Overview
Key publications
Research funding
Supervising & teaching
Career
Section: Overview
Overview
Key publications
Research funding
Supervising & teaching
Career

Key details

Areas of expertise

  • Organic/polymer syntheses and characterisation
  • Combustion chemistry and toxicity
  • Chemical modification of polymers to confer flame retardance
  • Recycling of plastics and cellulosic materials; energy from waste; greener technologies
  • Combustion of ligno-cellulosic materials and bush fire

Available to supervise research students

Available for media queries

About Paul Joseph

Paul is a chemist specialising in polymer science and combustion chemistry, with more than 20 years of research experience. He has an international reputation in the field of polymer/material science, with a track record of publishing research and securing external and internal research funding.

After obtaining his PhD in Polymer Science from Lancaster University, UK, Paul worked at Lancaster and Sheffield Universities as a Research Associate in area of polymer science before taking up a research fellowship at University of Ulster, UK. Subsequently, he was promoted to Lecturer, and then Senior Lecturer, before securing the current position of Associate Professor in Material Science at Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.

Paul has obtained external research funding from highly competitive sources, including the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), UK. While at Sheffield University, he was instrumental in attracting two EPSRC grants (a total of £225,627), and at Ulster Paul was the principal investigator in an EPSRC project, both in the area of functional polymeric materials (£320,000). He was also lead academic supervisor for a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) project worth £107,000, relating to devising environmentally-friendly means of removing unspent polymeric products from components of injection moulding machines. In addition, Paul was a co-investigator on another EPSRC program (£970,514), that investigated the integrated safety strategies for on-board hydrogen storage systems. While at Ulster he also attracted various small- to medium-size grants through internal bids (totalling about £70,000).

Since joining Victoria University, he has secured the following research grants:

  • VU Industrial Postdoctoral Fellowship with the Defence Science and Technology Group: 'Experimental and numerical investigations on the efficacy of water mist systems for active suppression of fires involving lithium-ion batteries in enclosure', AUD $350,000 (2017- 2020)
  • Victoria University Research Infrastructure Grant Scheme: 'Fire Emissions Mitigation System (FEMS)', AUD $300,000 (2016-2017)
  • Victoria University Capital Expenditure Grant: 'Pyrolysis Combustion Flow Calorimeter (PCFC)',  AUD $50,000 (2015).

 

To date, Paul has co-authored about 120 research outputs, including 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and nine invited book chapters. He has been actively involved in research students’ supervision at four different universities dotted across the world. Currently, he supervises four PhD programs at Victoria University.

Qualifications

  • PhD (Polymer Science), Lancaster University, UK
  • MSc (Hydrogen Safety Engineering), Ulster University, UK
  • PgCHEP, Ulster University, UK
  • MSc (Applied Chemistry), Cochin University, India
  • BSc (Chemistry), Kerala University India

Key publications

Year Citation
2019 Burch, I., Ghiji, M., Gamble, G., Suendermann, B., Joseph, P., Moinuddin, K., & Novozhilov, V. (190101). Lithium-ion battery fire suppression in submarine battery compartments Paper presented at RINA, Royal Institution of Naval Architects - IMC 2019: Pacific International Maritime Conference.

Year Citation
2020 Baby, A., Tretsiakova-McNally, S., Arun, M., Joseph, P., & Zhang, J. (200819). Reactive and Additive Modifications of Styrenic Polymers with Phosphorus-Containing Compounds and Their Effects on Fire Retardance. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 25(17),

doi: 10.3390/molecules25173779
2020 Thomas, A., Moinuddin, K., Tretsiakova-McNally, S., & Joseph, P. (200801). A kinetic analysis of the thermal degradation behaviours of some bio-based substrates. Polymers, 12(8),

doi: 10.3390/POLYM12081830
2020 Thomas, A., Arun, M., Moinuddin, K., & Joseph, P. (200801). Mechanistic aspects of condensed- and gaseous-phase activities of some phosphorus-containing fire retardants. Polymers, 12(8),

doi: 10.3390/polym12081801
2020 Anpalagan, K. K., Karakkat, J. V., Truskewycz, A., Saedi, A. A., Joseph, P., Apostolopoulos, V., Nurgali, K., Cole, I., Cai, Z., & Lai, D. TH. (200801). Bioimaging of c2c12 muscle myoblasts using fluorescent carbon quantum dots synthesized from bread. Nanomaterials, 10(8), (1-13).

doi: 10.3390/nano10081575
2020 Thomas, A., Joseph, P., Moinuddin, K., Zhu, H., & Tretsiakova-McNally, S. TMAU. (200301). Thermal and calorimetric evaluations of some chemically modified carbohydrate-based substrates with phosphorus-containing groups. Polymers, 12(3),

doi: 10.3390/polym12030588
2020 Tan, S., Weinert, D., Joseph, P., & Moinuddin, K. AM. (200101). Incorporation of technical, human and organizational risks in a dynamic probabilistic fire risk model for high-rise residential buildings. Fire and Materials,

doi: 10.1002/fam.2872
2020 Thomas, A., Moinuddin, K., Zhu, H., & Joseph, P. (200101). Passive fire protection of wood using some bio-derived fire retardants. Fire Safety Journal,

doi: 10.1016/j.firesaf.2020.103074
2019 Solorzano, J. AP., Moinuddin, K. AM., Tretsiakova-McNally, S., & Joseph, P. (191101). A study of the thermal degradation and combustion characteristics of some materials commonly used in the construction sector. Polymers, 11(11),

doi: 10.3390/polym11111833
2019 Ghiji, M., Goldsworthy, L., Garaniya, V., Brandner, P. A., Hield, P., Novozhilov, V., Moinuddin, K., & Joseph, P. (190401). Effect of residual air bubbles on diesel spray structure at the start of injection. Fuel, 241 (25-32).

doi: 10.1016/j.fuel.2018.12.013

Research funding for the past 5 years

Please note:

  • Funding is ordered by the year the project commenced and may continue over several years.
  • Funding amounts for contact research are not disclosed to maintain commercial confidentiality.
  • The order of investigators is not indicative of the role they played in the research project.

Review and report on a document from Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB).
From: Australian Building Codes Board
For period: 2017-2017
 $8,661
Review and report on a document from Australian Fire and Rescue New South Wales (FRNSW).
From: Fire & Rescue NSW
For period: 2017-2017
 $8,672
Experimental and numerical investigations on the efficacy of water mist systems for active suppression of fires involving lithium-ion batteries in enclosures.
From: Defence Science and Technology Organisation, Australia
Investigators: Prof Khalid Moinuddin, Prof Vassili Novozhilov
For period: 2017-2020
 $263,065

Calibrating EPA Particle Monitors (CALPAM)
From: Environment Protection Authority Victoria
Investigators: Prof Vassili Novozhilov
For period: 2016-2016
 Not disclosed

Supervision of research students at VU

Available to supervise research students

Available for media queries

Currently supervised research students at VU

No. of students Study level Role
3 PhD Principal supervisor
1 PhD Associate supervisor

Currently supervised research students at VU

Students & level Role
PhD (3) Principal supervisor
PhD (1) Associate supervisor

Careers

Details of this Researcher's career are currently unavailable.