Karen Hapgood

Professor Karen Hapgood is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research at Swinburne University of Technology. She leads research strategy and partnerships, with over 20 years of academic and industry experience in chemical engineering, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and minerals processing. Previously, she held leadership roles including Executive Dean at Deakin University's Faculty of Science Engineering and Built Environment, and Dean of Engineering at Deakin.

Education: PhD (Chemical Engineering) and BE (Chemical Engineering, First Class Honours) from the University of Queensland. She is a Fellow of ATSE, IChemE, RACI, and Engineers Australia, and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Research focuses on wet granulation, pharmaceutical formulation, additive manufacturing, and mineral processing. Notable grants include Australian Research Council projects on particle breakage modeling, powder inhaler design, and antisolvent vapor spray drying systems.

Awards highlight her expertise and leadership: Fellowships in multiple engineering societies, and recognition for advancing diversity in STEM. She actively supervises PhD research in pharmaceutical and materials engineering.