Annual Report 2007 - The Australian Nanotechnology Network

The aim of this workshop was to bring together researchers interested in both the application and
development of methods for characterizing nanoscale mechanical and tribological properties of
materials from across Australia. There was also a strong focus on enabling researchers new to
the field of nanoindentation, particularly graduate students and early career researchers, to
network with more established researchers in the area.
The workshop started on Sunday 18th March with a welcoming BBQ dinner before an evening
users meeting run by Hysitron and Coherent Scientific (co-sponsors of the workshop). All
participants were invited to this session with the aim of creating an informal network of
Australian Hysitron users.
The formal presentations were commenced by Prof Mike Swain (University of Otago/University
of Sydney) who needed little introduction having worked in the field of nanoindentation and
mechanical properties for the past 35 years and who has authored a great many of the seminal
papers in the area. Many students commented the workshop was a great opportunity to talk to
Prof Swain about their work in an informal setting.
The next session of the day consisted of presentations by both ECRs and students on biological
applications, a topic that has clearly grown in interest since the last workshop 2 years ago. After
lunch there were a series of more general talks from company representatives and experienced
researchers before an open panel discussion hosted by Dr Jodie Bradby and Dr Naoki Fujisawa
(ANU). This white-board discussion covered a range of fundamental and practical topics
important to the field of nanoindentation and the aim was to use the experience in the room to
address a range of common user issues and concerns. The evening saw all 48 workshop
participants travel to the nearby town of Mollymook for dinner at a local restaurant.
The first presentation on the following (and final day) of the workshop was an invited
contribution by Prof Gerold Schneider (Hamburg University of Technology). Following this talk
were a further 9 oral presentations from students and ECRs. Student prizes were awarded at the
final lunch of the workshop.
Participation:
We were very pleased to note that the response to the workshop was well within our
expectations. We were aiming for ~50 participants and the final number was 48; 21 students, 7
ECRs, 13 career researchers, 4 industry representatives. We also had 3 accompanying persons
(2 partners and one child).
The participants represented a wide range of institutions including 8 different universities across
Australia (ANU, Deakin, Monash, Uni of Melb, Uni of Syd, UNSW, Uni of Queensland and
James Cook Uni). In addition we had participants from NZ, the USA and Germany. Two
companies doing research involving nanoindentation (Ventracor and WRiota) and
representatives from two nanoindentation companies (Hysitron and Micro-Materials) attended.
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