UNSW Engineering

07/09/2026

What. A. Day! 🎉🙌

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for Open Day! We had a blast welcoming the community to campus and showcasing everything our faculty has to offer.

And a big shoutout to all the staff and students who helped bring the day to life. We couldn’t have done it without you! 💛

04/09/2026

Huge congratulations to Professor Yansong Shen for winning an Australian Museum Eureka Prize. 👏

Prof. Shen was awarded the Eureka Prize for Sustainability Research for his work developing a low-cost, scalable, portable process to recover the valuable metals and silicon from used solar panels.

“I would like to thank my research team, the UNSW SCoPE Lab for Green Metals and our many collaborators and sponsors," he said at the award ceremony. "It took people with many different expertise to make this idea a reality, and we wouldn’t be here without them.”

Read more 🔗 https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2026/09/UNSW-researchers-win-at-the-2026-Eureka-Prizes

UNSW School of Chemical Engineering

03/09/2026

UNSW engineers have secured over $55M in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency for projects aimed at tackling the next frontier in ultra low-cost solar.

The projects range from improving silicon solar modules so they last longer, to developing new materials that could make solar panels cheaper and more efficient, and improving how large-scale solar farms are monitored.

UNSW Sydney academics have been awarded $64.8 million from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) for 12 different solar projects.

02/09/2026

Congratulations to Prof. Andrew Dzurak who has received the 2026 Walter Boas Medal, one of Australia's highest distinctions in physics. 👏

The award recognises his pioneering research in addressing key challenges in scaling up and manufacturing silicon-based quantum computers.

The Australian Institute of Physics has recognised UNSW's Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak for his outstanding contribution to quantum computing.

01/09/2026

💬 "3MT gave me a valuable opportunity to learn how to communicate my research on robotic tactile sensing to audiences from very different backgrounds."

Well done to PhD candidate Xingyu Zhang who has received the People's Choice Award at the University's 3 Minute Thesis finals. 👏

Xingyu, from UNSW Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, presented his work on teaching robots of the sense of touch.

Read more 🔗 https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2026/09/fertility-innovation-claims-top-prize-in-unsw-s-3-minute-thesis

27/08/2026

Not long to go until Open Day! ⏰

Whatever stage you're at on your journey to uni, UNSW Open Day is your opportunity to explore the many pathways to progress and discover how you could become one of Australia's most employable graduates.

Start planning your day 🔗 www.openday.unsw.edu.au

26/08/2026

Could engineering help Australia grow more of its own hazelnuts? 🌰

UNSW School of Chemical Engineering PhD student Pavittar Singh Sandhu is working with growers in Orange, NSW, to rethink how hazelnuts are dried, monitored and stored after harvest.

From developing drying rigs for more consistent results to using sensors and satellite connectivity to monitor conditions remotely, Pavittar’s research could help improve production and create new opportunities for local growers.

Read more 🔗 https://www.unsw.edu.au/engineering/research-technology/is/the-engineering-behind-better-australian-hazelnuts

20/08/2026

Hats off to our graduates! You did it and we couldn’t be prouder. 😌

Here’s to the next chapter! 🎓🐻

19/08/2026

New UNSW research shows that controlling how materials are distributed during the early stages of solar cell manufacturing can reduce defects and improve efficiency.

Led by Prof. Xiaojing Hao, the researchers liken the process of making a CZTS solar cell to baking a cake, where how the cell is heated is just as important as the 'ingredients' used.

The team found that strengthening the copper-sulphur bond during the initial heating process significantly reduced defect formation, leading to improved voltage performance.

Read more 🔗 https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2026/08/The-secret-to-better-solar-cells-think-like-baker

18/08/2026

What if your voice could reveal more than just what you’re saying? 🗣️

From clues about our health and emotions to our unique identity, speech holds a surprising amount of hidden information.

In this episode of Engineering the Future podcast, A/Prof. Beena Ahmed explores how technology is learning to decode our voices - and what advances in speech processing could mean for healthcare, education and the rise of AI-generated speech.

Link in bio to listen now.