—by Cecilia Bloise, Node Coordinator, UNSW
Prof Nagarajan Valanoor leads a tour of FLEET fabrication labs at UNSW School of Material Science and Engineering
Materials Australia members were hosted on a tour of FLEET’s labs at UNSW in February. FLEET is an ARC Centre of Excellence researching novel materials for ultra-low energy electronics. FLEET represents over a hundred physicists and materials scientists working to develop a new generation of electronics to address the challenge of energy used in information technology and communications.
NSW branch president A/Prof Sophie Primig welcomed the audience to UNSW, and introduced the work of Materials Australia, which provides its members with a competitive advantage through access to lab tours and research teams like FLEET; this was followed by a talk by Chief Investigator Nagy Valanoor on the future of computing, more specifically on the work of FLEET and the materials being developed at UNSW and other NSW/Australian centres for use in future, low-energy electronics.
The group was then led through a campus-wide tour of FLEET labs, starting at the School of Material Science and Engineering, where CI Valanoor opened his fabrication labs, and research fellow Dr Peggy Schoenherr led a talk through Chief Investigator Jan Seidel’s STM and AFM characterisation equipment. The tour concluded with a visit to the School of Physics, led by Dr Karina Hudson. Chief Investigator Alex Hamilton opened his low-temperature measurement laboratories for quantum electronic devices; the group was briefed on the role of novel materials in the search for new, ultra-low energy electronics.
Finally, Materials Australia members were invited to a networking session with staff members and students of UNSW-FLEET.
Materials Australia members touring FLEET’s labs at UNSW
FLEET’ Mathew Rendell and Dr Karina Hudson