interface MACDIARMID
INSTITUTE
January 2013
Collaborating on a (very) small scale
Issue 21
Communicating Science to New Zealand
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interface MACDIARMID
INSTITUTE
Issue 21: January 2013 ISSN 1176-1423 (Print) ISSN 1178-4911 (Online)
Editor Emily Sullivan Design Christine Prebble Cover image Dafnis Vargas Writers Glenda Lewis Vicki Hyde Kate McGrath Elf Eldridge Leny Woolsey
Acknowledging the past to move forward Sometimes, it can be difficult to pinpoint exactly when or how something started. Looking back and understanding how things have come about is an important part of moving forward. It helps us recognise future opportunities and provides evidence of what we are capable of achieving.
Photography Image Services, VUW Dafnis Vargas V Meduna/RNZ University of Canterbury
The MacDiarmid Institute was built around the concepts of collaboration and research excellence. This edition of Interface highlights some of the amazing new collaborations that are happening, not just within the MacDiarmid Institute but, most importantly, because of the MacDiarmid Institute. Research programmes are being initiated within New Zealand,
Proofreader Dan Thompson
across institutional and disciplinary borders and, maybe most notably, between people who are just down the corridor from each other. In this
Printing City Print Communications Ltd. Interface is published by The MacDiarmid Institute PO Box 600 Wellington New Zealand Emai MacDiarmid-institute@vuw.ac.nz www.macdiarmid.ac.nz
issue we will see examples of people creating new synergies, sharing knowledge and equipment infrastructure to work together and ask more challenging questions, and to probe problems from a range of different expertise perspectives. So, how did we get here and how do we build on what we have achieved? The Centres of Research Excellence emerged from an environment that had become overwhelmingly competitive. Individuals were pitted against each other; units and schools fought for students; organisations put up barriers and walls; our silo tendencies were magnified and nurtured. However, after more than a decade it became evident that competition was not returning the promised benefits. The road back from competition has been a slow one. The MacDiarmid Institute has helped advance this trek through our belief in excellence and collaboration. From the moment Paul Callaghan and Richard Blaikie
© Copyright 2012 The MacDiarmid Institute of
merged the bids from Victoria University of Wellington and the University of
Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology
Canterbury, we championed collaboration as a basis for achieving excellence in science. The nature of these collaborations is evolving. We have witnessed a definite change, a growth, and, through these, an advancement in the type of science that we explore. We are now learning how to sustain and improve collaborations, how to transform, support and facilitate them and in doing so we are building our future.
Kate McGrath Director, MacDiarmid Institute
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interface issue 21 | January 2013
In this issue In this issue
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Collaborating on a (very) small scale
8
Looking into the middle ground
10
Postdoctoral fellows
12
Connections on the human scale
14 15 16
Westmount High - Learning nanotech from the experts Career options through Chiasma AMN6 – Attracting the best to New Zealand
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Collaborating on a (very) small scale Casual conversations over conference tea-cups, chance meetings in stairwells, idle flicking through a journal – these may not sound like the stuff of which scientific endeavours are
It’s a strategy that is paying off as more and more research projects gain a broader outlook and stronger connections.
made, but they can provide a surprisingly significant role in the
MacDiarmid Principal Investigator (PI) Dr Alison Downward
development of research projects and collaborations that span
is Professor of Chemistry at Canterbury University. She notes
an organisation, a city, sometimes even the world.
that the chemistry and physics people are in the same building
Such serendipitous encounters form the basis of scientific
on campus “so you see them every day”, but that they would
legend – Edward Jenner’s chat with an informative milkmaid
very rarely mix in any professional context. The networking
led to the smallpox vaccine; a chance meeting between DuPont
encouraged by the MacDiarmid Institute has helped changed
scientists and the Manhattan Project team gave the world
that, allowing researchers to connect with each other and learn
Teflon. These encounters also provide underpinning support for
about each other’s expertise.
encouraging researchers to look outside their own labs and their own disciplines. The MacDiarmid Institute intentionally plays a very deliberate
“It works best from the bottom up,” says Downard. In her case, collaborating with physics professor Simon Brown arose, not so much through the university, but via contacts in
and proactive role in fostering cross-disciplinary work and
MacDiarmid, where Brown is also a Principal Investigator and
organised collaborations. Newsletters, conferences, seminars
Deputy Director.
and the like all provide a means for researchers scattered
4
postdoctoral fellows.
The two are working together as part of the molecular
throughout New Zealand to gain an awareness of what their
electronics initiative, in the very early stages of trying to
colleagues are up to, who might have useful equipment, and
understand how specific molecules can be attached to particular
how they can work together directly or via shared students and
surfaces in a stable fashion. The aim is to build molecules
interface issue 21 | January 2013
[ feature ] “more interesting molecules” supplied by Chemistry Department colleague and new MacDiarmid PI Associate Professor Paul Kruger. His transition metal complex includes four iron ions, which makes them “nice and big” and thus good candidates for imaging on the Physics Department’s ultra-high vacuum scanning tunnelling microscope, itself funded by the MacDiarmid Institute.
You say “to-may-toe” I say “to- mah –toe” As part of this project, the Chemistry and Physics Departments now share a MacDiarmid Institute funded postdoctoral fellow Haifeng Ma. The cross-disciplinary collaboration has proven useful in helping each discipline gain a better understanding of the approaches of the other. “In this project we use different vocabulary when talking about exactly the same thing,” notes Downard, hastening to add that “we do understand what the physicists are saying”. Thus when referring to the layered graphite surfaces, with useful functionality that can then be assembled into tiny
the chemists will talk about “basal planes” and “edges”,
analogues of much larger-scale electronic components, such as
whereas the physicists will refer to “the terrace” and “steps”. Of greater significance are the differing experimental
transistors or switches. Until now, the group has been looking at very simple model compounds, concentrating on the molecule-tosurface attachment side of things to characterise that area
approaches and backgrounds which the different disciplines bring to the effort. “Physicists, especially in this area, are more used to looking
of understanding as an initial start. This involves utilising the
at systems that are very well organised and clean,” says
properties of strong covalent bonding from an attack of aryl
Downard. She attributes this to the traditional focus on
radicals at a carbon surface.
fundamental mechanisms and differences in how physicists
Downard explains that using the simple approach is a quicker, more cost-effective means of testing basic principles. “A synthetic chemist could take weeks to make something complicated for us to use, and probably wouldn’t be very happy if we used it all up on one shot,” she says.
“
The simple derivatives currently in use can be made quickly and locally. That said, the group has recently begun to use
“
Bridging the disciplines is a big
challenge, as each area has its own language, but it’s an exciting one and we are all relishing it. —Dr Sally Brooker
go about preparing materials for investigation. Chemists, on the other hand, tend to work in an environment that is more closely connected to applied real-world conditions, with all the potential for chaos that that can imply. “Our systems are very messy in comparison.” Another MacDiarmid Institute researcher who has also broadened her vocabulary through collaboration is Otago chemistry professor and MacDiarmid Institute PI Sally Brooker. “Bridging the disciplines is a big challenge, as each area has its own language, but it’s an exciting one and we are all relishing it,” says Brooker.
Beaker to surfaces Brooker’s research group is currently working in a different area of the broad MacDiarmid Institute research theme on Molecular Materials, investigating how single molecule magnets, or molecules which are spin-crossover active, can be switched between two or more electronic states. Such properties can
5
“
“
When referring to the
layered graphite surfaces, the chemists will talk about “basal planes” and “edges”, whereas the physicists will refer to “the terrace” and “steps”.
—Professor Alison Downward
the way to, for example, development of nano-devices for information storage and processing – in effect nano-computers. The “beaker to surfaces” project began in May, so is still in its very early stages of development with plenty of room for further collaboration in the areas of surface attachment as well as characterisation of the molecules on the surface once attached. The project draws on a range of people across a number of institutions, such as the variable temperature: magnetic data collection facilities operated by Industrial Research Ltd in Lower Hutt and the team there headed by Dr Jeff Tallon, yet another MacDiarmid Institute PI. Having access to such equipment and expertise has been “totally transformational” according to Brooker, citing the many joint publications this research has encouraged. She also acknowledges the importance of other MacDiarmid Institute supported equipment, such as the Raman microscope facilities at Otago led by Dr Keith Gordon, Professor of Chemistry; and New Zealand’s first low-temperature Mössbauer facility in Otago, operated under the guidance of Dr Guy Jameson. Brooker comments that the MacDiarmid Institute has helped dismantle institutional barriers, making it far easier to connect in a meaningful way with physical and engineering scientists. Communications technology has also helped. The advent of email and Skype means it’s now far less important whether your colleagues are in the lab next door or halfway around the world. Tallon points out that he maintains collaborations with people in Otago, Cambridge, Fribourg, Milan and New York without impediment. It can be a bit of a stretch at times, he admits, as greater interactivity can place increased demands on researchers. “My first twenty years in research allowed uninterrupted attention all day long, every day. That is a rare luxury nowadays and our work is diminished by this. At the same time, our
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interface issue 21 | January 2013
“
“
be used as the basis of a form of digital memory, which points
There’s nothing wrong with
the ‘suck it and see’ approach but if you can identify what you’re after, talk to colleagues, find out what equipment you need, you can save a lot of time.
—Professor Richard Blaikie
“
“
Our activities are much more
multidimensional, and we can do so much more, because of collaboration. Hopefully the whole is much more than the mere sum of the parts. —Dr Jeff Tallon
activities are much more multidimensional, and we can do so
“There’s nothing wrong with the ‘suck it and see’ approach,”
much more, because of collaboration. Hopefully the whole is
says Blaikie, “but if you can identify what you’re after, talk to
much more than the mere sum of the parts.”
colleagues, find out what equipment you need, you can save a
When working together doesn’t work out
lot of time.”
In some cases, collaborative relationships can be helpful in identifying when not to work together. When Professor
More than just sharing equipment Jeff Tallon, based at IRL, has provided a good deal of
Richard Blaikie was approached for a project on the basis of
research skills, support and specialist machinery, such as the
his specialist interest in atomic force microscopy, he ended up
SQUID magnetometer, for MacDiarmid Institute projects.
passing the research on.
That work has expanded from characterising the magnetic
As it happened, he knew that the Physics Department at the
properties of materials to looking at structural and spectroscopic
University of Canterbury had more suitable instrumentation
characterisation. This, in turn, says Tallon, helped attract
– the ultra-high vacuum scanning tunnelling microscope
Associate Investigator Geoff Jameson from Massey University, as
(UHV-STM) – than that available in his own Department of
well as other researchers from Australia.
Engineering, and Blaikie suggested colleague Professor Simon
“The nice thing is that as the programme has grown, so
Brown could be a more useful addition to the collaboration at
our facilities have had to be developed in order to achieve
this stage.
the requisite sensitivity. In the end, we are all better off and
Now based at Otago as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research
those improvements are now being applied to other research
and Enterprise), Blaikie continues to take an interest in the area,
programmes. There is a symbiosis here that is distinctive in the
acting as “a sounding board for these types of molecules”.
research field. Benefits never just accrue in one direction.”
Although he wasn’t able to help out during these early days
Tallon notes that when looking back on his successful
of research, it may well be that he can continue to contribute
collaborations, it has been the human element which has driven
to analysing the possibilities for further research, providing
the success of the alliance.
contacts and feeding suggestions into experimental design. He sees bringing a broader range of experience and knowledge into a project as a valuable means of identifying which paths may be fruitful. Although Blaikie admits that serendipity does have a role to play in scientific work, there’s
“Somehow the passion that I have for science is enlarged by the relationship, and vice versa. Science is very much driven by passion and less by work plans.” Or, as Alison Downard puts it: “The people part of science is a big part of the fun of working in science.”
also a strong role for forward planning.
7
Looking into the middle ground well as examining the properties of the
studying soft materials,
bulk materials they produce, but the area
materials, you really do need to look
you may think of cuddly toys or
of the intermediate states remains a tad
in the mesocule space. If you look at
velvet cushions, but to MacDiarmid
fuzzy.
just one single molecule, you’ll never
W
researchers it means the long chains
“Hair, for example, is not just individual
understand how it works.” Gaining that greater understanding
of molecules that make up cellulose
proteins stuck together in a lump,” says
fibres, dairy-based casein micelles
MacDiarmid Theme 4 Soft Materials
could point the way to being able
and protein filaments in hair or food.
research leader Dr Bill Williams. In hair,
to optimise the desired properties
as in many biological structures, long
of biomaterials, leading the way to
intermediary hierarchy between the
chains of proteins are arranged together
potentially huge improvements in
atomic and single molecule arena at the
in filaments, which then assemble into
medical applications such as artificial
nano-end of the scale and the real-world
fibrils. Even though this self-assembly is
joints; foods with improved taste
mass and form of everyday objects.
somewhat ubiquitous in living systems,
and texture qualities; or a more
how it occurs remains something of a
environmentally friendly means of oil
ordinary glass of milk, for example, and
puzzle, and predicting what happens and
extraction.
you’ll find it made up of hydrogen and
how it affects the resulting soft material
oxygen, calcium, phosphorus and other
so formed is equally unclear.
These biomaterials form an
Take a very, very close look at an
Getting that work under way involves tapping into a broad range of expertise and requires an equally broad variety
elements. Pull back a little and you’ll
“Just because you know the molecule
see these organised into molecules of
doesn’t mean you’re going to understand
of specialist equipment. Bill is based at
proteins, fats, carbohydrates, which can,
the properties of the material,” says Bill.
Massey University, being an Associate
in turn, agglomerate into highly complex
It’s this area of the “mesocule”, as he puts
Professor in the Physics, Chemistry and
structures such as the roughly spherical
it, which has formed the focus of a new
Biophysics Group. Working with him are
globules of casein micelles, composed of
MacDiarmid collaborative project that
MacDiarmid Principal Investigators, Dr
thousands of large protein molecules.
aims at gaining a better understanding
Juliet Gerrard, Professor of Biochemistry
of this area and its implications when
at Canterbury University and co-director
designing new biomaterials.
of their Biomolecular Interaction Centre;
The biomaterials field has looked at the properties of individual polymers, as
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“If you want to understand soft
hen someone says they are
interface issue 21 | January 2013
« Take a very, very close look at an ordinary glass of milk and you’ll find it made up of hydrogen and oxygen, calcium, phosphorus and other elements. Pull back a little and you’ll see these organised into molecules of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, which can, in turn, agglomerate into highly complex structures such as the roughly spherical globules of casein micelles, composed of thousands of large protein molecules.
and Dr Kate McGrath, Professor of Chemistry at Victoria University. “Together we‘ve got the opportunity
Insulin forms fibrils of about 7-10 nm in diameter, however lengths of fibrils vary hugely due to the complex nature of the fibril mechanism. These fibrils form rapidly when subjected to elevated temperature, low pH and in the presence of salt. Varying these growth conditions, along with native protein concentration, time and also the way in which the mature fibrils are stored are shown to have varying effects on the length of the fibril formed.
depend a lot on how these guys work together.” Bill sees strong value in taking
At Victoria, the project team will use a range of techniques – rheology, cryoscanning electron microscopy and small-
to do this,” says Bill, adding that it
advantage of complementary expertise,
angle X-ray scattering – to study the
wouldn’t be possible any other way.
as well as making use of complementary
resulting networks of macroscopic gels and
facilities and equipment. Trying to
develop models that will allow predictions
the three institutions. In Palmerston
gain a better understanding of what
of the bulk properties to be made from
North, working alongside Bill, is
is happening in the intermediate level
what is known about the individual fibrils.
postdoctoral fellow Sandy Suei, born
between individual molecules and soft
The team is settling into place across
in Taiwan, brought up in New Zealand
materials requires a variety of steps.
Having specialist equipment available every step of the way is vital to the project’s
It starts at Canterbury, where the
success, not just in the lab itself but also
work from Canada. The other
on-site expertise in protein engineering
via generating interest further afield from
postdoctoral fellow is Luigi Sasso, an
will be utilised in attaching micro-sized
researchers and students keen to work
Italian who is travelling from Denmark
beads at either end of fibrils made
with such gear.
to work at Canterbury with Juliet.
from a common protein found in whey,
and recently returned from postdoctoral
“It’s really a very powerful way of
Two research students from Spain and
beta-lactoglubulin. Luigi’s job will be to
bolstering collaborations.” Bill believes that
Greece, the former supported by the
make controlled lengths of these beta-
funding support for equipment and joint
Riddet Institute, fill out the initial group.
lactoglubulin fibrils, stretching them
students provides two very strong reasons
between the beads.
for why the CoRE system has been so
Bill expects further travel to be on the cards for everyone, as the plan is for
The team at Massey will then take
successful in development collaborations
researchers and students to get together
these and use that institution’s Optical
throughout New Zealand research
at the different campuses as the project
Tweezers to measure the mechanical
institutions.
proceeds.
properties of the fibrils, or, as Bill puts
“I can’t think how else you could
it rather more colourfully, “they stick
fund this without [something like] the
together different skills and different
the handles on them so we can do the
MacDiarmid. Collaborations are really
expertise. The success of the project will
prodding and pulling.”
awesome.”
“I’m excited about the ability to bring
9
[ postdoctoral ] The MacDiarmid Institute currently supports
Between 2008-10 I left New Zealand for another Post-Doc at
13 Post Doctoral Fellowships, allowing early
the Centre for Science at Extreme Conditions at the University
career scientists to focus on developing their
of Edinburgh, developing a high-pressure cell for neutron
research with the support and collaboration
diffraction at ISIS pulsed neutron facility. After I returned to IRL I commissioned a Circular Dichroism spectrometer as
of some of the top researchers in New
part of the Prime Minister’s Science award and an infra-red
Zealand. Three of these Postdoctoral
pulsed laser micro-machining facility for drilling, cutting and
)HOORZV DUH SURÀOHG KHUH
liquid-phase pulsed laser ablation for nanomaterial synthesis. I designed and developed a ceramic anvil pressure cell for SQUID that can load samples up to 6 GPa. In collaboration with Australian Synchrotron Micro-crystallography beam line I performed the first exploratory high-pressure single-crystal diffraction study using a special DAC. My long term ambition is to build a national high-pressure R&D facility at IRL for the benefit of NZ science and industry.
` MICHAEL FRASER University of Otago, Department of Chemistry, Dunedin
` SURESH NARAYANASWAMY
(mfraser@chemistry.otago.ac.nz)
Industrial Research Limited, Gracefield, Wellington
PhD thesis “The Synthesis and
(s.narayan@irl.cri.nz)
Spectroscopic Properties of Some
PhD in Shock wave research 2002 “Some Investigations Under shock
Rhenium(I) and Copper(I) Polypyridyl
pressure” work carried out at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
Complexes”, under the supervision of
(BARC), Mumbai, and University of Mumbai, India. Research Advisor:
Prof Keith Gordon and Assoc Prof Allan
Prof S.K. Sikka, Homi Bhabha Chair, BARC.
Blackman at the University of Otago.
My research interest is high-pressure science. High pressure
Part of our research in the “Gordon
research is important for both basic and applied sciences. The
Group” includes the synthesis of metal polypyridyl complexes
increasing use of pressure as a thermodynamic variable in
and the characterization of their excited state properties with
materials research is due to the fact that the volume reduction
spectroscopic and computational techniques. Our interests in
is much more effective than other methods. The material
metal polypyridyls lie in their potential application in molecular
behaviour which can be studied during this compression regime
electronic devices such as dye-sensitized solar cells and light-
ranges from elastic, plastic, structural phase transitions
emitting diodes.
and electron structure changes to the ionization of the inner
My PhD involved the synthesis of polypyridyl ligands and
electronic shell.
complexes with interesting optical and physical properties.
I began my first postdoctoral fellowship with the MacDiarmid
Earlier on in my PhD I made dipyridophenazine (dppz) ligands
Institute in 2004 developing high-pressure capability at
appended with sulfur-containing substituents and their
IRL to study the pressure effects on high-temperature
rhenium tricarbonyl chloride complexes. Despite the fact the
superconductors with Professor Jeff Tallon. I developed a non-
dppz systems have been studied for twenty years, the idea of
magnetic pressure cell that can subject samples to 1.2 GPa
appending a donor group like sulflur had never been done.
to study their magnetic properties at low temperatures using
These complexes showed unique photophysical properties
the SQUID at IRL, diamond anvil cells (DAC) for Raman and
because they have a new type of electronic state in which there
X-ray diffraction for powder and single crystal samples up to 20
is a charge-transfer from each end of the molecule, the metal
GPa., and assisted Prof Geoff Jameson at Massey University to
and the sulfur into an electron accepting ligand core.
acquire a high-pressure cell for the NMR spectrometer which is now operational.
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interface issue 21 | January 2013
[ postdoctoral ] ` JAMES STOREY Industrial Research Limited, Wellington (j.storey@irl.cri.nz) PhD Physics 2007, “Electronic Structure and Thermodynamic Properties of High Temperature Superconductors”. Supervisors: Prof Jeffery Tallon and Dr Grant Williams. The mechanism of superconductivity in high-temperature superconductors (HTS) remains an unresolved challenge in physics. In 2004 I joined the world-wide efforts to solve this problem when I decided to undertake an MSc, which was later extended into a PhD, with Jeff Tallon studying isotope effects in high-Tc cuprate superconductors. Although I didn’t have a great deal of success with the initial isotope effect work, I really began to hit my stride calculating thermodynamic and transport properties from the electronic structure and comparing the results with those found
With the help of PhD student Chris Larsen, I am currently building on these findings. We hope to use the sensitivity of these dppz ligands and complexes to design reporter
through experiments. The research allowed me to combine
molecules for dye-sensitized solar cells. By attaching
physics with programming – one of my hobbies. A particular
these molecules to the surface of TiO2 in a solar cell, we
highlight was explaining the variation of the superconducting
hope to gain an insight into the chemical environment of
transition temperature of different cuprates in terms of the
a working dye-sensitized solar cell. Another advantage of
variation in the electronic density of states combined with a
using these types of rhenium complexes is the carbonyl
universal electron pairing energy from spin fluctuations.
co-ligands, which give a spectroscopic ‘handle’ on the
Last year I returned to NZ after leading efforts at Cambridge
complexes, allowing us to further utilize time-resolved
University in high precision differential specific heat
Raman and infrared spectroscopic techniques, in
measurements for three years. Measuring the difference in
collaboration with Prof Michael George (Nottingham).
specific heat between two closely related samples eliminates
To make these molecules we need to develop some
most of the large phonon background from the raw data,
chemistry and, as part of the program, both Chris and I are
allowing features of the electronic specific heat to be studied
co-supervised by Dr Nigel Lucas (AI) who is an expert in
over the entire temperature range. During my time there I
coupling reactions (among other things). We are currently
performed the first comprehensive study of the electronic
synthesising a range of dppz-based ligands using coupling
specific heat of a recently discovered class of iron-arsenide
chemistry including the Suzuki and Sonogashira methods.
HTS, Ba1-xKxFe2As2, totalling 11 samples and spanning the
By doing this we alter the electron donor-acceptor
entire temperature, doping and magnetic field phase diagram
properties of ligands. Re(I) complexes will be synthesized
– a mammoth task. The results from this research are
with functional groups for attachment to TiO2.
currently being prepared for publication.
Ultimately, device fabrication and characterization will be
Since returning to Wellington I have been studying a
possible through collaboration with Dr Justin Hodgkiss
phenomenological model that does a good job of describing
(Victoria University of Wellington) and Prof Simon Hall
several normal-state properties of high-Tc cuprates at
(Massey University) and overseas collaborator Dr Atilla
low dopings. I have also contributed to the applied HTS
Mozer (University of Wollongong, Australia). It is hoped
programme at IRL by developing a rig to measure the room-
much can be learned about the inner workings of dye-
temperature thermopower of second-generation thin film HTS
sensitized solar cells by using these types of molecules.
wires. Thermopower provides a quick and reliable method of determining the doping state of the superconductor which must be finely tuned in order to maximize performance.
11
help shape our future. The MacDiarmid Institute has long championed the role of science in discussions regarding New Zealand’s economic direction. This led to the Transit of Venus Forum it initiated and ran in June 2012 and a book, coauthored by Sir Paul and Deputy Director of the Institute, Shaun Hendy, discussing the relationship between science and economics, due to be released in March 2013. For the last eight years, the MacDiarmid Institute and the Royal Society of New Zealand have run a series of science and mathematics classes for invited journalists, publishers, creative writers, producers, and others from the media and creative industries. These have extended beyond physics and chemistry to topics such as potential natural disasters, the science of land use, climate change, and disease. For
CONNECTIONS
the most part, these VIP Science Classes were run by Howard Lukefahr and John Hannah and featured many outstanding
on the human scale One of the Centres of Research Excellence raisons d’êtres is public
didn’t just shake your hand, he held it in
guest contributors. Gillian Turner’s recent book North Pole,
science communication, or outreach, as
both of his, and searched your eyes for
South Pole resulted from her session
it’s called these days. In line with this
understanding and connection.
on the changing magnetic pole, which
emphasis, CoRE policy is managed by the Ministry of Education, rather than
Kate McGrath places equal value on outreach and has a burning
fascinated publisher Mary Varnham. Shaun Hendy has a regular slot on
the Ministry of Science which is now
commitment to science education at
Radio New Zealand National’s Nights
part of the super-Ministry of Business,
all levels. Kate feels a responsibility to
with Bryan Crump and Sir Paul’s three-
Innovation and Employment.
prepare people for the next generation
year series of regular interviews with
Has this new organizational model
of nanotechnology products, something
Radio New Zealand National presenter,
resulted in bigger and better science
which can be achieved through effective
Kim Hill, led to the sell-out book, As Far
communication? I think the answer is a
science communication. More than
as we Know.
resounding yes!
that, she wants everyone to experience
Are Angels OK? was an unusual
the excitement science can bring. Kate
collaboration between physicists and ten
flexibility and funding to experiment
never turns down an opportunity to talk
of our top creative writers, led by Sir Paul
with innovative ways of connecting with,
to people – from small Church groups to
and poet Bill Manhire, resulting in an
and inspiring, people. The late Sir Paul
large broadcast audiences – and she has
anthology, performances in New Zealand
Callaghan placed a very high priority
a gift for clear explanation, without over-
and the UK, and a number of writers
on outreach and recruited brilliant
simplification.
who are now surprisingly knowledgeable
CoREs have the motivating freedom,
teachers and communicators like Howard
Discussing the latest research in the
about Maxwell’s equations, Heisenberg’s
Lukefahr, Shaun Hendy and others. Their
area of physics and chemistry with
Uncertainty Principle, and general
inspiration came from the MacDiarmid
people outside the discipline can be
relativity - a veritable swing bridge over
Institute’s namesake, Alan MacDiarmid,
challenging, but you don’t have to
the chasm between science and the arts.
an exceptionally warm and approachable
grapple with the equations to appreciate
man, who simply loved talking to people
12
and making them feel important. He
interface issue 21 | January 2013
the basic principles, or how science can
Recognising the low number of Maori and Pacific Island students enrolling in
university science courses, Sir Paul and former MacDiarmid Institute Manager, Margaret Brown, started the Discovery Awards. Coordinated by Sarah Dadley, the Discovery Awards are presented annually. The intention is to make science less intimidating and more accessible to Year 12 and 13 Maori and PasiďŹ ka science students by involving them in research projects. Dr Ben Ruck and PhD studen Elf Eldridge and others go out and talk to high school students in areas such as Naenae and Wainuiomata. Alan MacDiarmid, who grew up in the Hutt during The Depression, would have been right behind that. The Nanocamps run by the Institute are residential week-long summer schools to give those already interested a taste of real science research in the area of nanotechnology. The biennial international conferences run by the Institute have attracted hundreds of the best scientists in the ďŹ eld from all around the world, including many Nobel Prize-winners, and created opportunities for associated public
public lecture on 13 February, and, on
lectures, school presentations and media
the same day, over 600 senior school
interviews.
science students will get to see A Very
Roald Hoffmann will be the star
Glenda Lewis was made a companion of RSNZ in 2012 for her outstanding leadership in science, and contributions to
Small Show by The Masters of Small:
keynote at AMN6 in February 2013.
Joanna Aizenberg (Harvard), Dan Nocera
Over 600 Aucklanders will have the
(Harvard), Don Eigler (formerly IBM
chance to hear him speak at an evening
Research), and Kate McGrath.
the promotion and advancement of science and technology in New Zealand
Elf wearing his yellow glasses
13
Westmount High – learning nanotechnology from the experts On 7th September, the Victoria
biology and chemistry, and I try and focus
can manipulate single atoms”. After a
University arm of the MacDiarmid
on what the students want to talk about.
severe bout of discussion and debate,
Institute played host to 20 high-school
Delving into opsin photosensitivity,
several of the students were able to
science students. While outreach events
protein gating mechanisms, electron
return the correct answer and show that
typically bring hundreds of students
diffraction, wave particle duality, DNA
Feynman’s postulate was indeed correct,
per year to the Institute and its partner
extractions and a sprinkling of emergent
with Prof Zuelicke commenting on how
organizations for a dose of basic physics
behaviour, all inside an hour and a half,
“responsive and engaging” an audience
and chemistry, this one was a little
sounds like a daunting prospect at the
the students made.
different. These students, year 12s
outset, yet the students seem to take it
(that’s 15 and 16 year olds to those still
all in their stride.
confused by the naming system) from
be forgiven for asking whether it is worth the time and associated cost
Westmount High School had chosen to
under the guidance of Prof Zuelicke,
for researchers to interact one-on-one
do an elective on nanotechnology. And
the students looked in more detail
with high-school students, many of
who better to give them a crash course
at the nanoelectronics expected to
whom may not go into science at all?
in nanotechnology than the MacDiarmid
shape tomorrow’s world. Starting
The importance of having a public that
Institute researchers? With support
with the nanoscience ‘basics’, Prof
is aware of, and engaged with, the
from the Kaipara trust, these chemistry
Zuelicke encouraged students to try
research being done in the MacDiarmid
students braved a bumpy flight to visit
and understand some of the quantum
Institute cannot be overstated. These
Victoria University’s School of Chemical
weirdness that MacDiarmid Institute
students will grow up and interact with
and Physical Sciences and meet some of
researchers must deal with in their
the next generation of New Zealanders
the MacDiarmid Institute researchers that
day-to-day activities, interspersed with
and ultimately dictate whether the
it houses.
attention-grabbing questions such as
Institute continues to receive funding
“Could you REALLY shrink a human
or not. To butcher my favourite,
the students by Director Kate McGrath,
to the size of an ant?” (For those
misattributed Feynman-ism, sure,
who described the research performed
interested, I’m afraid the answer is
outreach may give some practical results,
by MacDiarmid Institute investigators
no. It would require red blood cells to
but that’s not why we do it.
and the role of the Institute in a broader
become the size of individual atoms).
NZ context. Once that was complete
Moving onto a more taxing task, Prof
I took them down into the labs for
Zuelicke then asked the students to
bionanotechnology 101. The material
validate Feynman’s claim “that the entire
we talk about is a little hodgepodge,
contents of the Encyclopaedia Britannica
Zealand to aim high and believe they are
I’ll admit. We cover aspects of physics,
could be printed on a pin’s head if we
capable of achieving great things.
The day began with a greeting of
14
Following their lunch break, and
At the end of all this, one could
interface issue 21 | January 2013
James “Elf” Eldridge is a PhD student funded by the MacDiarmid Institute who has a passion inspiring the youth of New
If you would like to see evidence of the MESA effect, you need look no further than Chiasma WGTN, an organisation that connects students with high-tech companies, and provides them with a greater range of options at the end of their studies. Founders Ben Mallett and myself, Elf Eldrige were both members of the MESA committee since its inception in 2010. We realised, as many students do, that the knowledge required for a career after completing a PhD can be somewhat disconnected from our study. With support from the MacDiarmid Institute as well as Industrial Research Limited and GrowWGTN, we spent the
Career options through
Chiasma
next six months talking to companies and students about this problem and what could be done to solve it. Finally, in March 2012, Chiasma WGTN was launched in front of a crowd of over 200 students and industry representatives in Te Papa’s Icon lounge. At the beginning we had no idea what we were doing, we
As they’re a student-led organisation,
just realised there was a problem that
there is rapid turnover of members. Next
we shared with many other science and
year’s CEO, Jingjing Wang, who played
engineering graduates, and decided we
a key role in Chiasma’s 2012 activities,
wanted to do something about it.
is excited by the potential opportunities
Since then, Chiasma WGTN has
that come with her new role. “2012 is
been making ever-increasing waves
an encouraging start” she says “I have
in the Wellington science community.
big plans for 2013 and can’t wait to
Following the successful model used by
see how many of them we can fulfil!”
Chiasma Auckland, the Wellington team
Chiasma is rounding off the 2012
has hosted three workshops teaching
working year by facilitating several ‘site
students the basic skills of business
visits’ where small groups of students are
introducing them to Wellington’s high-
taken to local companies, shown around
tech industry players and promoting
and encouraged to get to know the staff
science communication. This culminated
and environment. With visits to Kiwistar
in their 2012 careers fair Synapse, held at
Optics and Matakina Technologies
the St. James theatre on the 30th August.
already completed, the team has its
“I really don’t like the phrase ‘careers
sights set on GNS’ Avalon facility and
fair’” says Ben, the 2012 CEO, “we
CatalystIT for early 2013.
think of it much more like dating: you
The team is always hungry for
have two parties with a mutual interest
new ideas, talent and contributors.
– you just need to get them talking!”.
Information on their upcoming
Chiasma’s method is rooted in evidence-
programme, contact details and
based success, with the Chiasma WGTN
everything you want to know about
team helping to place six students in paid
Chiasma Wellington is available on their
employment this year.
website wgtn.chiasma.org.nz
FACTS
››
MESA is the MacDiarmid Institute Emerging Scientists Association, http://mesa.ac.nz/
››
Chiasma was founded in Auckland in September 2004, with the support of the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences and Business School, The Auckland Bioengineering Institute, and the Institute for Innovation in Biotechnology.
››
The Wellington branch was launched in March 2012 with the support of the MacDiarmid Institute, Industrial Research Limited and GrowWGTN.
››
A Christchurch branch is expected to be launched in 2013.
››
For more information or to join Chiasma, visit http:// chiasma.org.nz/
››
Contact all branches via team@chiasma.org.nz
15
The world’s best physical scientists attracted to New Zealand through the MacDiarmid Institute’s International AMN conference series In February 2013, the 6th International Conference on Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology (AMN6) will take
programme will cover topics as varied as physical phenomena; biological interface; molecular materials; engineered nanosystems and nanoscale systems. (The full programme can now be viewed on the website www.amn-6.com).
Social and outreach events The AMN conference has always been an excellent
place at the University of Auckland Business School. This series
opportunity for people to network with their peers and form
of biennial events, hosted by the MacDiarmid Institute, has
new collaborations. AMN6’s formal opening will showcase
developed a strong reputation for bringing together leading
Auckland University’s musical talent and the conference dinner
Australasian and international researchers at the forefront of
will be held at the recently opened Viaduct Events Centre
advanced materials and nanotechnology.
overlooking the Waitemata Harbour.
Speakers and programme The high calibre of the conferences is reflected in the quality of keynote and plenary speakers and has included top international scientists such as the Nobel Laureates Sir Harry Kroto, Sir Anthony Leggett, and the Cavendish Professor of Physics, Sir Richard Friend. AMN-6 welcomes Professor Joanna Aizenberg of Harvard University, Professor Krzysztof Matyjazewski of Carnegie Mellon University, Professor Don
In parallel with the scientific programme of these conferences, our keynote speakers will partake in a number of outreach activities involving the wider community, and in 2013 these will include a public talk and schools lecture at the Auckland Museum. There will also be a nanotechnology art exhibition held at the nearby Gus Fisher gallery.
Latest information Registration for the conference is now open on the website
Eigler, the Kavli Prize Laureate for Nanoscience in 2010,
www.amn-6.com and we encourage you to visit the page for
Professor Roald Hoffman, 1981 recipient of the Nobel Prize in
updates on activities between now and February. For presenting
Chemistry and Professor Daniel Nocera from the Massachusetts
authors, full papers will be invited for submission to the
Institute of Technology as keynote speakers.
International Journal of Nanotechnology and instructions are
In addition, the conference will also welcome over 20 plenary and approximately 150 invited speakers and oral presenters. The
available on the call for abstracts page. We hope that you will share in the experience of AMN6 and look forward to seeing you in Auckland in February.
16
interface issue 21 | January 2013