Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Monash”
A switchable material based on electron-electron interactions. An Australian-led study has found unusual insulating behaviour in a new atomically-thin material – and the ability to switch it on and off. Materials that feature strong interactions between electrons can display unusual properties such as the ability to act as insulators even when they are expected to conduct electricity. These insulators, known …
Bernard Field was one of the earliest of FLEET PhD students, joining the Centre in 2018 originally as an Honours student, then a PhD student in 2019 under Agustin Schiffrin and Nikhil Medhekar. His PhD research focused on correlated electrons in a frustrated 2D lattice, within FLEET’s theme 1. We interviewed Bernard about his career path after leaving FLEET (he …
This month’s ARC infrastructure funding round saw FLEET researchers across five universities on teams awarded additional funding towards research facilities, including significant new imaging resources in South Australia and NSW. Pankaj Sharma, initially a FLEET Research Fellow at UNSW and now a Centre AI at Flinders University (South Australia), will help develop new, state-of-the-art atomic force microscopy (AFM) facilities for the …
An audience of around 90 gathered for the Meet FLEET event at UNSW earlier this month, comprising researchers, industry representatives and others. A major aim of the event was to serve as a bridge, fostering connections while providing industry professionals and researchers the opportunity to delve into collaborative research and development programs. Meet FLEET also showcased the Centre’s research capabilities …
This month’s ARC Discovery Project announcement saw FLEET research and researchers awarded additional research funding for ten projects building fundamental knowledge and strengthening Australia’s quantum, photonics and nanotechnology ecosystems. See the Australian Research Council media release. Dimitrie Culcer (UNSW); Allan MacDonald. Filling a substantial knowledge gap in novel semiconductors that can function as sensors in a frequency range where conventional …
Researchers from Monash University have unlocked fresh insights into the behaviour of quantum impurities within materials. The new, international theoretical study introduces a novel approach known as the ‘quantum virial expansion,’ offering a powerful tool to uncover the complex quantum interactions in two-dimensional semiconductors. This breakthrough holds potential to reshape our understanding of complex quantum systems and unlock exciting future …
The Challenge Navigation and communication in challenging environments (e.g. underground/underwater) requires new technology to offer capability comparable to above-ground options. Such capability would allow for underground mine automation, submarine communication and drone navigation. Investigation into new magnetometer technology requires application of precision bias fields, often with other requirements such as optics, microwaves, etc. Making such magnetic delivery systems constrained and …
The Challenge Most of the power used in society is lost to the environment in the form of waste heat. Thermoelectric (TE) modules can convert waste heat gradients into useful electricity via the Seebeck effect. When run in reverse, such modules can also provide active cooling via the Peltier effect. Bi2Te3 is currently the dominant commercial thermoelectric material for Seebeck …
The Challenge Scanning Tunnelling Microscopes (STMs) are capable of acquiring images of surfaces with atomic-scale resolution. They accomplish this by scanning an atomically sharp probe across the surface of a sample while monitoring an electric current. Conditioning (e.g. sharpening) of the probe, along with finding regions of interest on a sample are two time-consuming tasks that are currently performed by …
A collaboration of FLEET researchers from the University of Wollongong and Monash University have reviewed the superconducting diode effect, one of the most fascinating phenomena recently discovered in quantum condensed-matter physics. A superconducting diode enables dissipationless supercurrent to flow in only one direction, and provides new functionalities for superconducting circuits. This non-dissipative circuit element is key to future ultra-low energy …
The Challenge Capability for fast, automated, stand-off detection of toxic gases at the parts per million (ppm) level is required for environmental monitoring, early detection of bush fires, toxic emissions from metal processing or mining. This capability can be used for monitoring the spread of toxic gases and aid in the decision-making capabilities in case of humanitarian disasters. The Solution …
The Challenge Using current technologies, screening of lethal diseases such as cancer is painful (uses body tissue), time consuming and requires infrastructure only accessible to specialist trained personnel at big hospitals or testing facilities. Easy-to-operate, low-cost and fast-sensing of disease markers, directly in human blood, will enable extension of medical screening and monitoring facilities to populations in remote areas with …
The Challenge As urban centres around the world grapple with the dual challenge of rising energy demands and the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions, the integration of smart infrastructure becomes pivotal. A significant amount of a city’s energy is consumed by building heating, cooling, and lighting. Innovations like tint-adjusting windows, heat mirrors, and selective light absorbers can drastically cut …
The Challenge There is a high demand for flexible thermoelectric films that can be incorporated into low-energy electronics to recapture waste heat and enable wearable battery-free devices. High performance thermoelectric materials require high electrical conductivity generally being accompanied by low thermal conductivity. However, these two quantities are typically linked with high electrical conductivity resulting in high thermal conductivity. The challenge …
The Challenge The International Energy Agency (IEA) has identified computing, and in particular data centres, as a rising source of energy usage. Energy generation continues to be dominated by the burning of fossil fuels such as gas, coal and oil – all of which produce carbon dioxide (CO2 ), which contributes to the Greenhouse effect and climate change. The Solution …
The Challenge Scientists are continually searching for ways to increase computing power while reducing power consumption. A big step forward would be finding materials that conduct electrons with near-zero resistance at high-temperature and with all their spins aligned in one direction. The Solution Our solution is a layered “sandwich” structure comprising of a …
Here’s the problem: the more we use computers, the more energy that’s required. Driven by a deep intellectual curiosity, Prof Fuhrer (Monash University) was drawn to science at an early age and now has a passion for mentoring the next generation of scientists, teaching them how it pays to be patient. New video out from the Australian Academy of Science, …
‘Trimming’ the edge-states of a topological insulator yields a new class of material featuring unconventional ‘two way’ edge transport in a new theoretical study from Monash University, Australia. The new material, a topological crystalline insulator (TCI) forms a promising addition to the family of topological materials and significantly broadens the scope of materials with topologically nontrivial properties. Its distinctive reliance …
The Challenge Energy usage for computing has been recognized by the Breakthrough Energy Fund as one of the world’s major problems needing future solutions. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are linked to climate change. While energy production and chemical industries are the major CO2 producers, large data centres and computing technology, in general, are also contributing to CO2 emissions and energy …
Leading materials physicist and FLEET Director Prof Michael Fuhrer has been recognised for his contributions to science, elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. Professor Fuhrer is one of 20 researchers elected as Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, announced today. Prof Michael Fuhrer is an international leader in study of the electronic properties of 2D and …
Teaching energy, releasing creativity, and inspiring future scientists FLEET and Monash volunteers used catapults, graphite circuits and diffraction goggles to create challenges for 250 Mater Christi College students competing to win their annual STEM Cup. For the STEM Cup challenge, which is judged on teamwork, innovation and communication, FLEET designed two hands-on workshops that got middle and senior secondary students …
Electrically controlled superconductor-to-“failed insulator” transition, and giant anomalous Hall effect in the kagome metal CsV3Sb5 A new RMIT-led international collaboration published in February has uncovered, for the first time, a distinct disorder-driven bosonic superconductor-insulator transition. The discovery outlines a global picture of the giant anomalous Hall effect and reveals its correlation with the unconventional charge density wave in the AV3Sb5 …
Written by Matt Gebert, FLEET PhD candidate, Monash University A large contingent of 14 FLEET members and alumni enjoyed the Quantum Australia conference last week, engaging in discussions about the future of quantum technologies with a lot of interest focused in quantum computing, in addition to sensing. I attended as a PhD student approaching the end of my candidacy, and …
Four FLEET researchers have received partial Centre funding to attend Women & Leadership Australia Impact program: PhD student Bianca Rae Fabricante (ANU) PhD student Patjaree Aukarasereenont (RMIT) Diversity in FLEET fellow Dr Mengting Zhao (Monash) Research Fellow Dr Amelia Dominguez (Monash) “FLEET’s strategic priorities include developing the next generation of science leaders, and fostering equity and diversity in STEM,” says …
FLEET funding is supporting the next step in possible translation of thermoelectrics research towards commercialisation in future generators, electronics, vehicles, human-wearable and environmental sensors, and smart electronics Thermoelectric materials offer potential solutions to heat-management challenges common to many electronics technologies. Thermoelectrics are solid-state semiconductors that can convert heat gradients into useful electricity (known as the Seebeck effect). They can also …
A FLEET Primary School pilot workshop showed primary students can learn and conceptualize quantum physics and are adept at the Mexican wave. Meanwhile, 155 Hughesdale Primary School students got their first introduction to quantum physics. The year 5 and 6 students explored the quantum atomic model via role-playing activities, applying this to understand how electricity and resistance work at the …
Ultra-thin, liquid-metal-printed oxide can improve performance of your transistor by suppressing vibrational resistance Counterintuitively, this occurs by adding extra phonons (vibrations) into the system This oxide can protect your transistor against further processing Monash University researchers have demonstrated a new, counterintuitive way to protect atomically-thin electronics – adding vibrations, to reduce vibrations. By ‘squeezing’ a thin droplet of liquid gallium, …
Congratulations to FLEET’s Kourosh Kalantar-zadeh and Stefan Maier, named in the top 1% by citations in their fields. The Clarivate Analytics list identifies researchers ranking in the top 1% by citations for their field. The citation identifies influential researchers as determined by their peers around the globe – those who have consistently won recognition in the form of high citation …
How substrates influence magnetism in 2D materials Interaction-induced magnetism in metal-organic frameworks on substrates A new study at Monash University illustrates how substrates affect strong electronic interactions in two-dimensional metal-organic frameworks. Materials with strong electronic interactions can have applications in energy-efficient electronics. When these materials are placed on a substrate, their electronic properties are changed by charge transfer, strain, and …
