Group Leader
William S. Y. Wong
Lecturer
School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering · University of Sydney
William S. Y. Wong is an incoming Lecturer in the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Sydney. His research spans interfacial engineering, surface chemistry, and their applications into chemical-free and energy-passive processes.
He received his B.Eng. (1st Class Hons.) in Chemical Engineering from the National University of Singapore and his Ph.D. in Materials Engineering and Applied Physics from the Australian National University in 2018. He subsequently held fellowship-funded research positions at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (Germany) and Aalto University (Finland). His work has been funded by Marie-Curie fellowships (ESR and IF) and by the Research Council of Finland (RCF). He was also (briefly) a staff scientist at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (Japan).
His group in Sydney investigates the fundamental and applied science of interfaces between gas, liquid, and solid phases — targeting applications in chemical process engineering.
Research Interests
The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
2026 – Present
Research Affliate and Incoming Lecturer
University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering. Group Leader of the Interfacial Chemical Engineering Laboratory.
2026 – 2026
Staff Scientist
Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Okinawa, Japan
Supporting the Droplet Laboratory (Dan Daniel).
2022 – 2026
Marie-Curie (IF) / Research Council of Finland Research Fellow
Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland
Independent PI (Department of Applied Physics). Host: Prof. Robin Ras.
2018 – 2022
Marie-Curie ESR Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany
Advisors: Prof. Dr. Doris Vollmer & Prof. Dr. Hans-Jürgen Butt.
2014 – 2018
Ph.D., Materials Engineering and Applied Physics
Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Advisors: Prof. Antonio Tricoli, Dr. Zbigniew Stachurski, Prof. Vincent Craig.
2009 – 2013
B.Eng., Chemical Engineering (1st Class Hons.)
National University of Singapore, Singapore
Faculty and Departmental Prizes for Research Excellence
Research Council of Finland Fellowship PI
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Independent Fellowship (IF) PI
Evaluation: 100/100, Top 1% of all proposals
Emerging Investigator Award — 17th International Conference of International Association of Colloid and Interface Scientists
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Early-Stage Researcher (ESR) Fellowship
ANU Discovery Translation Fund 2.0 (DTF238) PI
"Science as Art" Award — Materials Research Society
Graduate Student Award (Silver) with Travel Support — Materials Research Society
Treloar Prize for Best Oral Presentation — 36th Australasian Polymer Symposium
Australian National University Media and Outreach Awards
ANU Research Scholarship + HDR Merit Scholarship PI
NUS Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Prize
One of two awardees, Department of Engineering (>1,000 students)
Faculty of Engineering High Achievement Award (Innovation & Research)
Best project from the class of 2012/2013, ChBE, NUS
Durable and Transparent Self-Cleaning Surfaces through Hierarchical Interpenetrated Polymer Networks
Anti-Scratch Coating Composed of Two Interlocked Hybrid Polymer Networks with Chain-To-Particle Connection
Highly Adhesive Superhydrophobicity and the Ideal Rose Petal Effect
Collaborative R&D engagements on surface-enhanced process engineering and advanced coatings development.
Nanostratus
🇦🇺 Australia
Co-founder & Technological Consultant for Surface Engineering
Amphico
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Fluoro-free & Sustainable Surfaces for Waterproofed Textiles
Carl Zeiss
🇩🇪 Germany
Liquid Repellent Optical Surfaces
Airbus
🇩🇪 Germany
Anti-Icing Coatings
AB InBev
🇧🇪 Belgium
Anti-foaming Surfaces for Enhanced Food Processing
The Team
We are actively building the ICE Laboratory at the University of Sydney. Positions open for MSc, PhD students and postdoctoral researchers.
Dr. William S. Y. Wong
Lecturer & Group Leader