Molecules as probes of the interstellar medium. It is one of the greatest challenges in Nature is to remotely identify what is in space. Interstellar molecules are identified by their spectra, but many features in these spectra are unknown, implying that there are many more molecules in space than we know about. With a stronger understanding of space chemistry, we could predict what should be there and verify it in the lab. Conversely, identification of these features will provide the tools to u ....Molecules as probes of the interstellar medium. It is one of the greatest challenges in Nature is to remotely identify what is in space. Interstellar molecules are identified by their spectra, but many features in these spectra are unknown, implying that there are many more molecules in space than we know about. With a stronger understanding of space chemistry, we could predict what should be there and verify it in the lab. Conversely, identification of these features will provide the tools to understand interstellar chemistry. In this project we combine skills in spectroscopy and astronomy to make these molecules in the laboratory, measure their spectra and thereby identify unknown molecules in space.Read moreRead less
Water storage in the earth's mantle - understanding the process of OH incorporation in olivine. The amount of water in the Earth's mantle is thought to be sufficient to replace the surface oceans more than ten times. Whether this water exists in a fluid, melt, or mineral is important for understanding a range of mantle properties. The entire upper mantle water budget may be accommodated at defect sites in the mineral olivine. However, defects found in natural olivine do not correspond to thos ....Water storage in the earth's mantle - understanding the process of OH incorporation in olivine. The amount of water in the Earth's mantle is thought to be sufficient to replace the surface oceans more than ten times. Whether this water exists in a fluid, melt, or mineral is important for understanding a range of mantle properties. The entire upper mantle water budget may be accommodated at defect sites in the mineral olivine. However, defects found in natural olivine do not correspond to those produced
experimentally. Therefore, previous conclusions on water storage in the mantle are questionable. To address this problem the mechanism of water incorporation in olivine will be investigated using experimental petrology and spectroscopy.Read moreRead less
Comparative Biophysical Studies on Photosystem II of Higher Plants and Cyanobacteria. Photosystem II (PS-II) is one of two light trapping protein assemblies involved in the conversion of light into metabolic energy in all plants and algae. The manganese containing active site of PS-II is responsible for oxygen formation from water. The organisation and functioning of this centre and the detailed mechanism of photochemical energy conversion are not understood. This project will employ a combinati ....Comparative Biophysical Studies on Photosystem II of Higher Plants and Cyanobacteria. Photosystem II (PS-II) is one of two light trapping protein assemblies involved in the conversion of light into metabolic energy in all plants and algae. The manganese containing active site of PS-II is responsible for oxygen formation from water. The organisation and functioning of this centre and the detailed mechanism of photochemical energy conversion are not understood. This project will employ a combination of powerful biophysical techniques to probe the structure and mechanism of PS-II as a knowledge base for eventual genetic manipulation of plants and stategies for artificial photosynthesis.Read moreRead less
Optically resonant dielectric structures for nanophotonics. This project aims to develop a novel research program underpinning the rapid development of a new generation of low-loss nanophotonics based on the physics of optically resonant dielectric nanoparticles. Such nanoparticles are the best candidates for the emerging field of metadevices with unique functionalities well beyond the capabilities of currently existing devices. The project aims to explore the confluence of subwavelength photoni ....Optically resonant dielectric structures for nanophotonics. This project aims to develop a novel research program underpinning the rapid development of a new generation of low-loss nanophotonics based on the physics of optically resonant dielectric nanoparticles. Such nanoparticles are the best candidates for the emerging field of metadevices with unique functionalities well beyond the capabilities of currently existing devices. The project aims to explore the confluence of subwavelength photonics, metamaterial concepts, graphene physics, and nonlinear optics. The expected outcomes of this research will enable the design and world-first experimental demonstration of ultra-thin, tunable, and low-loss metadevices for novel optical technologies with unique energy harvesting, switching, and sensing functionalities.Read moreRead less
The geochemistry of trace elements with variable oxidation states. The understanding of many earth processes is based upon an interpretation of differences in the relative abundance and/or distribution of elements which occur in more than one oxidation state. However, the redox states that control the geochemical behaviour of an element in a melt are not necessarily retained on cooling. This work aims to determine the oxidation states of geologically important elements, in situ under magmatic ....The geochemistry of trace elements with variable oxidation states. The understanding of many earth processes is based upon an interpretation of differences in the relative abundance and/or distribution of elements which occur in more than one oxidation state. However, the redox states that control the geochemical behaviour of an element in a melt are not necessarily retained on cooling. This work aims to determine the oxidation states of geologically important elements, in situ under magmatic conditions, using XANES spectroscopy. The results will allow geological signatures to be correctly interpreted and allow models for topics ranging from ancient mantle temperatures to rates of melt migration to be better constrained.Read moreRead less
Reaction transition states of halide-cluster complexes via velocity-map imaging of photoelectrons. This study will investigate the transition point between the reactants and products of a chemical reaction using a novel photoelectron imaging technique, velocity-map imaging. It is this region of chemical reactions that is the least understood. By combining the use of weakly bound negatively charged clusters and laser photodetachment of these clusters, information can be gleaned about these transi ....Reaction transition states of halide-cluster complexes via velocity-map imaging of photoelectrons. This study will investigate the transition point between the reactants and products of a chemical reaction using a novel photoelectron imaging technique, velocity-map imaging. It is this region of chemical reactions that is the least understood. By combining the use of weakly bound negatively charged clusters and laser photodetachment of these clusters, information can be gleaned about these transition states. The technique will be applied to an important class of halide-cluster complexes that form a set of prototypical reactions. These species also play important roles ranging from ozone depletion through to industrial chemistry.Read moreRead less
Nonlinear near-field nanophotonics. This project aims to develop nanostructures which employ both high intrinsic nonlinearities and high indices of refraction to create nanophotonic devices. Silicon photonics promises a technological leap forward through efficient photon-photon interactions within lossless dielectric nanoparticles. Light-controlling-light devices open new ways to control light-matter interaction at the nanoscale, which form the basis for many applications from all-optical inform ....Nonlinear near-field nanophotonics. This project aims to develop nanostructures which employ both high intrinsic nonlinearities and high indices of refraction to create nanophotonic devices. Silicon photonics promises a technological leap forward through efficient photon-photon interactions within lossless dielectric nanoparticles. Light-controlling-light devices open new ways to control light-matter interaction at the nanoscale, which form the basis for many applications from all-optical information processing to biomedical sensing. The expected outcomes will provide Australia with advanced technologies of integrated optical circuits with applications in optical communication networks, bioimaging, solar cells and quantum information technologies.Read moreRead less
Flexible nonlinear photonics with nanowire slow-light waveguides. This project will develop new approaches based on nanotechnologies to create flexible photonic chips in which deformations can be used to manipulate optical pulses transmitting information at the speed of light. This will serve to advance the speed, performance and energy efficiency of future optical communication networks and computing systems.
Nonlinear nano-photonic structures for frequency conversion: from classical to quantum applications. New methods for changing the colour of light will be developed through the use of nano-scale optical circuits, enabling manipulation of short pulses and single quanta of light. This will advance the performance, energy efficiency and security of future optical communication networks and computing systems.
Imaging chemical reaction dynamics from the transition state to reaction products. Chemical reactions play a key role in many atmospheric, environmental and industrial processes. An understanding of reactions at the molecular level will lead to significant economic benefits, through more efficient reaction control, and through the identification of the key environmental factors which influence why particular reactions proceed. Our study of chemical reaction dynamics has been driven by technolo ....Imaging chemical reaction dynamics from the transition state to reaction products. Chemical reactions play a key role in many atmospheric, environmental and industrial processes. An understanding of reactions at the molecular level will lead to significant economic benefits, through more efficient reaction control, and through the identification of the key environmental factors which influence why particular reactions proceed. Our study of chemical reaction dynamics has been driven by technological advances which enable key stages of a reaction to be imaged and studied at the molecular level. Read moreRead less