Cutting-edge hybrid glass

University of Canterbury (UC) Professor Tom Bennett, pictured, has received a $941,000 grant over three years for his research into innovative hybrid glass.

Developing the new type of high-strength glass could revolutionise LED lighting and solar energy.

Professor Bennett (pictured), who has recently joined UC’s School of Physical and Chemical Sciences from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, is an expert in creating new hybrid glass materials using the mineral perovskite.

He plans to use the three-year Marsden Fund Standard award to work on a selection of new structurally resilient hybrid glasses that could revolutionise glass science with their scope for use in LED lighting and solar cell technology. Pervoskite solar cells are predicted to have a market worth US$2.5 billion by 2032.

Te Pūtea Rangahau a Marsden is managed by the Royal Society Te Apārangi on behalf of the New Zealand Government with funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Ten UC projects will receive a combined $7.34 million over the next three years.