The Dodd-Walls Centre for Photonic and Quantum Technologies () is a New Zealand Centre of Research Excellence, established in 2015, hosted by the University of Otago, and composed of researchers in six New Zealand universities as well as partner institutions in the US, United Kingdom, and Singapore. It does fundamental research on the quantum nature of matter, the physics and optics of light, and the manipulation of individual photons. New knowledge and applications are commercialised for industries including agritech, medicine, and civil engineering.
Origins The Dodd-Walls Centre is named after the New Zealand physicists Jack Dodd and Dan Walls. Both men were mentored by Nobel Prize winners – Roy Glauber in the case of Dan Walls, and Willis Lamb in the case of Jack Dodd – and both become highly influential in the development and growth of quantum optics, photonics and ultra-cold atoms, and physics in general in New Zealand.
Before 2015 two research centres bore those names: the Jack Dodd Centre for Quantum Technology at the University of Otago, under the directorship of Crispin Gardiner 2006–2009, Rob Ballagh 2009–2010, and David Hutchinson afterwards, and the Dan Walls Centre for Pure and Applied Optics at the University of Auckland, directed first by John Harvey and then by Cather Simpson. For seven years there was a collaboration between the two research centres called the Dodd-Walls Centre for Quantum Science, with two co-directors (the directors of each collaborating institution). This "Dodd-Walls Centre" held the first Dodd-Walls Annual Symposium in Auckland in 2007.
In 2006–2007, under the leadership of Gardiner and Harvey, a bid was made for Centre of Research Excellence (CoRE) funding for the Dodd-Walls Centre from New Zealand's Tertiary Education Commission. This bid did not succeed, but a second bid in 2013–2014 led by David Hutchinson was successful, and on 1 January 2015 the Dodd-Walls Centre for Photonic and Quantum Technologies become one of six New Zealand Centres of Research Excellence, with Hutchinson as the inaugural director. It was formally launched in February 2015 at an event at Larnach Castle by Minister for Research, Science and Innovation Steven Joyce. In October 2020 it received a further $36.75 million in funding from the Tertiary Education Commission to support its work through to 2028.
The Dodd-Walls Centre currently comprises researchers in six New Zealand universities (in addition to Otago University, the University of Auckland, Victoria University of Wellington, AUT, Massey University, and the University of Canterbury) as well as collaborations with USA, United Kingdom, and Singapore. +Directors of the Dodd-Walls CenterNameTermNotesFrédérique Vanholsbeeck2023–presentDirectorJoachim Brand2023–presentDeputy DirectorDavid Hutchinson2014–2023DirectorNeil Broderick2014–2023Deputy Director
Research The Dodd-Walls Centre has over 220 researchers and students, working in quantum optics, photonics and precision atomic physics.
Photonic sensors and imaging
Dodd-Walls Centre researchers are developing, applying and improving laser spectroscopy techniques to sense and image a variety of surfaces and systems. Experimental research is underpinned by theory and numerical modelling with an emphasis on nonlinear optics.
Frédérique Vanholsbeeck and her team in the Biophotonics Group at the University of Auckland are using optical coherence tomography (OCT) to measure neural activity, detect cancer and eye disease, image bone cartilage for early signs of osteoarthritis, and monitor cardiac activity. They are using fluorescence spectroscopy to do near real-time measurements of bacteria on food and for diagnosing gastrointestinal diseases.
Keith Gordon and his group at the University of Otago use Raman spectroscopy and vibrational spectroscopy along with computational chemistry to analyse the molecular structure, function and composition of materials. They have applied their techniques to optimise solar cells, measure microplastics in the environment, identify crystalline forms of pharmaceuticals, assess the quality and composition of foodstuffs, analyse historical artefacts and biological specimens and develop tools for medical diagnosis.
Kasper van Wijk and Jami Shepherd Johnson at the Physical Acoustics Laboratory at the University of Auckland use photoacoustic, ultrasonic, and laser-ultrasonic imaging techniques inspired by geophysical methods. Outside, targets include the Auckland volcanic field, geothermal exploration, and micro-seismicity for fluid reservoir characterisation. In the laboratory, they have measured the structure of rock and ice, the stiffness of wood, the structure of bone and arteries and the firmness of fruit.
Neil Broderick from the University of Auckland is collaborating with researchers at Victoria University of Wellington to measure vibrations and temperature in the Alpine Fault in New Zealand's South Island using an optical fibre inserted down a 900m borehole into the fault.
Cather Simpson and researchers in the Photon Factory at the University of Auckland are developing sensors to sort bull sperm for the dairy industry, measure the composition of milk and test for immunity to COVID-19. This research is the basis for spin-off companies Engender and Orbis Diagnostics.
Photonic sources and components
Researchers are developing new laser-based technologies, materials, and tools for applications in fundamental research and industry. Theoretical research and numerical modelling of nonlinear effects such as rogue waves and temporal cavity solitons underpins the development of novel technologies.
Miro Erkintalo, Stuart Murdoch and Stéphane Coen at the University of Auckland and Harald Schwefel at the University of Otago have contributed significantly towards the development of microresonator frequency combs based on small crystals used to store and transform laser light into different frequencies. Erkintalo received the New Zealand Prime Minister's 2019 MacDiarmid Emerging Scientist Prize and the 2016 Royal Society of New Zealand Hamilton Prize for his pioneering contributions towards this field.
In the Photon Factory at the University of Auckland researchers use mode-locked lasers that produce exotic ultra-short pulses of light in the femtosecond (fs) and picosecond (ps) range for applications in micro-machining, micro-fabrication and spectroscopy. University of Auckland researchers also specialise in the behaviour of light in optical fibres. The Auckland company Southern Photonics, which designs and manufactures instruments for light generation and analysis, is underpinned by this research.
Quantum fluids and gases
Other Dodd-Walls Centre research involves fundamental experimental and theoretical studies of ultra-cold quantum gases, including cold, controlled collisions and cold quantum chemistry. Quantum fluids such as Bose–Einstein condensates are configured to emulate the physics of other less accessible or controllable quantum systems. This allows for direct investigation of condensed matter and many-body phenomena whose fundamental understanding remains obscure. Niels Kjærgaard and his group have developed a novel particle collider to perform high precision atomic physics measurements. They use optical tweezers to capture and collide small clouds of ultra-cold atoms to observe the quantum dynamics of low speed collisions. Maarten Hoogerland's experiments with ultra-cold helium atoms have led to very precise measurements of the size, colour absorption and energy difference between quantum states of the helium atoms. They have also provided tests for the standard model of particle physics. Theorist Ashton Bradley has advanced understanding of quantum and classical turbulence and vortices. Theorists Blair Blakie and Danny Baillie correctly predicted the formation of stable quantum droplets of ultra-cold magnetic gases.
Cold gases are also providing a path to precision measurement. Mikkel Andersen and his group, for example, have developed a compact low-cost gravimeter based on atom interferometry.
Quantum manipulation and information Through precise observation and control of the interactions between single photons of light and single atoms, researchers are contributing to the development of quantum technologies such as quantum computers. Dodd-Walls Centre researchers, such as Howard Carmichael and the Centre's namesake Dan Walls, helped to lay theoretical foundations for modern quantum optics and quantum technology. Carmichael's quantum trajectory theory (QTT), a form of the quantum jump method, gives a way to predict how individual quantum objects behave when they are observed. In a recent collaboration with Yale University, Carmichael used QTT to help reveal the fundamental nature of quantum jumps as smooth rather than instantaneous, a discovery that could help solve the error problem in quantum computing.
Much research is focused on the development of enabling technologies for quantum computers, with several researchers focused on enabling secure transport of quantum information over large distances. Theorist Scott Parkins, in collaboration with Japanese experimentalist Takao Aoki, has demonstrated an early stage quantum computing network made of optical fibres that achieves quantum entanglement over distances exceeding a metre. Experimentalist Maarten Hoogerland is working on similar optical fibre-based quantum computing systems. Harald Schwefel has developed a technique to up-convert single microwave photons into optical photons using dielectric whispering-gallery-mode resonators. This would enable the use of optical networks to transport quantum information between microwave-based quantum computers. Jevon Longdell is also developing a method for converting single microwave photons into optical photons using crystals doped with rare-earth ions. Longdell has also developed a method for storing quantum information in crystals doped with rare earth ions which provides an improved method solution for quantum computers.
Mikkel Anderson has developed a technique to reliably and consistently produce individually trapped atoms which is used to control the motion and quantum state of atoms and bring them together to form molecules in ultra-precise experiments.
Commercial activity The Dodd-Walls Centre's vision, according to director David Hutchinson, is to contribute to the development of an ecosystem of photonics-based companies that support each other and export to the world. Hutchinson envisages these companies providing jobs and stimulating New Zealand's economy and culture focusing on creating high-value products out of cheap materials. Industry Team Leader John Harvey and Industry Advisory Board Member Simon Poole co-authored a report, released in July 2020, which reviewed the photonics industries in New Zealand and Australia; the report estimates New Zealand's photonics industry to be worth NZ$1.2 billion.
The Dodd-Walls Centre has an industry development team which focuses on solving specific industry problems, creating prototype devices and developing Dodd-Walls research for commercialisation. In 2017 the Dodd-Walls Centre collaborated with the MacDiarmid Institute to run an "interface challenge," where New Zealand companies brought specific problems to scientists, academics and researchers from the two Centres of Research Excellence to help solve them. Seven New Zealand companies, including Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and Buckley Systems, took part.
Companies associated with the Dodd-Walls Centre