Mr Gar-Wing Truong

<< Back to 2011 Australian Scholars

2011 Fulbright Postgraduate Alumni (WG Walker) and Telstra Scholar

“Improved and more reliable data for global warming research are of significant benefit to society, as they help to better understand its causes and accurately evaluate the impact of policy decisions.”

Gar-Wing Truong, a PhD candidate from the University of Western Australia (UWA) is the winner of the 2011 Fulbright Postgraduate Alumni (WG Walker) Scholarship, which is funded through donations by Fulbright Alumni and awarded to the highest ranked Scholar. He is also the winner of the prestigious 2011 Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarship in Technology and Communications sponsored by Telstra.

Gar-Wing’s research will further his PhD research in  high-sensitivity and accurate measurements of gas properties using a novel optical analysis technique based on laser spectroscopy  at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Maryland, U.S.

“These fields of fundamental physics have led to deep insights into how our universe works at the finest levels by modeling the interaction between light waves and atoms or molecules. Modern technologies like the laser and the Global Positioning system are enabled by such fundamental research,” Gar-Wing said.

With Dr Joseph Hodges at NIST, Gar-Wing will extend a technique that can measure the temperature of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) in the atmosphere with high precision. The collaboration will combine methods of measuring accurate gas pressure and abundance using the apparatus available at NIST, with temperature measurement that is currently the subject of Gar-Wing’s PhD research.

“This research is of particular significance to Australia if it is to take the lead in global warming abatement policy and research. Indeed, it is also highly relevant to the state of Western Australia, whose economy is strongly driven by oil, gas and mineral industries,” Gar-Wing said.

Gar-Wing has a BSc (physics, First Class Honours), University of Western Australia. He has won awards and prizes including the UWA Hackett Postgraduate Scholarship, Muriel and Colin Ramm Medal and Scholarship for Experimental Physics and the Digby Fitzhardinge Memorial Prize.

His other interests include science communication, photography, tennis and soccer.

The prestigious Fulbright program is the largest educational scholarship of its kind, created by U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright and the U.S. Government in 1946. Aimed at promoting mutual understanding through educational exchange, it operates between the U.S. and 155 countries. In Australia, the scholarships are funded by the Australian and U.S. Governments and corporate partners and administered by the Australian-American Fulbright Commission in Canberra.

Gar-Wing is one of 26 talented Australians to be recognised as a Fulbright Scholar in 2011. Applications for Fulbright Scholarships in 2012 open on 1 June, visit www.fulbright.com.au

Download a high resolution version of the picture above.