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He has been based at UTS since 1973. His solar energy work started in 1974 after a PhD at Monash University and two years at the University of Sussex, UK. Professor Smith has spent periods as a visiting researcher in renewable energy projects at Chalmers University of Technology, and University of Uppsala Sweden, The University of Houston, Texas and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, California, USA. He was a project leader in IEA task 18 on advanced windows.. Corporations from Germany, USA, Japan and Australia are currently linked into his group's research programs on windows, lighting and nanotechnology. He carried out the daylighting design and polymer roofing studies for Australia stadium - as seen in the 2000 Olympics.
Contributions encompass, fundamental new optical physics of nanostructures, pigmented materials and thin films interacting with solar radiation, materials development and applied physics of solar absorbers, solar and glare control windows, roof glazing and skylights, outdoor display systems, luminaires, and daylight collection with luminescent concentrators and its delivery with attached flexible light piping systems. Development and assessment with industrial partners of energy efficiency products is taking up an increasing amount of his time. The most recent is a low cost, clear solar control window which utilises a small amount of special nanoparticles and other additives in the PVB laminate layer to block near infra red and UV solar rays. It has been developed and exposure tested since 1998 when the project was launched at UTS, and is now available for architectural and soon vehicle use, the first products going to China in mid 2002. Over many years he has shown how nanostructures and microstuctures inside materials and films, and on surfaces, can achieve cost/performance goals; from optimising electrodeposited black chrome in 1979-80, to nanostructured metal and angular selective thin films in the 80's and 90's, to recently a new type of cheap flexible polymer light pipe with controlled leakage, which has already catalysed several unique lighting products, and now the unusual properties of certain types of nanoholes in metal.
Selected Publications
S Schelm and GB Smith, Dilute LaB6 nanoparticles in polymer as optimised clear solar control glazing, Applied Physics Letters, 82, 4346-4348 (2003)
GB Smith, JC Jonsson and J Franklin, Spectral and global diffuse properties of high performance translucent polymer sheets for energy efficient lighting and skylights, Applied Optics 42, 3981-3991 (2003)
C Deller, G Smith and J Franklin Colour mixing LED's with short microsphere doped acrylic rods, Optics Express 12, 3327-3333 (2004)
