Steven Prawer
The Melbourne Materials Institute is a multidisciplinary research initiative of the University of Melbourne dedicated to using advanced materials science and technology to address problems of global importance. Solving the materials related problems for the design and encapsulation of high density stimulation electrodes for retinal prosthesis is a flagship project of the Melbourne Materials Institute.
Professor Prawer’s prime research interests have been the exploration of the physics of materials, with a special emphasis on the manifold aspects of carbon, diamond and related materials.
He has developed the toolkit necessary for the fabrication of practical quantum devices based on diamond such as single photon sources for secure communications, room temperature read-out for spintronics, and platforms for devices that exploit entanglement in the solid state for quantum computing applications. Some of these devices have already been fabricated and are finding their way to the market.
Professor Prawer brings to the bionic eye project techniques developed for the synthesis and processing of diamond which will be used in the fabrication of all-diamond high density electrode arrays. Diamond has exceptionally good properties as a biomaterial in terms of biocompatibility, ability to manipulate electrical conductivity and ability to functionalize its surface.
From 2000-2002, Professor Prawer was the was the inaugural director of the Melbourne node of the Special Research Centre for Quantum Computer Technology, ushering in the School of Physics to the Nanotechnology revolution, and now directs a program to build a hybrid optical/solid state quantum computer based on colour centers in diamond. In 2005, together with Shane Huntington, he established Quantum Communications Victoria, which is dedicated to prototyping quantum devices based on diamond for quantum key distribution. His present passion is to progress from a fundamental understanding of the physics of diamond to the fabrication of practical quantum devices, providing a new paradigm for the way we think about and process information.
Professor Prawer has over 200 reviewed scientific publications which have attracted over 3500 citations and 4 patents and has been awarded over $20M in research and infrastructure funding His awards include appointment to the editorial board of ‘Diamond and Related Materials’, award of the Lady Davis Visiting Professorship, Australian Institute of Physics Youth Lecturer, Award of the Doctorate of Science based on published works, the David Syme Research Prize, Fulbright Senior Visiting Fellowship, and visiting fellowship of Wolfson College, Oxford. In 2008 he was awarded the Royal Society of Victoria Research medal in recognition of his seminal contribution to Australian Diamond Science and Technology.
