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Jing Zhang is an agricultural economist with a diverse range of expertise in agricultural policy, natural resource management, farming systems, and international trade. She brings advanced skills in statistical, market, and policy analysis, alongside extensive experience and strong networks in the Chinese agricultural sector. Her work spans multidisciplinary projects across Australia, China, Indonesia, and Mongolia, engaging government, industry, and academic partners.

A/Prof Yao-Zhong Zhang's research interests are in: Algebraic structures, quantum (super)integrable systems, (quasi-)exactly solvable models, supersymmetry, and conformal field theory.

Yao-Zhong Zhang received his PhD from Northwest University, China, in 1988 under the supervision of Prof Bo-Yu Hou. He spent 12 years in Europe, Japan and Australia as Postdoctoral/Research Fellow, before becoming in 2001 a permament staff member as a Senior Lecturer in Mathematics of the University of Queensland. Since 2006, he has been Reader/Associate Professor in the School of Mathematics and Physics of the University of Queensland.

Professor Mingxing Zhang’s research interests are in the additive manufactruring of metals and MAX phase mateirals, high entropy alloys, new alloy design through machine learning and application of crystallography to engineering materials, surface engineering of metals, and grain refinement for cast metals.

Prof Zhang is a world leader in the area of crystallography of phase transformations and its applications in engineering materials, and is recognised as one of the top researchers in the areas of phase transformations, grain refinement for cast metals, additive manufacturing of metals, and surface engineering.

Prof Zhang obtained his Bachelor of Engineering from the Inner Mongolian University of Science and Technology and Master of Engineering from Northwestern Polytechnical University, China. In 1997 he was awarded his PhD degree by The University of Queensland. His research expertise and interests include crystallography of phase transformations, grain refinement and alloy development of aluminum and magnesium alloys, surface modification and coatings, bainitic transformation and bainitic steels.

Prof Zhang’s research hopes are to apply his fundamental research results to develop new generation metallic materials and to improve the current materials processing techniques. His research outcomes will also offer materials scientists a totally new way to undertake surface treatment for metallic materials, therefore to significantly improve the surface durability of this type of materials. For example, the recently developed new packed powder diffusion coating technique for titanium alloys will enable the replacement of the highly costive superalloys with Ti alloys. The research also hopes to enhance Australia’s competitive ability in international markets in light metals and contribute significantly to material science with the study of the mechanism of phase transformations in solids.

Prof. Xiwang Zhang is the Endowed Dow Chair in Sustainable Engineering Innovation at the University of Queensland, Director of UQ Dow Centre, and Director of ARC Centre of Excellence for Electrochemical Transformation of Carbon Dioxide (GetCO2). He was the Founding Director of ARC Industry Transformation Research Hub for Energy-efficient Separation (EESep) and the Deputy Director of Monash Centre for Membrane Innovation (MCMI) at Monash University before he moved to UQ in early 2022. Prof. Zhang has more than 15 years of R&D experience in both academia and industry with demonstrated achievements in technology development and translation. His research focuses on membrane and advanced oxidation technologies for energy-efficient separation, resource recovery, green chemical synthesis, carbon dioxide conversion and renewable energy generation. Prof. Zhang was the recipient of the prestigious ARC Australian Research Fellowship, Future Fellowship and Monash Larkins Fellowship. In 2024, he was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE).

I am a Research Fellow in Bioinformatics, holding a joint position with QBI the Bredy group (50%) and IMB the Palpant group (50%). With over 15 years of experience in the bioinformatics/NGS field, my journey began with the greenfield development of three NGS platforms: 454, Illumina, and SOLiD. This experience has equipped me with extensive expertise in bioinformatic analysis, particularly in analyzing a variety of NGS data types. As the leader of the bioinformatics core facility at QBI from 2012 to 2022, my role was primarily focused on providing bioinformatics services. However, I have also been actively engaged in custom programming and analysis for numerous projects, allowing me to make significant intellectual contributions and deepen my involvement in research studies. Despite the typical service-oriented position of bioinformaticians, my publication record is notable, featuring over 40 peer-reviewed publications, with me serving as the first, co-first, or last author on 16 of them. Since 2019, my work has garnered 1,525 citations (as per Google Scholar, as of 12 Jan 2024), with 41.2% of my publications ranking in the top 10% of journals based on the CiteScore Percentile Source from SciVal. My contributions to bioinformatics are showcased in prestigious journals, with notable examples including lncRNA capture sequencing and ATAC-seq data analysis (Nature Communications, 2023) and (Cell Reports, 2022), de novo transcriptome assembly (Development, 2022), noncanonical structure Z-DNA analysis (Nature Neuroscience, 2020), DNA modification m6dA data analysis (Nature Neuroscience, 2019), whole-exome sequencing data analysis (Genome Medicine, 2017), and cross-ethnic meta-analysis (Nature Communications, 2017).

Jia is a postdoctoral researcher at the School of Chemical Engineering (since 2024). She leads research projects that involve developing characterization methods and models for food and beverages, utilizing chemical engineering principles to optimize food processing and consumption. She specializes in designing and applying methods to support the development of innovative food composites, gels, and suspensions using plant-based ingredients. Her work includes leveraging structural analysis, rheology, colloid and interfacial science, sensory evaluation, digestion studies, and biochemistry to create functional and sustainable food products.

Dr Yan Zhao is a dedicated researcher in the field of agricultural systems, utilizing remote sensing observations to unveil spatial and temporal patterns and advance earth observation techniques and modelling. He is an integral member of a multi-disciplinary predictive agriculture research group based at QAAFI.

Currently, Dr Zhao's focus lies in the intricate integration of spatial technologies, crop modelling, and climate forecasting systems at various scales. His primary objective is to leverage remote sensing and crop simulation techniques for a comprehensive understanding of Australia's dryland cropping system. In pursuit of this goal, he has successfully developed pipelines for handling volumetric spatial datasets and delivering crucial information on crop types, production, and phenology, spanning from local to national scales.

Engaging actively with agri-business companies, government departments, and local growers, Dr Zhao collaborates closely with stakeholders to validate and implement his research findings in practical applications.

Dr Zhao earned his Doctoral Degree in Natural Science, with a specialized focus on Cartography and Geographic Information Systems. He completed his doctoral research at the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 2013.

Dr Dongxue Zhao is a Research Fellow within the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation at The University of Queensland, Australia. Her research aims to contribute to sustainable gains in crop productivity by improving our understanding of how crop-soil interactions determine crop and root growth, water and nutrient uptake, and final yield. In her research, she combines innovative proximal and remote sensing techniques of crops, soils and roots, with predictive modelling and artificial intelligence tools. These include integrating electromagnetic induction (EMI) techniques, and drone and satellite imagery to monitor crop root growth and water use dynamics over time; 3D mapping of soil properties and sub-soil constraints to map resource constraints; time-lapse imaging of soil wetting and drying cycles for applications in irrigated cropping; developing new hyperspectral libraries for the rapid estimation of plant, crop and soil properties; data fusion and machine learning in the landscape mapping of soil carbon, plant water and nutrients availability.

Research Interests

• Phenotyping crop rooting systems in the field
• 3D characterization of soil water content and crop water use
• Developing new spectral databases for measuring and monitoring soil and plant properties

Professor Zhao (PhD, ANU, 1993; MSc, Univ Adelaide, 1989; BSc, Nanjing Univ, 1985) has ~30 years research experience in isotope geochemistry and geochronology, with research interests straddling across the fields of geological, geochemical, geographical, environmental, ecological and archaeological sciences. He developed the mass spectrometry U-series dating methods at UQ and applied them to dating coral reefs in the Great Barrier Reef and other parts of the tropical oceans, karstic deposits (stalagmites, stalactites, flowstones, etc) and calcite veins across different continents, as well as important hominid and fauna records in China, South East Asia, Australasia, Europe and Polynesia, which have received widespread recognition and public attention. Most recently, his team has been developing laser-ablation ICP-MS in situ U-Th and U-Pb dating methods for applications in earth, environmental and archaeological research. Since 1991, Zhao have authored >350 refereed publications, won more than 50 competitive grants and contracts, supervised or mentored more than 50 research high-degree students and early-career researchers, and received one ARC APD fellowship (1995), one ARC research/QEII fellowship (1998), one UQ research excellence award (2001), one Chinese National Science Foundation distinguished overseas young scholar award (2000), and the prestigious inaugural Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Outstanding Mentor of Young Researchers (2011).

The Radiogenic Isotope Facility (RIF) that Prof Zhao took charge since 2005 is a ~200 m2 HEPA-filtered, fully-automated, ultra-clean low-blank chemistry and mass spectrometer laboratory, housing two Nu Plasma multi-collector ICP-MS instruments, two Thermo iCap-RQ and one Thermo X-series II quadrupole ICP-MS instruments, and two ASI RESOlution SE laser ablation systems for high-precision radiogenic/metal-stable isotope and trace element analysis in both solution and in situ laser-ablation modes. The facility is unique in its design and capabilities in Australia, representing one of only a small number of establishments with its level of analytical sophistication, range and quality of mass spectrometers and proven ultra-low analytical blank performance. It is widely acknowledged by peers in the field as being among of the most advanced facilities of its kind in the world. It services a multidisciplinary research community on campus, nationally and overseas in traditional earth science research, palaeoclimate, palaeoenvironmental and palaeoecological research, coral reef research, environmental science research, archaeological research, and forensic research.

Wenhua Zhao is an Associate Professor at The University of Queensland and a globally recognized expert in offshore hydrodynamics and renewable energy technologies.

He is the recipient of the prestigious ARC Future Fellowship (2024-2028) and DECRA Fellowship (2019-2022), with over 110 publications and six awards influencing both industry and academia. He has helped secure over AUD30 million research funding from both Australian Research Council and industry, contributing to transformative engineering practices in renewable energy sectors and oil & gas industry.

His research focuses on wave-structure interactions, spanning groundbreaking fundamental studies -- showcased by his multiple publications in Journal of Fluid Mechanics -- to industry-focused applications, a rare integration of theoretical research with practical implementation. He pioneers innovations in floating wind energy, floating solar, offshore aquaculture, and green hydrogen, leveraging artificial intelligence to transform offshore renewable energies.

Wenhua has been a Deputy Editor for Ocean Engineering (No. 1 in marine engineering, ISI web), Associate Editor for the renowned ASME's Journal of OMAE, and editorial board member for the Q1 journal Applied Ocean Research. His teaching, particularly the "Design of Offshore Energy Systems" course, has prepared hundreds of students for impactful careers in coastal and ocean engineering.

Prof. Hongbo Zheng is a geologist with main interests in the latest episode of the Earth’s history-the Cenozoic Era. He is a senior professor (Cheung Kong Scholars Programme of the Ministry of Education of China) and Director of Research Centre for Earth System Science at Yunnan University, China. He obtained his BSc in Geology at Nanjing University and MSc in Geology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, followed by PhD in Geology from the University of Western Australia. His research interests are clustered within the fields of Cenozoic geology and paleoclimatology, tectonic geomorphology, human evolution and geo-archaeology, with career interest in the geology of Tibetan Plateau. These fields have major implications for understanding Earth history, and the history of human evolution and civilization.

Publications：Hongbo Zheng has published 200 papers in peer-reviewed journals. Career publications include:

Zheng, H., Clift, P., He, M., Bian Z., et al., 2020. Formation of the First Bend in Late Eocene Gave Birth to the Modern Yangtze River. Geology (https://doi.org/10.1130/G48149.1).

Zheng, H., 2016. Asia dust production ramped up since latest Oligocene driven by Tibetan Plateau uplift. National Science Review 3: 271–274. doi: 10.1093/nsr/nww028.

Zheng, H., Wei, X., Tada, R., Clift, P., et al., 2015. Late Oligocene-early Miocene Birth of the Taklimakan Desert. PNAS 112 (25), 7662-7667.

Zheng, H., Wei, X., Tada, R., Clift, P., et al., 2015. Reply to Sun et al.: Confirming the evidence for Late Oligocene−Early Miocene Birth of the Taklimakan Desert. PNAS.

Zheng H. 2015. Birth of the Yangtze River: Age and tectonic-geomorphic implications. National Science Review, 2: 438–453.

He, M.，Zheng H.，Bookhagen, B. and Clift, P, 2014. Controls on erosion intensity in the Yangtze River basin tracked by detrital U-Pb zircon dating. Earth-Science Reviews, 136, 121-140.

Zheng, H., Clift, P., Wang, P., et al., 2013. Pre-Miocene Birth of the Yangtze River. PNAS, 110 (19), 7556-7561.

Zheng, H., Jia, D., Chen, J. and Wang, P., 2010. Did incision of the Three Gorges begin in the Eocene? Geology, doi:10.1130/G31944C.1.

Zheng, H., Powell, C., An, Z., Zhou, J. and Dong, G, 2000. Pliocene uplift of the northern Tibetan Plateau. Geology 28(8), 715-718.

Zheng, H., Rolph, T., Shaw, J., and An, Z., 1995. A detailed palaeomagnetic record for the Last Interglacial period. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 133, 339-351.