Dr Ian Smith to head advanced materials centre committee

Dr Ian Smith, one of the country's top industrial scientists, is to lead the investigation aimed at giving Western Australia a world-class centre for advanced materials.

Deputy Premier Ian Taylor said today Dr Smith's appointment to head the centre's interim committee demonstrated just how important the State Government viewed advanced materials research and its part in attracting new investment.

"WA is rich in the minerals which will be used to produce the next generation of advanced materials," he said.

"But for us really to benefit from that advantage we have to be closely involved in the development and production of those new materials."

Mr Taylor said it would be the role of the proposed centre to work with industry not only in the development of advanced material but in commercialising any discoveries.

"Dr Smith, who is the general manager of CRA's advanced technical development group at Technology Park, has a wide background in both research and scientific management consultancy which makes him ideally suited to oversee preparation of the centre's business plan," Mr Taylor said.

He said Dr Smith's interim committee which included representatives from industry and academia would be reporting to the Department of State Development which had responsibility for establishing the centre.

"The centre is expected to focus its attention on developing new composite materials, ceramics, and rare-earth magnets," Mr Taylor said.

"In fact, if we can achieve a breakthrough with the new magnets we could well open the way for a major new industry.

"For example, the Japanese are now estimating that every new car produced by the turn of the century will require up to 16 magnets - twice today's average.

"They will be there in all the extra motors that will be powering the car of the future's accessories. More importantly, they will be magnets made from rare earths - much more powerful than conventional magnets and much smaller in volume."

Mr Taylor said the worldwide demand for car magnets alone was expected to run into tens of millions annually.

"WA has one of the world's richest sources of rare earths," he said.

"Marrying magnet manufacture with a close-by mining operation would be the most economic solution to service that market.

"And doing the research here is one way to ensure WA does not miss out."