New research centre to bring world’s best measuring device out of the lab
An ultra-precise measuring device facility will be developed to enable high-speed internet, better medical screening technologies, and carbon emissions monitoring.
RMIT University will lead a consortium of universities and industry partners in the new $72 million ARC Centre of Excellence in Optical Microcombs for Breakthrough Science (COMBS), announced today by the Australian Research Council.’
They plan to bring optical frequency comb technology—which translates electronic signals into light waves for precision measurement—out of the lab and into a wide range of practical applications.
Centre Director, RMIT Distinguished Professor Arnan Mitchell, says it was a major milestone in the growing momentum of optical frequency comb technology.
“A photonic chip industry has finally emerged and the unique technology it produces will transform many fields of science,”
“After so much hard work by so many people, the stars are finally aligning.” says Mitchell
COMBS includes experts from 23 global partner organisations (The Garvan Institute, Advanced Navigation, and the National Measurement Institute, among others) as well as experts from eight Australian universities (ANU, Monash, Swinburne, UTS, UniSA, Adelaide, and Sydney).
Mitchell says the team spanning various career stages and disciplines had strength in diversity and a strong conviction to lead change in the Australian research community.
Investing in the Centre will develop a workforce of trained, versatile, and diverse scientists and technologists collaborating across fundamental research and technology translation in order to produce multiple application breakthroughs.
“We are passionate about improving equity, building Australian capability, educating the next generation and translating our research so that it really does achieve global impact,” says Mitchell
According to Professor Calum Drummond, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation and Vice-President of RMIT, COMBS is perfectly aligned with RMIT’s mission to drive research with impact.
“The power of real-time information delivered by microcomb technologies is truly transformative. Microcombs will transform the way we measure everything around us, and in doing so change how we communicate, travel and live our lives,”
“The high-impact applications we will see coming out of this new centre will catapult Australian research and industry into new domains.” Drummond said.
