Max Lu
Max Lu AO, FAA, FTSE, FIChemE, FRSC | |
---|---|
逯高清 | |
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Surrey | |
Assumed office April 2016 | |
Preceded by | Sir Christopher Snowden |
Personal details | |
Born | 逯高清 "Lù Gāoqīng" November 8, 1963 |
Alma mater | University of Queensland (PhD) |
Gaoqing Max Lu AO, FAA, FTSE, DL, FIChemE, FRSC (Chinese: 逯高清; born 8 November 1963) is a Chinese–Australian chemical engineer and nanotechnologist. He is the current Vice-Chancellor of the University of Surrey. He is a Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researcher in both Materials Science and Chemistry.[1]
Early life and education
Lu was born in Tao An, in Jilin Province in northeastern China. He moved with his parents to Dongying, in Shangdong Province in eastern China in the early 1970s. He attended schools in Guangrao and did not start learning English until he entered university, when he was 16.[citation needed] He obtained his BEng in Metallurgical Engineering from Northeastern University, Shenyang in 1983.[citation needed] Two years later, he obtained a MEng in Thermal Engineering.[citation needed] At age 24, he won a scholarship from the University of Queensland to further his education at doctoral level,[citation needed] gaining his PhD in Chemical Engineering in 1991.
Career
Professor Lu lectured at Nanyang Technological University from 1991 to 1994, then held academic and leadership positions at the University of Queensland from 1994 to 2016. He began as a senior lecturer and ultimately became a chair professor. He founded the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Functional Nanomaterials and served as its inaugural director for 8 years.[2] He is a fellow of many Australian educational and research boards, and has sat on several committees of its government.[1]
Lu was previously the Provost and Senior Vice-President at the University of Queensland,[3] and is currently the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Surrey in Guildford, a position he has held since April 2016.[4][5]
In August 2017, Professor Lu was appointed by Prime Minister Theresa May to the Council for Science and Technology.[6]
Research and citations
This section needs additional citations for verification. |
Lu's contributions include work on nanoporous materials, nanocrystalline oxide photocatalysts and electrochemical materials. It focuses on the properties of these and how they can be used for energy conversion and storage.
Work he contributed to on Anatase photcatlysts was the first demonstration of non-metallic atoms acting as surface controlling agents to obtain highly active crystallographic facets. There are some uses of this discovery, including the controlled synthesis of single crystal oxides and potential applications in lowering water and air pollution.
Professor Lu has published over 500 peer-reviewed articles (h=116), attracting more than 55,400 citations (Scopus). He is co-inventor of more than 20 granted international patents.
Salary controversy
In 2018, Channel 4's Dispatches broadcast a report on the pay and expenses of British university officials, including revealing that Lu was given £1,600 to relocate his family dog. The University of Surrey responded by saying that this was "reasonable relocation expenses".[7] It was also reported that the university paid for Lu's membership to the elite Athenaeum Club, London, at £2,610 a year. The university claimed this was a "cost-effective" solution for Lu to have private meetings in London.[8] In an article about the documentary's findings, The Guardian listed various expenses but concluded that "Few, though, can beat the £1,600 spent on relocating a pet dog from Australia to Britain". Both the article and Robert Halfon compared the dog relocation expense to the "Duck Island" incident from a 2009 MP expense scandal.[9]
Also in the year, more controversy arose over Vice Chancellors' remuneration, with Lu among the highest paid in the UK. The university responded to the controversy by claiming that his pay had been overstated, and "insisted that the Office for Students should have stated the basic salary of [Lu] as £314,000 in 2017-18"; it had been stated as £364,000, with the Office for Students telling the Financial Times that "it was £364,000, including a £50,000 contribution to his pension".[10] Lu had taken a pay cut from his previous position in Australia when he moved to Surrey.[10]
The controversy reappeared in early 2019, specifically for Lu, when the University of Surrey announced that they would have to fire staff because of a deficit.[11][12] The university magazine, The Stag, published an article titled 'Paygate: The Problem with Surrey's Vice-Chancellor', in which it compared his "performance-related bonuses" to the university's actual performance.[13]
Recognitions
Australia
Lu has won the Australian Research Council (ARC) Federation Fellowship twice, in 2003 and 2008.[14][15]
In 2013, Lu was named one of Australia's Top 100 Most Influential Engineers,[16] and received a Queensland Greats Award.[17]
In 2014, he won the inaugural Australia-China Achievement Award for Education.[18]
In 2017 Lu was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to education and international research in the field of materials chemistry and nanotechnology, to engineering, and to Australia–China relations.[19][20]
United Kingdom
Lu has been appointed to the Boards of UKRI,[21] National Physical Laboratory, Universities UK and the Leadership Council of the National Centre for Universities and Business. He was also made a Deputy Lieutenant of Surrey[22] and is a patron of Transform Housing & Support.[23]
International
He has been honoured with numerous awards including 2001 Orica Award,[24] 2003 RK Murphy Medal,[25] 2002 Le Fevre Prize,[26] 2007 ExxonMobil Award,[24] 2011 China International Science and Technology Cooperation Award,[27] 2015 Japan Chemical Society Lecture Award,[28] 2011 Chemeca Medal,[24] and 2016 P.V. Danckwerts Lecture.[29]
Personal life
Professor Lu is married and has two children.[citation needed]
References
- ^ a b "Max Lu". Festival of Higher Education. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- ^ "About Nanomaterials Centre - Nanomaterials Centre - The University of Queensland, Australia". nanomac.uq.edu.au. Archived from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "University of Surrey appoints China-born nanotechnologist as next v-c". Times Higher Education (THE). Archived from the original on 30 March 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE)". atse.org.au. Archived from the original on 15 May 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "University of Surrey appoints Professor Max Lu as its Vice-Chancellor". University of Surrey - Guildford. Archived from the original on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "New members of the Council for Science and Technology confirmed - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 19 September 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Evans, Martin (25 February 2018). "University vice chancellors rack up £8 million in expenses, including claims for sticks of rock and 'pornstar' Martinis". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- ^ McKeon, Christopher (29 March 2018). "Uni paid vice-chancellor's £2,610 private members' club fee". getsurrey. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- ^ Doward, Jamie; Drevet, Laetitia (24 February 2018). "University vice-chancellors claimed almost £8m in expenses in two years". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Three top-paying universities cut vice-chancellor salaries". Financial Times. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
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(help) - ^ "University offers redundancy to all staff". BBC. 1 March 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- ^ "University that spent £1,600 relocating the vice-chancellor's dog warns of £15m deficit". The Independent. 1 March 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- ^ "Paygate: The Problem with Surrey's Vice-Chancellor". The Stag Surrey. 21 February 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- ^ "UQ celebrates success in Federation Fellowships". Archived from the original on 15 April 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
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suggested) (help) - ^ Anonymous (22 April 2008). "Top researchers awarded ARC Federation Fellowships". www.arc.gov.au. Archived from the original on 4 August 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Top 100 : 2013, Page 1". realviewtechnologies.com. Archived from the original on 15 April 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "2013 Queensland Greats recipients". Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Australia-China Achievement Awards - winners and finalists announced". Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Archived from the original on 12 April 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Officer (AO) in the General Division of the Order of Australia" (PDF). Australia Day 2017 Honours List. Governor-General of Australia. 26 January 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 November 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
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suggested) (help) - ^ "University of Surrey Vice-Chancellor awarded Officer in the general division of the Order of Australia". University of Surrey – Guildford. Archived from the original on 28 January 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Board Members - UK Research and Innovation". www.ukri.org. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ^ "Deputy Lieutenants". www.surreylieutenancy.org. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Transform Housing Patrons". Retrieved 15 April 2018.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b c "Previous Winners" (PDF). The Australian and New Zealand Federation of Chemical Engineers. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 April 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Past Officers and Award winners, Royal Australian Chemical Institute, 2017, p. 23, retrieved 15 April 2018
- ^ "Le Fèvre Medal - Australian Academy of Science". www.science.org.au. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "China Announces 2011 International Science and Technology Cooperation Award---Chinese Academy of Sciences". english.cas.cn. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
- ^ "Provost Max Lu honoured by The Chemical Society of Japan". Archived from the original on 14 April 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Chemical Engineering Science". Archived from the original on 15 April 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
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- 1963 births
- Living people
- Chinese academics
- Chinese engineers
- People associated with the University of Surrey
- University of Queensland faculty
- Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science
- Officers of the Order of Australia
- Deputy Lieutenants of Surrey
- Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
- Queensland Greats