Leaf of the lotus offers lesson in clarity

A RESEARCH project to make the ultimate self-cleaning surface has won the 2010 Science Speak competition at the RDS, Dublin. UCD PhD student Charles Nwankire claimed the €1,000 top prize for his light-hearted presentation on the methods and commercial importance of this research.

The annual Science Speak competition sees PhD students from each of the Republic’s seven universities explaining their research in ordinary language.

Nwankire charmed the audience with his sometimes humorous but always informative description of his efforts to develop new kinds of non-stick surfaces. These are not for cooking utensils but for industrial processes where contaminants build up on surfaces, requiring frequent costly cleaning.

It was all about imitating a lotus leaf, he told the audience. The ultimate self-cleaning surface will shed fluids like water or oil while at the same time clearing away any dirt or contaminants.

He described how a lotus leaf uses small projections that prevent water sticking to the surface.

He and supervisor Dr Denis Dowling, director of the Surface Chemistry Group in UCD’s school of electrical, electronics and mechanical engineering, sought to imitate this approach.

Nwankire explained how they bonded chemicals called polymers onto metal surfaces to make them self cleaning. Changing the polymers could change whether the surface would shed water or oil, said Nwankire who is from Nigeria. “We had to evaluate the different types of polymers.” There is already significant commercial interest in the work. A paper-manufacturing company in Finland hopes to use it to prevent fouling of metal surfaces.

Nwankire is in the final year of his PhD and expects to complete his degree in June. The project was organised by the EU, with UCD involved as a research partner and funding coming from Enterprise Ireland.

Tánaiste Mary Coughlan spoke at the beginning of the event. She praised the students for their research achievements, adding their efforts were central to developing a smart economy for Ireland.

Science Speak is organised by the RDS and The Irish Timesin association with Irish Universities Promoting Science. Prizes are sponsored by Pfizer at Grange Castle and the Government's public understanding of science body, Discover Science and Engineering.

The competition took place on Tuesday evening in the RDS Concert Hall. Second place and a prize of €300 went to Heather McLaughlin from University College Cork. Third prize and €200 went to Susan Byrne of Trinity College Dublin.

The four runners up, Silvia Scarmagnani from Dublin City University; Merry Zacharias from NUI Galway; Laura O’Toole from NUI Maynooth; and Richard O’Hanlon from University of Limerick, each received €100.