About our research

Biomedical
Biomedical and health
Civil-Environment
Civil environment
Enabling-Technology
Enabling technology
Energy-Engineering
Energy
water-engineering
Water
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Research Centres, Institutes and Initiatives
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Key Research Areas by School
Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering

Bionics, biomonitoring and modelling

  • Biostable implantable bionics
  • Ambulatory monitoring
  • Telehealth management of chronic disease
  • Image processing
  • Computational modelling

Biomaterials, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine

  • Biosynthetic polymers
  • Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine
  • Cell and tissue responses to medical devices
  • Nanomolecular medicine

Find out more by visiting The Graduate school of Biomedical Engineering or for more information on Higher Degree by Research programs contact the HDR Support Officer.

Chemical Sciences and Engineering

Polymers & colloids/ health

  • Advanced light controlled polymerisation
  • Biofilm control and pathogen detection
  • Immunotherapy and analysis for food allergens

Environmental technology

  • Carbon dioxide capture
  • Water treatment, resource recovery and reuse

Energy

  • Conversion of carbon dioxide/photocatalysis
  • Energy storage
  • Materials modeling and design

Find out more by visiting School of Chemical Engineering or for more information on Higher Degree by Research programs contact the HDR Support Officer.

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Infrastructure and construction

  • Concrete and steel standards
  • Soil condition management
  • Sustainable construction modelling

Water and sustainability

  • Clean water in developing nations
  • Managing water as a resource
  • Coastal erosion and climate change

Transport 

  • Network congestion minimisation
  • Ubiquitous positioning

Find out more by visiting Civil and Environmental Engineering or for more information on Higher Degree by Research programs contact the HDR Support Officer.

Computer Science and Engineering

Data analytics and digital services

  • Analytics of services and internet of things
  • Declarative orchestration of cloud services
  • Scalable processing for big data

Intelligent and autonomous systems

  • Machine learning and reasoning in robotics
  • Intelligent agents in robotics
  • Medical image understanding

Software and systems

  • Formally verified L4 microkernel
  • Program analysis tools and compilers
  • High-level language for GPU programming

Security and trustworthy system

  • Energy-efficient sensing and communication
  • Nano-scale wireless networking
  • Network security hardware design
  • Security mechanisms for Internet of things

Find out more by visiting Computer Science and Engineering or for more information on Higher Degree by Research programs contact the HDR Support Officer.

Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications

Energy systems

  • Power electronics & drive systems
  • Australian Energy Research Institute (AERI)
  • Energy & environmental markets

Telecommunications

  • 5G mobile and wireless networks
  • Optoelectronic transducers and fibre devices
  • Satellite systems

Nano/micro systems

  • Quantum computing
  • Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS)
  • Nano and micro-fabrication and integrated circuits

Signal processing, systems and control

  • Highly scalable media compression, neuroimaging
  • Paralinguistic and behaviour
  • Automatic control systems

Find out more by visiting Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications or for more information on Higher Degree by Research programs contact the HDR Support Officer.

Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering

AMASE: Advanced Manufacturing, Materials, and Structures in Engineering

  • Improving products and processes by making manufacturing more sustainable, increasing efficiency of small- and large-scale manufacturing, and improving management strategies.
  • Enhancing the performance and multifunctional capabilities of structures and devices to meet extreme operating conditions.
  • Developing multiscale computational models to link structural performance to materials characteristics and manufacturing processes.

Energy Conversion and Storage

  • Using advanced diagnostics and modelling to develop efficient, cost-effective and low-emissions engine concepts for applications in transportation (automotive, marine, and aviation) and power generation (reciprocating and gas-turbine engines).
  • Alternative fuels utilisation including hydrogen and biofuels.
  • Development of new battery and fuel cell technologies, including redox flow batteries.
  • Research on new materials and technology that enhance the safe and sustainable deployment of nuclear energy.

Engineered Medical Solutions

  • Developing new technologies for drug delivery, medical diagnostics, and medical treatments.
  • Creating the next generation of biomaterials and medical devices.

Robotics and Autonomous Systems

  • Working with state-of-the-art sensors, we apply complex theories to the development of next generation robotic systems and autonomous vehicles and processing the data from them.

WAVES: Wear, Aeroacoustics and Vibration in Engineering Systems

  • Our focus is on understanding, predicting and controlling noise, vibration and wear.

Find out more by visiting Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering’s Research or for more information on Higher Degree by Research programs contact the HDR Support Officer.

Minerals and Energy Resourcing Engineering

Mine geomechanics

  • Ground support technologies
  • Ground control – rockburst and coalburst
  • Mine subsidence behaviour and prediction

Sustainable mining practices

  • Mine site water, groundwater, seepage barriers
  • Remote sensing
  • Climate change - adaptation and mining, carbon management

Mining systems and mineral processing

  • Froth flotation
  • Longwall top coal caving
  • Off earth mining

Find out more by visiting Minerals and Energy Resourcing Engineering or for more information on Higher Degree by Research programs contact the HDR Support Officer.

Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering

Advanced photovoltaic concepts

  • High-efficiency tandem-on-silicon PV devices
  • New PV materials (kesterites and perovskites)
  • Third-generation PV concepts

Commercial photovoltaics

  • High-efficiency silicon devices
  • Defect imaging and passivation
  • Commercial PV manufacturing

Distributed energy systems and policy

  • Energy efficiency
  • Energy resource modelling
  • Energy policy

Find out more by visiting Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering or for more information on Higher Degree by Research programs contact the HDR Support Officer.

UNSW Engineering priority research areas

UNSW Engineering is recognised as Australia's top engineering faculty and is a renowned leader throughout the world.  

Research priority 2018

This network diagram shows the inter-connected nature of our research focus. Note the lines showing the direction of inter-connection.