Dr Shahrooz Rahmati

Biography

I am an early-career researcher and materials scientist with nearly 15 years of experience across chemistry, materials science, and chemical process engineering. My research focuses on developing catalytic and biotechnological processes that convert agricultural and organic wastes into green fine chemicals, low-carbon bio-oils, and sustainable functional materials. Currently, I serve as a Research Fellow and Collaborating Entrepreneur on the Australia’s Economic Accelerator (AEA) Innovate project, Advanced Manufacturing of High-Value Organic Fragrances from Sugarcane Feedstocks (Project ID: IV240100274). I have contributed to 18 peer-reviewed journal articles, having over 1,250 citations, an h-index of 16, and an i10-index of 16.

I hold a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Chemistry from Queensland University of Technology (QUT), a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Food Science from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), and a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Agricultural Engineering - Food Science and Technology from Islamic Azad University. I have held critical research roles at institutions including QUT and the University of Malaya, where I successfully managed multidisciplinary projects.

Notable projects include:

• Biomanufacturing & Fragrance Synthesis: I am a key researcher on a federal translational research grant targeting bio-based fragrance production from sugarcane. This involves leading the development and optimization of high-yield precision fermentation bioprocesses to synthesize bio-based organic compounds, such as trans-nerolidol/peruviol.
• Agricultural Emissions Reduction: I serve as a Chief Investigator on the Food Agility CRC "Microbial Solutions to Agricultural Emissions" project. This research develops evidence-based, data-enabled methodologies to assess microbial inoculants aimed at reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.
• Municipal Solid Waste Valorisation: I led high-temperature, high-pressure catalytic experiments to convert organic and plastic-rich municipal solid waste into bio-oil. This was conducted in collaboration with the waste-to-energy company Cyclion Pty Ltd.
• Biomass Conversion: I developed catalytic hydrolysis processes for sugarcane bagasse to produce value-added xylo-oligosaccharides. This research resulted in a publication selected as a cover article for Green Chemistry.
• Environmental Sensing: I co-developed gold-carbon nanocomposites and graphene-based nanomaterials. These materials are utilized for environmental contaminant sensing and food authenticity testing using SERS and electrochemical readouts.

My technical expertise includes reaction engineering, operating batch and flow systems, and synthesizing nanomaterials such as metal oxides and porous carbons. I am highly proficient in advanced analytical techniques, including HPLC, GC-MS, FTIR, Raman, UV-Vis, XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, BET/BJH, Zetasizer, and NMR.