Spotlight: Dr Denny Gunawan

Meet Centre Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr Dr Denny Gunawan

Dr Denny Gunawan is a COE-CSI Research Fellow at UNSW Chemical Engineering School, under the supervision of Prof Rose Amal.

Dr Gunawan’s research focuses on designing better photocatalysts and photoreactor systems that use sunlight to produce clean fuels and useful chemicals, such as hydrogen and (oxy)hydrocarbons. His work takes a multidisciplinary approach, combining materials design, mechanistic understanding, reactor engineering and techno-economic analysis. By bringing these areas together, Denny aims to develop photocatalytic technologies that are not only effective in the laboratory, but also practical and scalable.

When asked what inspired him to pursue this field, Denny shared: “I am fascinated by the idea of using sunlight, one of our most abundant renewable resources, to make fuels and chemicals more sustainably through photocatalysis. What excites me most is its potential to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and lower the environmental impact of the energy and chemical sectors.”

Denny has actively participated in several decarbonisation projects led by the government and industry stakeholders, conducting techno-economic studies for sustainable fuel and chemical technologies.