Nanotechnology a prime example of the teaching/research nexus

Apr 28, 2006

The interaction between undergraduate and postgraduate students with researchers is a special aspect of student life at the University of Wollongong. A prime example of this interaction was a session held recently at the UniCentre function rooms between students and researchers in the developing new science of nanotechnology.

The function was organised by the Head of the School of Chemistry, Associate Professor Will Price, and attracted a larger-than-usual students/researchers get-together.

“Nanotechnology proves an ideal nexus for teaching and research,” according to nanotechnology co-ordinator, Professor Geoff Spinks.

“Current research topics are ideal case studies for our undergraduates,” he said.

Pictured is Professor Spinks (left in photo) and nanotechnology undergraduate student, Peter Sherrell (third year Bachelor of Nanotechnology degree) and postgraduate Vahid Mottaghitalab (PhD student in the Intelligent Polymer Research Institute (IPRI) and Faculty of Engineering), in which they are looking at the application of new nano-composite fibres in an electronic Braille prototype. The composites, developed by Vahid, have been jointly researched with IPRI and by nanotechnology undergraduates such as Peter Sherrell.

Professor Spinks said Peter did his research as part of case studies conducted in first and second years of the four-year nanotechnology degree.

“With nanotechnology, it’s hard to tell where the teaching stops and the research starts,” Professor Spinks said.

He said that the performance of the new nano-composite fibres as artificial muscles has recently been published in the international journal, Advanced Materials.

Professor Spinks said that the nanotechnology industry was currently based in the R&D sector and that this is where most of the graduate employment will be for the foreseeable future.

Hence, we need to train graduates who can move into the R&D field and the best way to fulfill this objective is to involve nanotechnology researchers in our teaching program, he said.

“So from year one the nanotechnology students are doing project work in the research laboratories and being taught by the researchers,” Professor Spinks said.

“We have found that a number of the nanotechnology students have opted to do summer work in the nano research laboratories and many are expected to stay on and do their PhDs,” he said.

Note: Nanotechnology is simply the building of devices that are 1-100 nanometre in size – one nanometre is a billionth of a metre, so nano-scale devices are composed of just a handful of atoms/molecules. The reason to make such small things is to shrink micro-electronics even smaller and, therefore, build such things as much more powerful computers, smaller mobile phones and better digital cameras.