Stimulated and Quantum-enhanced Brillouin imaging

About the Project

Brillouin spectroscopy is an important technique for measuring the visco-elastic properties of biological materials, with applications to fundamental biology, tissue engineering, and drug-discovery. It has a unique advantage of being non-contact and label-free method that makes it especially suitable for in vivo and in situ imaging. Due to the low efficiency of spontaneous Brillouin scattering process, however, the acquisition time per point falls between milliseconds to tens of seconds depending on the sample transparency. This makes it challenging to acquire 3D images of biological materials making the process time-consuming and not compatible with high throughput testing. Novel approaches that can enhance the scattering efficiency, such as stimulated Brillouin scattering processes, and reduce the measurement noise, such as quantum-enhanced imaging, can serve very well in improving Brillouin imaging speed. This project will explore strategies based on stimulated Brillouin scattering in combination with quantum squeezed light to exploit both strategies in one approach and achieve significant reduction (over 10 folds) in imaging speed and measurement sensitivity.

The successful candidate will work in the state-of-the-art laboratory that hosts a Brillouin microscope and will be supported by interdisciplinary and multicultural team of researchers, led by renowned expert in Brillouin imaging A/Prof Irina Kabakova, in achieving the ambitious goal of fast Brillouin imaging. The candidate will also receive access to activities, funding and career opportunities associated with the ARC Centre of Excellence in Quantum Biotechnology, of which A/Prof Kabakova is a Chief Investigator.

Eligibility

Applicants can only be domestic student (either permanent Australian residents or New Zealand citizens). To be eligible for this applicantion, applicants must have completed a UTS recognised degree in

• MSc Research or MSc Coursework with a research thesis of at least 6 months,
• or Bachelor Honours degree with 1st Class, or 2nd Class Division 1, or division 1 honours, or an equivalent or higher qualification,
• or submitted other evidence of general and professional qualifications that demonstrates potential to pursue graduate research studies.

Selection Criteria

• Completion of the Bachelor of Science with Honours (first class), Master of Philosophy or a similar qualification degree.
• Knowledge of optical physics, specifically optical system design and microscopy, and/or knowledge of quantum methods for sensing and imaging based on non-classical states of light, entanglement and other.
• Previous experience with programming languages (Matlab/Python) and/or equipment interfacing languages (Labview).
• Solid communication and presentation skills supported by experience in writing scientific reports.

This position is with the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Quantum Biotechnology (QUBIC), which is the first nation-wide research Centre at the nexus of quantum and biotechnology globally. Qubic mission is to lead the world in applying quantum physics to biotechnology, driving fundamental understanding and applications across biomedical imaging, chemical design and clean energy. Our research program aims to develop quantum technologies that go far beyond what is possible today, from portable brain imagers to super-fast single protein sensors leading to unravelling key problems including how enzymes catalyse reactions and how higher brain function emerges from networks of neurons. The Centre will work in close partnership with industry and government. QUBIC involves five universities – The University of Queensland (UQ), the University of Melbourne (UoM), the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), the University of Wollongong (UoW) and Flinders University (FLD) – and we partner with 14 leading international universities and 12 industries.

Required

Applicants should send their CV and list of publications to contact person’s email address by the closing date. The application process is currently open and will continue to be open until all positions have been filled. We highly encourage interested candidates to apply as soon as possible. Shortlisted candidates will be advised with further details.

For further Information on application essentials please visit UTS Graduate Research applications.

Funding Notes

Stipend Value
$32,500 per year and additional funds ($7.5k) during the course of the PhD for PhD-related expenses
Duration
3.5 years