Background

My primary background is in material science and chemistry; this has been driven by the field of biofouling and more specifically through antifouling material development. The antifouling projects I have worked on have spanned across numerous industries, technologies and requirements: biofouling on sensors, nets, boats, medical related equipment, membranes and even buildings to name but a few.

One of my key interests and fascinations is how nature can evolve to deal with a problem, such as biofouling, and almost completely solve it without hassle, consequence or even damaging the surrounding environment. This is one example of biomimicry (from bios meaning life, and mimesis, meaning imitate) and forms another discipline of material science I am keen to exploit further and have successfully worked in.

I have also developed a keen interest in nanotechnology fuelled by my fundamental chemistry background exploiting nanoparticles to serve as novel antimicrobial agents in materials and surfaces, all forming my breadth of interests in the quest to develop a novel, environmentally-friendly antifouling/antimicrobial material.

To date, my work has focussed on the development and synthesis of novel nanoparticles, doping of nanoparticles into a wide range of materials, polymer chemistry, superhydrophobic materials, anti-reflective/anti-fogging/self-cleaning materials and biomimicry.

As a consequence of my broad interests and research focusses I have been involved in numerous project areas. I have worked on industry led projects ranging from antifouling material development for water membrane technologies, antimicrobial paint development for hospital and clinical bases, antifouling materials for autonomous sensing equipment and marine structures (boats, water pipelines, rigs, buoys, nets…the list goes on). Furthermore, I have also contributed to environmental protection agency (EPA) projects for priority pollutant detection and modelling their fates in wastewaters along with passive sampling material development for their enrichment using priority pollutants. Finally, I have also been involved with large scale environmental monitoring projects using off-the-shelf systems to monitor different temporal systems and water bodies (marine and freshwater). All of which… bring me back, whether I like it or not to… biofouling!

I am a recent appointment to the Medical and Applied Sciences faculty, where I am looking forward to integrating and showcasing some of the exciting research topics I have had the luxury of being involved in to students and collaborators in Australia and beyond.

Qualifications

Applied Chemistry (BSc Hons)

PhD “The development of novel antifouling materials: A multi-disciplinary approach”

Research Interests & Drivers

* Development of antifouling materials

* Superhydrophobic materials

* Bioinspired material replication and development

* Nanotechnology & Nanoparticle synthesis and fates

* Environmental Monitoring

* Industrial biofouling problem/collaboration

Current Teaching

CHEM 13080 – Green Chemistry (Course Coordinator)

CHEM 13033 – Analytical Science (Course Coordinator)

J. Chapman, C. Hellio, R. Brown, S. Russell, E. Kitteringham, L. Le Nor & F Regan (2013) Bioinspired synthetic macroalgae: Examples from nature for antifouling applications, International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation