Research Staff

Research Staff

Associate Professor Tadeusz Bak
Solid-state Electrochemistry, Defect Chemistry

Tad is an Associate Professor at the Solar Energy Technologies Research Group, School of Natural Sciences. His research areas include solid state chemistry and solid state electrochemistry. His specific research interest includes diffusion in solids, defect chemistry of nonstoichiometric oxides and the application of defect engineering in the processing of oxide semiconductors. His research achievements includes derivation of theoretical model describing the effect of the surface defect disorder on the reactivity of TiO2-based semiconductors with oxygen and water and the related charge transfer. His research activity is currently focused on the processing of photosensitive oxide semiconductors for solar energy conversion devices. His publication record includes 200 refreed papers and several book chapters. Tad received his Ph.D. from the University of Mining and Metallurgy, Cracow, Poland, in 1992. In 2007 he received the Pfeil Award of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, London, for his work on the surface properties of zirconia oxygen conductors. His research aims at the development of high-performance photoelectrodes for photoelectrochemical generation of hydrogen fuel.

For more information, please email Tad at t.bak@uws.edu.au

Professor Janusz Nowotny
Solid State Science, Oxide Semiconductors

Professor Janusz Nowotny is a member of the Solar Energy Technologies Research Group, School of Natural Sciences. His expertise includes solid-state chemistry, photoelectrochemistry & the science of materials interfaces. He made his PhD in the Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Science, 1967, and DSc degree (Habilitation) at the Academy of Mining and Metallurgy, Cracow, Poland, 1974. He received postdoctoral fellowships by the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung, 1968, & Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 1969. He held visiting professor positions at University of Bordeaux, France (1972), Tokyo Institute of Technology, 1982, University of Grenoble, France (1981), University of Bourgogne, France (1985), Max-Plack-Institute for Solid-State Research, Germany, 1985-1988, & University of Marseille, France, 1989. His affiliations include American Chemical Society, Int'l Association for Hydrogen Energy & Materials Research Society. He is the Editor of The Int'l Journal of Ionics and Editorial Board Member of The Int'l Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Materials Science Forum and the Journal of Energy and Environmental Science. His research includes materials & devices for solar energy conversion (solar hydrogen), electrochemical energy conversion (gas sensors & electrochemical gas separators) & segregation in oxides. His major accomplishments include (i) the progress in defect chemistry of TiO2, (ii) defect engineering of novel oxide semiconductors, (iii) surface engineering of zirconia, and (iv) the first ever in situ assessment of the charge transfer at the gas/solid interface for the oxygen/oxide system. He has shown that photoelectrochemical water splitting requires the presence of acceptor-type surface active sites at the outermost surface layer and has identified these sites. He has shown that segregation may be used as a technology for the imposition of controlled surface properties leading to reduced recombination-related energy losses. He was awarded the Sir William Grove Award, by the Int'l Association for Hydrogen Energy, for his contributions to Hydrogen Energy (2008). He has published over 450 refereed papers, and edited 17 books.

For more information, please email Janusz at j.nowotny@uws.edu.au

Dr. Maria K. Nowotny
Photocatalysis, Materials Science

Maria Nowotny is a Senior Lecturer at the Solar Energy Technologies Research Group, School of Natural Sciences.  She received her Ph.D. from the UNSW School of Materials Science and Engineering in 2006. Her research areas includes solid state chemistry and photocatalysis. In 2007 she received the Pfeil Award of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, London, for her work on surface properties of zirconia oxygen conductors. Her research activity is focused on the processing of oxide photocatalysts for solar-driven water purification. She is the leader of the research project on photocatalytic water purification. Her research aims at the development of high-performance photocatalysts which are able to convert waste water into driking water by using solar energy as the only driving force of the process. Her research achievements in photocatalysis have been recognised by the Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship to study in the Solar Energy Department of Hahn-Meitner-Institute in Berlin and the University of Hannover (2008). In 2008 she was invited by the Editor of the Journal of Physical Chemistry to publish a feature paper summarizing her research on TiO2 photocatalysis. She is a member of the Editorial Board of the Advances in Applied Ceramics. Her affiliations include the American Chemical Society and the Int'l Association for Hydrogen Energy. She has published over 30 refereed papers and is the Editor of the Special Issue of Materials Science Forum on Photocatalysis.

For more information, please email Maria at m.nowotny@uws.edu.au

Dr. Leigh R. Sheppard
Photoelectrochemistry, Surface Engineering

Leigh Sheppard is a Senior Lecturer at the Solar Energy Technologies Research Group, School of Natural Sciences. He received his Ph.D. from the UNSW School of Materials Science and Engineering in 2007. His research areas includes solid state chemistry and photoelectrochemistry. His research is focused on the processing of photosensitive oxide semiconductors and photoelectrochemical generation of hydrogen fuel by water splitting using solar energy (solar-hydrogen). He is the leader of the research project on solar-hydrogen. His research aims at the development of high-performance oxide semiconductors which are able to convert solar-energy into chemical energy (hydrogen) with high efficiency. His research has attracted high media interest resulting in several interviews to national TV, radio and major newspapers. His achievements in research on solar-hydrogen have been recognised internationally and have resulted in the invition to serve as a reviewer for the US Department of Energy in 2007. His research has been recognised by the International Association for Hydrogen Energy. He was awarded a fellowship of the Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD) to study in the Solar-Energy Department of Hahn-Meitner-Institute in Berlin (2006). In recognition of his leadership in research on renewable energy, he has received a 2006 Young Tall Poppy Science Award by the Australian Institute of Policy and Science. Leigh has been invited to several high schools to speak about his work on solar-hydrogen.  He has been invited to edit two special issues of international journals on solar-hydrogen, including the International Journal on Hydrogen Energy and Advances in Applied Ceramics. He is a member of the Editorial Board of Advances in Applied Ceramics. His affiliations include the American Chemical Society and the Int'l Association for Hydrogen Energy. He has published over 50 refereed papers.

For more information, please email Leigh at l.sheppard@uws.edu.au

Dr Marta Pilar Bello Lama
Photocatalysis, TiO2, Water detoxification and disinfection

Marta Bello is a Lecturer at the Solar Energy Technologies Research Group, School of Natural Sciences. She received her Ph.D. from the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover, Germany, in 2009. Her research interest includes photocatalytic water purification (photodetoxification and disinfection) using photosensitive TiO2- based oxide semiconductors. She joined the water purification laboratory in the Hawkesbury Campus. While in Germany she has been working on water and air purification with a range of industries, including Volkswagen and BASF.

For more information please email Marta at marta.bello@uws.edu.au 

Key Collaborators

• Dr. M. Carles, UWS
• Dr. G. Conibeer, UNSW
• Prof. A. Fujishima, Kanagawa Academy of Science
• Prof. S. Fiechter, Hahn-Meitner-Institut
• Prof. Z. Grzesik, AGH University of Science and Technology
• Prof. Y. Ikuma, Kanagawa Institute of Technology
• Dr. K. Kannangara, UWS 
• Prof. T.O. Mason, Northwestern University
• Dr. K. Prince, ANSTO
• Prof. N. Sucher, UWS
• Prof. H. Tributsch, Hahn-Meitner-Institut
• Dr. E.R. Vance, ANSTO
• Prof. E. Wachsman, University of Florida
• Prof. W. Weppner, Kiel University