Dr Kristy Vernon

Biography

Research group: Plasmonic Device Group Dr. Vernon leads a medium-sized research group consisting of herself, 4 postgraduate students and 2 Honours students. Her group collaborately extensively with several groups at QUT as well as groups from CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering and Monash University. Four PhD projects are currently available in the Plasmonic Device Group. Feel free to contact Dr Vernon for more details. Main research areas

• Quantum dot coupling to plasmon waveguides
• Second Harmonic Generation from metal nanoparticles
• Plasmon-Graphene interactions
• Metal nano-ring coupling to quantum dots

1) Quantum Dot coupling to plasmon waveguides

• Finite Element Modelling of the interaction of quantum dots with various plasmon waveguides
• Fabrication and excitation of plasmon waveguides
• Coupling of quantum dot films to plasmon waveguides

2) Second Harmonic Generation from metal nanoparticles

• Developing finite difference time domain codes for modelling the nonlinear interaction of light with metallic nanostructures
• Single particle spectroscopy of nanoparticles

3) Plasmon-graphene interactions

• Finite Element Modelling of the interaction of light with metal-graphene hybrids
• Quantum computational modelling (QCM) of closely spaced metal nanoparticles
• Density Functional Theory

4) Metal nano-ring coupling to quantum dots

• Developing finite difference time domain and finite element modelling codes for modelling the interaction of quantum dots with metallic nanostructures
• Fabrication of nano-rings
• Fabrication of nano-ring - quantum dot hybrids
• Single particle spectroscopy of nanoparticles

Grants:Over $2.5M in research funding has been received since 2011. Selected grants below

• 2013-2020: Australia Solar Thermal Research iniative. Au$2.3M
• 2013-2016: AOARD: UV Nano-lights: Nonlinear quantum dot-plasmon coupling. Au$170K
• 2011-2013: ARC Discovery project: Boolean Plasmonics - the Design of Nano-optical Logic gates, Australian Research Council (ARC). Amount: Aus $375,000.

Some Awards and recognitions

• 2012 Recipient of the Vice-Chancellor’s Performance Fund Award, QUT
• 2011  Queensland Young Tall Poppy Science Award
• 2011   ARC Australian Postdoctoral Fellowship, ARC
• 2007  Fulbright Postgraduate Award, UC Berkeley

Career history

• 2014- present: Senior Lecturer, School of Chemistry, Physics and Mechanical Engineering, Queensland University of Technology
• 2011- present: ARC Postdoctoral Fellow
• 2011-2014: Lecturer, School of Chemistry, Physics and Mechanical Engineerig, QUT
• 2008-2010: OCE Postdoctoral Fellow: CSIRO, Materials Science and Engineering