Dr Akshat Tanksale completed his PhD at The University of Queensland in 2008, followed by a postdoctoral position at UQ. Joining Monash University in 2011, Dr Tanksale leads the Catalysis for Green Chemicals group where his interest is in the field of heterogeneous catalysis for conversion of biomass to fuels and chemicals using nanomaterials. He has published over 35 peer review papers in high impact journals and has 4 patents. He has won numerous awards and fellowships, including the Caltex Award for Excellence in Chemical Engineering by the Australia and New Zealand Federation of Chemical Engineers.