2019 MU Research Achievement Award

The 2019 winner of the MU Research Achievement Award was awarded to the Terahertz Space Optics Group: Professor Anthony Murphy, Dr Creidhe O’Sullivan, Dr Neil Trappe, and Dr Marcin Gradziel.

The Space Terahertz Optics group in the Experimental Physics Department has internationally recognised expertise in millimetrewave optics, electromagnetics, instrument qualification and astronomical observation. They are core team members of a number of world leading astronomical projects including ALMA, the ESA Planck Surveyor and Herschel Space Observatory.

The research group formed by Professor Anthony Murphy currently includes 4 academic staff and 6 research students working in optical design, analysis and measurements for current international projects such as QUBIC (a Q&U Bolometric Interferometer for Cosmology) and a spectrometer instrument called SAFARI for a future satellite mission SPICA (Space Infrared telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics) for the ESA Cosmic Vision 2015- 2025 programme. As well as astronomical imaging, the group are also investigating terrestrial applications of terahertz technology through their terahertz Vector Network Analyser test facility. Each group member has been PI on individual research grants as well as collaborators on joint awards.

Over the last twenty years the space optics group has made a number of major contributions to the development novel astronomical instrumentation for the far-infrared and submillimetre wavelengths that have enabled detailed cosmological measurements and observations that were impossible only a few short years ago. Because of their particular expertise in long wavelength optical modelling the members has been key participants of the instrument development teams for a number of ground based and space based projects. This includes the European Space Agency Planck satellite (operational 2009-13) and the Herschel Space Observatory (2009- ), for both of which projects Murphy was a Co-Investigator.

In 2018 the Planck Satellite Team was awarded the prestigious Gruber Cosmology Prize at the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union. The Gruber Cosmology Prize is awarded annually to honour a leading cosmologist, astronomer, astrophysicist or scientific philosopher for theoretical, analytical, conceptual or observational discoveries leading to fundamental advances in our understanding of the universe. Professor Murphy was a named co-investigator along with 350 other international scientists on the team awarded the prize, and specifically was a coinvestigator for development of the high frequency instrument (HFI) on board the satellite.