As inaugural Director of the ANU Energy Change Institute (now part of the Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions), and as founding Director of the ANU Grand Challenge: Zero-Carbon Energy for the Asia-Pacific, Professor Baldwin's research interests are in energy policy to inform the energy transition to a decarbonised economy.  This includes research into developing a systems level approach to the integration of renewable energy sources throughout all sectors of the economy, including the potentially dominant renewable energy export sector.  Policy development in the understanding of export prospects in the Asia-Pacific, including the creation of certification systems for hydrogen and other energy carriers, are a key research interest.

Professor Baldwin’s physics research interests lie in developing new laser technologies for precision measurement to test quantum theories of atomic and molecular structure.  This can be used to test fundamental theories such as Quantum ElectroDynamics (QED), or applied to determine how air molecules react to ultraviolet light, thereby enabling better understanding of energy balance and ozone formation in the earth’s atmosphere.  He is a pioneer in atom optics – a field which uses lasers to create new technologies for atoms which are the analogue of optical elements for light – that can be used e.g. to create nanostructures for better microchips.  Lasers can also be used to cool atoms to the lowest temperatures in the universe, at which point they behave more like waves than particles, enabling them to be used as sensitive detectors e.g. of changes in the earths gravitational field for mineral exploration. 

Professor Ken Baldwin is the inaugural Director of the ANU Energy Change Institute (now part of the Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions), and founding Director of the ANU Grand Challenge: Zero-Carbon Energy for the Asia-Pacific. 

He is a graduate of the ANU (BSc Hons 1977, MSc 1979) and Imperial College, London (PhD, DIC 1983), and of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (2021).  In 2021 he was recognised by the ANU with the Chancellor's award for Distinguished Contribution to the University.

The main focus of his current work is to help drive the energy transition, particularly for Australia’s future export industries based on renewable energy.  Professor Baldwin is a member of the ACOLA Steering Committee for the Australian Energy Transition Research Plan.

Professor Baldwin's background is in laser physics located in the Research School of Physics, where his research focuses on precision measurement in atomic physics and the quantum mechanical behaviour of ultracold atoms.

Professor Baldwin is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (FTSE), the American Physical Society (FAPS), the Optical Society of America (FOSA), The Institue of Physics UK (FInstP), and the Australian Institute of Physics (FAIP) - from which he was recognised by the 2019 Award for Outsanding Service to Physics.  He is a past-President of the Australian Optical Society, and is the first Australian to be elected to the Board of Directors of the Optical Society of America.  In 2007, Professor Baldwin was awarded the W.H. Beattie Steel Medal, the highest honour of the Australian Optical Society, and in 2010 he was awarded the Barry Inglis Medal by the National Measurement Institute for excellence in precision measurement.

Professor Baldwin is also a past-President of the Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies (FASTS).  In 2004 he won the Australian Government Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Science, for his role in initiating and championing “Science meets Parliament”.

Professor Baldwin's research projects lie in two related fields: the use of laser
techniques (in particular the generation of vacuum ultraviolet – VUV – radiation <200nm) for high resolution spectroscopy of atoms and molecules; and laser cooling to trap and manipulate metastable helium (He*) atoms for atom optics and atomic physics experiments.