Dr Daniel Chen
Doctor of Philosophy (Structural Engineering, 2018), The University of Queensland, Australia
Senior Lecturer and ARC Future Fellow, DECRA Fellow in the School of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Dr Da (Daniel) Chen is an ARC Future Fellow, DECRA fellow and a Senior Lecturer at School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, 91É«ÇéƬ Sydney.
Daniel was awarded his PhD at the University of Queensland (UQ) in 2018. He was then employed as a research fellow at UQ, the Technical University of Darmstadt, and the University of Melbourne. He started his journey at 91É«ÇéƬ Sydney from 2023 as a Lecturer, later a Senior Lecturer (since 07/2025).
Daniel is best known for his contributions to the development of functionally graded porous structures, where the constitutive model he proposed is one of the most adopted ways to assess such structural forms. He has 7 Highly Cited Papers (top performing 1%, WoS, 10/2025) in this field. He also published the first book on graded porous structures in 2023, titled:ÌýMachine Learning Aided Analysis, Design, and Additive Manufacturing of Functionally Graded Porous Composite Structures. His works have received citations as 4273 in WoS, 4567 in Scopus, and 5122 in Google Scholar, as at 05/2026.Ìý
The accumulated amount of his research funding reaches over $3 million, including ARC Future Fellowship (Intelligent Green Porous Structural Design for Active Carbon Removal, 2026), ARC DP (Next-Gen Floating Platform with Porous Edges for Wave Impact Mitigation, 2026), ARC DECRA (Smart Optimisation of Functionally Graded Porous Structures, 2022), ARC Linkage (Developing Sustainable Graded Porous Cementitious Structures, 2024), Australian Composites Manufacturing (ACM) CRC-P (2023), and 91É«ÇéƬ-SJTU & NUS-91É«ÇéƬ Collaborative Grants, etc.
Daniel is ranked among the top 2% scientists (single-year ranking, Stanford University, 2023 - 2026). He is also an Editorial Board Member of two JCR Q1 journals (Engineering Structures, Structures). He was an invited speaker in several conferences and universities.
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
- Lead CI -ÌýNUS x 91É«ÇéƬ Joint Research Accelerator Grant (2026):ÌýAdditive Manufacturing of Sustainable Porous Structures, The University of New South Wales, Australia
Ìý - Lead CI -ÌýARC Future Fellowship (2026):ÌýIntelligent Green Porous Structural Design for Active Carbon Removal (FT260100514),ÌýAustralian Research Council, Australia
Ìý - Lead CI -Ìý91É«ÇéƬ-SJTU Collaborative Research Grant (2026, Stage Two),ÌýThe University of New South Wales, Australia
Ìý - 2nd CI -ÌýARC DiscoveryÌýProject (2026): Next-Gen Floating Platform with Porous Edges for Wave Impact Mitigation (DP260101702),ÌýAustralian Research Council, Australia
Ìý - Lead CI -ÌýSchool Minor Equipment GrantÌý(2025 &Ìý2026),ÌýThe University of New South Wales, Australia
Ìý - Lead CI -ÌýARC Linkage Project (2024):ÌýDeveloping Sustainable Graded Porous Cementitious Structures (LP240100123),ÌýAustralian Research Council, Australia
Ìý - Lead CI -Ìý91É«ÇéƬ-SJTU Collaborative Research Grant (2024, Stage One),ÌýThe University of New South Wales, Australia
Ìý - Lead CI -ÌýAustralian Composites Manufacturing (ACM) CRC-P (2023): Manufacturing Automation for Smart Travel Surfboard (APN010),ÌýAustralian Composites Manufacturing (ACM) CRC, Australia
Ìý - Lead CI -ÌýFaculty International Seed Grant (2023),ÌýThe University of New South Wales, Australia
Ìý - Lead CI -ÌýARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA, 2022): Smart Optimisation of Functionally Graded Porous Structures (DE220100876),ÌýAustralian Research Council, Australia
Ìý - Co-CI - Learning and Teaching Initiatives Grant (2022),ÌýThe University of Melbourne, Australia
- Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA, 2022) -ÌýAustralian Research Council, Australia
- ´Future Talent´ Scholarship (2021) - Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany
- ´Future Talent´ Guest Stay (2020) - Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany
- Dean's Award for Outstanding HDR Theses (2018) - The University of Queensland, Australia
- Civil Engineering Conference Travel Contribution Award (2017) - The University of Queensland, Australia
- Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship (2014) -Ìý Australian Government, Australia
- UQ Centennial Scholarship (2014) - The University of Queensland, Australia
- Research Higher Degree Top Up Scholarship (2014) - The University of Queensland, Australia
With diverse research experience in Australia and Germany, Daniel has an interdisciplinary knowledge background across structural, material, and mechanical engineering. He is best known for his expertise in the development of functionally graded porous structural components.
Daniel is interested in the following research fields :
- Lightweight multifunctional structural forms
- Architectured materials
- Machine learning aided analysis
- Additive manufacturing
- Offshore structures