doctorate of education unsw

Associate Professor Shiyang Tang

Scientia Associate Professor and ARC Future Fellow School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, UNSW Sydney

I received my BEng (1st-class honours) in Electrical Engineering and PhD in Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University), Australia, in 2012 and 2015, respectively. I then conducted postdoctoral research at the Pennsylvania State University (PSU) and the University of... view more

I received my BEng (1st-class honours) in Electrical Engineering and PhD in Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University), Australia, in 2012 and 2015, respectively. I then conducted postdoctoral research at the Pennsylvania State University (PSU) and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in the USA. Before joining UNSW, I was an Associate Professor in the School of Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton and a Lecturer (2020-2023) in the School of Engineering at the University of Birmingham, UK. Prior to my time in the UK, I served as a Vice-Chancellor's Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Wollongong (2017-2019), Australia.

I have published over 120 papers in high-impact journals, including PNAS , Nature Communications , Science Advances , Matter , and Advanced Materials . I am the Associate Editor of the Journal of Nanobiotechnology and Nonlinear Engineering , and serve on the Editorial Board of MetalMat , Sensors , Scientific Reports , and Health Nanotechnology .

• ​ Future Fellowship , Australian Research Council, Sole Chief Investigator, 2023-2026, $826,390 AUD
• International Exchanges Grant , Royal Society, United Kingdom, Sole Principal Investigator, 2021-2023, £11,800 GBP
• Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA), Australian Research Council, Sole Chief Investigator, 2021-2023, $355,000 AUD
• Standard Research Grant , Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (​EPSRC), United Kingdom, Co-investigator, 2021-2023, £446,110 GBP
• Discovery Project Grant , Australian Research Council, Co-Chief Investigator, 2020-2022, $420,000 AUD
• Major Equipment Grants , University of Wollongong, Co-Investigator, 2019, $139,178 AUD
• University Internationalisation Committee Grant , University of Wollongong, Sole Chief Investigator, 2018, $5000 AUD
• Start-up Funding for New Academics , University of Wollongong, Sole Chief Investigator, 2017, $5000 AUD
• Vice-Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Fellowship , University of Wollongong, Sole Chief Investigator, 2017-2020, $400,000 AUD (ranked among top 6 out of ~200 applicants)
• Higher Degree by Research Publications Grant (HDRPG), RMIT University, Sole Chief Investigator, 2015, $6000 AUD

My Qualifications

• Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education, University of Birmingham, UK, 2021-2022
• Doctor of Philosophy (Microelectromechanical Systems), RMIT University, Australia, 2012-2015
• Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical), First-Class Honours, GPA 4/4, RMIT University, Australia, 2008-2012
• Awarded the 2023 Emerging Leader Award in Smart Materials and Structures , Institute of Physics, UK
• Accredited as a Chartered Engineer (CEng) by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), UK, in 2023
• Awarded the  Fellowship of the HEA (FHEA) by the Advance HE, UK, in 2022
• Selected as the 2021 Wiley Advanced Science Rising Star
• Awarded the Vice-Chancellor’s HDR Publication Excellence Award 2015, RMIT University (ranked NO. 1 among all PhD candidates)
• Awarded the RMIT University School of Electrical and Computer Engineering Research Media Star 2013
• Awarded the Vice-Chancellor’s List Award 2012, RMIT University (ranked among the top 1% of all UG students)

My Research Activities

My research group primarily focuses on exploring and developing Soft Intelligent Systems for applications in robotics, advanced manufacturing, and biomedical devices. We are interested in interdisciplinary problems that involve smart materials, electromechanical systems, microfluidics, machine learning, electronics, and nanotechnologies. We aspire to engineer useful devices through the investigation of the fundamental properties of materials.

Areas of Interest​

• Liquid metal
• Soft robotics
• Intelligent microfluidics
• Biomedical microdevices

My Research Supervision

Areas of supervision.

• Smart materials for applications in robotics, advanced manufacturing, and medical devices
• Intelligent microfluidics for point-of-care biosensing

My Teaching

Previously taught modules:

• Telerobotics, Telepresence and Augmented Reality  (module content: kinematics, statics, and dynamics of robotics; MEMS sensors and actuators; Python programming; machine learning; augmented reality)
• Advanced Mechatronic Design (module content: design, prototype, build, and test mechatronic systems; fundamental and applications of neural networks; academic journal paper writing)
• Micro/Nano Robotic Systems (module content: mechanics of materials; microfabrication; electrostatic/thermal/piezoelectric/piezoresistive/magnetic sensing and actuation; microfluidics)
• Electromagnetics (module content: vector calculus; electrostatics; magnetostatics; Maxwell's equations under time-varying fields; sensors)

Related Links

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The Vice-Chancellor and his strong bond with UNSW Chemistry and Engineering

Professor Attila Brungs, the Vice-Chancellor and President of UNSW, is a proud alumnus who graduated as the university medallist for Industrial Chemistry in 1995.

Growing up in Sydney, Prof. Brungs came to UNSW following in the footsteps of his mother, a UNSW Science graduate and his father, also a UNSW graduate and respected staff member in the materials science, chemistry and engineering community. His father spent most of his academic career at UNSW and was a head of school for many years. Three of Prof. Brungs’ siblings also studied at UNSW.

After finishing his studies at UNSW, Prof. Brungs was selected as a Rhodes Scholar and went to Oxford with a strong vision for how he wanted to use his education and opportunities to contribute in the future.

Writing for University publication ‘The Link’ in 1994, he said he wanted to “use the knowledge gained and experiences I have had abroad to promote the cause of science in Australian industry.”

He was awarded his PhD in inorganic chemistry in 1998 for a thesis on transforming waste CO2 with methane into clean hydrogen, using transition metal carbides. The aim being to both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and develop alternative fuel pathways.

Prof. Brungs always felt a need to return to Australia. In 1993 he had said “the most common species overseas is the Australian scientist who couldn’t get funding at home…I’d like to contribute to make a difference in the long term by working in the industry and from a policy point of view.” He did indeed return home.

After an early career step with consultant group McKinsey, Prof. Brungs started working for the CSIRO, Australia’s government agency responsible for scientific research. He was promoted to the role of General Manager for Science Investment, Strategy and Performance.

His return to tertiary education, starting at University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in 2009, continued this mission to be a champion for Australian research but enabled a broader focus into his other passions of education and innovation. He was appointed the university’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Research), giving him general oversight of its higher degree studies and commercialisation opportunities. He went on lead UTS as Vice-Chancellor in 2014.

In 2022, Prof. Brungs found himself back where he started, becoming the 10th Vice-Chancellor and President of his alma mater.

Under Prof. Brungs’ leadership, UNSW continues to be the biggest and best university in Australia for Engineering . This is backed by being consistently ranked number one in the subject by the QS World University Rankings.

Appointed as a fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering in 2018, the prestigious organisation recognised him for playing a major role in “building Australia’s higher education and innovation profile overseas, alongside improving collaboration between industry, universities and government.”

Looking ahead to the challenges in today’s world that engineers and scientists like him are called on to solve, Prof. Brungs says his current job is to create the best environment, support structures and networks to enable our bright and talented students and academics to soar unencumbered, to have big dreams, big aspirations and to transform the world around them.

“For 75 years since our founding in1949, Engineering at UNSW has driven progress for all. It is a testament to our incredible community over this time that we have stayed true to our mission, ensuring access to excellent learning and teaching, and using our research and skills to tackle significant challenges facing NSW, Australia and more recently the globe. To see the outstanding engineering and science disciplines that nurtured and challenged me as a student grow and transform so quickly into one of the world’s greatest Engineering schools has been fantastic to watch. I was proud to be a member of the UNSW community as a student and even more proud now to be a staff member of this great UNSW community.”