Canterbury student to use Silicon Valley internship to launch robotic company in Christchurch
June 15, 2014
A University of Canterbury PhD student has won an intern scholarship to the IBM research centre in the heart of Silicon
Valley.
Steven Banerjee has received an IBM funded University of Canterbury BlueFern internship to spend up to six months at the
IBM Almaden Research Labs in San Jose, California. It is one of IBM's nine worldwide research labs and has made seminal
contributions to computer storage systems and materials science and technology.
The IBM lab is located in the hills above Silicon Valley with close proximity to Stanford University and University of
California, Berkeley. It is home to 10 IBM Fellows, 10 IBM distinguished engineers, nine IBM Master Inventors and 17
members of the IBM Academy of Technology.
``One of the researchers I will be working with is Jane Frommer, a pioneer in scanning probe microscopy which started
the nanotechnology age in the mid-1980s,’’ Banerjee says.
``IBM Almaden has established different forms of data storage devices including hard-disc drives and flash based memory
devices. We use them in our normal daily life. Over the past decade, however, IBM has been investing heavily toward
developing a new class of computing storage technology in terms of non-volatile memories such as phase-change devices.
``These memories incorporate a new kind of material known as a mixed ionic-electronic conductor because of their
interesting electronic properties. This class of storage devices will be tiny, faster in terms of reading and writing
data and consume less power. Imagine living in a world where the storage density of our computers, smart phones and any
other electronic devices would be exponentially more powerful compared to devices of today.
``My research will involve looking into the performance of the conductor to look at hands-on tasks such as electrical
testing, electronics circuit design, manufacturing in clean-room, automation of data collected from these devices and
then analysing them.
``The reason the internship is critical is because it will give me first-hand experience with the intellectual and
business culture in the Silicon Valley for a significant period of time. The research infrastructure that I will have
access to at IBM is amazing. This will give me new ideas in commercialising and further research into our micro/nano
robotic technology that we have been developing as a part of my PhD at the University of Canterbury.
``This visit will help me in my start-up venture in Christchurch when I come back to New Zealand. My plan is to develop
the world's first micro/nano robotic desktop-sized factory for manipulating objects that are tens to hundreds of times
smaller than a speck of dust.
``I want to create this first-of-its-kind tiny factory that will have applications from drug research and discovery to
the 3D printing of molecules. It will have downstream benefits to the New Zealand economy working out of Christchurch
with angel investors from Silicon Valley and New Zealand. This would be a win-win scenario not only for New Zealand but
also globally,’’ Banerjee says.
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