Professor Gil Garnier works in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Monash University and is the Director of the Australian Pulp and Paper Institute (APPI). His current research interests are focused on the application of colloids and polymers to surfaces, adhesion, composites, and the process of paper making. At APPI he is head of a multidisciplinary team which uses nanotechnology for surface engineering, bioprinting and the development of novel specialty papers.

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Development of these applications will have a profound impact on the health of society and on the environment. For instance, bioprinting can make testing for diabetes-2 more accessible, cheaper and environment friendly by eliminating the use of plastics and materials in novel once-only applications. In the environment, use of bioprinting allows for the effective testing for toxins in water to establish its purity.

Professor Garnier and Dr Wei Shen are also investigating the printing of living cells. A proof of their success is the recent 'black and white' picture of the Monash Surface Engineering team printed on paper with a single protein. This accomplishment confirms the practicality of printing functional fluid as a novel manufacturing process. Printing for producing flexible and inexpensive solar panel is the next challenge.

The success of the group lies in multidisciplinary collaborations with experts in the fields of surface and material science, printing, biochemistry and biomaterials. Professor Garnier works closely with his colleague Dr Wei Shen, from Monash's Chemical Engineering Department, with Dr George Thouas from Biological Engineering, and Dr John Forsythe in the Department of Materials Engineering and in the Cooperative Research Centre for Polymers.

There are wider applications in water treatment, food technology, tissue engineering and pharmacology that the Surface Engineering Research group is conducting. In his broader research, Professor Garnier is investigating the properties of paper with ceramic fibres (catalytic paper) by using nanomaterials in the adsorption process of carbon dioxide. In this project he is collaborating with Professor Paul Webley in the Department of Chemical Engineering.