Rate My Professor John Close

Professor John Close is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Quantum Science and Technology at the Australian National University (ANU), having recently retired after nearly three decades of service. He completed his BSc at ANU in 1985 and PhD in physics at the University of California, Berkeley in 1991, focusing on quantised vortices in superfluid 3He. His postdoctoral research took him to the University of Washington (1991-1994) and the Max Planck Institute für Strömungsforschung in Göttingen as an Alexander von Humboldt and Max Planck Fellow (1994-1998). Awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Fellowship in 2000, he joined ANU permanently, becoming Professor in 2008. Close served as Associate Director (Research) and previously Associate Director (Education) in the Research School of Physics (2012-2016), along with roles such as Deputy Chair of the ANU Academic Board (2015-2017) and member of the Australian Research Council College of Experts (2015-2018).

His research specializes in quantum sensors harnessing ultra-cold atoms for precision gravimetry, magnetometry, and interferometry, with applications in navigation, groundwater mapping, archaeology, and fundamental physics. Leading the Atom Laser Group, his work spans Bose-Einstein condensation, atom lasers, and collaborations across physics, chemistry, biology—including influential studies on leaf thermal properties—and industry partners for quantum technologies. Close received the 2008 Carrick Foundation Award for outstanding teaching and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Key publications include "Dual Open Atom Interferometry for Compact and Mobile Quantum Sensing" (Physical Review Letters, 2024), "A Quantum Matterwave Vortex Gyroscope" (2024), "Digital stabilization of an I/Q modulator in the carrier suppressed single-sideband mode for atom interferometry" (Applied Optics, 2024), and "Improving measurement performance via fusion of classical and quantum accelerometers" (Journal of Navigation, 2023).