Contact Details
| Organization: | Electrical and Electronic Engineering |
| Position: | DIRECTOR, MERIT |
| Email: | |
| Homepage: | www.ee.unimelb.edu.au/staff/ampa |
| Work: | +61 3 8344 5789 |
| Fax: | +61 3 8344 7412 |
| Room: | 4.4 |
| Level: | 04 |
| Building: | Electrical and Electronic Engineering |
| Campus: | Parkville |
Biography
Biography – Professor Thas A Nirmalathas
Ampalavanapillai (Thas) Nirmalathas is currently a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Melbourne, Australia. He is also the Director of Melbourne Engineering Research Institute (MERIT) which brings the entire research activity of the Melbourne School of Engineering within one institute.
Thas Nirmalathas obtained his B.E and PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Melbourne in 1993 and 1998 respectively. Between 2000 and 2004, he was the Director of Photonics Research Laboratory (Melbourne Node of Australian Photonics CRC) and also the Program Leader of Telecommunications Technologies Program. From 2004 to 2006, he was the Program Leader for the Network Technologies Research Program in NICTA. He was also the acting Lab Director of VRL in 2007. Between 2006 and 2008, He was the Research Group Manager of the Networked Systems Group of Victoria Research Laboratory (VRL) at the National ICT Australia (NICTA), a premier Australian research centre of excellence in ICT.
Thas Nirmalathas has written more than 200 technical articles and currently hold 2 active international patents. His research interests include microwave photonics, semiconductor lasers, fiber-radio systems, optical access networks, optical performance monitoring and WDM packet switched networks.
He is currently the chair of steering committees of Asia Pacific Microwave Photonics and IEEE Topical Meeting on Microwave Photonics Conference series. He is also a member of the Steering Committee for the International Conference on Optical Internet (COIN). He was also Guest Editor for Special Issue on Opto-Electronics and Communications of the IEICE Transactions in Communications. He was the General Co-Chair of 2008 IEEE Topical Meeting on Microwave Photonics/ Asia Pacific Microwave Photonics 2008. He is currently an Associate Editor of IEEE/OSA Journal of Lightwave Technology. He is a Senior Member of IEEE, a member of Optical Society of America and a Fellow of the Engineers Australia.
Research Expertise and International Linkages
Research Expertise
| Research Interest | Key Words | Country of Expertise |
|---|---|---|
| electrical and electronic engineering, communications, broadband access networks, optical networks and transmission systems | engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, optical communications and networks, photonics, microwave photonics, terahertz photonics | Australia, Japan, Singapore, United States of America |
International Linkages
| Country | Establishment | Collaboration |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | Osaka University | Research |
| Korea, Republic of | Information and Communications University | Exchange, Research |
| Singapore | Nanyang Technological University | Research, Technical Assistance/Training |
| Canada | University of Montreal | Exchange, Research |
| Japan | National Institute of Information and Communications Technology | Exchange, Research, Technical Assistance/Training |
| France | Ecole Nationale Superieure des Telecommunications de Bretagne | Exchange, Technical Assistance/Training |
Qualifications, Honours, Fellowships and Other Awards
Qualifications
| Title | Institution | Date Awarded | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor of Engineering | University of Melbourne | 20-Dec-1993 | |
| Doctor of Philosophy | University of Melbourne | 16-May-1998 |
Memberships
| Membership Type | Membership Body | Description | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member | Optical Society of America | Member, OSA | 01-Jan-2006 | |
| Senior Member | Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (USA) | SMIEEE | 05-Apr-2003 |
Fellowships
| Fellowship | Date Awarded |
|---|---|
| Fellow of the Institution of Engineers of Australia (FIEAUST) | 19-Nov-2007 |
Government Research Classifications
Research Fields, Courses and Discipline Classifications
- Optics and Opto-electronic Physics (OPTICAL PHYSICS) (240401)
- Optical Physics not elsewhere classified (OPTICAL PHYSICS) (240499)
- Other Electronic Engineering (ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING) (290903)
- Biomedical Engineering not elsewhere classified (BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING) (291599)
- Antenna Technology (COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES) (291701)
- Optical and Photonic Systems (COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES) (291702)
- Computer Communications Networks (COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES) (291704)
- Microwave and Millimetrewave Technology (COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES) (291705)
- Broadband Network Technology (COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES) (291706)
- Communications Technologies not elsewhere classified (COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES) (291799)
Socio-Economic Objective Classifications
- Combined Operations (DEFENCE) (610104)
- Integrated circuits and devices (COMPUTER HARDWARE AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT) (671201)
- Network transmission equipment (COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT) (671305)
- Communication equipment not elsewhere classified (COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT) (671399)
- Information processing services (COMPUTER SOFTWARE AND SERVICES) (700103)
- Telecommunications (COMMUNICATION SERVICES) (700302)
- Other (NON-ORIENTED RESEARCH) (780199)
Grants and Contracts
Research Grants, Contracts and Consultancies awarded to the University of Melbourne as the administering institution (since 2003) as recorded in Themis Agreements.
Grants
| Title | Role | Funding Source | Scheme | Award Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architectures & system technologies for intelligent photonic packet routers | Chief Investigator | AUST RESEARCH COUNCIL | Discovery Projects | 01/01/2003 |
| Integrated microwave-photonic subsystems for antenna remoting applications in defence and wireless communications | Chief Investigator | AUST RESEARCH COUNCIL | Discovery Projects | 01/01/2004 |
Additional Grant and Contract Information
Funding from following organisations:
- Office for Naval Research (ONR) USA
- Industry Contract with RBN, Australia
Engagement with Centres of Excellence in Australia:
Australian Photonics CRC (1998-2004)
National ICT Australia (2004-2008)
ARC Special Research Centre for Ultra-Broadband Information Networks (2004-)
Publications
Publications produced at the University of Melbourne and reported in the Annual Publications Collection and 'Research Report' since 2001. The Themis Publications module, released in November 2006, allows additional publications from previous institutions and publications from past years to be entered.