Category: Centre News

Ruth Knibbe Elected as Regional Representative for the International Society of Electrochemistry

Posted on by Anna Knudsen

Associate Professor Ruth Knibbe has been elected as the International Society of Electrochemistry (ISE) ‘s regional representative for Australia and New Zealand.  In this important role, she will join a group of regional representatives from 41 countries and act as a link between the Society and its members from the region.

ISE’s mission is to advance electrochemical science and technology, promote international cooperation in electrochemistry, and provide a platform for the exchange of scientific information and ideas. The Society was founded in 1949 to serve electrochemistry’s growing needs as a modern scientific discipline. It now comprises about 3000 individual members and more than 20 Corporate Members across the world.

The appointment as the Regional Representative for the International Society of Electrochemistry is a testament to Ruth’s expertise and leadership in the field of electrochemistry. She has a range of leadership and community development experience – apart from her role as GETCO2 Chief Investigator, Ruth is a Senior Lecturer and Deputy Head of School in the School of Mechanical & Mining Engineering at the University of Queensland.

As part of ISE, Ruth looks forward to the opportunity to support and empower the next generation of electrochemists. Her focus will be on improving knowledge exchange through the development of workshops and seminars, along with continuing communication improvement through social media platforms. She will also support and promote regional conferences, recognising their key role in fostering knowledge exchange and collaboration.

Learn more about the International Society of Electrochemistry.

ISGTCO2: A Grand Success

Posted on by Anna Knudsen

The inaugural International Symposium on Green Transformation of Carbon Dioxide (ISGTCO2) was a grand success, with over 170 delegates from around the world gathering in Brisbane, Australia, from 28 November to 1 December 2023.

The symposium aimed to inspire and advance research collaboration on using carbon dioxide as a resource and developing solutions to accelerate the progress toward net-zero targets. With the theme, “Cooperating on a global opportunity,” the symposium embodied the spirit of GETCO2 as an international, multi-institutional, inter-disciplinary, and highly collaborative ARC Centre of Excellence.

Over three days, ISGTCO2 covered 100 presentations across three concurrent streams. The topics spanned across CO2 capture, CO2 reduction technology landscape, catalysts, membrane electrolysis, system simulation, advanced characterisation, and carbon bonds. In between the highly technical discussions and presentations, there was also time to network, attend a gala dinner at the beautiful Customs House on the Brisbane River – and an opportunity to meet some local Australian wildlife!

The feedback from delegates was overwhelmingly positive and confirmed the importance of bringing experts together from across the world to share their insights and join forces in the journey towards a sustainable future.

Now it is time to GETCO2!

Symposium stats:

  • 171 delegates from 10 countries
  • 36 female delegates
  • 100 presentations
  • 1 wombat, 1 owl and 3 reptiles (representing the local wild Australians)

Symposium Plenary speakers:

Symposium award winners:

Congratulations to:

  • Dae-Hyun Nam, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) – winner of the Shimadzu Best Presentation Award, sponsored by Shimadzu Corporation
  • Yu Yang, the University of Sydney – winner of the Best Student Presentation Award, sponsored by Elsevier Materials Today Chemistry
  • Ahmad Zhafran Md Azmi, University of New South Wales – winner of the Best Student Presentation Award, sponsored by Elsevier Materials TodayChemistry
  • Aoni Xu, Technical University of Denmark– winner of the PerkinElmer Outstanding Young Researcher Award, sponsored by PerkinElmer
  • Timothy Duignan, Griffith University – winner of the Wiley Outstanding Young Researcher Award, sponsored by Wiley

Symposium sponsors:

A big thanks to our sponsors for their support:

Program booklet and more info:

For more information about ISGTCO2 2023 please visit the Symposium website and check the program booklet.

GETCO2 Highly Cited Researchers 2023 Awards

Posted on by Anna Knudsen

Congratulations to  GETCO2 researchers Professor Xiwang Zhang, Professor Chuan Zhao, Professor Zaiping Guo  and Professor Feng Jiao (Partner Investigator) on receiving the Highly Cited Researcher 2023 Award from Clarivate!

The prestigious award recognises the exceptional performance of researchers who have a significant number of papers in the top 1% most cited in their field and year of publication. To highlight just how significant these awards are, they are only bestowed on ~1 in 1000 researchers.

This select group of scientists contribute disproportionately to extending the frontiers of knowledge and gaining for society innovations that make the world healthier, more sustainable and more secure.

The full list can be found online here.

Debra J. Bernhardt joins GETCO2

Posted on by Anna Knudsen

We are excited to welcome Professor Debra J. Bernhardt to GETCO2 as a UQ Chief Investigator.

Debra is an ARC Australian Laureate Fellow in the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) and School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences (SCMB) at The University of Queensland. She was the recent recipient of the RACI Margaret Sheil Leadership Award 2023.

Debra is taking over from Suresh Bhati, who is currently an Emeritus Professor at UQ and will convert from Chief Investigator to Associate Investigator with GETCO2. Suresh’s expertise and leadership have been invaluable in advancing GETCO2, and we appreciate his continuing involvement with GETCO2 as an Associate Investigator.

Debra Bernhardt will contribute renowned expertise in theoretical and computational methods for studying new materials and fluids, and she will be part of Research Theme 4 – Characterisation and Computation.

Curious about computation?

In this video, Debra explains how computational models can be used in the development of theory and computational methods for the study of molecular systems;

You can learn more about Debra’s research at the International Symposium on Green Transformation of Carbon Dioxide in Brisbane, 29 Nov – 1 Dec 2023, where she will present a plenary talk on Contributions of Simulation to Green Transformation of Carbon Dioxide.

Fast-tracking CO2 capture technologies with Machine Learning

Posted on by Anna Knudsen

Carbon capture and storage technologies play a crucial role in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. One of the challenges is the search for the best material to store CO2 in the most efficient and inexpensive way.

GETCO2’s Associate Investigator Dr Babarao and his team at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in collaboration with Dr Aaron Thornton from CSIRO have looked at a new class of materials called Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) to capture CO2.

You can design these nano-materials in infinite ways, by tuning the shape and composition of the structures. However, optimisation can quickly become costly, both in terms of materials used and computational requirements in simulations. This calls for cheaper and faster methods of evaluating the growing list of candidates.

Tuning the building blocks

Using Machine Learning the research team has managed to dramatically reduce the time it takes to evaluate the materials and find the best candidates. One of the building blocks in the machine learning model is a descriptor that predicts which materials are best suited for CO2 capture. Dr Babaro’s team has developed a new descriptor, that significantly outperforms others, being hundreds of thousands of times faster. They call it the “Effective Point Charge (EPoCh)” descriptor.

The team aims to use this fast method to find suitable materials for CO2 capture and storage that the experimentalist can test and then scale up for commercial use.

This work is funded by the CSIRO Permanent Carbon Locking Future Science Platform and is recently published in Nature Communications Chemistry journal.

Meet the experts at ISGTCO2 29 in Brisbane this November

You can learn more about the research and meet Dr Ravichandar who will present at the International Symposium on Green Transformation of Carbon Dioxide.

For more information, please visit the ISGTCO2 symposium website.

Image:
From left: Supervisor Dr Aaron Thornton and Team Leader Dr Cara Doherty from CSIRO, Dr Ravichandar Babarao from RMIT and Director of CarbonLock FSP Dr Andrew Lenton from CSIRO.

Adam Lee awarded the 2023 RACI Welcome Award

Posted on by Anna Knudsen

Adam Lee, Professor of Sustainable Chemistry at Griffith University and Chief Investigator at GETCO2, has been awarded the 2023 Royal Australian Chemical Institute Award. The RACI Award is to honour and welcome a senior chemist who is new to Australia and has made a substantial contribution to advancing chemical research within Australia.

Adam relocated from the UK in 2018, first to RMIT University in Melbourne, and more recently to Griffith University at their Gold Coast campus near the beach.

Adam’s research team develop new chemical processes using catalysts (substances that accelerate chemical reactions) to manufacture fuels and high-value molecules from renewable resources in a sustainable fashion. Catalysis lies at the heart of life on earth, powers our homes and puts food on our tables, contributing to >35 % of global wealth.

New catalytic processes are critical to combat climate change, by enabling a transition from fossil to renewable feedstocks for energy and chemicals production, and to ensure sufficient food and clean water for a growing world population.

Designing catalysts that operate with minimal energy input, and produce negligible waste, requires sophisticated synthetic methods to sculpt materials with atomic precision, and analytical tools to understand their microscopic workings during chemical reactions.

As a scientist, Adam seeks to encourage a holistic view of catalysis across the broad community and to mentor a new generation of chemists who adopt multidisciplinary approaches to tackle grand societal challenges. On a personal note, he is passionate about eliminating the stigma associated with mental illness, and hopes to support new generations of scientist to feel empowered that their voices and ideas are important and deserve to be heard.

Outside of work, he is a keen wildlife photographer and enjoys hiking and trekking the natural world; relocating to Australia has provided amazing opportunities to see endangered animals – in between honing his BBQ skills!

The Royal Australian Chemical Institute is a qualifying body for professional chemists, and a learned society promoting the practice of chemistry. Learn more about RACI here. 

Early Bird extended: International Symposium on Green Transformation of Carbon Dioxide (ISGTCO2)

Posted on by Anna Knudsen

Due to popular demand, early deadlines for the 3-day International Symposium on Green Transformation of Carbon Dioxide, ISGTCO2 have been extended to 16 October. The symposium will be held in Brisbane, Australia, from 29 November – 1 December 2023, proudly hosted by GETCO2.

About ISGTCO2

Under the theme, Cooperating on a global opportunity, ISGTCO2 brings together a critical mass of expertise to tackle the world’s biggest challenge – carbon dioxide.

With ISGTCO2, we wish to provide a unique platform for researchers and industry participants to share their ideas and experience in CO2 capture and reduction technologies. Our ambition is that the symposium will inspire and advance research collaboration on using carbon dioxide as a resource and developing solutions to accelerate global progress toward net-zero targets.

The Symposium will cover a wide range of cutting-edge research in the carbon space with distinguished international research leaders, offering delegates an excellent opportunity to network and build research collaborations.

ISGTCO2 will be held at the Grand Chancellor Hotel in the heart of beautiful Brisbane City.

Register for the Symposium here.

Abstracts can be submitted to isgtco2@uq.edu.au until 16 October.

Zaiping Guo – Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science 2023

Posted on by Anna Knudsen

GETCO2 Chief Investigator  Professor Zaiping Guo has been elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science Fellowship 2023.

Zaiping is a materials scientist and GETCO2 Node Director at the University of Adelaide, where she has made pioneering contributions to our understanding of how electrode materials and electrolytes behave. Her world-leading research focuses on developing more powerful, longer-lasting and safer rechargeable batteries for portable devices, electric vehicles and smart grids.

Zaiping’s research investigates novel electrode materials and electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries to increase the amount of energy they can store and extend their cycle life. One of her research team’s innovations is a synthesised silicon-carbon composite that can replace graphite as the anode in lithium-ion batteries. This will boost the energy density compared to the current lithium batteries. She also pioneered potassium ion batteries, which have the same chemical properties as lithium but are more abundant and cheaper.

Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science are among the Nation’s most distinguished scientists, elected by their peers for ground-breaking research and contributions that have had clear impact, and Zaiping hopes her Fellowship will inspire other young women in science to follow in her footsteps and push other boundaries.

Meet Zaiping Guo and learn more about her research in this video from the Australian Academy of Science.

See the 20 new 2023 Fellows on the Australian Academy of Science here.

Dr Fengwang Li awarded the 2023 Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Outstanding Early Career Researcher

Posted on by Anna Knudsen

Congratulations to Dr Fengwang Li for his win of the 2023 Macquarie University Eureka Prize for Outstanding Early Career Researcher!

Dr Fengwang Li, GETCO2 Chief Investigator from the University of Sydney Node, was awarded the Eureka Prize for his creation of an affordable and more efficient process for using renewable energy to convert waste carbon dioxide emissions into ethylene, a basic component of plastic. This innovative solution brings real-world carbon capture and utilisation a step closer, offering emissions-intensive industries a path towards net zero.

The Australian Museum Eureka Prizes are the country’s most comprehensive national science awards, honouring excellence across the areas of research & innovation, leadership, science engagement, and school science. Presented annually in partnership with some of the nation’s leading scientific institutions, government organisations, universities and corporations, the Eureka Prizes raise the profile of science and science engagement in the community by celebrating outstanding achievement.

Meet Fengwang and learn more about his research in this video (external link).

Photo credit: USYD Media/Stefanie Zingsheim

Registrations now open: International Symposium on Green Transformation of Carbon Dioxide (ISGTCO2)

Posted on by co2-control

Register for the Symposium here.

We are excited to announce that registrations are now open for the 3-day International Symposium on Green Transformation of Carbon Dioxide, ISGTCO2. The symposium will be held in Brisbane, Australia, from 29 November – 1 December 2023, proudly hosted by GETCO2.

Under the theme, Cooperating on a global opportunity, the ISGTCO2 Symposium brings together a critical mass of expertise to tackle the world’s biggest challenge – carbon dioxide.

With ISGTCO2, we wish to provide a unique platform for researchers and industry participants to share their ideas and experience in CO2 capture and reduction technologies. Our ambition is that the symposium will inspire and advance research collaboration on using carbon dioxide as a resource and developing solutions to accelerate global progress toward net-zero targets.

The Symposium will cover a wide range of cutting-edge research in the carbon space with distinguished international research leaders, offering delegates an excellent opportunity to network and build research collaborations.

Symposium Topics

  • CO2 Capture
  • CO2 Reduction Technology Landscape
  • Catalyst
  • Membrane
  • Electrolysis System
  • Simulation
  • Advanced Characterisation
  • Carbon Bonds

Venue

ISGTCO2 will be held at the Grand Chancellor Hotel in the heart of beautiful Brisbane City.

Registration and more information

Registrations are now open, with Early Bird registrations closing on 16October 2023 and Standard registrations closing on 15 November 2023.

Register and stay tuned for more details on the ISGTCO2 registration website.

We look forward to welcoming you in Brisbane in November for the inaugural International Symposium on Green Transformation of Carbon Dioxide!