Flinders nanotechnology graduate Dr Ben Flavel is making a significant international impact, leading a research group at the Karlsruhe Institute of Nanotechnology in Germany and recently being admitted to the German Research Foundation’s prestigious Heisenberg Program.

His recent achievement continues a notable string of highlights for Dr Flavel, who received the Emmy Noether award in 2013 from the German Research Foundation to start his research group, which focuses on carbon nanotube-based solar cells. He has been able to welcome several Flinders graduates to work in his lab in Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany, or visit on research exchanges, providing a valuable international opportunity for young scientists.

Dr Flavel’s team is developing sophisticated techniques that overcome the processing challenges and requirements of carbon nanotubes, which are materials that hold exciting potential in applications including solar cells, thermoelectrics, batteries, light sensitive elements, on-chip single photon light sources, transistors and more.

Previously, Dr Flavel won the 2011 Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship, which served as a springboard to his international research work that continues to develop, thanks to his recent achievement of securing Heisenberg program funding.