Rate My Professor Dongke Zhang

Professor Dongke Zhang is the Foundation Professor of Chemical Engineering in the School of Engineering and Director of the Centre for Energy at The University of Western Australia. He earned his BE in 1984 and ME in 1987 from Nanjing Institute of Technology (now Southeast University), Nanjing, P.R. China, and PhD in 1993 from the University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. His academic career commenced as Lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Adelaide in 1993, advancing to Senior Lecturer in 1996 and Associate Professor in 1998. In 1999, he joined Curtin University of Technology as Professor of Chemical Engineering and Head of School until 2001, while founding and directing the Centre for Fuels and Energy from 2000. Appointed Foundation Professor of Chemical Engineering and Director of the Centre for Energy at UWA in 2008, he previously held the title of John Curtin Distinguished Professor at Curtin since 2007. Zhang has served as a member of the Australian Research Council's College of Experts, chairing the Engineering Panel in 2018–2021, and held adjunct professorships at Huazhong University of Science and Technology since 1995 and Southeast University since 1997.

Zhang's research expertise encompasses combustion science and technology, coal and biomass pyrolysis, combustion and gasification, gas-to-liquids and coal-to-liquids processes, hydrogen production and economy, emission control including NOx and SOx, renewable energy from biomass and waste, reaction engineering, heat and mass transfer, and sustainable energy development. He has raised and managed over A$36 million in research funding from governments and industries over 18 years. Notable awards include election as Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE) in 2004, and recognition as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Engineers of Australia in 2011. His professional affiliations include Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (FIChemE), Fellow of Engineers Australia (FIEAust), Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng), and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Energy (FAIE). Key publications include 'An Experimental Investigation into Ammonia Oxidation and NOx Emission in a Packed-Bed of Quartz Particles' (2026, Combustion Science and Technology), 'Characteristics of ammonia oxidation and NOx emission in a bubbling fluidised bed' (2026, Fuel), and authorship of the book 'Ultra-Supercritical Coal Power Plants: Materials, Technologies and Optimisation'.