Suresh Bhargava

Distinguished Professor Suresh Bhargava AM is an internationally recognised scientist, innovator and global research leader whose career spans academia, industry and international engagement. He is recognised as one of RMIT’s globally influential leaders in translational research and international engagement, with contributions spanning advanced materials, industrial chemistry, critical minerals, sustainability, clean-energy technologies and Australia–India scientific collaboration.

Over more than 35 years, Professor Bhargava has played a leading role in strengthening Australia–India scientific, technological and industrial partnerships through collaboration with governments, industry and research organisations. His broader contributions to multiculturalism, social cohesion and Australia–India relations were formally recognised through his appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).

His Australia–India engagement has focused strongly on connecting RMIT University, and more broadly Australia and India, through science, technology, innovation and research collaboration. Over several decades, he has contributed significantly to advancing people-to-people engagement between the two nations, supporting the integration of multicultural communities within the framework of Australian values, education and civic participation. His work has established him as an influential bridge between Australia and India across science, education, industry and community engagement.

Professor Bhargava is the Founder and Director of the Centre for Advanced Materials and Industrial Chemistry (CAMIC) at RMIT University, a globally connected research centre recognised for innovation-driven and translational research. Under his leadership, CAMIC has evolved into a multidisciplinary platform that bridges fundamental science, industrial innovation and societal impact across critical minerals, catalysis, advanced materials, sustainability, additive manufacturing and molecular metal-based systems. Beyond research excellence, CAMIC has established a unique intellectual infrastructure that nurtures the next generation of scientific leaders, innovators and globally responsible citizens. Through strong integration of academia, industry and international collaboration, the Centre continues to drive technological advancement, research translation and global capacity building.

He is the architect of the landmark RMIT–AcSIR Research Partnership, internationally recognised as the “SB Model” of global research collaboration. The initiative established a strategic connection between RMIT University and India’s premier national research ecosystem, including the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and major industrial research laboratories.

The partnership has created large-scale opportunities for international research collaboration, advanced research training and global talent development, supporting more than 7,000 PhD researchers across over 70 Indian national and industrial laboratories. Recognised as an award-winning framework for transnational engagement and university–industry–government collaboration, the SB Model has influenced partnership approaches adopted by several Australian and international universities. 

Professor Bhargava has also made substantial contributions to the Australian resources, minerals and energy sectors over more than 35 years as a researcher, innovator and technology leader. His work has strengthened academia–industry engagement and contributed to technology development, sustainable processing, industrial innovation and fundamental scientific advances across the resources sector.

Throughout his career, he has collaborated with and advised major multinational organisations including Alcoa, BHP, Rio Tinto, ExxonMobil, Clean TeQ, Aditya Birla Group and QPM Energy. His contributions have led to process innovation, technology improvement and scientific advances in mineral processing, critical minerals, advanced materials and clean-energy technologies.

Professor Bhargava currently holds the title of QPM Professor of Critical Metals for Clean Energy, reflecting his leadership in critical minerals, sustainable technologies and the global clean-energy transition. He has also played an important role in strengthening Australia–India collaboration in clean energy and sustainability, including leading an Australian mission on green hydrogen technologies to India, which contributed to advancing strategic partnerships and research engagement between the two nations in the emerging clean-energy sector.

He is also recognised for pioneering research at the intersection of additive manufacturing and critical minerals, contributing to next-generation manufacturing technologies and sustainable industrial systems. His recent book on additive manufacturing for critical minerals is being translated into German, with growing international interest in additional language editions.

Professor Bhargava is the author of more than 900 highly cited scientific publications, with an h-index exceeding 96 and an i10-index of 533. While citation metrics often reflect influence within specific areas, his exceptionally high i10-index is particularly significant as it demonstrates the sustained global relevance, breadth and multidisciplinary recognition of a large body of scientific work spanning chemistry, materials science, engineering, critical minerals, sustainability and translational medical research. His sustained research impact and exceptionally high i10-index place him within the elite class of globally influential multidisciplinary scientists whose work continues to shape multiple fields of science and engineering.

Professor Bhargava’s research spans the complete metals value chain - from ore characterisation and mineral extraction to advanced alloys, nanomaterials and molecular metal chemistry for drug development. The breadth of this research trajectory, spanning resources, materials science and translational molecular chemistry, is rarely seen within a single scientific career and reflects his unique capacity and capability to adopt multidisciplinary approach to discovery and innovation.

His pioneering work on the molecular engineering of metals, including the discovery and stabilisation of unconventional oxidation states, has opened new directions in understanding their unique and previously unexplored physicochemical and functional properties. These discoveries are contributing to advances across catalysis, advanced materials, sustainability, clean-energy technologies and next-generation metallodrug development, helping shape new frontiers in modern metal chemistry that bridge fundamental science with industrial and biomedical applications.

Selected Awards and Recognition

• Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) Lifetime Distinguished Fellowship in Chemistry, 2025
• Cooperative Research Australia Excellence in Innovation Award – Lifetime Achievement for Industry–Research Collaboration, 2024
• RMIT Vice-Chancellor’s Research Excellence Award, 2024 (also awarded in 2014 and 2006)
• SASTRA–C.N.R. Rao Award, 2023
• RMIT Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Best Graduate Supervision, 2023
• Member of the Order of Australia (AM), 2022
• Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), UNESCO, 2022
• CHEMECA Medal, 2015
• INSA P.C. Ray Chair Award, 2014

Fellowships, Governance and Professional Recognition

• Elected Foreign Fellow, European Academy of Sciences (EurASc), 2026
• Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (FNAI), USA, 2025
• Fellow of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), 2023
• Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), UNESCO, 2022
• Foreign Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2020
• Honorary Member, Materials Research Society of India (MRSI), 2018
• Foreign Fellow, National Academy of Sciences India (FNASI), 2014
• Foreign Fellow, Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), 2013
• Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE), 2010
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), 2009
• Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (FRACI), 1992