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Faculty of Sciences
Ground Floor, Darling Building
(entrance opposite the Barr Smith Library)
North Terrace Campus
The University of Adelaide
SA 5005 AUSTRALIA

Phone: +61 8 8303 5673
Fax: +61 8 8303 4386
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Research in the School of Chemistry & Physics

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The School of Chemistry & Physics brings together broad-ranging and cutting-edge research in the fundamental disciplines of Chemistry and Physics.

Research within the School is at the forefront of developments, generating high-profile media events and capturing
international attention in the world’s best research journals. The School’s research groups receive extensive external funding and enjoy significant collaboration with researchers both nationally and internationally.

The School of Chemistry and Physics is home to the University’s Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS), bringing together world-leading researchers with modern infrastructure and an innovative culture. IPAS aims to become an international leader in photonics and advanced sensing. Using a transdisciplinary approach that unites leading research activities in physics, chemistry and biology, IPAS will develop new measurement paradigms to underpin health, the environment, defence and national security.

To conduct this research, the School has a wide range of state-of-the-art equipment, and IT infrastructure supported by technical and workshop staff. Supercomputing is supported by eResearch South Australia founded by academics within the School. The School houses the Centre of Expertise in Photonics (CoEP), the ARC Special Research Centre for the Subatomic Structure of Matter (CSSM) and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Antimatter-Matter Studies.

Research Areas:

Chemistry
Physics

Institutions with Affiliated Researchers

Chemistry

Visit the Chemistry website for more information about research laboratories.

Energy and Environment

Professor Andrew Abell, Professor Michael Bruce, Dr Hugh Harris, Professor Stephen Lincoln, Dr Greg Metha, Dr Chris Sumby

Fundamental research in the key areas of energy usage and demand and environmental chemistry.

Examples of projects include:

Application of carbon dioxide as a primary reagent for the formation of useful organic molecules
Hydrogen storage with metal-organic frameworks
Nanocatalysis
Determination of heavy metal contaminants in tissue samples

Functional Materials

Professor Andrew Abell, Professor Michael Bruce, Professor Stephen Lincoln, Dr Jonathan Morris, Dr Chris Sumby, Dr Simon Pyke

The design and construction of new molecules and molecular assemblies, which can be utilized in the generation of new materials, such as polymers, proteins, peptides, catalysts, molecular devices, sensors, and probes.

Examples of projects include:

General approaches to protein ligand design new therapies and biological probes
Applications of cyclodextrins to the design of molecular devices and smart materials
Supramolecular chemistry and crystal engineering
Complexes with carbon chains as models for molecular wires

Medicinal and Biological Chemistry

Professor Andrew Abell, Professor John Bowie, Professor John Carver, Dr Hugh Harris, Dr Tak Kee, Professor Stephen Lincoln, Dr Jonathan Morris, Dr Tara Pukala, Dr Simon Pyke

Drug design and development, with an emphasis on the chemistry of proteins and peptides. Work is this area is related to identifying and synthesizing small novel molecules, and framing biological questions that might help answer by blocking or activating protein targets.

Examples of projects include:

Molecular chaperone proteins: their structure, function and interactions
Enzyme mimics and molecular reactors
Structural determination of proteins using mass spectrometry and NMR
Structure-based drug design

Molecular Photoscience

Dr Greg Metha, Dr Tak Kee, Dr Hugh Harris, Dr Tara Pukala, Professor John Bowie

The application of light and mass spectrometry as central chemical research tools to gain insight into the chemical and physical properties of molecules. Computational chemistry using state-of-the-art high performance computers underpins these experimental studies.

Examples of projects include:

Interstellar chemistry
Ultra-sensitive chemical detection using cavity ring-down spectroscopy
Non-invasive chemical imaging of cells and tissues
Investigation into gas phase metallic and bi-metallic clusters
Synthesis of natural products

Physics

Visit the Physics website for more information about research laboratories.

Atmospheric Physics

Professor Iain Reid, Professor Bob Vincent, Dr Andrew MacKinnon

The group is interested in all aspects of the physics of the atmosphere (and ionosphere) from the ground up to altitudes near 100 km. It develops and exploits new radar, passive and active optical techniques and GPS and other satellite techniques for remote sensing of the atmosphere.

Meteoroid fragmentation with radio holography
GPS measurements for ground and space
Radar investigation of the turbulence and radio-wave scatters in the lower atmosphere
Lidar and passive optical studies of the atmosphere
Radar imaging and radar interferometry of the atmosphere

Geophysics

Professor Stewart Greenhalgh

The group conducts theoretical and experimental studies using elastic and electromagnetic waves to image the Earth’s interior on a variety of scales. The primary emphasis is on sensor technology, digital signal processing, numerical modelling and inverse theory.

Laboratory investigations of electrical resistance tomography in anisotropic media
Reflection of seismic waves from attenuating and poro-elastic ocean bottom sediments
Full waveform inversion of cross hole radar data for conductivity and permittivity distributions

High Energy Astrophysics

Professor Roger Clay, Associate Professor Bruce Dawson, Associate Professor Ray Protheroe, Dr Gavin Rowell

The group has broad interests in high energy astrophysics at energies from sub-TeV to the highest particle energies known. They are members of large international collaborations, including Pierre Auger, H.E.S.S. and LUNASKA.

Auger Project: Cosmic ray energy and mass composition
Cosmic ray production and inter-galactic propagation
Study of the solar cycle using the Buckland Park muon array
TeV gamma-ray astronomy (HESS) and detector development
Optical monitoring of variable and flaring astronomical sources
LUNASKA Project: Observation of high energy neutrinos by detection of lunar Cherenkov radio waves
Extreme astrophysics at TeV gamma ray energies
Radio to X-ray observations of high energy sources

Medical Physics

Dr Eva Bezak, Dr Judith Pollard

This program operates in collaboration with Medical Physicists in Adelaide hospitals. The main areas of research are modelling of the growth and destruction of tumours, verification of dose delivered in radiotherapy and image reconstruction techniques.

Dose distribution studies in prostate brachytherapy
Proton energy deposition in tissue
Air-cavity measurements for intensity modulated radiotherapy
Monte Carlo simulation of air cavity effects on X-ray dose deposition

Optics and Photonics

Associate Professor Murray Hamilton, Professor Tanya Monro, Professor Jesper Munch, Associate Professor Peter Veitch, Dr David Ottaway

Research by this group encompasses all aspects of photonics: the science, development and application of coherent light, and classical optics. It includes collaborations with exciting international projects to develop gravitational astronomy(LIGO, VIRGO and TAMA), for next-generation optical telescopes (Gemini) and remote sensing (BoM, WA DoE). The Centre of Expertise in Photonics also has worldleading facilities for the development and fabrication of new soft-glass optical fibres,
lasers and sensors.

Surface characterisation, wavefront sensing and adaptive optics
High power solid-state lasers
Bio-optics: exploiting design features of insect eyes
Atmospheric water vapour spectroscopy
Fibre lasers in the infra-red
Extreme non-linear effects in optical fibres
Large mode area mid-infrared fibres
Fibre-optic detection of viruses and water quality
Photon-electron interactions within optical fibres

Theoretical Physics

Dr Rod Crewther, Professor Derek Leinweber, Associate Professor Max Lohe, Professor Tony Williams, Professor Tony Thomas, Dr Waseem Kamleh

This group is internationally renowned for their research exploring the fundamental quantum field theories of the Standard Model of the Universe. As home of the ARC Special Research Centre for the Subatomic Structure of Matter (CSSM), significant advances have been made in unveiling the nature of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), the theory describing the interactions between quarks and gluons as they compose particles such as the proton. Supporting nuclear and particle physics facilities around the world, their work reveals the most fundamental aspects of nature and explores the extreme conditions of
neutron stars, supernova explosions and the early universe.