Tag Archives: Shane Telfer

30 or more PhD nanotechnology studentships available in New Zealand

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) lists a notice posted Jan. 5, 2015 for 30+ PhD studentships in the field of nanotechnology available in New Zealand. The posting comes from New Zealand’s McDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology on its ‘studentship’ webpage (Note: A link has been removed),

The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology is New Zealand’s premier research organisation concerned with high quality research and research education in materials science and nanotechnology.

30+ PhD studentships are now open across our research areas and partnership institutions.

Successful candidates will be a member of the MacDiarmid Institute, a national Centre of Research Excellence which provides collaborative opportunities and a thriving environment to work in.

Each scholarship is worth NZD$27,000  per annum (not taxed) and includes all student fees.

Come to New Zealand to enjoy the best of life and science!

For more details on specific projects, deadlines, etc – contact the appropriate MacDiarmid Institute investigator  from the list below.

Look out for 6 Postdoctoral Fellowships to be advertised soon.

To give you a sense of the possibilities I have excerpted a few of the studentship descriptions (Note: formatting has been changed and links removed),

Professor Kevin E. Smith

Head, School of Chemical Sciences
University of Auckland
kevin.smith@auckland.ac.nz

Synchrotron Radiation X-Ray Spectroscopic Studies of Functional Metal Oxides

The available Ph.D. project involves the experimental study of the electronic structure of transition metal oxides using a suite of synchrotron radiation-based spectroscopies.

Professor Jadranka Travas-Sejdic

The University of Auckland(School of Chemical Sciences)
j.travas-sejdic@auckland.ac.nz

2D and 3D conducting polymer structures to interrogate and sense biological cells.

The PhD project will be highly cross-disciplinary involving materials chemistry, microfabrication of conducting polymer structures and their interaction with biological cells.

The PhD will be enrolled at UoA but the project will be highly collaborative between The University of Auckland and the University of Canterbury.

Dr Geoff Willmott

The University of Auckland
g.willmott@auckland.ac.nz

New Tools for Soft Nanomechanics: Nanoaspiration

We have a growing capability in nanofluidics, an emerging field which aims to understand the physics and chemistry of soft nanomaterials, and of fluidic transport in confined spaces.

Dr Duncan McGillivray

d.mcgillivray@auckland.ac.nz
The University of Auckland

Biologicaly patterning of surfaces

A PhD scholarship in chemistry is offered for research into biological patterning of surfaces based at the School of Chemical Sciences at the University of Auckland.

Dr Shane Telfer

Massey University, Palmerston North
s.telfer@massey.ac.nz

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are an exciting class of porous materials with a raft of applications.

The project will focus on the design, synthesis, and characterisation of MOFs for gas storage and separations.  Novel spectroscopic techniques will be employed to gain insight into the MOF structure and functional properties.

Good luck to all the applicants!

Images of Nanotechnology competition in New Zealand

The deadline is Oct. 31, 2014 (Hallowe’en), which is on Friday this year. The competition, the third annual,  is for researchers and students based in New Zealand. Here’s more from the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology’s Images of Nanotechnology competition webpage,

Entries are now open for the third Images of Nanotechnology Competition to find the best NZ images from nanotechnology research. An exhibition of selected images will be held in Nelson [New Zealand] in February, in conjunction with the AMN7 conference (http://www.amn-7.com/) and $2000 in prizes will be awarded, courtesy of the MacDiarmid Institute.

Up to three entries can be submitted through the entry form on the website:
http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/nanoevents/compform.shtml

The best images will be displayed in the Nelson Provincial Museum, for four weeks in February 2015. The deadline for entries is 31 October 2014, and any entry received before 10 October will be eligible to be chosen as the poster image for the exhibition.

Please think about how you would explain your images to a lay audience, and have a description prepared when you submit your image(s). These descriptions may be used on the labels next to images that are shown in the Gallery. You should explain the image as though you are explaining it to a non-scientist friend – in the past we have found that many descriptions are far too technical and in fact it would be very help to try your description out on a friend before submitting it. We encourage you to also submit a few supporting images that might help a viewer understand how your image(s) were created.

Entries are encouraged from any researcher or research student based in NZ. Please do let all your colleagues, students and friends know about the competition.

The competition entry form can be found on the University of Canterbury’s Images of Nanotechnology competition webpage,

A competition to find the best NZ images from nanotechnology research.

  • 1st prize – $1000
  • 2nd prize – $700
  • 3rd prize – $300

Deadline for receipt of images is 5pm on Friday 31 October 2014.

All entries and supporting images must be added sequentially (i.e. one at a time) by returning to this form. Please note that there is a 10Mb file limit. Larger images can be submitted on a CD to “Images of Nanotechnology”, Main Office, level 7, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8140. If you submit images on a CD you must print out one copy of this form for each image submitted and send the signed copy with your CD.

By submitting this entry I confirm that the entries are my own work. I understand and agree to abide by the rules of the competition. I agree to allow these works to be published online and to be displayed to the public.

Here’s some more information about the AMN7 (Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology) conference being held Feb. 8 – 12, 2015 in Nelson, New Zealand,

Earlybird registration closes on October 31.  Please click here to register for AMN-7.

On behalf of the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology I would like to extend you a warm invitation to join us in Nelson for AMN-7 in February 2015.  AMN-7 is the seventh in our biennial series of meetings that focus on the latest research on advanced materials and nanotechnology.  This event will continue the best traditions of previous events, which include a range of high-impact plenary presentations, cutting-edge invited and contributed talks, interactive poster presentations and convivial social events.  The intimate scale of AMN conferences and the broad interests of fellow delegates offer many opportunities for networking and interdisciplinary discussions.

The venue of AMN-7 – the city of Nelson – has special significance for New Zealand science as it is the birthplace of Ernest Rutherford, the Nobel Prize winner for chemistry in 1908. The Rutherford Hotel will serve as the main conference venue.  Nelson’s excellent climate, beaches, mountains and lakes make it an attractive destination.  And it would be remiss of me not to mention the swag of local wineries and craft breweries.

I hope you’re able to join us in Nelson in 2015.

Shane Telfer
AMN-7 Conference Chair

For anyone curious about the organization which puts on this conference, from the MacDiarmid Institute’s About Us webpage (Note: Links have been removed),

The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology is a national network of New Zealand’s leading scientists, leveraging strength across the country and internationally. We build materials and devices from atoms and molecules, developing and applying cutting edge techniques in physics, chemistry and engineering. We capture our diversity to create benefit and build strength.

We partner with New Zealand businesses to take our innovative new technologies to export markets in sectors as diverse as health, electronics, food and fashion. We train entrepreneurial and socially-aware young scientists, many of whom go on to work in industry or start their own companies, in a culture of excellence and collaboration.

Through sharing the results of our scientific research with the public and with Government, we are inspiring researchers and working to generate a nationwide culture change where science and innovation are celebrated as the keys to New Zealand’s future prosperity.

While the Institute is hosted by Victoria University of Wellington, our Investigators work throughout New Zealand. Named after Alan MacDiarmid, whose curiosity and determination saw him awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the MacDiarmid Institute was New Zealand’s first Centre of Research Excellence.

Good luck!