AUSTRALIA - JAPAN SYMPOSIUM
AUSTRALIA - JAPAN SYMPOSIUM ON EARTH SYSTEMS SCIENCE
AND ON NANOMATERIALS
Canberra, 21 November 2006
Nanomaterials design: Challenges and opportunities
Professor Max Lu, The Australian Research Council Centre for Functional Nanomaterials, University of Queensland
Professor Max Lu is Professor of Nanotechnology in Chemical Engineering at the University of Queensland.
He is an expert in the fields of nanoparticles and nanoporous materials for clean energy and environmental
applications. With over 220 journal and 160 conference publications to his credits, he is also co-inventor of 8
international patents. He has received numerous prestigious awards nationally and internationally including
the Orica Award, RK Murphy Medal, Le Fevre Prize, IUMRS Young Scientist Award, and Top 100 Most Influential
Engineers in Australia. Prof Lu is an editor and editorial board member for 12 international journals. He won the
ARC Professorial Fellowship in 2002 and Federation Fellowship in 2003. He is elected Fellow of the Australian
Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. He served on the ARC's College of Experts from 2002-
2004, and on two Expert Advisory Groups of the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council.
He was a member of the National Nanotechnology Strategy Reference Group.
This paper will present an overview of functional nanomaterials and their properties. The needs and challenges in materials design for specific applications will be discussed. Highlighted are a number of exciting application opportunities for nanomaterials such as semiconductor nanoparticles, silica molecular sieve membranes, and mesostructured carbons. The promising application fields include energy, environmental technologies and biomedical delivery system and devices, which are highly relevant to both Australia and Japan's science and technology priorities.
