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Home...Our leaders

Our leaders

The Curtin Institute for Energy Transition (CIET) consolidates the knowledge, capability and experience of top researchers from across the University.

We are truly interdisciplinary, offering perspectives on clean energy from scientists, artists, engineers, designers, authors (just to name a few). Together, we can examine the future of sustainable energy from every angle.

Director

Professor Peta Ashworth OAM
Professor Ashworth is a renowned expert in energy, communication, stakeholder engagement, and technology assessment. She has researched public attitudes towards climate and energy technologies, including wind, carbon capture and storage (CCS), solar photovoltaic, storage, geothermal and hydrogen, for almost two decades. An accomplished speaker and educator, she actively promotes energy literacy globally and contributes to policy briefings and educational events.

Prior to joining Curtin University, Professor Ashworth was the Director of the Andrew N. Liveris Academy for Innovation and Leadership, and Chair in Sustainable Energy Futures at The University of Queensland (UQ). She was also Chair of the Queensland Hydrogen Taskforce and is a member of CSIRO Hydrogen Mission Advisory Board. Professor Ashworth brings over thirty years’ experience working in a range of senior management, consulting and research roles.

Renewable energy

Professor Klaus Regenauer-Lieb
Klaus Regenauer-Lieb is a geophysicist and applied mathematician with more than 30 years of experience in Geothermal Energy and Reservoir Engineering. He is well-known in the field of mathematical geophysics having pioneered new techniques for multi-scale, multiphysics modelling of porous media based on fundamental physics, including the link between Earth’s heat, its chemistry and its mechanical behaviour.

Energy systems and digitisation

Dr Ehsan Pashajavid
Ehsan Pashajavid is a renewable energy integration specialist. His research mainly focuses on renewable and distributed generation integration, electric vehicles, microgrids, and the application of power electronics to power systems. He has demonstrated a strong track record of contributing to these fields throughout his career. With three years of experience in the power industry, he also brings a practical perspective to his academic role at Curtin University. Ehsan is actively involved in several ARC and RACE for 2030-funded research projects.

Hydrogen

Professor Mark Paskevicius
Mark Paskevicius is an Professor in Physics and Astronomy and specialises in renewable energy storage. His work focuses on developing materials for solid-state hydrogen storage in automotive, stationary, and export applications. He also leads research on boron-rich materials for solid-state ion conductors in batteries.

Civil and Mechanical Engineering

Associate Professor Xihong Zhang
Dr Zhang works as an Associate Professor at Centre for Infrastructural Monitoring and Protection. He is an internationally renowned young scholar who devises protection of built structures against natural and man-made hazards, and develops advanced construction materials. His research provides design methods devised for engineering practice, primarily for the construction, mining, and oil and gas sectors,

Mining and critical minerals

Dr Laurence Dyer
Based at Curtin’s Kalgoorlie campus, Laurence Dyer has expanded his research from process solutions to include industrial water and waste treatment. He is actively pursuing opportunities in multidisciplinary projects including the contribution of mining and metallurgical engineering to energy supply and demand, decarbonisation and process sustainability.

Oil and gas in transition

Associate Professor Mohammad Sarmadivaleh
Mohammad Sarmadivaleh is an associate professor of energy engineering at Curtin University, specialising in underground hydrogen storage and carbon geo-sequestration. His research focuses on the geomechanical, fluid flow, and microbiological behaviour of porous media in geological formations, with a strong emphasis on developing safe and efficient geo-storage solutions

First Nations People

Dr Raquel Tardin-Coelho
Raquel Tardin-Coelho is an architect and urban planner experienced in Integrated Planning and Design solutions based on cultural and natural landscape preservation, conservation and regeneration. She focuses on regenerative sustainability principles and engaging First Nations communities, and governmental and non-governmental institutions to shape strategic plans and projects.

Energy development

Dr Bishal Bharadwaj
Bishal Bharawadj is a quantitative economic geographer interested in evaluating environmental policies (energy, plastic, pollution and climate change) in heterogeneous context to identify strategies to ensure policies are effective and equitable. He is currently a Research Fellow at the CIET.

Energy humanities

Professor Petra Tschakert
Professor Petra Tschakert is a human-environment geographer and applied anthropologist who focuses on energy democracy, precarity, and justice, as well as environmental politics, just transition pathways, climate change adaptation, intersecting inequalities, and non-economic losses from climate change. Professor Tschakert leads the Energy Humanities Initiative and is the main organiser for Petrocultures 24/South. She served twice as IPCC Coordinating Lead Author.

Circular economy

Associate Professor Atiq Zaman
Atiq Zaman specialises in circular economy and zero waste practices. He leads the National Environmental Science Programme on Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub, serves on the UN Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition, and authored the book Zero-Waste: Reconsidering Waste Management for the Future.

Decision analysis and policy support

Professor Fran Ackermann
Fran Ackermann has a background in management science and operational research and has employed this experience to investigate key issues in the energy transition. She works in the area of capture, structuring, and analysis of stakeholder knowledge and expertise, and is particularly interested in these in the context of energy projects.

Energy economics

Associate Professor Eric Lilford
Eric Lilford is Head of the Minerals and Energy Economics discipline in the WASM: Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering Faculty. He has over 30 years’ experience in the natural resources industry in technical, economic, financial, management and academic functions. Eric has been appointed onto the Rare Earths standards committee (ISO Australia) and the Expert Panel of the IMF focusing on fiscal regimes, including resources taxation.

Energy markets

Professor Helen Cabalu
Helen Cabalu is a Professor of Economics who specialises in international trade, economic development, and energy policy. She conducts research and consults for global organisations, the Australian government, and resource companies on policy evaluation, including the impact of carbon taxes, energy efficiency measures, and changes in the energy mix of economies.

ESG, Carbon and natural capital accounting

Professor Nigar Sultana
Nigar Sultana is a multi-award winning internationally recognised educator and industry-focused researcher with over 15 years of experience in tertiary education and research. Her research interests are in the areas of sustainability, ESG, auditing, corporate governance, gender diversity, corporate social responsibility and financial reporting.