Geoffrey Frew Fellow: Professor Ania Bleszynski Jayich, optics and photonics
Experimental physicist Professor Ania Bleszynski Jayich of the University of California Santa Barbara is the 2021 recipient of the Geoffrey Frew Fellowship. The fellowship is awarded to distinguished overseas scientists to participate in Australian spectroscopy conferences and visit scientific centres in Australia.
Professor Bleszynski Jayich leads the Quantum Sensing and Imaging research group at UC Santa Barbara. The group's current research includes spin-phonon coupling, magnetometry, and diamond growth and spin coherence, with applications such as quantum computing and magnetic resonance imaging.
Professor Bleszynski Jayich has made major research impacts, such as the development of a technique for magnetisation measurements of condensed matter systems using ultrasensitive micromechanical detectors. Prior to her physics career, she held a No. 1 singles tennis ranking in the United States for athletes 18-and-under.
The Australian and New Zealand Optical Society generously matches the Academy's funding support to this Fellowship.
Selby Fellow: Professor Matthias Wessling, chemical engineering and sustainability
Professor Matthias Wessling of RWTH Aachen University has been awarded the Academy's 2021 Selby Fellowship. The fellowship is awarded to distinguished overseas scientists to conduct public lectures and visit scientific centres in Australia.
Professor Wessling is one of the world's leading researchers in the field of membrane technology and is the coordinator of all energy transition programs at RWTH Aachen. His research focuses on technologies that enable the transition to zero emissions in energy and industry. Applications of his research include resource recovery and recycling, energy storage, water treatment and medical engineering.
Having given numerous international lectures on 'big picture' topics such as sustainability, Professor Wessling's Australian visit will further stimulate discussion among the community, industry, researchers and politicians.
"I am honoured and ready to go," said Professor Wessling. "The topics and challenges we have ahead of us need communication beyond national interests and borders."
The Selby Fellowship fosters the international exchange of scientific ideas and is financed through the generosity of the trustees of the Selby Scientific Foundation.
