Keith Alexander Nugent FAA (born 28 June 1959) is an Australian physicist.[1] He is Emeritus Professor of Physics at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra.
He was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) of the Australian National University (ANU) from January 2019 to January 2024.
Nugent was born in Bath, England, where his father was a chocolate chemist for Fry & Sons. The family, including Nugent’s mother and his two brothers, moved to Australia when he was 11, when his father took up a role at Red Tulip (since taken over by Cadbury) in Melbourne. The family moved again to country NSW and Nugent completed his schooling at Batlow Central School.
When he was in year 11, Nugent knew he wanted to further pursue mathematics and physics, and, since it was not available at Batlow Central School, taught himself the highest level maths so he could go on to study physics at university.
In 1989, Nugent collaborated with physicist Stephen W. Wilkins to develop a form of X-ray optics known as lobster-eye optics. Initially unknown to Wilkins and Nugent, the lobster-eye X-ray optics principle was first proposed for X-rays in the 1970s by Roger Angel. Nugent and Wilkins' key contribution was to open up an approach to manufacturing these devices using microchannel plate technology. The lobster-eye approach opened the way for X-ray telescopes with a 360 degree view of the sky. "The reason it's got such a high profile is that other X-ray telescopes see a tiny, tiny part of the sky. Although normal telescopes see a small part of the sky, X-ray telescopes see an even smaller part. The beauty (of the new telescope) is that it actually expands that field of view hundreds of times," Nugent said.[6]
A lobster-eye X-ray satellite was successfully launched on 25 July 2020 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. The lobster-eye X-ray satellite will be the world's first in-orbit space exploration satellite equipped with such imaging technology.[7]
Nugent became interested in how to measure optical phase without using interferometry. This has led to new approaches to X-ray radiography, electron and optical microscopy. He was the founding researcher of microscopy company IATIA,[8] created to commercialise the work of himself and his two former PhD students, David Paganin and Anton Barty, in quantitative phase imaging (QPI). IATIA’s QPI technology was able to extract phase and wavefront information from light and other wave-like radiations using conventional imaging technology, such as standard digital cameras, without the need for special optical components. From 2005, Nugent was a Member of the Board of Directors and Chair of IATIA’s Audit Committee. The company traded for 10 years but fell foul of the global financial crisis in 2010. IATIA was awarded the 2006 Australian Technology Showcase Patrons Award.[9]
When Nugent's wife Dr Eroia Barone-Nugent developed and instigated the Growing Tall Poppies Program (2008) to increase and sustain girls in science beyond year 10 Nugent quickly included and this program in his scientific endeavors. With a focus on supporting young Australians in science his wife Dr Eroia Barone-Nugent was pivotal in showing how science centers of excellence could work with schools and curriculum to deliver on their outreach responsibilities Growing Tall Poppies Program (GTP)[10] in 2008. The purpose of the student-scientist partnership program is to highlight the role of physics in solving real-world issues, and to help students become “tall poppies” in science. Dr Eroia Barone-Nugent, was the recipient of the 2009 Victorian State Impact Grant, Schools First Award at Santa Maria College, Northcote. Nugent together with six other universities and organisations partnered with Dr Eroia Barone-Nugent.
Nugent was appointed part-time director of the Australian Synchrotron from 2011-12. He had previously served as a member of its national scientific advisory board and its board of directors.[11]
ANU Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation)
Nugent was appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation)[15] of the Australian National University in 2019 and remained in the role until January 2024. ANU provost, Professor Mike Calford, said, "We sought to fill this critical role with a person who could continue to build the profile of ANU as a world-leading institution for research and development and one who understands the complex systems that support successful research.
"Professor Nugent has an excellent standing as an individual researcher who is capable of representing ANU at the highest level on the world stage.” [16]
Nugent met his wife Dr Eroia Barone-Nugent at the ANU in 1981. The couple have three grown-up children: two sons who live in the USA, and one daughter who lives in Australia.
