A/Prof. Alex Mazzolini
Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching)
- Areas:
-
Centre for Atom Optics and Ultrafast Spectroscopy
Office of the Dean
Engineering and Science Education Research Group
Physics - Office:
- EN702D
- Phone:
- +61 3 9214 8866
- Fax:
- +61 3 9214 8264
- E-Mail:
- amazzolini@swin.edu.au
- Campus:
- Hawthorn
Swinburne University of Technology
PO Box 218
Hawthorn, Victoria, 3122
Australia
Qualifications
- B. App. Sc. (Electronics), The University of Melbourne, 1977
- Ph. D. (Physics), The University of Melbourne, 1983
Current Responsibilities
- Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching), FEIS
- Academic Leader for Physical Sciences, FEIS
- Leader, Engineering and Science Education (ESER) group, FEIS
- Leader, Applied Optics Group, Centre for Applied Optics and Ultrafast Laser Spectroscopy (CAOUS), FEIS
- Chair of the Coordination Board of the Asian Physics Education Network (ASPEN), and ASPEN National Point of Contact for Australia
- (ASPEN is a regional cooperative program supported by UNESCO)
Supervision of higher degree by research (HDR) (Current students)
| Name | Degree | Research Centre | Start year | Role | Institution | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elena Sinchenko | PhD | CAOUS | 2006 | Primary Supervisor | Swinburne | ||
| Scott Daniel | PhD | Faculty | 2010 | Primary Supervisor | Swinburne | ||
Previously Supervised higher degree by research (HDR) students
| Name | Degree | Research Centre | Status | Role | Institution | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sasani Jayawardhana | PhD | CAOUS | Completed | Primary Supervisor | Swinburne | ||
Media
-
ALOP team wins SPIE Educator Award for bringing light through hands-on training
The Active Learning in Optics and Photonics team (ALOP) has won the 2011 SPIE Educator Award in recognition of the team's achievements in bringing basic optics and photonics training to teachers in the developing world. -
Learning springs from Dr Mazzolini's box of tricks
Simple, tactile experiments are a popular way to learn physics, especially if your school happens to be in a developing country far from modern facilities
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Eleventh UNESCO Workshop on Active Learning in Optics and Photonics
ALOP Nepal 2009 was conducted successfully during July 12-16 2009. at the Kathmandu University, Nepal. The UNESCO physics education program is a five-day, hand-on workshop that aims to renew the physics skills and teaching approaches of teachers.
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Swinburne Workshop aims to impart learning strategy in science, engineering
Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak campus is working to engage its students to form their own conceptual understanding of physics and engineering by holding an active learning workshop in science and engineering.
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Active Learning project promotes science education around the world
Workshops for educators promoting an innovative method of teaching physics that uses optics and photonics as an experimental topic will be held in Zambia in September and Cameroon in December, organizers have announced.
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Quantum leap into classrooms
Two academics are spearheading the study of an emerging technology, writes Geoff Maslen.
DR ALEX Mazzolini has no doubt about the significance of the latest example of scientific magic, declaring: "Photonics is one of the most exciting e
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SPIE Cosponsors African Optical Workshops
The project aims to train secondary and university physics teachers in developing countries and better equip them to teach the optics portion of their introductory physics courses uSing active learning, hands-on techniques.
Areas of Professional Research
- Research and development of optical fibre sensors for medical and industrial applications
- Education research and development in science and engineering
Summary of Professional Scholarship
- Co-author of 2 textbooks and 25 fully-refereed journal or publications in basic science or education research
- Co-author of 39 conference proceedings publications in basic science or education research
- Recipient or co-recipient of 6 externally-competitive research grants and many other grants or funded projects in basic science or education research
- Consultancy activities (8) for projects in basic science or education research
- Coordinated and/or facilitated many international workshops on physics education
Other Professional Scholarship and Expertise
- Member of the International Advisory Board of the for the International Conference on Physics Education (ICPE 2009: Development and Innovation in Physics Education) 18-24 Oct 2009, Bangkok, Thailand
- VCAA Specialist Vetter for VCE Physics Examination, 2004, (2006-08)
- Member of the International Advisory Committee for the International Conference on Physics Education (ICPE 2007: Building Careers with Physics), 11-14 Nov 2007, Marrakech, Morocco
- Executive Secretary of ASPEN Coordination Board (1997-2007)
- Vice-Chancellor's Teaching Award (Higher Education), Swinburne University of Technology, 2006
- Member, Program Committee on Physics Education, World Conference on Physics and Sustainable Development, Durban, South Africa, 2005.
- Regional Coordinator and facilitator, UNESCO “Active Learning in Optics and Photonics: Training Physics Trainers” (ALOP) program, (2003-..)
- Member of the VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education) Physics Review Committee, VCAA (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority), 2002-3.
- Founding Member (1988-1999) and Chair (1996-7) of the Education Committee of the Australian Institute of Physics (Victorian Branch)
Selected publications
- K. Kaewkhong, A. Mazzolini, N. Emarat and K. Arayathanitkul, “Thai high-school students’ misconceptions and models about light refraction through a planar surface”, Phys. Educ., 45, (2010), pp. 97-107.
- K.W. Kho, P.R. Stoddart, M. Harris, A.P. Mazzolini, “Confocal Fluorescence Polarization Microscopy for Linear Unmixing of Spectrally Similar Labels”, Micron, 40, (2009), p.212-7.
- Two chapters on Electronics and Photonics and one chapter on Photonics (Detailed Study), “Heinemann Physics 12”, 3rd edition, R. Chapman, K. Burrows, C. Fry, D. Bail, A. Mazzolini, J. Devlin, and. H. Gersh. Heinemann Harcourt Education, Melbourne, Australia, 2008, ISBN: 9781740819381, p. 116-85 and p. 507-48.
- D.J. White, A.P. Mazzolini and P.R. Stoddart, “Fabrication of a range of SERS substrates on nanostructured multicore optical fibres”, Journal of Raman Spectroscopy, 38, (2007), p. 377-382
- “A Simple Low-Cost Demonstration of Wavelength Division Multiplexing”, A.P. Mazzolini and P.J. Cadusch, Am. J. Phys. 74., (2006), p. 419-22.
- P.R. Stoddart, J.B. Pearce, and A.P. Mazzolini, “Evanescently coupled dewpoint sensor based on a silicon waveguide ”, Sensors & Actuators A (Physical), 128, (2006), pp. 225-9.
- “Optic Fibre Bundle Contact Imaging Probe Employing a Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope”, V. Dubaj, A. Mazzolini, A. Wood and M. Harris, Journal of Microscopy, 207, (2002), p. 108-17
- Y. Liang, A.P. Mazzolini, and P.R. Stoddart, “Fibre Bragg Grating Sensor for Respiratory Monitoring”, Proc. ACOTF/AOS, 10-13 July, RMIT, Melbourne, Australia, 2006, p75-7. ISBN 0-9775657-1-8, IEEE Catalog no. 06EX1468C
- “Adapting Active Learning Approaches In Physics Education to Local Asian Environments”, O.L. Cambaliza, A.P. Mazzolini and M.C. Alarcon, “Int. Conf. Phys. Ed. in Cultural Context”, KNUE, Cheongwon, South Korea, Aug 2001; Published in “Teaching and Learning of Physics in Cultural Contexts”, Ed. Y. Park, World Scientific, New Jersey, 2004, ISBN 981-238-766-8, pp 89-97.
- “Active Learning in Optics and Photonics: Experiences in Africa”, M. Alarcon, E. Arthurs, Z. Ben Lakhdar, I. Culaba, V. Lakshminarayanan, J. Maquiling, A. Mazzolini, J. Niemela, D. Sokoloff, Proc of the Ninth International Topical Meeting on Education & Training in Optics and Photonics, Marseille, France, 24-27 October 2005, Chair: Francois Flory, Institut Fresnel, France, Proceedings of the 2005 ETOP Conference published by SPIE in 2006 in PDF format, pp. 161-163
- P.R. Stoddart, C. Davis, S. Wade and A. Mazzolini, “FigFab: Fibre Bragg Grating Fabrication and Research at Swinburne University,” Proc. 1st Pacific International Conference on Applications of Lasers and Optics, Melbourne, Australia, (Eds M. Brandt & E. Harvey), p26-31, 2004, ISBN 0-912035-76-5.