Join Us
We currently have a number of open research opportunities, as listed below. If you are interested or have any questions, please email Professor Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop
Summer/Winter Projects
The group frequently offers summer and winter projects as part of the UQ summer/winter research programs for UQ enrolled students. Details about the UQ summer/winter research program, including application dates, can be found on the UQ Website.
Capstone/Coursework Projects
Students may be able to get credit for working on a project with our group either as part of Physics Capstone, Fields in Physics or another eligible course. Interested students should first speak with their relevant course coordinator.
Internships/Volunteers
Students looking to gain experience using or simulating optical tweezers can volunteer with our group. If you are thinking you might like to do honours but can't decide on a project, this is a perfect opportunity to explore potential project opportunities before enrolling in honours.
Honours/Internships projects
The group is currently offering the following Honours and Internship projects:
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Multiple particle tracking
Particles interactions or behaviours tracked by cameras are only resolvable up to camera bandwidth. Unfortunately commercial systems over a few kHz are often both expensive and too slow to resolve some phenomena. The aim of this project is to track multiple micro-particles independently at very high speed with non-expensive devices. The applicant need to have a physics background with skills in programming such as Labview and Matlab.
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Bacteria trapping and study
Swimming modalities of many natural swimmers are not well understood. The aim of this project is trapping bacteria to study their swimming properties/forces depending on their environment. The applicant need to have a physics background, and should have studied optical physics. Skills in programming and biology preferred.
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Light momentum transfer
For very long time there has been interest in dev method that would allow transfer of optical angular momentum of light to nano and micro objects. The aim of this project is to perform detailed studies of the process of transfer of momentum of light to particles by measuring their behaviour in the trap. The applicant is expected to have a physics background, and should have studied optical physics/photonics. Skills in programming such as Labview and Matlab required.
The Optical Micro-manipulation Group seeks to investigate the nature and applications of lights action on microscopic particles. We study all aspects of this diverse field from biophotonics applications such as studying wall effect in cells or manipulating micro-particles in-vivo, to creating new technologies such as optically driven micro-rotors. We are also interested in forces and torques created when light and mater interact at the nano-scale and how this interaction may be exploited to do cutting edge scientific research.
We currently have the following PhD projects available. In addition to the bellow projects, we often have other project ideas. Interested students should get in contact to discus posibilities.
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Classification of bacterial behaviour in optical tweezers using machine learning
Optical tweezers are a useful tool for studying small systems such as cells and micro-organisms. One application of optical tweezers is the study of micro-organisms which is of importance for understanding reproductive processes, diseases, and nano- and micro-fluid dynamics. Understanding what is going on when a particle is trapped by optical tweezers requires classification of the particle’s behaviour, such as classification of the different swimming behaviours. Certain behaviour can be determined by looking at the position or force frequency spectrum. This process can sometimes be time consuming and may not generalise well to different types of bacteria. A further difficulty is that these models sometimes rely on a previous prediction for the particle’s behaviour. This project will involve investigating how machine learning can be used to classify these different behaviour and explore how prior assumptions affect the generality and overall usefulness of the model.
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Swimmers
Measure swimming forces of microorganisms/cells, including dependence on viscosity, nearby surfaces, nearby swimmers. Swimming forces in flow in microfluidic channels. Does the force depend on speed?
Nano-thermodynamics (theory)
Theory and simulations for Brownian motion in temperature gradients, hot/cold Brownian motion, Brownian motion in time-varying and/or microscale-spatially-varying potentials, theory and simulations of microscopic heat engines.
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Nano-thermodynamics (experiment)
Experimental measurements of Brownian motion in temperature gradients (how to make large temperature gradients without convective flow?), hot (cold?) Brownian motion. Microfabricated heat engines.Prospective students with interests in these areas are encouraged to apply. Applicants should possess an appropriate qualification for entry into the PhD training scheme, and should have prior relevant research experience.
Prospective students with interests in these areas are encouraged to apply. Applicants should possess an appropriate qualification for entry into the PhD training scheme, and should have prior relevant research experience. Eligible students may be able to apply for funding to cover the cost of their research. For full details, see the UQ graduate school.
Postdoctoral Fellowships are available through a number of external and UQ schemes, including:
UQ Fellowships
This highly competitive annual round of fellowships offers three years of salary for research scientists at levels ranging from research fellow to full professor, depending on expertise. At research fellow level, preference is generally given to applicants external to UQ. The fellowships come, additionally, with a small amount of research funding.Our laboratory has historically been successful applying into this scheme. We are happy to assist qualified applicants in preparing a suitable application, provided we are contacted well in advance. For more information, refer to the UQ Development Fellowships information page
ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Awards (DECRA)
The ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) scheme is a separate element of the Discovery Programme. The DECRA scheme will provide more focused support for researchers and create more opportunities for early-career researchers in both teaching and research, and research-only positions. It is anticipated that up to 200 three-year DECRAs, including up to $40,000 per annum in project funds, may be awarded each year. We are happy to assist qualified applicants in preparing a suitable application, provided we are contacted well in advance. For more information, refer to the UQ DECRA information page.