Dr Patrick Perlmutter

Associate Professor Patrick Perlmutter is a Reader in the Chemistry Department at Monash University, and the founder of the Perlmutter Group.

His particular area of research currently is a project on the application of Surface Acoustic Waves (SAW) to accelerate chemical reactions. These surface acoustic waves are 10 nanometres in height and are propelled along a piezoelectric chip. By analysing the results of this nanotechnology, the group has discovered high conversion rates.

The Perlmutter Group is able to apply this knowledge in two important areas. Firstly, Associate Professor Perlmutter has investigated ‘transforming technologies’ where two scientific cultures collide. These cultures exhibit different backgrounds and view points - for instance in chemistry and in engineering – but discover they have something in common when they collide. “This is a ‘transforming technology’, as it appears to be far more energy efficient than any other known technology for making chemical reactions go! Nobody else is working on this. It is a world first.”

Secondly, the group is focused on green chemistry to improve the process of chemical reactions. This has resulted in a reduction in energy and waste, and is less harmful to the environment. Consequently, there are positive implications for the energy required in chemical research, both in the laboratory and in industry. It also reduces the risks associated with the process of chemical reactions.

In his work on the application of SAW to accelerate chemical reactions, Associate Professor Perlmutter is collaborating with Dr Leslie Yeo of Monash's Micro/Nanophysics Research Laboratory in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Associate Professor James Friend. The scientific worlds of physics and chemistry work in alliance. In particular, one member of the Perlmutter group brings a unique set of skills, with a degree in nanotechnology and a PhD on chemical synthesis.

Associate Professor Perlmutter is also conducting research in medicinal chemistry and organic synthesis.  In medicinal chemistry he is collaborating with Associate Professor Mibel Aguilar from The Monash University Centre for Brain and Behaviour (MUCBB) where they are developing peptides for use in vaccines for cancer.