Professor Yue Gao FTSE
Space and defence laser innovator
Professor Yue Gao has developed and commercialised cutting-edge laser technologies for space and defence applications, boosting Australia’s space science and defence capabilities and facilitating a multi-billion-dollar industry on Australian shores.
Yue designed a fully automated laser system for tracking space debris smaller than 10cm to within one-metre accuracy. Although small in size, space debris of this sort poses a threat to Australian satellites used for environmental monitoring and bushfire tracking. Yue’s system is the most advanced in the world for this application.
Yue led the development and successful field-demonstrations of a high-power laser directed energy counter-drone system and an artificial star, known as sodium laser guide star, for improving the resolution of astronomical telescopes including those used to track space objects.