QUANTUM mechanics researchers at the University of Queensland (UQ) and Britain’s University of Sussex have found a way to ‘supercharge’ the sensitivity of measuring sensors utilised in fields as diverse as mineral exploration and climate change.

Theoretical physicist Stuart Szigeti, of UQ’s School of Mathematics and Physics, said future precision sensing technology would exploit unusual effects of quantum mechanics.

“Our research showed a way to recycle atoms and reuse them in a device called an atom interferometer,” Dr Szigeti said. “This technique will vastly improve the performance of these devices, leading to improved sensing technology. 

“An atom interferometer uses the quantum ‘wave-like’ nature of atoms in order to make very precise measurements of accelerations, rotations, and gravitational fields.”

Dr Szigeti, who works within one of five nodes of the Australian Research Council Centre for Engineered Quantum Systems, said the devices would have applications on land and sea.

“They can be used in mineral exploration, allowing us to more easily locate mineral reserves underground, and in hydrology, allowing us to track the movement of water across the planet as we monitor the effects of climate change,” Dr Szigeti said.
“They’ll also be important in navigation.”
Simon Haine, from the University of Sussex, said the development of precise atom interferometers had been hampered by an effect known as quantum noise, which was uncertainty in a quantum system signal.
“Quantum noise can be combatted with a property of quantum mechanics known as ‘entanglement’,” Dr Haine said.
“Proof-of-principle experiments have recently shown how to generate entanglement within atom interferometers, and have used this to alleviate the effects of quantum noise. However, this comes at a cost, as in the process of creating entanglement, most of the atoms are wasted, which hinders the performance of these devices.
“Our project has found a way to harvest and recycle these atoms to improve the sensitivity of ultra-precise measurement devices.”
The research, involving Dr Szigeti, Dr Haine and colleague Dr Robert Lewis-Swan from UQ, has been published in Physical Review Letters.

www.uq.edu.au

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AUSTRALIAN satellites successfully launched in April will not only support Australian Defence Force capabilities but will also help to rejuvenate the nation’s space research.

The satellite systems have been developed for several different tasks by a range of Australian universities.

The main satellite, called Biarri Point, was launched from Cape Canaveral in the US and carried to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard an Orbital ATK/Cygnus OA-7 cargo craft carried into orbit by an Atlas V rocket.

Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne said the Australian satellites were part of a re-supply mission to the ISS. Biarri Point is a satellite developed by the US but as part of its payload it has GPS technology developed by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney in partnership with Defence Science and Technology (DST) Group. 

The Biarri satellite and several other small satellites developed by Australian university teams will be steadily deployed from the ISS.

“The crew of the ISS will load the Biarri satellite along with other small satellites into the launcher later to be deployed into their own orbits by early July,” Mr Pyne said. “After the satellites launch from the ISS, the Biarri satellite will be switched on and commence its mission of less than one year.”

Mr Pyne said Biarri carried a GPS technology payload developed by UNSW and was integrated into the satellite by DST to conduct a range of experiments involving Australian facilities, such as Mount Stromlo Observatory in Canberra.

“The experiments are aimed at increasing our understanding of outer atmospheric effects on small satellites and improve our situation awareness of space,” Mr Pyne said.

“The 2016 Defence White Paper highlights the importance of space-based systems for information gathering, communications, navigation and surveillance for all ADF and coalition operations.

“Advances in small low cost space platforms provide a unique opportunity to support Australian Defence Force capabilities and to rejuvenate Australian space research,” he said. 

On the same mission are the SuSAT satellite from the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia, the UNSW-ECO satellite from UNSW and INSPIRE 2 from the University of Sydney, University of New South Wales and Australian National University.

All are part of the multi-national, multi-university QB50 program, in which 27 countries are launching 50 small CubeSat units to analyse Earth’s thermosphere..

www.acser.unsw.edu.au/QB50

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THE Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce (AICC) has discovered a range of flaws in the way Australia approaches innovation – including evidence that workplaces in general are not supportive enough of innovation – on its fourth dynamic innovation index in collaboration with Sky News Business.

Named the Q1 Innovation Index 2017, AICC’s latest analysis provides crucial insights for business executives and policy makers, capturing the current perspectives of executives on the state of innovation within their organisations. 

There were four major findings of the index: workplaces are not supportive enough of innovation; consumer engagement is the key to business growth; R&D is seen as the leading driver of innovation; and most executives believe innovation will directly impact jobs in 2017.

The index focuses on changes in corporate culture, research and development (R&D), jobs and consumer engagement.

AICC CEO Michelle Blum Michelle Blum said the key indicators in this index were continually updated to reflect the evolution of the concept of innovation.

“As such, two novel indicators were added this quarter: firstly, to assess how executives expect innovation to affect employment; and secondly, what innovative changes executives are making within their companies in 2017,” Ms Blum said.

MAJOR FINDINGS

The four major findings of the index were:

• Workplaces aren’t supportive enough of innovation: “There has been a marked decline in the proportion of executives believing that their workplace environment allows innovation to flourish. Executives are also looking for more transparent structures in the workplace to support innovation.”
• Consumer engagement is key to business growth: “Executives are placing increasing importance on customer engagement as a driver of future business growth. Engagement was ranked as the largest area of future growth for businesses, and there has been a 100 percdent year-on-year increase in executives indicating that customer engagement is an area for future business growth.”
• R&D is seen as the leading driver of innovation: “Of the innovation-active companies in our survey (90%), investing in internal R&D, or seeking collaborative R&D partnerships were seen as the key ways of innovating in 2017.”
• Innovation and jobs: “(About)65 percent of executives believe that innovation will directly impact jobs in 2017. A quarter of participants think that innovation will reduce the need for some jobs, while four out of ten think that innovation will generate new jobs.”
• Ms Blum said, “In today’s disruptive climate the social imperative to innovate is stronger than ever. Key themes from this index are the importance of R&D, collaboration and a workplace environment supportive of innovation.”
• “Australia can take advantage of the progress and experiences in Israel, where embracing uncertainty, collaboration, and exploring new and dynamic ways of working, have led it to consistently be recognised as a role model for innovation.”

www.aicc.org.au'

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AUSTRALIANS with cancer will be the first to benefit from the multi-million dollar Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF) Detector launched in April at the Australian Synchrotron.

The ACRF Detector generates light a million times brighter than the sun to produce three-dimensional images of proteins, These images are studied to follow and document experiments that develop ways to neutralise particular proteins that develop cancers.

ACRF CEO, Ian Brown, said ACRF and its supporters were proud to have provided the $2 million grant that facilitated the purchase of the ACRF Detector at the Australian Synchrotron.

“The ACRF Detector is a vital, core piece of equipment for cancer and medical research in Australia, and one that will be used by cancer researchers from all institutes, hospitals and universities,” Professor Brown said.

“It shows the three-dimensional structure of proteins, which do most of the work in cells, identifying opportunities to neutralise those involved in cancer and promoting those that may protect us from cancer.” 

The Synchrotron is operated by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). Australian Synchrotron director, Andrew Peele, said the leaps that will be enabled by the new detector will more than double the facility’s capacity to collect data, leading to more targeted and effective treatments and, ultimately, improved patient outcomes.

“This new capability will take a beamline that was previously at full capacity – booked for use at all available hours of the day – and find it an extra gear, so it can deliver more research, and arm researchers with clear representations of protein structures,” Professor Peele said.

“There are a lot of questions that still need to be answered in the world of cancer research, and by partnering with ACRF and speeding up the throughput of important research, we are bringing more solutions closer than ever before.

“We’re essentially shifting from dial-up internet to high-speed broadband, putting our foot on the accelerator of cancer research technology, providing faster protein analysis to turbocharge cancer research and facilitate significant discoveries.”

Industry, Innovation and Science Minister, Arthur Sinodinos, unveiled the ACRF Detector, which he described as being “akin to a turbocharged camera, and will take images at a speed and accuracy currently not possible at any other Australian research facility”.

The detector will enable researchers, including those working in cancer, to more than double their outputs, gaining more answers at a faster rate, Senator Sinodinos said.

He said currently more than 60 percent of all the research conducted on the Synchrotron’s Micro Crystallography (MX2) beamline was dedicated to cancer research, “helping scientists to understand and develop new drug targets and refine treatments for a disease that is the leading cause of death around the globe”.

Senator Sinodinos said the new ACRF Detector wass a great example of how collaboration between research facilities, not-for-profits and government can improve outcomes for the Australian community.

“This investment in Australian research and technology has the potential to increase and quicken the rate at which research turns into practical applications for patients and the community,” Senator Sinodinos said.

“High quality research, collaboration and smart investment are needed to ensure that new research and knowledge are supported, and I am thrilled to be here today to witness exactly that, and officially reveal the ACRF detector.”

Attending the launch of the ACRF Detector with Senator Sinodinos was researcher and protein crystallographer from the University of Western Australia, Professor Charlie Bond, who had utilised the MX2 beamline for extensive protein analysis, including research into the childhood cancer neuroblastoma.

They were also joined by Lucy Jones, who is focused on driving change in survival rates through increased research into neuroblastoma, having lost her daughter Sienna to the illness in 2010.

“Losing a child to neuroblastoma has driven me to do all I can to support research in finding an effective treatment for this insidious disease and other childhood cancers, made all the more challenging due to the high cost of drug development and the rarity of most childhood cancers,” Ms Jones said.

“We must do everything we can to help researchers such as Prof. Bond, and innovative technologies such as this, to help make the whole research process more efficient by reducing costs and time to clearly benefit the research of childhood cancers and other diseases, shortening the time between lab discoveries and clinical testing of new drugs,” she said.

Neuroblastoma occurs most commonly in infants and children under five years of age. It is cancer made up of cells that are found in nerve tissues called neuroblasts, commonly found in adrenal glands and along tissues around the spinal cord in the neck, chest, abdomen and pelvis.

The ACRF Detector was made possible by a $2 million grant from the ACRF, and additional contributions from Monash University, CSIRO, La Trobe University, NZ Synchrotron Group, the University of Western Australia, the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, the University of Melbourne, the University of Queensland, the University of Sydney, the University of Wollongong, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, the University of Adelaide, Australian National University and ANSTO. 

www.anstro.gov.au

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