About the Speaker: Chris completed his PhD at the University of Sydney in 2015 and has worked as researcher there since. His research focuses on the development (design, construction, characterisation, and implementation) of cutting-edge compact optical instruments that harness the latest photonic technologies, originally for astronomical applications. More recently, Chris has been using techniques and methods developed for astronomy to tackle a broader range of problems in academia and industry, specifically in remote earth observation and agriculture.
Abstract: The Sydney Astrophotonic Instrumentation Laboratory works on projects ranging from instruments for astronomical telescopes, advanced photonic devices for manipulating light in fibre, space-based optics for remote sensing/observation and bespoke sensors for agriculture. In this talk, I will give a brief overview of some of the more exciting projects, with some extra emphasis on our space and drone programme. This will include Raman sensors for agriculture robots; lasers for selective weed control; our open-source hyperspectral imaging framework, OpenHSI; instruments being developed for the USYD 6U CubeSat CUAVA-2, scheduled for launch in mid 2023; and finally, Toliman, a 13cm space telescope to determine if Alpha Centauri star system has Earth-like exoplanets.
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