The team
NanoSoils Bio Pty Ltd is a UNSW spin-out in Sydney, applying about ten years of trigger-release research from nanomedicine to fertiliser.
Leadership
Dr Cong Vu
CO-FOUNDER AND CEODr Vu has 12 years of experience in biotechnology, nanomaterials, agriculture, and entrepreneurship. He is the inventor of three patents on silica nanoparticles and has published in leading journals including Nature Communications, JACS, Advanced Functional Materials, and Chemical Society Reviews. He previously led a Meat and Livestock Australia-funded project that successfully validated the effectiveness of silica nanoparticles on pasture seeds.
Awards
- 2024: ACS Sustainability Star (American Chemical Society)
- 2024: Winner, evokeAG Startup Alley Award
- 2023: Science and Innovation Award for Young People in Agriculture (DAFF, $22,000)
Dr Ross Mann
CO-FOUNDERDr Ross Mann is an agricultural specialist and innovation leader with over 20 years' experience, operating at the intersection of science, industry and government. He has successfully designed and delivered large, complex programs, built high-performing teams across diverse disciplines, and fostered trusted partnerships between government, industry, academia and international stakeholders.
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His work has generated a substantial patent portfolio, supported licensing and commercial partnerships with global agribusinesses, and contributed to improved productivity, sustainability and biosecurity outcomes across cropping, pasture and horticultural systems. Known for his collaborative leadership style, Ross combines strong technical credibility with pragmatic governance, risk management and communication skills, enabling him to guide projects from concept and co-design through to delivery, commercialisation and impact.
Advisory board
Scientia Professor Justin Gooding
SCIENTIFIC ADVISOR, UNSWARC Industry Laureate Fellow. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of Technology, the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and the International Society of Electrochemistry, and the inaugural editor-in-chief of ACS Sensors.
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He has published over 550 research papers including Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Photonics, Nature Immunology, Nature Communications and Science Advances. He has also authored 19 patents and one text book. His papers have been cited more than 36000 times and his H-index (Scopus) is 95. He has won numerous awards including three Eureka Prizes, the David Craig Medal from the Australian Academy of Science and the Faraday Medal of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He has been part of the commercialisation teams for a glucose biosensor that is sold worldwide and an Australian based 3D bioprinting company, and leads a research team of over 30 researchers in surface modification and nanotechnology.
Distinguished Prof Brajesh Singh
SCIENTIFIC ADVISOR, UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIAProf Singh advises on soil-plant interactions and ecosystem function. He is a globally recognised leader in soil biodiversity and sustainability, and an internationally recognised expert in functional ecology and soil biology.
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Through his fundamental research, his work identifies the quantitative relationships between soil biodiversity and ecosystem functions and how natural/anthropogenic pressures such as global change affect this. His applied research harnesses this knowledge to achieve increased farm productivity, sustainable development, environmental protection and food security, including climate adaptation tools for the agriculture industry, management solutions to increase soil organic matter, increased export market access for agricultural produce, and training for farmers, consultants and policy advisors.
Our collaborators and funders
We work with leading research institutions, industry research and development corporations and agtech programs.
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