Congratulations to Daniel Chen and Peyman Mostaghini - ARC Future Fellows
Published on the 25 September 2026
Huge congratulations to CIES researchers Dr Da (Daniel) Chen and Professor Peyman Mostaghimi who have been awarded prestigious 2026 ARC Future Fellowships to the value of $2.45M.
ARC Future Fellowships are among Australia’s most competitive and highly regarded research awards, designed to enable researchers to build their research programs, develop new ideas and contribute to Australia’s research capability and future prosperity. Overall, UNSW was awarded 28 Fellowships – twelve of which were to UNSW Engineering researchers, and five to the School of Civil & Environmental Engineering.
This outstanding achievement reflects our staff’s research excellence, international standing and leadership in their fields.
Information on the FF projects:
Intelligent green porous structural design for active carbon removal
This project aims to develop lightweight green structures using carbon-absorbing concretes for achieving net zero. The innovation lies in the deep learning-enhanced intelligent structural design, using graded porosities to improve load carrying capacity and air permeability for mitigating carbon footprints efficiently.
By generating new insights into permeability-strength balance via tailoring porosities, this project will address the limitation of carbon removal in existing designs due to low air permeability. This will accelerate the transformation of civil industries toward zero emission, promote the economic growth and create jobs in green and smart construction, driving environmental sustainability and emerging market expansion.
FT260100514 $1,146,854.00
Multiscale Reactive Transport Modelling for Safe Subsurface Storage
This project aims to develop high-fidelity modelling frameworks to mitigate risks associated with fluid storage in subsurface reservoirs and to investigate reactive processes in geological formations.
The project expects to reveal the interplay of spatial scales in rocks and generate knowledge on reactive transport in porous media by utilising advanced theories, numerical simulation and multimodal imaging.
Expected outcomes include novel predictive methods and an enhanced capacity to repurpose underground reservoirs as storage sites for carbon or hydrogen. This will enable energy sector to support Australia in reaching its net-zero target by designing safe, large-scale storage solutions without risk of leakage or groundwater contamination.
FT260101266. $1,307,914.00
Why this project is necessary
The Australian Government's Climate Change Bill (2022) sets ambitious environmental targets: a 43% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050.
Averting catastrophic climate change requires an urgent shift to clean energy sources, coupled with continuous efforts to capture and sequester carbon dioxide emissions. Achieving these will require large-scale carbon dioxide sequestration and the adoption of hydrogen as a clean, emission-free energy source.
During this energy transition, substantial storage capacity is needed for both hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Subsurface geological formations present significant potential, as they can store large volumes of fluids. However, ensuring effective storage necessitates a comprehensive understanding of the interactions between rocks and injected fluids. It is essential to rigorously model these processes to mitigate risks such as leakage or groundwater contamination.
This project aims to develop advanced numerical and experimental methods to help the energy industry identify optimal subsurface reservoirs for hydrogen storage and carbon dioxide geo-sequestration while ensuring safe operations throughout the process.
This will position Australia to thrive in a low-carbon economy by enabling the sustainable, safe, and efficient utilisation of subsurface reservoirs. Energy storage and carbon sequestration are two rapidly growing global markets with significant job creation potential for Australia's future.