Dan Liu

Professor Dan Liu is a world-leading scientist and RMIT University full professor. She is a recipient of two ARC Fellowships (Future Fellow (2020) and DECRA (2015)), Alfred Deakin Fellow (IFM, Deakin University, 2011), and BK21 Research Fellowship (Yonsei University, 2010). Her research interests include functionalized 2D nanomaterials, nanocomposites, water purification, thermal management and wearable energy storage. She has 3 book chapters and more than 170 peer-reviewed publications including Joule, Nature Communications, Advanced Materials, Advanced Energy Materials, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, ACS Nano, Nano Energy, ACS Energy Letter, etc.

Her work spans functional nanomaterials, composites, scalable fabrication techniques, and interdisciplinary approaches to address critical challenges in energy and water systems. She has fostered impactful collaborations with academic and industry partners, bridging fundamental research with practical applications. She has held significant leadership roles, including Deputy Leader of the Future Fibres Group, and HDR Coordinator, where she has driven research strategy, provided mentorship, and managed key academic processes to support research excellence.

Research Achievements
She developed scalable methods for preparing and functionalizing nanomaterials, including boron nitride, graphene, and transition metal dichalcogenides, using solid-state chemical exfoliation (Nature Commun. 2013, 2015, 2018). This pioneering work advanced porous nanomaterials, addressing sustainability challenges and enabling applications in renewable energy and environmental remediation. She has led projects on wearable energy storage systems and nanofluidic devices, achieving breakthroughs in flexibility, ionic transport, and chemical stability (ACS Nano, Adv. Energy Mater., Joule). These works have garnered extensive media attention, featured in over 400 outlets, including ABC and BBC.

Her research achievements contribute to the fields of Chemistry, Materials Science, Nanoscience, Nanotechnology, and Physics, with a strong publication record in high-ranking journals such as Joule, Adv. Energy Mater., Adv. Mater., Nat. Commun., ACS Nano, Adv. Funct. Mater., and Nano Energy.

In the past five years, there is over 93% of her published papers appearing in Q1 journals. Based on Scopus citation data, 11.8% (15) of her publications are ranked among the top 1% highest-cited publications worldwide, 24.4% (31) are in the top 5%, and 44.9% (57) are in the top 10%. Her research performance in SciVal, with a Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) of 2.84 since 2013, shows she has received 184% more citations than the average in Materials Science, Chemistry, Energy, Nanoscience, and Physics. Additionally, 66.7% of her publications are in the top 10% of journals globally by SJR ranking.

Key Outputs and Awards

·    Published over 170 peer-reviewed articles, earning >10,100 citations and an h-index of 52 (Google Scholar).

·    Secured >$6.5M in competitive grants

·    Received prestigious fellowships, including the Alfred Deakin Fellowship (2011), ARC DECRA (2015), and ARC Future Fellowship (2021)

·    Competitive awards such as Vice-Chancellor’s Mid-Career Researcher Award for Research Excellence, Deakin University (2021), TechConnect Innovation Award, USA (2015), Final list of Honorific Awards, Australian Academy of Science (2023).

·    Editorial Board member Scientific Reports (Nature Publishing Group) from 2019

·    Organizing Committee Member of International Symposium of 2D Nanomaterial (2015) and AM&ST (2022).

Industry Collaboration
She hold two provisional patents and collaborated with industry to commercialize nanocoating technologies through an IMCRC-funded project ($4.1M), advancing nanomaterials from lab-scale to pilot systems.