Mr. Thomas W. Loh
Details
College: School of Engineering
Department: School of Engineering
Campus: City Campus Australia
thomas.loh@rmit.edu.au
Open to
- Masters Research or PhD student supervision
- Media enquiries
- Membership of an advisory committee
About
Dr Thomas W. Loh is a Lecturer in the School of Engineering at RMIT University's Department of Civil & infrastructure Engineering. His research brings together materials engineering, aerospace engineering, fire safety, sustainability and the development of advanced materials for construction, residential and defence applications.
Tom is currently the principal research of RMIT's Innovative Fire and Facade Engineering Group. His work focuses on understanding how lightweight structural materials, polymer composites, construction products and emerging sustainable materials behave under fire and other demanding conditions.
His research impacts are demonstrated through his leadership in major industry projects and the commercial translation of engineering technologies. Through his involvement in multiple Cooperative Research Centres Projects, Tom contributed to the commercialisation of the recycled aggregate Polyrok® and served as a lead researcher in the design and assessment of ROBOVOID®, a recycled-plastic void-forming system used in concrete construction. He also contributed to the development of a pilot facility for recycling aluminium composite panel cladding waste.
Tom is currently leading research to establish Australia’s first pilot facility for recycling end-of-life wind turbine blades and develop the technology to detect and suppress lithium-ion battery fires in waste-collection vehicles. Together, this work supports safer, more sustainable waste management and materials-recovery pathways for the renewable-energy and resource-recovery sectors.
His broader research portfolio includes fire-safe composite materials, waste-derived construction products, fire performance of façades, fibre-reinforced polymer structures, engineered timber, alkali-activated materials, self-repairing composites and artificial-intelligence models for predicting material behaviour under fire exposure.
Industry Experience
Mechanical Engineer, Defence Science and Technology Group (2023 - 2024)
Awards and Professional Achievements
2024
Early Career Researcher Ignite Initiative by RMIT University
2025
Early Career Researcher Ignite Initiative by RMIT University
Blue Sky Research Grant by RMIT University
Challenge Waste (finalist) by The Waste & Recycling industry of Queensland
Research and Leadership Innovation Award (RMIT)
Teacher Award (RMIT)
2026
Teacher Award (RMIT)
Supervisor projects
- Sustainable Recycling of Wind Turbine Blades
- 20 Apr 2026
- Fire Performances of FRP Composites Under Extreme Weather Conditions
- 15 Aug 2024
- Engineering Performance of Waste Material Blended Alkali-activated Slag Concrete
- 1 Aug 2022
- A Novel Nanocomposite for Building Façades
- 15 Feb 2022
- Development of Geopolymers for bushfire safety
- 15 Nov 2021
Teaching interests
Supervisor interest areas:
- Fire behaviour and structural fire engineering
- Advanced composite materials and fibre-reinforced polymer systems
- Sustainable and fire-safe construction materials
- Circular-economy engineering and resource recovery
- Recycling and reuse of end-of-life renewable-energy infrastructure
- Lithium-ion battery hazards, fire detection and suppression
- Smart sensors and safety systems for infrastructure and waste-management applications
- Artificial intelligence and data-driven modelling of material performance
- Advanced manufacturing and product development using recovered materials
- Industry-led engineering design, research translation and commercialisation
- Experimental methods for evaluating materials under fire and extreme conditions
- Multidisciplinary engineering approaches to resilient, low-carbon infrastructure
Programs (https://www.rmit.edu.au/study-with-us/engineering/civil-engineering):
BH077 - Bachelor of Engineering (Civil and Infrastructure) (Honours)
MC257 - Master of Engineering (Civil Engineering)
