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Lisa Bai is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology at the University of Queensland, where she is involved in a range of research projects on process development for sustaibale waste and wastewater management. Her main research focus is resource recoverying from waste and wastewater for the production of bioenergy sources and value-added materials such as biodegradable plastics.

Dr. Bai obtained her Bachelor Degree in Bioengineering in Central South University, China and a PhD degree in the School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Queensland. Both her bachelor and PhD thesises were focusing on open culture microalgae mass production as well as product, nutrients and energy recovery from the biomass. Before joining ACWEB, Lisa worked in an environmental service company in North Queensland (Townsville - Bowen) for four years, focusing on process design and development for the aquaculture water bioremediation using macroalgae technologies and utilising waste streams as feedstocks for the production of biomass for a diverse usage including aquaculture feed, fertiliser, and other bioactive compound.

I am a motivated and enthusiastic Accredited Practising Dietitian and Accredited Sports Dietitian. I am interested in building sustainable foodservices worldwide, sports nutrition for recreational runners and seperate entrepreneurial ventures. I have a passion for clinical research and quality improvement projects in hospital dietetic services. Currently I want to help build sustainable foodservice systems for public/private entities that consider the future of human and planetary health. I am an ambitious individual who loves networking and who is eager to collaborate, please reach out.

My PhD research has focussed on the measurement and management of food waste in hospital foodservices through aggregate food waste audit activities and diverting food waste from landfill.

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: A Pioneer in Sustainable Systems and Circular Economy

Dr. Anthony Halog is a leading authority in sustainable systems engineering and circular economy, with over 22 years of post-PhD experience in academia and research. His work focuses on integrating life cycle assessment (LCA), systems thinking, and industrial ecology to advance global sustainability efforts. Dr. Halog has successfully led numerous research projects in industrial ecology and sustainable supply chain management, contributing significantly to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) and Planetary Boundaries frameworks.

His prolific career includes over 125 publications that have been widely cited and referenced in policy documents by international bodies such as the United Nations and the European Union. With a strong commitment to mentoring, Dr. Halog has guided numerous PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers, fostering the next generation of sustainability experts. Since completing his PhD, he has examined numerous theses from various universities in Australia, North America, Africa, and Asia. His experience also extends to reviewing several grant proposals for prestigious funding bodies, including the National Science Foundation in the USA and European funding schemes.

Dr. Anthony Halog has received numerous fellowships and awards throughout his career. Notably, he was awarded fellowships from prestigious institutions such as the OECD, DAAD, and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). He has held visiting fellowships across the globe, including in the UK, Germany, Japan, and Saudi Arabia, focusing on areas like Circular Economy, Green Hydrogen Policy, and Life Cycle Assessment. Dr. Halog's accolades also include early career fellowships from NSERC (Canada) and JSPS, along with several international research grants and academic scholarships, reflecting his global recognition in sustainability science and engineering.

Key areas of expertise include circular economy, bioeconomy, LCA, sustainable supply chain management, and the application of operations research and optimization in engineering sustainable systems. Dr. Halog’s interdisciplinary approach and international collaborations have positioned him as a thought leader in transitioning to a low-carbon, circular economy.

Dr Danish Kazmi completed his PhD in Geotechnical Engineering at The University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia. His PhD research investigated the potential use of crushed waste glass as a sustainable alternative to depleting traditional construction sands (natural and quarried) to backfill granular columns for in situ ground improvement. He is a pioneer globally in researching the potential use of crushed waste glass to backfill granular columns for ground improvement in clayey soil.

His research mainly focuses on developing sustainable geomaterials by recycling ever-increasing wastes as alternatives to diminishing and increasingly expensive natural aggregates in geotechnical construction, helping the transition to a circular economy.

Danish is a TEDx Speaker and delivered a TEDx Talk at TEDxBrisbane. He is also one of the youngest researchers ever from his centre at UQ to receive a PhD.

Danish won the prestigious Career Development Fellowship at UQ, funded by the Australian Government. He received the coveted UQ Global Change Scholar Award and Future Leader Award. He won the Young Science Ambassador Award for the Wonder of Science Program in Australia to help promote a STEM culture in Queensland schools. He is a passionate science communicator and a double award winner at the Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT®) at the UQ’s School of Civil Engineering level. His PhD research has been featured in several Australian magazines and has led him to win several scholarships, alongside his selection to present at well-reputed live science communication events. Danish has published three high-definition UQ-branded Video Abstracts to communicate his research to the broader society and help maximise science outreach. Danish was interviewed by Inspiring Australia as part of Australia's National Science Week celebrations to help spark the interest of students in STEM education. He has successfully initiated cross-institutional research collaborations with world-leading national and international organisations and is an invited reviewer for various top-ranking scientific journals.

Danish currently works full-time as a Geotechnical Engineer in the Tunnels & Geotechnics Team (South Queensland Region) at GHD in the Australian industry. Previously, he worked as a full-time Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering at UQ. He is passionate about helping to develop transformative civil and geotechnical engineering solutions through leading-edge research leveraging university-industry collaborations.

Danish is a UQ Global Change Scholar and Green Office Representative. He is an accredited Mental Health First Aider and a UQ Mental Health Champion. He is also a certified Carbon Literate. Danish cares deeply about the environment and believes planet Earth is our most valuable asset. Outside work, he enjoys volunteering for sustainability and social initiatives, connecting with nature, and spending time at the beach.

Australian Geotechnical Industry Experience Highlights

• Asset management, site inspections, construction quality assurance and compliance
• Dam inspections, monitoring, regulatory compliance and high-level reporting
• Geotechnical site investigations (including sonic drilling, auger drilling, etc.)
• Borehole and test pit logging
• In-situ sampling of soils and rocks
• Standard Penetration Test (SPT)
• Dynamic Cone Penetration Test (DCP) and PANDA® Lightweight Dynamic Cone Penetration Test
• Packer Test (to determine the average hydraulic conductivity of underground rock formations)
• Geotechnical instrumentation (standpipe and vibrating wire piezometers, data loggers, telemetry, etc.)
• Geotechnical cost estimation, report writing and proposal development

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.