Rate My Professor Liam Wagner

Liam Wagner is an Associate Professor in Sustainable Energy Systems within the Sustainable Engineering Group, School of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering at Curtin University, a position he has held since April 2023. His research specializations encompass energy and environmental economics, energy policy, and energy security, utilizing methodologies including non-linear programming, mixed complementarity problems, and game theory. Wagner's academic background includes a PhD in Mathematics awarded in May 2008 from the University of Queensland, where he also obtained a first-class honours Bachelor of Arts in Pure Mathematics in 2002 and a Bachelor of Arts in 2001. He completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Economics at the University of Queensland from 2008 to 2010. Prior professional experience includes roles as a Trader and Quantitative Analyst at Babcock and Brown Power in 2007, Research Fellow and Lecturer at the University of Queensland School of Economics from 2011 to 2015, Lecturer in Economics at Griffith Business School from 2015 to 2020, and Associate Professor in Energy and Environmental Economics at the University of Adelaide School of Economics and Public Policy from 2020 to 2023.

Wagner's key publications highlight his impact in renewable energy and systems resilience, including 'Future prospects of microalgal biofuel production systems' (Trends in Plant Science, 2010), 'Australian Renewable Energy Policy: Barriers and Challenges' (Renewable Energy, 2013), 'Measuring resilience in energy systems: Insights from a range of disciplines' (Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2016), 'Resilience and electricity systems: a comparative analysis' (Energy Policy, 2012), and 'Reviewing the viability of renewable energy in community electrification: The case of remote Western Australian communities' (Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2016). With over 1,700 citations and an h-index of 17 as of 2023, his work has influenced energy transition discussions. He has attracted more than $5 million in competitive grants since 2008, such as the ARC Discovery Grant DP160102570 'Transition to Customer Response driven Networks' (2016-2019, $390,000), ARENA 'Cost Effective Renewable Hydrogen' (2018-2021, $3.35 million), and contributions to the Heavy Industry Low-Carbon Transition (HILT) CRC. Awards include the Best New Talent at Curtin University's 2023 Research and Engagement Awards, UQ Early Career Researcher Award Grant (2014, $20,000), and multiple UQ ResTeach awards totaling $93,200. Wagner has successfully supervised seven PhD students, eight Masters, and six Honours students, and led over 200 media interviews in 2022. He currently serves as Co-Research Leader for Program 3: Facilitating Transition in the HILT CRC.