Staff Members

Tracey O'Keefe +61 8 6488 2317 obeladmin@ee.uwa.edu.au Tracey grew up in Wollongong, NSW and started working at Wollongong University, in the School of Electrical, Computer and Telecommunications Engineering in 1990. Since deciding that she needed a change of lifestyle she left the eastern shores to head west - VERY WEST..... to the other side of the country. Enjoying working in a University environment, she commenced working at OBEL in January 2008. She is loving the relaxed lifestyle in Perth and does not miss the hussle and bussle of Sydney....
Dr. Sergey Alexandrov +61 8 6488 1541 sergey@ee.uwa.edu.au Sergey completed his Ph.D. at St. Petersburg State University, Russia. His principal research interests are in the development of optical methods (holographic, interference, polarization, Moire, speckle, etc.) for research and nondestructive testing of different objects, for application to diverse fields of science, medicine and industry. Now his current research activities are focussed on development of optical imaging techniques such as high resolution Fourier-holographic microscopy, spatially-resolved Fourier-holographic light scattering spectroscopy and bifocal optical coherence tomography for investigation of microstructure and optical properties of biological tissues. Publications
Dr. Robert McLaughlin +61 8 6488 3105 robertm@ee.uwa.edu.au Prior to joining OBEL, Dr Robert McLaughlin was a research scientist with Siemens Molecular Imaging in Oxford, UK. He was responsible for development of new image processing algorithms for use in oncology. He has also held a number of management positions in industry over several years, and has managed the development cycle of three commercial medical products. These include a software application currently used clinically in the USA and Europe for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Previously, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford, developing image processing algorithms for MRI and CT images for use in minimally invasive brain surgery.
Dr. Timothy Hillman +61 8 6488 7267 hillm-tr@ee.uwa.edu.au Timothy is currently working on a theoretical project describing characteristics of the returning OCT signal from turbid samples, incorporating in particular their scattering, absorption and dispersion properties. He is also actively collaborating on other research projects at OBEL, including a Fourier-holographic approach to record spatially-resolved angular light scattering spectra. His background is in Electrical & Electronic Engineering and Mathematics.
Dr. Brendan Kennedy +61 8 6488 4746 brendank@ee.uwa.edu.au Brendan completed his PhD in Dublin City University in the field of all-optical signal processing. Specifically he was concerned with exploiting the nonlinear polarization rotation effect in semiconductor optical amplifier devices, implementing techniques such as wavelength conversion and demultiplexing. Upon completion of his PhD he commenced a lecturing position in Universidad de Santiago de Chile where he continued to work with semiconductor optical amplifiers, concentrating more on implementing four-wave mixing as a means to all-optically process signals. At OBEL, he is currently working on several optical imaging technologies. In his spare time he likes to travel, socialize, listen to all types of music, play a bit of tennis, play a bit more football (both the Irish and English versions) and also study languages (Spanish and hoping to move on to Polish soon, ale jest bardzo trudne).
Bryden Quirk +61 8 6488 7253 brydenq@ee.uwa.edu.au to come
Andrea Curatolo +61 8 6488 7253 curatolo@ee.uwa.edu.au Andrea completed a Master of Science in Physics Engineering at Politecnico di Milano in the field of micro and nano technologies, with a master thesis regarding the development of a portable UV induced fluorescence and reflectance multispectral imaging system for diagnosis of wall paintings. He attended the first year of his master at the Institute of Technology (LTH) in Lund, Sweden. Upon completion of his master he has worked for a year in Italy and USA in a quite different field in a multinational company as a project engineer, designing and configuring automatic control systems for energetic and oil and gas applications. At OBEL, he is again dealing with imaging techniques, in particular anatomical optical coherence tomography (aOCT) for Hollow Organ Profiling Systems. In his spare time he likes travelling, photography, learning languages and cultures, enjoying the beach, music and sports like soccer, beachvolley and swimming.
Rodney Kirk +61 8 6488 7267 kirk@ee.uwa.edu.au
Dr. Dirk Lorenser +61 8 6488 1522 lorenser@ee.uwa.edu.au I arrived in Perth three weeks ago and I am happy to finally get settled in and start working at OBEL after all the stress associated with relocation to a new country. Originally I am from Germany (...oh no, yet another German!), but I spent the last 7 years living and working in Zurich, Switzerland.
Rajesh Pillai +61 8 6488 4746 rajesh@ee.uwa.edu.au I am from India. I did my M.Sc. degree in Physics from Cochin University of Science and Technology in my home state, Kerala. After that I moved up north to New Delhi and spent 9 months at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. Later on I did a PhD at the university of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. I spent two years in Ecole Polytechnique, France as a Post-Doctoral Fellow. Most of the research projects I have participated so far were in the field of multi-photon microscopy. This is my first time in Australia and I hope to have a nice time here at the UWA.