2027 Chancellor’s Research Fellows

The University of Technology Sydney has unveiled the recipients of the UTS Chancellor's Research Fellowships (CRF) for 2027, spotlighting 9 outstanding researchers set to tackle some of today’s most complex challenges.

These visionary researchers bring to UTS an inspiring breadth of research, addressing areas from sustainable Indigenous community planning to advanced quantum information processing, each aiming to make a transformative impact.

UTS Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Anika Gauja, expressed her enthusiasm for the CRF cohort of 2027.

“I am truly excited to see such a diverse and passionate group join our institution. These fellows are not only pioneering outstanding research in their respective fields but are also contributing significantly to addressing global challenges,” Professor Gauja said.

“At UTS, we pride ourselves on undertaking world-class research that delivers economic, social, and cultural prosperity to the communities where we live and work.

“The work of this cohort epitomises the forward-thinking, innovative spirit we champion at UTS.”

Each fellow will receive a four-year contract appointment, project funding of up to $50,000, and a suite of additional support to advance their research. 

Here is a look at some of the groundbreaking projects led by this year’s fellows.

2027 Chancellor’s Research Fellow projects

Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology

Project: Multi-Timescale Co-Design of Computation and Energy Infrastructures

Summary: This project aims to establish a new framework for the joint design and operation of AI computing and electricity infrastructure. It addresses a fundamental challenge: how to reconcile computing availability, electricity network security and the commercial interests of independent battery operators. By integrating long-term planning, daily operation and responses to grid stress, the research will develop optimisation and coordination methods that capture how decisions across these timescales influence one another. It will establish the conditions under which battery flexibility can support earlier data-centre connections and defer network expansion while remaining technically reliable and commercially viable. Expected outcomes include transferable co-design principles, an open Australian benchmark and validated decision-support tools. These will provide a scientific basis for infrastructure investment and market participation, supporting the coordinated development of Australia’s digital and energy systems.

Sponsor: Associate Professor Gang Lei
Faculty of Science

Project: From near-IR to mid-IR: translating microcombs to quantum cascade lasers

Summary: The project aims to develop compact light sources that produce many precise, equally spaced frequencies of mid-infrared light at the same time. Known as optical frequency combs, these sources could enable more accurate detection and identification of molecules and improve communication systems that transmit information through the air. This project will combine mid-infrared laser science and technology with recent advances at telecommunications wavelengths to create small, on-chip devices. The research will generate new scientific knowledge and strengthen Australia’s capabilities in advanced photonics, with potential applications in defence, biomedical technologies and communications.

Sponsor: Professor Irina Kabakova
Faculty of Health

Project: Rehabilitation Program to Support Recovery After Delirium and Reduce Dementia Risk in Older People

Summary: At least one in four older people admitted to hospital will experience a delirium, yet recovery support following discharge is virtually non-existent. This project will establish a new program of research focused on delirium recovery and rehabilitation through the development, implementation and evaluation of Australia's first Delirium Rehabilitation Program. Drawing on rehabilitation approaches used in dementia care, the project will co-design a multicomponent intervention targeting physical, cognitive and emotional recovery following delirium. A mixed-methods feasibility study will evaluate the program across metropolitan and regional health services, while a concurrent implementation science program will develop a national workforce capability and implementation framework to support adoption and scale-up. The project has the potential to transform post-delirium care, improve outcomes for older Australians, and establish delirium rehabilitation as a new priority area for dementia prevention and healthy ageing research.

Sponsor: Professor Meera Agar

Read more about Amy Montgomery.
Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology

Project: Hearing Other Minds: Sound, AI and the Perceptual Worlds of Other Species

Summary: Australia's biodiversity is undervalued relative to its long-term worth, and its decline is recognised as a systemic risk. Reducing that loss depends in part on extending moral consideration to other species, a communication problem that more information alone has been shown not to solve. This project develops audio source separation for environmental soundscapes, alongside signal-processing methods that magnify rapid acoustic events and translate species-specific hearing parameters into human range. Those tools are used to investigate how the auditory perceptual worlds of other species can be made experiential for humans, in public-facing outcomes that evaluate how such experiences shape public support for species protection, and that speak to Australia's broader commitments to biodiversity preservation. The project seeks to answer: can an experiential translation of another species' perceptual world change how we value them?

Sponsor: Professor Andrew Johnston
Faculty of Health

Project: Precision Exercise Oncology: Integrating Tumour Biology and Behavioural Science in Breast Cancer

Summary: This project aims to transform exercise from supportive care into a precision anti-cancer therapy for women with metastatic breast cancer. Over four years, I will investigate how different resistance training prescriptions suppress cancer cell growth using advanced 3D tumour models and the underlying biological mechanisms involved, including muscle-derived signals and the immune system. I will identify which women are most likely to benefit based on their breast cancer molecular subtype and muscle characteristics and explore the barriers and facilitators to long-term exercise participation and its integration into routine cancer care. By bringing together exercise physiology, immunology, tumour biology, and behavioural science, this research will establish a new framework for precision exercise oncology, with the long-term goal of improving quality of life, treatment outcomes, and survival for women with metastatic breast cancer.

Sponsor: Professor Nicolas H. Hart

Read more about Francesco Bettariga.
Faculty of Science

Project: CO₂ Capture and Green Upgrading to C₃ Alcohols via Amine-Functionalised MOF–Catalyst Interfaces

Summary: This project aims to develop a new way to capture carbon dioxide (CO₂) and convert it into useful fuels and chemicals using renewable electricity. The research will develop advanced materials that can both capture CO₂ and help convert it into n-propanol, a useful chemical and fuel. By turning captured CO₂ into valuable products, the project could support Australia’s transition to a net-zero and more circular economy, while strengthening capabilities in carbon utilisation and low-carbon manufacturing. For UTS, the project will establish a new research direction linking advanced materials, renewable energy and carbon utilisation, while creating opportunities for collaboration with research organisations and industry. The research could also provide a pathway towards larger-scale development and future industrial applications.

Sponsor: Professor Steven Langford
Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology

Project: Circular Green Synthesis: Solar-Powered Co-Production of Hydrogen and Fertiliser from Wastewater

Summary: Green hydrogen production remains energy intensively consuming, while ammonia-rich agricultural wastewater causes eutrophication and generates nitrous oxide, 298 times more potent than carbon dioxide in warming the planet. This project addresses both challenges and is aligned entirely with UTS 2030's sustainability commitment and knowledge exchange strategy. The success of this project will mark a paradigm shift in how clean hydrogen is produced and how nitrogen-rich wastewater is managed, moving away from treating the two as separate, energy-consuming burdens toward a single, solar-driven process that converts a pollutant into two valuable products. By pioneering the first circular platform to co-produce green hydrogen and nitrate fertiliser from agricultural wastewater, this project will strengthen UTS's reputation as a leader in sustainable clean-energy technologies.

Sponsor: Professor Zhenguo Huang
UTS Business School

Project: Parental Support, Housing Affordability, and Retirement Security

Summary: This project examines how parental support shapes access to homeownership, how declining homeownership affects financial resources in retirement, and how family background influences pension adequacy and vulnerability. It also compares these relationships across countries to understand how different housing and retirement systems shape life-course inequality. By linking intergenerational transfers, housing affordability and pension adequacy, the project will generate new knowledge and policy-relevant evidence through high-impact academic publications and policy engagement. The findings will inform housing assistance, superannuation policy, Age Pension means-testing and taxation settings, supporting more equitable access to housing and greater financial security in retirement.

Sponsor: Professor Peter Siminski
Faculty of Science

Project: Quantum Metaphotonics for Sustainable AI and Future Information Technologies

Summary: This fellowship project aims to develop new technologies for generating and controlling quantum light to support more energy-efficient AI and future information processing. It will combine specially designed, ultrathin optical structures called metasurfaces with quantum materials to control light at extremely small scales. This approach could provide a compact and energy-efficient way to generate and manipulate quantum states of light. Expected outcomes include new quantum light sources and photonic technologies that could enable advances in quantum communication, sensing and low-energy information processing. The project will strengthen Australia’s capabilities in quantum photonics and advanced nanotechnology, while building the expertise needed to support a more sustainable information-processing future.

Sponsor: Professor Milos Toth