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Dr Debashish Dev is an interdisciplinary researcher specializing in energy transition, communication, sustainable development, community engagement, and understanding social change processes. His work integrates social performance and regional development priorities of energy policies and initiatives, focusing on improving community participation and social acceptance.

Working at the UQ Gas and Energy Transition Research Centre, Dr Dev contributed to developing a participatory community-based monitoring framework for regional development in Northern Territory, Australia. Currently, he is working on implementing the framework in practice. In addition, his ongoing research engagement includes understanding social risks in coal seam gas waste management, public discourses in gas-related policies, the energy sector's contribution towards SDGs, energy-related social movements, and how energy information flows through the social systems.

Dr Dev's previous academic roles at the University of Queensland involved tutoring in courses- COMU2030: Communication Research Methods, COMU1130: Data & Society, HHSS6000: Research Design, and COMU7102: Communication for Social Change—Foundations. He was also involved in developing a course- QUT You 003: Real Action for Real Change, for the Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Australia, as a sessional academic. He previously researched and taught in Bangladesh, concentrating on agricultural extension, organization management, climate change adaptation, and gender dynamics. He holds a Bachelor's (Honours) in Agricultural Science (Bangladesh Agricultural University), a Master's in Agricultural Extension (Bangladesh Agricultural University), and a PhD in Climate and Development (UQ). He is certified in Carbon Literacy and is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK). Dr Dev’s work bridges research with practical solutions, aiming to advance sustainable development through effective community engagement and participatory approaches.

Professor Diane Donovan received her PhD from The University of Queensland in 1987 and has been an integral member of the Discipline of Mathematics and assoicated Schools since that time.

She has two main research streams.

1) The application of polynomial chaos expansions for the modeling of physical problems involving uncertain parameters. We are developing methods to accurately and efficiently explore subsurface geometry. The current work is focussed on problems related to groundwater levels, gas extraction and storage. This work is joint with the Centre for Coal Seam Gas at the University of Queensland.

2) The study of mathematics structures, both discrete and continuous, and their applications to problems in science and engineering. Of particular interest is the development and testing of methods for robust sampling techniques. This interests is supported by a long history of publishing on experimental design, block designs, latin squares and associated algebraic structures.

Dr Mahshid Firouzi is an Honorary Associate Professor at UQ Gas & Energy Transition Research Centreand an Associate Professor at the College of Engineering, Science and Environment at the University of Newcastle (Australia).

Dr Firouzi has a strong interest in both fundamental and practical research, collaborating with industry and various disciplines across a broad range of areas with a focus on Energy and Resources. Her research projects are centered on the experimental investigation and mathematical modeling of interfacial interactions in multiphase flows (foams/emulsions, bubble coalescence, thin liquid films) and process optimisation of engineering processes. She particularly focuses on the application of bio-inspired reagents in eco-efficient beneficiation of minerals and clean energy production as well recycling vaulable minerals from EoL PVs.

Her research achievements have been recognised through multiple awards including the 2018 UQ Engineering Faculty Early Career Researcher Award and being one of two Australian female scientists profiled by the Association of Academies and Societies of Sciences in Asia.

More information about A/Prof Firouzi's research can be found here.

Sebastian is an Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellow at The University of Queensland's Centre for Natural Gas. Sebastian has a Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate in Environmental Engineering through the University of Stuttgart. His research interests include geostatistics, stochastic modelling, and copula-based non-linear geostatistics.

Professor Suzanne Hurter is the Energi Simulation Industrial Chair in (Unconventional) Onshore Gas Reservoir Modelling. Based at The University of Queensland Centre for Coal Seam Gas (UQ-CCSG), Professor Hurter leads a landmark geoscience and reservoir modelling research program focused on the unconventional onshore gas industry.

Professor Hurter joined UQ-CCSG after a distinguished career in the oil and gas industry in various roles in Shell (Netherlands), Schlumberger (Netherlands and Australia), QGC (BG‐Group) and Arrow Energy (Shell‐PetroChina). Previously she had worked in academia in Germany (Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam and the Leibnitz Institute of Applied Geophysics in Hannover) and Brazil (University of Sao Paulo). She joined UQ in 2015 and was appointed as the Energi Simulation Industrial Research Chair in (Unconventional) Onshore Gas Reservoir Modelling in 2017.

Professor Hurter’s research interests and activities include hydrocarbon maturation and thermal evolution of sedimentary basins, carbon sequestration, coupled modelling of flow, heat in porous and fractured media and using numerical modelling to evaluate and improve onshore gas production.

Ray is currently Professor of Well Engineering & Production Technology in the School of Chemical Engineering and Energi Simulation Co-chair in the Centre for Natural Gas. There he is researching projects related to low permeability, unconventional reservoirs (i.e., tight gas, coal seam gas, shale gas reservoir). In addition, he is an instructor and course coordinator in several courses in the ME Petroleum Engineering program at the University of Queensland.

Outside of teaching and research, Prof Johnson is the Principal at Unconventional Reservoir Solutions, a provider of reservoir engineering, stimulation consulting, and training services to the petroleum and mining industry, focusing on unconventional resources such as gas or oil from coal, shale, or naturally fractured reservoirs.

From 2014 to 2020 Ray was an Adjunct Associate Professor at the ASP, University of Adelaide.

Dr. Amrita Kambo is a multi-disciplinary researcher at The University of Queensland. Her work borrows and applies theoretical constructs from concepts such as ‘social acceptance’ and ‘social licence to operate’ (SLO). These modules can be applied to assess the extent to which a business, or industry or technology gains tacit support from the wider public. Additionally, the SLO concept can be applied to understand standards of responsible behaviour, transparency and accountability in a wide range of settings. To date, Amrita has applied the SLO concept to understand community expectations in the context of renewable energy technologies such as hydrogen and biogas under a project funded by the Future Fuels CRC using familiar methods in social sciences such as surveys, interviews, focus groups and participatory research.

Amrita's wider research interests include sustainable cities, urban infrastructure, planning and place-making. These interests are rooted in the Amrita’s early career and experience in architecture and design.

Amrita’s PhD research included a review of influential topics in context of ‘sustainable’ architecture - ‘regenerative’ design and development, biophilic design, ecosystem services, ‘Geodesign’, biomimicry, green infrastructure, positive development, net-zero design and so on.

Julie’s research is mainly focussed on gas-water-rock core reactivity at reservoir conditions using experimental, field, and geochemical modelling techniques. Recent projects have been in the application of carbon dioxide geological storage in which CO2 is captured and stored in formations generally contained by low permeability cap-rock. The safe containment of the injected CO2 and the potential changes to rock porosity, permeability, and water quality should be determined. Recent and current projects with a focus on a demonstration site in the Surat Basin (Precipice Sandstone) include the impacts of impurity or acid gases present in industrial CO2 streams (collaboration with D. Kirste, SFU), inducing carbonate precipitation (in collaboration with S. Golding), and understanding dissolved metal sources and fate. Julie has also worked closely with the CO2CRC, CTSCo, Glencore, SEAL, the NSW government, CI-NSW, and ANLEC R&D, and provided expert opinion to the Queensland Government, and input to Environmental Impacts Assessments.

Julie is currently working with landholders, the QLD regional government, RDMW, councils and industry to understand the sources of methane in aquifers of the Great Artesian Basin, especailly those overlying coal seam gas reservoirs (CSG) (with Arrow Energy, SANTOS, APLNG, H. Hoffman, K, Baublys).

Other projects include gas-water-rock or acid-rock reactivity that modify nano-porosity and gas flow in gas or oil bearing shales.

Julie Pearce graduated with an MCHEM (Hons) degree in Chemistry from the University of York, UK. She then moved to the University of Bristol to complete a Ph.D. in 2007 focusing on laser spectroscopic studies to understand the detailed reaction dynamics of atmospheric processes. From 2007 – 2009 she accepted a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Postdoctoral Fellowship, hosted at Nagoya University, Japan. There she measured delta 13C and delta 18O isotopic signatures of CO2 simultaneously in real time in the atmosphere using a laser spectroscopic technique to understand anthropogenic and biogenic sources of CO2. After taking a career break to travel in 15 countries in Asia, she moved to Brisbane in 2010 where she is enjoying the surrounding natural beauty of Queensland.

With >35 years of experience, more than 100 publications on the subject, Jim has built a reputation in petroleum hydrogeology, unconventional hydrocarbons and carbon storage research. He is currently President of Petroleum Hydrogeology International and is also an Honorary Professor at the University of Queensland. He is Science Leader Storage for ANLEC R&D, Chair of the Geotechnical Reference Group for the CTSCo Surat CCS Project and sits on the Science Advisory Committee for the Peter Cook Centre for CCS Research. Previously, Jim was Professorial Chair of Petroleum Hydrodynamics at the University of Queensland with the Centre for Coal Seam Gas. He was General Manager Science for ANLEC R&D with an annual research budget of ~$18 million AUS applied to more than 50 active research projects supporting Australia’s CCS demonstration. He was CSIRO Theme Leader for the Unconventional Petroleum and Geothermal Energy R&D program with more than 50 Full Time Equivalents and an annual budget of ~$16 million/yr AUS. He sat on the Sustainable Energy for the Square Kilometre Array geothermal project control group, the Australian Mirror Committee of ISO for Carbon Capture and Storage and he managed the hydrodynamics and geochemistry discipline group within the Australian Cooperative Research Centre on CO2 (CO2CRC). Recently, Jim’s research has focused on petroleum hydrodynamics of faulted strata and the incorporation of hydrodynamics into seals analysis (both top and fault seal). His research has varied application to conventional and unconventional hydrocarbons, geothermal energy, mining and carbon storage. Jim has an interest in measurement, monitoring and verification (MM&V) systems for assessing reservoir and seal performance. He gained practical field experience on the design and implementation of MM&V strategies for SECARB Cranfield, Otway, Frio and In Salah carbon storage projects. Jim has advised the Canadian, New Zealand, Victorian and West Australian governments and Chevron on carbon storage projects and research programs. Jim has had media training whilst at the University of Queensland and CSIRO, he has experience with community engagement, senate estimates inquiries, and he has worked extensively with executive management teams and Boards of Directors. He has >2100 citations, an h-index of 24 and an i10-index of 51 on Google Scholar.

Jim Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/jim-underschultz/86/737/553

Jim ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jim_Underschultz

Dr Kathy Witt is an internationally-recognised senior social science researcher and currently an Advance Queensland Fellow at the UQ Centre for Natural Gas. Previously working in the areas of environmental and community change for the Queensland Government, Kathy went on to receive her PhD in 2013 before joining UQ-CNG’s Social Performance research team in 2014. Kathy specialises in the social dimensions of land use, natural resource management and energy technologies and transition, particularly in relation to sustainable regional development.

With degrees in Environmental Management (Natural and Rural Systems Management)/ Sociology from UQ's Gatton and St Lucia campuses, she is an inter-disciplinary researcher fluent in both environmental and social sciences. She applies ‘socio-ecological systems’ approaches to her research.

Leading the UQ-CNG Social Performance team, Kathy currently studies the cumulative social and economic effects of energy development for local communities, and non-technical risks. Her recent work focusses on social acceptance and ‘social licence’ across a range of industries and technologies, including the cattle industries, future fuels, hydrogen, carbon capture, use & storage and utility-scale renewable energy. Through her work Kathy has fostered mutually trusting and enduring relationships with different stakeholders including in the agricultural and energy sectors. She has collated and analysed longitudinal data on town and regional social and economic indicators alongside community members’ own interpretations of lived experience.

While currently in a research-focussed position, Kathy has previously lectured in Effective Stakeholder Engagement, Environment and Community, Global Challenges in Agriculture, Non-Technical Risks and Sustainable Energy.

Kathy’s excellent understanding of participatory research methods and ability to apply approaches from different academic specialisations, is combined with an ability to engage with diverse stakeholder groups.