5 minute read
UNIVERSITY SPOTLIGHT: University of Western Australia
Source: Sally Wood
The University of Western Australia (UWA) was the state’s first university, having been established in 1911. As the first free university in the British Empire, UWA has a history of promoting equal access to tertiary education for all. UWA has now garnered a reputation for being a leading university in Australia, with more than 24,000 students enrolled across their four faculties.
The existence of UWA is largely thanks to Sir John Winthrop Hackett, who was the proprietor and editor of The West Australian newspaper. As the founding Chancellor of UWA, he bequeathed more than £425,000, which is approximately the equivalent of $32 million in modern currency. As such, Sir John Winthrop Hackett was able to fulfil his long-standing vision and passion to provide Western Australia with a university. Moreover, the establishment of a university helped to develop the state’s pioneering economy which, at the time – with a population of just 121,000 people – relied largely on the agricultural, mining and pastoral industries. UWA now exists across three campuses: Crawley, Claremont and Albany, with Crawley being the primary campus located just 10 minutes away from Perth’s central business district. UWA’s commitment to research is exemplified by their membership in the Group of Eight – the coalition of top research universities in Australia. Additionally, UWA has been recognised as one of the world’s Top 100 universities through the Academic Ranking of World Universities. As such, UWA has earnt a reputation internationally for its excellence in teaching, learning and research.
UWA’s Contribution to Materials Science and the School of Molecular Sciences
UWA’s School of Molecular Sciences contributes significantly to the materials science industry through its dedication to educating the leaders of tomorrow, as well as generating practical and translatable solutions to some of the key problems faced globally regarding chemical sciences, molecular plant sciences, health and medicine, and future materials. Within the School of Molecular Science, research spans across several fields and disciplines, including chemistry, chemical biology, biochemistry, molecular biology,
molecular genetics, nanotechnology, molecular materials, computation, synthetic biology and systems biology. Additionally, it is home to internationally recognised, multidisciplinary research centres and groups, including the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology and the Hartmann Human Lactation Research Group. Through industry and community partnerships and collaborations, the School of Molecular Sciences is able to support high-quality, multidisciplinary research and industry engagement. The School of Molecular Sciences is based in UWA’s Bayliss Building, which is home to a range of first-class, cutting edge facilities, including: - Biomolecular Interactions Facility - High Performance Computer Cluster - Mechanical Workshop - Protein Production and Structure Facility - Spectroelectrochemistry Additionally, within the Bayliss Building, the Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis (CMCA) offers a range of world-class facilities that support the planning and application of cutting-edge techniques, as well as assisting with data interpretation. The analytical techniques that CMCA are able to facilitate include:
Mass spectrometry Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy Scanning probe microscopy Small molecule X-ray crystallography
Some of the research currently being undertaken by UWA’s School of Molecular Sciences include:
Developing novel methodology and biological applications using advanced imaging techniques Deciphering organelle transport mechanisms in plants Structure-based design of new herbicides Designing functional molecules and materials with supercomputers Insect technology as a means of converting polystyrene waste into high value protein products Developing new methods for detecting hormone-like signalling compounds that affect plant development
Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics Research at the School of Molecular Sciences
UWA’s School of Molecular Sciences conducts significant research in the fields of biochemistry and molecular genetics. Innovative research and strong industry collaboration have enabled the creation of new therapeutics and biotechnological tools, which play a significant role in the transformation, advancement and understanding of medicine, agriculture and evolutionary biology. The highly interdisciplinary research conducted within the School of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics encompasses fields such as structural biology, metabolomics, proteomics, redox regulation and signalling, RNA biology, genomics and epigenomics, synthetic biology, plant genetics, organelle biogenesis, chemical biology, drug design, bionanotechnology, enzymology and computational biology.
Within the School of Molecular Sciences, the School of Chemistry contributes a significant amount of research in the area of materials science. The interdisciplinary research areas that make up UWA’s School of Chemistry include biological chemistry, inorganic chemistry, materials and nanotechnology, molecular structure. Molecular synthesis and catalysis, organic chemistry and physical chemistry.
Biomaterials and Nanodentistry
UWA’s Biomaterials and Nanodentistry research program consists of a highly interdisciplinary research group that aims to translate biomaterials and nanotechnology research into clinical practices in order to provide patients with better dental treatment. Some of their current projects include: - Establishing a novel platform for drug delivery to dentin-pulp complex using nano-carriers - Bioengineering of dental hard tissues for therapeutic and preventative dental applications - The interaction of high-intensity focused
ultrasound and dental hard tissues 3D-printing of biomaterials scaffolds for dental repair
Milled and 3D printed dental prosthetic appliances Additional program objectives include: - Enhancing the performance of toothcoloured restorative materials through chemical modification - Investigating the potential of human dentin as a natural scaffold for osteogenic and odontogenic stem cell differentiation
Are Laxatives the Answer to More Powerful Mobile Phones and Cars that Run Better?
A global research team including scientists from The University of Western Australian has found laxatives may hold the key to creating mobile phones that don’t need batteries to operate, and hybrid cars that run better.
The unlikely discovery came as scientists uncovered materials in laxatives that could be used to create new electrolytes and powerful capacitors (components that store electrical energy) for use in electronics. Australian lead on the project, Professor Rob Atkin from the UWA School of Molecular Sciences, said by studying the molecular structure of laxatives the team created a detergentlike substance. “This comprises of oil and soluble parts, two materials that naturally repel each other,” Professor Atkin said. “The oily parts cluster together and form a barrier that traps positive charged ions. As the amount of positively charged ions near the surface is very high, a much greater charge can be stored, opening up a whole new way of storing electricity.” “Electric cars are more environmentally friendly than cars that run on petrol, but the current challenge is that they have limited ranges and long charging times, typically more than four hours.” “However, this breakthrough could solve these problems through the development of high performance capacitors. This technology could also be used to power mobile phones, meaning faster charging times, and allowing them to run much longer between charges.” Professor Atkin said the finding held exciting possibilities for future advancements in technology. “Not only will this create more powerful and efficient devices, but also provide great environmental benefits,” he said.
