Lu awarded Order of Australia

MAX LU, a renowned researcher and IChemE Fellow, has been awarded with a medal of the Order of Australia (Officer in the General Division) as part of the Australia Day Honours list. He is one of three IChemE Fellows honoured.

Ross McCann, who previously served as IChemE’s international vice president from 2012–2015, and Donald Hector, former managing director of Dow Corning Australia, were awarded Member in the General Division (AM).

Lu, who is presently the vice-chancellor of UK’s University of Surrey, was given the medal of the Order of Australia for his distinguished service to education, to national and international research in the fields of materials chemistry and nanotechnology, to engineering and Australia-China relations.

Reacting to the honour, Lu told The Chemical Engineer: “I am very humbled and honoured to be recognised this way. I am grateful to many wonderful people I have had the fortune to work with in Australia and around the world, including many chemical engineers.”

Lu served as chair of the board of IChemE in Australia in 2009. Ahead of joining Surrey, he held a number of positions at Australia’s University of Queensland, including provost, deputy vice-chancellor for research, and director of The Nanomaterials Centre in the Department of Chemical Engineering. Lu is a renowned materials researcher with over 500 publications in high impact journals and co-inventor of more than 20 international patents.

McCann has been an IChemE Fellow since 2004, and was recognised for his services to the environment, chemical engineering and the promotion of sustainable resource use. Formerly CEO and Chairman of Qenos, he is currently an active member of several boards based in Victoria promoting sustainability in the process industries.

Hector served as chair of IChemE’s Australian Board from 2000–2001, and was recognised for making a significant contribution to chemical engineering and business. He graduated with a PhD in chemical engineering from University of Sydney, where he is currently president of the Chemistry Foundation. He is currently director and co-founder of Gelion Technologies, a spin-out of University of Sydney which develops novel battery technology.

IChemE’s Australian director, Peter Slane, congratulated all three winners on behalf of IChemE.

“It’s fantastic to see Australian chemical engineers being recognised by the governor-general today. Each one of them has been closely linked to the Institution, passionate about representing and promoting the profession in their individual fields,” he said.

The Order of Australia was established in 1975 by Queen Elizabeth II, to recognise Australians for their achievements and service.