Professor Nicky Eshtiaghi

Publications

• View Dr Eshtiaghi's Google Scholar listing
• Access the manuscript of published papers by Dr Eshtiaghi from ResearchGate (free of charge)

Honours and awards

• 2020 - Australia's Most Innovative Engineer, Engineers Australia
• 2019 - RMIT Research Excellence Award- Enterprise
• 2018 - Fellow of Higher Education Academy (UK), The HEA Fellowship provides international recognition of experience and expertise in teaching.
• Citation for outstanding contribution to students learning- Australian Awards for University Teaching (AAUT)
• 2018 - Fellow of Higher Education Academy (UK)
• 2017 - Citation for outstanding contribution to students learning - Australian Awards for University Teaching  (AAUT)
• 2017 - Caltex Teaching Award, Engineers Australia Awards of Excellence in outstanding achievements in teaching chemical  engineers
• 2017 - Future Women’s Leaders Conference Awards 2015 - Victorian Professional Engineer of the Year 2015 - IChemE Journals Best Reviewer  Awards
• 2015 - RMIT Health, Safety and Well-being awards for the best solution to a health and safety risk (Team Award)
• 2014 - RMIT University Teaching Excellence Award – Early Career Academic, Higher Education
• 2014 - ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions medal of excellence in Chemical Engineering
• 2014 - The Ian Potter Foundation Travel  Award
• 2013 - RMIT University Research Excellence (Team Award for Water, Effective Technologies and Tools (WETT) team)
• 2013 - The Research Media Star of the Year award (Team award for liquid metal marbles team)
• 2013 - Shortlisted for L’Oréal Australia and New Zealand Woman Fellowship in Science (34 applicants shortlisted out of 230  applications)
• 2013 - RMIT ECR International Travel  award
• 2012 - The best poster award for “ Studies on unmixed regions in a mechanically agitated anaerobic digester” Chemeca 2012, Wellington, New  Zealand
• 2012 - The best poster award for “Effect of baffles on solid-liquid mass transfer coefficient in high solid concentration mixing”, Chemeca 2012, Wellington, New Zealand
• 2010 - RMIT Emerging Researcher Industry  Award
• 2010 - Monash University Faculty of Engineering Distinguished Early Career Alumni of the Year award
• 2006 - Awarded Endeavour International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (IPRS) and Monash Graduate Scholarship (MGS), and top up scholarship
• 2003 - Awarded the best paper prize among 75 papers in relation to the technical contents and clarity of oral presentation, The 1st National Hydro Power Plant Conference, Iran
• 1997 - Awarded Amirkabir University of Technology Distinguished Alumni of the Year, Iran
• 1996 - Awarded Behran Oil Co.the best apprentice of the Year, Iran

Research interest

• Sludge Rheology, three phase rheology, Sludge treatment, Anaerobic digestion, Hydrothermal treatment, Hydrothermal carbonization, converting biomass to added value product, mixing in complex fluid, Liquid Marble, Granulation    

Area of research and consulting expertise

• Measurement and application of Sludge Rheology, Suspension Rheology, and Shear Rheology in Engineering Hydrodynamics especially during pumping and mixing of sludge.
• Multiphase flow and non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics including  particle settling or bubble propagation in non-Newtonian fluid
• Sludge/Slurry pipeline transport, Pump management
• Engineering particle to achieve end users desired properties through granulation process
• Utilizing biomass for producing added value products

Contribution to profession

• Editorial Board: Chemical Engineering research and Design
• Reviewer for competitive research funding: Australian Research Council, Kazakhstan (the Nazarbayev University Research Council), Chilean National Science and Technology Commission (FONDECYT- CHILE), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Reviewer for over 30 international scientific journals: Example includes: Water Research, Bioresource Technology, Waste Management, Chemical Engineering Journal, Journal of Environmental Science, Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, Chemical Engineering Research and Design, Biomass and bio energy, Desalination and Water Treatment (DWT), The Education for Chemical Engineers, Studies in Higher Education, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Renewable Energy, The European Physical Journal E-Soft Matter & Biological Physics Studies
• Conference organization: An organizing and scientific committee member of Australian Colloide and interface Science (ACIS 2019: 3-7 Feb., Hobart, Australia), RACI 2017 Centenary Congress: Chemeca (July 2017, Melbourne,  Australia), 15th Asia Pacific Confederation of Chemical Engineering Congress, July 2015, Melbourne,  Australia), 6th Pacific Rim Rheology Conference (July 2014, Melbourne, Australia)
• Thesis reviewer: Curtin University, Monash University, University of Melbourne, Cape Town university Cape Peninsula University of Technology (South Africa)
• Society participation includes: Australian Society of Rheology (Vice-president, since 2018), The Chair (2017) and co-founder of RMIT Woman Researchers’ Network (since 2013), The executive committee member of Woman Attaining Leadership Program (Since 2018), The chair of the Victorian Chemical Engineers committee which is a group that works on behalf of the Victorian group of the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) and the Victorian Branch of the College of Chemical Engineers (Engineers Australia) and a member of Engineers Australia learned society advisory Committee (2014-2016); Chemical College Board member, Engineers Australia (2016 on ward)

Professional memberships

• Institute of Engineers Australia, Fellow (FIEAust), Chartered Engineer, National Engineering Register
• Australian Society of Rheology, Council Member
• United State Society of Rheology, Member
• Australian Water Association (AWA), Member
• Australasian Association for Engineering Education (AAEE), Member

Media Interview

Lost in science radio program, on 22nd Oct 2015: https://sites.google.com/a/rmit.edu.au/nicky-eshtiaghi/

Teaching activities

• PROC2082 - Heat and Mass Transfer, Course coordinator 
• PROC2088 - Process System Design, Course coordinator 
• PROC2114 - Research Project
• PROC1025 - Design Project

Past taught courses:

• PROC2074 - Sustainable Engineering PROC2090- Process Control
• PROC2094 - Advanced Process Control    

• 2011 Graduate certificate in tertiary teaching and learning, RMIT University
• 2010 Accredited to supervise higher degree research candidate, RMIT University 
• 2010 Ph.D. (Chemical Engineering), Monash University, Australia
• 2000 M.Eng. (Chemical Engineering), Amirkabir University, Iran
• 1997 B.Eng. (Chemical Engineering, First class Hons), Amirkabir University, Iran

Employment history

• 2018 - present: Associate Prof., School of Chemical, and Environmental Engineering, RMIT University
• 2014 - 2017: Senior Lecturer, School of Civil, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, RMIT University,
• 2012 (5-months): Visiting fellow, Chemical and Bimolecular Engineering Department, Melbourne University, Australia
• 2010 - 2013: Lecturer, School of Civil, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, RMIT University
• 2003 - 2006: Senior Process Engineer, Petrochemical Company, Iran
• 2000 - 2003: Technology Development Researcher, Electricity and Power Technology Centre, Iran
• Third year coordinator, School of Civil Chemical, and Environmetal and Chemical Engineering, RMIT
• RMIT teaching peer-reviewer and teaching award  asessor

Collaborators

• LIST (Luxembourg), Environmental Research and Innovation Department (ERIN)
• SCION (New Zealand), a Crown Research Institute dedicated to improving the international competitiveness of the New Zealand forest industry and building a stronger biobased economy, New Zealand
• Melbourne Water Corporation (Melbourne), a company owned by the Victorian Government, manages Melbourne’s major sewerage infrastructure and treats about 40% of Melbourne sewage (about 330 million liters a day), Australia
• South East Water (Melbourne), a company owned by the Victorian Government, providing water and sewerage services to over 600,000 customers in the South Eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Australia
• Auckland University (New Zealand): Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering
• Tongji University (China): College of Environemental Science and Engineering 
• University of Newcastle (Australia): Chemical Engineering
• University of Queensland (Australia): Chemical Engineering