Noelia Martinez Rey

Dr. Noelia Martinez Rey is an Instrumentation Scientist and Research Fellow at the Advanced Instrumentation Technology Centre (AITC), part of the Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics (RSAA) at Australian National University (ANU). Her research focuses on Adaptive Optics systems for astronomy and optical communications, Astronomical Instrumentation, Space Situational Awareness, and laser technologies for satellite communications. She leads projects like the ANU Optical Communications Ground Station and contributes to major instruments such as the ULTIMATE-Subaru telescope upgrade.

Her work includes pioneering laser guide star systems for adaptive optics, optimizing free-space optical communications with atmospheric pre-compensation, and advancing quantum communication protocols. She supervises PhD students like Erin Holdorf and collaborates internationally on ESA projects like ALASCA. Her research bridges astronomical instrumentation with cutting-edge space communication technologies.

Key contributions include designing the ANU Laser Guide Star Facility at Mount Stromlo and developing plenoptic wavefront sensors for space applications. Her work addresses challenges in ground-to-space optical links and diversity in STEM, as highlighted in recent publications.

Dr. Martinez Rey’s lab (AITC) develops 3D-printed deformable mirrors and meta-surface lens arrays for next-gen AO systems. Her research is supported by grants focusing on AO for the Giant Magellan Telescope and Subaru upgrades. She actively publishes in SPIE proceedings and journals like Photonics and Optical Engineering.