Join Professor Judith Dawes when she presents, ‘Photonics: Making Light Work’ at this NSW Science & Research Breakfast Seminar.

Professor Judith Dawes is Director of MQ Photonics Research Centre at Macquarie University. Judith will show the myriad ways that photonics contributes to our society, including in communications, sensing, advanced manufacturing, defence and healthcare. Judith will discuss how:

• light carries information to our eyes as images, with relevance to areas from healthcare to security

• by using light to carry information, optical fibres form the backbone of our internet, delivering ever-increasing amounts of data 'at the speed of light'

• light carries information in free space, for example where radio and microwave communications offer insufficient bandwidth or are deemed insecure

• certain wavelengths (colours) of light can be used to detect and quantify chemicals - from cancer biomarkers to pollutants

• light delivers energy, making lasers versatile tools for surgery and dentistry.