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Volume 6, Edition 3 – May 2010 |
ATN in PROFILE
The ongoing partnership between ATN and Chinese universities to boost
their capabilities in research and research training in nanoscience is soon
to enter a new phase, with the recruitment of scholarship students and
appointment of adjunct staff to give students international research
exposure and opportunities.
Under the banner of the Australia-China NanoNetwork, a partnership between the ATN and the International Strategic Technology Alliance, a consortium of 21 Chinese universities that includes many of the best ranked, Professor Ning Gu has recently been appointed an Adjunct Professor at RMIT University.
Professor Gu is Dean of the School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, and the Director of the Research Centre for Nanoscale Science and Technology in Southeast University, Nanjing. He is one of the foremost nanoscientists in China in the area of functional nanoparticles and is the first Chinese Professor to be appointed to an adjunct position via the NanoNetwork, with several such appointments to be made as part of co-supervision arrangements for a new cohort of PhD students.
Recruitment is currently underway for these 10 new PhD students across the ATN, who will undertake studies under the 'renewable energy' and 'nanomedicine' banners ‐ each with an underlying nanomaterials theme. Australian students will have the opportunity to work under the supervision of Chinese supervisors such as Professor Gu and benefit both from their experience and exposure to a different research culture, and vice-versa for Chinese students that are part of the program.
The students will also participate in a Graduate student 'Autumn School' to be held late in 2010 in Suzhou. This School will bring together a cohort of Chinese and ATN PhD students to discuss matter of mutual interest in areas of nanomedicine and medical nanotechnology. It will also encourage the establishment of a NanoNetwork Research Student Network to drive research student collaborations, exchanges and friendships which will serve the participants well as they move forward in their research careers.
