Professor Russell Crawford is the Executive Dean of RMIT’s School of Science, RMIT University. His previous roles include Dean of Science, Dean of the Faculty of Life & Social Sciences and Head, School of Biophysical Sciences and Electrical Engineering at Swinburne University of Technology. He has also held the position of President, Australian Council of Deans of Science (ACDS), and is currently a member of the ACDS Executive.

His research is in the broad area of surface science, with his early work focussing on the surface chemistry of mineral flotation and the removal of heavy metals from aqueous environments. His more recent research investigates the ways in which biological organisms interact with solid substrate surfaces, particularly those used in the construction of medical implants, with a view to developing implant surfaces that resist or prevent bacterial attachment.

• PhD (University of Melbourne), MAppSc, BAppSc
• Research interests:
  • surface science, surface chemistry, removal of heavy metals from aqueous environments
  • investigation of the ways in which biological organisms interact with solid substrate surfaces, particularly those used in the construction of medical implants, with a view to developing implant surfaces that resist or prevent bacterial attachment
• Recent research project examples:
  • Nano-structured Antimicrobial Surfaces: From Nature to Synthetic Analogues
  • Bactericidal Activity of Self-assembled Palmitic and Stearic Fatty Acid Crystals on Highly Ordered Pyrolytic Graphite
  • The Nature of Inherent Bactericidal Activity: Insights from the Nanotopology of Three Species of Dragonfly
  • Antibacterial Titanium Nano-patterned Arrays Inspired by Dragonfly Wings
  • Bactericidal Activity of Black Silicon
• Recent awards:
  • 2000 Swinburne University of Technology Research Excellence Award
  • 2013 Molecules Best Review Paper Award for the paper entitled Bacterial Extracellular Polysaccharides Involved in Biofilm Formation, Molecules 2009, 14(7), 2535-2554
  • 2013 Vice Chancellor’s Award for Inclusion and Cultural Diversity, Swinburne University of Technology
  • 2013 Witec Paper Award for the paper entitled Air-Directed Attachment of Coccoid Bacteria to the Surface of Superhydrophobic Lotus-like Titanium, Biofouling, 28(6), 2012, 539 – 550
• Link to Publications
• Memberships:
  • 2015 – Board Member, International Association of Colloid and Interface Scientists
  • 2016 – Member of Executive, Australian Council of Deans of Science
  • 2018 – Member, Australian Council of Environmental Deans and Directors
  • 2019 – Research Director, Space Environment Research Centre