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University of Technology Sydney Chancellor's Research Fellowships

The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) has unveiled the recipients of the UTS Chancellor's Research Fellowships (CRF) for 2026, spotlighting 14 outstanding researchers set to tackle some of today's most complex challenges.

Research Areas

• Improving Mental Health Care for Cancer Survivors: The HiTOP-CANCER Program
• Destroying 'Forever Chemicals' (PFAS): Modelling, Laboratory Research and Commercial-Scale Studies
• Next Generation, Sustainable Infrastructure Protection System using Geo-Stabilised Recycled Waste
• Green Bismuth Catalysts for the Hydrogen Economy
• How can we climate-proof our estuarine fisheries?
• Exnovation for sustainability: catalysing just transitions
• Next-generation climate resilient design of energy infrastructure
• Older Women's Housing Precarity, Climate Change and Disaster: Reform through a Relational Rights-Based Approach
• Multi-Functional Network Co-Design for Energy-Efficient 6G Systems
• From Real-World Data to Real-World Evidence: Enhancing Analytic Methods for Target Trial Emulation
• Theory and Applications for Reliable Quantum Networks
• Unravelling Brain Entry and Neurotoxicity of Emerging Environmental Toxins
• Toward reliable AM of FRP structures: an optimisation approach under risk and uncertainties
• Harnessing Human Waste–Driven Microbial Control for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment

Fellowship Details

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.

Research Fellowship Recipients

Dr Darren Haywood

Project Title: Improving Mental Health Care for Cancer Survivors: The HiTOP-CANCER Program Summary: This project aims to evaluate the clinical utility of the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP), a contemporary, empirically derived model for understanding mental health challenges, within psycho-oncology care.

Dr Nathan Weber

Project Title: Destroying 'Forever Chemicals' (PFAS): Modelling, Laboratory Research and Commercial-Scale Studies Summary: Dr Nathan Weber's project investigates the thermal decomposition of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under real-world treatment conditions.

Dr Piyush Punetha

Project Title: Next Generation, Sustainable Infrastructure Protection System using Geo-Stabilised Recycled Waste Summary: This project aims to develop an innovative and sustainable infrastructure protection system using recycled waste stabilised with 3D-printed cellular geoinclusions to mitigate bushfire-induced damage to transport corridors.

Dr Matthew Joseph Evans

Project Title: Green Bismuth Catalysts for the Hydrogen Economy Summary: This project aims to devise a sustainable, non-toxic and state-of-the-art approach to developing environmentally benign bismuth catalysts for hydrogen production within Australia.

Dr Angus Mitchell

Project Title: How can we climate-proof our estuarine fisheries? Summary: This project aims to climate-proof Australia's estuarine fisheries by assessing whether fish populations can adapt to intensifying climate stressors such as marine heatwaves and deoxygenation.

Dr Sabrina Chakori

Project Title: Exnovation for sustainability: catalysing just transitions Summary: Urgent action is needed to address the current socio-ecological poly-crisis. How to unlock transformational change remains a core question in sustainability transition studies.

Dr Yuan Feng

Project Title: Next-generation climate resilient design of energy infrastructure Summary: This fellowship project aims to develop a climate resilience-based design for energy infrastructure systems.

Dr Lisa Ewenson

Project Title: Older Women's Housing Precarity, Climate Change and Disaster: Reform through a Relational Rights-Based Approach Summary: This research focuses on older women in Australia who are the fastest growing cohort facing housing precarity and homelessness, an issue worsened by climate change.

Dr Parisa Ramezani

Project Title: Multi-Functional Network Co-Design for Energy-Efficient 6G Systems Summary: This project aims to revisit how next-generation wireless networks are built and run, with sustainability at the core.

Dr Lin Zhu

Project Title: From Real-World Data to Real-World Evidence: Enhancing Analytic Methods for Target Trial Emulation Summary: This project aims to advance methods for transforming real-world health data into high-quality evidence that informs clinical practice and health policy.

Dr Xingjian Zhang

Project Title: Theory and Applications for Reliable Quantum Networks Summary: The project "Reliable Information Processing: Harnessing Quantum Physics for Next-Generation Networks" aims to develop novel approaches for establishing and utilising a reliable quantum internet.

Dr Thi Minh Hong Nguyen

Project Title: Unravelling Brain Entry and Neurotoxicity of Emerging Environmental Toxins Summary: This project addresses a critical gap in environmental health: how emerging contaminants threaten brain function and contribute to neurodegenerative disease.

Dr Yanan Xu

Project Title: Toward reliable AM of FRP structures: an optimisation approach under risk and uncertainties Summary: This project aims to create a robust design framework for 3D-printed fibre-reinforced polymer composite structures, addressing the impact of defects and uncertainties on structural reliability.

Dr Huan Liu

Project Title: Harnessing Human Waste–Driven Microbial Control for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment Summary: This project aims to develop a novel technology for microbial control to achieve sustainable wastewater treatment by enhancing the performance of both biological wastewater and sludge treatment.