2019 Laureate Profile: Professor Lianzhou Wang
Professor Lianzhou Wang
Administering Organisation: The University of Queensland
Discipline area: Engineering, Information and Computing Sciences
Fellowship project summary:
FL190100139: The Fellowship aims to develop next-generation materials that harness solar energy to produce valuable fuels and chemicals from water and carbon dioxide, replacing fossil fuels. The program will design new semiconductor materials to revolutionise solar-to-fuel technologies that currently have very low efficiency. The expected outcomes include innovative systems such as wireless artificial leaves that mimic natural photosynthesis for efficient hydrocarbon production, carbon dioxide reduction, and water purification. The expected benefits include next-generation solar fuel and chemical generation technologies, and research capabilities to position Australia as a global leader in the transition to a decarbonised economy.
Australian Research Council funding: $3,185,850
About Professor Wang
Lianzhou Wang is a Professor in the School of Chemical Engineering, Director of Nanomaterials Centre (Nanomac), and Senior Group Leader of Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology at the University of Queensland.
Professor Wang's research focuses on the synthesis, characterisation and application of semiconductor nanomaterials for use in renewable energy conversion/storage systems including photocatalytsts for solar hydrogen and valuable chemical production, rechargeable batteries and low cost solar cells. In late 2018, his team broke the certified efficiency world record of quantum dot solar cells.
For his research achievements, he was awarded the IPS Scientist Award, at the International Conference on Photochemical Conversion and Storage of Solar Energy in 2018 and was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2015. He also received a 2012 ARC Future Fellowship.
Find out more about Professor Wang’s research by visiting his profile page on The University of Queensland website. For further information about this funding scheme, please visit the Australian Laureate Fellowships scheme page on the ARC website.
Image credit: The University of Queensland.