Polymers pull research fellow back to UOW

Sep 15, 2005

University of Wollongong graduate, Dr Andrew Minett, has called Germany and Ireland home for the past few years, but when he was offered a prestigious ARC QEII Fellowship with the Intelligent Polymer Research Institute at UOW he simply couldn't refuse.

After completing a PhD on conducting polymer based sensors at UOW, Dr Minett undertook a two-year Post-Doctoral Fellowship working in the Synthetic Nanostructures group in Germany where he also acted as a consultant for Media Lab Europe's Nanostructures Group. He was later appointed as a Research Scientist in the Molecular Electronics and Nanotechnology Group at Trinity College, Ireland.

He is now back on home soil working closely with Professor Gordon Wallace. His funded fellowship will centre on nanomaterial interactions and biomolecular incorporation protocols that will provide a foundation for future bioelectronic devices.

“Imagine the healthcare of human diseases when we can create devices that give point-of-care diagnosis,” he said. “Or the impact on the semiconductor industry with the creation of flexible electronics.”

Dr Minett said that educational outreach was also an important aim of the project.

”The program aims to provide effective training for early career researchers,” he said.

Dr Minett's research into the fundamental properties that drive interactions of polymeric materials with inorganic nanostructures has led to the publication of over 30 peer reviewed research articles and book chapters.

Some of this work has been highlighted in popular journals such as MIT's Technology Review and the American Chemical Societies Chemical and Engineering News bulletins.

Dr Minett was also part of the successful application co-ordinated by Professor Gordon Wallace, which resulted in $12 million funding over five years to establish the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science at UOW.

-RP