SCIENCE AT THE SHINE DOME canberra 2 - 4 may 2007

New Fellows Seminar

Wednesday, 2 May 2007

Professor Min Gu
Professor of Optoelectronics, Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology

Min Gu, a University Distinguished Professor, is Director of the Centre for Micro-Photonics at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne. He is also a Node Director of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Ultrahigh-bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems. He has pioneered 3D optical imaging theory for the fundamental understanding of 3D multiphoton optical microscopy. He is a sole author of two standard reference books and has over 450 publications in nanophotonics and biophotonics. He is a Past President of the International Society of Optics within Life Sciences, and a Vice President of the International Commission for Optics. He is a member of the editorial board of twelve internationally leading journals in optical science and photonics. He is an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, the Australian Institute of Physics, the Optical Society of America and the International Society for Optical Engineering.

Probe life through modern optical microscopy

Conventional optical microscopy provides an important tool to view a 2D microscopic world. The invention of two-photon or multi photon optical microscopy has revolutionised modern optical microscopy. Along with confocal optical microscopy, multi photon optical microscopy provides a powerful tool to view a 3D microscopy world which is inaccessible by conventional 2D optical microscopy. These technological breakthroughs led to major fundamental challenges in optical imaging science. How does optical diffraction affect 3D optical imaging resolution and how does multiple scattering in a turbid medium affect 3D optical image formation? The 3D optical imaging theory developed over the last 15 years has provides a physical insight into the resolving power in 3D optical imaging and as well the penetration depth of 3D optical microscopy through tissue-like turbid medium. Combining these unique features with cutting-edge fibre optics has led to the emergence of multi photon optical endoscopy for in vivo 3D localised biomedical studies, in particular, providing a revolutionary tool to study the origin of cancers.