Dr Christopher Perrella’s research uses light to make high-precision measurements of time and space and provide insight into the health of individual cells or into a person’s health.
The absorption of light by atoms or molecules allows Chris to measure the presence of different types of gasses to monitor biological processes or human health, or to build high-precision optical clocks used in next generation GPS. Dr Perrella also uses light to manipulate small particles to investigate the health of a cell or embryo.
Chris developed the Laser Radio outreach activity (https://laserradio.wordpress.com/), to highlight the fun and excitement of science to school students, aiming to encourage more students into STEM studies. This activity allows students to learn how information can be encoded onto light (the basis of modern telecommunication technology like the NBN) by transmitting audio signals over a laser beam in an interactive hands-on activity.
Chris was awarded his PhD in 2013 at the University of Western Australia. He is currently a post-doctoral researcher at the School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide.
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