The event is a Science breakfast for girls in Years 10 to 12 at which they will hear Dr Judy Hart from the University of New South Wales.
Dr Hart will speak on 'Developing new materials for Renewable energy' .
New materials are important for every area of technological development – from building and construction, to electronic devices, quantum computing and medical implants. This makes materials science an exciting area of research with broad practical applications.
My area of research is materials for renewable energy applications. One of the problems with renewable energy is that we don’t have efficient ways of storing and transporting the energy. One solution to this problem is photocatalysis, where energy from light is used to make chemical reactions occur.
By this process, new materials can directly convert solar energy to chemical fuels such as hydrogen. This means that the energy can be stored and transported. However, current materials have low efficiencies, high costs and poor long-term stability.
The challenge is to understand the reasons for these problems and to design improved materials.
Students will be seated at tables with students from other schools. At each table there will be two or three women at various stages in a career in science or engineering or still studying at university. Over breakfast, the students can query them about their life and work.
Cost: $15 per student. First teacher is free, extra teachers at $15 each.
When making a booking: If a teacher is making the booking and plans to accompany the students, they should enter their details as the 'First teacher'. If this is left blank, then the system will assume they are not coming.
Discount Available: Schools with a low ICSEA value can apply for a discounted fee of $5 per student by emailing Vicphysics. A response will be supplied by return email. If the discounted fee is confirmed for the school, the email will include a code which can be entered when making the booking. Please note: There is a limited pool of funds for this subsidy so schools should seek confirmation quickly.
Numbers: There is a limit of a maximum of 12 students per school. Extra places may be offered closer to the day.