In School of Information Science and Engineering, Prof. John Canning gave an academic report named “Enhancing optical fibers and self-assembled microfibers for sensing” in late afternoon on Oct.10. Prof.Jun Chang had hosted the report ,and some of the teachers and students attended the presentation.

The report contained two parts: the first part was about the performance metrics of fiber optic sensor and devices; while the second part focused on presenting self-assembly waveguide technology. In the first part, Prof. John Canning respectively explained several important technical metrics ,which included sensitivity, signal to noise ratio,selectivity and productivity of the device, duplicability, whether the device passed the inspection,and so on. He then illustrated the respective function of these metrics and their influences on optic fiber sensors and devices. Then in the following section, Prof. John Canning got to the point that how to cool optic waveguide devices that usually run under a very high temperature(such as higher than 1900°) . Prof. John Canning had made a large number of contrast analysis in both permeation and integration and came to a conclusion that the new self-assembly waveguide technology was able to solve these problems perfectly.

At the end of the report, Prof. John Canning patiently responded to questions raised by teachers and students, the whole academic report was full of harmonious atmosphere. The audience rewarded Prof. John Canning’s wonderful speech with long and warm applause, this report was very meaningful to students’ future study and research.

      Prof. John Canning is currently an Australian Research Council (ARC) Professorial Future Fellow and Head of the interdisciplinary Photonics Laboratories (iPL) at The University of Sydney. He is also Conjoint Professor at the University of NSW and an SPIE Fellow. He was a student and founding member of the both the Optical Fibre Technology Centre (OFTC) and the Australian Photonics Cooperative Research Centre (APCRC) and has cofounded four companies as well as assisted in the formation of several others. He has been consultant for a number of companies and individuals over the years, in both commercialisation and intellectual property generation and has worked in Denmark as a Guest professor. He has over 500 peer reviewed journal and conference papers and over 30 patents, is on the organising and technical committee of key conferences in waveguide technologies and sensing (including BGPP, OFS, APOS, OFC and more) and has given numerous invited and plenary talks at these and other events. His current interests include fundamental glass science, photosensitivity, developing optical sensors for harsh environments, lab-in-a-fibre, gratings, controlling silica and stabilising silicate components, fibre amplifier and lasers, novel methods for enhancing sensitivity, surface functionalisation, and the development of self-assembled photonic materials and new devices. He is also a member of The University of Sydney’s Regional and International Committees.