Research into nuclear physics is sometimes not what one might expect. This 1966 photograph shows the Synchrotron Group at the University of Western Australia
cleaning up after an aborted attempt to transfer several tons of molten paraffin wax into four-gallon cans
before it solidified. The wax was to be used as a shield against
neutrons.
About me
Over a career spanning almost forty years, Ross Barrett (now retired) has held full-time research
positions at the university of Western Australia, University of Frankfurt, Melbourne University,
the Australian National University, and also the former Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO)
in Adelaide.
He has published over 60 research papers (including 2 review papers in Reviews of Modern Physics)
in the fields of experimental nuclear physics, theoretical nuclear physics, atomic physics, signal processing,
and underwater acoustics. As a Senior Principal Research Scientist at DSTO, he was responsible for the
leadership of a Branch of 50 scientific, professional and technical staff carrying out research in
the area of sonar to support the Royal Australian Navy. He was Australian National Leader in Sonar
Technology and Processing for 8 years at the Technical Cooperation Program, an international
defence forum, which meets annually in the U.S., Canada, U.K., N.Z. and Australia.
In another
area of endeavour, he has written plays for the stage, seven of which have been produced in professional
partnerships in Adelaide, two novels which are available on Amazon, and two
popular science books which are published by Springer.