Researcher

Dr Chi David Cheng

Keywords

Fields of Research (FoR)

Microfluidics and nanofluidics, Separation science, Separation technologies, Theory and design of materials, Materials engineering

Biography

Dr. Chi (David) Cheng is a Senior Lecturer and ARC Future Fellow in chemical engineering at UNSW Sydney, where he established the Nanofluidics and Advanced Separations Laboratory in 2023. Prior to this, he was a Postdoctoral Scholar followed by a Research Scientist appointment in the department of mechanical engineering at MIT from 2017 to 2022. Dr. Cheng received his Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from Monash University in 2014...view more

Dr. Chi (David) Cheng is a Senior Lecturer and ARC Future Fellow in chemical engineering at UNSW Sydney, where he established the Nanofluidics and Advanced Separations Laboratory in 2023. Prior to this, he was a Postdoctoral Scholar followed by a Research Scientist appointment in the department of mechanical engineering at MIT from 2017 to 2022. Dr. Cheng received his Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from Monash University in 2014 and a B.Eng. in polymer materials and engineering from Wuhan University of Technology in 2010. From 2016 to 2017, he worked in the R&D division of DuluxGroup Australia, developing functional coatings. In 2017, Dr. Cheng was awarded the Australian Endeavour Research Fellowship, and in 2021, he received an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship. He served as the Alumni Committee Chair for the MIT Postdoctoral Association from 2018 to 2019 and an MIT Communication Lab Fellow in 2019. His research and teaching focus on transport phenomena, membrane science, and nanopore technology for advanced bio/chemical separations, addressing critical societal challenges in resource and energy security.

My Grants

Faculty Conference Funding, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW, 2024

Small Equipment Grant, School of Chemical Engineering, UNSW, 2024 (Lead CI)

ARC Future Fellowship. "Atomically thin Membranes to Transform Chemical Separations", 2022-2026 (Lead CI)

My Qualifications

PhD in Materials Science & Engineering (Monash); BEng (WUT, China)

ARC Future Fellow, Chemical Engineering, University of Melbourne, 2022-2023
Research Scientist, Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Insitute of Technology, 2021-2022
Postdoc, Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2018-2021
Australian Endeavour Fellow, Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2017-2018

My Awards

Australian Research Council Future Fellowship, 2022-2026
DOE Geothermal Lithium Extraction Prize Phase I Semi-finalist, 2021
GRC Seminar Membranes: Materials & Processes, Best Poster Award, 2018
Australian Endeavour Research Fellowship, 2017-2018
Monash Centre for Atomically Thin Materials Travel Award, 2016
Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Students Award, 2013
CAPS Research Symposium Australia Best Presentation Award, 2013
Australian IPRS Scholarship, 2010-2014
JASSO Scholarship, 2009-2010
National Scholarship, 2007

My Research Activities

Welcome to the Nanofluidics & Advanced Separations Research Laboratory at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney! Our research strives to propel the transition towards a greener and more sustainable future for the chemical and materials industry by pioneering innovative approaches for the precise engineering of molecular transport. Currently, our primary research focus centers on the investigation and development of porous materials and nanofluidic systems, and their applications in separation technologies and emerging electrochemical manufacturing. We extend a warm invitation for you to explore our collection of representative papers below, which offer a glimpse into our research endeavours.

J. Wang & C. Cheng et al., “Cascaded compression of the size distribution of nanopores in monolayer graphene", Nature 623, 956-963 (2023) (co-first / co-corresponding)
C. Cheng et al., “Molecular size-dependent subcontinuum solvent permeation and ultrafast nanofiltration across nanoporous graphene membranes", Nature Nanotechnology 16, 989-995 (2021)
C. Cheng et al., “Low-voltage electrostatic modulation of ion diffusion through layered graphene-based nanoporous membranes”, Nature Nanotechnology 13, 685-690 (2018)
C. Cheng et al., “Ion transport in complex layered graphene-based membranes with tuneable interlayer spacing”, Science Advances 2, e1501272 (2016)
X. Yang, C. Cheng, Y. Wang, Q. Ling, D. Li. “Liquid-mediated dense integration of graphene materials for compact capacitive energy storage”, Science 341 534-537 (2013)
C. Cheng et al., “Solvated graphene: an emerging class of functional soft materials”, Advanced Materials 25, 13-30 (2013)