Professor Ray Withers

B.Sc.Hons., Ph.D
Emeritus Professor, RSC
ANU College of Science
T: 0415835242

Areas of expertise

  • Solid State Chemistry 030206
  • Functional Materials 091205
  • Mineralogy And Crystallography 040306
  • Ceramics 091201

Research interests

My research interests lie in the synthesis, structural characterization and crystal chemical understanding of the structure and properties of the inorganic crystalline solid state - in particular of those compositionally and/or displacively flexible inorganic solids which are either strongly polymorphic (i.e. whose structures and properties are finely balanced and hence can be fairly easily altered via influences such as temperature, composition, applied fields or pressure) or that exhibit order which cannot be described using classical crystallographic concepts (such as incommensurately modulated, compositely modulated and quasicrystalline structures as well as many so called random solid solutions). A particular research interest is polar (ferroic) behaviour in the solid state and the exploitable physical properties associated with it such as ferroelectricity, pyroelectricity, piezoelectricity and dielectric behaviour. Systems investigated include flexible framework structures, ferroic materials, dielectric materials, modulated structures, piezoceramics, microporous molecular sieve materials, non-stoichiometric solid solutions, solid ionic conductors and functional electroceramics.

 

Biography

Ray Withers obtained his Ph.D from the University of Melbourne followed by postdocs at the Universities of Toronto and Bristol. He arrived at the ANU in 1986 and has been Professor of Materials Chemistry in the Research School of Chemistry there since 2004. He formally retired at the end of 2013 and is currently an Emeritus Professor. His research interests lie in the synthesis, structural characterization and crystal chemical understanding of the structures and properties of disordered, aperiodic and functional materials. He is particularly interested in compositionally and/or displacively flexible materials whose structures and properties are finely balanced and hence susceptible to alteration via applied external influences.

Publications

Projects and Grants

Grants information is drawn from ARIES. To add or update Projects or Grants information please contact your College Research Office.

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Updated:  29 March 2024 / Responsible Officer:  Director (Research Services Division) / Page Contact:  Researchers