Scientific Advisory Committee
Professor Tamarapu Sridhar is the former Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Monash, and also served as Vice President of the University’s Indian and Chinese Initiative. He has had a distinguished career as an academic engineer, and is an outstanding scholar with an international reputation in the area of polymers. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, the Australian Academy of Science, the Institution of Chemical Engineers (UK) and Engineers Australia. He was made an Honorary Fellow and awarded the GP Kane Award by the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers. Professor Sridhar was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal for service to Australian society and science and the ESSO Energy Award for outstanding contribution in the field of chemical engineering.
Dr Anita Hill is the Executive Director of Future Industries at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). She also serves as Chief Scientist for CSIRO. She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (AAS), Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) and former Chair of the Victorian Division, and Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI). She is a current member of the Advisory Boards of the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN University of Queensland), Australian Centre of Excellence in Electromaterials Science (ACES University of Wollongong), Chair of the Science Advisory Board of The Australian Synchrotron. She is a former member of Advisory Boards for the Victorian Centre for Sustainable Chemical Manufacturing (VCSCM), the National Centre of Excellence in Desalination Australia (NCEDA) and etc.
Professor Menachem Elimelech is the Roberto Goizueta Professor at the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at Yale University. His research interests include (i) engineered osmosis for sustainable production of water and power, (ii) environmental applications and implications of nanomaterials, (iii) membrane separations for desalination and water reuse, and (iv) water and sanitation in developing countries. Professor Elimelech has received numerous awards in recognition of his research and teaching. Notable among these are his election to the United States National Academy of Engineering in 2006, the foreign fellow of Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2017, the Simon W. Freese Environmental Engineering Award and Lecture from the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2011, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Lawrence K. Cecil Award in Environmental Chemical Engineering in 2008, and etc.
Tony Fane has worked on membranes since 1973. His interests are in membranes for the water cycle, with a focus on sustainability aspects, including desalination and reuse. He is former Director of the UNESCO Centre for Membranes at UNSW (now Emeritus Professor at UNSW). He has directed membrane research in Singapore from 2002-2017 at Nanyang Technological University, as Temasek Professor and in 2008 was the Founding Director of the Singapore Membrane Technology Centre (SMTC). He is on the Advisory Board of the Journal of Membrane Science (former editor, 1992- 2005) and the Advisory Board of Desalination. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Technological Science & Engineering and Patron of the Membrane Society of Australasia. He was a recipient of the International Water Association’s Membrane Technology Award in 2013 and co-recipient of the Prince Sultan International Water Prize (Alternative water) in 2016.
Professor Benny Freeman is the Richard B. Curran Centennial Chair in Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. His research is in polymer science and engineering and, more specifically, in mass transport of small molecules in solid polymers. He focuses on structure/property correlation development for desalination and gas separation membrane materials, new materials for hydrogen separation, natural gas purification, carbon capture, and new materials for improving fouling resistance and permeation performance in liquid separation membranes. His research is described in more than 400 publications and 25 patents/patent applications. He has co-edited 5 books on these topics. He is a Fellow of the ACS, AIChE, AAAS, PMSE Division of the ACS. He is also on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Membrane Science.
Professor Jiuhui Qu
Tsinghua University
Professor Jiuhui Qu is a distinguished Professor at Tsinghua University. He is the former Director of the Research Center for Ecological and Environmental Sciences (RCEES) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. He has been a Fellow of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, China, since 2009. He serves/served as Vice President of the All-China Environment Federation, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences and the Chinese Society for Sustainable Development. His research expertise is mainly in water pollution control, particularly development of the theories, technologies, and engineering applications relating to drinking water quality and safety. He was awarded the Global and East Asia IWA Innovation Project Awards in 2010. He was elected as the Distinguished Fellow of IWA as well.
Professor Ana Deletic is Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of New South Wales, Sydney (UNSW). Until mid-2017 Ana was the Associate Dean of Research Engineering Faculty and the Founding Director of Monash Infrastructure Institute at Monash University. Ana is working on multi-disciplinary urban water issue focusing on stormwater management and socio-technical modelling for the development of a number of green nature based water treatment systems which are now widely adopted in Australia and abroad. Ana is a Fellow of Engineers Australia and the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE), and Editor of Water Research. In 2012, the Victorian State Government awarded Ana the Victoria Prize for Science and Innovation (Physical Sciences) for her lifelong achievements in stormwater research.
Professor Huanting Wang is a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Associate Dean International of Faculty of Engineering at Monash University. He received a Queen Elizabeth II Fellowship in 2004 and a Future Fellowship in 2010 from the Australian Research Council. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the Royal Society of Chemistry. His research focuses on the metal organic framework and nanoporous materials and composite membranes for gas separation, water treatment and desalination, and electrochemical energy applications. Prof Wang has published over 290 journal papers and 13 filled patents in these areas. A number of his technologies have been licienced for commeicalisation.
Dr. M. Keith Murphy, Senior Research Associate, Air Products Prism Membranes, St. Louis. Internationally recognized scientist; solid balance of fundamentals and commercialization experience - all facets: membrane gas separation technology. In individual contributor and leadership roles, since 1981, first with Monsanto’s then Air Products’ membrane unit, invented/co-invented core patents and trade secrets - basis of offerings generating majority of unit revenues. Managed academic relationships and intellectual property. Interests include all aspects of membrane gas separations: new membrane materials; laboratory discovery, fabrication, performance/durability tests, data automation; pilot process development; process translation to manufacturing scale; customer field demonstrations. Served on Board of Directors of North American Membrane Society 2009-17, as NAMS President 2011-13, and as annual meeting fundraiser 2012-present. Holds 10 US patents, published over 20 peer-reviewed articles, and made over 40 presentations at national/international conferences. Reviewer: Journal of Membrane Science; Industrial Engineering Chemistry Research; National Science Foundation. PhD Physical Chemistry CalTech.