Our Expertise

The MCFP is more than a collection of infrastructure and labs. We are an award-winning and internationally recognised team of experts in materials characterisation and fabrication, that leverage these technologies to enable cutting-edge research, with wide-reaching societal impacts. Meet our team.

Meet the Team

Elena Taran

Elena Taran

Head, Materials Characterisation & Fabrication Platform

Elena is an accomplished leader with a wealth of experience in navigating the complexities of research infrastructure and fostering collaborative, innovative environments. Elena is an Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) specialist, leveraging this powerful technique to enable and advance research in nanotechnology and materials science.

Meet Elena

Anders Barlow

Anders Barlow

Academic Specialist - Electron and Ion Microscopy

Anders leads the Electron and Ion Microscopy and Vibrational Spectroscopy nodes of the MCFP. He is a materials and surface analysis specialist who can help you with all manner of identification and characterisation of hard and soft materials.

Meet Anders

Paul Brannon

Paul Brannon

Platform Support Officer - Advanced Fluorescence Imaging

Paul leads the Advanced Fluorescence Imaging node of the MCFP and can assist with super-resolution imaging of a wide range samples, including tissues, live cells, and nanoparticles.

Meet Paul

Darryl Johnson

Darryl Johnson

Academic Specialist - Cytometry

Darryl leads the Cytometry node of the MCFP with expertise in mass and flow cytometry, and confocal microscopy. He has a background in molecular biology, biochemistry and immunology, and can help you with experimental design, preparation, acquisition, and interpretation.

Meet Darryl

Dan Smith

Dan Smith

Senior Nanofabrication Engineer

Dan leads the nanofabrication capability for the MCFP. Situated in the heart of ANFF-Vic at the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication (MCN), Dan has expertise across the most extensive fabrication capability in Melbourne, and can help you from design to device realisation.

Meet Dan

Raveen Wijesuriya

Raveen Wijesuriya

Platform Support Officer - X-ray Characterisation

Raveen leads the X-ray Characterisation node of the MCFP, including X-ray diffraction (XRD) and fluorescence (XRF) and all sample preparation required including milling and pellet forming. He will guide you from start to finish of XRD analysis.

Meet Raveen

Tian Zheng

Tian Zheng

Academic Specialist - Nanomaterials Characterisation

Tian leads the nanomaterials characterisation (NMC) node of the MCFP. She can provide insight into all modes of modern atomic force microscopy measurements on a range of samples from nanomaterials to biological structures.

Meet Tian

Ray Dagastine

Ray Dagastine

Platform Academic Champion

Ray Dagastine is a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Academic Champion of the Materials Characterisation and Fabrication Platform.

Meet Ray

George Franks

George Franks

Professor

George Franks is a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and has over two decades of research experience in the ceramics and minerals processing fields.

Meet George

Steering Committee

Prof. Raymond Dagastine (Chair)

Dept. Chemical Engineering | FEIT

Prof. George Franks

Dept. Chemical Engineering | FEIT

A/Prof. Rackel San Nicolas

Dept. Infrastructure Engineering | FEIT

Prof. Kenneth Crozier

School of Physics | Science

Prof. Neil O'Brien-Simpson

Melbourne Dental School | MDHS

A/Prof. Petronella Nel

School of Historical and Philosophical Studies | Arts

Prof. Jeffrey McCallum

School of Physics | Science

Dr Christina Cortez-Jugo

Dept. Chemical Engineering, FEIT

A/Prof. James Bullock

Dept. Electrical and Electronic Engineering | FEIT

Dr Elena Taran

Platform Manager | MCFP

Advisory Group

Prof. Ann Roberts (Chair)

School of Physics | Science

Prof. Frank Caruso

Dept. Chemical Engineering | FEIT

A/Prof. Wallace Wong

School of Chemistry | Science

Prof. Jason Ivanusic

School of Anatomy and Physiology | MDHS

Prof. Kathryn Mumford

Dept. Chemical Engineering | FEIT

A/Prof. Brooke Farrugia

Dept. Biomedical Engineering | FEIT

A/Prof. Daniel Heath

Dept. Biomedical Engineering | FEIT

Dr Ineke Muir

CSL

Prof. Raymond Dagastine

Dept. Chemical Engineering | FEIT

Dr Elena Taran

Platform Manager | MCFP