Potential student research projects

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.

Filter projects

Some other physics related research projects may be found at the ANU College of Engineering & Computer Science, the Mathematical Sciences Institute and the Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics

Astrophysics

Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy

Understanding material defects at the atomic scale using anitmatter.

Dr Joshua Machacek, Professor Stephen Buckman

Automated marking of astronomy questions: can AI read the night sky?

Since 2024, Large Language Models have become the standard tool used for automated marking of physics exams, especially for hand-written exams and questions which involve diagrams. Nobody has tested them on astronomy questions where students annotate a projection of the night sky. This project benchmarks LLMs against classical computer-vision methods on marking constellation and object identification tasks.

Mr Lachlan McGinness

Measuring conceptual understanding in astrophysics: building and validating a new concept inventory

This project develops a new concept inventory for astronomy and astrophysics. The key stages include expert interviews, question design and stastical validation with student cohorts.

Mr Lachlan McGinness

Validating a quantum information science concept inventory with online learners

A new quantum information concept inventory, QISCIT, has been validated by experts but never tested on students. This project administers it to learners in an online quantum computing course and performs the psychometric analysis needed to turn it into a genuine research-based assessment.

Mr Lachlan McGinness

Mid-infrared single-mode waveguides for the LIFE space mission

The Large Interferometer for Exoplanets (LIFE) aims to detect biosignatures on Earth-like planets by collecting mid-infrared spectra. A major challenge is creating low-loss waveguides for spatial filtering. This project explores photonic crystal waveguides, using femtosecond lasers and Bessel beams to fabricate microstructures in transparent crystals for efficient light guidance.

A/Professor Ludovic Rapp, Dr Shan Liu

Atomic and Molecular Physics

Mass-entangled ultracold helium atoms

This experimental project aims to create entangled states of ultracold helium atoms where the entanglement is between atoms of different mass. By manipulating the entangled pairs using laser induced Bragg transitions and measuring the resulting correlations, we will study how gravity affects mass-entangled particles.

Dr Sean Hodgman, Professor Andrew Truscott

Atom-light interactions in quantum memories

Quantum memories store light in atomic ensembles for applications in quantum computing and networking. This project explores how atoms and light interact in prototype quantum memories that use rare earth atoms in crystals for storage, aiming to improve memory efficiency,  storage capacity, and performance in real-world devices.

A/Prof Rose Ahlefeldt, Dr James Stuart

Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy

Understanding material defects at the atomic scale using anitmatter.

Dr Joshua Machacek, Professor Stephen Buckman

Interactions between antimatter and ultracold atoms

Antiparticles and antimatter have progressed from theory and science fiction to become an important and exciting area of pure and applied science. This fundamental atomic physics project will investigate how antimatter and matter interact by experimentally studying the interaction of positrons (the electron anti-particle) with trapped ultracold rubidium atoms.

Dr Sean Hodgman, Professor Stephen Buckman, Dr Joshua Machacek

Exploring the many body physics in an atomic matterwave system with PT symmetry

Investigating the possible enhancement of sensitivity in atomic sensors with PT symmetry and the underlying many body evolution.

Dr Jessica Eastman, Dr Simon Haine

Positron interactions with structured surfaces

We are investigating novel effects and applications using positrons and structured surfaces.

Dr Joshua Machacek, Dr Sergey Kruk

Biophysics

Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy

Understanding material defects at the atomic scale using anitmatter.

Dr Joshua Machacek, Professor Stephen Buckman

Engineering in Physics

Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy

Understanding material defects at the atomic scale using anitmatter.

Dr Joshua Machacek, Professor Stephen Buckman

Gravimeter data and tidal analysis

The acceleration due to Earth’s gravity is not constant, but varies slightly over time due to the tidal influence of the Sun and Moon. These tidal signals are the largest periodic variations in gravity and are understood theoretically through models that combine celestial mechanics and geophysics.

Dr Samuel Legge

The physics (and mathematics) of Artificial Intelligence

What is the environmental impact of using an AI chatbot? It is possible to model this from first principles by considering the GPU energy usage and the water required for cooling data centres. This project aims to estimate the joules of energy, litres of water and grams of carbon dioxide released from each LLM chatbot response.

Mr Lachlan McGinness

Miniature absolute gravimeter

Absolute gravimeters tie their measurement of gravity to the definition of the second 
by interrogating the position of a falling test mass using a laser interferometer. Our vision is to develop and prototype a miniaturised absolute gravimeter by 
leveraging modern vacuum, laser, and micro-electromechanical systems.

Dr Samuel Legge

Environmental Physics

The physics (and mathematics) of Artificial Intelligence

What is the environmental impact of using an AI chatbot? It is possible to model this from first principles by considering the GPU energy usage and the water required for cooling data centres. This project aims to estimate the joules of energy, litres of water and grams of carbon dioxide released from each LLM chatbot response.

Mr Lachlan McGinness

Materials Science and Engineering

Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy

Understanding material defects at the atomic scale using anitmatter.

Dr Joshua Machacek, Professor Stephen Buckman

Efficient optical interconnect for quantum computers

Superconducting and spin qubits are leading quantum computing technologies, but we currently have no way to connect them to optical quantum networks that will make up a future quantum internet. This project will develop an interconnect capable of efficiently converting microwave quantum information from these qubits to optical frequencies.

A/Prof Rose Ahlefeldt, Dr Lara Gillan

Quantum chemistry modelling of rare earth crystals for quantum technologies

Quantum technology applications of rare earth crystals would benefit from accurate ab-initio models of how quantum properties arise from fundamental atom-atom interactions in crystals. In this project, we will adapt recent advances in molecular quantum chemistry models to rare earth crystals and apply them to quantum technology problems.

A/Prof Rose Ahlefeldt

Positron interactions with structured surfaces

We are investigating novel effects and applications using positrons and structured surfaces.

Dr Joshua Machacek, Dr Sergey Kruk

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy

Understanding material defects at the atomic scale using anitmatter.

Dr Joshua Machacek, Professor Stephen Buckman

Positron interactions with structured surfaces

We are investigating novel effects and applications using positrons and structured surfaces.

Dr Joshua Machacek, Dr Sergey Kruk

Photonics, Lasers and Nonlinear Optics

Femtosecond laser cleaning of Aboriginal rock art

This project develops safe, damage-free laser cleaning for Australian Indigenous rock art and historic stone monuments, removing contaminants without altering surfaces. Using ultrashort pulse lasers at multiple wavelengths, it combines laboratory optimization and field-applicable procedures, in collaboration with heritage partners and Indigenous custodians, to restore and preserve culturally and visually significant sites.

A/Professor Ludovic Rapp, Dr Ksenia Maximova

Positron interactions with structured surfaces

We are investigating novel effects and applications using positrons and structured surfaces.

Dr Joshua Machacek, Dr Sergey Kruk

Mid-infrared single-mode waveguides for the LIFE space mission

The Large Interferometer for Exoplanets (LIFE) aims to detect biosignatures on Earth-like planets by collecting mid-infrared spectra. A major challenge is creating low-loss waveguides for spatial filtering. This project explores photonic crystal waveguides, using femtosecond lasers and Bessel beams to fabricate microstructures in transparent crystals for efficient light guidance.

A/Professor Ludovic Rapp, Dr Shan Liu

Physics Education

Automated marking of astronomy questions: can AI read the night sky?

Since 2024, Large Language Models have become the standard tool used for automated marking of physics exams, especially for hand-written exams and questions which involve diagrams. Nobody has tested them on astronomy questions where students annotate a projection of the night sky. This project benchmarks LLMs against classical computer-vision methods on marking constellation and object identification tasks.

Mr Lachlan McGinness

Measuring conceptual understanding in astrophysics: building and validating a new concept inventory

This project develops a new concept inventory for astronomy and astrophysics. The key stages include expert interviews, question design and stastical validation with student cohorts.

Mr Lachlan McGinness

The Einstein-de Haas effect.

The aim is to build and commission a new lab for 3rd year physics that measures the electron spin. One of the original experiments was performed by A. Einstein and W.J de Haas in 1915.  (The same year Einstein was busy publishing General Relativity!)

Professor Ben Buchler

Evaluating the Spin-First Approach to Teaching Quantum Computing

This project analyses pre- and post-test data from students learning quantum computing through the spin-first approach. The aim is to evaluate question reliability, identify learning gains, and help develop a validated concept inventory tailored to this increasingly common teaching method.

Mr Lachlan McGinness

Quantum Science and Technology

Mass-entangled ultracold helium atoms

This experimental project aims to create entangled states of ultracold helium atoms where the entanglement is between atoms of different mass. By manipulating the entangled pairs using laser induced Bragg transitions and measuring the resulting correlations, we will study how gravity affects mass-entangled particles.

Dr Sean Hodgman, Professor Andrew Truscott

Quantum Communication for Secure and Anonymous Voting

This project explores how quantum communication could enable secure and anonymous voting between multiple participants. Students will investigate how quantum states of light, communication networks and information processing can be combined to protect both voting information and voter privacy.

Dr Jiayi Qin, Dr Jie Zhao

Atom-light interactions in quantum memories

Quantum memories store light in atomic ensembles for applications in quantum computing and networking. This project explores how atoms and light interact in prototype quantum memories that use rare earth atoms in crystals for storage, aiming to improve memory efficiency,  storage capacity, and performance in real-world devices.

A/Prof Rose Ahlefeldt, Dr James Stuart

Interactions between antimatter and ultracold atoms

Antiparticles and antimatter have progressed from theory and science fiction to become an important and exciting area of pure and applied science. This fundamental atomic physics project will investigate how antimatter and matter interact by experimentally studying the interaction of positrons (the electron anti-particle) with trapped ultracold rubidium atoms.

Dr Sean Hodgman, Professor Stephen Buckman, Dr Joshua Machacek

Exploring the many body physics in an atomic matterwave system with PT symmetry

Investigating the possible enhancement of sensitivity in atomic sensors with PT symmetry and the underlying many body evolution.

Dr Jessica Eastman, Dr Simon Haine

Quantum Light for Secure Communications

This project explores how the quantum properties of light can be used to develop new approaches to secure optical communication. Students will investigate squeezed light, optical measurements and information encoding, and explore how quantum correlations can enable communication capabilities beyond conventional optical systems.

Dr Jiayi Qin, Dr Jie Zhao

Efficient optical interconnect for quantum computers

Superconducting and spin qubits are leading quantum computing technologies, but we currently have no way to connect them to optical quantum networks that will make up a future quantum internet. This project will develop an interconnect capable of efficiently converting microwave quantum information from these qubits to optical frequencies.

A/Prof Rose Ahlefeldt, Dr Lara Gillan

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

This project will construct a 3D optical lattice apparatus for ultracold metastable Helium atoms, which will form an experimental quantum-simulator to investigate quantum many-body physics. A range of experiments will be performed such as studying higher order quantum correlations across the superfluid to Mott insulator phase transition.

Dr Sean Hodgman, Professor Andrew Truscott

Collective quantum enhancement in multiparameter estimation

Collective measurements can enhance multiparameter estimation precision by allowing joint measurements on multiple copies. This project investigates the extent to which collective measurements can enhance estimation precision and how close to the fundamental limit one can get without entanglement.

Dr Jie Zhao, Dr Jiayi Qin

Measuring quantum measurements: precision limits for quantum detector tomography

Develop new methods to determine the ultimate precision of quantum-detector calibration using detector quantum Fisher information. Projects may explore continuous-variable probes, multi-parameter incompatibility, or error-correction strategies for preserving Heisenberg scaling in realistic noisy measurements.

Dr Jie Zhao, Dr Jiayi Qin

Gravimeter data and tidal analysis

The acceleration due to Earth’s gravity is not constant, but varies slightly over time due to the tidal influence of the Sun and Moon. These tidal signals are the largest periodic variations in gravity and are understood theoretically through models that combine celestial mechanics and geophysics.

Dr Samuel Legge

Validating a quantum information science concept inventory with online learners

A new quantum information concept inventory, QISCIT, has been validated by experts but never tested on students. This project administers it to learners in an online quantum computing course and performs the psychometric analysis needed to turn it into a genuine research-based assessment.

Mr Lachlan McGinness

The Einstein-de Haas effect.

The aim is to build and commission a new lab for 3rd year physics that measures the electron spin. One of the original experiments was performed by A. Einstein and W.J de Haas in 1915.  (The same year Einstein was busy publishing General Relativity!)

Professor Ben Buchler

Quantum chemistry modelling of rare earth crystals for quantum technologies

Quantum technology applications of rare earth crystals would benefit from accurate ab-initio models of how quantum properties arise from fundamental atom-atom interactions in crystals. In this project, we will adapt recent advances in molecular quantum chemistry models to rare earth crystals and apply them to quantum technology problems.

A/Prof Rose Ahlefeldt

Femtosecond laser cleaning of Aboriginal rock art

This project develops safe, damage-free laser cleaning for Australian Indigenous rock art and historic stone monuments, removing contaminants without altering surfaces. Using ultrashort pulse lasers at multiple wavelengths, it combines laboratory optimization and field-applicable procedures, in collaboration with heritage partners and Indigenous custodians, to restore and preserve culturally and visually significant sites.

A/Professor Ludovic Rapp, Dr Ksenia Maximova

Evaluating the Spin-First Approach to Teaching Quantum Computing

This project analyses pre- and post-test data from students learning quantum computing through the spin-first approach. The aim is to evaluate question reliability, identify learning gains, and help develop a validated concept inventory tailored to this increasingly common teaching method.

Mr Lachlan McGinness

Miniature absolute gravimeter

Absolute gravimeters tie their measurement of gravity to the definition of the second 
by interrogating the position of a falling test mass using a laser interferometer. Our vision is to develop and prototype a miniaturised absolute gravimeter by 
leveraging modern vacuum, laser, and micro-electromechanical systems.

Dr Samuel Legge