Jacek Jasieniak completed a Bachelor of Science (1st Class Honours) from Flinders University (2003, University Medal) and PhD from the University of Melbourne (2008, Chancellor’s Prize). He then undertook postdoctoral work as an OCE fellow at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and was a Fulbright Fellow at the University of California Santa Barbara (2011-12). In 2012 he returned to CSIRO, progressing to a Senior Research Scientist and then Group Leader. In 2015 he moved to Monash University as an Associate Professor, where he was also appointed Director of the cross-disciplinary Monash Energy Institute. In 2020 he was promoted to Full Professor and also became the Associate Dean of Research for the Faculty of Engineering. In December 2021, Jacek was promoted into the role of Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research Infrastructure) at Monash University.
His research interests include the development of nanomaterials and their use in various next-generation energy technologies to enable a net-zero carbon emission future. Towards this goal, he has worked on various functional material classes to develop microlasers, light emitting devices, printable solar cells, batteries, X-ray detectors and a variety of chemical sensors. His contributions have been broadly showcased across newspapers, radio, television and online blogs to reach audiences of millions of people across topics ranging from energy poverty, to smart phone batteries, developing solar windows and creating net-zero cities through large scale solar cell deployment.