Institute's international reputation attracts record PhD enrolments
Apr 05, 2007
The University of Wollongong's Intelligent Polymer Research Institute (IPRI) is resembling a branch office of the United Nations as its growing international reputation attracts staff, PhD research students and visiting scientists from around the world.
This year a record 12 PhD students from Germany, the United States, India, Iran, China, Spain, Britain, New Zealand and of course Australia have come to study with Professor Gordon Wallace and his team at IPRI at the cutting edge of intelligent materials and nanotechnology research. The new PhD students are currently joined by two Endeavour Scholarship winners from Ireland, two Masters students from Denmark and a research scientist from Finland.
Last year more than 30 international scientists from 12 different countries spent time at IPRI, while the institute also recruited two high-profile researchers from overseas," Professor David Officer from New Zealand and Dr Marc in het Panhuis from Britain.
IPRI director Professor Gordon Wallace believes this level of international exposure is doing more for student recruitment "than any multi-million marketing budget could do"?.
"Traditionally, we have had about three or four PhD students start each year, but this year we have 12 and we would have more if space permitted. It's very exciting for IPRI and the University,ā?? said Professor Wallace, who is also Executive Research Director for the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES).
"They are coming to Wollongong because of the institute's international reputation, and our association with ACES. It takes a long time to create an international scientific reputation, and our hard work is now paying off.
"Attracting senior international researchers like David and Marc also helps, because they bring their own high profile international reputations to Wollongong.
"We're getting PhD students from diverse backgrounds...polymer engineers, chemists, physicists, biologists...who are coming here for training, research and the opportunity to work in a dynamic collaborative multidiscipline environment. They are all incredibly enthusiastic about helping pioneer the field of nanobionics and other important areas of electromaterials science. PhD students make a huge contribution to the research capacity of an institute like ours and the fact that they are from different scientific backgrounds and countries really adds a new dimension to our work.
"It's a huge commitment on their part, because they have to uproot their families and come here for 3 ½ years to do their PhD. But once they get to Wollongong and see how beautiful it is, they realize it's also a great place to live."
The new PhD students have been joined by Endeavour Scholarship winners Gillian Hendy and Claire Harley from the National University of Ireland at Maynooth. They are the first Irish recipients of Endeavour Scholarships, 15 of which are awarded across Europe by the Australian Government each year to provide European students with an opportunity to do a specific research project at an Australian research centre.
Gillian and Claire's field is electrochemistry and nanotechnology, and they chose IPRI to further their research in controlled drug releases after recommendations from their professors at NUI who have links with IPRI and Professor Wallace.
Others attracted to IPRI by its international reputation include Chemical Engineering Masters students Mathilde Jakobsen and Anne Grydgaard from the Technical University of Denmark who will be based at IPRI for four months, and research scientist Jani Pelto from the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) who has come for five months to tap into IPRI's expertise in his research specialty, conductive polymer carbon nanotube composites.
IPRI is one of the flagship research institutes that will move to the University's Innovation Campus at Fairy Meadow in 2008. It will have a new home at the Institute for Future Materials building which is scheduled for completion early in 2008. "The move can't come soon enough," Professor Wallace said. "We need more space!!!"?
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