About the Centre for Lasers and Applications
Macquarie University's Centre for Lasers and Applications (CLA) was established in 1988 by the Australian Research Council as a Commonwealth Special Research Centre. Following nine years (1988 - 1996) of funding under the Special Research Centres scheme, the CLA now operates as a University Research Centre, covering all of its direct costs through competitive grants and contracts, with University infrastructure meeting many of its indirect costs.
Professor Jim Piper was the Director of the CLA for 15 years (1988 - 2002), with Professor Brian Orr (the current Director) as Deputy Director. Associate Professor Judith Dawes and Dr Michael Withford are Associate Directors. The CLA currently comprises about 20 academic and general staff and approximately 25 research students at Honours, MSc and PhD level.
CLA Policy is considered regularly by the CLA Management and Strategy (CLAMS) group, which has the following membership: Associate Professor David Coutts, Associate Professor Judith Dawes, Professor Ewa Goldys, Professor Brian Orr (convener), Associate Professor Graham Town, and Dr Michael Withford.
Strategic objectives and performance measures are currently being reformulated by the CLA in preparation for its intended application to gain 'Mature Research Centre' status at Macquarie University. Moves are underway to establish a CLA Advisory Board and a CLA International Consultative Panel.
The CLA's range of interests and activities have evolved substantially over almost 20 years of existence. To learn more, you can explore this web site though the menu links on the left. Activities within the CLA focus on assorted individual research projects that are self-sustaining, supported by specific external competitive grants and contracts as well as by intra-institutional grants. The CLA also provides a supportive R&D environment for commercially oriented activities such as Laser Micromachining Solutions and Lighthouse Technologies.
The CLA has numerous highly favorable performance indicators (e.g., competitive grant successes, high-quality research publications, international and national conference participation, generation of intellectual property, commercial ventures, awards and honours from professional societies, recognition in the media, completion rates and employment status of PhD graduates, career progression of CLA staff, .). The appointment of Professor Larry Marshall as an ARC Federation Fellow, commencing in mid-2006, is a significant factor in the CLA's future strategic planning.
Macquarie University's recent initiative, establishing a Concentration of Research Excellence (CORE) in Lasers and Photonics, will also enable significant expansion of the CLA.
Please enquire if you need further information, while some of our web entries are under development.