2007 Media Releases
15 August 2007
La Trobe nano electronics student wins Victoria Fellowship
When it comes to thinking small and fast, researcher Andrew Walter excels.
The 28 year old postgraduate student from La Trobe University is currently working out how to make electronic devices smaller and faster to meet consumer demand.
Working with the next wave of electronic technology – spintronics and quantum computing – Mr Walter is investigating the electronic and magnetic properties of nanometer thin metallic film (a nanometre is one billionth of a metre) in a bid to develop the next generation of electronic devices.
His research includes manufacturing the films as well as designing and constructing equipment to analyse it.
Mr Walter is one of six winners of the prestigious 2007 Victoria Fellowships. He received the award from the Governor of Victoria, Professor David de Kretser AC at a gala function at Government House.
The Victoria Fellowships, worth $18,000 each, were established ten years ago by the Victorian Government to recognise young researchers with leadership potential and to enhance their future careers, while developing new ideas which could offer commercial benefit to Victoria.
He will use his Victoria Fellowship to further his research by visiting scientific laboratories in England, France and Germany to develop techniques and collaborations related to spintronics, magnetism and the production of nanometer thin films.
Mr Walter will manufacture films between 5 and 30 atoms thick, making use of the expertise and equipment available at BESSY, a synchrotron light source in Berlin. Synchrotrons are particle accelerators that produce high-density x-rays used for gathering data on the structure of materials.
He will also visit SPECS GmbH in Berlin, a scientific instrument company, to learn more about the components that are needed to build scientific instruments that are able to analyse the films.
He hopes the study mission will help pave the way for further investment in spintronics and quantum computing, destined to replace conventional electronics.
Mr Walter is one of many physicists from La Trobe University interested in designing and constructing scientific instruments.
The University has an international reputation for building scientific instruments. It has recently been commissioned to build the world’s most advanced toroidal electron spectrometer for the newly opened Australian Synchrotron.
The La Trobe toroidal spectrometer will be attached to the soft x-ray beam line of the Synchrotron, helping open up a field of surface analysis in Australia which until now has had to be carried out overseas.
Mr Walter is undertaking a doctorate in solid state physics in the Department of Physics at La Trobe University. He completed a Bachelor of Science with Honours at La Trobe University in 2005. He lives in Bundoora and is a member of the Australian Institute of Physics.
Another Victoria Fellowship winner was La Trobe graduate, Simon Craig, Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Honours) 2003. The award will help him further his work into the use of liquid fertilisers in agriculture in order to improve crop production.
Mr Craig’s research in the Wimmera Mallee region has concentrated on using a liquid form of fertiliser and researching more effective ways of applying it.
A research officer with Birchip Cropping Group since 2004, he is currently undertaking a Masters by Research (Agriculture) at the University of Adelaide.
Further information
Mr Walter can be contacted via tel: 9479 1430; email: a.walter@latrobe.edu.au or Ernest Raetz, Media and Communications, tel 9479 2315 / 041 226 1919.
More information about Victoria Fellowships from Penny Underwood tel: 9818 8540.