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FLEET News

Science Meets Parliament 2022

FLEET had a bumper crop of seven researchers at STA’s annual Science Meets Parliament (February 2022). Participants heard from some of Australia’s top scientists and science/technology policymakers, as well as connecting with other ECRs. FLEET’s seven ECR delegates—Yik Kheng (RMIT), Mohannad Mayyas (UNSW), Hong Liu (Monash), Krittika Kumar (UNSW), Matt Gebert (Monash), Peggy Schoenherr (UNSW) and Bernard Field (Monash)—were introduced …

Making a ‘sandwich’ out of magnets and topological insulators, potential for lossless electronics

Designer heterostructure is a potential high-temperature QAHE, where a topological material is sandwiched between two ferromagnets A Monash University-led research team has discovered that a structure comprising an ultra-thin topological insulator sandwiched between two 2D ferromagnetic insulators becomes a large-bandgap quantum anomalous Hall insulator. Such a heterostructure provides an avenue towards viable ultra-low energy future electronics, or even topological photovoltaics. …

FLEET Statement on Ukraine

FLEET is an international research institution that is committed to fostering a fair, equitable, and just environment in which to conduct research worldwide. The principles of self-determination, national sovereignty, and peaceful relations among nations are the basic foundation that supports these values. FLEET, therefore, stands in solidarity with its participating universities, the Australian government, and learned societies around the world, …

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Matthias Wurdack off to Lindau Nobel meeting

FLEET’s research fellow Matthias Wurdack has been chosen to represent Australia at the annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting this year. Matthias will be among six early-career Australian scientists attending the 71th Meeting of Nobel Laureates in Lindau, Germany, 26 June – 1 July 2022. The 71th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting will be dedicated to chemistry, expected to be attended by around …

Translating research discoveries: introducing FTP

“Inventions and new products come from combining novel and existing technologies” (Joseph Schumpter) What is ‘translation’ anyway? And what are the benefits for me / my work? Does this apply to my work? Will industry be interested in what I’m doing? (Spoiler: Yes it does! Matt Davis explains quantum weighbridges) How can FLEET help me do this? A FLEET audience …

Together we’re stronger: developing a new layered material for future electronics

A new RMIT-led study stacks two different types of 2D materials together to create a hybrid material providing enhanced properties. This hybrid material possesses valuable properties towards use in future memory and electronic devices such as TVs, computers and phones. Most significantly, the electronic properties of the new stacked structure can be controlled without the need for external strain, opening …

Reaching academic heights in Europe: catching up with FLEET alum Pavel Kolesnichenko

Ex FLEET/Swinburne PhD student Now senior postdoctoral scientist at Heidelberg University (Germany) Hello FLEETers! I am Pavel. I completed my Ph.D. at FLEET, working with Prof. Jeffrey Davis at Swinburne University of Technology (Centre for Quantum and Optical Science). Actually, if your own work at FLEET includes optical characterisation of 2D semiconductors, you might even be using something I built! …

FLEET science at the March meeting

A number of FLEET members and affiliates are attending APS March Meeting this week, online or in person. Here’s a list of talks to check out (if you have registered for the conference, catch-up links are provided on each page). Monday 14/3 Yonatan Ashlea AlavaIn situ epitaxial aluminium gates in ultra-shallow GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs heterostructures for low noise quantum point contacts Feixiang …

What’s next after graduation? UNSW careers panel

Post-grad job hunting, perfecting the resume, and how to handle pre-interview nerves An expert panel ran through issues of importance to PhD and Masters graduates at UNSW this month, answering the questions at top of mind for ECRs towards the end of study, as they prepare to start looking for graduate positions for the first time. The event was organised …

International Women’s Day bias breaker: Golrokh Akhgar

Golrokh Akhgar is a Scientific Associate Investigator with FLEET and based at Monash University. She studies the magnetic properties of materials to work out they can store energy more efficiently. Golrokh explains that she was always fascinated with mathematics growing up. “I chose this field because I enjoy solving problems and finding solutions using numbers.” Golrokh too has witnessed bias ...

A zigzag blueprint for topological electronics

A collaborative study led by the University of Wollongong confirms switching mechanism for a new, proposed generation of ultra-low energy ‘topological electronics’. Based on novel quantum topological materials, such devices would ‘switch’ a topological insulator from non-conducting (conventional electrical insulator) to a conducting (topological insulator) state, whereby electrical current could flow along its edge states without wasted dissipation of energy. …

Jesper Levinsen outstanding referee

Congratulations to FLEET’s Jesper Levinsen, whose exceptional work as referee of peer-reviewed papers has been recognised by the Outstanding Referee Awards, one of only three in Australia in 2022, by the American Physical Society (APS). The APS recognises around 150 outstanding referees each year who have demonstrated exceptional work in the assessment of manuscripts submitted to the Physical Review journals. …

International Women’s Day bias breaker: Peggy Schoenherr

Peggy Schoenherr is a FLEET Postdoctoral Fellow based at the School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales, where she studies the magnetic, electric and mechanical properties of materials at the nanoscale and how they could be used to develop efficient and low-energy electronics. Peggy found attitudes towards young girls excelling at science were very different to ...

From spectroscopy to crime fighting: FLEET alum Dr Shilpa Sanwlani

Ex FLEET/Swinburne Research Fellow, now financial crime management at ANZ Bank Applying skills learned in physics to combatting financial crime Hi FLEET, I’m Shilpa Sanwlani. At FLEET, I was Research Fellow with Prof. Jeff Davis in Swinburne University of Technology for 1.5 years (2017-2018), using coherent multi-dimensional spectroscopy (CMDS) to investigate novel Floquet states of 2D electron gas systems and …

International Women’s Day bias breaker: Patjaree Aukarasereenont

Patjaree Aukarasereenont is a FLEET PhD student at our RMIT node. Her research investigates the synthesis of novel 2D materials (materials just one to a few atoms thick) to develop low-energy logic devices used in computer chips. The RMIT research team that Patjaree is a part of strives to provide material solutions to big societal challenges such as energy, pollution ...