Inaugural Lecture: Professor Andy Maiden

Abstract: Traditional microscopy depends exclusively on lenses to form an image - whether using glass to focus visible light, gold nanostructures to diffract X-rays or magnetic fields to steer electrons. However, these physical optics introduce aberrations that fundamentally limit resolution, contrast and accuracy. Computational microscopy replaces optical hardware with advanced algorithmic methods that (in theory!) completely avoid aberrations and produce perfectly accurate images.

“Ptychography” (developed here in Sheffield and pronounced without the “P”) is one particular implementation of this computational approach to microscopy. In my talk, I will describe how it is fundamentally expanding what we can observe and measure. I will highlight how we are using this technique to solve practical imaging challenges across a diverse range of fields, allowing us to analyse atomic structures in advanced materials, map magnetic fields at nanoscale resolutions, and non-destructively survey living biological cells. Finally, I will discuss the future trajectory of computational imaging, exploring how ongoing algorithmic developments are driving new applications across the physical and life sciences.

Bio: Andy Maiden studied Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the Universities of Birmingham and Melbourne, before moving to Durham University to complete his PhD on the use of computer-generated holograms for lithography. After a stint as a barman in the Lake District and attempts to become an outdoor pursuits instructor, he began his long-standing collaboration with Prof. John Rodenburg as a PDRA at Sheffield, working to develop novel instruments and algorithms for optical, x-ray and electron microscopy. He went on to commercialise this work through a University spinout, before returning to academia to establish his own Research Group. Andy is now Professor of Computational Imaging in the School of EEE and a Research Fellow at the Diamond Light Source synchrotron. His current research focuses on 3D imaging of brains, semiconductors, nanomagnets and cells.