Year 2006

World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering in Seoul, Korea, August 27 - September 01

Australian Research Council (ARC) Federation Fellow and Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials, Professor Gordon Wallace, recently delivered a plenary lecture to the World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering in Seoul, Korea. more...

Gordon Research Conference on Corrosion-Aqueous, New Hampshire, USA, July 16- 21.

Professor Maria Forsyth was an invited discussion leader, and poster presenter at The Gordon Research Conference on Corrosion-Aqueous, at Colby-Sawyer College, New London, New Hampshire, USA, 16-21 July 2006.  The discussion was on: "Metal-oxide-polymer interfaces, coatings and corrosion inhibition" and her poster was titled: "New rare earth organophosphates for corrosion inhibition of AA2024-T3".

International Christian Medical and Dental Congress, Sydney July 2006

Professor Graeme Clarke was the keynote speaker at the International Christrian Medical and Dental Congress. Professor Clarke spoke on "Cochlear Implants".

2006 Best Student Presentation Award from the International Society for Optical Engineering

Scott McGovern, PhD student in IPRI, has been awarded the 2006 Best Student Presentation Award from the International Society for Optical Engineering. Scott presented his paper based on his PhD work at the annual Smart Materials and Structures conference held in San Diego, USA in March 2005.

International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICONN2006), Brisbane, 3-7 July 2006.

Dr Andrew Minett attended this conference. He was awarded one of the six poster prizes for his poster "Decoration of carbon nanotubes with biological entities for device applications".

ICSM, Dublin, 1-7 July 2006

The International Conference on Synthetic Metals was held in Dublin this time. This conference is held every 2 years and is host to approximately 1000-1500 delegates. The ARC centre was well represented with the following members presenting their research.

Invited talks:

• Professor Gordon Wallace: "Organic conductors and Medical Bionics : Current Status and Future Opportunities".
• Dr Jenny Pringle: " Synthesis of Conducting Polymers in Ionic Liquids".

Oral presentations:

• Dr Peter Innis: "ESR, Raman and Conductivity Studies on Fractionated poly(2-methoxy-aniline-5-sulfonic acid).
• Professor Geoffrey Spinks:"Carbon nanotube reinforcement of conducting polymers and hydrogels for high strength actuators".
• Professor Will Price: "Induction of Titanium Deposition through Nucleation with Pyrrole in an Ionic Liquid".
• Yanzhe Wu: "Inherently Conducting Polymer for Microfluidics".
• Dr Noel Clark: "Application of Polypyrrole to Flexible Substrates".

Poster presentations:

• Professor Leon Kane-Maguire: "Induction of Chirality into poly(2-methoxy-aniline-5-sulfonic acid) via binding with amino acids and peptides.
• Dr Carol Lynam: "Carbon nanotube biofibres".
• Dr Bjorn Winther-Jensen: "PEDT: A high current polymer electronic material".

10th Asian Conference on Solid State Ionics: Kandy, Sri Lanka, 12-16 June.

Professor Maria Forsyth was invited to speak at the 10th Asian Conference on Solid State Ionics (ACSSI-10),  in Kandy, Sri Lanka,but was unable to attend. 

ACES was represented by Dr Jiazeng Sun, who presented "Gel electrolytes based on lithium modified silica nano-particles", and Youssof Shekibi, who presented "The 'space charge effect' of nanosized particles in conductivity enhancement in organic ionic plastic crystals".

The 37th Nobel Mini-Symposium, 21 May 2006

Professor Graeme Clark was a Prominent Speaker at The 37th Nobel Mini-Symposium: Frontiers in Medicine. His address was on Cochlear Implants, from Bench to Bedside, The Multiple-Channel
Cochlear Implant- The Sensory Interface between the World of Sound and
Human Consciousness- the Melbourne Experience.

Professor Graeme Clark was also the keynote speaker at Hudinge Hospital Stockholm Cochlear Implants of the Future: Advances in Interfacing Sound to the Central Nervous System, 12 May 2006.

2nd Australasian Symposium on Ionic Liquids, Melbourne, 11-12 May 2006

The Monash Ionic Liquids Group and the ARC centre held the 2nd Australasian Symposium on Ionic Liquids at Clayton in May.

The plenary speakers were:

• Professor Ken Seddon, Queens University Ionic Liquid Laboratories "Ionic liquids and green chemistry"
• Professor Robin Rogers, Center for Green Manufacturing University of Alabama, "Designer Ionic Liquids enabling sustainable technologies"

ARC Centre Invited Speakers were:

• Dr Jenny Pringle: Monash University
  Synthesis of conducting polymers in Ionic  liquids
• Dr Patrick Howlett: Monash University
  Electrochemical behaviour of TFSA Ionic Liquids
• Prof Will Price: University of Wollongong
  Electrowinning of Ti from ILs.

For more information about the technical program go to...

ATS Health Technology Expo, Sydney, 27April 2006.

This exhibition was attended by Kaylene Atkinson (Business Development Officer) and Brianna Thompson (PhD student).   It provided an opportunity to showcase the centre research, along with the latest and most advanced NSW health technologies, including biopharmaceuticals, diagnostics, e-health solutions and medical devices to companies, investors, other researchers and interested parties. 

The aim for ACES was to identify synergies and collaboration opportunities with other public and private sector organisations and to get an update on the latest research activities underway in NSW in the health and medical field.

Materials Research Society 2006 Spring Meeting in San Francisco from April 17th to 19th.

Professor Gordon Wallace gave an invited talk on "Wearable Energy Conversion and Storage Systems: Novel Fibres and New Approaches" at this conference. He along with Dermot Diamond, Shirley Coyle, and Yanzhe Wu from Dublin City University, Ireland, also gave a 3 hr workshop on "Integrating Sensing Capabilities with Textiles and Fabrics".

Research Commercialisation Workshop, Maroochydore, Queensland, 29-31 March 2006.

This research commercialisation workshop was run by UniQuest. Brianna Thompson,a PhD student in IPRI, attended with 15-20 other postgraduate students from various faculties around the University of Wollongong. The aim of the workshop was to increase the student awareness of the processes and requirements of the commercialisation of research or research products, and to further understand the student IP position within the University environment. Speakers from various disciplines and backgrounds talked about the common theme of commericialisation of University Research.

A workshop was conducted as part of the forum. Students were divided into groups and each group was required to commericalise one research project. Brianna’s group chose her to pitch her PhD project of ‘ encouraging nerve cell growth towards bionic devices, such as the Bionic Ear’. Brianna won the award for the best "commercialisation pitch". Congratulations!

ACES official Opening February 16, 2006.

The CEO of the ARC, Prof Peter Hoj, officially opened the ARC centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science on Thursday 16 February. The invited guests included Mr David Campbell (NSW Minister for Regional Development), and Professor Margaret Sheil (UoW Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) who represented the Vice-Chancellor.

Coinciding with the opening, ACES hosted a series of training workshops from 13 to 15 February 2006 followed by the first international symposium on electromaterials science at the University of Wollongong; held between 15 to 17 February 2006.

ACES Training Workshop : 13-15 February 2006

ACES hosted a series of training workshops from 13 to 15 February 2006 followed by the first international symposium on electromaterials science at the University of Wollongong; held between 15 to 17 February 2006. The workshops covered topics on mechanical properties of polymers, modelling of polymer systems, and electrochemical methods. These topics provided: (i) an introduction to the mechanical behaviour of polymers and approaches to modelling materials properties and systems, with a particular focus on the nanoscale; and (ii) introduced/reinforced electrochemistry basics and advanced use of equipment to achieve characterisation of nanostructured electromaterials and optimisation of nanomaterial properties.

Presentations on the mechanical properties of polymers were made by Professor Hugh Brown (Steel Institute UoW), Dr Tan Troung (DSTO), Professor Geoff Spinks (School of Mechanical, Materials & Mechatronic Engineering UoW) and Dr Philip Whitten (IPRI, UoW). The second part moved onto mathematical and mechanical modelling of polymers and nanotubes and the software packages available to undertake these tasks. These presentations were given by Professor Jim Hill (Theoretical Mechanics, UoW), Dr Alici Guersil (School of Mechanical, Materials & Mechatronic Engineering , UoW), Dr Weihua Li (School of Mechanical, Materials & Mechatronic Engineering , UoW).

Techniques discussed for characterisation and optimisation were ESR/E-chem Raman spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Techniques and Electrochemical Mapping and Impedence Spectroscopy. Participants were also given the opportunity to hear about electrochemical surface engineering for production & characterisation of novel coatings, preparation and properties of nanoparticle composite coatings, photoelectrochemical cells and thermoelectrochemical cells.

These presentations were given by Professor Frank C. Walsh, School of Engineering Sciences, University of Southampton UK, Professor Dennis Tallman, Corrosion/Coating Research Center, North Dakota State University USA, Professor Alan Bond (Monash University), Professor Doug MacFarlane (Chemistry Monash), Ass. Prof. Chee Too (IPRI, UoW), Dr Peter Innis (IPRI, UoW) and Dr Jun Chen (IPRI, UoW).

The workshops were attended by 30 - 40 centre students and staff (approximately 23 UoW, 10 Monash and 5 international visiting students). After the workshop a briefing of centre members was held, with short updates given on new and current projects in the centre, as way of introducing newer centre staff members. This was followed by a poster session where centre staff and students were joined by collaborators attending the symposium.

ACES International Symposium : February 16-17, 2006

The Electromaterials Science Symposium, with a theme of the role and impact of nanostructure, attracted world class researchers from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and the USA. The 17 invited speakers and their presentation titles were:

• Prof Graeme Clark (Bionic Ear Institute, Melbourne, Australia), “Taking the bionic ear from bench to bedside: Interfacing sound to the human consciousness”.
• Prof Ray Baughman (NanoTech Institute, University of Texas at Dallas, USA), “Multifunctional carbon nanotube yarns and textiles for fun and profit”.
• Prof Max Lu (Nanomaterials Centre, University of Queensland, Australia), “Composite membranes of polymer and inorganic colloidal particles with high proton conductivity and low methanol permeability”.
• Prof Siegmar Roth (Synthetic Nanostructures Group, Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Germany), “Experimental cross-checks on index-identified individual single-walled carbon nanotubes”.
• Prof Philippe Poulin (CNRS Bordeaux, France), “Phase behaviour of carbon nanotube suspensions”.
• Prof Geoffrey Spinks (ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science, University of Wollongong, Australia), “Carbon nanotube reinforcement of conducting polymers and hydrogels for high strength actuators”.
• Prof Frank Walsh (Electrochemical Engineering Group, School of Engineering Sciences, University of Southampton, UK), “Protonated titanate nanotubes: synthesis, microscopy and electrochemistry”.
• Prof Danilo de Rossi (University of Pisa, Italy), “Electroactive polymer-based devices for e-textiles in biomedicine”.
• Prof Dermot Diamond (Adaptive Sensors Group, National Centre for Sensors Research, School of Chemical Sciences, Dublin City University, Ireland), “Adaptive surfaces on spiropyran molecular switches – building tailored features at the nanoscale”.
• Assoc Prof John Madden (Advanced Materials and Process Engineering Laboratory and the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of British Columbia, Canada), “Modeling transport in conducting polymer actuators and supercapacitors: the consequences and nanostructuring”.
• Prof David Officer (Nanomaterials Research Centre and the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Massey University, New Zealand), “Functional nanomaterials for energy conversion”.
• Prof Richard Kaner (Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, USA), “Processable polyaniline nanofibres for flash welding, sensors and actuators”.
• Prof Douglas MacFarlane (ARC Centre for Electromaterials Science, School of Chemistry, Monash University, Australia), “Biocompatible ionic liquids and electrolytes”.
• Prof Maria Forsyth (ARC Centre for Electromaterials Science, School of Physics and Materials Engineering, Monash University, Australia), “Control of charge transport in solid materials: from electrochemical devices to corrosion mitigation”.
• Prof Simon de Leeuw (Department of Physical Chemistry and Molecular Thermodynamics, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands), “Computer simulation of electrolytes and electrode materials”.
• Assoc Prof Justin Cooper-White (Tissue Engineering and Microfluidics Laboratory, Division of Chemical Engineering and the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, University of Queensland, Australia), “Smart scaffolds for muscle tissue engineering”.
• Prof Andrew B. Holmes (Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Australia), “Organic electronic materials: next generation semiconductors”.

In addition there were 56 poster presentations that covered topics that include the synthesis of conducting polymers, carbon nanotubes, other nanomaterials, nanofibres, and ionic liquids; and their applications in areas as diverse as solar cells, batteries, thermoelectrochemical cells, biofuel cells, actuators, sensors, and bionics.

One feature of ACES that is unusual is its commitment to providing researchers and students involved in the centre with a basic awareness of the social and ethical issues that arise from developments in nanoscience and nanotechnology. At the Symposium, philosopher Assoc Prof Susan Dodds organised an ethics workshop to encourage discussion about these ethical implications.

Using the 2005 Prime Minister's Science Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC) 2005 Nanotechnology working group report as a starting point, the workshop took the form of a hypothetical meeting of the (fictitious) "National Nanotechnology Strategy Council Subcommittee on Ethical, Social & Legal Aspects of Nanotechnology in Electromaterials Science" (ESLANES).

Key figures in the Centre took on different roles of members of the subcommittee and provided comment, reflection (and some irreverence) on issues such as the appropriate regulatory and institutional framework for assessing human and environmental safety, access to intellectual property, responsibility, community education and oversight of the developing technologies. This workshop is the first step in a series of ethics-related activities involving researchers and postgraduates of ACES. The workshop highlighted the issues and tensions between the competing demands of nanotechnology developments and social as well as ethical considerations.