Dr Catherine Whitby PhD, BSc

Contact details

• Ph: 64 6 356 9099 ext. 86007
  Location: Sc A3.09, Science Tower A
  Campus: Turitea

Qualifications

• Doctor of Philosophy - University of Melbourne (2001)
• Bachelor of Science - University of New South Wales (1997)

Certifications and Registrations

• Licence, Supervisor, Massey University

Research Interests

I am interested in the edges (surfaces and interfaces) that control the properties of materials like paints, sunscreens, lubricants and dairy foods. All these materials are colloids. They are made of drops, bubbles and particles dispersed in a liquid. The drops, bubbles and particles are nanometres to micrometres in size.

I investigate how the chemical properties of drop (bubble or particle) surfaces control how colloidal materials flow and behave. A focus of my work is on using nanomaterials to modify the drop and bubble surface chemistry. This strategy enables me to tune the structure, stability and flow of soft materials used in food, pharmaceutical and agricultural products.

I use microscopy and rheology tools to do my research. I use these techniques to probe inside colloidal materials and investigate their physical and chemical properties.

Research Opportunities

• PhD scholarship  (15/01/2015) PhD project in colloid and surface chemistry

Thematics

Resource Development and Management, Health and Well-being, Future Food Systems

Area of Expertise

Field of research codes
Chemical Science (030000): Colloid and Surface Chemistry (030603): Physical Chemistry (incl. Structural (030600)

Keywords

Chemistry

Physical Chemistry

Colloid and Surface Science

Current Projects

Teaching Statement

123.104 - Chemistry for Biological Systems - first year chemistry laboratory and workshop supervision (40 contact hours)

123.105 - Chemistry and the Physical World - first year thermodynamics and transition metal complexes lectures and first year chemistry laboratory supervision (55 contact hours)

123.201 - Chemical Energetics - second year phase diagram and electrochemistry lectures and supervising second year physical chemistry laboratory (52 contact hours)

123.204 - Chemicaland Biochemical Analysis - second year gravimetry, extractions and chromatography lectures (16 contact hours)

123.271 - Molecules to Materials - second year soft matter lectures (8 contact hours)

123.311 - Advanced Physical and Analytical Chemistry - third year heterogeneous catalysis lectures (12 contact hours)

123.712-H - Advanced Nanoscience and Physical Chemistry - Experimental Methods in Surface Chemistry (4 contact hours)

Courses Coordinated

• 123.201 Chemical Energetics
• 123.311 Advanced Physical and Analytical Chemistry

Graduate Supervision Statement

I was fortunate to have some fantastic PhD supervisors and my style of graduate supervision is based on these experiences and interactions. I like to meet frequently with my students discuss how their research project is going and to provide support and guidance. I also meet with my students regularly as part of the wider research group I lead with my colleague Bill Williams. Our students benefit from the opportunity to share their skills and knowledge during group meetings and help each other with their projects. They also gain experience in problem-solving and decision-making in a team environment. I also encourage my students to get involved in activities that will advance their scientific careers, including participating in seminars, workshops and conferences related to their interests. Several of my former students (from Massey and the universities where I worked previously) are now working as scientific researchers in industry and at universities.

Current Doctoral Supervision

Main Supervisor of:

• Shikeale Harris - Doctor of Philosophy
  Casein micelles under osmotic stress

Co-supervisor of:

• Gieun Yun - Doctor of Philosophy
  Modelling the heat stability of milk
• Arka Gupta - Doctor of Philosophy
  Development of novel CT based Anthelmintics to overcome the drug resistance problem in nematode infested ruminants.
• Asif Rehmani - Doctor of Philosophy
  Printed Sensors for Indoor Air Quality
• Ben Westberry - Doctor of Philosophy
  Investigating the gelation mechanism of carrageenan networks
• Sashikumar Ramamirtham - Doctor of Philosophy
  Rheological Studies of Interfaces Stabilized by Protein-Polymer Complexes
• view more...
• Susav Pradhan - Doctor of Philosophy
  investigating the application of controlled emulsion cell mimics for understanding cell mechanics
• Hossein Etemadi - Doctor of Philosophy
  Processing, Surface Engineering and Characterisation of Magnetic Hydrogels for Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Applications
• Yang Li - Doctor of Philosophy
  Refining our current understanding of soil organic matter stabilisation to address the two-fold challenge of food security and climate change.

Completed Doctoral Supervision

Co-supervisor of:

• 2019 - Benjamin Munro - Doctor of Philosophy
  Structure and properties of tunable Pickering emulsions
• 2019 - Adil Alkas - Doctor of Philosophy
  Synthesis of Multicomponent Metal-Organic frameworks and Investigations of Their Physical Properties

Other Links

• Research group site - Research group webpage