Professor George Simon did his PhD in Physical Chemistry and Materials Engineering, at the University of Adelaide in the area of crosslinked polymers, a postdoctoral fellowship in dielectric relaxation in side chain liquid crystalline polymers in the University College of Wales in Aberystwyth and has been at Monash since 1987. He was the Head of Materials Engineering at Monash from 2004 – 2013 and is currently the Deputy Dean of Engineering at Monash University since 2013.
He has worked in a range of areas over the years including:
• All types of polymers and blends (thermoplastics/thermosetting materials)
• Advanced characterisation of polymers (thermal, electrical, magnetic, optical, tribological, friction and wear)
• Nanoparticles and nanocomposites including the use of carbon nanotubes, magnetic and gold nanoparticles, graphene and nanoclays, including for flexible, wearable electronics
• Interlocking polymer systems (osteomorphic materials)
• Nanofibres such as nanocellulose and those polymer nanofibers produced by electrospinning and force spinning, for use as additives, filters and for wearable eletronics
• Hydrogels for biomaterials applications and membrane technologies (such as forward osmosis), as well as nanostructured membranes
• Additive processing of polymers (3D printing)
• Self-healing thermosetting polymers
• Polymers from bio-sourced monomers