Ann Roberts awarded Alan Walsh Medal

Exciton Science Associate Investigator Ann Roberts has been awarded the Alan Walsh Medal for 2020 by the Australian Institute of Physics (AIP).

Professor Roberts, a member of the University of Melbourne’s School of Physics, received the award in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the fields of plasmonics, nanophotonics, and optics.

Her deep understanding of fundamental optics has enabled new advances in art conservation and attribution, particularly in collaboration with the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, and to the development of new generation banknote security features in collaboration with the Reserve Bank of Australia and Exciton Science.

Professor Roberts said: “This award is really for all of the people who have contributed to collaborations in my group looking at fascinating problems that physics can help solve.

“This includes some wonderful students, research fellows and academic and industry collaborators, and I’ve been really fortunate that my industry partners have been highly engaged in all aspects of the research.”

Professor Roberts obtained BSc and PhD degrees in physics from the University of Sydney.

After a position as a postdoctoral associate in the School of Electrical Engineering at Cornell University, she took up an academic position in the School of Physics at the University of Melbourne.

Professor Roberts has diverse research interests in physical optics and photonics. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Physics, the Optical Society (OSA), the International Society for Photonics and Optics (SPIE), and a former President of the Australian and New Zealand Optical Society.

Ann is also a Chief Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems (TMOS).

To read more about Ann’s research, visit: https://ar2020.excitonscience.com/content/Member-Profiles/Ann-Roberts.html