Among IFM’s achievements in 2024, was the university being ranked #1 in Australia and #30 globally in the Shanghai Global Ranking of Academic Subjects for textile science and engineering. This was further bolstered by The Australian’s Research Magazine naming Deakin as Australia’s Leading Institute for Textile Engineering. 

“2024 was very much about bringing our entire team together and focusing on what we were excellent at, but how we might achieve excellence through our equipment, through our people, through the training environment that we have,” IFM Director Professor Sally McArthur said. 

“As an institute, we’ve got a huge focus on how to get wealth from waste, on how to recycle materials more effectively, and how we can utilize the amazing facilities we have to get to pilot scale.  

“The interplay between materials, the processes, and the final product that you’re going to be able to make out of it is at the heart of what we do in IFM.” 

The Impact Report also revealed: 

  • IFM attracted $22.9million in research income 
  • Has 154 graduate researchers from 26 different countries 
  • Collaborates with 114 partners from around the world 
  • Published 354 publications 

New materials development driven by purpose 

The 2024 report revealed that IFM researchers continue to pioneer material science innovations.  

Among its highlights – was the announcement that IFM-led ARC Training Centre for Resource Efficient Alloys in a Circular Economy ‘circAlloy’ would receive almost $4,988,139 in ARC funding to spearhead the development of more efficient and sustainable materials in the pathway to net zero. 

In 2024, IFM researchers based at the Carbon Nexus carbon fibre research and manufacturing facility developed and manufactured a new bio-based carbon fibre that utilises lignin, the second most abundant biopolymer on the planet. 

Major breakthroughs were made in the energy field, including the development of a new trimodal thermal energy storage material for renewable energy. IFM’s Electro and Energy Materials researchers also made significant leaps in the development of polymer electrolytes for solid-state batteries. 

See more highlights. 

Reputation for research excellence 

In addition to institute wide recognition, IFM researchers continue to produce excellent research outcomes – recognised by major awards across all disciplines. 

In 2024, Deakin Distinguished Professor Maria Forsyth received two major accolades – The Australian’s Research 2025 Magazine: Australia’s Top Electrochemistry Researcher and the 2024 International Battery Materials Associate Research Award. 

And Deakin Distinguished Professor Ying (Ian) Chen made the 2024 Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher List.  

Our emerging research leaders were also recognised – Dr Ken Aldren Usman, was selected for the highly competitive CAS 2024 Future Leader Program (A division of the American Chemical Society. And graduate researcher Ms Dilendra Wijesekara won the Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Deakin Final and was selected as the People’s Choice at the Asia-Pacific 3MT Final. 

See all the 2024 awards and accolades. 

And that’s just the beginning 

Learn more, explore the full 2024 IFM Impact Report.