TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction and Welcome 2 Research Facilities 2 Research Strengths 2 Teaching and Higher Degree Programs 4 Recent Research Highlights 6 Our People 9 Research Interests 11 Dr Jennifer L Beck 11 Dr Stephen Blanksby 13 Professor John B Bremner 15 Dr Carolyn T Dillon 17 Professor Nick Dixon 19 Professor David Griffith 21 Dr Mark in het Panhuis 23 Dr Dianne Jolley 25 Professor Leon Kane-Maguire 27 Associate Professor Paul Keller 29 Dr Wilford Lie 31 Dr Garry Mockler 33 Dr Glennys O’Brien 34 Professor William Price 35 Professor Stephen Pyne 38 Dr Stephen Ralph 40 Professor Margaret M Sheil 42 Dr Danielle Skropeta 43 Professor Gordon G Wallace 45 Associate Professor Stephen Wilson 47 Major Equipment 49 Research Funding 52 Current Successful Grants 53 2004-2005 Publications Data 59 Chemistry Department Research Booklet Updated February 2007 Page 1 INTRODUCTION AND WELCOME Welcome to the Department of Chemistry at the University of Wollongong, NSW. Our Department is currently one of the larger Chemistry based Departments in Australia with a national and international reputation for excellence in teaching and research. There is a close nexus between our research and teaching programs where much of our undergraduate program is informed by our research. The Department has particular internationally recognized research strengths in biomolecular science and medicinal chemistry, materials chemistry and environmental chemistry. The Department has around 55 Academic staff, including research only personnel and approximately 50 PhD students. In addition, there is about 20 staff engaged in research support positions, giving over 120 staff members dedicated to research projects and outcomes. The Chemistry Department at UoW has been consistently successful over a number of years in attracting funding for its work from both competitive Government sources such as the Australian Research Council (ARC), National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and other agencies and from Industrial sources, through collaborative linkages and direct contract research. More details of research funding are given later in this publication but we give here a list illustrating the range of collaborative partners we are currently involved with: AMRAD, ANSTO, AstraZeneca, Avexa, BHP Billiton, BlueScope Steel, Cochlear, CSIRO, CRC Cochlear Implants, CRC SmartPrint, CRC IMST, CRC Polymers, Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO), Department of Primary Industry, Glaxo, Johnson and Johnson Research Pty Ltd and Rio Tinto. Research Facilities The Department has modern equipment and facilities for research and teaching. Particularly important are state-of-the-art facilities in mass spectrometry (including high resolution electrospray, LC/ion trap/MS, LC/MS, GC/MS and MALDI), NMR spectroscopy (300 MHz, 2 x 500 MHz and access to both an 800 MHZ Brucker Spectrometer at ANU and a 600 MHz at UNSW), an electrochemical surface mapping facility, FTIR spectroscopy, various CD UV-vis spectrometers and an extensive range of other analytical equipment. The Department also has strong capabilities in computer-aided molecular modelling. Research Strengths The Department has active research programs in both pure and applied chemistry. These programs are concentrated into four partly overlapping areas: • Bio-organic/Medicinal Chemistry • Structural Determination of Biomolecules and Protein Biochemistry • Environmental Chemistry • Intelligent Polymers and Electromaterials Science An integral and interconnecting component of each of four major programs is the exploitation of the Department’s analytical /instrumental expertise and equipment. Chemistry Department Research Booklet Updated February 2007 Page 2 Centre for Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology The Centre for Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology (CMCP) was established in November 2006 and forms part of the Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute. There are 8 academic staff, more than 9 post-doctoral fellows and 27 post-graduate students endeavouring to enhance the understanding of the molecular origins of disease and undertake modern drug design, leading to the development of new pharmaceuticals. The three major disease states currently being targeted by the CMCP are: anti-infectives, encompassing antibacterial agents, including multi-drug resistant strains, anti-viral agents (e.g. HIV, Dengue fever, hepatitis C, anti-fungals) and anti-malarial agents; anti-cancer agents, incorporating both drug design and development as well as formulation and clinical aspects; and cardio-vascular disease, including fundamental research associated with phospholipids and diet as well as the development of new small molecule therapeutics. Our research has attracted approximately $4.5 million (2004-2006) and expanding collaborations with hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and other research organisations (e.g. The Centre for Medical Bioscience at UoW) enables continued opportunities to progress our understanding of disease states. Biological Chemistry and biochemistry The physical sciences (chemistry, physics, mathematics) are the foundations for understanding biological processes. The Chemistry Department has several research groups involved in projects that include: (i) elucidating fundamental processes in biology such as the mechanism of replication of the bacterial genome, (ii) investigating unusual DNA structures that are present under different conditions in cells, (iii) developing new methods for clinical analysis of plasma proteins that may be important in diagnosis of disease, (iv) understanding changes in lipid composition of various tissues as result of aging and disease, and (v) measuring oestrogen mimics in waste water. These research areas directly involve seven academic staff in Chemistry in addition to numerous higher degree students and collaborators in the Science faculty and at other institutions. Some of the staff are members of the University’s Centre for Medical Bioscience. Other staff members within Chemistry in the Centre for Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology (see above) have interests in discovering new drugs that inhibit biological processes. For example, there are projects investigating the interactions of anticancer ruthenium- and arsenic- based chemotherapeutic agents with cellular proteins and DNA. Environmental Chemistry This diverse research area involves 7 academic staff and over 12 other research personnel throughout the faculty of Science. The research covers aspects of air, water, sediment and soil chemistry. Current water based projects include the fate and speciation of metal contaminants in marine ecosystems, the identification of biological indicators of aquatic contamination and toxicity. Atmospheric projects include the measurement of greenhouse gas emission rates and their isotopic signature from various sources (such as agriculture), the measurement of changes in atmospheric composition on both a regional and global scale, and quantification of solar radiation as a tool in understanding atmospheric processes. Intelligent Polymer Research Institute The Intelligent Polymer Research Institute (IPRI) is one of seven institutes at the University of Wollongong. The Institute comprises of approximately 38 personnel (full-time research staff and students) and is located in purpose built laboratories on the University of Wollongong campus and is soon to move to new world class facilities at UoW’s Innovation campus located also in Wollongong close to the commercial centre. IPRI is recognised internationally as a pioneer in Intelligent Polymer Research. The research looks at the ability of Inherently Conducting Polymers (ICPs) or carbon nanotubes to act as the sensing and actuating elements within Intelligent material systems. Realisation of the true potential of these systems now depends on their integration into other material structures with desirable mechanical properties and the development of new electrolyte systems based on room temperature ionic liquids. The Institute has strategic links and alliances with other research institutions in the USA, Japan, Korea, Italy, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Chemistry Department Research Booklet Updated February 2007 Page 3 The Intelligent Polymer Research Institute is also the leading partner and main administrative centre for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science. The Centre was formally opened in February 2006 and is a collaborative partnership between IPRI, Monash University, The Bionic Ear Institute, and St Vincents Health in Melbourne. The work program of the Centre of Excellence expands on research conducted under the previous ARC Centre for Nanostructured Electromaterials. The main aim of the centre is still to explore the science of nanomaterials having an electron or charge transfer functionality: to prepare such nanomaterials, study and develop theories for their behaviour, and exploit these new behaviours in useful applications. An ethical dimension is also included to monitor the impact of such developments on the community as a whole. IPRI will continue to explore the science of nanomaterials having an electron or charge transfer functionality: to prepare such nanomaterials, study and develop theories for their behaviour, and exploit these new behaviours for applications in membrane technology, asymmetric synthesis, chromatography, sensors, biomaterials, advanced coatings, actuators and solid state devices. Teaching and Higher Degree Programs The Department offers a number of undergraduate