Karel Hartlieb

Fulbright Postgraduate Scholar in Science and Engineering sponsored by BHP Billiton

Media Profile

“Nanotechnology is vital if Australia is to be competitive in science and technology in the 21st century.”

Karel Hartlieb has won a 2007 Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarship in Science and Engineering sponsored by BHP Billiton. Karel is currently working towards a PhD in Chemistry at The University of Western Australia (UWA) and with his Fulbright Scholarship will continue this research at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York, United States.

Karel’s project will examine the process intensification strategies for the synthesis and encapsulation of metal and semiconductor nanomaterials, which are materials possessing particle sizes in the order of a billionth of a metre.

“There is a growing demand for nanomaterials with controlled size, shape and size distribution. The limitations of current wet chemical synthesis of nanomaterials are poor control of the size and distribution, poor reproducibility and difficulties in scaling-up synthesis for commercial production.”

“All these factors are hindering the widespread use of nanomaterials. Process intensification offers a new and exciting methodology to produce nanomaterials which overcomes current synthetic limitations.

Commercial production of nanomaterials has the potential to allow for the development of new and improved devices and materials in applications such as data storage, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly industrial processes, photovoltaics, healthcare diagnostics and drug delivery, structural materials, computing, and communications.”

Karel chose Clarkson University as it has access to a number of key facilities relating to this research and is home to some experienced and pioneering researchers in process intensification and nanotechnology. He also hopes the exchange will strengthen the current collaboration between Clarkson University and UWA.

“Studying in the United States will provide many opportunities to work with experts and pioneers in my chosen field of research. The knowledge and experience obtained from such a stay would be shared with, and beneficial for, fellow researchers at UWA who are involved with similar projects.”

Karel graduated with a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Engineering, both with First Class Honours from UWA, and has been recognised for his academic achievements by winning the Hackett Postgraduate Scholarship (UWA) in 2006 and the Alcoa Student Innovation Prize in 2003. He is also an accomplished musician with an Associate Diploma in clarinet from Trinity College, London.

Karel’s interest in science began at a young age when he began to question the world around him and how things work. “How things work has fascinated me since early childhood. I relished any opportunities to build, fix or pull apart anything to discover the mechanism behind its operation.”