Media Release
February 23 2007
Premier funds UniSA's visionary research
Self-dimming architectural glass, which can substantially reduce
summer cooling costs, and self-dimming mirrors and windows for cars are
just some of the potential applications of a UniSA-led research project
to win more than $375,000 from the
Premier’s Science Research Fund (PSRF).
The project is part of a unique $1.7 million facility to develop conducting polymers – plastics with high electrical conductivities which have a myriad of uses in the automotive, aerospace, defence, biomedical and sustainable energy sectors.
Electrochromic technologies, which alter light transmission, reflection and absorption using conducting polymers, have an important role in these sectors.
The Materials Research and Engineering Facility for Conducting Polymers is a multi-disciplinary partnership between UniSA’s Ian Wark Research Institute (The Wark™) and Mawson Institute for Advanced Manufacturing (MIAM), the State Government, Schefenacker Vision Systems and Carl Zeiss Vision.
Project leader and The Wark™ Senior Research Fellow, Dr Peter Murphy, says the equipment bought through the PSRF funding will have wide-scale benefit for manufacturing in the state.
“The equipment is a vital part of this new facility which will take the laboratory R&D of conducting polymers to the commercial stage,” Dr Murphy says.
“The new conducting polymers facility will support SA manufacturers, especially SMEs in critical supply chains who can’t invest significant resources in large-scale pilot projects, to create high value added components for global export.”
The facility will allow researchers to apply electrochromic coatings over larger than usual surface areas to demonstrate the potential of these thin film coating technologies on real life items such as car rear view mirrors, passenger aircraft and boat windows, ophthalmic lenses and instrument display panels.
It will also be used to test these materials for adhesion, abrasion resistance and atmospheric weathering.
The Wark™ Director, Laureate Professor John Ralston, says the conducting polymers research facility spearheads The Wark™ and MIAM’s plan to create a world-class facility for materials surface engineering and evaluation.
“It will be a unique, specialised facility for research and development on the materials science and engineering applications of new classes of materials with great promise,” Prof Ralston says.
Director of the Mawson Institute, Professor Rob Short added, “This is exactly the type of facility and partnership that we are seeking to establish at the Mawson and IWRI, whereby UniSA working with the South Australian manufacturers will develop cutting-edge technologies that underpin existing jobs in South Australia, as well as provide the opportunity to diversify manufacturing and create new jobs and exports.”
The Wark™ has an annual budget of $20 million and employs 150 staff.
Contact for interview
-
Dr Peter Murphy office (08) 8302 3564 mobile 0423 762 056 email peter.j.murphy@unisa.edu.au
Media contact
-
Vincent Ciccarello office (08) 8302 0978 mobile 0434 603 457
email vincent.ciccarello@unisa.edu.au