Ravichandar Babarao

Associate Professor Ravichandar Babarao is affiliated with RMIT University's School of Science, where he holds an Associate Professorship. He also serves as a Visiting Scientist at CSIRO Manufacturing. His research focuses on porous materials, including metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and 2D materials, targeting applications in carbon capture, energy storage, and environmental remediation. His work aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals such as Affordable and Clean Energy (7), Climate Action (13), and Clean Water and Sanitation (6).

• Education: PhD in Environmental and Sustainability Research (2010), recognized with the Outstanding PhD Thesis Award (World Future Foundation).
• Teaching: Coordinates Applied Science Project courses and teaches Chemistry Principles and Nanotechnology subjects.

His research interests include condensed matter physics, materials engineering, and computational chemistry. Notable projects involve designing functional nanostructures for electrocatalytic reactions, porous materials for CO₂ capture, and high-throughput simulation combined with machine learning for materials discovery. He leads the Porous Materials Group and collaborates internationally, including at TU Dresden (Germany) through the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship.

Dr. Babarao has received over 14 prestigious awards, including the 2015 ProsPER.net Scopus Young Scientist Award and the 2016 DECRA Fellowship. His media features highlight breakthroughs like NCI's Best of 2015 recognition for functionalized MOFs in hydrocarbon separation.

Advising & Grants: Supervises PhD/Masters projects on topics like CO₂ capture materials, electrocatalysts, and battery electrode design. His grants include Australia-India Council funding and CSIRO collaborations.

Labs/Teams: Heads the Porous Materials Group at RMIT and collaborates with CSIRO on manufacturing innovations.