Ben Norton's remarkable image of an atom was runner up in the CiSRA Extreme Imaging Competition.

Credit: Griffith University

The Extreme Imaging winners from left to right: Stephen Hardy (Senior General Manager, CiSRA), Tony Barry (accepting the award on behalf of Dr. Oliver Gibbs, Ben Norton, Ariell Friedman, Andre Kyme, Hayao Ozu (Managing Director, CiSRA).

Credit: CiSRA

~Renae Soppe

Who would have thought that back when scientists discovered everything was made up of atoms, that we could one day actually see them individually. Technology is advancing at an amazing rate that can provide scientists with the images necessary for their research. We can now image everything from planets to cells and atoms.

Last Friday, I was lucky enough to attend the Canon CiSRA Extreme Imaging Awards night at the Sydney Observatory. The night rewarded the most innovative student research in imaging science. And oh my god, were they good images.

The winner of the CiSRA Extreme Imaging award went to Ariell Friedman of the Australian Centre for Field Robotics at the University of Sydney. His work involved mapping the ancient underwater city of Pavlopetri located off the coast of southern Laconia, Greece. Pavlopetri is submerged under 4 m of water and 5,000 years old, and Friedman was able to produce the first underwater city 3D digital map. With his Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, Friedman successfully made the dive from field robotic physicist to archaeologist.

The runner up prize went to Ben Norton from Griffith University’s Centre for Quantum Dynamics in Queensland for his work in obtaining the highest resolution images of an atom ever made. The atoms were imaged in an ion trap that was built from the ground up. He was able to snap a picture of a single atom only 400 billionths of a metre across.

Highly commended was awarded to Oliver Gibbs of the University of Sydney, Sydney Medical School and Department of Cardiology at Westmead Hospital for his retinal imaging. Gibbs created a device that could take an image of the retina in eye and from there they were able to determine that person’s risk of heart attack or stroke by the amount circulation in the blood vessels.

Also highly commended was Andre Kyme from the University of Sydney for his work in capturing the brain scans of a live rodent. Usually mice have to be sedated for brain imaging, which might interfere with the results of the experiment. Kyme used motion tracking to adjust for the head movements of the mouse to actually obtain an image of their brain. The video of the mouse yawning and stretching while getting its brain scanned certainly won over the audience.

I think that images are the best part of science. Images can transcend the calculations and words of science to provide an illustration. And to be able to demonstrate science on the nanoscale, images have become the focal point.

With the presentation being held at the Sydney Observatory, a perk of the night was certainly viewing Jupiter and Venus through the telescope. However, I do have to say that I am a slave to advertisement and I am currently looking to invest in a Canon camera.

But all good things must come to an end. Well not really, sadly this is my last week as a COSMOS intern but “you won’t see the last of me!”. This internship is and will always be the highlight of my university life. I have survived the city of Sydney and will hopefully arrive home in one piece – except for the piece of my heart that will always remain at the COSMOS office. From my rough calculations I have written 11 news stories, four profiles, and five blogs for online, and look out for my name in next issue and the Ultimate Science Guide!

It is time for my Soppe farewell – thank you and goodbye.