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Dr. Xiao Guo currently is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the University of Queensland (Brisbane, Australia). He obtained his Bachelor of Science in Physics from Northeastern University in 2017. He then received his Master in Electronic and Electrical Engineering from the University of Hong Kong in 2018 and his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Queensland at the end of 2022. (personal website: xiaoguo1995.github.io/)

His research focuses on experimental light-matter interaction phenomena and nanophotonics in mid-infrared and terahertz regimes. His research interests include scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) and light-matter interactions in nanomaterials and nanostructures, e.g., nanoscale electron transport and how light interacting with proteins and cartilages.

Since 2022, He has independently performed peer reviews for internationally recognised journals > 30 times including Nature Communications, ACS Photonics, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, IEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technology, Optics Letters, Optics Express, Results in Physics, Spectrochimica Acta - Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, and Review of Scientific Instruments.

He also contributes as a lecturer for teaching third-year undergraduate course, ELEC3100 Fundamentals of Electromagnetic Fields and Waves, with other senior colleagues.

Professor Gurgenci's current research interests include energy systems analysis; geothermal and concentrating solar thermal power plant technologies; development of intelligent tutoring and compterised assessment systems for teaching machine design.

Hal Gurgenci, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, has many years of industry and academic experience in solar energy, manufacturing and mining. Professor Gurgenci is the Founding Director of the Queensland Geothermal Energy Centre of Excellence (QGECE).

BIO:

Noun (n): I am a Professor in polymer processing in Chemical Engineering, a chief investigator in Advanced Materials Processing and Manufacturing (AMPAM) centre, a chief investigator/director of external links of the ARC industrial transformation training centre (ITTC) in bioplastics and biocomposites, a chief investigator in food and beverage accellerator (FaBA).and a chief investigator in the solving plastic waste cooperative research centre (spwCRC).

Verb (v): I work at the translational research interface between universities and industry. Specifically my research involves rheology, processing and product design of bio-based materials, polymers and nanocomposite materials. I lead translational research projects in biopolymers and biofluid platforms for agrifood, biomedical and high-value manufacturing sectors which attract government and industry funding; and produce patents, licences. industrial know-how as well as fundamental papers.

History (h): I have worked in industry (SRI international, Sola Optical, Moldflow), have worked in five cooperative research centres (CRCs -Food Packaging, Sugar Innovation, Polymers, Fighting Food Waste, Solving Plastic Waste), have acquired and managed continuous government and industry research projects since 1994, was heavily involved in the spinoff of Plantic Technologies from the CRC food packaging in 2002 (and ongoing research support with them until 2016), and was involved in the research that led to the TenasiTech (TPU nanocomposite) spinoff from UQ in 2007.I am a fellow of the institute of chemical engineers (IChemE) and a fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI). I am on the editorial board of the Plastics, Rubbers and Composites, Starch, the Journal of Renewable Materials, Green Materials and Functional Composite Materials-Springer-Nature. I have experience on the boards of the UQ Dow Centre, the UQ RTA Centre, and the UQ-HBIS Sustainable Steel Innovation Centre. I won IChemE Shedden Uhde Award and Prize for excellence in Chemical Engineering (2004), the CRC Sugar innovation award (2008), the CRCPolymers Chairman’s award for research and commercialisation (2011), and have received the CRC Association Technology Transfer Award, twice, in 2002 and 2015.

Research:

Current projects are focused on developing new sustainable and bio-based polymers and biochemicals from formulation through to degradation/disposal, understanding processing of nanostructured polymers, developing smarter biopolymers and materials for biomedical, drug delivery, food and high value applications, understanding rheology and processing of a range of polymer, foods and liquids and is involved in new initiatives in circular plastics.

Teaching and Learning:

My teaching has spanned Introduction to Engineering Design, Engineering Thermodynamics, Polymer Engineering, Process Economics, Research Thesis and Engineering Management. I am developing new courses in Sustainability and the Circular Economy. My overall teaching goal is to be a relevant, well organised, enthusiastic and empathetic enabler of learning using multiple teaching and learning modes, and be highly connected to current industrial practices and cutting edge research.

International links

I have been a visiting or invited professor at ENSICAEN-University, Caen, Normandy, University of Nottingham, Queen’s University Belfast, the University of Strasbourg and Institut national des sciences appliquées (INSA) de Lyon in France. I have strong international collaborations with the US Department of Agriculture, Albany, USA; Colorado School of Mines, USA; AnoxKaldnes, Sweden; University of Bradford, University of Warwick, University of Nottingham, University of Sheffield, UK, SCION, NZ; Michigan State University, USA, and many Australian universities.

Dr. Anthony Halog: Global Leader in AI-Enabled Circular Economy and Sustainable Systems

Dr. Anthony Halog is an internationally recognized expert in AI-driven circular economy, life cycle assessment (LCA), and sustainable systems engineering. His research integrates artificial intelligence, industrial ecology, and systems thinking to optimize green hydrogen production, bioeconomy transitions, and waste-to-energy systems.

As a Senior Academic at the University of Queensland, Dr. Halog leads research projects funded by ARC, EU Horizon, and industry partners. He has published over 130 high-impact journal articles, advancing knowledge in sustainability science and AI-enabled resource optimization. His work has influenced policy development and industry decarbonization strategies in Australia, Europe, and the Middle East.

Dr. Halog has been awarded prestigious international fellowships, including the OECD Research Fellowship (UK/Finland), DAAD Fellowship (Germany), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Fellowship, and NSERC Fellowship (Canada). He has held visiting research positions in the UK, Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco, expanding his global impact on circular economy modeling and AI applications in sustainability.

Beyond academia, he plays a key role in policy advisory and industry collaboration, partnering with the OECD, the United Nations, and the European Commission. As a keynote speaker and editorial board member, he continues to shape global discourse on sustainability transitions and AI-driven resource efficiency.

Dr Pingping Han is currently leading the Epigenetic Nanodiagnostics and Therapeutics Group within the Centre for Orofacial Regeneration, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation (COR3), at the UQ School of Dentistry. Dr Han received her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in 2014. Dr Han's current research focuses on three themes: a) salivary diagnostics for periodontal disease, b) “cell-free” regenerative therapy for periodontal tissue engineering and c) cellular nano-mechanics on different modified biomaterial substrates.

I am a Research Fellow and Leader in Pain Relief Innovation at AIBN, UQ. My research interests sit at the interface of drug delivery and the pain field. My overarching research goal is to improve the quality of day to day life of patients suffering from chronic pain, by applying nanotechnology to the development of novel highly effective pain-killer products for improving chronic pain management. I am looking for highly motivated postgraduate students.

I also enjoy volunteering within the academic community, most notably as Head of the SBMS ECR Committee and Treasurer for The Queensland Chinese Association of Scientists and Engineers (QCASE). I am currently serving as guest editor of Pain Research and Management.and JoVE Methods Collection.

Research Interests

My research is focusing on nano-based drug formulation and development to improve chronic pain management. I have a broad and unique background in both pharmacology and drug delivery systems, with specific expertise in the development of novel drug products and testing their analgesic efficacy and safety including pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies. To date, I have established five different techniques to produce painkiller–loaded nanoparticles and nanofibers aimed at improving pain relief for patients where currently available pain-killers either lack efficacy or produce dose-limiting side-effects. For example, there is a small and very potent peptide that has been on the market as a chemical for over 10 years but which cannot be used as a therapeutic due to its short half-life and poor oral bioavailability. In the form of my nanoparticles, that peptide has the potential to become an oral treatment for improving pain management in patients whose pain is currently poorly alleviated by clinically used pain-killers. I have significant expertise in the use of rodent pain models to assess novel analgesics, and I have received excellent training in conducting research in accordance with the stringent requirements of the Quality Management System (quality accreditations (GLP and ISO17025) from NATA). Together, my knowledge, skills and experience will facilitate the efficient translation of my research from the bench to the clinic.

The current focus of the lab is on the development of drug-products to solve one of the largest unmet medical needs in the pain field through use of sustainable materials. 1) We are developing multifunctional sutures including biodegradable pain relief sutures. 2) We are developing my innovative novel nanoparticles, which deliver innate-immune targeting peptides for the treatment of cancer and cancer-related pain. We are establishing a platform for the development of safe, effective delivery for other small molecule peptide drugs in general to pave their way to clinical trials. 3) Our research also investigates the role of C5a and C3a, estrogen, etc. in the pathogenesis of chronic pain including neuropathic pain, cancer-related pain, low back pain and OA pain.

We work in collaboration with other leading Australian and international researchers to stay at the forefront of the drug delivery systems field and the pain field. We also provide preclinical evaluation of novel compounds and formulations.

Maureen Hassall is Professor and Director of the Sustainable Minerals Institute's Industrial Safety and Health Centre at the University of Queensland. Her expertises crosses the fields of industrial risk management, safety engineering and human factors. Maureen works collaboratively with industry professionals to develop better human-centred risk management and safety engineering approaches that improve companies’ operational performance and competitiveness. Maureen also develops and delivers process safety, systems safety engineering, risk management and human factors training, education and expert advice to students and to industry. Her industry-focused research is motivated by 18 years of industry experience working in a number of different countries and in a variety of roles including specialist engineering, line management, organisational change and business performance improvement roles.

Helen works across a range of projects in both the research and consultancy arms of the Centre for Online Health, Centre for Health Services Research. Her focus is on the effective use of technology to increase access to health interventions (e.g. online psychoeducational tools for carers; telehealth implementation, telemental health and allied health) and increasing health literacy in the community (e.g. dementia knowledge and digital health). She is particularly interested in using health technology to promote quality end-of-life care. Her current projects aim to increase care closer to home for people with dementia and with life-limiting illnesses (e.g. telepalliative care). In 2023, she was awarded a 3-year National Palliative Care Project Grant funding to lead a national palliative care telementoring project - Palliative Care ECHO. Other research includes: evaluation of telepalliative care services (e.g. patient/ carer outcomes and perceptions and staff perceptions); mental health interventions via telehealth and social media and; online psychoeducational support for carers of people with primary brain tumours in order to increase quality of life and mental wellbeing.

Helen coordinates a range of COH consultancy projects.

She is a Registered Psychologist with clinical experience working with a range of issues and diverse populations and has over ten years’ experience teaching and facilitating workshops on psychology and health communication.

Biography:

Prof Hayes is Emeritus Professor of Metallurgical Engineering within the School of Chemical Engineering. He is curently a senior researcher in the Pyrometallurgy Innovation Centre (PYROSEARCH). He received his PhD in Metallurgy from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1974. He has a BSc (1970) and MSc (1972) in Metallurgy from the University of Newcastle on Tyne, England.

Research:

Prof Hayes was founding Director of the Pyrometallurgy Innovation Centre (PYROSEARCH). Prof Hayes' research is focused on the high temperature processing of minerals and materials, with particular application to the pyrometallurgical production and refining of metals. His interests include chemical equilibria, reaction kinetics and mechanisms.

His current research projects encompass:

• High temperature phase equilibrium measurements and determination of liquidus isotherms in complex industrial slag systems relevant to the smelting of copper, ferro-chromium, ferro-manganese, iron, ferro-nickel, lead and zinc production and metal recycling.
• The development of thermodynamic databases, and their use in conjunction with FactSage, to predict phase equilibria and thermodynamic properties in oxide systems.
• Reaction kinetics and mechanisms in metal and materials processing, smelting and refining; in particular, gas/solid reactions.

Prof Hayes has over 450 research publications.

Teaching and Learning:

Prof Hayes’ teaching interests include pyrometallurgy, chemical thermodynamics, and physical and chemical processing of minerals.

He is author of the undergraduate textbook “Process Selection in Minerals and Materials Production” by P.C. Hayes, Hayes Publishing Co, Sherwood, Brisbane, the 4th ed. is currently available and downloadable from the web as a e-book. Prof Hayes introduced the dual major BE Chemical and Metallurgical to the UQ curriculum and has been activity involved in program and curriculum development in the field of metallurgical engineering over a several decades.

Projects:

1. Reaction mechanisms and kinetics of high temperature gas/solid/liquid reaction kinetics relevant to metals production.
2. Fundamental experimental studies of phase equilibria in metal smelting, refining and metals recycling processes.

Baojie is a (Full) Professor of Urban Climate and Sustainable Built Environment with the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at Chongqing University, China. He is currently leading the Centre for Climate-Resilient and Low-Carbon Cities with the focus on Heat-Resilient and Low-Carbon Urban Planning and Design. Baojie has published more than 170 peer-reviewed papers in high-ranking journals and delivered more than 40 invited talks in reputable conferences/seminars. Baojie has a SCOPUS H-index of 49 (Scopus). Baojie has been involved in several large research projects on urban climate and built environment in China and Australia. Baojie has been invited to act as Associate Editor, Topic Editor-in-Chief, Leading Guest Editor, Editorial Board Member, Conference Chair, Sessional Chair, Scientific Committee by a variety of reputable international journals and conferences. Baojie received the received the Most Cited Chinese Researchers Title in 2024, Highly Cited Researcher Title (Clarivate) in 2022 and 2023, the Sustainability Young Investigator Award in 2022, the Green Talents Award (Germany) in 2021, and National Scholarship for Outstanding Study Abroad Students (China) in 2019. Baojie was ranked as one of the Top 2% Scientists by the Mendeley in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.

Dr. Mark Hickman is the TAP Chair and Professor of Transport Engineering within the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Queensland. Prof. Hickman has taught courses and performed research in public transit planning and operations, travel demand modelling, and traffic engineering. His areas of research interest and expertise include public transit planning and operations, urban transportation planning and modelling, and the development of sustainable transport innovations and policies.

Biography

Dr Juan P. Hidalgo is a Senior Adjunct Fellow within the School of Civil Engineering (honorary position) and is currently a Fire Safety Engineer at Airbus Operations GmbH.

Juan joined The University of Queensland in 2016 as the first of the three academic appointments in the Centre for Future Timber Structures to lead the research and teaching on the fire safety of engineered timber structures. His background is in fire safety engineering, building systems and timber construction. His research to date has primarily focused on the performance of building materials for sustainable and durable construction exposed to fire conditions. Juan's field of expertise comprises material thermal degradation and flammability, heat transfer, and fire dynamics, highlighting his vast experience in multi-scale fire testing. Juan is actively involved in multiple research projects focused on sustainable construction, such as timber, insulation materials, or composites, and studying the fire dynamics in modern buildings. At present, Juan contributes to supervision and research collaborations on fire safety for the built environment with the Fire Safety Engineering Research Group at UQ.

Juan completed his BEng-MEng in Industrial Engineering at the Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain), a five-year degree equivalent to Mechanical/Civil Engineering in the UK with a final year specialisation with a particular focus on structural engineering. He also attained an MSc in Industrial Construction and Installations at the same University. During his MSc, Juan joined PBD Fire Consultants S.L., a Spanish company specialising in fire safety design for the built environment. He worked for this company for two years as a consulting fire engineer in multiple national and international projects. Following the completion of his MSc in 2011, Juan joined the University of Edinburgh (UK) to pursue his PhD in Fire Safety Engineering sponsored by Rockwool International A/S, which was completed in 2015 with the thesis entitled “Performance-Based Methodology for the Fire Safe Design of Insulation Materials in Energy Efficient Buildings”. He continued his academic career at the University of Edinburgh as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the BRE Centre for Fire Safety Engineering, being involved in numerous research projects such as the FireComp project, and other projects focused on the fire performance of facades, timber construction, concrete and diverse construction systems.

Previous involvement in Teaching and Learning

During his appointment as academic staff at UQ, Dr Juan P. Hidalgo contributed to the teaching of Civil Engineering Bachelor and Masters programmes, including the BE-ME in Civil and Fire Safety Engineering (EA-accredited) and the MEngSc in Fire Safety Engineering. He was involved in the following courses:

• Introduction to Fire Safety Engineering (FIRE3700).
• Fire Engineering Design: Solutions for Implicit Safety (FIRE4610).
• Fire Dynamics (FIRE7620).
• Fire Dynamics Laboratory (FIRE7640).
• Structural Fire Engineering (FIRE7660).
• Fire Engineering Design: Explicit Quantification of Safety (FIRE7680).
• Research Thesis (FIRE7500).
• Design of Timber Structures (CIVL4334).

MBChB FRCA FANZCA FFICM PhD

Johnny Ho joined School of Civil Engineering, The University of Queensland (UQ) in Sep 2013 as a Senior Lecturer. Before joining UQ, Dr Ho has been working in both Hong Kong and Brisbane offices of Arup from 2003 to 2007 on some large scale infrastructure projects such as The Stonecutters Bridge in Hong Kong and Ipswich Motorway Upgrade (Wacol to Darra) in Queensland, Australia. In Sep 2007, he joined the Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong as an Assistant Professor. Dr Ho’s research interests are on scientific study on dilatancy of High-flowability and -perfromance concrete due to poly-carboxylate based superplasticizers and its application to concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) and FRP-confined concrete structures. He has developed discrete element modelling of binary packing of 2D discs and 3D spheres using Python and C++ coding. This model, combined with the rheological model of superplasticized concrete, will contribute a more scientific concrete mix design method for low-carbon-footprint, low cost and high performance concrete (HPC) based on wet packing modelling of particles in the fresh concrete with incorporation of multi-sized fillers. Dr Ho is also interested in applying the low-carbon-footprint high-performance concrete to single- and double-skinned concrete-filled-steel-tube and FRP-confined columns with external steel confinement and/or internal concrete expansive agent.

Dr Ho has published over 100 SCI journal papers and 40 conference papers. Two of his journal papers have been awarded the Transactions Prizes in respectively 2004 and 2005 presented by The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers. In 2011, Dr Ho was awarded the Best Presenter in the 11th International Conference on Concrete Engineering and Technology in Malaysia. In 2010, one of his students was awarded The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers Outstanding Paper Award for Young Engineers/Researchers. Dr Ho has also been very successful in obtaining research and teaching grants, including a HK$1.2m General Research Fund (GRF) grant in Hong Kong in 2010, an A$286K ARC Discovery Project (DP) grant in 2015 and a CNY$600K National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant in 2020 in PRC. Dr Ho has also been very successful in supervision of undergraduate student in performing their final year projects/thesis. In 2012 and 2013, two of his Final Year Project students were given the Merit Awards of the ICE (Institution of Civil Engineers) Hong Kong Graduates and Students Papers Competition for the outstanding project work. In 2017, his thesis project student were awarded The HKIE Outstanding Paper Award for Young Engineers/Researchers by the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers and was awarded HKD$5,000 cash prize and a return ticket to and accomodation in Hong Kong for presenting his awarded paper.

Dr Ho is a passionate teacher and one of the most popular lecturers amongst the students. He is responsbile for teaching a broad range of structural engineering courses, which consist of Reinforced concrete design as per EC2, AS3600 and Hong Kong Code, Prestressed concrete design as per EC2 and AS3600, Structural analysis, Finite element method, Design of steel structures as per AS4100, Structual fire engineering. Dr Ho obtained very high teaching (92%) and course (85%) evaluation scores in every semester since 2013 and was awarded the "Most Effective Teacher by Dean’s Commendation Students" in the Faculty of EAIT, UQ, in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Dr. Hossain is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering (SoMME) and has a joint appointment in the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) at The University of Queensland (UQ). He currently leads a medium size research group within the Australian Centre of Materials Nanotectonics where he is the Co-Director. Dr Hossain has extensive expertise in the area of Materials Science and Engineering and one of the world’s leading researchers in the field of applied superconductivity. He has extensive expertise in a research field in which he has 12 years of experience. His research career has strongly supported by a number of awards, including the Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) from ARC, Strategic Research Fellowship from Australian Academy of Sciences, Priming and Bridging grant award from Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, the Vice-Chancellor’s Emerging Researcher Excellence Award and Vice-Chancellor’s Excellent Industry Partnership Award from University of Wollongong (UOW). His innovative research at the intersection of materials science, magnetism and applied superconductivity has already resulted in the elegant and efficient design of magnetic and superconducting materials for a range of applications including MRI, power cables, fusion magnets and chemical biosensors. He has devised novel strategies based on underlying physics and chemistry to design highly efficient nano-engineered materials and engineering devices which exhibit significantly enhanced superconducting and electromagnetic properties compared to current commercial counterparts.

The existing and new collaboration with leading universities, government organization and industry within Australia and abroad, including UOW, ANSTO, CERN and MIT will strengthen Australia's research profile in the field and the involvement of Dr. Hossain’s long standing industry partner Hyper Tech Reseatch Inc will ensure practical applications in an industry context.

Dr Jingwei Hou received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of New South Wales in 2015. He then joined the UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology (2015-2017) and University of Cambridge (2017-2019, affiliate of the Trinity College) for this post-doctoral research. In 2019, he returned Australia as an ARC DECRA Fellow at the School of Chemical Engineering, University of Queensland. He was named the ARC Future Fellow in 2021 and then NHMRC Emerging Leadership 2 Fellow in 2025. He is currently an Associate Professor and the group leader of the Functional Materials Engineering (FME) Lab, leading a team of over 15 enthusiastic and talented researchers in pushing the boundaries of science.

Dr Jingwei Hou has attracted over $7m AUD external research funds as the lead CI or sole CI, and contributed over 40 plenary, keynote and invited talks. So far, he has 1 book chapter and 150+ publications in highly-ranked international peer-reviewed journals (including lead author publications in Science, Nature Communications, CHEM, Cell Report Physical Science, JACS, Angew Chem, Advanced Materials, Journal of Membrane Science, ChemComm etc), which attracted over 11k+ citations and an H index of 63. He is the Membrane Separation Theme Leader of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Green Electrochemical Transformation for Carbon Dioxide (2023-2029). His main research focuses on understanding the physical properties of the microporous materials and translating them into useful devices for membrane separation, optics, energy storage and catalysis.