Metadata
Title
Team
Category
general
UUID
661302fae4c24a1cac700de787977f7b
Source URL
https://science-sail.sydney.edu.au/team/
Parent URL
https://science-sail.sydney.edu.au/
Crawl Time
2026-03-10T04:07:07+00:00
Rendered Raw Markdown

Team

Source: https://science-sail.sydney.edu.au/team/ Parent: https://science-sail.sydney.edu.au/

Senior Staff

Sergio Leon-Saval is a Professor at the School of Physics in the University of Sydney and Associate Head School Strategic Partnerships and External Engagements. He was awarded his PhD by the University of Bath, UK, in 2006. In 2007, he joined the University of Sydney where he is now Director of the Sydney Astrophotonics Instrumentation Laboratory (SAIL), and Director of the Institute of Photonics and Optical Science (IPOS), and Associate Academic Director of the Research and Prototyping Foundry. Prof Leon-Saval has more than 16 years of experience in the research area of photonics. He has made breakthrough contributions in the field of specialty optical fibres, astrophotonics and optical instrumentation systems. He is a Fellow of Optica, and Council Member of the Australian and New Zealand Optical Society (ANZOS). He was the 2019 recipient of the ANZOS John Love Award, that recognizes innovations and technical advances in the field of optics. - #### Dr Chris Betters

The development (design, construction, characterisation, and implementation) of cutting-edge compact optical instruments that harness the latest photonic technologies, originally for astronomical applications. Using techniques and methods I developed for astronomy to tackle a broader range of problems in academia and industry, specifically in remote earth observation and agriculture. - #### Dr Barnaby Norris

Barnaby‘s research aligns with the Faculty of Science Research Strengths – Fundamental Laws of Nature, Understanding the Universe, Earth and Space Exploration and Technologies, Communication Technologies.

Postdoctoral Staff

Integrated photonics researcher and engineer, with a strong interest in optical fiber sensing, SDM and silicon photonics. Areas of specialization include ultrafast laser inscription (ULI) for 3D photonic integrated circuits and fibre based photonic lanterns for wavefront sensing and beam combination. - #### Dr Dan Dahl

Daniel Dahl is a postdoctoral researcher at SAIL. His research interests include optical fibre devices and photonic systems for telecommunications and sensing applications. - #### Dr David Sweeney

David Sweeney is a postdoctoral fellow whose research bridges astrophysics, machine learning and photonic instrumentation. Prior to joining SAIL, he was an Early Career Visiting Scientific Visitor at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and a Fulbright Scholar at the University of California, Irvine. His current research focuses on gas sensing with photonic technologies — developing compact, lightweight spectroscopic sensors capable of detecting methane and other greenhouse gases for deployment in agricultural and environmental monitoring applications. David also works on the population of compact stellar remnants in the Milky Way and applies machine learning techniques to problems in astronomical data analysis and photonic device modelling.

HDR Students

Tim Snailham completed his studies at SAIL in the field of astrophotonics. - ## Bina Rajan

Bina Rajan is an engineering professional at SAIL. - ## Akira Rodziewicz-Ryan

Akira Rodziewicz-Ryan is a technical professional staff member at Astralis-USyd, contributing to the design, assembly and testing of astronomical instrumentation. - ## Prof. Julia Bryant

Julia Bryant is a Professor at the School of Physics, University of Sydney, an ARC Future Fellow, and Director of Astralis-USyd — the University of… - ## Jin (Fiona) Wei

Jin (Fiona) Wei is a PhD student at SAIL. - ## Justin Vella

Justin Vella is a PhD student at SAIL working in astrophotonics and optical instrumentation. - ## Matt Murphy

Matt Murphy is a PhD student at SAIL. - ## Alexia Landry

Alexia Landry is a PhD student at SAIL working in the field of astrophotonics. - ## Connor Langford

Connor Langford is a PhD student at SAIL. - ## Dr Dan Dahl

Daniel Dahl is a postdoctoral researcher at SAIL. His research interests include optical fibre devices and photonic systems for telecommunications and sensing applications. - ## Dr David Sweeney

David Sweeney is a postdoctoral fellow whose research bridges astrophysics, machine learning and photonic instrumentation. Prior to joining SAIL, he was an Early Career Visiting… - ## Dr Andrew Ross-Adams

Integrated photonics researcher and engineer, with a strong interest in optical fiber sensing, SDM and silicon photonics. Areas of specialization include ultrafast laser inscription (ULI)… - ## Dr Barnaby Norris

Barnaby‘s research aligns with the Faculty of Science Research Strengths – Fundamental Laws of Nature, Understanding the Universe, Earth and Space Exploration and Technologies, Communication… - ## Matteo Colombo

Research area: Astronomical and space science, Astrophotonics Supervisors: Peter Tuthill, Chris Betters - ## Prof. Sergio Leon-Saval

Sergio Leon-Saval is a Professor at the School of Physics in the University of Sydney and Associate Head School Strategic Partnerships and External Engagements. He… - ## Teo Malendevych

Is a PhD working on Wavefront Sensing with Photonic Lanterns. - ## Dr Chris Betters

The development (design, construction, characterisation, and implementation) of cutting-edge compact optical instruments that harness the latest photonic technologies, originally for astronomical applications. Using techniques and…

Alumni

Tim Snailham completed his studies at SAIL in the field of astrophotonics.