2009 Press Releases
“Nanoscale Science and Technology: Highlights & Prospects”
10.02.2009
UCC’s Research Highlights Lecture Series will continue with the next lecture on Thursday next, February 12th when Dr Aidan Quinn will discuss Nanoscale Science and Technology: Highlights and Prospects.
10.02.2009
UCC’s Research Highlights Lecture Series will continue with the next lecture on Thursday next, February 12th when Dr Aidan Quinn will discuss Nanoscale Science and Technology: Highlights and Prospects.
A nanometre is a truly tiny distance, a few times the size of an atom, 50,000 times smaller than a human hair, a million times smaller than the head of a pin. Drawing upon work carried out by the Programme for Research in Third Level (PRTLI)-funded researchers at UCC, Dr Quinn will explain how structures on the nanometre scale can have different or completely new properties compared to larger structures fabricated from the same materials. For example, the gold we see in wedding rings and jewellery is butter yellow, but solutions of nanoscale gold particles, which were first made over 100 years ago, are wine red!
This presentation by Dr Quinn will describe two routes for making nanoscale structures and some applications of these structures in everyday life. In “top-down” methods, which are used to make computer chips, large, flat pieces of silicon are patterned and most of the material is removed to leave the nanoscale structures behind. In “bottom-up” methods derived from chemistry or biology, atoms and molecules are assembled like Lego blocks to make nanostructures like the gold nanoparticles mentioned above. These nanoparticles are currently used in a wide variety of medical tests.
Aidan Quinn is Head of the Nanotechnology Group at the Tyndall National Institute in UCC.
To celebrate 10 years of Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI) investment in UCC, and to mark its contribution to the development of the University, the region and the nation, the UCC Research Highlights Lecture Series aims to convey to a wide audience the significance and impact of PRTLI investment in UCC.
The Lecture Series will continue until May 7th 2009 and cover a wide range of topics including nanoscience and technology; food & health; cell biology; environment, marine and energy.
The lecture will take place on Thursday, February 12th at 1.00pm in the Aula Maxima, UCC. Admission is free, and as always, members of the public are invited to attend.
Picture: Dr Aidan Quinn, holding a gold-coated silicon wafer and a vial of gold nanoparticles.
978MMcS
This presentation by Dr Quinn will describe two routes for making nanoscale structures and some applications of these structures in everyday life. In “top-down” methods, which are used to make computer chips, large, flat pieces of silicon are patterned and most of the material is removed to leave the nanoscale structures behind. In “bottom-up” methods derived from chemistry or biology, atoms and molecules are assembled like Lego blocks to make nanostructures like the gold nanoparticles mentioned above. These nanoparticles are currently used in a wide variety of medical tests.
Aidan Quinn is Head of the Nanotechnology Group at the Tyndall National Institute in UCC.
To celebrate 10 years of Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI) investment in UCC, and to mark its contribution to the development of the University, the region and the nation, the UCC Research Highlights Lecture Series aims to convey to a wide audience the significance and impact of PRTLI investment in UCC.
The Lecture Series will continue until May 7th 2009 and cover a wide range of topics including nanoscience and technology; food & health; cell biology; environment, marine and energy.
The lecture will take place on Thursday, February 12th at 1.00pm in the Aula Maxima, UCC. Admission is free, and as always, members of the public are invited to attend.
Picture: Dr Aidan Quinn, holding a gold-coated silicon wafer and a vial of gold nanoparticles.
978MMcS