10 December 2008
Monash University has become home to one of the world's most powerful electron microscopes, part of a new facility to study the structure of materials.
The double aberration corrected Titan 80-300 cubed transmission electron microscope, worth over $9 million can see atoms with a clarity never before achieved.
It is one of only four microscopes of this type in the world and is the first outside of North America.
The Victorian Minister for Innovation, Gavin Jennings, today opened the $37 million Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy (MCEM), which is home to the Titan. The Titan is the most powerful of ten high-performance microscopes housed in a purpose-designed building, one of the most stable ever constructed.
MCEM Director Associate Professor Joanne Etheridge said the new facility would allow scientists to gain a deeper understanding of the atomic structure of a wide range of materials.
"Everything in the world is made of atoms. The type and arrangement of atoms determine a material's properties, such as strength, colour and conductivity. By illuminating atomic structures, the powerful microscopes at MCEM give scientists the knowledge they need to develop new and better materials, such as faster computer chips, more efficient solar cells, smarter plastics and lighter, stronger metals for energy efficient transport."
Monash University Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Edwina Cornish, said the world - class research centre would enable new technological and industrial innovations, as well as help scientists understand the fundamental workings of the physical world.
The Centre, based at the Clayton campus of Monash University, was purpose-built to house the highly sensitive microscopes and uses special design features to protect the microscopes from mechanical, acoustic, thermal and electro-magnetic interference.
The Centre has attracted expert staff with specialist expertise in microscopy from leading centres around the world, including Oxford, Cambridge and Cornell universities.
MCEM supports a wide variety of disciplinary and interdisciplinary research projects, covering topics including corrosion, catalysis, optics, superconductivity, alloys, ceramics, polymers, biomaterials, microelectronics and nanotechnology.
The Centre serves and collaborates with researchers both nationally and internationally and also plays a key role in educating students in microscopy, supporting the research projects of over 100 postgraduate students.
Primary funding for the Centre and its instruments was provided by the Victorian Government, the Australian Research Council and Monash University.
Media contact: For more information please call Tim Mitchell on +61 3 9905 4840 or 0437 457780.
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