Dr Christian Gunawan wins Victoria Fellowship

Dr Christian Gunawan, an employee with University of Melbourne-located Circa Group and an Honorary Fellow in the School of Chemistry, received a Victoria Fellowship to undertake a study mission at AgroParisTech in France.

He will use the study mission to develop a new chemical process to synthesize dairy lactone, a valuable flavour molecule of interest in the food and fragrance industries. Dr Gunawan will also visit the Biorenewables Centre at the University of York (UK) to identify equipment needed for a chemical manufacturing facility in Victoria. 

Dr Gunawan was also awarded a Fellowship from the Australian French Association for Science and Technology to support the French leg of the study mission. 

Dr Gunawan is presently embedded within Prof Mark Rizzacasa’s lab located at Bio21. Circa Group’s proprietary technology allows the conversion of crop and forestry waste into the fine chemical levoglucosenone and the solvent Cyrene®.