Professor Colin Raston

Professor of Clean Technology

College of Science and Engineering

place Physical Sciences (2005)
GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, South Australia
Professor Colin Raston FRACI CChem FRSC is a South Australia Premier's Professorial Research Fellow in Clean Technology. He completed a PhD under the guidance of Professor Allan White, and after postdoctoral studies with Professor Michael Lappert at the University of Sussex, he was appointed a lecturer at The University of Western Australia (1981) then to Chairs of Chemistry at Griffith University (1988), Monash University (1995), The University of Leeds (2001), and The University of Western Australia (2003). He is a former President, Queensland Branch President, and Chair of the Inorganic Division, the Royal Australian Chemical Institute. His current research covers clean technology and green chemistry, process intensification, nanotechnology and self-assembly, and is currently on the editorial advisory editorial boards of the journals Green Chemistry and RSC Advances (Royal Society of Chemistry), and on the editorial board of Crystal Growth and Design (American Chemical Society).
Qualifications
  • BSc (Hons) The University of Western Australia
  • PhD The University of Western Australia
  • DSc Griffith University
Honours, awards and grants

Awards

  • Australian Research Council (ARC) Senior Research Fellowship (1993 and 1998)
  • Burrows Award Inorganic Division Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) (1994)
  • Citation Queensland Branch RACI (1994)
  • HG Smith Award RACI (1996)
  • Green Chemistry Challenge Award RACI (2002)
  • Pacific Northwestern Inorganic Lecturer Award (2004)
  • ARC Australian Professorial Fellowship (2005 and 2010)
  • Leighton Memorial Medal RACI (2006)
  • Living Luminary, RACI (2011)
  • SAPremier's Professorial Research Fellow in Clean Technology (2013-2018)
  • 2015 Ig Nobel Prize in Chemistry
  • Appointment to the Office of the Order of Australia, 2016
  • Elected Fellow of the Australian Aacedemy of Science, 2018
  • 2018 RACI Applied Research Award
  • 2020 SA Scientist of the Year

Current and recent grants

  • ARCDiscovery, 2010-2014, C. L. Raston and F. Rosie (INRS, Montreal), 'Integrated approach to functional carbon based materials'.
  • NHMRC, L. Y. Lim and C. L.Raston, 2012-2014, ‘Phosphonatedcalixarenes for the targeted intracellular delivery of anticancer agents’.
  • ARC Linkage, C. L. Rastonand K. S. Iyer (UWA), 2012-2014, ‘Application of microfluidics in engineering functional noble-metal nano-materials’, with The Perth Mint.
  • ARC Linkage, C. L. Raston, C. Bond, S. Dunlop, K. S. Iyer (UWA), and F. Wood (Royal Perth Hospital), 2011-2013, ‘Processing pearl nacre for bio-nano-technology’, with Pearl Technologies.
  • ARC Discovery, C. L.Raston and K. Stubbs (UWA), 2013-2015 (UWA), ‘Controlling the organization of matterusing vortex fluidics’.
  • SA Premier’s ProfessorialResearch Fellow in Clean Technology, 2013-2018.
  • ARC Linkage, Wei Zhnag and C. L. Raston, (2015-2019) 'Application of Vortex Fluidics in Macroalgal Biorefinery'.
  • ARC Discovery, C. L. Raston (2017-2019) 'Structural diverse nanocarbon using continuous flow thin film microfluidics'.
  • ARC Discovery, C. L. Raston, J. Chalker, K. Stubbs and G. A. Weiss (2017-2019), 'Vortex fluidic mediated chemical transformations'.
Key responsibilities
  • Research and research training, and teaching
  • Advancing clean technology
Teaching interests
Clean technology, green chemistry, materials chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, inorganic and organometallic chemistry, spectrosopic techniques.
Topic lecturer
CHEM3702 Inorganic and Organometallic Chemistry
Supervisory interests
Chemistry
Clean technology
Interdisciplinary engineering and technology
Local drug delivery
Nanotechnology
Organic chemistry
Solar cells
Higher degree by research supervision
Current
Principal supervisor: Clean technolgy and green chemistry, materials chemistry, process intensification, microfluidics, supramolecular chemistry, drug delivery (5)
Completion
Principal supervisor: Clean technolgy and green chemistry, materials chemistry, process intensification, microfluidics, supramolecular chemistry, drug delivery, organometallic chemistry, main group chemistry (40)
Expert for media contact
Chemistry
Sustainability
Green chemistry and clean technology
Available for contact via
Or contact the media team
+61 8 82012092
0427 398 713
Media expertise
  • Chemistry
  • Sustainability
Interests
  • Green chemistry and clean technology
Further information

Earlier publications

  • See Scopus for C. L. Raston


Recent Patents

  • Processes for the Preparation of Phosphonated Calixarene Derivatives [Calixarene derivatives and process for the preparation thereof involving a high yielding protocol]. M. Makha, T. Clark, J. L. Atwood and C. L. Raston, US 2010/0185022. National Phase
  • Methods for Selectively Separating Carbon Nanotubes [Methods for selectively separating carbon nanotubes and calixarene complexes with carbon nanotubes, using phosphonated and sulfonated calixarenes]. C. L. Raston and L. J. Hubble, US 2010/0166624. National Phase
  • A Device and Methods for Fabrication and Use of Said Device [A drop casting technique is used to self-assemble material across as IDE, using an electrical response for then detecting gases]. C.L. Raston, K.S. Iyer, J. Watling, J. Zou. L.J. Hubble. PCT/AU/2010/000958 PCT.
  • Thin Film Tube Reactor [A variable angle rotating tube processor operating under continuous flow or batch conditions while maintaining turbulent flow]. C. L. Raston, PCT/AU2011/001168 National Phase patent WO2012034164 A3. US 2013/0289282.
  • Process for Producing Hydrogen from Hydrocarbons[Process for producing hydrogen from hydrocarbons, in particular for methane cracking]. H. T. Chua, L. Gao, C. L. Raston and A. Cornejo US 20120258374 US9783416B2.
  • A method for improving protein functionality using vortexing fluid shear forces. G. A. Weiss, C. L. Raston, T. Z. Yuan, C. Ormonde, and S. T. Kudlacek. PCT filed August 2014. US Provisional Patent 61/873,718 filed on September 4, 2013. PCT 2016-12-08US20160355545A1

  • Accelerating enzymatic catalysis using vortex fluidic processing. G. A. Weiss, J. Britton and C. L. Raston. Provisional Patent August, 2015. PCT/US2016/048437, 2016 WO2017035253A1.

  • Processes for controlling structure and/or properties of carbon and boron nanomaterials, C. L. Raston and K. Vimalanthan, Xuan Luo, B. S. B. Al Harbi, T. M. D. Alharbi, PCT Patent Application No. PCT/AU2017/00023.

  • Thin film vortex fluidic fabrication of liposomes C. L. Raston, Nikita Joseph and Michael Michael, Provisional paternt July 14th2017.

Cover illustration: Chem Commun 2012, 48, 3705 (pdf)

Cover illustration: Chem Commun 2013, 49, 1160 (jpg)

Cover illustration: Dalton Transactions 2011, 40, 10377 (pdf)

Cover illustration: Nanoscale 2012, 4, 2575 (pdf)

Cover illustration: Nanoscale, 2013, 5, 498 (jpg)

Cover illustration: Nanoscale, 2013, 5, 873 (jpg)