Blog @ NanoVic - Nanotechnology Blog

An article in the Melbourne Age on Saturday September 15 by Peter Yates, Chairman of the Australian Science Media Centre, painted an inspiring vision for Melbourne.  The article highlighted the concentration of science and technology-based industry in Melbourne, and speculated that by 2030 the city might be as well known for its science as its sports.  He suggested that “Melbourne embraces the largest bodies of scientific research, development, and business in the southern hemisphere, putting (Melbourne) possibly among the top 10 science cities in the world”.  He proposed that Melbourne is uniquely positioned today to trigger a “cycle of success” in the business of science.

It is an inspiring vision, and I was excited to see that Peter Yates listed nanotechnology, along with health sciences, biotechnology, and climate change as the potential strengths of Melbourne in that scenario.  Yates’ confidence is based not only on the existing Melbourne activities in science and business, but on the leadership – Premier, Opposition Leader, Governor, Town Hall – promoting and supporting science in Melbourne.

Melbourne is also staking a claim for leadership in Australian nanotechnology.  In addition to some of Australia’s leading nanotechnology research (Melbourne, Monash, CSIRO, RMIT, Swinburne, Deakin) we have some of the leading commercial activities (Starpharma, Universal Biosensors); some of the leading investors (SciVentures, Starfish); the leading secondary education (St Helena); leading regulation (Monash Law); and OH&S (NanoSafe Australia).  Nanotechnology is well placed to play a role in Peter Yates’ vision for Melbourne.

What is nanotechnology? What are MEMS? And what makes them so special?  A book by Marlene Bourne titled ‘MEMS and Nanotechnology for Kids‘ will be able to answer these and many other questions.  Targeted to kids over 11 years of age, the book explores what you can find at the micro- and nano-scale.  You will discover all sorts of amazingly small sensors, structures and materials and will learn what they do and how they work.  You can then find out why they are useful in all kinds of products, from bikes to video games.

Marlene has also written a book titled ‘A Consumer’s Guide to MEMS and Nanotechnology‘ which covers the history of MEMS and nanotechnology as well as looks at examples of real life applications.

With the education section of the NanoVic website recently updated, these two publications appear to provide even more information to those seeking easy to understand explanations around nanotechnology.

Happy reading!

A number of NanoVic’s activities were featured at the Education Day during the COMS07 conference in Melbourne last week. Dr Peter Binks talked about future workforce implications of nanotechnology education, Francesca Calati and Dr Amanda Clarke presented SHINE and I talked about the futures thinking in the innovative development of SHINE. The NanoBits Kit was launched by the Minister for Education Jacinta Allan, and the artworks from the NanoVic Prizes for Art & Nanotechnology were featured as part of a display. Other highlights during the day included Brian Strating discussing the Roxborough Park Cluster project alongside a fabulous display of children’s artworks, and Dr Joe Shapter explaining how nanotechnology is taught at Flinders Univeristy.

RASIRC™, the steam purification company, announces that its RainMaker Humidification System (RHS) was selected by the editors of R&D Magazine and MICRO/NANO newsletter as one of the most innovative products of 2007 in their Inaugural MICRO/NANO 25 Competition. RASIRC’s RHS is the first and only system to deliver precise amounts of ultra pure water vapor and simultaneously remove contaminants and dissolved gases. According to MICRO/NANO, technologies that are revealed to be the most innovative, the most groundbreaking, and those having the largest impact on a specific industry or society in general are selected for this award.

A colleague and I recently attended an award ceremony in Melbourne, which was held to announce the winners of the Australian L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Fellowships. Four women were each awarded $20,000, in order to further develop their own particular scientific research interests. The technical fields represented by the four winners displayed huge diversity, highlighting the significant role women are now playing within the scientific community. The three winners who attended the ceremony also stated that within the workplace, they had never felt disadvantaged or held back as a result of their gender. As a woman in science myself, this was very encouraging to hear!

The winners of the 2007 Australian Fellowships are:

Jenny Gunton for her studies into the relationship between Vitamin D and diabetes

Ilana Feain for engaging girls boarding schools into her investigations of hydrogen jets from black holes

Sarah Pryke for her studies into the evolution and conservation of Gouldian finches in the Kimberley Ranges

Catriona Bradshaw for investigating the cause of spread of bacterial vaginosis

A fascinating project is underway at Nano2Hybrids, where a team of European nanotech researchers are documenting their own lives in the lab through video diaries. So if you’ve ever wanted to know what REALLY goes on in a nanotech lab and how science unfolds when unexpected things happen, tune in!

Last week, Peter & I attended a presentation at the CSIRO Niche Manufacturing Flagship by Dr Andrew Maynard of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies at the Woodrow Wilson Centre in the US.  As well as being an outstanding presentation, there were a couple of things that stood out.  Some I’ve blogged for Bridge8, but here I’ll focus on his comments about risk and regulation.  He said that to ensure safe, sustainable nanotechnologies, first the term ‘nanotechnology’ needs to be de-coupled.  He did this by defining ‘Personal Benefits’ that we see through stain-resistant clothing and cosmetics and ‘Social Benefits’ such as those from new materials, and innovation in energy, water and health.  He then said we need to set boundaries and focus attention on the priorities for safety and risk assessment and listed nanoparticles, agglomerates, aerolized suspensions, comminution, degradation and unintentional use as areas for focus.  He also presented results showing that both particle size and struture were important variables in understanding behaviour and effects of nano-sized particles.  To ensure appropiate oversight, the functionality as well as the chemistry needs to be considered.

If like me you are looking for that perfect night’s sleep, then this may be the answer. On a recent episode of Oprah aired here in Australia, Dr Michael Breus (a sleep expert) suggested a list of items that might make sleeping a little easier. One of those was the “Ambient Pillow” which by using nanotechnology increases oxygen levels in your body by up to 29 percent. It does this by taking the ambient energy in the air and pulling it in, so when you lie on the pillow, it helps give oxygen back to your skin.
Apparently, sleep deprivation in the US affects more than 70 million people who are spending $24 billion on products. With that amount of $’s being spent, I guess those people involved in the business of sleep certainly wouldn’t have any trouble dozing off!