Stuart Thickett

Stuart Thickett is a Vice-Chancellor’s Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the School of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW.

Stuart is part of the Centre for Advanced Macromolecular Design (CAMD) within the School of Chemical Engineering. His research focusses on the synthesis and development of functional polymeric materials, in particular polymer nanoparticles and polymer thin films for designer applications. Stuart specifically is interested in the development of simple and scalable technologies to develop new, complex surfaces and structures from simple building blocks.

Research Areas

Polymer-Graphene Nanocomposite Materials, Micropatterning of Thin Films, Heterogeneous Polymerization Techniques, Controlled Radical Polymerization, Biological Applications of Nanoparticles

Competitive Research Grants

Australian Research Council (ARC) Grants

• Setterlund, P., O'Reilly, R. and Thickett, S.C. 'Biomimetic Templating Radical Polymerization in Nanoreactors,' DP140100292, AUD 360 000
• Neto, C., Harris, A., Thickett, S.C. and Porter, B. 'Micropatterned Polymer Film Coatings for the Capture of Water Directly from the Atmosphere,' LP130100088, AUD 325 000

Active Research Projects

• Synthesis of Polymer Nanoparticles Stabilized by Graphene and Graphene Oxide
• Control of Endothelial Cell Adhesion on Micropatterned Polymer Films
• Biomimetic Surfaces for Atmospheric Water Capture
• Surface-Initiated Controlled Radical Polymerization from Graphene Oxide
• Silica Particles with Novel Morphologies for Drug Delivery

Collaborators

• A/Prof Per Zetterlund (CAMD, School of Chemical Engineering, UNSW)
• Dr Michael Whittaker (Monash University)
• Dr Chiara Neto (School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney)
• A/Prof Andrew Harris (School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Sydney)
• Dr Margaret Sunde (School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney)

Current Teaching

• CEIC1001 Engineering Chemistry
• CEIC2004 Industrial Chemistry for Chemical Engineering (Course co-ordinator)
• CEIC6004/8105 Advanced Polymers