Profile

Qualifications:
B.Sc. (Hons), physical chemistry, University of Sydney (1983)
Ph.D. Physical Chemistry, University of Sydney (1988)

Current appointment:
Associate Professor, Department of Physics, Macquarie University

Employment history:
Senior Lecturer (Physics), Macquarie University (1995-2001);
National Research Fellow, Macquarie University (1990-91);
Post-doctoral fellow, University of Toronto (1988–90).

Major awards:
University Medal, University of Sydney (1982);
Masson Memorial Medal (Royal Australian Chemical Institute) 1983;
American Society for Lasers in Surgery and Medicine (Fellow)

Professional Association:
Member: Australian Optical Society, American Physical Society, Optical Society of America, American Society for Lasers in Surgery and Medicine.

Expertise:
Judith Dawes’s expertise is in the field of solid state lasers and the applications of lasers. She relates the fundamental spectral, nonlinear optical or polarization properties of various crystals to the laser behaviour, so as to devise novel laser designs for improved performance under higher power, wavelength-tunable or pulsed operation. Her laser applications research is multi-disciplinary, adapting her expertise in lasers to solve problems in physics, medicine, remote sensing and communications. She has collaborated productively with professionals from disciplines including physics, engineering, materials science, dentistry, surgery, cardiology and communications, and with researchers from other countries. In addition, she has gained expertise in commercial and legal issues that arise in technology transfer. Her research group’s recent research successes have been in three main areas, namely development of novel, efficient, laser crystals operating at visible wavelengths, centred on the growth and demonstration of the nonlinear laser crystal Yb:YAB. This crystal was operated in compact, microchip configurations for narrow-linewidth tunable operation, and at high power, and has been mode locked with pulse widths of less than 200 fs. Other key contributions by her group include the invention of a laser-activated protein solder for surgical tissue repair; and the first application of a novel laser source for fabrication of optical fibre Bragg gratings. In each area, the work has had a significant impact on the field. Judith Dawes has worked in the field of solid-state lasers for almost 20 years, and has particular expertise in the spectroscopic characterisation and laser optimisation of rare earth doped crystalline materials, and in her new role within CUDOS, she will extend this to microstructured materials.