"The mission of the International Year of Quantum Science & Technology (IYQ) is to use the occasion of 100 years of quantum mechanics in 2025 to help raise public awareness of the importance and impact of quantum science and applications on all aspects of life."

 — International Year of Quantum Science and Technology [1]

The UNESCO International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ) is celebrated in 2025 and is a great chance to showcase the many wonderful aspects of photons and quantum physics with our wider communities. Students involved in past ANZOS public events have enjoyed sharing their passion for photonics with the wider public.

In preparation for next year, ANZOS would like to provide financial support to student chapters to enable them to run public IYQ events in 2025. Different event formats are welcomed, examples of past events include interactive hands-on experiments and public lectures. If you are interested fill out the short ANZOS Event Support Application. More information can be found on the application and it is due by 1st December 2024.

Download the ANZOS Event Support Application.

[1] 2024 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology Partners, "Let’s work together to celebrate 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology", About, accessed 20 October 2024, https://quantum2025.org/en/about/.

 

 

New Zealand and Australia are failing to convert research prowess in photonics and quantum technologies into commercial reality, with a new report finding below average growth in the sector at the heart of our future technologies.

The Australian and New Zealand Optical Society (ANZOS) with support from SPIE, (the international society for optics and photonics), has just released an updated analysis of the AU/NZ photonics industry. It demonstrates a high degree of risk for both countries.

At the end of last year, our photonics and quantum technologies industry had a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.8% compared to a global average of 7.3% over the last decade, behind Asia, the UK and North America. Although the industry has grown to AU$6bn and now employs more than 34,000 people across Australasia, it is behind competitors.

ANZOS President and Director of New Zealand’s Te Whai Ao— Dodd Walls Centre, Frederique Vanholsbeeck, says the report is both disturbing and timely, coming as the New Zealand and Australian governments are examining the state of their universities and the science sector.

“The global value of photonics enabled products is projected to have exceeded US$2.39 trillion last year, so the opportunity is massive. We need New Zealand business, government and academia to collaborate in developing a strategy to leverage our photonics and quantum research excellence,” says the University of Auckland Professor.

Called a “critical” technology in the Australian Government’s National Quantum Strategy, the Federal Government has spent billions in recent years on new centres of quantum research excellence, as well as making a direct “anchor” investment in quantum computing company, PsiQuantum this April.

In addition to computing; the technologies span lasers, precision timing, measurement, navigation and secure communications. They’re used for MRI scans, managing the vulnerabilities of GPS, self-driving cars, measuring the ozone layer, underground sensing and a myriad of work in space. Some of the most powerful quantum applications are expected to come on stream in the next decade.

ANZOS Vice-President, and EOS Chair in Laser Physics at the University of South Australia, David Lancaster says the findings are a wake-up call for Australia.

“It’s imperative that we capitalise on the considerable investment in photonic and quantum technologies made here in the last few years. Australia must demonstrate it can monetise that and keep pace with the rest of the world.”

With commentary on the key issues facing the photonics and quantum technologies industry (skills, infrastructure, tech transfer and commercialisation) the report includes contributions from Australia’s Chief Scientist, Dr. Cathy Foley, as well as wide ranging perspectives from the venture capital market through to researchers, policymakers and businesses in both countries.

SPIE Senior Director, Global Business Development, Dr. Andrew Brown, says the light enabled and quantum industry is at the core of modern technology and will remain so for the foreseeable future.

“Australasia needs a functioning, healthy innovation ecosystem in place for the industry to grow and reach its full potential,” says Dr. Brown.

ANZOS Media Contact:
Anna Verboeket
Dodd Walls Communication Manager. 64-21-720-750

ANZOS and SPIE are honoured to announce the inaugural Jim Piper ECR/ MCR Entrepreneurial Researcher Prize which recognises an outstanding early career researcher for an early-stage entrepreneurial activity/ start-up in the field of optics, lasers, or photonics. The prize is named in honour of Professor Jim Piper, a distinguished and entrepreneurial laser physics researcher, and sponsored by SPIE.

Jim was very active in the Australian optics community, serving on the founding committee of the Australian Optical Society (now ANZOS), its President in 1984-1985, appointed a lifelong member of ANZOS in 2016, and was an OSA (now Optica) Fellow. He brought the International Quantum Electronics Conference to Australia for the first time in 1996. As President of Science and Technology Australia (2015-2017) he restructured the organisation’s membership to be more inclusive.

Jim was the Director of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Special Research Centre for Lasers and Applications (1988-1996) and subsequently Chief Investigator for two ARC Centres of Excellence (Centre for Ultra-high-bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems and Centre for Nanoscale Bio-Photonics).  A world-class researcher, Jim authored over 400 journal articles and hundreds of conference papers, and his research continued to flourish during his retirement.

Jim’s passion for research contributed to building the ARC policy for funding of large-scale research infrastructure and industry collaborations.  He was involved in several laser start-ups, and an inventor on more than 20 patents. His award in 2006 of a Carnegie Lectureship and an honorary D.Sc. from Heriot-Watt University in Scotland also recognised his research excellence in lasers and laser applications.

Jim mentored over 50 PhD students, many of whom established highly successful careers in research, industry, and education. In his later career Jim was Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research at Macquarie University (2003- 2013).

We will be taking applications for this prize alongside the 2024 ANZOS Awards, which are currently open. More details on the Jim Piper ECR/ MCR Entrepreneurial Researcher prize are included below and available on the prize page of our website.
 

With the 16th May fast approaching, the International Day of Light is now less than a month away.

While there are many international events registered on the IDL website we wondered what regional events our members may have organised in Australia and New Zealand. Let us know how you plan to celebrate by filling in this short form so we can advertise your event to the wider ANZOS membership

If you are involved with a student chapter, there is still time to submit an application form for financial support to help organise and host an event.

We are pleased to announce that ANZOS is now a Constituent Organisation with the Royal Society Te Apārangi of New Zealand Aotearoa.

For many years ANZOS has been a constituent organisation of Science and Technology Australia, allowing us, as a society, to advocating for science to the Australian government and represent the voice of the optics and photonics community in Australia and New Zealand. During 2023 this advocacy included participating in Science Meets Parliament, and  submissions to Australia's draft 'Science and Research Priorities' and the proposed Defence Trade Control Amendment Bill. Now that we have joined the Royal Society Te Apārangi we can similarly advocate for science and photonics in Aotearoa New Zealand.

We encourage members to assist us and get involved with ANZOS in these submissions — let us know if there is any science policy development or other matter you believe ANZOS should provide feedback on to the New Zealand Government.

Congratulations to Professor Cather Simpson!

Professor Simpson (University of Auckland) has made many groundbreaking discoveries in the field of ultrafast physics and chemistry and biomedical diagnostics which have impacted on important areas of both fundamental and applied science. Her career has always been strongly interdisciplinary, and over many years Professor Simpson has played a major role in developing and stimulating the New Zealand optics community to transfer results from basic research into applied technology. Professor Simpson is an amazing mentor as testified by the successes of her colleagues and students.

Her research has had high impact worldwide from both the fundamental science and engineering communities, she has a remarkable patent portfolio, and she is frequently invited to present her work at major science and industry events. Cather has combined her achievements in basic research with extremely effective entrepreneurship and technology transfer, and a real commitment to apply her work for societal benefit. Professor Simpson, as well as her companies have received a very large number of national and international recognitions and distinctions demonstrating the evidence of both the national and international impact of her research. service, and innovation in the field of optics in Australia and New Zealand.

Congratulations to Dr Chris Perrella!

Dr Chris Perrella's (University of Adelaide) research focuses on finding fundamental optics solutions to solve real-world challenges. Two key projects he has led that exemplify his commitment to real-world impact are the Rubidium Two-Photon Optical Clock, which out-performs the best commercially available clocks of similar size, weight, and power, and high-performance quantum magnetometers. He mentored several Ph.D. students and early-career researchers, is champion for inclusion and diversity, and organised multiple public outreach events. Chris raised more than $5M in research funding and was awarded the 2023 South Australian Tall Poppy Award.

Congratulations to Dr Sarah Scholten!

Dr Sarah Scholten (University of Adelaide) has led the BreathELISA project, Breath analysis for detection of disease, and developed a dual-colour two-photon Rb clock. She successfully transitioned both research streams into real-world applications: the terrestrial Rb clock she built operated successfully and autonomously aboard a NZ ship during the RIMPAC 2022 naval exercise in Hawaii, and a satellite compatible Rb clock is currently being ruggedised with the commercialisation partner. BreathELISA will begin clinical trials this year and has already generated media attention including news articles (IFLS, New Scientist, Science Daily), radio & TV interviews and invited talks at the MASCC, AIP, and ATMOP conferences, along with a 3-week invited research exchange to UWA, and a research exchange invite at NIST.

Congratulations to Raymond Harrison!

The ANZOS Postgraduate Student Prize was awarded to Raymond Harrison (University of Queensland) for his outstanding contribution in addressing a limitation of light-matter interaction in the realm of cavity optomechanics.  This contribution allowed him to increase the effective applied force by up to eight orders of magnitude and enabling a mechanical lasing threshold three orders of magnitude lower than previously reported in the literature.

Congratulations to The Rubidium Clock Team!

The ANZOS John Love Award was awarded to the Rubidium Clock team (University of Adelaide) for the advancement of photonics within a University environment with the subsequent commencement of a company to develop and promulgate the technology.  This  risk-taking pathway employs Australians (and New Zealanders), keeps researchers contributing to our national accounts and fits with the high technology manufacturing push mandatory for the development of our economy.