
Professor Wang is the Head of the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering and an elected Fellow of the Academy of Technological Science and Engineering (FTSE). He joined UNSW in 2016 as a SHARP professor in recognition of his world-leading research and leadership. Previously he held appointments as the Head of Advanced Composites Technologies at the Defence Science and Technology Organisation between 1995 and 2009, and the Director of the Sir Lawrence Wackett Aerospace Research Centre at RMIT University between 2009 and 2016. He received his bachelor's degree from Huazhong University Science and Technology in 1985 and PhD from the University of Sheffield in 1991, where he carried out his post-doctoral research until 1993.
His research focuses on advanced composites technologies, including high-performance load-carrying structures and soft composites for wearable sensors, actuators, and energy storage devices. In 2020 his team has partnered with an Australian SME manufacturer Omni Tanker and Lockheed Martin to begin commercial-scale production of lightweight composite vessels for the transportation and storage of liquid hydrogen at minus 253 degrees Celsius. The vessels build on a key technology developed by his team in collaboration with Lockheed Martin and Omni Tanker, which enables composite vessels to operate at liquid hydrogen temperatures without matrix cracks, a challenge that has, up until now, prevented mass-market adoption of these materials for such applications. Media Release.
In 2021 he successfully led the application of an ARC Research Hub for Connected Sensors for Health. As the Director of the ARC Research Hub, he leads the strategic partnership between 29 Australian companies and 64 researchers to co-design, verify, and certify sensors that industry partners will deploy to global health markets.
He serves on the Editorial Advisory Boards of a number of professional journals, including Composites Science and Technology and Composites Part A. His past service experience to the professional community include the ARC College of Experts (2013-2015), Chair of the National Committee on Applied Mechanics (2013-2015), and President of the Australian Fracture Group (1997-2003). He has chaired and co-chaired a number of international conferences, including the 11th International Fatigue Congress (Melbourne Australia, 2014) and the 22nd International Conference on Composite Materials in 2019.
Some current research projects include:
2018 Fellow of Australian Academy of Technological Science and Engineering (FTSE)
2015 RMIT University Research Excellence Award
2013 Best Research Performance Award, RMIT University
2011 Achievement Award for Science and Engineering Excellence, DSTO
2009 Best Research Award, DSTO
2002 Defence Science Fellowship, DSTO
2000 Best Research Award, DSTO
1999 Australian Academy of Science Fellowship Award.
1998 Best Scientific Paper Award, DSTO.
1995 Best Paper Award by the Journal of Strain Analysis.
Professor Wang's research focuses on the mechanics of advanced materials and manufacturing, including multifunctional composites and light alloys. He has co-authored two books on composite repairs and more than 400 articles and reports (Google Scholar and Research Gate). His research has made great impacts on engineering practice for fatigue design, advanced composites, and structural health monitoring of aircraft. His innovations have been incorporated in world-leading software for fatigue design (Wang-Brown model in MSC Fatigue), engineering manuals/standards for designing composite repairs, and time-reversal imaging algorithm adopted in international patents and commercial products for structural health monitoring. He is currently leading a number of research projects on nano-scale engineering of multifunctional composites with enhanced electrical, thermal and mechanical properties with potential applications to improve anti-static, electromagnetic shielding, strain sensing, energy storage, damage detection, and flame retardancy capabilities of polymers and fibre composites.
Videos on some of his current research are available on YouTube and ARC Fire Centre.
A recent example of working with industry partners is to develop conformal radar antenna for unmanned surface vessels.
In 2020 his team has partnered with an Australian SME manufacturer Omni Tanker and Lockheed Martin to begin commercial-scale production of lightweight composite vessels for the transportation and storage of liquid hydrogen at minus 253 degrees Celsius. The vessels build on a key technology developed by his team in collaboration with Lockheed Martin and Omni Tanker, which enables composite vessels to operate at liquid hydrogen temperatures without matrix cracks, a challenge that has, up until now, prevented mass-market adoption of these materials for such applications. Media Release.
In 2021 he successfully led the establishment of ARC Research Hub for Connected Sensors for Health, which brings together 30 companies and 64 researchers to co-design, verify, and certify sensors that industry partners will deploy to global health markets.
Recent plenary presentations at international conferences: