Research Interests
Energy Generation, Conversion and Storage Engineering Environmental biotechnology diagnostics (incl. biosensors) Inorganic materials (incl. nanomaterials) Nanofabrication, Growth and Self Assembly Nanomaterials Nanophotonics Photonic and electro-optical devices, sensors and systems (excl. communications)Dr Cheryl Suwen Law
ARC Grant-Funded Researcher B
School of Chemical Engineering
College of Engineering and Information Technology
I am a Future Making Fellow at School of Chemical Engineering (SCE) and the Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS) at the University of Adelaide.My research focuses on the nanofabrication of photonics, plasmonic and iontronic structures with precisely engineered properties to control light–matter interaction and ion–surface interaction at the nanoscale, which can be applied in applications such as optical chemo- and biosensors, lab-on-a chip systems, iontronics, and energy generation systems. I am building an international profile as an early career researcher in nanofabrication, applied photonics, optical chemical and biological sensing, iontronic systems for sensors, osmotic energy harvester, and neuromorphic computing. Please check me out on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheryllawsuwen/).
Nanofabrication and Nanostructures: We have developed new nanofabrication approaches to create nanoporous photonic, plasmonic, and iontronic nanostructures with precisely engineered geometric features to fine-tune their properties (i.e., optical signals and ionic conductivity) at the nanoscale.
Surface Chemistry Engineering: We have generated novel surface chemistries to control interfacial interactions for sensing and molecular transport applications, including selective immobilisation of target analytes and antifouling molecules.
Lab-on-a-chip Chemical Sensing and Biosensing: We have integrated nanoporous structures into a label-free functional sensing systems with environment and biomedical applicability. This includes the detection of heavy metal ions in environmental water sources, assessment of binding affinity of biomolecules and quantification of smoke taints in wines.
Iontronic Systems: We have developed iontronic systems that use ions as signal carriers to generate electrical signals. The rectifying effect of nanoporous membrane in this system can be harnessed to not only generate osmotic energy but also use as sensing principle to detect target analytes.
| Date | Position | Institution name |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 - 2025 | Research Associate | University of Adelaide |
| 2020 - 2022 | Research Fellow | Monash University |
| 2019 - 2020 | Grant funded researcher | University of Adelaide |
| Date | Type | Title | Institution Name | Country | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Award | 2023 Emerging Investigator | Journal of Materials Chemistry C | United Kingdom | - |
| 2022 | Fellowship | Future Making Fellowship | University of Adelaide | Australia | - |
| 2022 | Award | IPAS Best Transdisciplinary Paper | Institute of Photonics and Advanced Sensing, The University of Adelaide | Australia | - |
| 2021 | Award | Science and Innovation Awards for Young People in Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry | Department of Agriculture and Water Resources | Australia | A$ 22,000 |
| 2019 | Award | Women's Research Excellence Award | The University of Adelaide | Australia | - |
| 2019 | Award | The William Culross Prize for Scientific Research | The University of Adelaide | Australia | - |
| 2019 | Award | Doctoral Research Medal | The University of Adelaide | Australia | - |
| 2019 | Award | Dean's Commendation for Outstanding PhD Thesis | The University of Adelaide | Australia | - |
| 2018 | Recognition | Chemical Engineering Active and Productive HDR Student | The University of Adelaide | Australia | - |
| 2015 | Scholarship | Adelaide Graduate Research Scholarship | The University of Adelaide | Australia | - |
| Date | Institution name | Country | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 - 2019 | University of Adelaide | Australia | PhD in Chemical Engineering |
| 2011 - 2015 | University of Adelaide | Australia | Bachelor in Engineering (Chemical and Pharmaceutical) (First Class Honours) |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Vu, K. N., Law, C. S., & Santos, A. (2025). Utilising the intrinsic characteristics of blind-hole nanoporous anodic alumina for blue energy. In Materials Research Proceedings Vol. 53 (pp. 417-422). Sabah, Malaysia: Materials Research Forum LLC. DOI |
| 2018 | Lim, S., Law, C., & Santos, A. (2018). Fine tuning of transmission features in nanoporous anodic alumina distributed Bragg reflectors. In Proceedings of SPIE Nanophotonics Austalasia 2017 Vol. 10456 (pp. 1045659-1-1045659-15). United States: SPIE Press. DOI Scopus3 |
| 2018 | Lim, S., Law, C., & Santos, A. (2018). Surface modification of nanoporous anodic alumina photonic crystals for photocatalytic applications. In Proceedings of SPIE Nanophotonics Austalasia Vol. 10456 (pp. 1045658-1-1045658-9). Melbourne: SPIE Press. DOI Scopus1 WoS1 |
| 2018 | Lim, S., Law, C., & Santos, A. (2018). Enhanced visible light photocatalysis in titanium dioxide-functionalized nanoporous anodic alumina photonic crystals. In Optics InfoBase Conference Papers Vol. Part F119-FTS 2018 (pp. 1-2). online: OSA. DOI |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Law, C. S., Revink, J., Lee, J., Wang, J., Abell, A., Whelan, F., & Santos, A. (2025). Protein Binding Assessment of Immobilised Nanobody using Interferometric Nanoporous Platform. DOI |
| 2025 | Law, C. S., Revink, J., Lee, J., Wang, J., Abell, A., Whelan, F., & Santos, A. (2025). Protein Binding Assessment of Immobilised Nanobody using Interferometric Nanoporous Platform. DOI |
2022: DVCR Research Small Equipment Support Scheme (lead CI, $15,000)
2022: Australian Federation of University Women SA Inc. Trust Postdoctoral Grants (sole CI, $3,000)
2022: AgTech Growth Fund (co CI, $100,000)
2022: Future Making Fellowship (sole CI, $400,000)
2021: Sandland Bequest Fund (co CI, $25,000)
2020: Science and Innovation Awards (sole CI, $22,000)
2019: Women's Research Excellence Awards (sole CI, $5,000)
Teaching assistant for:
- CHEM ENG 3034 - Kinetics and Reactor Design (2017–19)
- CHEM ENG 2011 - Process Engineering Thermodynamics (2018)
- CHEM ENG 4060 - Pharmaceutical Formulation and Dosage Manufacturing (2018)
- CHEM ENG 1007 - Introduction to Process Engineering (2016)
| Date | Role | Research Topic | Program | Degree Type | Student Load | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Co-Supervisor | Enabling blue osmotic–green hydrogen energy coupling | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Charles Lachlan Cameron Lord |
| 2025 | Principal Supervisor | Enabling blue osmotic–green hydrogen energy coupling | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Zixiong Li |
| 2025 | Principal Supervisor | Shark-inspired remote sensor | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Sir Zijian Wang |
| 2025 | Principal Supervisor | Evaluation and optimization of alkaline electrolytic seawater catalyst surface studies by molecular dynamics and density functional theory simulations | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Fankai Zhu |
| 2025 | Principal Supervisor | Evaluation and optimization of alkaline electrolytic seawater catalyst surface studies by molecular dynamics and density functional theory simulations | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Fankai Zhu |
| 2025 | Principal Supervisor | Shark-inspired remote sensor | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Sir Zijian Wang |
| 2025 | Principal Supervisor | Enabling blue osmoticgreen hydrogen energy coupling | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Zixiong Li |
| 2025 | Co-Supervisor | Enabling blue osmoticgreen hydrogen energy coupling | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Charles Lachlan Cameron Lord |
| 2024 | Co-Supervisor | Development of Integrated Microfluidic Chips for mRNA nanomedicines | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Vijaykumar Devjibhai Bodarya |
| 2024 | Co-Supervisor | Development of Integrated Microfluidic Chips for mRNA nanomedicines | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Vijaykumar Devjibhai Bodarya |
| 2023 | Co-Supervisor | Rational Design and Advanced Engineering of 1D nanoporous photonic crystals | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Zichu Zhao |
| 2023 | Co-Supervisor | Rational Design and Advanced Engineering of High-Quality Nanoporous Photonic Crystal Structures | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Jairo Alberto Baron Jaimez |
| 2023 | Co-Supervisor | Rational Design and Advanced Engineering of High-Quality Nanoporous Photonic Crystal Structures | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Jairo Alberto Baron Jaimez |
| 2023 | Co-Supervisor | Rational Design and Advanced Engineering of 1D nanoporous photonic crystals | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Zichu Zhao |
| 2022 | Co-Supervisor | Bioinspired Engineering of Iontronic Membranes for Osmotic Energy Generation | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Miss Khanh Nhien Vu |
| 2022 | Co-Supervisor | Engineering of light-matter interactions in semiconductor structures for photocatalysis | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Van Truc Ngo |
| 2022 | Co-Supervisor | Engineering of light–matter interactions in hybrid plasmonic–photonic crystal structures | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Miss Nguyen Que Huong Tran |
| 2022 | Co-Supervisor | Engineering of light-matter interactions in semiconductor structures for photocatalysis | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Van Truc Ngo |
| 2022 | Co-Supervisor | Bioinspired Engineering of Iontronic Membranes for Osmotic Energy Generation | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Miss Khanh Nhien Vu |
| 2022 | Co-Supervisor | Engineering of lightmatter interactions in hybrid plasmonicphotonic crystal structures | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Miss Nguyen Que Huong Tran |
| Date | Role | Research Topic | Program | Degree Type | Student Load | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 - 2025 | Co-Supervisor | Harnessing Light–Matter Interactions in Nanoporous Photonic Crystal Structures for Gas Sensing | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Khoa Tran |
| 2020 - 2025 | Co-Supervisor | Engineering the Iontronic Properties of Nanoporous Anodic Alumina and Its Applications | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Miss Juan Wang |