Jacek Jaroslaw Jasieniak, PhD GCCRS
Jacek is a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Monash University and is also current the Associate Dean (Research) for the Engineering Faculty. He is interested in developing nanoscale materials and applying these to energy technologies that can be commercialized to solve real world problems.
His Monash University profile can be found here.
His Google Scholar can be found here.
Brief History
Jacek was born in Poland, but moved to Australia at the age of 6. He has always been interested in understanding why things work and how they could be improved. At the age of 11, Jacek built his first microscope - this won him first prize at a local district science competition. However, it wasn't until the age of 15, when he learnt about photosynthesis, that his passion for energy and energy harvesting systems developed. Since then, he has innovated in a variety of solar cell technologies, including organic bulk heterojunctions, hybrid dye-sensitized solar cells and inorganic CdTe, CZTS, CIGS and Perovskites, as well various other emerging energy-related technologies.
Selected Awards
Victorian Young Tall Poppy Award Winner, AIPS, 2014
Fulbright Fellow, 2011
Chancellor's Prize, University of Melbourne 2008
University Medal, Flinders University 2003
Education and Professional Experience
Jacek completed a Bachelor of Science in Nanotechnology with Honours from Flinders University in 2003. He then moved to the Melbourne University, where under the supervision of Prof. Paul Mulvaney he worked on developing nanocrystalline semiconductors and using them for lasing applications. For this work, he was awarded the Chancellor's prize. In 2008 he started as an OCE postdoctoral fellow under Dr. Ezio Rizzardo and Dr. Scott Watkins within CSIRO, developing hybrid and inorganic thin film solar cells. In 2010 he became a Research Scientist at CSIRO and Team Leader of Solution-Processed Inorganic Optoelectronics. Between 2011-12, Jacek was a Fulbright fellow at the University of California Santa Barbara with Nobel Laureate Prof. Alan Heeger. There he looked at photoconductivity of small-molecule thin films and bulk heterojunctions, as well as interfacial effects of bulk heterojunction solar cells. He returned to CSIRO, where he progressed to Senior Research Scientist in 2013 and Group Leader of Agile Manufacturing in 2014. In June 2015, Jacek moved to Monash University to start an independent academic research career in the area of nanomaterials for next-generation energy technologies. He is currently Professor in the Materials Science & Engineering Department there. In 2015 he was also made the Director of the Monash Energy Institute, an industry-focused Institute with over 150 members from across Monash. In 2020 he decided to embark on a new challenge and leave his post as Director of the Monash Energy Institute after being promoted to the role of Associate Dean (Research) for the Faculty of Engineering at Monash University. In this role, Jacek is working to support and enhance the quality and reputation of the research portfolio across the Faculty of Engineering at Monash University.