Rate My Professor Paul Shaw

Associate Professor Paul Shaw serves in the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences within the Faculty of Science at the University of Queensland, where he holds the position of Director of the Centre for Organic Photonics and Electronics. He earned an MPhys in Physics with Astrophysics from the University of Manchester, an MSc in Display Science, Technology and Applications from the University of Dundee, and a PhD in Physics from the University of St Andrews in 2009, focusing on the spectroscopy of organic semiconductors. After completing his doctorate, Shaw joined the University of Queensland as a postdoctoral fellow developing fluorescent dendrimers for explosives detection. In November 2011, he received an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) fellowship, followed by an Advance Queensland Research Fellowship in 2016 and a UQ Early Career Researcher grant in 2014.

Shaw's research centers on organic optoelectronics, renewable energy, and chemical sensing. His work involves the design and synthesis of organic semiconductors, investigating morphology, photophysics, and device fabrication for applications in solar cells, light-emitting diodes, lasers, and fluorescence-based sensors. Key areas include sensors for explosives, chemical warfare agents, and illicit drugs; organic and hybrid solar cells such as perovskite tandems and non-polymeric homojunctions; and emissive processes in organic materials. Notable publications encompass 'Exciton diffusion measurements in poly(3-hexylthiophene)' (Advanced Materials, 2008), 'Charge generation pathways in organic solar cells: assessing the contribution from the electron acceptor' (Chemical Reviews, 2016), 'Challenges in fluorescence detection of chemical warfare agent vapors using solid-state films' (Advanced Materials, 2020), and 'Engineering fluorinated-cation containing inverted perovskite solar cells with an efficiency of >21% and improved stability towards humidity' (Nature Communications, 2021). He leads the Advanced Functional Materials theme in SCMB, the UQ node of the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics, and has obtained funding from ARC Discovery Projects, ARENA, and National Intelligence and Security Discovery Research Grants. Shaw supervises PhD students on high-performance solar cells and sensor technologies, advancing fields in energy and security.