I am Gayathri Danasamy Naidu. I am currently the Deputy Head of School (Research) for the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Associate Professor in Chemical Process Engineering. I am a former Australian Research Council (ARC) DECRA Fellow

My core research is dedicated to exploring the three Rs in seawater and wastewater – that is remediation, reuse and recovery. I synthesis selective nanomaterials and  ion exchange membranes, as well as model, design and implement hybrid solar membrane brine treatment processes to drive the global water industry towards sustainable water reuse and to selectively recover valuable critical minerals -lithium, rubidium and rare earth elements.

I have come to this part of my career via bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Engineering at the University of Malaya Kuala Lumpur and Imperial College London, respectively; I obtained my PhD in Environmental Engineering from UTS. I have also worked in the water and energy sectors through roles at Motorola, the Malaysian government, Republic Polytechnic and the Public Utilities Board in Singapore.

I have attracted over eight million dollars ( 5millons as PI) of external research funds in the past 3 years in the field of critical minerals and renewable energy. I have won awards and fellowships including International Johnson and Johnson WiSTEM Fellowship in recognition of my research achievements. I contribute to enhance engagement and services within my field of expertise as an active member of the Membrane Society of Australasia (MSA), MSA board of director (2021-2023), as editorial board member for Desalination Journal and Chemical Engineering Journal ECR board (2022-2025) and by delivering keynote and invited talks in my dedicated field of research. I am currently leading a team of research students (PhD and MSc students) and early career researchers (Chancellors postdocs) to synthesize nanomaterials and membranes for selective critical mineral separation. My teams focused work on recovering critical mineral rubidium (Rb) has led to a filed patent (IP Australia, patent no. 2024903308) and translation to global industry commercialization with NEOM Energy and Water Co.