Researcher biography

Paul Burn is Professor at UQ's School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences and Head of the Centre for Organic Photonics and Electronics. His research interests revolve around 'high-tech' materials that can be used in applications such as flat panel displays, solar cells, optical switches, plastic electronics, sensors, and fuel cells.

Projects in the Centre range from synthetic chemistry, through physical chemistry and materials science, to theory and prototype device manufacturing and testing. The materials research involves the development of new synthetic methods and strategies, and investigations towards understanding the crucial structure-property relationships in them. This enables us to engineer materials at the molecular level to give optimal performance. Major materials themes are dendrimers, polymers and porphyrins that are comprised of organic and/or inorganic components. In particular the materials we are interested in are classed as 'organic semiconductors' and these have electronic properties similar to traditional semiconductors such as silicon but the processability and flexibility of plastics. In addition, we have also started a collaborative program on the development of new vaccine constructs.