Professor Esa Jaatinen

Professor Esa Jaatinen is a physicist with specific expertise in lasers and laser safety, eye-safe stand-off Raman systems; laser-based sensing; and non-linear optics. He leads Queensland University of Technology's (QUT) Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Threat Detection capability involving a team of five researchers with expertise spanning laser physics, physics, analytical chemistry, forensic chemistry and chemical spectroscopy. The team has more than 10 years collaborative history in developing various spectroscopic sensor platforms and methodologies for detecting materials of interest to security and law enforcement agencies.

Through several collaborative research projects with Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) and National Security Science and Technology (NSST), Professor Jaatinen has developed compact field deployable Raman and other spectroscopic ‘smart’ sensors that can detect a broad range of CBRN threats through a diverse range of packaging and masking agents without requiring specialist knowledge. Professor Jaatinen is also the Director of QUT’s Graduate Research Education and Development portfolio, charged with enhancing the research, professional and communication skills of HDRs so that graduates are employer, innovation and industry-ready.