Professor Ian O'Hara

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Program Lead - Green fuels

PhD (Queensland University of Technology), Master of Business Administration (Technology Management) (Deakin University), Bachelor of Engineering (University of Queensland)

Ian O'Hara is Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at QUT. Ian is widely recognised as a leading expert in policies, technologies and systems for developing the bioeconomy and producing bio-based products including biofuels, bioenergy and biomaterials. In addition to his academic role, Ian also represents the Queensland Government as the Biofutures Industry Envoy and acts as an ambassador for Queensland’s Biofutures industry and industrial biotechnology sector. As the Envoy, Ian provides strategic advice to government and assists in securing domestic and international investment to grow the Biofutures sector. Ian is on the International Advisory Committee of the Global Bioeconomy Summit and is a Senior Editor of EFB Bioeconomy Journal.

Ian led the development of the Mackay Renewable Biocommodities Pilot Plant (MRBPP) - a unique publicly accessible pilot scale research facility in Australia for the development and demonstration of processing technologies for the manufacture of biofuels and bioproducts. Ian is a Chemical Engineer with extensive experience in research, consulting, policy development, operations management, process design and engineering. Ian works closely with industry and undertakes consulting projects globally in areas including bioeconomy development, technology optimisation, techno-economics, business strategy and process improvement. Recent research has focussed on the technical and economic development of biofuel and bioproduct production systems including feedstock supply, bioprocessing technologies, techno-economics and systems analysis.

Ian is a Chief Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology and a Chief Investigator in the ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre in Bioplastics and Biocomposites. Ian's current research interests include:

  • bioeconomy
  • industrial biotechnology
  • biofuels and bioenergy
  • biorefining and biochemicals production
  • process engineering
  • pilot plant development, scale up and process demonstration
  • techno-economic assessment.

More information can be found on our research website: https://research.qut.edu.au/biorefining/.

Projects

Additional information

Type
Editorial Role for an Academic Journal
Reference year
2020
Details
Senior editor of EFB Bioeconomy Journal
Type
Keynote Speaker/Expert Panel Member/Invited Speaker for a Conference
Reference year
2020
Details
Invited Speaker - 1st Indo Asean Oceanic Business Summit & Expo. India (via zoom)
Type
Keynote Speaker/Expert Panel Member/Invited Speaker for a Conference
Reference year
2020
Details
Plenary speaker, Thai Institute of Chemical Engineers and Applied Chemistry Conference. Bangkok, Thailand - Via zoom
Type
Keynote Speaker/Expert Panel Member/Invited Speaker for a Conference
Reference year
2019
Details
Session chair, invited speaker, and conference co-organiser, Life Sciences Queensland. Asia Pacific Bioeconomy Policy Summit.
Type
Assessor, Examiner or Supervisor Role
Reference year
2018
Details
Judge at Energy Labs Hackathon
Type
Keynote Speaker/Expert Panel Member/Invited Speaker for a Conference
Reference year
2018
Details
Invited speaker, Panel session on synthetic biology. 7th International Yeast and Synthetic Genomes conference
Type
Advisor/Consultant for Industry
Reference year
2017
Details
Appointed as Co-Chair of the R&D Implementation Advisory Committee of the MLA Supply Chain Sustainability Program
Type
Appointment to Prestigious Positions
Reference year
2017
Details
International Advisory Committee - Global Bioeconomy Summit
Type
Appointment to State/National/International Reference Group or Government Committees
Reference year
2017
Details
Chair of the Biofutures Industry Advisory Committee
Type
Appointment to Prestigious Positions
Reference year
2016
Details
Queensland Biofutures Industry Envoy
Title
ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology
Primary fund type
CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID
CE200100029
Start year
2020
Keywords
Title
Biorefineries for Profit - Phase 2 (RnD4Profit 18-04-016 | 2019/902) (4207/4395)
Primary fund type
CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID
4-BA20OPM
Start year
2019
Keywords
Agriculture; Bioproducts; Biorefinery; Diversification; Value Chain
Title
Cost Effective Renewable Hydrogen through Materials, Modelling and Process Innovation
Primary fund type
CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID
MG030
Start year
2018
Keywords
Battery and Solar Power; Hydrogen Production; Microgrid Integration; Renewable Energy; Water Electrolysis
Title
Wastes to Profits: Value Propositions for Better Management of Wastes in Animal Industry Supply Chains (4303)
Primary fund type
CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID
V.RDP.3010
Start year
2018
Keywords
Title
A profitable future for Australian agriculture: Biorefineries for higher-value animal feeds, chemicals, and fuels (RnD4Profit 14-01-044) (4207)
Primary fund type
CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID
2015/902
Start year
2016
Keywords
Agriculture; Bioproducts; Biorefinery; Diversification; Value Chain
Title
Integrated technologies for economically sustainable bio-based energy(Grand Challenges)
Primary fund type
CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID
GCF020010
Start year
2013
Keywords
Biomass; Biofuel; Biorefinery; Ethanol; Alkanes; Lignin
Title
Revenue diversification from sugarcane fibre: novel technologies for the processing of bagasse for low-cost biofuels production
Primary fund type
CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID
QUT051
Start year
2011
Keywords
Pretreatment; Biofuels; Ethanol
Title
Developing a New Renewable Fuel and Food Industry in Australia: Sweet Sorghum
Primary fund type
CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
Project ID
PRJ-005254
Start year
2010
Keywords
Sweet Sorghum; Milling; Biofuels; Ethanol; Food; Fermentation