Head of School
Professor Guangzhao Mao
B.Sc. in Chemistry, awarded in 1988 by Nanjing University, China
Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, awarded in 1994 by University of Minnesota, USA
Postdoctoral Fellowship in Materials Science, 09/94‒07/95, University of Minnesota, USA
Engineering
School of Chemical Engineering
Professor Guangzhao Mao received her BSc degree in chemistry from Nanjing University, China and her PhD degree in chemical engineering from University of Minnesota, USA. She holds the position of Head of School and Professor, School of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW Sydney, Australia. Professor Mao was Chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at Wayne State University in the United States from 2015 to 2020. Professor Mao's research is in nanotechnology with ongoing projects in applying electrochemistry for nano-sensor scale up and engineering nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery. Professor Mao is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). She received a prestigious Faculty CAREER Award from the U.S. National Science Foundation, a Fulbright Senior Scholarship, and an ELATE Fellowship for intensive academic leadership training in the International Center for Executive Leadership in Academics. Professor Mao collaborates extensively with international and industrial partners including being a visiting professor at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Germany from 2002 to 2003. Professor Mao is a member of the Australian Centre for NanoMedicine.
Phone
+61-2-9385 4813
E-mail
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project Scheme
US Air Force Research Office
ARC Hub in Connected Sensors for Health
ARC Industry Transformation Research Hub for Resilient and Intelligent Infrastructure Systems (RIIS)
ARC Centre of Excellence for Carbon Science and Innovation
Research Management Council and MS Australia
Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
ELATE Fellow, Drexel University
Fulbright Senior Scholar, Fulbright Program
Visiting Professor, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces
Faculty CAREER Award, National Science Foundation
Research Area 1: Targeted Drug Delivery Using Tracer Functionalised Nanoparticles
This project combines innovative nanotechnology with proven neurobiological principles to selectively transport drugs to targeted neurons for the treatment of neurological diseases and injuries. An example of our nano-medicine design consists of a retrograde transport protein chemically conjugated to a gold nanoparticle, which in turn is chemically conjugated to a small-molecule drug for the treatment of respiratory dysfunction associated with spinal cord injury. In a significant departure from current nano-medicine research, we employ neuroanatomical tract tracers for drug delivery to bypass the blood-brain barrier. Our ultimate goal is to translate basic nano-science discoveries into nano-medicine products.
Research Area 2: Precise Electrochemical Crystallisation for Nanowire Sensor Scale Up
We apply substrate-mediated nucleation and crystallisation principles toward scalable manufacturing of nanowire sensors for health and safety monitoring. We explore simple, low-cost electrochemical crystallisation for the precise deposition of charge-transfer complex nanowires directly on electronic sensor substrates. The nanowire assemblies and arrays detect gases of interest by electrochemical methods. We aim to provide fundamental understanding of seed-mediated crystallisation, a widely used but poorly understood industrial separation and purification process, for precise nano-materials deposition. We collaborate with industrial partners to integrate our nano-sensor manufacturing technology with MEMS devices.
My Research Supervision
Mahroo Baharfar (postdoctoral research fellow)
Mohamed Kilani (postdoctoral research fellow)
Wenqian Wang (postdoctoral research fellow)
Jiancheng (Ivan) Lin (PhD student)
Sk Al Zaheri Mahmud (PhD student)
Mohammad Nasri (PhD student)
Joint-/co-supervised PhD students and postdoctoral research fellows
My Teaching
CEIC3007