Optics Group Home Page

Optics Group

School of Physics

The Optics Group at the University of Melbourne covers a broad range of interesting aspects of modern optics. Think not of lenses and pin-hole cameras, but rather of X-rays, waveguides, fibres, lasers, near-field microscopy, medical imaging, and satellites!

Artist's impression of a "Lobster-eye" x-ray telescope flown on a small satellite. The eye of a lobster uses a lens consisting of approximately square microchannels, which reflect light onto the lobster retina. The Optics Group has borrowed this concept to design a prototype imaging X-ray telescope, and research is underway to model the performance and investigate the feasibility, in collaboration with groups at Los Alamos, NASA and the University of Leicester.

The Facilities

Xray production and diagnostic equipment
Lasers - from HeNe's to Argon ion to 25W CO2 to laser diodes
Cooled CCD cameras (12-bit, for visible and X-ray)
Computer equipment -DEC Alpha workstation, 4GB disk, 4mm tape drive, 650MB magneto-optical disk drive, colour Postscript printer, PC's etc.
5 MeV proton Microprobe

The People

Faculty
- Prof. Keith Nugent, nugent@optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au
- Dr. Ann Roberts, roberts@optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au
- Assoc. Prof. Zwi Barnea, barnea@physics.unimelb.edu.au
- Dr. Robert Scholten, scholten@optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au
- Dr. Chris Chantler, Chris_Chantler.physics@muwayf.unimelb.edu.au
Senior Scientist
- Alberto Cimmino, cimmino@optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au
Research Assistants
- Patrick O'Brien, BE(Hons), BSc obrien@optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au
Postgraduate Students
- David Balaic, balaic@optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au
- Viviene Cucevic, cucevic@optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au
- Anton Barty, barty@optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au
- Shaun Griffin, griffin@optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au
- Allan Horsfall, horsfall@optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au
- Shane Huntington, hunt@optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au
- Dave Paganin, paganin@optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au
- David Paterson, paterson@optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au
- Stephen Rhodes, rhodes@optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au
- Justine Tiller,, tiller@optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au
- Chanh Tran, tran@optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au
- Mark von Bibra, vonbibra@optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au
- Julian Walford, walford@optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au
- Mirek Walkiewiecz, MSc, mirek@optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au
Honours Students (1996)
- Phillip Fox, fox@optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au
- Astria Price, price@optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au
- Paul Rice, rice@optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au
Would you like to work with us?
All potential students and visitors should direct their enquiries to one of the Faculty group members. Some totally unofficial information regarding awards, scholarships and funding programs is available.

The Optics Group can be reached via:
```
Optics Group
School of Physics
University of Melbourne
Parkville
Victoria, 3052
AUSTRALIA

Phone: +61 (0)3 9344 5446 (Nugent)
       +61 (0)3 9344 8171 (Optics Computer Room)
Fax:   +61 (0)3 9347 4783
URL:   http://optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au/home.html
email: nugent@optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au
```
There have been accesses to this page since July 18, 1995.

School of Physics
HTML Primer
Robert Scholten, scholten@optics.ph.unimelb.edu.au
Last modified: 2nd September 1996
Copyright © 1995 The University of Melbourne

Optics Group

School of Physics

The Research

Lobster-Eye Optics

Atom Optics

Optical Waveguides

X-ray Optics and Atomic Physics

Near-field Optics

The Facilities

The People

Would you like to work with us?

The Optics Group can be reached via: