Andrew Whittaker

Professor Andrew Whittaker is Senior Group Leader and founder member of the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN). He directs research funded through more than $61.3 million in competitive grants since 2000 and $39.7M since 2010. Professor Whittaker's work in synthesis and characterisation of polymeric materials has underpinned major development programs in several key areas. His work in the field of materials for photolithography has been supported by funding from leading semiconductor companies Intel, Sematech, Dow Chemical Company and DuPont. Outcomes include novel high-index resists for 193 nm immersion lithography, new concepts for design of non-chemically amplified resists for EUV lithography, novel approaches to healing roughness in IC features and block copolymer self-assembly. In the field of biomaterials science and nanomedicine, Professor Whittaker has established a network of international scientists under the theme "Bringing Materials to Life". He is active in developing novel imaging agents for MRI, and has introduced a new class of 19F polymeric agents. He leads research into responsive polymers for nanomedicine and for device manufacture. His work on polymeric hydrogels including transport properties is highly cited. Finally, Professor Whittaker is an expert in the fundamentals of diffusion process in complex solids and has an international reputation in the field of NMR and MRI of polymeric systems. International links: Professor Whittaker is a member of numerous international committees of governing bodies in polymer science and technology, and is involved in organising major international conferences. He is currently president of the Pacific Polymer Federation. He actively collaborates with scientists at the University of California Santa Barbara, USA; Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Mohali, India; Gebze Technical University, Turkey; Nagoya Institute of Technology, Japan; Jilin University, Hubei University, the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST, CAS), SUSTech and Shanghai University, China; the University of Nottingham, UK; IMEC, DuPont Electronics and Imaging, USA. He has held visiting professor positions at NCNST, INSA Lyon and NIT, was DICE Chair at the University of Nottingham, and is currently visiting professor at Hubei University. Polymer physical chemistry: Relating chemical structure to important properties, responsive polymers, hybrid nanoparticles; Polymer synthesis: Polymers with novel architecture, photo-crosslinked networks; Polymeric biomaterials and nanomedicine: New materials for drug delivery, medical imaging, antimicrobial polymers, hydrogels, responsive polymers; Materials for photolithography: Photoresists, block copolymer self assembly, photochemistry; NMR and MRI of polymers: Solid-state NMR, diffusion NMR, MRI agents; Polymer degradation and durability: Photochemistry, radiation chemistry, polymers in seawater

[2026] Biomimetic cascade "four-in-one" Nanozyme for remodeling the redox tumor microenvironment and disrupting energy homeostasis to enhance ferroptosis against triple-negative breast cancer [2026] Enhanced confinement from thermoresponsive dendronized microgels for ultrasensitive visual detection of H2O2 [2026] Degradable UV-Crosslinked Alginate Hydrogels for Sustained Delivery of Hydrophobic Drugs from Embedded PLGA Particles [2026] The intelligent nanoreactor ignites mitochondrial homeostasis disruption via calcium overload and ROS storm for the treatment and visual diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma [2026] Tailored asymmetric electron structure triggered efficient NIR-II dual emission of carbon dot nanogel for precise bioimaging and efficient anti-angiogenesis [2026] Lipid nanoparticles