Associate Professor Allan Barton

Room: PhSc/3.018

Research

The application of chemistry to forensic science. The principles of industrial ecology in biomass and resource utilisation.  Production, properties and applications of 1,8-cineole and similar natural solvents.  Correlation of the properties of liquids and polymers on the basis of cohesion parameters. Product innovation and technology transfer.  The use of conceptual models in the language of science and in undergraduate education. The use of the internet in teaching and learning applied science and technology.

Projects

Forensic Science

I have been closely involved with forensic science at Murdoch, and I am keen to develop research projects on forensic applications of science based on my areas of expertise and matching students’ training and ambitions.

Biological/Environmental/Resource Science

In the past I have explored many aspects of the production, properties and applications of Eucalyptus leaf oils, culminating in Verve Energy’s integrated wood processing pilot plant in Narrogin, whose objective of demonstrating the production of renewable electricity, eucalyptus oil, charcoal and activated carbon from mallee trees was achieved in the middle of this year. There are still many issues to be explored, and individual projects can be formulated to match the strengths and enthusiasms of particular students.

Physical/Computational Science

I have extensive experience in researching and describing the properties of materials, particularly of materials in solution and I have been asked to prepare a 3rd edition of my Handbook of Solubility Parameters. An appropriate project for a student with biological background would be literature research and computer calculations on the ‘solubility parameters’ of natural materials for which measurements have not or cannot be made, including biological materials.

Science/Education

My attendance at the 2006t Asia/Pacific Blacboard/WebCT conference showed me that Murdoch University has made greater use than many other institutions of the WebCT platform for teaching science subjects. In conjunction with staff from Education or the Teaching and Learning Centre, there is considerable research to be done by a student with education as well as science qualifications into the preferred methods of presenting and assessing on-line scientific material, and monitoring participation and performance.

Science/Language

I am keen to explore the ways we think about science: the conceptual models we use to describe them and to learn about them. I spent six months at a Japanese University, and since then I have been exploring the extent of information and conceptual links contained within the ‘recently’ invented Chinese characters used for chemical terms compared with the situation in traditional Chinese characters as well as in Japanese usage and in English terms. I am currently working on a guide to Chinese/Japanese chemical characters. This would be a project for a student with the appropriate language background.

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