinguished Prof David McClelland


Using materials physics to achieve ultra-low contact resistance for next generation semiconductor devices


Optical nonlinearities in 2D crystals


Creating new materials using pressure and diamond anvil cells


Quantum emitters in 2D materials


Can we make a harder-than-diamond diamond?
Machine learning for tomographic reconstruction
X-ray speckle tracking


Nano-bubble formation in fusion relevant materials


Making diamond from disordered forms of carbon


Semiconductor nano-foams for sensor and energy applications
Exploring novel X-ray scanning trajectories


Ultrashort laser processing for advanced applications


Developing wearable sensors for personalized health care technologies and solutions
Dr Buddini Karawdeniya, Prof Dragomir Neshev, Prof Patrick Kluth, Professor Lan Fu
Deblur by defocus in a 3D X-ray microscope


Nanowire Photodetectors for Photonic and Quantum Systems


Renewable Chemical Fuels using III-V Semiconductors
Dr Siva Karuturi, Professor Chennupati Jagadish, Professor Hoe Tan


Diagnosing plasma-surface interactions under fusion-relevant conditions


Colloidal systems in highly concentrated salt solutions


Shape engineering of semiconductor nanostructures for novel device applications


Nanofluidic diodes: from biosensors to water treatment


Exciton polaritons in 2D atomically thin materials


Functional Nanopore Membranes
Nanoscience and Nanotechnology


Solid state synapses and neurons - memristive devices for neuromorphic computing


Fundamental investigation of fission tracks for geo- and thermochronology


Micro-ring lasers for integrated silicon photonics


Controlling the properties of 2D materials by defect engineering


Specific ion effects


Surface forces and the behaviour of colloidal systems


Using materials physics to achieve ultra-low contact resistance for next generation semiconductor devices


Simulation of x-ray scattering from nano-objects


Nanowire lasers for applications in nanophotonics


Semiconductor nano-foams for sensor and energy applications


Developing wearable sensors for personalized health care technologies and solutions
Dr Buddini Karawdeniya, Prof Dragomir Neshev, Prof Patrick Kluth, Professor Lan Fu


Optical metamaterials: from science fiction to transformative optical technologies


Metaphotonics and Mie-tronics with resonant dielectric structures


Nonreciprocal nanophotonics: disruptive nanotechnology to control light


Quantum-well nanowire light emitting devices
Professor Lan Fu, Dr Ziyuan Li, Professor Hoe Tan, Professor Chennupati Jagadish


Colloidal systems in highly concentrated salt solutions


Shape engineering of semiconductor nanostructures for novel device applications


Nanowire infrared avalanche photodetectors towards single photon detection


Nanobubbles


Nanofluidic diodes: from biosensors to water treatment


Functional Nanopore Membranes


Quantum microscopes for revolutionary interdisciplinary science
Photonics, Lasers and Nonlinear Optics


Measurement of optical and mechanical losses of mirror coatings
Dr Johannes Eichholz, Dr Bram Slagmolen, Distinguished Prof David McClelland


Higher-order spatial mode optical cavity analysis for thermal noise measurements
Dr Johannes Eichholz, Dr Bram Slagmolen, Distinguished Prof David McClelland


Ultrafast Laser Cleaning - The Light Touch


Synthesising non-Hermitian gauge fields for microcavity exciton polaritons


Micro-ring lasers for integrated silicon photonics


Integrated quantum photonics
Prof Andrey Sukhorukov, Dr Jinyong Ma, Dr Jihua Zhang, Prof Dragomir Neshev


High-bandwidth stabilisation of a 2µm-band laser
Dr Johannes Eichholz, Dr Bram Slagmolen, Distinguished Prof David McClelland


Quantum squeezed states for interferometric gravitational-wave detectors
Distinguished Prof David McClelland, Professor Daniel Shaddock, Dr Bram Slagmolen


Optical nonlinearities in 2D crystals


Nanowire lasers for applications in nanophotonics


Synthetic multi-dimensional photonics


Machine learning for optics and controls


Coherently combined laser systems for space technologies


Optical nanoantennas


Ultrashort laser processing for advanced applications
Optical Sensors for Inertial Navigation
Fibre Optic Sensor Arrays for Vibrometry and Acoustic Sensing
Dr Chathura Bandutunga , , Dr Paul Sibley, A/Prof Malcolm Gray
Field Deployable Laser Stabilisation using Digitally Enhanced Fibre Interferometers


Optical metamaterials: from science fiction to transformative optical technologies


Non-equilibrium quantum condensation of microcavity exciton polaritons


Metaphotonics and Mie-tronics with resonant dielectric structures


Nonreciprocal nanophotonics: disruptive nanotechnology to control light


Quantum photonics with nanostructured metasurfaces


Nanowire Photodetectors for Photonic and Quantum Systems


Topological photonics


Femtosecond laser for ultra-precise cavity drilling in modern dentistry


Quantum-well nanowire light emitting devices
Professor Lan Fu, Dr Ziyuan Li, Professor Hoe Tan, Professor Chennupati Jagadish


Low-noise offset-phase locking and heterodyne interferometry with 2µm-band lasers
Dr Johannes Eichholz, Dr Bram Slagmolen, Distinguished Prof David McClelland


Nanowire infrared avalanche photodetectors towards single photon detection


Satellite based geodesy


Metasurface polarization optics and quantum photonics


Exciton polaritons in 2D atomically thin materials


Laser levitation of a macroscopic mirror
Physics Education


Science education with meriSTEM
Virtual Reality for Physics Education
Physics of the Nucleus


Creating new superheavy elements
Dr Taiki Tanaka, Professor David Hinde, Professor Mahananda Dasgupta


Nuclear magnetism - magnetic moment measurements
Professor Andrew Stuchbery, Emeritus Professor Tibor Kibedi, Professor Gregory Lane, Mr Brendan McCormick


Nuclear lifetimes - developing new apparatus and methods
Professor Andrew Stuchbery, Emeritus Professor Tibor Kibedi, Professor Gregory Lane, Mr Ben Coombes


Nuclear structure studies with particle transfer reactions
Dr AJ Mitchell, Professor Gregory Lane, Professor Andrew Stuchbery, Emeritus Professor Tibor Kibedi


Radioimpurities in particle detectors for dark matter studies
Dr Michaela Froehlich , Dr Zuzana Slavkovska, A/Prof Stephen Tims, Professor Gregory Lane


Space radiation modelling


Ultra-fast lifetime measurements of nuclear excited states
Professor Gregory Lane, Dr AJ Mitchell, Professor Andrew Stuchbery, Emeritus Professor Tibor Kibedi


Nuclear batteries: Energy-storage applications of nuclear isomers


Characterisation and optimisation of an ionization detector system for probing dissipation effects
Dr Ian Carter, Professor Mahananda Dasgupta, Professor David Hinde, Mr Ben Swinton-Bland


Measuring and modelling free-ion hyperfine fields
Professor Andrew Stuchbery, Emeritus Professor Tibor Kibedi, Mr Brendan McCormick


Nuclear vibrations in near-spherical and deformed nuclei
Professor Andrew Stuchbery, Professor Gregory Lane, Dr AJ Mitchell, Mr Ben Coombes


Paving the way to study the chronology of the Early Solar System
Dr Stefan Pavetich, Dr Michaela Froehlich , A/Prof Stephen Tims, Mr Dominik Koll


Exotic nuclear structure towards the neutron dripline
Plasma Applications and Technology


High pressure non-equilibrium plasma discharges in chemically reactive systems


Plasma surface interactions under extreme conditions


Computer simulation of expanding plasmas


System calculations for hunter killer satellites


Plasma-liquid interactions


Magnetic nozzles and plasma generated by a remote source


Plasma Thrusters for Spacecraft


Particle simulation of dual frequency processing plasmas
Quantum Science and Technology


Atomic magnetometer for exploring physics beyond the standard model


Interactions between Antimatter and Ultracold Atoms
Dr Sean Hodgman, Professor Stephen Buckman, Dr Joshua Machacek


Efficient optical interconnect for quantum computers


Synthesising non-Hermitian gauge fields for microcavity exciton polaritons


Dual torsion pendulum for quantum noise limited sensing


Integrated quantum photonics
Prof Andrey Sukhorukov, Dr Jinyong Ma, Dr Jihua Zhang, Prof Dragomir Neshev


Optical quantum memory


Quantum squeezed states for interferometric gravitational-wave detectors
Distinguished Prof David McClelland, Professor Daniel Shaddock, Dr Bram Slagmolen


Quantum emitters in 2D materials


Synthetic multi-dimensional photonics


Discovering quantum defects in diamond and related materials


Exploring physics with neural networks
Dr Aaron Tranter, Professor Ben Buchler, Professor Ping Koy Lam


Vibration control for optical interferometry


Experimental quantum simulation with ultracold metastable Helium atoms in an optical lattice


Beam matching using machine learning


Quantum multi-parameter estimation


Quantum super resolution


How does a quantum system reach equilibrium?


Non-equilibrium quantum condensation of microcavity exciton polaritons


Quantum photonics with nanostructured metasurfaces


Satellite based geodesy


Metasurface polarization optics and quantum photonics


Diamond quantum computing and communications


Quantum microscopes for revolutionary interdisciplinary science


Laser levitation of a macroscopic mirror
Theoretical Physics


Neutron and X-ray imaging/tomography techniques at ANSTO and AS (Australian Synchrotron)


Atomic ionization in super-strong laser fields


Motions of crystalline bar-joint frameworks


Mathematical making


Nuclear magnetism - magnetic moment measurements
Professor Andrew Stuchbery, Emeritus Professor Tibor Kibedi, Professor Gregory Lane, Mr Brendan McCormick


Attosecond time-resolved atomic reactions


Introduction to quantum integrable systems


Variational approach to many-body problems


Topological data analysis
Combinatorics and integrable systems


Stochastic dynamics of interacting systems and integrability


Quantum multi-parameter estimation


Optical nanoantennas


Coherent control of quantum-mechanical systems


Topological Crystallography: Graphs and surfaces with symmetry
Topological and Structural Science
Ghost imaging in the third dimension


Motions of crystalline bar-joint frameworks


Tomography of dynamic processes (3D movies)


Simulation of x-ray scattering from nano-objects


Wood-based Mechanical Metamaterials
Dr Nicolas Francois, Dr Mohammad Saadatfar, Mr William Leggate, Professor Mark Knackstedt


Topological data analysis


Topological photonics


Topological Crystallography: Graphs and surfaces with symmetry
Updated: 22 May 2022/ Responsible Officer: Director, RSPhys/ Page Contact: Physics Webmaster