Lumen Winter 2016 - Flipbook - Page 7
Shining light
on ancient events
A
n IPAS research team is shedding
new light on the modern and
ancient worlds through its
advances in luminescence dating.
The process is being used to provide
exciting new insights into areas of great
interest such as the dating of earlier
climate change events and the human
colonisation of Australia.
“Our research is also helping
investigations into a third controversial
topic – the timing and cause of the mass
extinction of Australian megafauna,” said
Adjunct Professor Nigel Spooner.
Luminesence dating measures
radiation and energy absorption in
samples to provide the age of events
from a few months to hundreds of
millennia. It’s become a critical tool
in areas such as palaeontology,
archaeology and the earth sciences.
“The work of our lab is helping
to better understand the physics of
luminescence to provide even greater
accuracy and extend its use in other
novel applications,” Nigel said.
Support for the food and beverage sector
T
echnology developed to identify
bacteria in hospitals has been
adapted by IPAS and the Adelaide
Proteomics Centre to assist the local
brewing industry in improving quality
control practices.
Beer contaminated by spoilage
microorganisms can cost brewers
thousands of dollars for expensive recalls
and cause immeasurable damage to
brand reputation.
Dr Florian Weiland said IPAS was using
mass spectrometry profiling as a rapid and
cost-effective way of identifying spoilage
yeast and bacteria during routine testing
at various stages of beer production.
“While beer-spoilage microorganisms
are harmless to human health, they
produce off-flavours in the beer. This
technology allows smaller breweries
to conduct more extensive testing of
their products that would otherwise be
cost-prohibitive,” he said.
IPAS has been working with
Coopers Brewery to further develop
the technology and is also involved in a
separate initiative with Mismatch Brewing
Co, The Hills Cider Company, Ashton
Valley Fresh and Adelaide Hills Distillery.
Other microbrewers and smallbatch beverage companies can also
have samples tested using a fee-forservice program.
“Eventually we want to expand
the technology for the broader SA
food industry, particularly dairy and
smallgoods producers,” said Florian.
Below: Jillian Moffatt using a
luminescence reader for environmental
radiation dosimetry using glass
Our research is also
helping investigations into
a third controversial topic
– the timing and cause
of the mass extinction of
Australian megafauna.
The University of Adelaide | Alumni Magazine 5
