December 12, 2018

From humble beginnings to Vice-Chancellor of world-class university

Professor Max Lu reflects on his path to academia after receiving honorary doctorate

Professor Max Lu is a world-class chemical engineer and nanotechnologist, Vice-Chancellor of one of the United Kingdom’s best universities, a Member of the Order of Australia, and a highly cited academic.

Yet when asked to consider his greatest achievement during his esteemed career, Professor Lu points to the next generation of students and researchers he has nurtured on their own paths to success.

It is an insight into the mind of Professor Lu, who has maintained his passion for helping others and for the power of education as he has risen into top academic and leadership positions around the world.

“My greatest achievement is teaching hundreds of students who have gone on to make a significant contribution to society. And also personally mentoring more than 150 young people, from Masters and PhD students to post-doctoral research, who have gone on to become leaders in industry or research,” Professor Lu said.

“I am very grateful to their support throughout my career as well as proud of their contribution to education and research for the benefit of society.”

Today (Wednesday 12 December), Professor Lu was honoured for his contribution to research and to the higher education sector, both on a national and international level, with a Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) from the University of Wollongong.

“I am extremely honoured to be recognised,” Professor Lu said. “It is very humbling and special for me, as this is the first honorary degree I have received from any university in Australia, where I received my higher degree education and worked for many years.

“I have special fond memories of the people and places in Australia and have always enjoyed visiting the University and working with colleagues there.”

Professor Lu is now President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Surrey in the UK. But he began his path to academia in China, where he studied a Bachelor of Metallurgical Engineering at Northeastern University.

This was followed by a Master of Thermal Engineering, also at Northeastern, before he relocated to Australia, and began his PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of Queensland.

“From a very young age, I was always interested in how things work and how they can be improved in practical ways,” he said of his decision to pursue engineering as a young student.

“Engineering seemed to me a very meaningful way to contribute to a better society by building things and improving people’s lives.”

But it hasn’t always been easy. Professor Lu’s impressive trajectory is a testament to the power of education to make a difference in one’s life.

“When I arrived in Brisbane in 1987, as an international student, I had only $20 in my pocket. After a $17 cab ride, I had only $3 left to survive the first week,” he reflected.

“Fortunately, the University of Queensland scholarship I was offered came to my rescue not too long after that, and I was grateful to the generous help from fellow students in Queensland for the first couple of weeks.

“My experience and studies in Australia changed my life, thanks to the generous support from the University of Queensland and staff in the Department of Chemical Engineering at UQ.”

A pre-eminent chemical engineer and nanotechnologist, Professor Lu excelled in the academic world. He has published more than 500 peer-reviewed articles in top journals, and is the co-inventor of more than 20 granted international patents.

At the University of Queensland, he founded and led the Australian Research Council’s Centre of Excellence for Functional Nanomaterials. Under his tenure, the centre received $22 million in research funding, and oversaw 100 researchers, making it the most successful ARC in Australia.

In addition to his success in the field of research, Professor Lu also rose in the leadership ranks. Among the positions he held at the University of Queensland were Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) and Provost and Senior Vice-President.

Professor Lu has always had an international focus, and during his career has spent time lecturing in Singapore and the United States, where he was a visiting Professor at Princeton University.

In 2016, he again relocated, this time to the United Kingdom to take up the post at the University of Surrey.

“The highlight of my career was when I became the President and Vice-Chancellor of Surrey, which gave me the opportunity to help change the lives of thousands more young people,” Professor Lu said.

He is passionate about the importance of education and research and said his role as Vice-Chancellor has enabled him to use both as a force for change.

“I wish more people can fulfil their dreams through education and innovation regardless of their background and socioeconomic status, and together we can make the world a better place for our future generations,” Professor Lu said. “This is why I am very passionate about leading a world-class university to help educate more people and develop solutions through research to society’s problems today and tomorrow.”

Professor Lu said if he could offer advice to graduates today it would be to embrace the opportunities that come their way. But he also stressed the importance of collaboration and team work.

They are clearly lessons that have helped Professor Lu in his career, which has taken him around the world and exposed him to the many different paths that higher education has to offer.

“In life there are many opportunities and associated risks, and we need to embrace both,” he said.

“Our fast-changing world requires us to be adaptive and agile in order to make the change we want to see. However, we need to collaborate and work together to be stronger in realising possibilities and minimising risks.

“Collaboration is the key to engineering successes.”