Research

Imaging and computational sciences have driven discoveries in materials science, biological sciences and medicine. The School is a leader in imaging with light, x-rays and electrons. Using world-class imaging facilities in the Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy (MCEM), the New Horizons Centre and synchrotron radiation facilities in Europe, Japan, the United States, and at the Australian Synchrotron (adjacent to Monash), we are carrying out research that is positively impacting on the future prosperity and health of our nation. Our insights with x-ray phase contrast imaging of lung aeration at birth have provided better care for infants born preterm with under-developed lungs, thereby increasing survival rates. Other research, focused on imaging the airways during delivery of a treatment for Cystic Fibrosis, has improved our understanding of this genetic disorder. Researchers using the world's most advanced electron microscopes in MCEM are developing new ways of imaging and designing advanced functional materials. From atom to device and from molecule to organism, physics has a critical role to play in 21^st century technology and biology – it is central to the development of tools and insights that will enable new discoveries and for the understanding of complex systems.