Academic


2010 News

Hear my interview with Ira Flatow on how we can use swarm intelligence to make better group decisions
National Public Radio “Science Friday” (September 10)

Hear my Conversation with Richard Fidler
ABC Brisbane

Len’s New Blog

Read my new Psychology Today blog: Untangling Life’s Complexities

Further Information

IgNobel Prize

Media Stories
Light-hearted projects that have attracted media attention

Broadcasting
On radio and TV

Journalism
Articles on quirky and serious science

Talks
Humorous but informative talks on science in everyday life and what it is like to be a scientist

Tours
To the birthplaces of science and modern, cutting-edge Laboratories

Academic
My work as a scientist

Contact
For interviews, talks, articles, requests to broadcast on radio and TV, and information about future science history tours

Forces Between Biological Surfaces

By trade I am a surface chemist, which means that I am interested in how the surfaces of materials affect their properties and behaviour. My particular interest has been in how the surfaces of very small objects (from mineral particles to biological cells) affect the way in which they stick to each other. Through my career I have gradually moved from physical problems (such as controlling emulsion stability by controlling the forces between oil droplets) to biological problems (such as preventing blood cells from sticking to implant materials), and I have devised and built unique instruments to measure the forces of adhesion between such objects. These instruments are currently in use in a number of laboratories around the world.

My research career has spanned food research, mining engineering, biomedical science, fundamental physics and philosophy. I have been a Principal Research Scientist with the CSIRO Division of Food Research in Australia, a visiting research worker in the Physiological Laboratory at Cambridge University, an Associate Senior Research Fellow in the Anatomy Department of University College London and an Honorary Research Associate Professor in Surface Science of the University of South Australia. I am presently a Visiting Fellow in Physics at the University of Bristol. U.K.