By NOEL MURPHY
SILK fibres in artificial eardrums, invisible materials, hydrogen fuel, stunning atom-thick graphene 100 times stronger than steel, self-changing carbon fibre technology, stem cell breakthroughs…
The research taking place in Geelong right now is nothing short of remarkable. Ground-breaking is almost flippant as a description given the results have global ramifications across so many areas.
Think defence, aeronautics, motoring, textiles, health, agriculture, vaccines, sport, energy – and that’s just scratching the surface.
Geelong’s economy might be cited as in transition but the reality is it’s more like the future unfolding.
New science, new technology, new materials and intellectual property – all emerging rapidly – are underpinning a new reputation for Geelong, one that dovetails neatly into new enterprises, many of them with far-reaching impact across the region and the globe.
Major players include Deakin University, the CSIRO, Barwon Health, collaborations such as the Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases – even Ford which, despite its manufacturing cull, is striving ahead with production development to be used across Asia and the Pacific.
Medical research alone is producing striking results in mental health, cancer, neuroscience, cardiology, nutrition, population health and more.
The CSIRO is across fibres, polymers, electronics, sensing, aerospace, minerals discovery, batteries, biomedical devices, polymer banknotes, cold-spray technology, livestock diseases and more as well.
Deakin’s research quotient is formidable. Even a smattering of its efforts reveal the likes of plasma and thermal discoveries, iPad apps for kids with autism, prosthetic eardrums, cybercrime detection techniques and materials for planes and cars memory-trained to assume varying shapes under differing conditions.
Automotive, shipping, naval, aerospace sectors all stand to benefit from Geelong research.
Sport is gaining from super-strong, lightweight 3D-printer titanium. The impact of graphene research is tipped to change just about everything, starting with internet connection one million times faster than existing speeds.
Anyone who thought manufacturing was dying should realise that the implications, the possibilities, presented by these and many more technologies being worked up in Geelong will only be limited by imagination.
