Despite the arctic weather conditions, an impressive number of people came out to listen to Dr. Mathew Moodley (Senior lecturer at the School for Chemistry and Physics, Westville University of KZN) gave us some insight into the world of research into how new materials are being developed in ways that we would have considered impossible a few years ago.
Hennie Prinsloo and Dr. Mathew Moodley.
In his presentation, Dr. Moodley introduced the audience to this huge area of research called nanoscience and nanotechnology and explained why, on the nanoscale, the properties of materials we are all familiar with behave differently and have practical applications in modern devices such as solar cells, computer chips and chemical sensors. While the field of materials is huge, he focused the talk on his research area on his work on carbon and boron and gave examples of the different characteristics of their allotropes.
Members of the new MUT Student Chapter which was formed by Prof. Ralph Naidoo. This chapter is a non-profit membership organisation dedicated to promoting professionalism among automation and control engineering students and is a student chapter affiliated with the Society of Automation, Instrumentation, Measurement and Control.
Mathew explained how a high-powered laser is being used in an ultra-high vacuum chamber to deposit atomic thickness layers of materials onto a substrate in order to build up materials that can exhibit physical characteristics that differ according to the plane in which they are examined.
These new advances already play a massive role in our daily lives and can, when developed on a commercial scale, result in further exciting (and very profitable) opportunities. New developments in materials and deposition techniques have, in turn, enabled the development of many devices that we now take for granted.
It was a fascinating topic which was excellently presented and well received by those present.
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