Sep 25 2002
A house of the future, built from a range of energy-saving materials developed using nanotechnology is the aim of a new partnership between the CSIRO and the University of Technology, Sydney.
The NanohouseTM initiative will be a flagship project of UTS’s recently established Institute for Nanoscale Technology.
The project, announced today by UTS Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research & Development) Professor Lesley Johnson and CSIRO Science Forum Chair Dr Vijoleta Braach-Maksvytis, will unite the best minds of both institutions to design houses that will reduce energy consumption by up to 50 per cent.
UTS Institute for Nanoscale Technology Director Professor Mike Cortie said breakthroughs in producing highly energy efficient building materials using technology at the molecular and atomic level would eventually touch all our lives.
“Nano-materials such as nanoparticle films for reducing solar heat through windows without loss of view, dark coloured paints that reflect heat, new refrigeration methods and new kinds of lighting will be some of the products we aim to apply in the Nanohouse,” Professor Cortie said.
“We aim to have the first stages of the house completed in July 2003 and it is to be a truly interdisciplinary project involving the collaboration of the Institute, and the UTS Science, Engineering and Design, Architecture and Building faculties.
“Several Divisions of the CSIRO including Manufacturing Infrastructure Technology, Telecommunications and Industrial Physics and Molecular Science will also be involved. A virtual tour of the Nanohouse will be available online by December 2002.
“Nanotech is an exciting new field of research that opens up vast possibilities for Australia to demonstrate its innovativeness and creativity to the world. It is also a field that will cross many traditional boundaries and we are pleased that the Nanohouse project will have UTS and the CSIRO working so closely together.”
Professor Johnson said the establishment of the Institute for Nanoscale Technology was part of a broader UTS strategy to create a range of centres and research institutes that would foster collaboration and sharing of ideas across disciplines.
“With this new Institute we are firmly placing UTS at the forefront of science and by applying nanotechnology within the context of a house, we will help the community understand the implications this science will have for our lives in the future,” Professor Johnson said.
For more information on nanomaterials, click here.