Rate My Professor Grant Webber

Professor Grant Webber is a Professor in the School of Engineering at the University of Newcastle, Australia, specializing in Chemical Engineering as Head of Discipline since 2020. He earned his PhD, Bachelor of Mathematics, Bachelor of Science with Honours, and Bachelor of Science from the University of Newcastle. His academic career encompasses roles such as Assistant Dean Research Training in the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment from 2016 to 2020, Program Convenor and member of the Faculty Teaching and Learning Committee from 2011 to 2016, and Lecturer in the School of Engineering from 2007 to 2011. Prior to these, he held postdoctoral positions including Research Fellow at the Particulate Fluids Processing Centre, University of Melbourne (2005-2007), and at the Institute of Particle Science and Engineering, University of Leeds (2004-2005), where he was also Royal Academy of Engineering Anglo-Australian Post-Doctoral Research Fellow (2003-2004).

A mid-career chemical engineer, Webber investigates colloidal and interfacial phenomena to connect nanoscale behaviors with macroscale properties applicable to personal care products, pharmaceuticals, minerals processing, water treatment, and biomedical devices. His research employs neutron reflection, atomic force microscopy, ellipsometry, and computational methods, focusing on stimulus-responsive polymer brushes (supported by ARC Discovery Project DP110100041), specific ion effects (DP130102298, DP190100788), electrostatic liquid marble formation (DP170100578), and projects within the ARC Centre of Excellence for Enabling Eco-Efficient Beneficiation of Minerals. Key publications include 'Influence of molecular weight on PNIPAM brush modified colloidal silica particles' (Soft Matter, 2019), 'Physicochemical behaviour of cationic polyelectrolyte brushes' (Progress in Polymer Science, 2017), 'Influence of Anion Hydrophilicity on the Conformation of a Hydrophobic Weak Polyelectrolyte Brush' (Macromolecules, 2016), and 'Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) Response to Salt Concentration and Anion Identity: A Brush-on-Brush Study' (Langmuir, 2019). He contributes as Honorary Secretary of the Australasian Colloid and Interface Society, co-chaired the 7th Australian Symposium on Ionic Liquids (2016), and serves on faculty committees including the Faculty Research Committee (2010-2020).