Research & Industry

Materials & Biomaterials

The Faculty of Science, especially through the Departments of Chemistry and Physics & Astronomy, has made materials science a focal point. Long-standing initiatives incude Surface Science Western and Interface Science Western. Materials science engages many of our most distinguished researchers, as measured by rankings in NSERC, CFI-OIT, PREA, ORDCF competitions, Royal Society fellowships, numerous PREA awards, and success in attracting high-quality students, collaborators and industrial support. Because of the wide array of materials and biomaterials research within the Faculty of Science, and across Western, the Faculty of Science has created WINS, the Western Institute for Nanomaterials Science, to harness, facilitate and promulgate the collective potential of this area within and beyond the University. The Institute plays the leading role in recognizing opportunities, and in catalyzing multidisciplinary research and teaching in materials and biomaterials across Western. The Faculty of Science will also join the Graduate Program in Biomedical Engineering, adding its considerable expertise in biomaterials.

There are numerous materials science research programs in Chemistry in chemical vapour deposition, polymers, organometallic chemistry, nanostructures, spectroscopic characterization of molecular materials, and the formation of new materials. A Tier 1 CRC, held by R.J. Puddephatt, has been established in this area. We have also identified a Professorship in Polymer Chemistry as a priority of Campaign Western. Other significant activities include molecular grafting to create new types of active coatings, and the application of laser and synchrotron radiation to materials science, with interests ranging from tribology to nanomaterials. Western has been a Canadian leader in the development and application of synchrotron radiation and served as the lead in the creation of the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan. As part of our continuing investment in this area, T.K. Sham has been awarded a Tier 1 CRC in Materials and Synchrotron Radiation.

Substantial expertise also exists in atomic and interfacial force microscopy, and considerable leadership is present in a variety of other techniques for the characterization of surfaces. Y. Huang has received a Tier 2 CRC in Materials Characterization for the application of vibrational spectroscopy and solid-state NMR to the study of materials. The application of electrochemical techniques to surfaces and solid is also a focus of D.W. Shoesmith, an NSERC Industrial Chair co-sponsored by Ontario Power Generation. Still other researchers are using spectroscopy to study biological materials, and applying scanning microscopy techniques to soft and biological materials. There are also interactions with the basic medical sciences and engineering in wound healing. A Tier 2 CRC in Biomaterials Synthesis has been granted to Beth Gillies for her work in "custom designing" polymer assemblies that can interact with cells and viruses and release therapeutics at specified locations in the body that are not usually accessible. Expertise also exists in protein folding and the study of biomolecules. An increased effort is also occurring in computational materials chemistry, including simulations of nanostructures, catalysts, and polymer properties.

Physics & Astronomy has a large condensed matter physics group focused on materials science. It has experts on the interactions of radiation with materials and the modification of semiconductors and metals by ion beams and positron beams. A variety of particle accelerators are employed, constituting one of the largest accelerator complexes for materials science in Canada. There are wide-ranging applications in materials characterization for surfaces and interfaces, and for defect profiling. Some researchers are interested in the kinetics of materials growth. Others are working on soft materials, including polymers and biological materials, using techniques that include atomic and interfacial force microscopy. There is also expertise in quantum theory of condensed matter, including its applications to optical, electronic, and magnetic properties of thin films and nanostructured materials. The rapidly emerging field of nanomaterials and photonics is of increasing strategic importance, with tremendous technological implications. These activities have been the subject of a successful Institutional CFI-OIT application (the Nanofabrication Laboratory), as well as an ORDCF application entitled the Ontario Photonics Consortium. A Tier 1 CRC is being sought in this area. We are expanding this program through interdisciplinary collaborations with Engineering.

Physics & Astronomy is also developing research and undergraduate teaching in medical physics. This is a natural extension of existing collaborations with the Robarts Research Institute, the London Regional Cancer Centre and the Lawson Health Research Centre. To this end, a Tier 2 CRC, Blaine Chronik, has been recruited in materials and devices applied to magnetic resonance imaging. Earth materials research in Earth Sciences is also contributing to our understanding of the effects of environment on the properties of solids and liquids. Knowledge of the physicochemical behaviour of earth materials is pivotal for understanding many Earth processes, and for tailoring specific responses into synthetic and natural materials. Several Institutional and new Opportunities CFI-OIT awards support this research in Earth Sciences. There is also CFI-OIT funded, collaborative research with Chemistry on the application of surface analytical methods to environmental problems at boundaries and interfaces of materials. Within Applied Mathematics there is an emphasis on 'materials modelling', directed at amorphous solids and nanostructured materials, and structure and transport in dense, viscous liquids, all facilitated by the availability of SHARCNET.