Drawing out spider silk photonics and technology. We discovered certain spider webs are an optical device of amazing sophistication – the result of 136 million years of evolution. New photonic and electron microscopy techniques will measure the unique optical and materials properties of the webs, and the resulting knowledge will have high impact for advanced, self- assembled, photonic materials.
Targeted light - optical mode control at the nanoscale. Nanophotonics provides a path for controlling the interaction of light and matter at the nanoscale. Using spatially tailored laser beams to address nano-particles, this project aims to create new approaches for specifically targeting light with nano-scale precision, which has valuable potential applications in biosensing and communications.
Dual nanoparticles to distinguish between right and left biomolecules. This project aims to enhance the sensitivity of optical activity to ultralow molecular concentration samples. Optical activity is a commercially available technique used to distinguish chemically identical and morphologically different biomolecules (enantiomers). Unlike other scattering techniques, near-field enhancing of optical activity has not been achieved, thus limiting these measurements to high molecular concentrations ....Dual nanoparticles to distinguish between right and left biomolecules. This project aims to enhance the sensitivity of optical activity to ultralow molecular concentration samples. Optical activity is a commercially available technique used to distinguish chemically identical and morphologically different biomolecules (enantiomers). Unlike other scattering techniques, near-field enhancing of optical activity has not been achieved, thus limiting these measurements to high molecular concentrations. There is evidence indicating that optical activity can be enhanced using dual nanoparticles (ie small particles with the same response to electric and magnetic fields). This project aims to advance our understanding of these dual nanoparticles and experimentally implement their use to enhance optical activity.Read moreRead less
Calibrating astronomical spectrographs to discover Earth-like planets. This project aims to develop a robust, ultra-precise calibration system that improves the precision of Doppler spectrographs by a factor of ten –sufficient to discover rocky planets. The holy grail of exoplanet research is the discovery of an Earth-like planet in the habitable zone of a Sun-like star. The planet’s tug on its host star causes a periodic Doppler shift of the star’s spectrum which precision astronomical spectrog ....Calibrating astronomical spectrographs to discover Earth-like planets. This project aims to develop a robust, ultra-precise calibration system that improves the precision of Doppler spectrographs by a factor of ten –sufficient to discover rocky planets. The holy grail of exoplanet research is the discovery of an Earth-like planet in the habitable zone of a Sun-like star. The planet’s tug on its host star causes a periodic Doppler shift of the star’s spectrum which precision astronomical spectrographs record. Detecting minute shifts from rocky planets needs better precision than the best spectrographs provide. This project expects to help to discover Earth twins, habitable worlds outside the Solar system.Read moreRead less
Metamaterials for control of acoustic radiation forces. This project aims to investigate how sound waves exert forces on objects, and how these forces can be controlled by artificially engineered structures known as acoustic metamaterials. The project is expected to lead to a new understanding of acoustic radiation forces, and how they can be efficiently manipulated with high resolution. The expected outcome is a new capability for the measurement of delicate mechanical structures, which avoids ....Metamaterials for control of acoustic radiation forces. This project aims to investigate how sound waves exert forces on objects, and how these forces can be controlled by artificially engineered structures known as acoustic metamaterials. The project is expected to lead to a new understanding of acoustic radiation forces, and how they can be efficiently manipulated with high resolution. The expected outcome is a new capability for the measurement of delicate mechanical structures, which avoids the cost, complexity and side-effects of existing systems. This should benefit many high-tech areas, including inflatable space structures, micro-mechanical sensors and actuators and precise optical components, as well as biological areas such as the study of insect flight and communication.Read moreRead less
Securing the quantum internet with high-dimensional quantum systems. This project aims to develop experimental and theoretical tools for increasing security in the future quantum networks. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of quantum communication by leveraging on the properties of high-dimensional quantum systems. Expected outcomes of this project include novel protocols for quantum secret sharing that are resistant to experimental noise and an experimental implementati ....Securing the quantum internet with high-dimensional quantum systems. This project aims to develop experimental and theoretical tools for increasing security in the future quantum networks. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of quantum communication by leveraging on the properties of high-dimensional quantum systems. Expected outcomes of this project include novel protocols for quantum secret sharing that are resistant to experimental noise and an experimental implementation of such protocols. This should provide significant benefits to the development of the quantum internet and its security.Read moreRead less
Star and planetary system assembly with the VAMPIRES instrument. Understanding the origins of the Earth and our Solar System comprises one of the landmark challenges for contemporary astronomy. This project will commission the VAMPIRES instrument which will open a unique window upon planetary nurseries around distant stars. These dusty disks will be perturbed by any newborn planets orbiting within causing several subtle signatures which our instrument is designed to read. Such data will make a c ....Star and planetary system assembly with the VAMPIRES instrument. Understanding the origins of the Earth and our Solar System comprises one of the landmark challenges for contemporary astronomy. This project will commission the VAMPIRES instrument which will open a unique window upon planetary nurseries around distant stars. These dusty disks will be perturbed by any newborn planets orbiting within causing several subtle signatures which our instrument is designed to read. Such data will make a critical contribution to our understanding of planetary assembly. Revealing the primordial state, before the onset of structural changes as the system evolves, informs expectations for exoplanetary system architecture and for the chance that life is harboured around distant stars.Read moreRead less