News

UNSW, India join forces in nanotechnology research
April 22, 2008
Dr Sri Bandyopadhyay Dr Sri Bandyopadhyay

UNSW's Faculty of Science will team with Indian counterparts in two major research projects in the field of nanotechnology, following a funding announcement by the Federal Government.

The projects are part of the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund's $7 million collaborative science initiative, announced by Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr.

The Australia-India Strategic Research Fund is Australia's largest bilateral research fund, providing $20 million over five years for collaborative research projects.

The Fund aims to facilitate and support science and technology research cooperation between the two countries.

A team led by Dr Sri Bandyopadhyay from the School of Material Sciences and Engineering, will receive $1.55 million to research a wide range of cutting edge applications for nanomaterials converted into nancomposites in the fields of electronics, coatings, fuel cells and clean energy.

He will work alongside Professor Martin Green from the Centre of Excellence in Advanced Silicon Photovoltaics and Photonics, the School of Materials Science and Engineering's Professor Aibing Yu and colleagues from the University of Queensland, ANU and Flinders University.

The project is one of only two to receive "top-down" funding. India considers UNSW a world leader in nanotechnology and its applications in solar cell and clean energy.

A second project led by Nagarajan Valanoor, also from the School of Materials Science and Engineering, will receive more than $320,000 to look at hybrid magnetoelectric nanostructures and how to optimise their performance.

The announcement follows a visit to UNSW in January of a high-level Indian delegation led by the Science and Technology Minister, Mr Kapil Sibal.