Abstract: Phase is a fundamental aspect of light responsible for such things as the twinkling of stars. The measurement of this quantity underpins many imaging techniques in biomedical research. In this talk I will introduce some new ideas on measuring phase and I will present results on their application to techniques such as x-ray imaging and optical and electron microscopy.

Resume:  Keith Nugent is a Professor of Physics at the University of Melbourne. He was Head of the School of Physics there from 1996 to 2001 and relinquished that position to take up an ARC Federation Fellowship at the beginning of 2002. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and has received numerous awards for his research. His research interests are in the fundamental aspects of waves and the use of these insights into developing new imaging methods. Some of his work has led to the formation of the new company, Iatia Ltd., which was floated on the stock exchange this year.