Prof Michael Fuhrer is FLEET Director, Chief Investigator, and a Professor in the Monash University School of Physics and Astronomy
Leading materials physicist and FLEET Director Prof Michael Fuhrer has been recognised for his contributions to science, elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.
Professor Fuhrer is one of 20 researchers elected as Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, announced today.
Prof Michael Fuhrer is an international leader in study of the electronic properties of 2D and one-dimensional materials, and has made pioneering measurements to understand how disorder and electron-phonon scattering limit electronic conduction in carbon nanotubes, graphene, and the surface state of topological insulators. He also demonstrated the first nanotube single-electron memory, and developed fast, sensitive graphene terahertz detectors.
“It’s an honour to be inducted as a Fellow,” said Prof Fuhrer. “It is a long road from basic research on how electrons behave in nanomaterials to improved technologies, and it is heartening to see the impact of this research recognized by the Academy.”
Michael Fuhrer has been a leader in organising Australia’s electronic materials research community, including directing the ARC Centre of Excellence in Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies (FLEET) since the beginning of the Centre in 2017, and organising the workshop Future Electronics Materials Research in Australia (FEMRA).
FLEET’s is developing ultra-low energy electronics based on novel physics including topological materials and exciton superfluids, which can occur in materials just a few atoms thick. More-efficient, low-energy electronics technologies and devices are critical to a sustainable future of computing and communication, which will otherwise be limited by available energy in the coming decades.
At FLEET Michael oversees research strategy as well as driving the Centre’s efforts in equity, addressing the lack of diversity in physics, and training, preparing Australia’s future science leaders.
President of the Australian Academy of Science Professor Chennupati Jagadish AC has congratulated the new Fellows on their contributions to science. “Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science are among the nation’s most distinguished scientists, elected by their peers for ground-breaking research and contributions that have had clear impact,” Professor Jagadish said.
Michael’s is the fourth Academy of Science Fellowship in FLEET, following Jo Etheridge (Monash) and Catherine Stampfl (Sydney) in 2019 and Susan Coppersmith (UNSW) in 2021.
