Role at ANSTO
Kirrily Rule is an instrument scientist co-responsible for the thermal triple-axis spectrometer, TAIPAN. After completing her PhD in 2004 from Monash University (supervisors Trevor Hicks and Shane Kennedy), Kirrily undertook a 2 year post doc at McMaster University in Canada, working in the group of Bruce Gaulin. Here she performed a number of elastic and inelastic neutron scattering experiments at NIST in the USA and at the Canadian Neutron Source in Chalk River.
She spent six years (2006 – 2012) at the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin as an instrument scientist for the cold-neutron triple-axis spectrometer FLEX. Kirrily’s research interests are focused on novel and low dimensional magnetic materials. Investigations of these materials have included triple-axis measurements and high-resolution time-of-flight methods, combined with extreme sample environments (usually dilution temperatures and high magnetic fields).
Some highlights include the study of the frustrated pyrochlore materials, Tb2Ti2O7 and Tb2Sn2O7, and the investigation of magnetic monopoles as emergent quasi-particles in the spin-ice material Dy2Ti2O7. Kirrily’s current projects are based on the investigation of low-dimensional, Spin = ½, copper oxide materials – in particular, the natural minerals azurite and linarite.
Both of these materials are quantum magnets and show intriguing magnetic behavior at low temperatures and high magnetic fields. Thorough experimental investigations of materials such as these will allow for rigorous tests of advanced theoretical models and calculations.