Research Highlights
ARC programme updates
2008
Australian TCF Technology Network Conference, Melbourne, 22 July 2008
Professor Gordon Wallace was an invited speaker at the Australian TCF Technology network conference on "Future Fibre Materials: Renaissance through Innovation". Gordon spoke about the research in IPRI on Putting Function into Fashion: Organic Conducting Polymer Fibres & Textile. The TCF network is managed by the peak representative body for the Australian textile and clothing sectors, the Council of Textile and Fashion Industries of Australia Limited, and has the backing of the Victorian Government and Victorian research and educational institutions.
The event had renowned speakers from many companies in Australia and around the world presenting their work: • Future Materials Magazine • Fiber Innovation Technologies Inc • EMPA Materials Science & Technology • The German Institute for Textile & Fibre Research • Micronisers Pty Ltd • Bruck Textiles Pty Ltd • Intelligent Polymer Research Institute • SmartLife Technologies • CSIRO Textile & Fibre Technology Division • Department of Innovation, Industry, Science & Research - Biotechnology Division • The Council of Textile and Fashion Industries of Australia.
Visit to Professor Zi-Feng Ma of Shanghai Jiao Tong University under a DEST ISL Australia-China programme, April 2008
In April 2008, Associate Professor Chee Too and Dr Jun Chen of ACES/IPRI (University of Wollongong) visited Professor Zi-Feng Ma of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) to kick off a three-year DEST ISL Australia-China project on “Nanostructured Electromaterials for Direct Alcohol Fuel Cell”.
Project milestones and exchange visits of personnel were discussed. Professor Ma also took Chee Too and Jun Chen on a tour of the facilities and the campus. SJTU is ranked 4th in China and the Chinese Government has invested RMB 3 billion on constructing the campus that provides tertiary education for over 40,000 students.
Uniquest Research Commercialisation Workshop, Brisbane 16-18th April 2008
Six PhD representatives from ACES (IPRI node), Shannon Little, Charles Mire, Satyen Desai, Alberto Javier Granero Rodriguez, Sina Naficy and Javad Foroughi, attended the Uniquest Research Commercialisation Workshop at the Novatel Twin Waters in Brisbane, 16-18th April 2008. The workshop focused on promoting the commercial opportunities arising from current research being undertaken at the University of Wollongong. Topics such as intellectual property (IP) rights as well as the process of “pitching” to prospective venture capitalists were also discussed with a significant portion of the program being aimed at “hands on” and workgroup/discussion based exercises. The workshop was a great success and provided real insight for these students into the processes required to bring promising research to the point of being a successful commercial venture.
2nd Alan MacDiarmid Symposium on Organic Conductors, Wellington, 14 April 2008
The 2nd Alan MacDiarmid Symposium was hosted by The Alan MacDiarmid Institute, Victoria University, Wellington New Zealand on the 14th April. This date was chosen to coincide with the late Alan’s birthday.
A total of 16 talks were presented by various Australian and New Zealand researches on various topics, all with an Organic Conductor theme. Eight researchers from ACES presented their work outlining research in the areas of Bionics, fibre spinning, drug delivery, graphene and polythiophene chemistry. Included in the Symposium was a session dedicated to carbon nanotube research and in particular their use in biomedical applications.
To honour the memory of Alan the nature of the Symposium was relaxed with an emphasis on fostering collaborative discussion, which was ever present at the post Symposium drinks.
ChemOnTubes Conference, Zaragoza, Spain, 6-9 April 2008
Dr. Joselito Razal presented his recent work on wet-spinning of carbon nanotube biofibers (published recently in Advanced Functional Materials 2008 18 61-66) at the ChemOnTubes Conference held in Zaragoza, Spain on April 6 to 9, 2008.
After the conference, Dr. Razal worked with Dr. Edgar Muñoz and Dr. German de la Fuente Leis at the Instituto de Carboquimica on producing new metal-carbon nanocomposites by laser ablation of organometallic compounds. International collaboration on utilising these new carbon nanostructures for catalysis applications is now underway.
Meeting with Korean Delegation from Gangwon Province, 4 April 2008
On Friday 4th April, 2008 Professor David Officer and Dr Benny Kim, from IPRI/ACES, attended a meeting between members of a Korean delegation from Gangwon Province and NSW Government officials and science and technology company members and representatives.
The main aim of the meeting was the signing of a technology collaboration agreement between Gangwon Province and NSW by Science Minister Verity Firth and Seung-Ho Han, Director of the Gangwon Technopark/Regional Innovation Agency, in order to create a technology cooperation framework within which there will be a collaborative grant program to support joint proof of concept projects between researchers and/or companies from both regions. Priority areas in this agreement will be medical devices, information and communication technologies, advanced materials and biotechnology.
Following the signing ceremony, Professor Officer presented relevant aspects of IPRI and ACES research work to members of the delegation and discussed areas of future collaboration. Dr Sang-Yeop Park, the Director of the Gangwon Technopark Ceramic Cluster Agency, was keen to arrange a visit by members of IPRI to Gangwon and this is in progress.
European trip including the 22nd International Winterschool on Electronic Properties of Novel Materials (IWEPNM), Tirol, Austria 1- 8 March, 2008.
Dr Andrew Minett travelled to Europe to present an invited talk titled ‘Modification of carbon nanotube architectures for alternative energy applications’ at IWEPNM. IWEPNM is held annually and is an important meeting of pre-eminent nanomaterial scientists. The Winterschool provides a platform for reviewing and discussing new developments in the field of electronic properties of molecular nanostructures and their applications.
After IWEP, Dr Minett then travelled to visit his research collaborators and present talks at their respective institutions. In Germany, Dr Minett visited Prof. Siegmar Roth at the Max-Planck-Institut fuer Festkoerperforschung and Sineurop Nanotech GmbH both in Stuttgart, to discuss carbon nanotube electrode formation.
In Ireland, Dr Minett spent 10 days in Dublin visiting collaborators at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), and Dublin City University (DCU). At TCD, discussion on existing collaborations with Profs. Jonathan Coleman and Werner Blau continued, and new collaborations with Assoc Prof. Georg Duesberg and Dr. Vojislav Krstic were kicked off in the area of carbon nanotube nanoparticle composites. At DCU, discussions on functionalising carbon nanotubes were carried out with Dr Carol Lynam.
Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), Singapore, March 2008
Prof. Wallace recently (March 2007) visited Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) in Singapore. The visit was hosted by Dr Alan Sellinger - a collaborator on the DEST funded linkage project - ICOS - on development of new solar cells. Prof. Wallace delivered a seminar on “Nanostructured Electromaterials from Solar Cells to Living Cells”. The development of collaborative research links with IMRE are being explored in a number of areas.
At DCU in Dublin, March 2008
Dr Scott McGovern and Prof. Gordon Wallace from IPRI/ACES recently visited Dublin City University as part of ongoing collaborative studies supported by an ARC Linkage Grant. The work involves the use of new electromaterials in the development of novel fluid movement and sensing systems. The team aims to develop an autonomous low powered mobile sensing unit.
At UCLA, March 2008
Dr Philip Whitten (IPRI/ACES) was fortunate to spend 3 days working in the laboratory of Professor Richard Kaner at UCLA. During his visit Philip continued research in collaboration with members of Richard’s group on polyaniline nano-fibres, which has already resulted in a publication in Advanced Materials. Philip is interested in the application of these nanofibres as novel actuator materials. Findings and discussions from this visit will produce further significant publications in the future on the production and application of polyaniline nanofibres. A novel method for producing coatings of polyaniline nano-fibres was also studied.
'Intelligent researchers spy smart structures', 15th Annual SPIE Smart Structures and NDE conference, San Diego, California, March 2008.
Researchers from ACES based at the Intelligent Polymer Research Institute (IPRI) had a strong representation recently at the 15th Annual SPIE Smart Structures and NDE conference. Key researchers in the field of polymer actuators were sent to San Diego, CA to wow the audience with the novel technologies that they are producing in the laboratories that are based on the controlled expansion and contraction of conducting polymers, carbon nanotubes and polymer gels.
Dr Philip Whitten gave the keynote talk on the first day of the conference, highlighting the progresses that have been made by IPRI in the respective technologies, concentrating on presenting other less traditional means for processing the novel materials that have been developed within the group.
Dr Scott McGovern presented a working demonstration of his robotic fish device (developed at the University of Wollongong) at the 10th Annual EAP-in-Action Session and Demonstrations. The device was the first known polypyrrole powered robot device, with real-time wireless control of direction and speed, and incorporated a wireless video camera allowing researchers to transmit images via ‘fish cam’. Scott also presented a talk highlighting methods for optimising the efficiency and speed of the swimming fish device later in the programme.
PhD candidate Stephen John completed the team, and presented his research highlighting the advances made within the UoW engineering department/IPRI on developing highly accurate systems in both control and calibration for the PPy trilayer actuators, when operating in both actuation and sensing modes.
The researchers enjoyed showcasing some of the most recent advances they have made in this field, and several links have been generated with other research groups to further the advancement of these technologies. A video was produced by Associate Press (AP) during the EAP-in-Action Session of the SPIE's 2008 EAPAD Conference (held on March 10) which features Dr Scott McGovern and can be viewed by clicking here.
MRS Spring Meeting in San Francisco, 25 March 2008
Prof. Gordon Wallace delivered an invited lecture to the MRS Spring Meeting in San Francisco. His talk, “Organic Conducting Polymers and Living Cells – New Platforms for Medical Bionic Devices”, was part of the Symposium AA: ‘Conjugated Organic Materials – Synthesis, Structure, Device, and Applications’ session and was one of the biggest ever symposium’s hosted by the MRS.
Nanotechnology Students win scholarships to attend ICONN 2008
The ARC Centre of Excellence Electromaterials Science (ACES)/ Intelligent Polymer Research Institute (IPRI) node, provided scholarships to four undergraduates from the Bachelor of Nanotechnology degree, University of Wollongong, to attend the International Conference of Nanotechnology and Nanoscience (ICONN2008) held in Melbourne late February. The four students, Dennis Antiohos, David Marshall, Shane Ellis and Tom Higgins were selected via a competition amongst all senior undergraduate students in Nanotechnology.
Coordinator of the Nanotechnology Degree, Prof. Will Price, said that it was a fantastic opportunity for the students to see and hear the latest research and development in this emerging area. The students also had the opportunity to attend specialist workshops and talk to industrial companies who want to employ graduates in Nanotechnology.
Prof. Gordon Wallace, director of ACES/IPRI, was glad to be able to provide this opportunity to those students as it is a great investment to inspire high quality students into careers in the forefront of technology.
>>> Read their report of the occasion.
HOPE meeting - Japan February 2008
On 24-28th February, the first HOPE Meeting was held in Tsukuba, Japan. Brianna Thompson, an ACES PhD student based at IPRI, was chosen by the Australian Research Council Nanotechnology Network and the Australian Academy of Sciences as one of five Australian students to attend the conference. The aim of the meeting was to gather high quality research students in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology from the Asia-Pacific region, and introduce them to Nobel Prize winners and other outstanding researchers in the field.
Throughout her visit, Brianna met and participated in discussion groups with Alan Heeger, Hideki Shirakawa (Nobel Prize winners for discovery of conducting polymers) and Sumio Iijima (who discovered carbon nanotubes), all fathers in the field of organic conducting materials. In addition, Brianna heard talks from Leo Esaki, Robert Laughlin and Heinrich Rohrer who are also Nobel Prize winners in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology.
Tours through the facilities at the NEC Laboratories and Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Tsukuba, as well as a demonstration of the robotic exoskeleton technology developed at Tsukuba University showcased some of the high quality research carried out in the local area.
The HOPE meeting was an excellent experience, and a wonderful opportunity to meet with other research students and enjoy tutelage from such esteemed scientists. >>more
5th annual Australasian Auditory Neuroscience Workshop (AANW)- Tasmania January 2008
David Nayagam was an invited speaker at the 5th annual Australasian Auditory Neuroscience Workshop (AANW) held at Sullivan’s Cove, Tasmania 31st January 2008. David gave his talk on the “The Tale of the VCLL (Ventral Complex of the Lateral Lemniscus)”.
10th Eurasia Conference on Chemical Sciences (EuAsC2S) in Manila Philippines
On January 7-11, 2008, Dr. Joselito Razal presented an invited plenary talk on the importance and applications of interfacing organic conductors with living systems at the 10th Eurasia Conference on Chemical Sciences (EuAsC2S) in Manila Philippines. The conference was organized to emphasize scientific activities in the Eurasia continent and the developing Asian countries achieving supports from other continents such as America, Canada and Australia.
ACES provides a Platform for New ARC Discoveries in 2008.
The ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science continues to attract the most highly talented young researchers from around the world. In the recent announcement of ARC grants to commence in 2008, Dr Jenny Pringle was awarded a QEII Fellowship to work on ionic liquids for solar cell applications, based at Monash University. Jenny joins A/Prof. Peter Innis, Dr Dan Li and Dr Andrew Minett as ARC QEII Fellows and Dr Bjorn Winther-Jensen, Dr Udo Bach and Prof. Doug MacFarlane (ARC Fellows) associated with ACES.
This assembly of highly skilled researchers and world class infrastructure available at all of the ACES nodes (UoW, Monash University, St Vincent’s Hospital / Bionic Ear Institute) provides a fertile environment for the development of research streams not anticipated at the establishment of the Centre. As such ACES personnel compete within the ARC Discovery rounds to have research programs associated with these initiatives funded. For example, in 2008 the following ARC Discovery Grants involving ACES personnel have been funded.
- Functionalised Nanostructured Polythiophenes: Novel Platforms for Bionics. G. Wallace, D. Officer, R. Kapsa, S. Moulton (BEI & UoW) - DP0877456
- Novel Graphene Nanostructures: Modelling, Synthesis, Fabrication and Characterisation. C. Zhang, D. Li, F. Liu, R.B. Kaner, Y. Jiang (UoW) - DP0879151
- Novel 3D Carbon Architectures for Fuel Cell Applications. J. Chen, A. Minett (UoW) - DP0877348
- Pushing the Limits: Fabricating Micro and Nano Actuators. G. Alici, G.M. Spinks, J.M. Cairney (UoW) - DP0878931
- Advanced Ionic Materials for Organic Photovoltaics. Dr JM Pringle – QEII Fellowship (Monash) - DP0879480
- Computational approaches to selection and design of ionic materials. Dr EI Izgorodina – APD (Monash) - DP0880072
- Novel network polymers photoinduced plasticity. Prof W.D. Cook, Prof C.N. Bowman, Dr T.F. Scott, Dr S.H. Thang, Dr J. Sun (Monash) - DP0877382
In recognizing that excellent people require excellent facilities to remain at the cutting edge, the ARC through the LIEF scheme has also provided funding to acquire state of the art fabrication and characterization facilities for proposals involving ACES researchers.
- Fabrication and Characterisation Facility for Organic Solar Cells (LE0883019) A combined organic solar cell fabrication and characterization facility that was previously available only through overseas collaborations will be established in the ACES laboratories. It will enable an internationally recognized team of approximately 27 researchers including research fellows and PhD students to : (1)
efficiently integrate novel electromaterials into state-of-the-art photovoltaic devices and (2) study electron transfer and transport dynamics in order to reveal the material properties that govern the electronic behavior of these materials.
- An analytical field emission gun scanning electron microscope (LE0882613). An analytical field emission gun scanning electron microscope is an advanced tool for the characterisation of alloys, nanomaterials, superconductors and polymers. The instrument's advanced characterisation capabilities will significantly enhance the effectiveness of three material-based research institutes and an ARC Centre of Excellence at the University of Wollongong, as well as collaborative research with BlueScope Steel. The research is directly aligned to the National Research Priority of Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industry. The equipment will provide a valuable resource for industries in the Illawarra region of NSW.
- New generation mass spectrometers for characterisation of molecular shape and size (LE0882289). The ion mobility mass spectrometer (IMMS at UOW) will be the first of its kind in Australia, and together with the ion trap mass spectrometer (ITMS at ANU) will continue the tradition of this partnership in providing researchers with cutting-edge instrumentation for nationally and internationally important projects including: (i) fundamental understanding of the ways in which biomolecules recognize one another, (ii) investigating the structure(s) of lipids (fats) in cardiovascular disease and cataract, (iii) developing anticancer drugs, and (iv) development of new materials.
- Ion Beam Nanofabrication and Characterisation Facility for Advanced Materials Research (LE0882821). The instrumentation requested will build on collaborative links and cultivate enhanced usage of existing facilities between partner organisations. The facility will enhance progress in nanotechnology, biotechnology and materials sciences, not only training the next generation of researchers to drive these critical areas, but maintaining Australia's track record as an innovator and developer of advanced materials.
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A cultural experience all round! 
