Rate My Professor Matthew Cleary

Professor Matthew Cleary is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, at the University of Sydney. He earned a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering with First Class Honours from the University of Sydney (1993–1996), a Bachelor of Engineering in Naval Architecture from the University of New South Wales, and a PhD in Combustion from the University of Sydney. His career at the University of Sydney spans over two decades, including his current roles as Deputy Head (Research) of the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, Chief Investigator at the Defence-related Artificial Intelligence and Reasoning Systems (DARE) Centre, Director of the Australian Rocket Systems Training Network, and supervisor of the University of Sydney Rocketry Team since 2021, which secured victories in the International Rocket Engineering Competition in 2022. Cleary is a senior member of the Clean Combustion Research Group and leads the Data-Centric Engineering group as part of the Faculty of Engineering's Data Science Initiative.

Cleary's research focuses on computational models for turbulent combustion and multiphase fluid flows, with pioneering contributions including the development and application of the multiple mapping conditioning/large eddy simulation (MMC-LES) model for turbulent reacting flows. His work targets enhancing combustion engine performance and efficiency while minimizing fuel consumption and toxic pollutant emissions. Key applications encompass supersonic propulsion, rotating detonation engines, solid rocket motors, hybrid rocket motors, flame synthesis of nanoparticle materials, combustion inhibition in fires, and atmospheric aerosol generation for cloud seeding. He has attracted major funding, such as the $5 million ARC Industrial Training Centre for High-Speed Propulsion awarded in 2025. Cleary's scholarly impact is evidenced by over 70 publications and more than 1,500 citations, with notable papers including "Lagrangian particles with mixing. I. Simulating scalar transport" (Physics of Fluids, 2009) and "Lagrangian particles with mixing. II. Sparse-Lagrangian methods in application to turbulent combustion" (Physics of Fluids, 2009). He has received the 2025 University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in the Sydney Leaders category and is a Fellow of the Combustion Institute for advances in turbulent combustion modelling. Cleary serves on award committees for the Combustion Institute and delivers international seminars.