In June 2003, Dr Luke Kirwan wrote:

"I am employed as a research associate (postdoc) within the Colloid and Surface Chemistry group at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. I very much enjoy the culture and lifestyle here, however the French language is something that to a large extent still eludes me.

On the work front, our research focuses on fundamental physical chemistry of colloids, surfaces and polymers. Polyelectrolytes are of particular interest as they represent key additives in the formulation of colloidal suspensions or in process control. Primarily, I use atomic force microscopy (AFM) to measure surface force interactions between colloids and substrates by attaching a colloidal particle to an AFM cantilever (a very non-trivial matter!).

I also use AFM to image various substrates, such as surfaces, particles or adsorbed polymers.

I am pictured in the photograph next to the Asylum AFM used to measure surface force interactions. This AFM is suspended on bungy cords to isolate it from vibration."

In September 2005, Dr Kirwan wrote:

"Since my last profile for this page, I have moved north from continental Europe to the Emerald Isle. With a wish to stay in Europe a bit longer, I figured the two years in Switzerland had equipped me well enough to handle the degradation in weather that I would experience by moving further north. And while the locals can’t understand why an Aussie would choose to move to Ireland, I can assure you the charm isn’t the weather; and it’s true what they say – the Guinness does taste better here.

I am currently on a Marie Currie fellowship, and working at Aughinish Alumina, strategically placed between the bauxite deposits of South America and Africa and the alumina smelting plants in the UK and Scandinavia. My research here concentrates on flocculation and filtration, with a focus on solving iron problems typically associated with processing low iron bauxite. With a move from the fundamental research of the postdoc I was doing in Switzerland, this job involves trouble shooting, plant trials, managing students and doing some of my own research.”