Materials Science and Engineering

How Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, could help us understand life’s origins.

2025 Research Spotlight, Materials Science and Engineering, PGRA, Research /

By Georgia Barrington-Smith In the quest to unravel one of life’s greatest mysteries—how it all began—scientists are looking beyond our planet, to the vastness of space, in search of the molecular seeds that might have sown life on Earth. One key stop on that journey is Titan—Saturn’s largest moon. For nearly two decades, NASA’s Cassini […]

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Thermo-electro-magnetic synergy: Unlocking next-gen thermoelectricity

2025 Research Spotlight, Materials Science and Engineering, PGRA, Research /

By Georgia Barrington-Smith Amidst the ongoing global energy crisis, industries such as power, manufacturing, and transportation are significant contributors to energy consumption. These sectors produce substantial amounts of unwanted heat as a byproduct, typically released into the environment through exhaust systems, heated surfaces, or cooling mechanisms. This thermal energy, often considered waste, represents a largely

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AINSE 2025 Gold Medal Ceremony and Networking Dinner

Environmental Science, Gold Medal, Materials Science and Engineering, Outreach, PGRA, Research /

On Tuesday 20th May 2025, our annual AINSE Networking Dinner was hosted at NSW Parliament House to bring together representatives from across the Australasian nuclear science and technology sector. As part of this event, AINSE Scholar Gold Medals for excellence and impact in research were formally awarded to: Read more about Rebecca’s and Hayden’s research successes below.

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Sustainably powering the digital age: Next-generation spintronic materials for a low-energy future

2025 Research Spotlight, Materials Science and Engineering, PGRA, Research /

By Georgia Barrington-Smith In today’s digital era, the rapid proliferation of online services and cloud computing has driven an unprecedented global demand for data centres. These facilities support the storage and distribution of vast data volumes, ranging from AI models to high-demand streaming content. Unfortunately, as our reliance on digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence accelerates,

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Research spotlight: Caleb Stamper (Wollongong University)

2024, Materials Science and Engineering, PGRA, Research, Research Spotlight /

Improving energy materials by understanding heat flow on the atomic scale By Georgia Barrington-Smith & Dr Rebecca Duncan With advancements in technology and increases in population leading to a looming energy crisis, it is vital to optimise energy use to meet our future needs. One of the major issues in energy generation is the production

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Student Research Spotlight: Zhibin Wu

Materials Science and Engineering, PGRA, Research /

Boosting battery performance with a new composite electrode Our developing technology is highly-reliant on efficient, powerful batteries – from your mobile phone and computer through to electric and hybrid vehicles. Most portable electronics and electric cars today use lithium-ion (Li-ion) rechargeable batteries. While Li-ion batteries have served us well, they are not without their drawbacks.

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Student Research Spotlight: Rebecca Auchettl

Materials Science and Engineering, PGRA, Research /

Unveiling the complex chemistry of Titan’s atmosphere If you’re searching for other places in our solar system that might be hospitable for some form of life, there may be no better place to look than Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. The Cassini-Huygens space probe, which visited Titan from 2005-2006, demonstrated that Titan has a dense atmosphere

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Student Research Spotlight: Ben Humphreys

Materials Science and Engineering, PGRA, Research /

Intelligent coatings: creating surfaces that respond to their surroundings Stimuli-responsive surface coatings are becoming increasingly popular due to their wide range of possible applications. These are materials that can reversibly change their properties, such as thickness, in response to signals from the outside world, such as temperature or light. These seemingly-intelligent materials can be used

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