ELECTRICAL STIMULATION ON ORGANIC CONDUCTORS
With
Distinguished Professor Gordon Wallace AO,
Executive Research Director
Intelligent Polymer Research Institute (IPRI)
University of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia | November 2025
Professor Gordon Wallace AO is the Founder and Director of the Intelligent Polymer Research Institute (IPRI) at the University of Wollongong and Founding Director of the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF) Materials Node. He was previously the Executive Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES).
He was awarded an ARC Laureate Fellowship in Nanobionics in 2011, appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for his commitment to research collaboration and innovation in 2017, elected as a Fellow, Royal Society of NSW in 2017, and appointed to Prime Ministers Knowledge Nation 100 in 2015. He was elected to the Royal Irish Academy in 2022.
Over his career, Professor Wallace has attracted over $100M in competitive funding and his team was awarded an ARC Centre ($7.3M over 5 years) in 2003, which was subsequently upgraded in 2005 to an ARC Centre of Excellence ($14M over 5 years). A 3-year extension ($7.5M) of this Centre was awarded in 2010.
In 2014 he led a team successful in attracting a further 7 years ($25M) funding to ACES. This core funding has been supplemented by an ARC Federation Fellowship and Laureate Fellowship, ARC and NHMRC project grants, CRC projects (CRC Polymer a,CRC Hearing and Marine Bioproducts CRC), funding from the Defence Advanced Research Program Agency (USA), CSIRO, DSTO, the NSW Government and recently MTP Connect and ARENA.
In 2009, he was instrumental in attracting $50M in Federal Government funding to establish a Materials Processing and Device Fabrication Facility at UOW. To date, he is the Chief Scientist on the ($35M) BIENCO project and belongs on the Executive Committee Board alongside BIENCO CEO Danielle Fisher and Project Lead Gerard Sutton.
Since 2023, Intelligent Polymer Research Institute (IPRI) has also been a crucial member of BIENCO, a world-first consortium of clinical practitioners, researchers and bioengineers addressing the global challenge of corneal blindness. He has published in excess of 1,200 refereed journal publications that have attracted more than 72,000 citations with an H-index of 123 (Scopus).He is named as a co-inventor on more than 60 patents. He is the lead author on three monographs entitled “Organic Bionics” (Wiley- VCH 2012), “Intelligent Polymer Systems” and “3D Bioprinting: Printing Parts for Bodies” (2014) and has also authored an additional 38 book chapters.
Source: Supplied
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0381-7273
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In his father’s footsteps as a kidney transplant specialist
Since he was a young child, Dr Collins, has been interested in kidney failure and kidney transplants in particular. His father was also a kidney specialist, and he used to sit by the phone when his father, was on call and ringing people who were being offered a kidney transplant. The joy in their voices through this interaction created a lasting and profound impact on Dr Collins. This carried through his career and today he continues to seek better outcomes for Kidney patients.
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Superslayer taking on antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Dr Katharina Richter is a visionary leader in MedTech, acclaimed for innovation and gender diversity. With over 40 awards to her name, including MIT Innovator Under 35 Asia-Pacific, and Prime Minister’s Prize for New Innovator finalist, she has shattered barriers as an entrepreneur, scientist, and ‘superbug slayer.’ Katharina’s groundbreaking work in combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria has resulted in 6 innovative treatments, 3 of which are patented, offering hope against deadly infections.
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Impact of NextSense Institute Research in the field of sensory disabilities
NextSense has a 165 year history of providing services and education for individuals with sensory impairments. With the support of donations, NextSense provides vital support for children and adults, more cochlear implants than any other service in Australia, and is a world leader for research, technology and professional education in the fields of visions and hearing loss.
NextSense clinicians are actively involved in a number of leading research projects—both independently and in collaboration with local and international organisations. The NextSense Institute, part of NextSense is Australia’s leading centre for research and professional education in the field of sensory disabilities.
