Hailing from Austria, Alexander Fuerbach obtained his PhD degree in Photonics from Vienna University of Technology. After working on the development of an advanced ultrashort-pulsed Ti:Sapphire laser system, he made the move to Australia to return to academia. In 2005, he was awarded an Australian Postdoctoral Fellowship which allowed him to establish his own research group here at Macquarie.

He is currently Associate Professor and Higher Degree Research Director within the Department of Physics and Astronomy. You can meet Alex at the Physics in Sydney event HDR student showcase event on Monday 25 November.

When he’s not looking at lasers, you can often find Alex doing this:

Alex climbing the 280m high ‘Randy Rabbit Ridge’ in the Blue Mountains. 

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(1) In a nutshell, my job is to…
Take care of all higher-degree research students within our department, teach physics to undergraduate students in an efficient and engaging way and, if there is any time left, develop the next generation of laser sources that are set to revolutionise environmental monitoring. 

(2) The thing I find most rewarding in my role is…
To see the look of pure bliss on the face of a graduating PhD students at the end of a long and hard, but also highly rewarding journey. 

(3) This year I want to…
Climb Smegadeath, a hard multi-pitch climb in the Blue Mountains.

 

(4) The bravest thing I’ve done is…
Climb Blue Ruin, a (too) hard multi-pitch climb in the Blue Mountains. 

(5) A place that’s special to me is…
My birthplace, the city of Vienna in Austria.

(6) My mother/father always told me…
To accept what has happened in the past and to focus on the future.

(7) My guilty pleasure is…
Full cream milk and cheese.

(8) I’m scared of…
Kangaroos, when I’m riding my motorbike along a bush trail.

(9) Something I’ve never done but wanted to try is…
Heli-Skiing. Being Austrian, skiing is in my genes, but I have never had the chance to try heli-skiing.

(10) A moment I’ll always remember is…
It has to be two moments – the birth of my daughter and the birth of my son.