Professor of Nanotechnology appointed at Victoria

MEDIA RELEASE

29 May 2007

Professor of Nanotechnology appointed at Victoria

Victoria University scientist Dr Pablo Etchegoin has been appointed as its first Professor of Nanotechnology.

Dr Etchegoin, who is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Chemical & Physical Sciences and a Principal Investigator in the MacDiarmid institute for Advanced Materials & Nanotechnology, will take up his new position on 1 July. He has been appointed after the position was internationally advertised.

Nanotechnology is a field of science and technology that investigates the use of particles and structures in the nanometer size range (one nanometer is a thousand of a micron) and their possible applied use in areas such as industry and medicine.

Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Science, Professor David Bibby, said Dr Etchegoin was an outstanding candidate.

“Pablo’s research within the School and the MacDiarmid Institute is of an international standing. Last year a team he led published ground-breaking research that provided the most conclusive experimental proof available on the detection of single molecules using laser spectroscopy. He also picked up a three-year Marsden Fund grant worth $735,000 to carry out further research in this area.”

Professor Bibby said Dr Etchegoin’s appointment was a strategic initiative.

“Through hosting the MacDiarmid Institute, a Government-funded Centre of Research Excellence, Victoria has built on its reputation as a focus for nanotechnology. The University has decided that if Victoria is to maintain and enhance its strength in the physical sciences, and in nanotechnology in particular, such an investment was essential.”

Dr Etchegoin, who joined Victoria in 2003, holds an MSc from Balseiro Institute in Argentina and a PhD from the University of Stuttgart in Germany.

His research interests include the study of optical methods for the detection of small quantities of molecules and the study of single molecules by laser spectroscopy. A particular interest is in the use of Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) in its various implementations with a view towards applications in a biological context.

Dr Etchegoin has strong research links with Imperial College in London with both the Physics Department (Blackett Laboratory) and the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, as well as with the National Physical Laboratory in Britain.

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