Dr Matthew Dunn is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering at the University of Sydney, where he works in the Clean Combustion Laboratory and is a member of the Net Zero Institute. His experimental research develops and applies advanced laser diagnostic techniques to understand thermo-fluid problems, particularly turbulent combustion. A current focus is the spatial and chemical structure of turbulent flames burning clean and renewable fuels such as hydrogen, ammonia and power fuels, and the design of new experiments and measurement methods to meet the challenges these fuels present.
Matthew completed his PhD at the University of Sydney in 2009, studying finite-rate chemistry effects in turbulent premixed flames. From 2009 to 2011 he was a postdoctoral researcher at the Combustion Research Facility at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, California, where he applied Raman-Rayleigh-LIF line imaging across premixed, stratified, partially premixed and non-premixed flames.
Since returning to Sydney he has been an investigator on a series of Australian Research Council grants covering soot nanoparticle formation, droplet and nanoparticle dynamics, biodiesel combustion and green hydrogen combustion, alongside industry research with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and work supported by the US Air Force’s Asian Office of Aerospace Research and Development. He is a chief investigator in the ARC Training Centre for High-Speed Propulsion, Rocket and Launch Systems, and from October 2026 leads work with colleagues on a new ARC Discovery Project examining the role of compressible mixing in high-speed combustion.