Welcome to the Electrochemistry and Surface Chemistry Research Group

About us:

The Downard Group is an electrochemistry, analytical and surface chemistry group. Our research focuses on the fabrication, characterisation and surface modification of conducting and non-conducting substrates.

Our key areas of interest are:

1. Covalent modification of electrode substrates with nanoscale thin films (< 10 nm) using electrochemical, photochemical, spontaneous and chemical methods.
2. Controlled preparation and functionalisation of vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes and their interactions with biomolecules and living cells.
3. Modification of non-conducting surfaces towards new biological interfaces.
4. Electrochemical studies of modified electrodes for analytical applications.

We are located in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Canterbury under the supervision of Professor Alison J Downard, who currently serves as Head of Department and as a Principal Investigator with the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology.

Our current research receives funding from The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) and the International Science and Technology fund (ISAT).

Upcoming Events:

News and Events:

2010:

• January: The Downard Group will be hosting year 13 Maori and Pacifika students for the second year in a row as part of the Discovery Awards programme.

2009:

• November: Four of our PhD students recently participated in the Student and Post-Doc symposium ‘How to make money from your science’ at the University of Auckland. All of our students pitched their business idea(s) in a ‘dragons den’ format. Unfortunately no winners this time round!
• November: Josh and Dave visited Auckland to represent the Downard Group at a meeting which included leading scientists from Japan (National Institute For Materials Science Japan) and senior members from the MacDiarmid Institute.
• November: Prof. Alison J Downard has been appointed interim Head of Department for 12 months.
• January: We have received some great feedback following our hosting of three year 13 students as part of the Discovery Awards programme. The awards, funded by the MacDiarmid Institute, were targeted at senior high school students of Mäori and Pacific heritage, with the intent of nurturing an interest in science.

See: http://www.comsdev.canterbury.ac.nz/chronicle/2009/ChronVol44-2.pdf

Discovery Awards pupils at AMN4 (2009)	MacDiarmid Discovery Award recipients (from left) Ben Jones, Kate Tarawhiti and Jardin Rose get to work in a chemistry laboratory at UC under the guidance of their mentor, Chemistry PhD student, Andrew Gross.