Farshid Pahlevani

Associate Professor Farshid Pahlevani is a process metallurgist and materials scientist advancing green metals, manufacturing resilience and future-ready industrial materials. His research helps metals, mining and manufacturing industries improve performance, reduce energy use and emissions, extend component life, and strengthen supply-chain resilience through industry-ready materials and process innovations. His work is grounded in process metallurgy, materials performance, steel and alloy manufacturing, surface engineering, high-temperature materials processing and industrial implementation. A key feature of his research is the qualification of strategic domestic feedstocks, including secondary, recovered and by-product materials, for use in real industrial systems. This positions these materials not only as environmental resources, but as inputs that can support sovereign manufacturing capability, lower-carbon production and a more resilient Australian industrial base. Since joining UNSW Sydney in 2015, Farshid has built a strongly industry-facing research portfolio with more than 160 UNSW-recorded research outputs, multiple international patents, substantial government and industry research funding, and technologies that have been licensed, commercially trialled or implemented with partners across the metals, mining and manufacturing sectors, including Molycop, Bradken, Bisalloy, Schlumberger, Nippon Steel and Aavid Thermalloy. His achievements have been recognised through national and international awards, including being named one of Australia’s Most Innovative Engineers in 2020. Farshid is also Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning in the UNSW Faculty of Science, where he is building new approaches to professional learning, microcredentials, industry education and public-facing science education. In this role, he is developing scalable lifelong learning pathways that connect UNSW Science expertise with the needs of professionals, teachers, industry, government and the wider community. He is also leading the development of a UNSW Science Teacher Professional Learning initiative in collaboration with the NSW Department of Education to strengthen STEM teacher capability and support curriculum implementation across NSW. Through his research, education and engagement, Farshid aims to position UNSW as a leader in green metals, future-ready manufacturing, strategic industrial materials and the translation of science into practical industrial and public benefit. Green metals and low-carbon manufacturing, Manufacturing resilience and future-ready manufacturing, Sovereign manufacturing capability and supply-chain resilience, Strategic domestic feedstocks for industry, Process metallurgy and industrial materials processing, Sustainable steel and metal manufacturing, Industrial decarbonisation and energy-efficient manufacturing, Materials performance in metals, mining and manufacturing, Component-life extension, wear resistance and durability, Surface engineering and functional surface treatments, Heat treatment, steel microstructure and alloy performance, High-temperature materials processing, Metal–ceramic interactions and metal–oxide interfaces, Casting, solidification and industrial process optimisation, Advanced materials processing and industrial materials innovation, Circular economy applications in metals and manufacturing, Qualification of recovered, secondary and by-product materials, Resource recovery and value-added industrial materials, Industry translation and commercialisation of materials technologies, Research–industry collaboration in metals, mining and manufacturing, Lifelong learning, microcredentials and professional learning in science, STEM teacher professional learning and science education innovation