Edith Cowan University's Professor Hongqi Sun has been recognised as one of the world's leading researchers in his field for the third year in a row.
As in 2019 and 2020, Professor Sun was named on Clarivate's Highly Cited Researchers list, which identifies and acknowledges the most influential research scientists across the globe who have produced multiple highly cited papers which rank in the top 1 per cent of citations in their field.
He is one of just 169 researchers across all engineering disciplines to make the cut, putting him among the top 0.1 per cent of researchers worldwide.
Professor Sun has been an author on more than 30 ESI highly cited papers and is internationally recognised for his expertise in chemical engineering.
His work includes using nanotechnology to repair environmental damage and drive solar-to-chemical conversion for green hydrogen energy and using tiny filters thousands of times thinner than a human hair to clean microplastics and pharmaceuticals from drinking water.
Professor Sun said he was humbled by the recognition.
"It is an honour, not just for me but a group of amazing researchers including my collaborators and my past and current HDR students," he said.
"I've been very fortunate to meet these talented people and work together on some really exciting projects.
"I acknowledge the Vice-Chancellor's Professorial Research Fellowship, which offered me the great opportunity to advance my research at ECU.
"Awards and recognitions are just wildflowers on the side of the road: my passion is driving towards future energy and environment sustainability by using cool science."
ECU Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Caroline Finch said Professor Sun's recognition was thoroughly deserved.
"This is a great example of the world-class research being conducted at ECU," she said.
"We pride ourselves on the impact of our research, and Professor Sun's work is helping us achieve our goal of creating meaningful change in the world."