Dr Rakesh Joshi FRSC is an Associate Professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at UNSW Sydney, where he leads UNSW Team Graphene. He was previously a Marie Curie International Fellow at the University of Manchester, working with Nobel Laureate Andre Geim, and is currently a Chief Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Carbon Science & Innovation.

He is internationally recognised for pioneering graphene oxide (GO) membranes, following his 2014 Science publication that established the fundamental principles of molecular and ionic transport through GO laminates. This work laid the foundation for modern GO membrane science and continues to influence global research in separation technologies.

His research focuses on graphene oxide membranes and two-dimensional nanofluidic systems for water purification, gas separation, and sustainable energy applications.

 Academic and Research Achievements

Dr Joshi has been awarded several highly competitive international fellowships, including:

• Marie Curie International Fellowship (2011–2013, European Union) 
• JSPS Invitation Fellowship (2016–2017, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) 
• Alexander von Humboldt Experienced Researcher Fellowship (2018–2021, Germany) 
• VAIBHAV Fellowship (2024–2026, Government of India) 

He has published over 135 peer-reviewed journal articles and holds five patents, with more than 95 publications as first, corresponding, or lead author. A full list of publications is available at: https://teamgraphene.org/publications 

Professional Experience

• Associate Professor, UNSW Sydney 
• Chief Investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence for Carbon Science & Innovation (COE-CSI) 
• Vaibhav Fellow, IIT Roorkee (DST, Government of India) 
• Senior Lecturer, UNSW Sydney 
• Visiting Professor (Humboldt Fellow), University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany 
• Visiting Faculty (JSPS Fellow), Toyota Technological Institute, Nagoya, Japan 
• Lecturer, UNSW Sydney 
• Marie Curie International Fellow, University of Manchester, UK 

Professional Engagements

• Co-Chair, International Symposium on Nanomaterials for Energy and Environment (2024, 2026) 
• Theme Leader, Energy and Environment, School of Materials Science and Engineering, UNSW 
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), UK 
• Editorial Board Member, Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science 
• Lead Guest Editor, Small (Wiley) 
• Guest Editor, 2D Materials (IOP Publishing) 
• Guest Editor, Nanotechnology (IOP Publishing) 
• Guest Editor, Journal of Materials Research (Springer) 

Selected Professional Memberships

• Fellow, Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) 
• Associate Fellow, Institution of Chemical Engineers (AFIChemE) 
• Chartered Member, Royal Australian Chemical Institute 
• Member,International Water Association (IWA) 
• Member, American Chemical Society (ACS) 
• Member, Membrane Society of Australasia (MSA)