MENTEE – Diego H. P. Souza

Diego H. P. Souza completed his MSc. degree in 2018 at the University of Sao Paulo (Brasil) and is in the second year of his Ph.D. at Curtin University. He was awarded the merit-based Australian Technology Network-Curtin University scholarship to undertake a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at Curtin University. He is currently working on the synthesis and characterization of metal boranes and the assessment of their properties as solid-state electrolytes for next-generation battery applications. Diego recently won the Universities Australia Award for the video “The Next Generation of Batteries” produced for the Pitch it Clever competition (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq7UT75VVNY). He is the author of 3 papers (one in submission), 1 patent, and he has presented several academic works at different international conferences.

During Diego’s bachelor’s degree, he was awarded a scholarship to live in Canada, where he studied for 18 months at the Red River College to undertake the programs English for International Students and Chemical and Biosciences Co-op. He also had an internship experience at the University of Manitoba where he worked in a materials science research lab. After this international experience, he worked for 1 year as a supervisor in a multinational brewery company (Ambev) in Brazil.

Diego has experience in chemical analysis, scientific research, and teaching, and he is eager to improve his professional skills, extend his professional network, and learn about different career opportunities as a researcher in the industry.