Rate My Professor Irene Suarez Martinez

Dr. Irene Suarez-Martinez is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Electrical Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences and a Senior Researcher in the Carbon Group within the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Curtin University. Her research centers on computational materials science, with a particular emphasis on the structure, properties, and transformation processes of carbon-based materials, including amorphous carbons, graphite, graphene networks, and carbon nanotubes. She employs atomistic simulations to investigate graphitization mechanisms, defect topologies, and porosity development in carbide-derived carbons.

Suarez-Martinez joined Curtin University around 2009, initially associated with the Chemistry Department, and has since contributed to the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the School of Electrical Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences. She was awarded an Australian Research Council (ARC) Australian Postdoctoral Fellowship (APD) under Discovery Project DP110104415 in 2011, receiving $283,837 for research on sp2 carbon nanoforms. She also served as Chief Investigator on ARC Discovery Project DP190101438, exploring shear-induced formation of new carbon structures. In 2025, she co-led the RapidGraphite team, winning the Griffith Hack Overall Award at the Curtinnovation Awards for innovations in synthetic graphite production critical for fast-charging batteries.

Her scholarly impact is evidenced by over 3,635 citations on Google Scholar, with an h-index of 33 and i10-index of 57. Notable publications include "Catalysis-free transformation of non-graphitising carbons into highly crystalline graphite" (Communications Materials, 2020), "Carbide-derived carbons for dense and tunable 3D graphene networks" (Applied Physics Letters, 2018), "Fluid dynamic lateral slicing of high tensile strength carbon nanotubes" (Scientific Reports, 2016), "Structure, Properties, Functionalization, and Applications of NanoGraphene" (Chemical Reviews, 2015), and "Effect of microstructure on the thermal conductivity of polycrystalline graphite" (Applied Physics Letters, 2011). Her work has advanced understanding of graphite synthesis pathways, with implications for energy storage technologies. Additionally, she serves as a Research Data Champion at Curtin University, advocating for FAIR data principles and research reproducibility.