IPAS members recognised during COMBS workshop

In mid-February, many IPAS members attended the ARC Centre of Excellence in Optical Microcombs for Breakthrough Science (COMBS) Annual Workshop, a week filled with inspiring discussions and productive collaborations.

The Centre brings together fundamental physicists, engineers, applications scientists and other end-users who could benefit from integrated optical frequency combs – the world’s most accurate ruler – spanning fields such as astronomy, internet infrastructure, seismology, AI, precision measurement and sensing. The workshop highlighted how the COMBS team, made of Chief Investigators (CIs), Associate Investigators (AIs), post-doctoral researchers, and students from across Australia and international partners, is pushing the boundaries of optical frequency combs for solving a wide range of scientific and technological challenges.

The workshop provided a valuable platform for networking, fostering new ideas, and exploring future collaborations that will accelerate the research and development of microcomb technology. It was a unique opportunity for researchers to connect, share knowledge, and discuss how optical frequency combs can be leveraged to tackle future challenges.

IPAS Members were recognised for their contributions to the event:

• Dr Lisa Haerteis (Post-Doctoral Researcher) won the Best ECR Poster Presentation 
• Gabriel Britto Monteiro (PhD Student) won the Best HDR Poster Presentation 
• Jasmyn Curry (Summer Intern with Chris Perrella) won the Best Summer Intern Poster Presentation 

Congratulations to all for their outstanding work!

With five CIs from IPAS contributing to COMBS, the team continues to push the boundaries of physics, chemistry, engineering, and applications. The research focuses on advancing precision measurement, sensing, and data communication using optical frequency combs. The collaboration within COMBS has already yielded exciting progress, and the IPAS team is looking forward to the next phase of research and innovation.

We would like to express our gratitude to the COMBS operations team for organising such a successful event. We can’t wait to put our plans into action and look forward to the next gathering!

IPAS Attendees at the COMBS Workshop:
CIs: Prof Heike Ebendorff-Heidepriem, Prof Kishan Dholakia, Prof Andre Luiten, Prof David G Lancaster, A/Prof Andy Boes

AIs: Chris Perrella, Sarah Scholten

Post-Docs and Students: Dr. Lisa Haerteis, Dr. Florian Calzavara, Pedro Sansoldo, Jasmyn Curry, Gabriel Britto Monteiro, Yuyang Xue, Milan Kizhakkayil Moncy, Laurence Deziel

With optical frequency combs—often referred to as the world’s most precise ruler—IPAS is poised to tackle future challenges in science and technology. As the research unfolds, we continue to see this technology as a solution to some of the world’s most complex problems.