Professor Marcela Bilek - Biography

Marcela was appointed Professor of Applied Physics at the University of Sydney in November 2000. She was awarded a Federation Fellowship in 2003. She holds a PhD in Engineering from the University of Cambridge, UK, a B.Sc. (Hons and University Medal) in Physics from the University of Sydney and an MBA degree from the Rochester Institute of Technolgy, USA. Prior to her present appointment she held a visiting Professorship at the Technische Universitat Hamburg-Harburg in Germany and a Research Fellowship at Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge, UK. She also worked over a number of years as a visiting Research Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, USA. Aside from her academic experience, Marcela has worked in industry as a Research Scientist at Comalco Research Centre, Melbourne, and at the IBM Asia Pacific Group Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.

In her current appointment, Marcela leads a large research group specializing in materials and energy related technologies. In addition to leading a number of large Australian Research Council research projects focused on the development of new materials, she is responsible for major industry sponsored projects on highly insulating glazing for energy efficient architecture and surfaces for biomedical applications. She has received a number of prestigious prizes for her work including the Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year in 2002, an MIT TR100 Young Innovator award in 2003 and the Australian Academy of Science Pawsey Medal in 2004.

Marcela has authored and co-authored over 140 international journal articles, 3 book chapters and holds 3 patents. She currently serves on the Australian Radiation Protection & Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) Nuclear Safety Committee and the Heliac H-1 National Fusion Facility Advisory Board. She was an invited delegate to the Prime Minister’s 2020 Summit, 19-20 April, 2008.