Research

Research in the School of Chemical and Physical Sciences covers a wide range of exciting topics and is at the forefront of international study. An emphasis on materials science research is a common thread in the following fields:

• nanomaterials – quantum dots, wool colourants, carbon nanotubes
• ceramics and glasses for imaging
• Raman spectroscopy (SERS)
• soft matter – biomineralisation, 3D patterning
• heritage materials (conservation science)

Other research topics include:

• synthesis of bioactive natural products 
• carbohydrates as immunotherapy drugs
• geophysics and paleomagnetism
• stellar astrophysics and astronomy

A range of state-of-the-art electron microscopes, NMR spectrometers, lasers and other spectroscopic instruments support the research programmes.

Students

Around 80 - 100 graduate research students are typically in the School and contribute to its vibrant atmosphere. 

Research is funded internally, from external research grants and via a number of postgraduate scholarships. Some scholarships are linked with Crown Research Institutes and in collaboration with industry. The Curtis-Gordon Scholarship fund of $800,000 is available for chemistry PhD, Masters and Honours students.

Staff in the School published 105 papers in peer-refereed journals in 2008.  

Links with other research providers

The School was chosen to host the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology in 2002 – New Zealand’s first Centre of Research Excellence in the physical sciences. It is named after our School’s most famous graduate, the late Professor Alan MacDiarmid, co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2000 for his work on conducting polymers. 

Research collaborations with IRL, GNS Science and NIWA in the Wellington region, and with the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research situated on the Victoria University campus, add breadth and practical experience to the opportunities available for students.

Staff at the School have ongoing collaborative research programmes with many overseas universities and research institutes. For example, we work with scientists at Oxford and Cambridge Universities and Imperial College London, the Max-Plank Institute in Stuttgart, Germany and Boston and Stanford Universities in the US. 

Strong links with a wide range of industries, such as New Zealand Pharmaceuticals, Toshiba and Magritech facilitate the rapid uptake and development of discoveries from research programmes.