Contact us
- Smart Green Cities Research Centre
- 6 Science Road, Level 2, Room 206
- Macquarie University NSW 2109
- T: +61 (2) 9850 6048
- E: smartgreencities@mq.edu.au
Our projects
Research for social, environmental and economic impact
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Centre Director
Distinguished Professor Michelle Leishman
School of Natural Sciences
Michelle is a leader in urban greening research, focused on climate-ready species selection and co-benefits including urban cooling, pollution mitigation and biodiversity.
She has extensive experience with industry and government, receiving national and international awards and prizes.
Board and council memberships
- Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust
- Bush Heritage Australia
- NSW Greening our City Panel
Researchers
Nature Rich Cities
Distinguished Professor Michelle Leishman
SGC Executive: Green Infrastructure
School of Natural Sciences
Research interests
- Building resilience of the urban forest
- Climate change and plant conservation
- Facilitating nature-rich urban green space
Professor Melanie Bishop
SGC Executive: Blue Infrastructure, Founding Co-Director Living Seawalls
School of Natural Sciences
Research interests
- Coastal ecology
- Development and evaluation of engineering interventions that create habitat and conserve native biodiversity in seascapes
Dr Caragh Threlfall
SGC Executive: Green Infrastructure, ARC Discovery Early Career Research Fellow
School of Natural Sciences
Research interests
- Urban ecology and biodiversity
- Landscape ecology
- Social-ecological dynamics of human dominated landscapes
Associate Professor Linda Beaumont
School of Natural Sciences
Research interests
- Climate change and adaptation
- Biodiversity
- Ecosystems
Associate Professor Anthony Chariton
School of Natural Sciences
Research interests
- ‘Omic’ technologies for the monitoring and assessment of aquatic systems
- Aquatic community responses to natural and anthropogenic stressors
Associate Professor Katherine Dafforn
School of Natural Sciences
Research interests
- Understanding and managing urban impacts in marine systems
- Development of monitoring tools to measure aquatic health
- Design of marine foreshores for ecological restoration
Professor Kirstie Fryirs
School of Natural Sciences
Research interests
- Fluvial geomorphology and river management
- Using geomorphology in river conservation, recovery and rehabilitation
- Modelling how rivers and catchments may respond to future disturbances, particularly floods and droughts
Emeritus Professor Michael Gillings
School of Natural Sciences
Research interests
- Genetic diversity and its role in evolution
- Origins and environmental consequences of antibiotic resistance
- The new geological era of the Anthropocene, precipitated by human effects on planetary systems
Professor Jaco Le Roux
School of Natural Sciences
Research interests
- Population dynamics of invasive species
- Plant evolutionary biology and biogeography
- Plant-microbial interactions
Distinguished Professor Ian Paulsen
School of Natural Sciences
Research interests
- Environmental microbiology
- Microbial ecology
- Bioinformatics and biotechnology
- Genomics and metagenomics
Associate Professor Tim Ralph
School of Natural Sciences
Research interests
- Geomorphology of rivers and wetlands
- Patterns and processes of fluvial landform change, sediment dynamics, aquatic ecosystem function
- Interactions between people and rivers/wetlands in the context of environmental change
Dr Louise Tosetto
School of Natural Sciences
Research interests
- Coastal Ecosystems
- Habitat use and behaviour in marine species
- Understanding impacts of human behaviour on coastal communities
Connected Cities
Distinguished Professor Michael Sheng
School of Computing - Head of School
SGC Executive: Smart Technology (IoT)
Research interests
- Internet of Things (IoT)
- Smart cities
- Big data analytics
- Web science
Associate Professor Noushin Nasiri
SGC Executive: Sensor Technologies, Head of NanoTech Laboratory
School of Engineering
Research interests
- Design and fabrication of nanostructured materials
- Miniaturised gas and chemical sensor technologies
- Wearable electronic devices for personalised and preventative medicine
Associate Professor Michael Chang
School of Natural Sciences
Research interests
- Vegetation and land cover land use monitoring
- Change detection and 3D modelling using earth observation data with the aid of geographic information systems (GIS)
- Using spatial analyses and modelling for biodiversity conservation, wetland monitoring, natural disaster mitigations (eg bushfires, floods and seismic deformation), public transport planning, geographical mapping of multilingualism etc
Professor Richard (Rick) Han
School of Engineering
Research interests
- Mobile and ubiquitous computing, wireless sensor networks, drone systems
- Cloud computing, cybersecurity, operating systems and cybersafety
Dr Maina Mbui
School of Natural Sciences
Research interests
- Integrating landscape/seascape ecology and remote sensing, and big data to support spatially predictive modelling and mapping of key resource species
- Applying remote sensing and big data to illuminate Global Environmental Change effects on coastal social-ecological resilience and tipping points
- Linking geospatial data science to coastal areas, high seas, and open ocean policy and governance solutions
- Applying remote sensing/big data to sustainability in the urban environment
- Spatial planning for sustainable management of natural resources in land-sea environments
Subhas Mukhopadhyay
School of Engineering
Research interests
- Sensors and sensing technology
- Instrumentation
- Wireless sensor networks
- Internet of Things (IoT)
- Mechatronics and robotics
Research interests
- Electric Vehicle (EV) integration, EV infrastructure, wireless technology
- Microgrid and renewable energy integration
- Smart grid and advanced technologies
- Protection of power systems, monitoring and control
- Electrification of transport and communities/buildings
Associate Professor Rouzbeh Abbassi
School of Engineering, Director of Reseach
Research interests
- Environmental, safety and risk engineering applications to different engineering operations such as onshore and offshore renewable energy systems
- Development of more efficient and cost-effective production processes
Professor Darren Bagnall
School of Engineering
Research interests
- Opto-electronic semiconductor devices and systems
- Energy transformation
- Nanostructured, biomimetic and plasmonic light-trapping schemes applied to photovoltaic devices
- Integration and uptake of renewable energy systems
Professor Shujuan Huang
School of Engineering
Research interests
- Nanomaterials and nanotechnologies
- Advanced photovoltaic devices, including hot carrier solar cells, perovskite solar cells, quantum dot solar cells and tandem devices eg perovskite/Si tandem, quantum dot/Si
- LEDs and photodetectors
- Indoor PV devices
- Building integrated photovoltaics eg luminescent solar concentrator windows
Associate Professor Yijiao Jiang
School of Engineering
Research interests
- Development of better thermal-, photo-, and electro-catalytic systems for green chemical processes, renewable energy production and environmental protection
- In situ and operando spectroscopic techniques including NMR, EPR, IR, UV-Vis and Raman for achieving breakthroughs in catalysis research
Associate Professor Fatemeh Salehi
School of Engineering
Research interests
- Development of physical models for computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations of turbulent flows to advance new energy technologies for clean renewable fuels such as hydrogen and biomass
- Hydrogen application and safety
- Modelling multi-phase (particle and droplet) flows
- Turbulent combustion
- Nanofluids and nanoparticles
Dr Seyedfoad Taghizadeh
School of Engineering
Research interests
- Power electronics based electric vehicle charger (plug-in/wireless)
- Fast and ultra-fast electric vehicle charging station
- Electrified transport (light rail, drone)
- Microgrid and distributed energy system integration
- Smart grids and their components
Dr Madeline Taylor
Macquarie Law School
Research interests
- Socio-legal aspects of energy and natural resources law, as well as property and commercial law
- Transitioning energy regulation and energy policy from comparative and socio-legal perspectives, including the governance of energy and the division of rights and benefits between the state, energy developers, landholders and communities
- Establishing regulatory frameworks concerning energy development, spatial planning and energy justice, particularly concerning large-scale solar energy regulation, agrivoltaics, offshore wind and hydrogen
Professor Stefan Trück
Department of Actuarial Studies and Business Analytics
Research interests
- Risk management (credit and operational risk)
- Asset pricing
- Energy markets
- Financial economics
- Carbon trading and economics of climate change
- Econometrics of financial markets
Urban Finance and Governance
Research interests
- Land law
- High density development property rights
- The complex legal, economic and social relationships created by collectively owned land
- Urban agriculture and food literacy
Paul Govind
Macquarie Law School
Research interests
- The intersection between value change and the Anthropocene
- Climate adaptation and extinction and dephysical property, responsibility and environmental law
Research interests
- Corporate sustainability
- Environmental finance
- Transition to renewable energy
Associate Professor James Hazelton
Department of Accounting and Corporate Governance
Research interests
- Business ethics
- Sustainability
- Environmental Accounting: Water, Energy, Carbon Emissions, Pollutants (mercury under the Minamata Convention)
- Accounting for in(equity)
Professor Vito Mollica
Department of Applied Finance - Head
Research interests
- Securities market design, FinTech, asset selection criteria, quantitative investment research and residential property price dynamics
- Issues related to cryptocurrency, high frequency traders, market transparency, institutional execution costs and property marketing strategies
Associate Professor Abhay Singh
Department of Applied Finance
Research interests
- Financial risk modelling, including econometrics and multivariate analysis, investment analysis and asset pricing
- Projects in data science with a strong focus on interdisciplinary research in data analytics and financial analytics
Associate Professor Georgy Sofronov
School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Research interests
- Statistical modelling and applications in biology, bioinformatics, finance and insurance
- Markov chain Monte Carlo methods, Cross-Entropy method
- Theory and applications of random processes, optimal stopping rules
- Sequential analysis, asymptotic theory, change-point problem
Health and Inclusive Cities
Professor Maria Kangas
SGC Executive - Health & Well being, Dual registered Clinical and Counselling Psychologist with the Psychology Board of Australia
School of Psychological Sciences - Head
Research interests
- Assessment and treatment of anxiety, PTSD, psychosomatic and mood disturbances in distressed and healthy populations across the lifespan
- Understanding emotion regulatory and coping strategies in adult/youth experiencing stressful life situations and/or eco-anxiety
- Effects of nature connections in enhancing mental and physical well being
Associate Professor Paul Beggs
School of Natural Sciences
Research interests
- Climate change and aero-allergens
- Aero-allergen management strategies
- Pollen sensors/applications
Dr Josephine Chau
School of Health Sciences
Research interests
- Designing and evaluating ‘move more, sit less’ initiatives, and investigating the social and environmental factors (people, places and policies) that affect workers’ moving and sitting, as well as their mental wellbeing and productivity
- Impacts of Play Streets on community health and wellbeing
- Impacts of co-operative gardens on the diet of socially disadvantaged families
Professor Kerry Sherman
School of Psychological Sciences
Research interests
- Stress and stress beliefs
- Psychosocial intervention development and evaluation
- Environmental influences on human health
Associate Professor Philippe Gilchrist
Clinical Psychologist registered in the UK, Canada and Australia
School of Psychological Sciences
Research interests
- Applications of Clinical Psychology to health care settings, with a focus on stress, anxiety and cardiovascular psychophysiology
- Anxiety disorders
- Environmental influences on human health
Professor Viviana Wuthrich
Registered Psychologist with clinical endorsement
School of Psychological Sciences
Research interests
- Translating evidence-based practice into public and private mental health settings and schools
- Mechanisms of anxiety and depression, and on the psychological treatment of these disorders in children, adolescents and older adults across the lifespan
- Psychological interventions for children, adolescents and older adults through randomised controlled trials
Research Interests
- Greenspace and mental health
- Physical and social outcomes for young children following outdoor play interventions
Research interests
- Urban ecology and greening cities
- Urban water management
- Land use planning
- Contamination management
- Energy transformation
Esther Erlings
Macquarie Law School
Research interests
- Child friendly cities
- Family and health law
Associate Professor Mel Taylor
School of Social Sciences, Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre
Research interests
- Psychosocial response and recovery
- Uptake of protective behaviours
- Risk communication strategies
Professional staff
Leanne Price
Executive Officer
T: +61 (2) 9850 6048
E: smartgreencities@mq.edu.au
Advisory board members
Dr Susan Pond AM FRSN FTSE FSHMS
Non‐Executive Director
Public, government and not‐for-profit organisations
Professor Brett Summerell
Chief Scientist and Director Science, Education and Conservation
Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust
