Chief Investigator Professor Guan Yeoh Joint Winner of the Australian Financial Review’s Research Commercialisation Award

ARC Centre of Excellence for Carbon Science and Innovation (ARC COE-CSI) Chief Investigator Professor Guan Yeoh and his team at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) are joint winners of the 2024 Australian Financial Review Research Commercialisation Award.

As one of the seven categories in The Australian Financial Review Higher Education Awards 2024, the award recognises excellence in translating academic research into practical applications that benefit industry and society.

Professor Yeoh and his team have been honoured for the commercialisation of a world-first fire-retardant paint that protects homes from bushfires. The paint uses innovative carbon materials to create a fire barrier that can be easily applied to a range of materials including steel, brick and concrete.

This product has the potential to save lives from bushfires and is already being sold by Australia’s Bunnings Warehouse and hardware stores in the United States.

“I am very honoured to receive this award because of the product’s potential to help minimise the loss of property in bushfire-prone areas as well as saving lives,” Professor Yeoh said.

“More importantly, the award recognises the hard work of my research team in achieving such a feat and the dedication and hard work we have put into the development of the bushfire-resistant paint.”

Read more about The Australian Financial Review’s award recipients here.