Dr Andrew Fleming is an Australian Research Fellow and Senior Lecturer in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. His research includes optical nanofabrication, nano-positioning control systems, high-speed scanning probe microscopy, micro-cantilever sensors, and metrological position sensors.

Dr Fleming has made extensive contributions to the dynamics, control and analysis of scanning probe microscope systems. Scanning probe microscopes (SPM) is a branch of microscopy that creates images of surfaces using a physical probe that scans a specimen. An image of the surface is obtained by mechanically moving the probe in a raster scan (rectangular pattern of image capture and reconstruction) of the specimen, line by line, and recording the probe-surface interaction as a function of position. Scanning probe microscopes allow scientists to image, characterise and even manipulate material structures at exceedingly small scales including features of atomic proportions.

His work on a new imaging pattern allowed the speed of a scanning probe microscope to be increased by more than two orders-of-magnitude without loss of image quality. The reduction of image acquisition time opens up an entirely new range of imaging possibilities where the sample is not static. Examples include the imaging of dynamic polymeric reactions and the live observation of bio-molecules and cells. The increases in speed increases also allow a probe-based fabrication technique to practically produce complex micro- and nano-structures.

Academic awards include the University of Newcastle Vice-Chancellors Award for Researcher of the Year and the IEEE Control Systems Society Outstanding Paper Award for research published in the IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology. Dr Fleming is the co-author of two books and more than 100 Journal and Conference papers. In addition to his academic outputs, Dr Fleming has track record of technology transfer and is the author or co-author of four patent applications.

His patented nano-positioning system is currently being commercialised by UK company Elektron PLC.

NBN News Innovators Series - Thursday 15 November 2012

The power of flight has always fascinated mankind, and nature does it best … just think of the birds or the bees.

As our Newcastle Innovation series continues, we meet an engineer who has set about creating a robotic flying insect.

And, it’ll be designed with global good in mind.