Driving along Squires Way you can’t help but notice the growing spectacular that is Wollongong’s Innovation Campus.
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This special piece of Fairy Meadow, since transformed to North Wollongong, is home to one of Australia’s pre-eminent research facilities.
The Australian Institute for Innovative Materials (AIIM) facility is home to the Intelligent Polymer Research Institute (IPRI), the lead node in a national Centre of research excellence – ACES.
These facilities are a critical component of the vision to develop new manufacturing opportunities for the Illawarra.
Starting with ideas, no more than a twinkle in the eye, a small group of researchers came together on the “old campus” some 20 years ago. That group has now grown to more than 100 and comprises some of the most talented young research scientists, attracted from around the globe, who call Wollongong home.
Researchers from 27 countries (Australia, US, Ireland, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, People R China, Canada, Iran, England, Germany, Italy, France, Thailand, Denmark, India, Malaysia, Spain, Brazil, Netherlands, Philippines, Russia, Scotland, Singapore, Switzerland, Venezuela, Vietnam) have moved to Wollongong to contribute to our research effort.
The glass buildings viewed from Squires Way are, to my mind, a hot house of innovation. Ideas can be rapidly developed and tested using world-leading research facilities.
In these laboratories new types of materials that can be developed using scalable processes are discovered and developed. The materials are then transformed into devices using customised fabrication/manufacturing equipment. Our targeted areas of application are in Energy and Health (Medical Bionics).
In the energy area our research has already attracted considerable commercial investment from the US to establish a new company - Aquahydrex - based in Wollongong. The company is now involved in developing new water-splitting technologies to produce H2 and O2 as fuels or for industrial processes.
In the Bionics area we have established a vibrant research network to develop conduits for nerve and muscle regeneration as well as implants for epilepsy detection and control. We are working with local, national and international developers of equipment to develop the innovative manufacturing protocols needed to realise practical devices in the shortest time possible.
Customised equipment developed in Wollongong has also recently been installed at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne.
To accelerate developments in both areas our focus is to continue nurturing ACES’ international research network, which attracts hundreds of visitors to Wollongong each year.
Your Innovation Campus and in particular the AIIM facility has attracted some of the best minds in the world to tackle global challenges in an integrated and effective way.
I am proud to be associated with them – each of us is determined to deliver advances in energy and medical bionics and in so doing create manufacturing opportunities that utilise high performance materials.
The combination of cutting-edge technology, knowledge generation is helping Australia enter next generation manufacturing. This will help deliver jobs and economic returns, right here – in the Gong!
Professor Gordon Walllace is director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science.