Rate My Professor David McKenzie

Professor David McKenzie is Professor of Materials Physics in the School of Physics, Faculty of Science, at the University of Sydney. He holds a BSc (Honours) and a PhD from the University of New South Wales. At the University of Sydney, where he has served as Professor since 1998, he has undertaken key leadership roles, including Director and Deputy Director of the Australian Key Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis. He is a Chief Investigator in the Centre for Quantum Computer Technology (CQCT) since its inception and manages the University of Sydney node of the Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology (CQC2T). Professor McKenzie is also a member of the School of Physics Research Strategy Committee for the Australian Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology (AINST).

His research centers on plasma physics and materials physics, with expertise in plasma immersion ion implantation, thin film deposition, and nanotechnology for applications in health, renewable energy, and sustainability. His laboratory is equipped with UV-IR ellipsometry, magnetron, RF plasma, and cathodic arc deposition systems, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), surface energy analysis, and infrared spectrometry. Professor McKenzie discovered tetrahedral amorphous carbon as a new structural form through microstructural investigations using electron energy loss spectroscopy and energy filtered electron diffraction. He directed research resulting in high-performance evacuated tubular solar collectors commercialized worldwide, including in Japan as the high-efficiency evacuated all-glass solar collector. In medical physics and biophysics, his innovations include FODTM for small field dosimetry and an air-cored light guide eliminating Cerenkov radiation from fiber optics used in implantable medical devices. Key publications include 'Evaluation of osseointegration of plasma treated polyaryletherketone maxillofacial implants' (2025), 'Emerging photovoltaics for onboard space applications' (2024), 'Reducing Voltage Loss via Dipole Tuning for Electron‐Transport in Efficient and Stable Perovskite‐Silicon Tandem Solar Cells' (2024), and 'Protecting Orthopaedic Implants from Infection: Antimicrobial Peptide Mel4 Is Non-Toxic to Bone Cells and Reduces Bacterial Colonisation When Bound to Plasma Ion-Implanted 3D-Printed PAEK Polymers' (2024). A special issue of Surface and Coatings Technology honors his lifetime achievements in plasma-based deposition and multifunctional coatings. His work has garnered over 4,162 citations.