Dr Aravind Vijayaraghavan discusses graphene with us.

Graphene is the world’s first 2-dimensional material, and was made in Manchester for the very first time in 2004, by Professor Andre Geim and Professor Kostya Novoselov. They were, of course, awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010, and Knighthoods in the 2012 New Year’s Honours.

So what is it about graphene that won them the Nobel prize and has generated worldwide excitement and investment into research?

Aravind will briefly tell us about the history of graphene, explain what graphene looks like with some models and describe some of the properties and applications of graphene. He will also introduce us to some games and apps they have developed which will hopefully both entertain and educate people using the science behind graphene. Finally, he will show us how to make our own graphene using nothing but some pencil lead and Sellotape, just like the Nobel laureates did.