Meet Research Assistant, Dr Greg Ryder.
What is your role?
My role involves synthesis and supply of materials to researchers both internally to the University of Wollongong (UOW) and to universities across the world, as well as to companies.
What is your area of expertise and what kind of experience do you have in this area?
My area of expertise is organic chemistry synthesis and characterisation, including specific skills in the scale-up of syntheses. I completed a PhD in organic synthesis methodology, and I have previous experience in material science before beginning my role at TRICEP and the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF).
What are some of the projects and collaborations you are currently working on?
My focus has been on the material supply and development of Edge Functionalised Graphene (EFG), a highly processable form of graphene. I am also undertaking the material supply of ethylenedioxythiophene analogues for biocompatible conductive polymers, Ionic liquids to Deakin University, liquid crystalline graphene oxide to a variety of customers and functionalised alginate as a constituent of a bioink for St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne.
What is the future outlook of these projects?
EFG fills a niche of exceptionally high processability without losing the properties that make graphene so interesting. Therefore, the outlook for this project is excellent.
The need for scale-up of processing components for bioinks and bioink formulations for 3D bioprinting is increasing rapidly.
How is this work being translated into real applications?
With over 25 different research groups and companies using our EFG for research in various applications, the outlook is good for it to be translated into real-world solutions. Functionalised alginate is also to be used in a number of clinical tests at St Vincent’s Hospital.
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