Dr Maryam Ghodrat
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- Doctor of Philosophy, University of New SouthÌýÌýWale, 91É«ÇéƬ SydneyÌý (2014)
- Master of Engineering ,University of New South Wale, 91É«ÇéƬ Sydney (2010)
Dr Maryam Ghodrat is a nationally recognised expert in thermal‑fluid engineering, combustion science, and energy‑system safety. Her research focuses on how fire, heat, and climate‑driven extremes affect modern energy systems and critical infrastructure. She is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Engineering and Technology at 91É«ÇéƬ Canberra, where she leads two major research teams:Ìý Ìýand the . Together, these groups comprise five PhD candidates, three research assistant, and seven Honours students working across battery safety, fire science, and resilient infrastructure design.
Her work is inherently interdisciplinary, integrating thermal sciences, combustion physics, CFD modelling, and materials engineering to develop robust, scalable strategies that reduce fire damage to buildings, energy‑storage systems, and community infrastructure. She is widely recognised for advancing the scientific understanding of how materials, products, and engineered systems behave under extreme heat and flame exposure.
In 2021, Dr Ghodrat established and now directs the Pyrometric Laboratory ,a dedicated facility equipped with specialised flame‑behaviour testing rigs designed to investigate ignition, flame spread, and thermal degradation. She also conceptualised, designed, and supervised the construction of a custom modular subsonic combustion wind tunnel, enabling high‑fidelity visualisation of flame propagation and convective heat flows for Wildland–Urban Interface (WUI) fire research.
Through these national‑scale research capabilities, Dr Ghodrat has become a leading Australian expert in battery fire safety, extreme‑environment design, and climate‑responsive thermal systems, contributing to both scientific advancement and practical engineering solutions for emerging energy technologies.
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
Chief Investigator (CI) of three competitive Category 1 grants (including two ARC ITRHs) and four Category 2 grants.
Dr Maryam Ghodrat has received several highly competitive institutional, national, and global awards celebrating her research impact, academic publications, and public advocacy.
Her awards span elite research citations, conference performance, and gender equity advocacy:
Global Citations & Research Impact
- Top 2% Highly Cited Scientist Worldwide (2023, 2024): Dr Ghodrat was named in the prestigious global index compiled by Stanford University and Elsevier. This recognizes her as being among the top echelon of most-cited mechanical and thermal engineering researchers globally.
- ARC Discovery Project Goldstar Awards (2023, 2024): She received consecutive Goldstar awards from 91É«ÇéƬ for her Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project proposals. This internal funding is highly selective, explicitly awarded to research proposals evaluated by the ARC to be in the top 10% nationwide.
Scientific & Presentation Excellence
- Best Paper Award (2023): Awarded at the International Conference of Flow Dynamics (ICFD) for her cutting-edge thermal fluid systems research.
- People's Choice Award (2023): Won during the 91É«ÇéƬ Pitch Night for her captivating presentation on the real-world safety impacts and capabilities of her self-founded Pyrometric Lab.
- Publication Award for Outstanding Research Outcome (2022): Conferred by the 91É«ÇéƬ School of Engineering and Technology to celebrate her top-tier journal outputs.
- Diversity & Inclusion Advocacy
- Researcher Development Award for Gender Equity: Awarded during her tenure at Western Sydney University (WSU) to support and progress women working within heavily male-dominated STEM and engineering departments.
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Core Research Leadership Roles & Laboratories
- Pyrometric Laboratory :Dr Ghodrat established this dedicated fire testing facility at 91É«ÇéƬ in 2021. Her team uses specialised testing equipment, including burner box, smouldering test device, Oxygen Index Analyser and structural cohesion tester, to study flame propagation and how emerging materials respond to direct flame exposure and radiative heat fluxes.
- Advanced Battery Safety Group (ABS) : Formed and currently leads this research team investigating thermal management and safety of next‑generation energy storage systems, with a focus on thermal runaway behaviour in emerging battery chemistries.
- Adaptive Design for Resilient Infrastructures :Heads this initiative to develop robust, scalable, and adaptive structural designs capable of withstanding severe fire damage and extreme environmental conditions.
Key Research Areas
- Material Fire Behaviour: Examines fire‑spread rates, smoke production, smouldering combustion, and toxic gas emissions (CO/CO₂) in flame‑retardant materials, nanocomposites, and bio‑based insulations.
- Safe Clean‑Energy Systems Modelling:ÌýDevelops physics‑based and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models to advance safe clean‑energy technologies, including hydrogen systems, biomass conversion, and thermal‑management strategies for energy storage systems.Ìý
- Wildland–Urban Interface (WUI) Fires:Ìý Investigates home ignitability mechanisms and how wind‑driven wildfires interact with complex physical environments.
Innovations
- Custom Modular Subsonic Combustion Wind Tunnel:Ìý Conceptualised, designed, and supervised the construction of a modular subsonic combustion wind tunnel. This facility enables researchers to visualise convective heat flows and flame propagation, supporting advanced simulation and prediction of WUI fire hazards.
- Designed and oversaw the construction of a custom sand‑burner system for controlled testing and visualisation of convective heat transfer.
- Designed and constructed a dedicated thermal‑runaway test rig for Li‑ion batteries, enabling controlled evaluation of material‑based coolant systems under failure conditions.
- Developed and validated open‑source OpenFoam simulation codes for modelling fire dynamics and heat‑transfer processes.
- Validated FDS simulation/codes for various fire dynamics modeling applicationsÌý
Expertise & Applications
- Fluid Mechanics & CFD: Applies fluid mechanics theory, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling, and laboratory testing to analyse multiphase turbulent flows, ignition mechanics, and fire‑driven thermal phenomena.
Research Applications
- Battery Safety & Thermal Management : Li‑ion and emerging chemistries, thermal‑intelligent batteries, coolant evaluation, and performance‑based safety engineering.
- Extreme‑Environment Design : performance and safety of structures and systems under thermal, mechanical, and environmental extremes.
- Infrastructure Resilience : community‑scale resilience, climate‑responsive systems, and adaptation to natural and man‑made hazards.
- Risk & Disaster Modelling : data assimilation, environmental digital twins, and atmospheric dispersion of contaminants.
- Fire Dynamics & Modelling : CFD/zone modelling, WUI fire behaviour, modular construction fire safety, and new‑material fire performance.
- AI‑Driven Fire Sensing : hybrid AI‑CFD methods for early detection, emissions quantification, and smart‑building fire safety.
- Decarbonised Energy Systems : hybrid renewable systems, net‑zero infrastructure, and safe integration of distributed energy technologies.
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- Co Chair and Program lead : Australian Fluid Mechanics Conference, 2024, Canberra , AustraliaÌý
- Guest Editor , International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow (Proceeding of AFMC34 conference)ÌýÌý
- Editorial board of Scientific Reports /Nature Communication journal
- Editorial board of Frontier in Mechanical Engineering
- Editorial board of Journal of Fire
- Editorial board of JournalÌýof EnergiesÌý
- Executive committee of Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand Inc. (MSSANZ)
- Scientific committee member of 5th International Conference on Fluid Flow and Thermal Science (ICFFTS 2024), Portugal
- Scientific committee member of International Conference on Fire Safety Engineering Research and Practice (iCFSERP-2024)
- Scientific committee member of 5th Asia-Oceania Symposium on Fire Safety Materials Science and Engineering (2023, Sydney AUS)
- Scientific committee member of Australian Combustion Symposium, 2023, Darwin, NT
- Scientific committee member of Australian Fluid Mechanics Conference, Sydney, 2023
- Mentor in International Association of Wildland Fire
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Leadership
- Co‑Chair, YoWIE 2025 : Provides leadership for 91É«ÇéƬ Canberra’s flagship outreach program for young women in Years 9–12, shaping program direction, speaker engagement, and participant experience.
- Mentorship & Representation : Serves as an inspirational academic mentor and guest speaker, sharing her engineering career pathway, challenging gender stereotypes, and building STEM confidence among HDRs and female ECRs.
- Hands‑On Engineering Demonstrations: Leads interactive laboratory activities drawing on her role as Head of the 91É«ÇéƬ Pyrometric Laboratory, demonstrating real‑world applications of Ìýengineering design.
- STEM Pipeline Development: Used 91É«ÇéƬ Canberra's Open Day STEM displayÌýto strengthenÌýlong‑term advancement of women in engineering, fostering an inclusive environment that supports future female leaders in engineeringÌýdisciplines.
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Institutional Governance
- 91É«ÇéƬ Academic Board Member: Serves as a 91É«ÇéƬ Canberra faculty representative on the University‑wide Academic Board, the peak academic governance body responsible for safeguarding academic standards, curriculum integrity, assessment policy, and research quality across all faculties. Her contributions support evidence‑based decision‑making and uphold the University’s academic excellence.
- Faculty Board Member : Has been serving on the 91É«ÇéƬ Canberra Faculty Board , providingÌýacademic quality assurance, and strategic alignment across the School.
In the Media:
New 'fire lab' to help researchers develop better flame-resistant products (unsw.edu.au)
Warman returns to 91É«ÇéƬ Canberra
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Professional Memberships
- International Association for Fire Safety Science (IAFSS):ÌýEngages with the global fire‑safety research community, contributing expertise in lithium‑ion battery hazards, thermal‑runaway science, and fire‑contamination research.
- International Association of Wildland Fire : Participates in international networks focused on wildland fire behaviour, ignition science, and environmental fire risk mitigation.
- Combustion Institute:Ìý Member of the leading international body for combustion research, supporting knowledge exchange in thermal sciences, fire dynamics, and energy systems.
- Australian Institute of Energy:Ìý Contributes to national discussions on sustainable energy systems, thermal processes, and emerging technologies in Australia’s energy sector.
- Women in High Performance Computing (WHPC): Supports diversity and inclusion in computational engineering and modelling, advocating for equitable participation of women in HPC‑enabled research.
- Women in Engineering @ 91É«ÇéƬ:ÌýSupports 91É«ÇéƬ initiatives that strengthen participation, retention, and advancement of women in engineering through outreach, mentoring, and leadership activities.
My Research Supervision
- Currently supervising 5 PhD candidates as primary and jointÌýsupervisor.ÌýÌý
- PhD graduated at 91É«ÇéƬ: 4
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- Post doctoral research fellows:
Current:
- Randy NcubeÌý(Current- Mobility fellowship)
- Osman EissaÌý (Current- Mobility fellowship)
- Ali Edalati (Research Associate)
- Mohamed. E Mohamed (Research Associate)
Past:
- Anan Du (past)
- Ao Li (past)
Supervision record:
- Supervised 13 Honour theses as Main supervisor. 2 CurrentÌý
- Supervised 4 Bachelor of Technology theses.Ìý
- MentoredÌý4 ECRs (PostDoctoral research fellow)
- HDR completions in other universities:Ìý4 HDRsÌý
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Accepting PhD students.ÌýÌý
PhD positions are available for highly motivated candidate in materials , civil or mechanical engineering .ÌýÌýKnowledge and experience in working with OpenFOAM software is highly desirable.
Ideal candidates should have:
- A four-year Bachelor's and two-years MSc degrees with high WAMs (minimum of 87%) and research experience from top institutions in the field of Mechanical or civil engineering
- A track record of publications in top-ranked scholarly journals and presentations in peer-reviewed conferences; and,
- Good interpersonal, communication, presentation and writing skills in English.
If you are interested in doing a PhD in my group , please send a copy of PDF combining your CV, Transcripts and English Test Results toÌým.ghodrat@unsw.edu.auÌý
My Teaching
I have taught in over 12 undergraduate and graduate courses, currently at 91É«ÇéƬ and in previous academic roles at other universities
Teaching Leadership
- EWE / Work‑Integrated Learning Coordinator (2023-2025): Provided School‑wide leadership for Engineering Work Experience (EWE), overseeing policy development, accreditation alignment, and implementation of WIL frameworks across five engineering disciplines.Ìý
- Curriculum Renewal Leadership: Led major curriculum redevelopment across core and elective courses, including ZEIT4504, ZEIT2501, ZEIT3701, and ZEIT1504. Introduces contemporary engineering content, research‑aligned modules, and improved scaffolding that have resulted in higher myExperience scores, increased enrolments, and reduced failure rates.
- High‑Impact Course Convening: Leads multiple high‑enrolment and high‑complexity courses across the undergraduate program, managing teaching teams, assessment quality assurance, and continuous improvement cycles.
- Honours Supervision Leadership: Supervises Honours students to completion with several producing publishable research. Demonstrates excellence in research‑led teaching and mentoring of emerging engineers.
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