Entries are now open for Science in Focus – the annual competition that seeks to uncover the most surprising, beautiful and technically innovative visuals of QUT research – with a new QUT Centre for Materials Science prize!
This year a prize of $750 will be awarded for the best image or video relating to materials science – a field of research that continuously creates spectacular visuals as a bi-product of its fundamental processes.
Our Centre’s researchers are in the perfect position to notice and capture these unique and often exquisite visual side effects of their work.
PhD student Hugo Hartl’s image entitled ‘Exotic surface coating produced by exposure to energetic gas’ was shortlisted in last year’s competition.
Hugo captured this image with a Leica DM6000M light microscope. On describing his entry, he said “once a liquid, this carbon-based molecule underwent a phase change caused by molecular coupling when exposed to a plasma – an energised gas. This created a thin solid coating on the surface with exotic morphology as seen here.
“The surface coatings created by this QUT research have interesting properties, including being heavily water repellent, which could be of great industrial use. The coatings are produced on the surface of a material, and occur through a new, energy efficient process,” he said.
Our Centre’s plasma expert, Professor Ken Ostrikov, is currently working in this field of research, which can have applications in catalysis, water purification and biomedicine.
Centre Investigator Dr Annalena Wolff’s 2019 entry ‘Towards a more sustainable future’ also made the shortlist.
This Helium Ion Microscope image was extracted from work produced by Annalena, Professor Nunzio Motta and international research collaborators, and relates to research innovations in energy consumption and efficiency in electronic gadgets.
“2D semiconducting materials are expected to reduce your gadgets energy consumption as well as increase computer speed,” explained Dr Wolff.
“This colorised Helium Ion Microscope image shows how such futuristic materials could look. You can see MoS2 crystals (yellow/red) which were grown on a delicate graphene sponge (green).
“A careful analysis of the graphene sponge surface reveals the formation of 2D triangular MoS2 islands (dark green). Are these small triangular 2D structures the key to your future energy efficient and fast electronic gadgets? Stay tuned to Prof Nunzio Motta’s research and find out,” she said.
The image also highlights the importance of cutting-edge technology and expertise which is required to underpin and support our researchers who are pushing the frontiers of materials engineering.
Annalena is currently working on a Centre-funded project that holds potential for more visually stunning examples, along with the many other diverse projects our centre staff are currently collaborating on.
Centre Director, Associate Professor Kathryn Fairfull-Smith said the potential for what can be entered in the materials science category is endless. “We are excited to see what our Centre staff will submit, and encourage everyone to get creative and join the competition,” she said.
The QUT Science in Focus competition is now open and entries close on 18 September 2020.
Science in Focus is hosted by QUT’s Institute for Future Environments (IFE) and proudly supported by the QUT Centre for Materials Science.
For more information including entry requirements and conditions, visit the IFE website.