Dr Chi Phan is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at Curtin University, with over two decades of experience in research and consulting. With expertise in process simulation and interfacial phenomena, his research spans a range of applications in the water, chemical, mineral and resources industries.

Associate Professor Phan’s research has been supported by the Australian Research Council and the Australian Academy of Science. His pioneering experimental investigations into surfactant layers have also been supported by advanced neutron beamtime at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC). His commitment to sustainability has attracted research funding for the transformation of agricultural waste, including cashew nut shell liquid and rice straw, into value-added chemical resources. He has published more than 140 articles in international peer-reviewed scholarly journals. Since 2024, he has been recognised in the Elsevier/Stanford global list of the top 2% of scientists in the field of Chemical Physics.

Associate Professor Phan has led to the development of innovative theoretical models that provide deeper molecular-level insights into adsorption processes at air/liquid and liquid/liquid interfaces. A key contribution of his research group is the quantification of Laplace’s insensible distance, a fundamental concept in surface science. He has also played a key role in developing a theoretical framework for competitive co-adsorption at the air/water surface, providing a molecular basis for understanding century-old empirical observations and relationships, including Traube’s rule and the Szyszkowski–Langmuir adsorption equation. His contributions to advancing the molecular understanding of surface phenomena are consolidated in his recent book, "Where Water Meets Air: The Science of Surface Phenomena". CRC Press 2026. doi.org/10.1201/9781003656173

Associate Professor Phan has successfully supervised 16 PhD and 7 MPhil students to completion. He excels in teaching process simulation and modelling, sharing his extensive knowledge with engineering students and professionals. His contributions to academia include a textbook on Processing Engineering, "Numerical Calculations for Process Engineering Using Excel VBA.": CRC Press 2023. doi.org/10.1201/9781003364511