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Dr Kaneti focuses on the design of novel nanoporous carbon and inorganic materials with controlled structural parameters (size, shape, and porosity) to optimize their functional performance toward energy storage and conversion, sensing, and bio-related applications. In particular, he is interested in the rational design and construction of metal-organic frameworks and mesoporous materials and has demonstrated the novel self-assembly of inorganic 1D nanomaterials into 2D sheet-like structures using template-assisted approaches for renewable energy conversion applications. Finally, he has conducted several theoretical studies using density functional theory (DFT) simulations to understand the adsorption of gas molecules on various crystal facets of metal oxides.

Dr Yusuf Valentino Kaneti received his PhD degree from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia. After that, he joined the Monash University/University of new South Wales as a part-time postdoctoral fellow with the Laboratory of Simulation and Modeling of Particulate Systems (SIMPAS). In December 2015, he was awarded the Endeavour Australia Fellowship and participated in a 4-month research exchange at the Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University (China) between February-July 2016 and worked on the development of anode materials for sodium-ion batteries using metal-organic framework-derived composites. In September 2016, he joined the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), specifically at the International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA) as a Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) Postdoctoral Fellow. His JSPS research focuses on the fabrication of metal-organic frameworks and mesoporous materials for energy and environmental applications. In October 2018, Dr Kaneti was awarded the MANA Research Fellowship and worked at the Nanotubes group in NIMS with research projects focusing on the self-assembly of 1D nanomaterials into 2D nanostructures and vice versa for energy storage and conversion applications. Currently, he is working as an Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellow at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland.

Dr Kaneti has published 1 book chapter and 137 peer-reviewed journal articles (~60% as first and/or corresponding author). These include publications in leading Materials Science and Chemistry journals, such as Chem. Rev., Chem. Soc. Rev., Adv. Mater., ACS Nano, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., Matter, Mater. Horiz., and Small. These papers have attracted >12,000 citations with h-index of 58 (Google Scholar as of Dec. 2023). His work is well regarded in the field, as it is cited at rate of 3.94 times above the average for articles in the same field (SciVal, Dec. 2023). Currently, Dr Kaneti has 20 ESI Highly Cited Papers (Top 1% most cited papers worldwide) according to Web of Science (Dec. 2023). He has obtained several competitive grants from a range of research funding schemes, securing ~8M AUD in the last five years, including three ARC (3 LPs and 1 ARC Industry Hub) and one JST-ERATO grants as Chief Investigator [CI], one Advance Queensland as sole CI and two Australia-Japan Foundation Grants (funded by Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade). Furthermore, he has also secured two competitive UQ research grants/awards, including one UQ Global Seed Funding and UQ Grand Agriculture Seed Funding, both as the lead CI. His standing in the field of functional nanomaterials is further evidenced by his recognition as a 2023 Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher (Cross-Field, Thompson Reuters) and inclusion in Top 2% most cited scientists in a single year (2019-2022) across all fields by Stanford University (USA). Currently. Dr Kaneti is serving as the Youth Editorial Board Member for Nano-Micro Letters (Springer), Editorial Advisory Board Member for Langmuir (ACS) and Editorial Board member for three MDPI journals (Batteries, Crystals, and Gases) and an Associate Editor for Frontiers of Materials (Carbon-Based Materials).

Dr Kaneti has previously collaborated with several international companies. He has worked with NBC Meshtec Inc. (Japan) to develop mesoporous iron oxide catalysts for room-temperature carbon monoxide oxidation. He has also collaborated with the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) to develop mesoporous alumina and alumina-titania composite adsorbents toward medical radioisotope production. Furthermore, he has work with Sensync Inc. (Indonesia) to develop metal oxide-based sensors using biomass precursors for the detection of toxic gases and to understand the underlying sensing mechanisms of these sensors toward such gases. Currently, Dr Kaneti is collaborating with AI Fluidics. Pty Ltd. (Australia) to develop point-of-care diagnostics device incorporating microfluidics and electrochemical biosensors for the detection of coronavirus RNA.

Associate Professor Damon Kent is an expert in the development and processing of metallic biomaterials, light structural metals and metallic composites. He applies advanced characterisation to study the links between structure and processing with the aim to control properties and performance.

Dr Aditya Khanna is a Lecturer (Applied Mechanics) at The University of Queensland (commenced 2023). Prior to joining UQ, Aditya worked as an engineering consultant (dynamics and vibration) at Vipac Engineers & Scientists Ltd and held an adjunct lecturer appointment at The University of Adelaide. Aditya's research and industry consulting background is in the areas of: stress analysis, fatigue and fracture assessment, structural dynamics, vibration control, and non-destructive testing,

Professor Bronwyn Laycock has a diverse background in translational research, working not only in academia but also in industry and as a consulting chemist as well as at CSIRO. Her research activities have ranged from bio/degradable polymers, composites, organic and organometallic synthesis, waste conversion technologies, and pulp and paper chemistry, to general polymer chemistry. She is currently working across a range of projects with a focus on materials for circular economy applications and management of the transition to the new plastics economy. The application areas in her research program include biopolymers (particularly polyhydroxyalkanoates), polymer lifetime estimation and end-of-life management/conversion technologies, biocomposites, controlled release matrixes for pesticide and fertiliser applications, polyurethane chemistry, and biodegradable packaging.

She has a strong history of successful commercialisation and impact, being a co-inventor on CSIRO's extended wear contact lens program (recognised as its fourth most significant invention) - for which she was awarded a joint CSIRO Medal for Research Achievement 2009. As a Project Leader and Deputy Program Leader within the CRC for Polymers, she also managed a project that delivered an oxodegradable thin film polyethylene that was commercially licenced by Integrated Packaging. This work earned the team a Joint Chairman’s Award for research/commercialization (CRC for Polymers) and an Excellence in Innovation Award (CRC Association).

In 2014, Ian worked on the conceptual design and techno-economic assessment of PHA bioplastic production from methane, from which he built a case for thermophilic methanotrophic PHA production. This work led into his PhD thesis, which looked at developing biodegradable matrices for the controlled delivery of fertilisers, with a particular focus on PHA, and blends thereof, as the matrix. A key research focus here was the development of extrusion processing techniques for producing such materials, tracking and modelling the release kinetics for the active ingredient, and the determining the rate of biodegradation of the matrix itself. After graduating, Ian spent 2 years working for a process consulting company, developing high purity aluminium-based products for application in batteries, LEDS, CMP polishing and sapphire glass production, among others. His core interest lies in process development in the green fields space, with a particular interest in bioplastics production and downstream product development.

Dr. Mingyuan Lu was awarded her PhD from The University of Queensland in Febuary 2014. She has previously completed a Masters of Engineering (June 2009, Materials Science and Engineering, Central South University, China), and a Bachelor of Engineering (June 2007, Materials Science and Engineering, Central south University, China).

Mingyuan has more than 10 years’ experience in research, and during this period she has gained extensive experience with material synthesis, mechanical mechanics, and material characterization including nanoindentation, nanoscratching, atomic force microscopy, electron microscopy, and focused ion beam milling (FIB); additionally,she has experience with structural and compositional analysis techniques (Raman, XRD, EDS, DTA, DSC etc.).

Mingyuan's contributions to the field of mechanical and materials engineering are listed below:

Materials mechanics

• (2015-2016) developed a new and successful FIB-machined micro-cantilever bending technique to study the fracture and interfacial properties of the protective intermetallic coatings on magnesium alloys: this technique can be applied to a wide range of materials, sub-surface structures and multilayered structures. Based on this methodology, they later developed a micro-bridge four-point bending technique. This approach can generate a “stable” interfacial delamination, and thus enables quantitative analysis of interfacial toughness.
• (2011-2014) developed an indentation-based methodology for assessing the interfacial adhesion of bilayer structures, in a joint project that was funded by WIN Semiconductor Co., Taiwan: the methodology developed has been used to test the reliability of SiN-passivated GaAs semiconductor wafer products.

Materials synthesis and processing

• (2015-current) developing a selective laser sintering process for the additive manufacturing of porous and biodegradable scaffolds, made from a biopolymer, for bone tissue engineering: this innovative process can produce scaffolds without the use of an artificial 3D model, and the scaffold has a unique interconnected pore architecture and large surface area making it suitable for bone tissue regeneration applications. The promising outcomes of the preliminary study have elicited strong support from UQ; it has received two generous internal grants (a philanthropic grant for an ECR in the field of engineering, and SEED funding) to enable further study in this field. The scaffolds will shortly be tested in a pre-clinical mouse model (funded by SEEM grant) to study biocompatibility and osteoconductivity.
• (2007-2009) developed high-performance refractory metallic materials using powder metallurgy processes: in this project, they discovered the effect of trace TiC, ZrC Carbide nanoparticles on the mechanical properties, sintering behaviour and microstructure of molybdenum alloys.

A/Professor Bin Luo is currently an ARC Future Fellow and Group Leader in Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) at the University of Queensland (UQ). He received his doctoral degree in Physical Chemistry from National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) in July 2013. In August 2014, Dr Luo joined UQ as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in AIBN. He then secured highly competitive UQ Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2015-2018), ARC DECRA Fellowship (2018-2021), and ARC Future Fellowship (2021-2025).

Research interests in Luo group mainly include

• Design of functional materials for next generation energy storage applications, including multivalent metal batteries, redox flow batteries and solid state batteries.
• Exploring new conceptual energy conversion or storage systems (e.g. flexible/micro-batteries, solar rechargeable battery).
• Revealing the structure-performance relationship of functional materials via in/ex situ investigations.
• Interaction of biomaterials and energy storage.

Dr Xiaodong Ma obtained his Bachelor's Degree in 2006 and a Master Degree in 2009 from Dalian University of Technology, China, then graduated with a PhD in 2012 from The University of Tokyo, Japan, supported by the Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho: MEXT) Scholarship.

Dr Ma joined The University of Queensland in 2012 right after his PhD graduation starting as a postdoctoral research fellow.

Dr Ma is now the acting group leader of the High-Temperature Processing (HTP) group and leading the HTP Program at JKMRC, SMI of UQ. He is an expert in the experimental and modelling research on thermodynamics and kinetics of high-temperature materials processing for ferrous, non-ferrous and advanced materials. He has extensive hands-on experiences in fundamental study and applied research including solar cell silicon purification, ironmaking, steel secondary refining, copper smelting, metal extraction from low-grade complexed ores, and waste treatment, etc. His research activities also extend to the development of high-strength and high-end specials steels by sophisticated control of second phase particles. Along with the research, he is also good at materials characterization by operating the analytical facilities of SEM, EPMA, TEM, XRD, ICP, etc. He is a pyrometallurgical specialist with a strong interest lying in the decarburization of ironmaking and steelmaking with hydrogen metallurgy and lower CO2 emission technologies in the metallurgical sector.

Professor Darren Martin FTSE

A Translational Materials Scientist and Intensive Connector, Darren's work sits at the nexus of three key themes of strong fundamental materials science, safe biomaterials and nanomaterials and scalable advanced manufacturing

Darren has always had a strong passion for translation, as evidenced by the following four major research translation outputs, which share the capacity of advanced materials to enable impacts in health, sustainability, and social empowerment:

1996-2012 - Aortech Biomaterials Ltd: We developed a more biostable pacemaker lead insulation which is now implanted in over 80 million people worldwide (Abbott Medical).

2001-2020 - TenasiTech Pty Ltd: In 2020 our scratch resistant and break-proof acrylic glass technology was sold to RTP, a multinational plastics compounder who now sell into several large markets (appliances, personal care, construction, cell phone cases, automotive parts, etc).

2011-2022 - Spinifex Nanocellulose Platform Technology: In 2021, this technology was licensed to Brisbane startup Trioda Medical Pty Ltd for the development of injectable medical gels.

2015-Present - Sorghum-derived Microfibrillated Cellulose (MFC): My team have demonstrated that sorghum grasses can be pulped and refined into MFC in a far more sustainable manner than wood biomass.

International Collaborators and Industry Partners

Professor Martin’s current international collaborators include Stony Brook University (USA), DTU (Denmark) and IIT-Delhi (India). He also has several materials co-development projects and collaborations with companies such as Advanta Seeds, GSA Innovation, Opal Paper, Cardia Bioplastics, GMG, Duromer, OPS, Dulux and others.

Prizes, Honours and Awards

Excellence & Commercialisation

• 2020 - UTS Chancellor’s Award (awarded to the top Alumni from the whole of UTS each year)

• 2020 - UTS Alumni Award for Excellence - Faculty of Science • 2016 & 2019 - 2 UQ Partners in Research Excellence Awards (PIREAs) (Spinifex project Bulugudu partnership)

• 2015 - State finalist in the 2015 Telstra Business Awards (TenasiTech Pty Ltd)

• 2010 - UQ Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology Commercialisation Award

• 2010 - Engineers Australia Nanoengineering Panel

• 2007 - iLab Prize at the QLD Enterprise Awards (lead to TenasiTech pre-seed investment from UniSeed)

Service & Leadership

• 2021 - ATSE Reconciliation Action Plan reference group and Industry and Innovation Forum

• 2021 - ATSE President Nominations and Interview Committee to deliberate on the current ATSE President

• 2019 - UQ Teams Leadership Award (Spinifex project Bulugudu partnership)

• 2019 - Business Higher Education Round Table Award (Community Engagement Bulugudu partnership)

• 1993 - Member of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute RACI and the RACI QLD Polymer Group

Dr McDonald is a graduate of The University of Queensland (UQ) having obtained a Bachelor of Engineering (Manufacturing and Materials) in 1997 and a PhD in Materials Engineering in 2002. He is a currently a Senior Research Fellow in the Nihon Superior Centre for the Manufacture of Electronic Materials (NSCMEM).

His research is in the field of microstructure control through solidification science and in particular on understanding the effect of trace element additions on nucleation and growth phenomena. He has numerous publications and expertise in the areas of:

1. Lead-free Solder Alloys

2. Grain refinement

3. Machining and heat treatment of titanium alloys

4. Mg-based Hydrogen Storage Alloys

5. Casting and Solidification of Al-Si Alloys

6. Eutectic solidification and modification

Professor Michael Monteiro has established an international reputation in the field of 'living' radical polymerization to create complex polymer architectures. He is now building designer polymers for various biomedical applications, including vaccines, drug delivery and stem cells. He is dedicated to translating research into commercial outcomes, with 7 PCT and provisional patents since 2005 and start-up company DendriMed Pty Ltd. He was awarded an ARC QEII Fellowship in 2004 and an ARC Future Fellowship in 2009. He has attracted ARC and NHMRC grants; and Queensland State Government funding in excess of $7 million.

International links

Professor Monteiro has built a strong collaboration with Professor Virgil Percec from the University of Pennsylvania to develop and understand the new SET-LRP. He has developed a collaboration with Professor Rachel O'Reilly from the University of Warwick to develop nanoreactors that mimic enzyme activity. In collaboration with Professor Eugenia Kumacheva from the University of Toronto, they developed temperature responsive micron-sized particles from encapsulation of cells.

Dr Evgenii Nekhoroshev is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the School of Chemical Engineering and a member of the Pyrometallurgy Innovation Centre led by Prof. Evgueni Jak.

He graduated with a Master in Chemistry (chemical thermodynamics) from Lomonosov's Moscow State University, Deparment of Chemistry in 2012. His Master's Thesis was "Thermodynamic optimization of the NaOH-Al(OH)3-Na2SiO3-H2O system for applications in Bayer's process of bauxite treatment" as part of a bigger project initiated in collaboration with Rusal company aimed at utilisation/valorisation of red mud residues accumulated during the production of aluminium oxide from bauxite ores.

In 2019, he completed a PhD in Metallurgical Engineering at Ecole Polytechnique of Montreal, Canada within The Centre For Research in Computational Thermodynamics (CRCT), where he acquired expertise in FactSage software, multicomponent database development, and was included in the list of official collaborators of FactSage. His PhD thesis was "Thermodynamic optimization of the Na2O-K2O-Al2O3-CaO-MgO-B2O3-SiO2 system" sponsored by Glass Consortium including Corning and SCHOTT glass producers. The purpose of the database he developed was to assist the industry in designing new glasses with special properties: chemically hardened glasses (smartphones), technical glasses with high thermal and chemical resilience (boron-containing glasses), chemically inert glasses, etc.

Short after receiving his PhD, Dr Evgenii Nekhoroshev accepted a position at The University of Queensland as part of the Pyrometallurgy Innovation Centre's team where he has an official title of Theme Leader in Thermodynamic Computations, combining his broad expertise in metallurgy, chemical engineering, applied mathematics, and programming.

Dr Evgenii Nekhoroshev has always been passionate about formalisation and automation of big research tasks. He started working on developing an automated solver for thermodynamic optimisation during his PhD thesis which was improved and finalised using the ideas of Prof. Evgueni Jak about real-time derivative matrix optimization and sensitivity analysis applicable to large multicomponent systems. His contribution to the Centre allowed to make transition to a continuous optimization approach when experimental and modelling streams of work in the Centre are efficiently combined together. It allows to include the most recent experimental datasets into a self-consistent database update with minimal time delays.

Prof Kazuhiro Nogita’s research interests are in: working on Pb-free solder alloys and intermetallics, hydrogen storage alloys, Li-ion battery anode materials, Zn-Al coating alloys and structural Al-Si and Mg alloys. The unifying theme throughout his research career has been the development of environmentally sustainable materials solutions for conventional and alternative electronic, transport and power industries.

Prof Nogita graduated as an Engineer in Japan in 1990 and worked in the nuclear power industry with Hitachi Ltd. for several years. He was awarded a PhD from Kyushu University in 1997 and has subsequently worked on a variety of research projects, including the development of materials for alternative power industries and environmentally friendly applications. He migrated to Australia in 1999 after accepting a position at the University of Queensland, where he currently holds the title of Professor and Director of the Nihon Superior Centre for the Manufacture of Electronic Materials (NS CMEM) within the School of Mechanical & Mining Engineering, and a founding manager of The University of Queensland - Kyushu University Oceania Project (“UQ-KU Project”). He is also an invited Professor at Kyushu University and at the University of Malaysia Perlis.

Currently, the majority of Prof Nogita’s research is in two major areas, namely lead-free solders for electronic applications and metal based hydrogen-storage alloys. He holds 15 international patents and has authored over 200 refereed scientific papers. His research has been acknowledged with several awards/fellowships, including Queensland Government Smart Futures Fellowship and he has been instrumental in the establishment of a spin-off company, Hydrexia Pty. Ltd.

Biography:

Associate Professor Steven Pratt is known internationally for his work on the development of polyhdroxyalkanoate (PHA) bioplastics, and their associated wood-fibre composites, and nationally for his delivery of training courses to environmental professionals.

He has authored over 150 scientific publications, with his major contribution to the field of environmental biotechnology being the invention of the TOGA® Sensor for examination and control of biotech/bioprocess systems.

He leads the ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Bioplastics and Biocomposites at UQ, and has won awards for his outstanding contribution to supervision and enhancing the research supervision culture.

Research:

Assocaite Professor Pratt is a research and education leader in environmental engineering, known internationally for his work on the development of polyhdroxyalkanoate (PHA) bioplastics, and their associated wood-fibre composites, and nationally for his delivery of training courses to environmental professionals. His research is industrially relevant; he has published on models for effective industry-education partnerships.

He is now Director of the new ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre in Bioplastics and Biocomposites. ARC Centre for Bioplastics and Biocomposites

Plastics are now ubiquitous in our lives, and the systems within our modern society could not function without these light weight, easily formable, strong, cheap, durable, and readily available materials. However, our success at engineering such useful materials has created a systemic problem, with more than 10 million tonnes of plastic leaking into the global environment annually. Urgent change is needed to address this ‘plastic crisis’, and biodegradable bioplastics, along with their natural fibre composites, will play a pivotal role in this transition to a more sustainable plastics economy. Already, we are witnessing unprecedented growth in the global bioplastics industry – the projected annual growth to 2030 is 16-30%, leading to an estimated global market value of US$40B. As the world transitions towards the integration of bioplastics into a more sustainable plastics economy, there is a real opportunity for Australia to transform our existing plastics industry. Australia is uniquely positioned to become a global leader in the emerging bioplastic and biocomposite industry this decade, supported by our abundance of the raw natural materials needed for their manufacture. The ARC Training Centre for Bioplastics and Biocomposites will capitalise on Australia’s abundant natural bioresources to drive advances in technology for the development of bioplastic and biocomposite products for the new bioeconomy.

Teaching and Learning:

Dr Pratt has taught a variety of courses in process engineering, including Environmental Systems Engineering, Wastewater Treatment, Clean Technology and Environmental Biotechnology.

Additionally, he has run the IWES Principles of Wastewater Treatment course, which has an intake of about 100 professionals each year.

Projects:

ARC ITTC for Bioplastics and Biocomposties.

Stephen is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Bernhardt group at the University of Queensland. His current research is focused on the theory of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics and molecular dynamics.

Stephen completed a double degree in electrical engineering and physics at James Cook University, followed by a PhD in physics, also at James Cook University, under the supervision of Prof. Ronald White and Dr Bronson Philippa, as well as the University of Queensland's Prof. Paul Burn and Prof. Alan Mark. His PhD focused on using kinetic Monte-Carlo simulations of charge and exciton dynamics, coupled with atomistic molecular dynamics deposition simulations to establish a better understanding of structure-property relationships in organic semiconductors, particularly organic light-emitting diodes.

Dr Abbas Shafiee is a tissue engineering & regenerative medicine scientist interested in translational cell-based and tissue engineering strategies to treat human diseases.

Dr Shafiee completed his PhD in Professor Kiarash Khosrotehrani’s laboratory on stem cell biology. His research career during his PhD had key contributions to delineating endothelial niche and vascular stem cells in the human placental tissues, including the seminal discovery of an entirely new stem cell population, coined as ‘Meso-Endothelial Bipotent Progenitor’ and the identification of key driver signatures for endothelial and bipotential progenitor function (Stem Cell Reports 2018; The FASEB Journal 2017; Stem Cells 2016; Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2015).

In 2016, he joined Distinguished Professor Dietmar Hutmacher’s team and conducted multiple projects on cancer and bone tissue engineering. Dr Shafiee has developed innovative tissue engineered models intersecting concepts from stem cell biology, cancer, and tissue engineering to study species-specific cancer bone metastasis at an unprecedented level of detail. The results of his research have been published in: International Journal of Cancer 2018; Cancers 2018; Biomaterials 2018; Bone Research 2019; Biomaterials 2019; Applied Materials Today 2020; Biomaterials 2020; and Advanced Therapeutics 2020. Utilizing the tissue engineering concept, he was able to better understand the mechanisms of human cancer bone metastasis. Additionally, he was successful in obtaining project grants, including a project grants from Cooperative Research Centers (CRC), and developed a biomimetically designed scaffolds and investigated the interactions of multipotent mesenchymal stem/stromal cell and skin progenitors with 3D printed scaffolds. The application of 3D printed constructs in acute wound models decreased wound contracture and led to a significantly improved skin regeneration.

Dr Shafiee joined Metro North Health (MNH, Queensland Health) in 2020 and started a research program to develop, implement, and evaluate the applications of 3D printing, scanning, cell therapies, and biofabrication technologies in skin wound settings, and dermatology research. Using the 3D printing and organoid technologies he could develop new approaches to enhances physiological wound closure with reduced scar tissue formation (Biomaterials 2021, Small 2021, Advanced Healthcare Materials 2021, Advanced Healthcare Materials 2022) and advance the deramtology research (Advanced healthcare materials 2022, and Small 2024). Dr Shafiee is part of a national program, aiming to develop biofabrication technology to treat skin wounds (funded by MRFF, NHMRC). His groundbreaking organoid research resulted in establishing an international Consortium of Organoid Research in Dermatology, leveraging organoid technology to advance the understanding and treatment of genetic skin diseases. Dr Shafiee has supervised over 10 Masters and PhD students. Honours, Masters and PhD projects are available, please feel free to contact him.

Dr. Denis Shishin,

• Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Chemistry from Moscow State University (Diploma with Honors)
• PhD in Metallurgical Engineering from University of Montreal, Canada
• 2014 - Current: Research Fellow in Pyrometallurgy Innovation Centre (PYROSEARCH) of the University of Queensland

Dr Ekaterina Strounina is a Solid State NMR facility manager in the Centre for Advanced Imaging. She has been working in UQ since 2002, specializing in high-field MRI applications and solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

Dr Adnan Sufian completed his PhD at UNSW Sydney, spending one year as a visiting scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to joining the University of Queensland, he was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Imperial College London and has also worked as a geotechnical engineer with SMEC Australia. Dr Sufian's field of research is in the area of multi-scale and multi-phase mechanics of granular materials. His research aims to develop tools and guidelines so that geotechnical engineers can better handle, manipulate and construct with granular materials, and this can lead to innovative solutions to geotechnical issues surrounding the development of urban infrastructure. He is also interested in understanding natural phenomena associated with granular geomaterials such as landscapes affected by erosion, mass movement of materials in landslides, and mitigating the spread of contaminants in subsurface flows. Dr Sufian has strong expertise in the development of novel, efficient and rigorous multi-scale computational modelling techniques, including the Discrete Element Method, Computational Fluid Dynamics and Network Models, with a core focus on the interaction of water with soil particles. His research is naturally multidisciplinary and he currently collaborates with physicists, mathematicians and engineers to uncover emergent phenomena from the collective behaviour of granular particles.