Associate ProfessorRichard Clare

Associate Professor Richard Clare is a specialist in adaptive optics, classical and physical optics, and image processing, with expertise in developing advanced optical systems that mitigate atmospheric turbulence for ground based astronomical and satellite imaging. His work enhances the performance and scientific yield of large aperture telescopes by designing, simulating, and building next generation adaptive optics technologies that deliver high precision, high stability observations under real atmospheric conditions.

Richard contributes to two major international applications:

• Optical design and performance optimisation for the European Southern Observatory’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), one of the world’s flagship next generation astronomy facilities. 
• High resolution satellite imaging and space debris detection using the telescopes at the University of Canterbury’s Mount John Observatory, supporting global space domain awareness.

He supervises postgraduate research in adaptive optics, wavefront sensing, atmospheric tomography, computational imaging, and machine learning.