Transcript
[Music plays and an image appears of a Malcolm McIntosh Prize Physical Scientist of the Year medallion above text: Professor Yuerui (Larry) Lu, PhD]
[Image changes to show a close view of Prof Yuerui Lu talking to the camera]
Prof Yuerui Lu: When I was a child, I was an eager explorer, often taking apart toys to unlock their mysteries.
[Image changes to show Yuerui seated on a stool talking to the camera, and then the image changes to show Yuerui and his colleagues working together in a lab]
Now I am leading a team of scientists working on nanoscience and nanotechnologies.
[Music plays as image changes to show Yuerui laughing, and then the image changes to show Yuerui talking to the camera, and text appears: Professor Yuerui (Larry) Lu]
I am Yuerui Lu a professor in School of Engineering at the ANU.
[Image changes to show a medium and then a close view of Yuerui talking to the camera]
My team made the first experimental discovery of interlayer exciton pairs.
[Image changes to show Yuerui and colleagues looking at diagrams on a whiteboard, and then the image changes to show a close view of Yuerui explaining something on the whiteboard]
An interlayer exciton is made by a positive charge and a negative charge sitting in two different layers.
[Image changes to show a female colleague talking, and then the image changes to show a close view of the diagram on the whiteboard]
Two interlayer excitons combine together to form an interlayer exciton pair.
[Image changes to show a medium and then a close view of Yuerui talking to the camera]
When many of these interlayer excitons come together, they can transform into a superfluid.
[Image changes to show a view looking down on cars moving fast along freeways at night]
A superfluid is like a superhighway allowing these pairs to move really fast, similar to cars on a freeway.
[Image changes to show a medium and then a close view of Yuerui talking to the camera]
We made this discovery using a unique material structure by stacking two different types of atomically thin semi-conductors.
[Image changes to show a medium view of Yuerui talking to the camera]
This is just like building an atomic Lego.
[Images move through to show researchers looking at a microscope in the lab]
This discovery paves the way for a new generation of electronic devices.
[Image changes to show a motherboard, and then the image changes to show a machine producing a motherboard]
These devices could be much faster and consume far less energy than what we have today.
[Images move through to show Yuerui and a colleague in conversation, a close view of a micro lens, a close view of a female researcher, and then Yuerui talking to the camera]
My team also made the world’s thinnest micro lens, only 1/2000th the thickness of a human hair.
[Images move through to show an object being moved under a microscope, a view of the micro lens, a laser radiation machine, and Yuerui talking to the camera]
Those can be used to make lightweight and compact optical systems. This can open up new possibilities for space exploration, medical screening, environmental monitoring and ensuring food safety.
[Image changes to show Yuerui and a colleague walking together and talking]
Teamwork and collaboration are crucial for my research.
[Images move through to show Yuerui talking with his colleagues around a microscope, a close view of one of the colleagues, and then Yuerui talking to the camera]
The diversity of scientists and disciplines in my team leads to more robust, inclusive and impactful advancements for science.
[Music plays as image changes to show a medium and then a close view of Yuerui walking along outside a building, and then the image changes to show Yuerui talking to the camera]
It's a great honour to receive the Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year.
[Image changes to show a close view of Yuerui talking to the camera, and then the image changes to show Yuerui crossing his arms and smiling at the camera]
This prize will continue to inspire me and young scientists to think big and address challenges for the future.
[Music plays and the image changes to show a Malcolm McIntosh Prize Physical Scientist of the Year medallion on the left, the Australian Government Coat of Arms at the bottom right, and text on the right: 2023 Malcolm McIntosh Prize Physical Scientist of the Year]
