Untitled Document

April 2004

Nano-foam Makes Magnetic Debut

Physicists in Greece, Australia and Russia have made a new form of carbon that has the lowest density ever reported for a solid - just 2 milligrams per cubic centimetre. The material is a nano-foam of carbon clusters and is the first form of pure carbon to display ferromagnetism, albeit temporary, at room temperature. The team, which presented its results at a meeting of the American Physical Society in Montreal earlier this week, says the foam could be used for spintronic applications and in medical imaging.

DEST Awards Nanotechnology Projects

The Department of Education, Science and Training announced the selection outcomes for IAP-IST Competitive Grants (Round 5) in which three grants totaling more then $835,000 were awarded to projects with a nanotechnology focus.

November 2003

NSW Offers Small Change to Join Nanotechnology Revolution

NSW is lagging behind other [Australian] states in funding the nanotechnology revolution, with less than a fifth the investment of Victoria in the area. The Bracks Government committed $12 million last year to establish Nanotechnology Victoria to help support and commercialise local nanotechnology research.

Powder with the Power to Transform the World

At ANU in Canberra, research physicist Dr Ying Chen has developed boron nitride nanotubes which he believes it will open the way for making everything from hydrogen-powered cars and the next generation of jetliners to wafer-thin televisions and powerful computers so small you can slip them into your pocket.

Nanotechnology Could Make Lanterns Out of Flickering Fluoro

Half a century after the fluorescent tube revolutionised indoor lighting, scientists at the University of Technology Sydney have come up with another bright idea.

Nano Company is Awared R&D Grant from AusIndustry

Very Small Particle Company Pty Ltd in QLD has revievd an AusIndustry R&D Start grant ($1,407,651) for the "Production of Nano-Scale Metal Oxides". AusIndustry is the Commonwealth Government's business agency within the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources and provides a range of incentives for Australian businesses to foster investment and become more innovative and internationally competitive.

For more information visit: http://www.ausindustry.gov.au

Home Smart Home

Imagine windows that clean themselves. Or bathroom tiles that will not, and cannot, build up soap scum. Imagine piping sunlight around the house like water, or rolling on paint that can change colour whenever you want it to.

Small Science, Big Questions

Nanotechnology promises great rewards in our domestic lives, but at what cost?

October 2003

Trade Deal With Japan Boosts Investment Ties

Japan and Australia have signed an agreement to enhance investment in biotechnology, nanotechnology, communications, renewable energy and environment industries. The memorandum was signed by the Japan External Trade Organisation, Invest Australia and the Australian Trade Commission.

September 2003

CLINICAL TRIALS PUT DENDRIMERS ON COURSE FOR TREATING HIV

They might be nano’s artificial molecule, but dendrimers are taking real steps toward fighting HIV and sexually transmitted diseases in women. Starpharma Pooled Development Ltd. [profile] of Melbourne, Australia, gained approval in July from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to start human trials of VivaGel, a dendrimer-based topical gel designed to prevent or reduce disease transmission during sexual intercourse.

Nanoscience Working Small, Thinking Big

The Australian Academy of Science has published an article titled "Nanoscience working small, thinking big". It highlights the potential of nanoscience and its diversity.

Nanotechnology: Can it leap from lab to fab?

Some people are asking whether nanotechnology could be writing cheques reality can’t cash.

August 2003

University of Queensland gets $7m for future technology

Researchers at the University of Queensland have won a multimillion-dollar grant to further develop the amazing science of constructing materials atom by atom. The Australian Research Council yesterday announced it would provide more than $7 million over five years towards a Centre for Functional Nanomaterials.

Nanoparticle glass feels the heat

By doping a laminate sheet with nanoparticles and sandwiching it between two clear glass panes, researchers in Australia say they have made glazing that transmits sunlight while blocking out most its heat.

July2003

Digital Paper to Surface in Adelaide

Researchers in South Australia are using nanotechnology to develop substances they hope will one day result in digital paper. The research is being carried out at the Ian Wark Research Institute, the Australia Research Council's Special Research Centre for Particle and Material Interfaces at the University of South Australia.

UQ appoints first director of new high-tech institute

The University of Queensland has appointed Professor Peter Gray as the inaugural director of the $50 million Australian Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN).

FULL STORY at http://www.uq.edu.au/news/index.phtml?article=4594

June 2003

Innovation Access Programme (IAP) Round 4

IAP applications will be received between 20 June and 18 July 2003. The Innovation Access Programme aims to promote innovation and competitiveness by increasing Australian access to global research and technologies and facilitate their uptake by Australian researchers and firms, particularly Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Starpharma and IRL NZ Establish Major Nanotechnology Alliance

Starpharma Pooled Development Limited (ASX:SPL) and Industrial Research Limited (IRL) have announced the establishment of a collaborative initiative into the development of carbohydrate functionalised dendrimers for use in therapeutics, antigen presentation and as biologically active compounds in their own right. This leading edge effort aims to make nanometre-sized particles that can be used to target drugs to specific sites resulting in better performance and fewer side effects.

http://www.starpharma.com/news/news.htm

Starpharma's USA affiliate DNT Inc. at the heart of recent US Nanotechnology developments

Starpharma Pooled Development Limited (ASX: SPL) announces developments that demonstrate the opportunities and leading position in the US nanotechnology industry for investee company Dendritic Nanotechnologies Inc

April 2003

Patent Granted for Biosilicon in Australia

Australian nanotechnology company, pSivida Limited, is very pleased to announce the granting of a further new Australian patent for BioSilicon™ to its subsidiary pSiMedica Limited.

MiniFAB sees the light

SCORESBY'S micro nano-technology plant MiniFAB has announced it will invest $600,000 in the Australian Synchrotron at Monash. The company will build a high-tech laboratory at the $206m synchrotron due to be completed by 2007.

March 2003

Australian Overturns 15 years of Nano-science Doctrine

An Australian mathematician has thrown 15 years of accepted scientific practice out the window by discovering a design flaw in a key component of the Atomic Force Microscope. His finding will force a rethink into the design and use of an instrument that has become a cornerstone of scientific measurement and analysis.

Australia Leads the Nanotech World

Australia has been praised as a leading researcher in the fields of nanotechnology, biomimetics and nano-scale manufacturing, a fact that is attracting interest from overseas. Dr Vijoleta Braach-Maksvytis, co-director of CSIRO Nanotechnology, claimed both US and European companies with “nanotechnological” interests are looking to Australia.

January 2003

Australian Researchers Serve up a Carbon Nanotube Super-Racket

Scientist at ANU are implementing carbon nanotubes in the design of superstrong tennis rackets.

Aussies Bask in the Summer Sun, Nanopowders Protecting their Skin

A Western Australian company called Advanced Powder Technologies (APT) has developed a product called ZinClear, which is a transparent form of the widely used broad-spectrum ultraviolet (UV) absorber zinc oxide.

December 2002

Building a House Using Nanotechnology

A house featuring the latest developments in energy-saving nanotechnology is to be built by CSIRO and the University of Technology Sydney by July 2003.

ABC Nanobacteria Documentary Wins Award

A documentary titled Alien Underworld has won the Grand Prize at the at 2002 Beijing International Science Film Festival. The documentary, produced by the Australian Broadcasting Company, focuses on nanobacteria.

New Research Priorities

The Minister for Education, Science and Training, Dr Brendan Nelson, and the Minister for Science, Mr Peter McGauran, today welcomed the announcement by the Prime Minister of Australia’s national research priorities:

An Environmentally Sustainable Australia
Promoting and Maintaining Good Health
Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries
Safeguarding Australia

Nanotechnology has been made a priority under the Frontier Technologies initiative.

World Electronics Forum 2003 to be held in Australia

The Australian Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (AEEMA) has been invited to host the ninth World Electronics Forum (WEF). While exact venues have not been announced, it is expected the event will be held in Canberra and Sydney during the first week of September 2003. AEEMA Chief Executive, Angus Robinson, said the WEF was an exciting opportunity to focus the world's attention on Australia's R&D capabilities, particularly on areas important to the future of the electronics industry such as photonics, wireless, and nanotechnology.

UNSW Develops Silicon-Chip Qubit

The first element of a device for quantum information processing has been completed by the team at the Centre for Quantum Computing Technology (UNSW).

November 2002

Starpharma Awarded its Third US Nanotechnology Patent

The Australian company Starpharma Limited has been issued a patent, entitled “Anionic or cationic dendrimer antimicrobial or antiparasitic compositions”, from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This is the third of Starpharma’s patents to receive approval in the US, and further consolidates the Company’s worldwide dendrimer nanotechnology intellectual property.

Super Investment by WA Government

THE $480 million Western Australia Government Superannuation Plan has made two $2 million direct private equity investments into companies originating from research at the University of WA. These investments will assist companies such as the nanoparticle company Advanced Powder Technology Pty Ltd (APT) bring their projects into commercialisation. Read more ....

http://www.businessnews.com.au/News.cfm?function=show&NewsID=9412

Australian Universities Spend Big on Microscopes

The universities of NSW, Queensland, Western Australia and Sydney have raised $20 million to buy microscopes suitable for nanotechnolgy applications. The collaboration is a result of the new Nanostructural Analysis Network Organisation Major National Research Facility (NANO-MNRF), based at the Australian Key Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis in Sydney. In early 2003 Queensland will receive an electron microscope for 3D images of biological molecular structures. UWA will install a machine for nanoscale mass spectroscopy, with a very fine ion beam for such purposes as geological dating. In 2004 UNSW will obtain a combined electron and ion microscope.

News Link

October 2002

Emerging Technologies Laboratory

A major research laboratory that will examine the effect of emerging technologies on society is likely to be established in Australia within six months at the Australian Technology Park in Sydney. It is expected the laboratory will assist in creating a critical mass of researchers and developers to help establish the nation as a leader in such emerging areas as multimedia and nanotechnology.

For further details please see: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/printpage/0,5942,5201677,00.html

Australian National Nanotechnology Network Established

The newly formed Australian National Nanotechnology Network (ANNN) has announced the establishment of the Nano House, which will exhibit the latest nano-engineered materials and devices. The Nano House project is a collaboration between UTS's Institute for Nanoscale Technology and the CSIRO. It will demonstrate the Institute's research on energy-efficiency using nanotechnology, and The House will also be used to educate the general public about the advantages of nano-engineered technologies.

The ANNN anticipates the first part of the House to be completed by the middle of next year, with businesses and research centres supplying the exhibits in exchange for exposure. It will be completed in stages, depending on the level of interest shown by industry and research institutions to get involved. This will also depend on current nanotechnology developments.

New Micro nano- technology plant in Victoria

Plans for a new micro nano-technology (MNT) plant was launched by the State Minister for Innovation John Brumby to be established at Caribbean Park in Victoria. Read more at:

http://www.fcnonline.com.au/knoxjournal/read.asp?article=003n2043504.txt&s=news

September 2002

Australian scientists have produced minuscule insulin particles at the nanometer scale to improve their effectiveness.

Independent animal trials were conducted earlier this year by the Metabolic Research Unit at Deakin University to investigate the effects of particle re-engineering on pharmaceutical grade insulin using supercritical fluid (SCF) technology. The insulin was re-engineered by Eiffel Technologies, a specialist chemical engineering company that uses supercritical fluid processing techniques to reduce drug particle size and achieve controlled particle design of new and existing pharmaceutical compounds.
This nano-sized insulin particles are more efficient with only one-third of the dose required compared with current insulin doses. The new form of insulin are also effective longer, prompting hope that diabetics could cut the number of injections they need each day.
For this full story click here: http://www.eiffeltechnologies.com.au/media_releases/mr_15_august_2002.htm

August 2002

STI Nanotechnology Grant for Victoria

Round Two of the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Infrastructure Grants Program supported by the Victorian Government has awarded $A12 million for the establishment of Nanotechnology Victoria. This consortium will coordinate research and development, investment attraction, commercialisation and industrial partnerships in areas such as materials, fabrication and sensing. Nanotechnology Victoria is a collaboration between Monash University, RMIT, Swinburne University and CSIRO.

For further details please visit :

http://www.innovation.vic.gov.au/download/successful_grant_applicants.pdf

July 2002

Monash STRIP

Construction has commenced on the first stage of the Science Technology Research and Innovation Precint (STRIP) at Monash University in Melbourne. The $35 million, four-storey building will house Monash researchers and industry partners and be ready for occupation early in 2003.

The focus of Monash STRIP will be on supporting five rapidly developing interdisciplinary research areas that are attractive to industry partners. They are:

- Scientific computing
- Bioinformatics
- Biotechnology
- Nanotechnology
- Environment

Biota is the first company to reach agreement in becoming a tenant and the university is in final negotiations with several other companies. Commercial tenants will join the Centre for Stem Cells and Tissue Repair, the National Centre for Advanced Cell Engineering, the Centre for Green Chemistry, Computer Science and Software Engineering and Monash Cluster Computing.

http://www.monash.edu.au/STRIP