Dr Cheryl Suwen Law

Research Associate

Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing

Division of Research and Innovation

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.

I am a Research Associate 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 and plasmonic structures with precisely engineered properties to control light–matter interaction at the nanoscale, which can be applied in applications such as optical chemo- and biosensors, lab-on-a chip systems, iontronic sensing 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 and osmotic energy harvester.

Please check me out on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheryllawsuwen/).

My Research
Career
Publications
Grants and Funding
Teaching
Supervision
Contact

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.

Appointments

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	Position	Institution name
2022 - 2025	Research Associate	University of Adelaide
2020 - 2022	Research Fellow	Monash University
2019 - 2020	Grant funded researcher	University of Adelaide

Awards and Achievements

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	-

Education

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)

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)

Journals

Year	Citation
2023	Wang, J., Vu, K. N., Abell, A. D., Santos, A., & Law, C. S. (2023). Nanoporous anodic alumina-based iontronics: fundamentals and applications. Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 11(27), 9051-9081. DOI
2022	Tran, H. N. Q., Le, N., Le, Q. N., Law, S., Lim, S. Y., Abell, A. D., & Santos, A. (2022). Spectral Engineering of Tamm Plasmon Resonances in Dielectric Nanoporous Photonic Crystal Sensors. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 14(20), 22747-22761. DOI Scopus7 WoS6 Europe PMC2
2022	Law, C. S., Wang, J., Gunenthiran, S., Lim, S. Y., Abell, A. D., Ahrens, L., . . . Voelcker, N. H. (2022). Real-time detection of per-fluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) self-assembled monolayers in nanoporous interferometers. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 355, 1-10. DOI Scopus1 WoS2
2022	Acosta, L. K., Law, C. S., Santos, A., Ferré-Borrull, J., & Marsal, L. F. (2022). Tuning intrinsic photoluminescence from light-emitting multispectral nanoporous anodic alumina photonic crystals. APL Photonics, 7(2), 12 pages. DOI Scopus7 WoS7
2022	Gunenthiran, S., Wang, J., Zhao, W., Law, S., Lim, S. Y., McInnes, J. A., . . . Santos, A. (2022). Lasing from Narrow Bandwidth Light-Emitting One-Dimensional Nanoporous Photonic Crystals. ACS Photonics, 9(4), 1226-1239. DOI Scopus4 WoS4
2022	Wang, J., Law, C. S., Gunenthiran, S., Tran, H. N. Q., Tran, N. K., Lim, S. Y., . . . Santos, A. (2022). Structural Engineering of the Barrier Oxide Layer of Nanoporous Anodic Alumina for Iontronic Sensing. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 14(18), 21181-21197. DOI Scopus3 WoS3
2022	Lim, S. Y., Hedrich, C., Law, C. S., Abell, A. D., Blick, R. H., Furlan, K. P., . . . Santos, A. (2022). Nanoporous Anodic Alumina Photonic Crystals for Sunlight Harvesting Applications: A Perspective. Solar RRL, 6(10), 1-32. DOI Scopus1 WoS1
2022	Gunenthiran, S., Wang, J., Que Tran, H. N., Tran, K. N., Lim, S. Y., Law, C. S., . . . Santos, A. (2022). Engineering of Solid-State Random Lasing in Nanoporous Anodic Alumina Photonic Crystals. ACS Applied Nano Materials, 5(9), 12174-12188. DOI Scopus1 WoS1
2021	Lim, S. Y., Hedrich, C., Jiang, L., Law, S., Chirumamilla, M., Abell, A. D., . . . Santos, A. (2021). Harnessing Slow Light in Optoelectronically Engineered Nanoporous Photonic Crystals for Visible Light-Enhanced Photocatalysis. ACS Catalysis, 11(21), 12947-12962. DOI Scopus18 WoS18
2021	Liu, L., Lim, S. Y., Law, C. S., Acosta, L. K., Jin, B., Abell, A. D., . . . Santos, A. (2021). Optical engineering of nanoporous photonic crystals by Gaussian-like pulse anodization. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 312, 110770-1-110770-13. DOI Scopus7 WoS7
2021	Acosta, L. K., Law, S., Lim, S. Y., Abell, A. D., Marsal, L. F., & Santos, A. (2021). Role of spectral resonance features and surface chemistry in the optical sensitivity of light-confining nanoporous photonic crystals. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 13(12), 14394-14406. DOI Scopus6 WoS6 Europe PMC1
2020	Liu, L., Lim, S. Y., Law, C. S., Jin, B., Abell, A. D., Ni, G., & Santos, A. (2020). Engineering of broadband nanoporous semiconductor photonic crystals for visible-light-driven photocatalysis. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 12(52), 57079-57092. DOI Scopus13 WoS14 Europe PMC1
2020	Lim, S. Y., Law, C. S., Jiang, L., Acosta, L. K., Bachhuka, A., Marsal, L. F., . . . Santos, A. (2020). Enhancing forbidden light propagation in nanoporous anodic alumina gradient-index filters by alcohol additives. ACS Applied Nano Materials, 3(12), 12115-12129. DOI Scopus6 WoS6
2020	Acosta, L. K., Bertó-Roselló, F., Xifre-Perez, E., Law, C. S., Santos, A., Ferré-Borrull, J., & Marsal, L. F. (2020). Tunable nanoporous anodic alumina photonic crystals by Gaussian pulse anodization. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 12(17), 19778-19787. DOI Scopus22 WoS20 Europe PMC6
2020	Bachhuka, A., Madathiparambil Visalakshan, R., Law, S., Santos, A., Ebendorff-Heidepriem, H., Karnati, S., & Vasilev, K. (2020). Modulation of macrophages differentiation by nanoscale-engineered geometric and chemical features. ACS Applied Bio Materials, 3(3), 1496-1505. DOI Scopus7 Europe PMC2
2020	Lim, S. Y., Law, C. S., Bertó-Roselló, F., Liu, L., Markovic, M., Ferré-Borrull, J., . . . Santos, A. (2020). Tailor-engineered plasmonic single-lattices: harnessing localized surface plasmon resonances for visible-NIR light-enhanced photocatalysis. Catalysis Science and Technology, 10(10), 3195-3211. DOI Scopus9 WoS9
2020	Law, C. S., Lim, S. Y., Liu, L., Abell, A. D., Marsal, L. F., & Santos, A. (2020). Realization of high-quality optical nanoporous gradient-index filters by optimal combination of anodization conditions. Nanoscale, 12(17), 9404-9415. DOI Scopus17 WoS16 Europe PMC2
2019	Kaur, S., Law, C. S., Williamson, N. H., Kempson, I., Popat, A., Kumeria, T., & Santos, A. (2019). Environmental copper sensor based on polyethylenimine-functionalized nanoporous anodic alumina interferometers. Analytical Chemistry, 91(8), 5011-5020. DOI Scopus43 WoS38 Europe PMC7
2019	Lim, S. Y., Law, C. S., Markovic, M., Marsal, L. F., Voelcker, N. H., Abell, A. D., & Santos, A. (2019). Rational management of photons for enhanced photocatalysis in structurally-colored nanoporous anodic alumina photonic crystals. ACS Applied Energy Materials, 2(2), 1169-1184. DOI Scopus22 WoS23
2019	Lim, S. Y., Law, S., Liu, L., Markovic, M., Abell, A. D., & Santos, A. (2019). Integrating surface plasmon resonance and slow photon effects in nanoporous anodic alumina photonic crystals for photocatalysis. Catalysis Science and Technology, 9(12), 3158-3176. DOI Scopus21 WoS15
2019	Liu, L., Lim, S. Y., Law, C. S., Jin, B., Abell, A. D., Ni, G., & Santos, A. (2019). Light-confining semiconductor nanoporous anodic alumina optical microcavities for photocatalysis. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 7(39), 22514-22529. DOI Scopus21 WoS21
2019	Eckstein., Law, C. S., Lim, S. Y., Kaur, S., Kumeria, T., Ferré-Borrull, J., . . . Santos, A. (2019). Nanoporous photonic crystals with tailored surface chemistry for ionic copper sensing. Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 7(39), 12278-12289. DOI Scopus14 WoS13
2019	Lim, S. Y., Law, C. S., Liu, L., Markovic, M., Hedrich, C., Blick, R. H., . . . Santos, A. (2019). Electrochemical engineering of nanoporous materials for photocatalysis: fundamentals, advances, and perspectives. Catalysts, 9(12), 988-1-988-34. DOI Scopus13 WoS10
2018	Law, C., Lim, S., & Santos, A. (2018). On the precise tuning of optical filtering features in nanoporous anodic alumina distributed Bragg reflectors. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 1-16. DOI Scopus31 WoS31 Europe PMC4
2018	Lim, S., Law, C., Marsal, L., & Santos, A. (2018). Engineering of hybrid nanoporous anodic alumina photonic crystals by heterogeneous pulse anodization. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 9455-1-9455-16. DOI Scopus20 WoS24 Europe PMC3
2018	Lim, S., Law, C., Markovic, M., Kirby, J., Abell, A., & Santos, A. (2018). Engineering the slow photon effect in photoactive nanoporous anodic alumina gradient-index filters for photocatalysis. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 10(28), 24124-24136. DOI Scopus28 WoS28 Europe PMC5
2018	Law, C., Lim, S., Abell, A., Marsal, L., & Santos, A. (2018). Structural tailoring of nanoporous anodic alumina optical microcavities for enhanced resonant recirculation of light. Nanoscale, 10(29), 14139-14152. DOI Scopus24 WoS24 Europe PMC1
2018	Law, C., Lim, S., Abell, A., & Santos, A. (2018). Real-time binding monitoring between human blood proteins and heavy metal ions in nanoporous anodic alumina photonic crystals. Analytical Chemistry, 90(16), 10039-10048. DOI Scopus25 WoS25 Europe PMC5
2018	Law, C., Lim, S., Abell, A., Voelcker, N., & Santos, A. (2018). Nanoporous anodic alumina photonic crystals for optical chemo-and biosensing: fundamentals, advances, and perspectives. Nanomaterials, 8(10), 788-1-788-47. DOI Scopus51 WoS47 Europe PMC11
2018	Law, S., Lim, S., Macalincag, R., Abell, A. D., & Santos, A. (2018). Light-confining nanoporous anodic alumina microcavities by apodized stepwise pulse anodization. ACS Applied Nano Materials, 1(9), 4418-4434. DOI Scopus18 WoS19
2017	Law, C., Sylvia, G., Nemati, M., Yu, J., Losic, D., Abell, A., & Santos, A. (2017). Engineering of surface chemistry for enhanced sensitivity in nanoporous interferometric sensing platforms. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 9(10), 8929-8940. DOI Scopus28 WoS26 Europe PMC6
2017	Sukarno., Law, C., & Santos, A. (2017). Realisation and optical engineering of linear variable bandpass filters in nanoporous anodic alumina photonic crystals. Nanoscale, 9(22), 7541-7550. DOI Scopus19 WoS19 Europe PMC5
2016	Santos, A., Law, C., Pereira, T., & Losic, D. (2016). Nanoporous hard data: optical encoding of information within nanoporous anodic alumina photonic crystals. Nanoscale, 8(15), 8091-8100. DOI Scopus34 WoS33 Europe PMC7
2016	Nemati, M., Santos, A., Law, C., & Losic, D. (2016). Assessment of binding affinity between drugs and human serum albumin using nanoporous anodic alumina photonic crystals. Analytical Chemistry, 88(11), 5971-5980. DOI Scopus21 WoS21 Europe PMC7
2016	Law, C., Santos, A., Nemati, M., & Losic, D. (2016). Structural engineering of nanoporous anodic alumina photonic crystals by sawtooth-like pulse anodization. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 8(21), 13542-13554. DOI Scopus37 WoS38 Europe PMC10
2016	Santos, A., Pereira, T., Law, C., & Losic, D. (2016). Rational engineering of nanoporous anodic alumina optical bandpass filters. Nanoscale, 8(31), 14846-14857. DOI Scopus28 WoS28 Europe PMC9
2016	Santos, A., Law, C., Chin Lei, D., Pereira, T., & Losic, D. (2016). Fine tuning of optical signals in nanoporous anodic alumina photonic crystals by apodized sinusoidal pulse anodisation. Nanoscale, 8(43), 18360-18375. DOI Scopus34 WoS33 Europe PMC6
2015	Law, C., Santos, A., Kumeria, T., & Losic, D. (2015). Engineered therapeutic-releasing nanoporous anodic alumina-aluminum wires with extended release of therapeutics. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 7(6), 3846-3853. DOI Scopus16 WoS15 Europe PMC5

Book Chapters

Year	Citation
2020	Law, C. S., Marsal, L. F., & Santos, A. (2020). Electrochemically engineered nanoporous photonic crystal structures for optical sensing and biosensing. In C. M. Hussain (Ed.), Handbook of Nanomaterials in Analytical Chemistry: Modern Trends in Analysis (pp. 201-226). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. DOI Scopus11

Conference Papers

Year	Citation
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 Scopus2
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
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

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)

Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

Date	Role	Research Topic	Program	Degree Type	Student Load	Student Name
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
2021	Co-Supervisor	Harnessing Light–Matter Interactions in Nanoporous Photonic Crystal Structures for Gas Sensing	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Mr Khoa Tran
2020	Co-Supervisor	Engineering of Nanoporous Platform Materials for Sensing Applications	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Miss Juan Wang

Position: Research Associate
Phone: 83131260
Email: cherylsuwen.law@adelaide.edu.au
Campus: North Terrace
Building: Engineering North, floor 2
Org Unit: Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing

Dr Cheryl Suwen Law

Appointments

Awards and Achievements

Education

Research Interests

Journals

Book Chapters

Conference Papers

Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

Connect With Me

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