Ken Aldren S. Usman

I am currently a PhD candidate at the Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM), Deakin University under the supervision of Prof. Joselito M. Razal, the incumbent Director of the Research Hub for Functional and Sustainable Fibres (Australian Research Council). Prior to joining Deakin, I have received my Bachelor's and Master's degrees (in Chemistry) from the University of the Philippines (UP) in 2013 and 2018, respectively. My PhD work focuses on developing “MXene”-based composite fibers, which is considered among the most-studied nanomaterials in the past years, for their application in multiple fields such as energy storage, structural composites, environmental remediation and nanomedicine.

I have authored/co-authored 34 research articles, including 9 first-authored journal articles, 3 first-authored review articles and 2 articles as corresponding author. At the end of 2021, I received the “Excellence in Research Award” during IFM Staff and HDR Awards as a result of my outstanding research outcomes during that year.

As one of the seniors, I was assigned as the Student Representative, for our institute’s Education and Training Sub-committee, where I primarily represent IFM’s PhD students in committee meetings. This position also allowed me to get involved in creating policies and training program dedicated for developing and overseeing a younger generation of IFM students.

Currently, I am working as a Research Assistant for a venture funded by Humble Bee Bio New Zealand (HBB), Sustainability Victoria, in partnership with Deakin University, which aims to develop bee's nest-inspired alternative coatings as replacement to current hazardous water-repellent chemicals used by the global textiles and apparel industries.