In this episode, Dr Kirsty Short speaks to Professor Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop AO FAA. Prof Rubinsztein-Dunlop is a professor of physics at the University of Queensland and an Officer of the Order of Australia. She has led pioneering research in atom optics, biophysics and quantum physics, was one of the originators of the widely used laser enhanced ionisation spectroscopy technique and is well known for her recent work in laser micromanipulation.