Guan Heng Yeoh

Guan Heng Yeoh
Alma materUniversity of New South Wales
Scientific career
FieldsMaterials science
InstitutionsUniversity of New South Wales

Guan Heng Yeoh is an Australian nuclear scientist, mechanical engineer and academic.[1] He is a professor in the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of New South Wales (UNSW),[2] and serves as Director of both the Australian Research Council (ARC) Training Centre for Fire Retardant Materials and Safety Technologies and the ARC Research Hub for Fire Resilience Infrastructure, Assets and Safety Advancements.[3] He is known for his research and work to fire safety engineering, materials science, and the development of fire protection technologies.[4]

He received the 2024 Australian Financial Review Research Commercialisation Award,[5] the Brennan Medal from the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) in 2009 for an outstanding book publication[6] and a NASA award in 1992 for research on solidification in microgravity.[7]

Biography

Yeoh earned a Bachelor of Engineering with First Class Honours in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New South Wales in 1988. He completed his Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering, specializing in computational fluid dynamics, at the same institution in 1993.[8]

Career

His career began with postdoctoral and research scientist roles at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) between 1993 and 1998, followed by senior research leadership positions at ANSTO from 1999 to 2013.[8]

He served as associate professor at UNSW from 2009 to 2015 before being promoted to Professor in 2016. He is currently a professor in the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of New South Wales (UNSW),[3] Sydney, and Principal Research Scientist as well as Leader of the Thermal-Hydraulics Group at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO).[3]

He also holds adjunct professorships at Zhejiang University,[9] China, and Edith Cowan University, Perth.

Yeoh has made contributions in areas such as nuclear reactor design,[10] fire retardant materials,[11][12] and computational multiphase flow modeling.[13] He directed the Australian Research Council (ARC) Training Centre in Fire Retardant Materials and Safety Technologies and served on expert panels addressing fire-proof building design, fire investigation, and safety standards.[14]

His expertise has been sought as an expert witness in international patent cases and in major fire investigations, including the Quakers Hill nursing home fire[15] and the Bankstown apartment fire.[16] He has participated in International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) coordinated research projects, contributed to the design and commissioning of the Open Pool Australian Lightwater (OPAL) research reactor, and been active in national engineering education benchmarking initiatives.

In academic publishing, Yeoh is the founder and editor of the Journal of Computational Multiphase Flows and serves in editorial roles for several international journals, including the Australian Journal of Mechanical Engineering, Applied Sciences, and Experimental and Computational Multiphase Flow.[17]

He has also edited major reference works, such as the Handbook of Multiphase Flow Science and Technology.[18] His editorial and scholarly work spans interdisciplinary engineering, computational modeling, and applied fire safety research, reinforcing his position as a leading figure in both academic and applied engineering fields.[19]

Research

Yeoh leads an industry-focused fire safety research, spanning materials science, engineering, and applied technologies.[20] His work includes the development of advanced carbon materials and durable, green polymer composites for fire-resistant applications, next-generation fire suppression systems, responsive sensing technology, early detection systems, and novel flammability testing methods.[19]

Guan Heng Yeoh co-developed FSA FIRECOAT, a fire-retardant paint created through collaboration with Flame Security International.[21] Designed to defend structures against direct flame exposure and extreme heat, the coating forms an insulating char layer that significantly mitigates bushfire damage.[22] It has met the stringent BAL-40 standard for bushfire attack, his innovation has known for its practical and protective role in bushfire-prone regions.[23]

Yeoh and his research team have pioneered the use of MXenes, two-dimensional transition metal carbide, carbon nitride, and nitride nanosheets as advanced fire-retardant materials. Employing ANSTO's small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) instrumentation and complementary theoretical models, they characterized MXene's ultrathin layered structure (approximately 3 nm thick). Their findings highlight that incorporating MXenes at just 1–5% by weight can produce substantial fire-retardant effects—offering significant weight reduction compared to traditional carbon-heavy alternatives.[24]

In a notable fusion of energy and safety technologies, Yeoh contributes to the development of Solar Skin, a multifunctional polymer membrane that integrates perovskite (and perovskite–silicon tandem) solar cells with flame-retardant properties. His project has been Supported by a $3 million CRC–P grant and in-kind industry contributions.[2]

Awards

  • KCA Australasian Research Commercialisation Awards (2024), Best Industry Research Collaboration (winner)[17]
  • Australian Financial Review Award (2024), Research Commercialisation (joint winner)[5]
  • Shaping Australia Awards (2023), Problem Solver Award – People's Choice (winner)[25][26]
  • Brennan Medal (2009), best book publication, Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE)[6]
  • NASA Award (1992), novel research in solidification in microgravity[17]
  • Australian entrant for the CAETS Communication Prize (2023) for FSA FIRECOAT[27]

Selected publications

Books and edited volumes

  • Tu, Jiyuan; Yeoh, Guan-Heng; Liu, Chaoqun (2013), "Practical Guidelines for CFD Simulation and Analysis", Computational Fluid Dynamics, Elsevier, pp. 219–273, doi:10.1016/b978-0-08-098243-4.00006-8, ISBN 978-0-08-098243-4, retrieved 2025-08-31{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  • Tu, Jiyuan; Yeoh, Guan Heng; Liu, Chaoqun (2013). Computational fluid dynamics: a practical approach (2nd ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier/BH. ISBN 978-0-08-098243-4.   
  • Yeoh, Guan Heng; Yuen, Kwok Kit, eds. (2009). Computational fluid dynamics in fire engineering: theory, modelling and practice. Burlington, MA Singapore: Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-08-057003-7.
  • Yeoh, Guan Heng; Cheung, Chi Pok; Tu, Jiyuan (2014). Multiphase flow analysis using population balance modeling: bubbles, drops and particles. IChemE. Heidelberg: Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-08-098233-5.

Book chapters

Journals

References

  1. ^ Meacham, Savannah (2022-02-03). "New lightweight fire-proof material could revolutionise firefighting uniforms". www.9news.com.au. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  2. ^ a b Matich, Blake (2020-02-21). "Slip-Slop and Slap it on everything, the 'Solar Skin' that doesn't burn Professor Guan Yeoh is an essential part of a project to commercialise a solar polymer membrane called 'Solar". pv magazine Australia. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  3. ^ a b c "Investigating a prospective light-weight fire retardant material with superior properties | ANSTO". www.ansto.gov.au. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  4. ^ Koziol, Michael (2022-02-02). "Nuclear scientists think they've cracked the key to fighting fire in Australia". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  5. ^ a b Su, Jane (2024-08-21). "Chief Investigator Professor Guan Yeoh Joint Winner of the Australian Financial Review's Research Commercialisation Award - ARC Centre of Excellence for Carbon Science & Innovation". Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  6. ^ a b "Chemical engineering medal winners announced". www.chemeurope.com. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  7. ^ "Professor Guan Yeoh - ARC Centre of Excellence for Carbon Science & Innovation". 2023-10-04. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  8. ^ a b "Professor Guan Heng Yeoh". research.unsw.edu.au. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  9. ^ "2020'International Symposium on Flame-Retardant Materials & Technologies". www.isfrmt.org. Archived from the original on 2024-04-23. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  10. ^ Yeoh, Guan Heng (2019-03-01). "Thermal hydraulic considerations of nuclear reactor systems: Past, present and future challenges". Experimental and Computational Multiphase Flow. 1 (1): 3–27. doi:10.1007/s42757-019-0002-5. ISSN 2661-8877.
  11. ^ "Nanotechnology Creates New Lightweight Suits for Firefighters | STATNANO". statnano.com. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  12. ^ "Saving homes and lives with fire protective paint | Engineering - UNSW Sydney". UNSW Sites (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  13. ^ Yeoh, Guan Heng; Tu, Jiyuan (2016), "Basic Theory and Conceptual Framework of Multiphase Flows", Handbook of Multiphase Flow Science and Technology, Springer, Singapore, pp. 1–47, doi:10.1007/978-981-4585-86-6_1-1, ISBN 978-981-4585-86-6, retrieved 2025-08-31{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  14. ^ "Guan Heng Yeoh welcomed and led the official opening of the ARC Training Centre at The University of New South Wales". fire.edu.au. Archived from the original on 2025-04-26. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  15. ^ Yuen, Anthony Chun Yin; Yeoh, Guan Heng; Alexander, Bob; Cook, Morgan (2014-10-01). "Fire scene investigation of an arson fire incident using computational fluid dynamics based fire simulation". Building Simulation. 7 (5): 477–487. doi:10.1007/s12273-014-0164-9. ISSN 1996-8744.
  16. ^ "UNSW engineers, led by professor Guan Yeoh, create FSA ..." Daily Telegraph.
  17. ^ a b c Rees, Brent (2024-11-27). "Prof. Guan Heng Yeoh - APAC Network". Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  18. ^ Yeoh, Guan Heng; Joshi, Jyeshtharaj B., eds. (2023). Handbook of Multiphase Flow Science and Technology. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore. doi:10.1007/978-981-287-092-6. hdl:1959.4/unsworks_48641. ISBN 978-981-287-091-9.
  19. ^ a b Ng, Thierry (2023-08-28). "El Niño declared: How to keep your property safe this summer". The Property Tribune. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  20. ^ Kassiou, Michael; Yeoh, Guan Heng (2024-08-20). "Winning strategy: Love hormone research bears multimillion-dollar deal". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  21. ^ Griffith, Chris. "How did this house survive an inferno?". The Australian.
  22. ^ "Secret paint protects house from wildfire". cosmosmagazine.com. 2023-12-17. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  23. ^ "UNSW Sydney develops first fire-retardant paint for extreme fire protection". Building Connection. 2023-11-06. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  24. ^ Yuen, Anthony Chun Yin; Chen, Timothy Bo Yuan; Lin, Bo; Yang, Wei; Kabir, Imrana I.; Cordeiro, Ivan Miguel De Cachinho; Whitten, Andrew E.; Mata, Jitendra; Yu, Bin; Lu, Hong-Dian; Yeoh, Guan Heng (2021-07-01). "Study of structure morphology and layer thickness of Ti3C2 MXene with Small-Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS)". Composites Part C: Open Access. 5 100155. doi:10.1016/j.jcomc.2021.100155. ISSN 2666-6820.
  25. ^ "UNSW fire safety innovator wins at Shaping Australia Awards". UNSW Sites. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  26. ^ Dodd, Tim. "The Shaping Australia Awards celebrate universities' national contribution". The Australian.
  27. ^ ATSE. "CAETS Communication Prize". ATSE. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
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