Professor Sarah Zhang, Head of School
Professor Sarah Zhang is Head of School of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering and Professor in Engineering of Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia. Prof. Zhang is Fellow of Australian Academy of Technological Science and Engineering, and a research leader in Advanced Engineering Materials, Composite Structures and Advanced Manufacturing Technology.
Sarah’s research covers multiple engineering disciplines including Mechanical/Aeronautical and Civil and Structural Engineering. Before she moved to the current position in March 2025, she worked in multiple leadership roles at the university and school level at Western Sydney University including Deputy Chair/Acting Chair of University Academic Senate and founding co-director of the Centre for Advanced Manufacturing Technology. She has over 410 peer-reviewed scholarly publications with 220 in top international journals till April 2025. She was awarded research grant of over $20 million from various funding schemes including Australian Research Council, Defense, industries and other government agencies and was awarded multiple national awards of research excellence and leadership. She has been serving as member of Australian Research Council College of Experts since 2021.
Professor Shoudong Huang, Deputy Head of School (Research)
Professor Shoudong Huang is a robotics expert focusing on mobile robot navigation in many different areas, including search and rescue, underwater, underground mining, and surgery.
Shoudong’s research interests include mobile robot localisation and mapping, robotic planning under uncertainties, 3D reconstruction, nonlinear dynamic systems robust control, optimisation and optimal control, computer vision, multi-robot cooperation, and surgical robotics.
He has won multiple awards, including the UTS Chancellor’s Medal for Research Excellence in 2020, and the UTS Supervisor of the Year Award in 2023. He is currently an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Robotics Research. He will host the Robotics: Science and Systems Conference 2026 at UTS.
Associate Professor Alen Alempijevic, Deputy Head of School (Teaching & Learning)
Associate Professor Alen Alempijevic is a leading research scientist in the area of robotic perception. His expertise is in multi-modal sensor fusion and application of AI to estimation of underlying spatio-temporal properties of physical systems. He has lead research in localisation, tracking and deformable object reconstruction on a variety of industry driven projects including those in critical infrastructure maintenance, social navigation in dense urban environments, underground mining and trait estimation in livestock.
Alen has made significant contributions to the UTS teaching system by guiding the Mechatronics degree through curriculum changes, aligning with UTS' move towards studio-based learning and emphasising programming and systems. Recognising the need for more effective methods of distributing teaching materials and enhancing student engagement, he introduced cloud-based virtual labs into the curriculum (Azure Labs). This initiative, part of a broader FEIT effort, eliminates the need for dedicated lab computers and provides flexible, accessible lab experiences for all students.
Professor Sarath Kodagoda, Director, Robotics Institute
Professor Sarath Kodagoda is an award-winning and influential researcher in the field of robotics and mechatronics, whose passion for teaching has resulted in a number of significant education innovations. Sarath was instrumental in the development of the mechatronics courses at UTS and designed the University’s innovative Robotic Remote Lab teaching facilities.
He has received three teaching awards, including the prestigious UTS Medal for teaching & research integration, and earned a 2015 Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning from the Australian Government's Office for Learning and Teaching.
Professor Jochen Deuse, Director, Centre for Advanced Manufacturing
Professor Jochen Deuse graduated in Mechanical Engineering (Dipl.-Ing.) at the University of Dortmund, Germany. He received his Doctor of Engineering (Dr.-Ing.) from RWTH Aachen University, Germany, while working as a research fellow at the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL). Jochen holds a dual appointment with TU Dortmund and University of Technology Sydney.
During his industry career, Jochen held senior management positions in the Bosch Group in Germany and Australia before joining TU Dortmund University, Germany, as Professor and Head of the Institute of Production Systems (IPS).
Associate Professor Sebastian Oberst, Acting Director, Centre for Audio, Acoustics and Vibration
Associate professor Oberst is a mid-career researcher working in the area of Biogenic dynamics, interfacing bioacoustics, complex dynamics, and acoustics as well as research into biogenic materials.
He works currently as Associate Professor at the Centre for Audio, Acoustics and Vibration (CAAV) and teaches into the School of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering the subject "Embedded Mechatronic Systems" . He is the Lead and Chief Investigator on several ARC Discovery Projects.
The School of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering staff listing provides details of all the school's members.