Dr Nicola Gaston from Victoria’s School of Chemical and Physical Sciences will give a talk titled Beyond the limits of the periodic table.
Dr Gaston will explore recent scientific discoveries made possible by nanotechnology and highly parallel computing—sciences that have changed our understanding of materials and their structure.
Examples she will look at include how to melt a teaspoon in a cup of tea, why mercury is a liquid at room temperature, and the potential to create new kinds of atoms.
Dr Gaston is also a Principal Investigator in the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology and the current President of the New Zealand Association of Scientists.
She will be joined by Dr Rob Keyzers, also a senior lecturer in the School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, who will discuss how chemistry could help New Zealand’s wine industry.
Wine exports are worth $1 billion to the New Zealand economy every year, with Sauvignon blanc accounting for more than 70% of the volumes sold.
Dr Keyzers will describe how the clever use of chemistry can help control the sensory properties of wine, help to unlock new and lucrative markets and, ultimately, enhance sales.
The lectures will be presented at Masterton Town Hall, 22 Perry Street, Masterton on 27 May at 5.30pm. To attend this free talk email Victoria Events with ‘Masterton Lecture’ in the subject line or phone 04-463 5791 by Monday 25 May.