Dr Cordelia Selomulya

Dr Cordelia Selomulya is a lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Monash University.

Her current area of interest is in the design of biocompatible magnetic nanoparticles and the development of nanostructured catalysts for fuel conversion. She is also working on a microstructural analysis of food powders for functionalisation.

In the design of biocompatible magnetic nanoparticles, Dr Selomulya has useddry and wet methods to produce functional particles for specific applications, such as protein separation/digestion, and in-vitro and in-vivo applications. The advanced functionalisation of particles is necessary for their use in food processing, bio-applications –like drug delivery- and in energy conversion.

“If we are to 'engineer' them to suit a specific application, we need to understand their behaviour and characteristics at both macro and micro levels.”

Nanotechnology allows the manipulation of materials in an attempt to improve the process of their application. By developing a nanostructured catalyst for pyrolysis reaction, the aim is to enable the pyrolysis to occur at a much lower temperature, so reducing energy consumption and creating less coke formation.

Dr Selomulya’s collaboration partners nationally include the ARC Centre of Excellence for Functional Nanomaterials at the University of New South Wales, CSIRO Petroleum and CSIRO Minerals, and Dairy Innovation Australia Ltd.

Overseas she is working with the Leeds Institute of Particle Science and Engineering at Leeds University in the UK.

Water is a hot topic in Australia. Dr Selomulya is also investigating minerals dewatering, particularly the application of tomographic imaging and robust simulation techniques to explore the structure of consolidated sediments inside thickeners. She sees effective dewatering as critical in the recovery of valuable minerals and for water re-use. The minerals industry is one of the largest users of water here. From an economic, environmental and social perspective the best solid-liquid separation is crucial.

	Above: 5% Platinum deposited on Aluminium Oxide. This is an example of nano-structured catalyst for fuel conversion being developed by Dr Selomulya.

Selected Publications

Fang Y., Selomulya C. & Chen D. On Techniques of Food Powder Reconstitution Measurements, Drying Technology, accepted 29 October 2007, ISSN: 1532-2300 (electronic) 0737-3937 (paper)

Li D., Teoh, W. Y., Selomulya, C., Woodward, R., Munroe, P., and Amal, R. (2007) Insight into microstructural and magnetic properties of flame-made g-Fe2O3 nanoparticles, J. Mater. Chem  17, 4876 – 4884, ISSN (printed): 0959-9428. ISSN (electronic): 1364-5501, ISI Journal Citation, Impact factor 4.287

Li D., Teoh W.Y., Selomulya C., Woodward R., Amal R. & Rosche B. (2006) Flame-sprayed superparamagnetic bare and silica-coated maghemite nanoparticles, Chem. Mater., 18, 6403-6413. ISI Journal Citation, Impact factor 5.104

Selomulya C., Tran T.M., Jia X. & Williams R.A. (2006) An Integrated Methodology to Evaluate Permeability from Measured Microstructures, AIChE J 52 (10) 3394-3400. ISI Journal  Citation, Impact factor 2.153