Impact
Outreach
Exciton Science demonstrates best practice in science outreach and public engagement activities.
Through a combination of independent and partnered events and initiatives, the Centre continues to drive high levels of interest among key cohorts, including school students, in our major themes and areas of focus.
General Public
Here at the Centre, we are passionate about sharing our research with the general public and engaging them on the topics of light, energy and the next-generation solar capturing devices.
Our aim is that by better understanding these areas, Australians will be more equipped to make informed decisions on science funding and renewable energy. From public lectures on our research to panel discussions on women in STEM, the information covered and mediums of delivery were as varied as ever.
Joining Melbourne Knowledge Week for the first time, we encouraged visitors passing through the festival’s pop-up Prototype Street to imagine how and where luminescent solar concentrators (LSC) could be integrated into Melbourne. From the heritage-listed Flinders Street Station to the super-modern RMIT Design Hub, examples were engraved onto giant illuminated LSC-like panels. Later in the week, a public-lecture brought architect and Centre-members together to discuss the installation and where else technologies like this could be used.
On a different note, this year for National Science Week we partnered with RMIT Culture to put on a very special performance—Music with Molecules. Ultimately the most registered and attended talk of RMIT’s Salon Series, Dr Liam Hall compared quantum mechanics to musical theory before performing jazz live on stage, accompanied by a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer. Attendees gathered afterwards to discuss the unique performance over refreshments sponsored by the Australian Institute of Physics (Victorian Branch) before taking home their very own Exciton Science branded pick in either a fluorescent or phosphoscreen material.
The Exciton Science booth at Melbourne Knowledge Week
Music with Molecules at The Capitol
School Students & Teachers
Sam Zaman and Anchal Yadav on a school visit
Looking now towards the next generation of scientists and renewable energy-users, our Centre is passionate about inspiring and educating young Australians.
Our Solar Cell Challenge continued to engage high school students and the existing It’s On Like Exciton games received more than 3,800 new plays.
This year the Centre was invited to Melbourne Girls College’s 11th annual human-powered outdoor cinema night, where students pedalled all day to produce enough energy to screen Moana for the local community. As the sun set, volunteers Anchal Yadav and Sam Zaman wowed the 500+ visitors with luminescing materials and flexible solar panels, helping visitors better appreciate the value of electricity and its sources.
Supporting those who work closely with students, Exciton Science collaborated with fellow physics-based Centres FLEET and OzGrav to present at the annual science educators conference CONASTA. This was the first in-person conference for several years and provided a fantastic opportunity to share with teachers what resources our centres had to offer and seek feedback on what would be helpful.
Research Community
From student retention to scientific engagement, Centre outreach has an important part to play when it comes to connecting with the university and the broader research community.
This extends beyond scientific collaborations, with this year’s Light Ideas Design Competition, co-sponsored by CSIRO, challenging industrial design students to integrate printed solar cells into new products. The winning concept, the Hotbox by Paddy MacPherson and Brooke Barker, envisioned a flexible solar cell-powered system for keeping food warm.
Open to researchers and students from across the Melbourne nodes, the Centre coordinated a special visit to the Australian Synchrotron run by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation. This booked out event saw guests tour the facilities, meet the scientists working there and learn how to apply to use the synchrotron for research.
Closer to home, the Centre empowered its own researchers through a special half-day Presentation Master Class given to those who had shown a special interest in science communication. The workshop, spearheaded by Chief Investigator Jared Cole, took the science presentation skills of participants up a notch over an intense morning of upskilling.
The winning entry of the Light Ideas Design Competition