Critical minerals, material solutions (Wellington)

The MacDiarmid Institute is a network of leading researchers from around the country united in a common goal: to create and explore innovative, sustainable materials that will improve the lives of people in Aotearoa New Zealand and around the word. This talk will focus on critical minerals - raw materials that are essential to many existing and future technologies and have been making headlines in recent times due to increasing supply chain vulnerabilities. In this talk, hosted in association with the Wellington Branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand, we will present materials science solutions that are being developed and utilised right now, in Aotearoa New Zealand, to recycle, replace or reduce our need for critical minerals.

Speakers:
Professor Chris Bumby is Chief Scientist (Materials) at the Robinson Research Institute, Victoria University of Wellington, whose interdisciplinary research spans the fields of applied physics, materials science and chemical engineering - with a particular focus on Green metallurgy, hydrogen ironmaking, and superconducting machines. Originally from England, he completed his DPhil in Physics at the University of Oxford in 2005 before moving to New Zealand on a Royal Society (UK) Fellowship. Today, Chris leads the 'Clean Materials' Initiative within the Robinson Research Institute, is a founder and director of the start-up company Cullbeck Ltd, and a Principal Investigator at the MacDiarmid Institute.

Professor Nicola Gaston is Professor of Physics at the University of Auckland, and Director and Principal Investigator at the MacDiarmid Institute. Nicola’s research focuses on conducting quantum-mechanical simulations of the electronic and thermodynamic behaviour of nanoscale materials. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi and awarded the Thomson Medal in 2023 for her contributions to low-temperature liquid metals research and leadership in New Zealand’s research, science and innovation sector. She also served as President of the New Zealand Association of Scientists in 2014–15.

Venue:
Lecture Theatre 2 (RHLT2), Rutherford House, Victoria University of Wellington, 23 Lambton Quay/33 Bunny Street, Pipitea, Wellington