About Us

Worldwide experience has shown that advances in materials technology are often the absolute essence of a competitive advantage for many of today's manufacturing industries. However, many companies, especially small to medium sized enterprises, often miss out on opportunities for advancement because they simply don't have the structures and people in place to monitor the many rapidly evolving technologies available.

Now, Future Materials has been established to ensure Australian companies have access to a national materials technology network comparable to those already available in the USA, Japan and Europe. In these countries it has long been the norm for engineering and technology based companies to have close working ties with universities and research institutions.

What is Future Materials?

Future Materials is the marketing name for the Australian Materials Technology Network. We are an un-incorporated, not-for-profit, joint venture, which has received seed funding from the Commonwealth Government through AusIndustry. Future Materials is a national network and our founding partners include some of Australia's leading universities.

Instant access to high technology

Given the proven track record of Future Materials' partners, together with our highly skilled, experienced team of professionals, Australian companies now have easy access to the kind of services and equipment previously difficult to attain. For instance:

  • Materials characterization and evaluation
  • Problem solving, such as investigating contaminants and materials failures.
  • Studies and testing on coatings, thin films and surface modifications.
  • Expert and independent opinion in litigation and IP matters.
  • Collaborative research aiding the development of new products and processes.

The scope is almost limitless, because now you have economical access to an extensive range of sophisticated equipment from Australia's leading research institutions.

How can we help you?

If you have a materials problem or project in the planning stages, a call to your local Future Materials office could well see your project's performance exceed even your highest expectations.

Archive News

Editor - David Salt

Research News
 

Australia’s brightest new shining light


It cost $207 million to build and has taken several years to put together but Australia’s latest piece of research infrastructure is now open for business. The Australian Synchrotron was officially opened at the end of July and hopes are high for big returns in a number of research fields. The synchrotron is a source of powerful light that scientists can use to assess the structure of materials down at the molecular level.
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Tin Tacks
 

Engineering safer mudbrick constructions


Adobe mud brick is the construction style of choice for the majority of the world’s poor living in rural areas. They simply can’t afford any alternative. Mud bricks are cheap and can be produced using local materials. Unfortunately they’re also inherently brittle and structures made from them are particularly vulnerable to the risk of earthquake.
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Know your material
 

Microbes point out arsenic, cadmium and lead


When events turn sour they’re often described as going pear shaped. Researchers at CRC CARE are discovering that if the water isn’t fit to drink, it’s more likely that things are going star-shaped. They’ve discovered that some forms of microbial pond life go star-shaped which dangerous levels of toxic heavy metals are present.
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Sensational Materials
 

Turning waste wood into resource


What happens to wood disposed in landfills? That’s the question being investigated by a team of scientists from Ensis who will conduct a nationwide study involving sifting through tonnes of urban waste. The study will quantify the volume and types of wood waste being dumped at strategic waste facilities across Australia.
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The world’s oldest diamonds discovered


They may not be big but they certainly are old. Four billion year old microdiamond inclusions in Jack Hills zircon have been discovered through a collaborative research effort involving researchers from Curtin University of Technology’s Department of Applied Geology in the Western Australian School of Mines and the University of Munster’s Institute of Mineralogy in Germany.
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Chalk + protein = wonder material (abalone shell)


Researchers at the University of Queensland (UQ) have discovered a gene found in the tropical abalone that controls the striking blue and red colours found in the mollusc's shell.
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