Scientia Professor Rose Amal

Scientia Professor Rose Amal AC completed her PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia, in 1991. She joined the School of Chemical Engineering as a lecturer in 1992 and became Director of the Particles and Catalysis Research Group (PartCat) in 1997. She was promoted to Professor in 2004 and has since held several major leadership roles, including Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Functional Nanomaterials (2010–2013) and Inaugural Director of the UNSW Energy Institute (2008–2010) and was the Co-Lead of the NSW Powerfuels including Hydrogen Network, part of the NSW Decarbonisation Innovation Hub (2023–2026). She is currently Co-Director of the ARC Training Centre for the Global Hydrogen Economy (2021–present), Deputy Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Carbon Science and Innovation (2024–present), Deputy Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Renewable Fuels (2026- present) and Co-Lead of the Particles and Catalysis Research Group.

To date, she has attracted more than AUD 108 million in competitive research funding and is globally recognised as a leader in photocatalysis and functional nanomaterials, with over 30 years of research advancing solar-driven catalytic technologies for clean water and sustainable fuel production, including hydrogen. Her pioneering work in nanomaterial design and solar energy conversion systems has positioned her at the forefront of innovation in renewable energy and environmental remediation.

Her outstanding research achievements include over 610 peer-reviewed journal articles, six patents, and around 100 successful PhD completions, in addition to mentoring around 50 postdoctoral researchers. Beyond her scientific research, she regularly contributes to government white papers and policy reports on Power-to-X technologies and their value-chain feasibility for the Australian and NSW Governments.

In recognition of her distinguished contributions, Professor Amal has received numerous national and international honours, including the Freehills Innovation Award in Chemical Engineering (2008), NSW Science and Engineering Award – Emerging Research (2011), ExxonMobil Award (2012), inclusion in Australia’s Top 100 Most Influential Engineers (2012–2015), and the ARC Australian Laureate Fellowship (2014). She was named as the 2019 NSW Scientist of the Year Award, received the Chemeca Medal (2021), the James Cook Medal (2021), the IChemE Clean Energy Medal (2022), recognition among The Australian’s 100 Green Energy Players (2023), and profiling as one of 100 Australian Visionaries and Innovators by the Powerhouse Museum (2024). She has received the nation’s top civilian honour – the Companion of the Order of Australia – as part of the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours for her eminent service to chemical engineering, particularly in the field of particle technology, through seminal contributions to photocatalysis, to education as a researcher and academic, and to women in science as a role model and mentor.

She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (2012), a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (2014), an Honorary Fellow of Engineers Australia (2015), and a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales (2018). She has also been recognised as a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher for four consecutive years (2021–2024). Professor Amal currently serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief of Applied Catalysis B: Environment and Energy.

Rose is passionate in capacity building via the training and mentoring of young researchers and strive to be a role model for women in STEM, particularly ECRs. She is regularly invited as inter/national plenary/keynote invitations to inspire and motivate. Rose and her team are actively involved in outreach activities promoting engineering, science and renewable energy (e.g., 2024: Future Climate & Clean Energy Expo, UNSW; 2023 Panel Event: Driving Australia's charge to net zero, UNSW).