Nicholas Bennett

Dr. Nicholas Bennett is an Associate Professor at the School of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Technology Sydney. His research focuses on solving thermal management challenges for space missions and defense applications through innovative phase-change materials, thermoelectric devices, and additive manufacturing techniques. Bennett led a satellite payload development project launched to low-Earth orbit in 2024 that established space heritage for novel thermal solutions.

• Education:
  • PhD, University of Surrey
  • MPhys, University of Warwick
  • PGCert Academic Practice, Heriot-Watt University

Research Interests:

• Thermal management under SWaP constraints (size, weight, power)
• Phase-change material heat sinks for electronics
• Hydrogen storage systems using metal hydrides
• Space instrumentation thermal regulation
• Additive manufacturing for heat exchanger optimization

Scientific Contributions: Recent work includes TPMS-based lattice heat sinks with 28% faster phase change, vacuum condition thermal control solutions with 66% temperature reduction, and laser defense thermal systems four times smaller than conventional models. His articles span thermal modeling, experimental validation, and system optimization for extreme environments.

• Scientific Awards:
  • Australian Space Awards - 'Academic of the Year' finalist (2024)
  • Australian Defence Industry Awards - 'Academic of the Year' finalist (2025)

Grants & Supervision: Currently supervising multiple PhD candidates through grants like Australia’s Economic Accelerator Seed Grant and SmartSat CRC funding. Past grants include EPSRC and Science Foundation Ireland support for thermoelectric research.