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.