Rate My Professor Steven Pratt

Professor Steven Pratt is a Professor in the School of Chemical Engineering within the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology at the University of Queensland, serving as Centre Director of the ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Bioplastics and Biocomposites. He earned a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Queensland. Renowned internationally for his contributions to polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) bioplastics and their wood-fibre composites, Pratt's research encompasses environmental engineering, environmental biotechnology, biodegradable polymers in natural environments including estuarine, marine, terrestrial, and composting settings, photoautotrophic PHA accumulation, controlled-release technology for methane mitigation, and technoeconomic analysis of bioplastic production. His work advances sustainable solutions to plastic pollution and supports bioplastics industry growth.

Pratt has a distinguished career in research, education, and industry collaboration, teaching process engineering courses such as Environmental Systems Engineering, Wastewater Treatment, Clean Technology, and Environmental Biotechnology, and delivering the IWES Principles of Wastewater Treatment course to about 100 professionals annually. He has received awards for outstanding contributions to supervision and enhancing research supervision culture. A notable achievement is the invention of the TOGA® Sensor for biotech and bioprocess systems examination and control, resulting in a commercialization agreement between Massey University and Scion. With over 150 scientific publications, key works include "Technoeconomic analysis of extreme halophilic manufacture of polyhydroxyalkanoate bioplastics from sugar: understanding cost sensitivity to feedstock price, fermentation performance and the extraction method" (2026), "Photoautotrophic polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) accumulation in mixed purple bacteria using formate, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide" (2026), "Lifetimes and mechanisms of biodegradation of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) in estuarine and marine field environments" (2024), "Public attitudes towards plastics in Australia are surprisingly constant in a changing world" (2025), and "The Diversity of Plastisphere Bacterial and Fungal Communities Differs between Biodegradable Polymer Types in Soil" (2026). His industrially relevant research fosters effective industry-education partnerships.