Derek Hao

Derek Hao is a materials scientist and environmental engineer with experiences at world-leading research institutes. He is now a Vice Chancellor's Research Fellowship at School of Science, RMIT University. In 2022, he was awarded the Humboldt Research Fellowship and worked at Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Germany under the supervision of world-leading chemist Markus Antonietti. In 2023, he was awarded RMIT University's 2023 Vice Chancellor's Research Fellowship. Both these two fellowships are highly competitive and prestigious fellowship schemes, indicating his outstanding academic achievement.

Dr. Hao's research primarily focuses on developing advanced materials for environmental sustainability and energy conversion processes. His work is at the intersection of materials science, nanotechnology, and renewable energy, aiming to address critical environmental challenges. His current research focuses on sustainable solutions for waste plastics, including novel catalysts to convert waste plastics to valuable monomers/materials, new methods for micro/plastic detection, the toxicology of micro/nano plastics etc. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers (more than 85% of them are in Q1 journals) in top-tier journals in materials and chemistry, including Chemical Society Reviews, Materials Today, Advanced Materials, Advanced Energy Materials, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, etc. His publications have a Field-Weighted Citation Impact of 4.63, which means his outputs have been cited 363% more times than expected at the world average for similar publications. Six of his papers were featured on the cover of journals. Eighteen of his publications have been recognised as ESI Highly Cited Papers, and 37 of his publications are Hot Papers ranked by Web of Science. These publications have been cited over 6000 times, giving an H-index of 45 (Google Scholar). His name was included in the 2022 and 2023 Stanford Elsevier List of World's Top 2% Scientists in the field of Environmental Sciences and the sub-field of Physical Chemistry.

He has successfully obtained over AU$ 1.2m in research funding and fellowships from prestigious entities in Australia, Germany, the European Union, etc. This achievement is not only of fundamental significance but also demonstrates a wide-reaching impact on the industry. Furthermore, two patents he holds on bismuth catalysts have been successfully commercialised by Karamay Youlian Industrial Co., Ltd., generating upwards of AU$ 500k in annual profits for the company. This contribution underscores the tangible value of his research and innovation to the commercial sector.

He is currently working at RMIT University (City Campus), engaging in extensive collaboration with researchers from Australia, China, Germany, India, Poland, the USA, etc. He not only pushes the boundaries of scientific knowledge in solar energy conversion, nanomaterials, and nanotechnologies but also aims at practical solutions for pressing environmental issues, demonstrating a profound commitment to leveraging science for a sustainable future.