Materials

The Materials Hallmark Research Initiative was announced in 2014 with funding from the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research for three years. Although this Initiative no longer receives DVCR funding, Professor Ray Dagastine and Dr Rackel San Nicolas continue as key contacts for the active community of materials researchers at the University.

Context

The nano- and bionano-technology research revolution has produced exciting research outcomes, but in many instances this is an area that has failed to translate these discoveries to society. This is largely due to the significant challenges in the scalability of engineered particles, nano-scale materials, and devices to move into production. Globally, we are seeing a shift in focus on the governmental level from supporting materials research on the nano-scale where success is defined by producing micro-grams of materials, to engineered materials that can be produced at scale. This shift from the nano-scale to the meso-scale allows for viable links to process engineering while still creating materials that possess novel properties that differ from traditional macroscopic materials.

Our approach

The overarching vision of the Materials Hallmark Research Initiative was to support and develop interdisciplinary research in scaleable nano- to meso-materials across three research themes:

• Materials into Medicine
• Materials for Energy
• Controlled Assembly of Materials.