poster


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.