Affiliate of Centre for Environmental Responsibility in Mining
Centre for Environmental Responsibility in Mining
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Affiliate of Centre for Geoanalytical Mass Spectrometry
Centre for Geoanalytical Mass Spectrometry
Faculty of Science
Professorial Research Fellow
Sustainable Minerals Institute
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
Professor Longbin Huang, a full professor and the group leader of Ecological Engineering in Mining, in the Sustainable Minerals Institute, is widely recognised for global leadership at the interface of ecological engineering, environmental microbiology, and mining sustainability, with influence spanning industry, academia, and policy. He is a world-leading architect of nature-based, microbially driven ecological engineering systems that transform mining wastes into sustainable ecosystems—bridging fundamental science, industrial application, and global environmental solutions. Professor Huang's research leadership is chracterised by
✅ Systems thinking → Integrating microbes, minerals, plants, and engineering
✅ Translation to practice → Field-scale deployment in mining operations
✅ Industry engagement → Long-term global partnerships
✅ Sustainability impact → Turning waste into ecosystems
Professor Huang leads cutting-edge research in: Geo-microbial ecology, Mineral bioweathering, Microbially and rhizosphere driven soil formation from Tailings Minerals.
Since 2010, Prof Huang has pioneered new concepts and technological framework to manage and rehabilitate mine wastes (e.g., tailings, acidic and metalliferous waste rocks), through putting pedogenesis in engineering nutshell, i.e., eco-engineering of pedogenesis in mine wastes. He is leading an industry-enaged and interdisciplinary research group that is partnered with leading mining companies and empowered by multidisciplinary knowledge and skills on: environmental molecular microbiology, environmental mineralogy, soil science, native plant rhizosphere (micro)biology, soil-plant relations, and bio-chemical engineering of environmental materials (e.g., functional carbon and mineral absorbents, environmental geopolymers).
He is highly experienced in industry-partnered research and translation of knowledge into field-based technologies for tackling large environmental challenges in the mining industry, for example, technologies for tackling global tailings problem. Since 2010, he has led many large and industry-partnered research projects attracting about $23M funding. The research aims to deliver transformative knowledge and practices (i.e., technologies/methdologies) in the rehabilitation of mine wastes (e.g., tailings, mineral residues, spoils, waste rocks) and mined landscapes for non-polluting and ecologically and financially sustainable outcomes. Prof Huang has successfully demonstrated innovative methodology and technology to achieve nature-based outcomes in treating and rehabilitating tailings and waste rocks. Prof Huang’s research program was featured in Rio Tinto’s media releases as one of the four most successful global R&D partnerships in 2024. Prof Huang led the development of the first field-feasible technology to treat and dealkalize alkaline bauxite residues for sustainable rehabilitation. His industry-partnered research was recognised in 2019 UQ’s Partners in Research Excellence Award (Resilient Environments) (Rio Tinto and QAL). Prof Huang is also developing new knowledge and technologies for achieving non-polluting and ecologically sustainable rehabilitation of, for example, coal mine spoils and tailings, Fe-ore tailings, bauxite tailings (from mining bauxite), and Cu/Pb-Zn tailings.
Membership of Board, Committee and Society
Professional associations and societies
2010 – Present Australian Soil Science Society.
2023 – Present AuSIMM
2015 – 2025 Present American Society of Mining and Reclamation (ASMR)
Editorial boards/services
2025 - present: Member of Editorial Board, Energy & Environment Nexus
Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation
Availability:
Available for supervision
Dr Vivian Rincon is a microbiologist from Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia . She joined the University of Queensland (UQ) in 2008 as RA to work in projects related to plant-pathogen interactions and soil microbiology. She obtained a scholarship from the Grain Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) to start her PhD on the effect of tillage on soil microbial communities in wheat fields. Following her studies, she joined Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) at UQ to work on different aspects of disease management in broadacre crops. Currently, she is a research fellow at the Centre for Horticulturals Science (CHS) working on an integrated disease management approach for the Macadamia industry.
