Prof. Ross McPhedran

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Qualifications
B. Sc. (Hons) (1968), Ph. D. (1973), Univ. Tasmania.

Current appointment
School of Physics, University of Sydney, Professor in Physics (Personal Chair), 1994-present.

Employment History
ARC Professorial Fellow (2006-2010), Reader (1987-1994), Senior Lecturer (1984-1987), University of Sydney, Research Fellow (QEII, then ARC) (1975-1984), University of Sydney, CSIRO Post-Doctoral Fellow (Universite d’Aix-Marseille III) (1973-1974)

Major Awards
Queen Elizabeth II Fellow; Fellow, Australian Institute of Physics; Fellow, Optical Society of America

Professional Association
Editorial Boards, Optica Acta (now Journal of Modern Optics), Optics Communications, Proceedings of the Royal Society A. Foundation Editor, Australian Optical Society News, Foundation Secretary, Australian Optical Society. Member, Science Syllabus Committee, NSW Board of Studies. Chair, Scientific Committee, IUTAM 99/4 (Sydney, 1999).

Expertise
Ross McPhedran is a theoretical physicist, whose early background was in the electromagnetic theory of diffraction gratings. He has subsequently become a world authority in the optical properties of composite materials, the application of multipole methods in electromagnetism and the theory of metamaterials. He has developed a range of techniques for calculating lattice sums, which are useful in constructing periodic Green’s functions. He has also worked with colleagues in the U.K. to apply multipole methods and lattice sums to problems in elastodynamics. His first paper on photonic band gap studies appeared in 1995, and since then he has worked on both photonic and phononic band gap systems, concentrating chiefly on two-dimensional systems composed of cylinders. He has also developed in collaboration with colleagues a multipole method for calculation of the modes in micrsotructured optical fibres, which has proved exceedingly accurate and capable of accurate values for their geometric loss. He has also developed multipole methods for the calculation of the Local Density of States in photonic crystals, with the aim of describing accurately emission and absorption by atoms placed within them. He is currently working on plasmonics and metamaterials. He has strong research links with colleagues in France, the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States.