Plenary Speakers
|
Prof. Günther Rupprechter
TU Wien, Vienna, Austria Title: "Atomic-level insights in catalytic nanomaterials by in situ (spectro-)microscopy" The main research interests of Günther Rupprechter are in heterogeneous catalysis and nanomaterials, particularly in situ (operando) spectroscopy/microscopy of model and technological catalysts, applied to studies of the mechanisms and kinetics of processes relevant for energy and environment: hydrogen as clean fuel, methane reforming, CO2 and olefin hydrogenation, efficient automotive catalysis, sensing and waste remediation. In 2005 he received the Jochen Block Award of the German Catalysis Society for "the application of surface science methods to heterogeneous catalysis", became corresponding member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) in 2012 and Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences (EurASc) in 2023. He is Editorial Board Member of "Catalysis Letters" and "Topics in Catalysis", and Vice-Chair of the Austrian Catalysis Society. From 2011 to 2019 he was Speaker of the Collaborative Research Center "Functional Oxide Surfaces and Interfaces (FOXSI)" of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). He is "Renowned Overseas Professor" of Shanghai University of Engineering Science and Guest Professor at Kasetsart University Bangkok. Rupprechter is the Director of Research (Speaker) of a new Austrian Cluster of Excellence "Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage (MECS)", including 5 Austrian universities/institutions. |
|
Prof. Paul W. Bohn
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering/Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, USA Title: "Hierarchically-Organized Multifunctional Nanostructures for Ultrasensitive Chemical Analysis" Paul Bohn received B.S. (University of Notre Dame, 1977) and Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1981) degrees in Chemistry. He served 1981-83 at Bell Laboratories, Muray Hill, NJ as a Member of Technical Staff, after which he joined the faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Since 2006, he has been the Arthur J. Schmitt Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame. Prof. Bohn is the Founding Director of the Berthiaume Institute for Precision Health at Notre Dame, Founding Member of the Indiana Consortium for Analytical Science and Engineering, Director of the Center for Bioanalytic Metrology, an NSF Industry-University Cooperative Research Center, and Director of the Analytical Sciences & Engineering at Notre Dame faculty hiring initiative. Bohn’s research interests include: molecular approaches to, and uses of, nanotechnology, integrated nanofluidic and microfluidic chemical measurement strategies for personal monitoring, and correlated chemical imaging, especially of microbial communities. He has received a number of recognitions for his work, including most recently the Charles N. Reilley Award of the Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry (2022). |
|
Prof. Julia Kornfield
California Institute of Technology (Caltech), United States Title: " Polymers and nanocomposites to treat vascular disease without a trace" Julia A. Kornfield, Elizabeth W. Gilloon Professor of Chemical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), is an expert in polymer science, particularly how polymers influence and are influenced by flow. She has applied small angle neutron and x-ray scattering to diverse systems, including end-associative polymers for aviation safety and security (Wei et al., Science 2015), flow-induced crystallization of polymers (e.g., Science 2007) and the effects of flow on polymer self-assembly (e.g., Science 1997). Since she joined the Caltech faculty in 1990, Kornfield has received the Dillon Medal of the American Physical Society, been elected Fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and received the Bingham Medal of the Society of Rheology, among other honors. She holds 39 patents and is a co-founder of Calhoun Vision, which uses polymers developed at Caltech to customize vision by noninvasively optimizing a lens after it is implanted into a patients’ eye (FDA-approved 2017). Thus, her work spans from fundamental research on the molecular basis of polymer structure and properties, to commercialization of polymers that improve sustainability health and safety. |
|
Prof. Antoni Llobet
Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Tarragona, Spain Title: "Hybrid Molecular Materials for Energy Applications" Antoni Llobet obtained his PhD at the Univ. Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) in July 1985 and then did postdoctoral stays at the Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Texas A&M Univ. in the USA. In 1993 joined the faculty of the Univ. de Girona and in 2004 that of UAB as a Full Professor. In September 2006, he was appointed as Group Leader at the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) in Tarragona. In 2018 he has been awarded with the “Animesh Chakravorty” Endowment Lecture by the Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI) and the “Alexander von Humboldt Research Award” for a career achievement by the Humboldt Foundation from Germany. At present he is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board (EAB) of “Catalysis Science and Technology” from the Royal Society of Chemistry, “European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry” from Wiley-VCH and “Artificial Photosynthesis” from the American Chemical Society (ACS). He served as EAB for “Inorganic Chemistry” from the ACS during the period January 2015 till December 2016. |
Keynote Speaker for MECS Simposium
|
Prof. Dirk M. Guld
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen Germany Title: Towards Adaptive Light Capture, Conversion, and Storage" Dirk M. Guldi completed both his undergraduate studies (1988) and PhD (1990) at the University of Cologne (Germany). Following postdoctoral appointments at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (USA), the Hahn-Meitner Institute Berlin (1992), and Syracuse University, he joined the faculty of the Notre Dame Radiation Laboratory in 1995. He was promoted a year later from assistant to associate professional specialist, and remained affiliated to Notre Dame until 2004. Since 2004, he is Full Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy at the Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen. Since 2018, Dirk M. Guldi is Co-Editor in Chief of _Nanoscale _and _Nanoscale Horizons_ and he has been named among the world’s Highly Cited Researchers by Thomson Reuters. The Guldi group and its network belong to the cutting edge of worldwide research in solar-energy conversion with expertise not only in advanced photon- and charge-management without losing sight of the ultimate objective of developing integrated solar energy-to-chemical fuel conversion systems, which in the future can be utilized in real devices. Impressive documentations of their accomplishments are more than 700 peer-reviewed publications, far more than 60,000 citations, and an h-index of 121. At the heart is always a multifaceted and interdisciplinary research program, where his group designs, conceptually devises, synthesizes, tests, and characterizes novel nanometer scale materials with the objective of using them in solar energy conversion schemes. |
Invited Speakers
|
Dr. Amir Pakdel
Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Ireland Title: "Nanoengineering of Thermoelectric Materials towards Enhanced Thermal Energy Harvesting" Amir Pakdel is a nanomaterials scientist and nanotechnologist, an assistant professor and a research group leader at Trinity College Dublin's School of Engineering. He obtained his Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from the University of Tsukuba (Japan) and National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS; Japan) in 2012. He then received a MANA postdoctoral fellowship and a JSPS research fellowship in Japan, and later an early-career researcher award from Science Foundation Ireland to establish his research group in Trinity College Dublin (Ireland) in 2019. Amir has investigated diverse and multidisciplinary nanomaterials-based research topics, including: thermal energy harvesting, energy storage, flexible and wearable electronics, functional and hierarchical surfaces, and electron microscopy. He has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications in prestigious journals in Chemistry, Physics, and Materials Science disciplines, which have been cited more than 4000 times to date. He is an associate editor of Frontiers in Chemistry, Energies, and AIMS Materials Science. |
|
Prof. Anna Maria Coclite
University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy & Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria Title: "Multi-stimuli responsive sensors for electronic skin applications" Anna Maria Coclite was born in Bari, in the south of Italy, where she studied chemistry. She was a postdoctoral associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before moving on to Graz, Austria, where she is as an associate professor in the Institute of Solid State Physics. She is the co-leader of the “Advanced Material Science” inter-faculty Field of Expertise at TU Graz since 2020. Her research interests focus on materials science and advanced methods for thin film growth, including thin film technologies, nanomaterials, and surface chemistry. In 2016, she won the prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Starting grant to fund her research on “Smart Core-shell sensor arrays for artificial skins.” |
|
Prof. Ayşegül GÖLCÜ
Istanbul Technical University, Turkey Title: "Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) combined with nanomaterials as electrochemical sensing applications for drug analysis" Professor Ayşegül Gölcü completed her primary, secondary, and high school education in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. She graduated from 19 Mayıs University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Chemistry. She completed her master’s and doctorate degrees at Ankara University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Analytical Chemistry. In 2010, she went to Clarkson University in Potsdam, the USA for “postdoc” studies and worked on “electrochemical sensors” with Prof. Petr Zuman. In 2012, she was appointed as a “full-time professor” at Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University, Faculty of Science and Letters, Department of Chemistry and served for five years. She has been working at Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Chemistry since 2017. Since 2019, she has been collaborating with Prof. Omowunmi Sadik (New Jersey Institutes of Technology) on “binding mechanisms of natural compounds to dsDNA”. She has over one hundred national and international articles, projects, and theses on spectrophotometric and voltammetric drug analyses, drug-metal complexes, biosensors, and natural compounds. She is a member of the “Management Committee” in COST’s actions “D39- Metallo-Drug Design and Action” and “CM1105: Functional metal complexes that bind to biomolecules”. |
|
Prof. Bastian Mei
Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany Title: "Heat, plasma and light – a good match" The chemical transformation of small, abundant molecules and bio-based compounds is a crucial aspect of sustainable industrial development. In accordance with the Global Goals, our research generates fundamental knowledge that is essential for the development of catalytic materials and their integration into emerging process concepts for energy conversion systems. This ultimately contributes to the industrial decarbonisation and process circularity agendas. Our research combines knowledge in physical chemistry and engineering to study complex multiphase catalytic reaction systems, which are stimulated by solar light or electrical energy. Furthermore, we integrate thermal energy or other stimuli to enhance catalytic performance. The reactions of interest include water oxidation, the production of oxidising chemicals, hydrogen generation, selective alcohol oxidation, oxidative decarboxylation of carboxylic acids and the purification of industrial waste streams using metal oxides and carbon-based compounds. |
|
Prof. Benoît Heinrichs
University of Liège, Belgium Title: "One-pot synthesis of bimetallic catalysts with a funnel nanostructure for a selective treatment of chlorinated alkanes" Prof. Benoît Heinrichs is a chemical engineer from the University of Liège (1993). During his PhD thesis in engineering at both ULiège and Solvay company (1999), he developed bimetallic sol-gel catalysts for the hydrodechlorination of industrial by-products. In 2001, he moved to the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands to develop iron-based catalysts for N2O abatement. He came back to ULiège in 2002, where he was appointed as a permanent researcher. In 2009, he was appointed as professor at the Faculty of Applied Sciences, where he teaches chemistry and thermodynamics to students in bachelor in engineering. He is now leader of the Nanomaterials & Interfaces group, which focuses on the design and production of nanostructured materials, on their characterization, and on their applications, especially in environmental catalysis and photocatalysis, in functionalized surface coatings, and in microbatteries design. He has published about 100 scientific papers and 6 patents. |
|
Prof. Cornelia Palivan
University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland Title: "Hierarchical self-organization of polymersomes and Janus nanoparticles in clusters by controlled DNA hybridization" Prof. Dr. Cornelia G. Palivan is currently Professor of Physical Chemistry in the Chemistry Department at the University of Basel, Switzerland. She is a member of the Swiss Nanoscience Institute and the management of the National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) Molecular Systems Engineering Switzerland. The main focus of her research group is at the interface between physical-chemistry, nanoscience, and biophysics, with particular emphasis on bio-nano-systems for translational applications. Her research interests are in the field of developing hybrid functional materials based on combinations of biomolecules with synthetic assemblies at the nano- and micro-scale, and their interactions with cells or microorganisms. She published more than 190 research articles and reviews in the field and received various prizes and fellowships. She is an international expert for the evaluation of research projects (NWO-Nano Nederland, FWO Belgium, SNSF Switzerland, ERA-Chemistry and ERC grants program EU). |
|
Prof. Danny Porath
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel Title: "Molecular Electronics with DNA towards Detection of Nucleic Acids" Prof. Danny Porath served as Vice Dean for International Affairs of the Faculty of Science of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem 2021-2022. Served as Vice Dean Research of the Faculty of Science of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem 2018-2020. Served as the Director of the Hebrew University Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology 2011-2014. Holds the Etta and Paul Schankerman Chair of Molecular Biomedicine since 2014. He studied for BSc in Physics, Mathematics and Electronics at the Hebrew University. Received his Ph.D in Physics from the Hebrew University in 1997. Did his postdoc at Delft University of Technology with Prof. Cees Dekker and established his group at the Institute of Chemistry of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2001. The group research interests include: Ultra-sensitive detection of cancer biomarkers, DNA-Based Nanoelectronics, scanning probe microscopy and spectroscopy of single molecules, electrical transport measurements in single molecules, nanoelectronics and DNA sequencing. Member of the Editorial Board of “Self Assembly and Molecular Electronics” and of “Scientific Report” from Nature Publishing Group. Received excellent postdoctoral award of the American Vacuum Society Meeting, Boston 2000, and The Israel Chemical Society Prize for the Outstanding Young Scientist in 2007. |
|
Prof. Eli Sutter
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA Title: "1D van der Waals Nanostructures: Defect-Mediated VLS Growth, Morphology, and Optoelectronics" Eli Sutter is a Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (USA). She earned M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Condensed Matter Physics from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Bulgaria, followed by postdoctoral fellowships at ETH Zürich and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and appointments as Assistant Professor of Physics at the Colorado School of Mines and as Scientist in the Center for Functional Nanomaterials at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Her research focuses on transmission electron microscopy and spectroscopy of 2D/layered materials and nanomaterials. She has co-authored more than 225 scientific publications, 80 invited talks, and holds 8 US Patents. She received a Scientific American 50 Award for Ultra-measurements (2007), the Sapphire Prize (2011) and Battelle Inventor of the Year Award (2015). She served as Chair of the International Conference on Nanoscience and Technology, Vail (CO) in 2014 and the 2017 Materials Research Society Spring Meeting in Phoenix (AZ). |
|
Prof. Eugenia Pechkova
University of Genova Medical School, Italy Title: "Protein's Langmuir-Blodgett nanofilms studied by X-Ray nanodiffraction, X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) and Cryo-Electron Microscopy" Eugenia Pechkova, who holds a Doctoral degree in Chemistry and a PhD in Biophysics, is now in charge of the Laboratory of Biophysics and Nanotechnology at the Department of Experimental Medicines, University of Genova Medical School in Italy. She focuses her research on Langmuir-Blodgett protein nanofilms and multilayers, studying their structure and applications. Additionally, she is interested in structural proteomics and nanocrystallography, as well as X-ray nanodiffraction and scattering using synchrotron radiation. She has pioneered the use of a protein nanotemplate approach for protein crystallography, working as visiting scientist at the Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, USA, and at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), France. |
|
Dr. Giorgia Giovannini
Empa-Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Switzerland Title: "Responsive nanomaterials to tackle antimicrobial resistance" During my career as a researcher, I collaborated with research groups of different expertise somehow related to the nanotechnology field (plasmonic, sensing, optic fiber, etc.) driven by the willingness to learn always something new that I could then apply to design new ideas. Thanks to the broad knowledge acquired with the Degree in Pharmacy (2007-12, Univesity of Padova, IT), I have basic insights into physiology and biology that allowed me to identify medical needs and sensibly design nanomaterials for biological applications. As PhD student (2014-17, University of Kent, UK) I have synthesized, characterized, and tested nanomaterials for biological applications (i.e. sensing and controlled release), and I became an expert on silica nanoparticles. During my first PostDoc position (2017-19, Italian Institute of Technology, IT) I applied nanoformulation and functionalization skills in developing a novel isolation technique that ensures improving fluorescent-based detection approaches. Furthermore, I collaborated on several projects related to DNA and protein sequencing learning and getting familiar with the plasmonic research field and its application in developing highly sensitive detection approaches. Currently, I am a scientist at Empa (2019-now, St. Gallen, CH), in the Biomimetic Membrane and Textile where my activities have been focused on designing fluorescent-based sensors, and light-responsive membranes, and controlled drug-release carriers. I am currently the principal investigator of three recently funded projects focused on developing bioresponsive nanomaterials to achieve the diagnosis and treatment of infections. |
|
Prof. Ingo Salzmann
Concordia University, Canada Title: "Doping-Related Charge Transfer in Organic Semiconductors: Role of Structure, Dopant Strength, and Steric Hindrance" Dr. Salzmann is an experimental physicist and surface scientist dedicated to the structural and electronic properties of conjugated organic materials and hybrid systems. He is interested in the correlation between physicochemical properties and the electronic structure of organic (semi)conductors and hybrid heterostructures with inorganic materials and explores structure-property relationships in such systems. Dr. Salzmann received his doctorate in physics from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HUB) and, after an extended period as Research Associate and Senior Scientist at HUB as well as a visiting professorship at the Institute of Solid-State Physics at The University of Tokyo (Japan), joined Concordia University (Montreal, Canada) as Associate Professor in 2018. He has authored >100 publications in peer-reviewed journals including contributions to Nature Materials/Chemistry/Communications, Angewandte Chemie, Accounts of Chemical Research, or Physical Review Letters. Dr. Salzmann is an expert in surface characterization employing various X-ray diffraction techniques performed at synchrotron radiation centers around the world and in various spectroscopies including a focus on photoelectron spectroscopy. |
|
Prof. Inisk In
Korea National University of Transportation, Chungju, South Korea Title: "Preparation and Applications of Highly Conducting and Dispersible f-MXene" Insik In is a Professor at Korea National University of Transportation. He serves as the director of both Brain Korea PLUS 21 program and Key University Institute Program where he leads the effort in developing surface-functionalized nanomaterials such as graphene and MXene. His research team highly focuses on the preparation of surface-functionalized MXene and the subsequent application into the next generation battery industry and green hydrogen production ((http://eel.ut.ac.kr). |
|
Prof. Ioan-Cezar Marcu
University of Bucharest, Romania Title: "Study of the semiconductive and redox properties of reducible metal oxides via in situ electrical conductivity measurements. Consequences for catalysis" Born in 1971, in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Prof. Marcu got his BSc in Chemistry & Physics in 1995, and his MSc in Heterogeneous Catalysis in 1996 at the University of Bucharest (UB). In 2002 he received his PhD in Catalysis at the Institute of Catalysis, University "Claude Bernard" Lyon 1, France. From October 2006 to September 2007, he worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the Institute Charles Gerhardt of Montpellier, France, then, starting from 2007, he became a Senior Researcher at the Research Center for Catalysts and Catalytic Processes of UB. He obtained his Habilitation in Catalysis in 2013, and was appointed Full Professor at UB in February 2020, in charge of Chemical Technology and Catalytic Materials disciplines. Currently he is the Head of Department of Inorganic & Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry & Catalysis at UB. His research interests cover the field of catalysis by metal oxides. He co-authored more than 80 research papers, including three book chapters and four encyclopedia articles. |
|
Dr. Iwona Rutkowska
University of Warsaw, Poland Title: "Tungsten oxide cocatalysts with intercalated copper centers: Selective electrocatalytic CO2-reduction" Iwona A. Rutkowska is a faculty member in chemistry at University of Warsaw. Her current research focuses on materials chemistry and electrochemistry of nanostructured metal oxides, noble metal nanoparticles and functionalized carbons, organic and inorganic polymers with emphasis on electrocatalytic processes for energy conversion and storage as well as on mechanisms of charge propagation. Her recent activities has concentrated on oxidation of small organic fuels, oxygen reduction reaction, nitrogen reduction, carbon dioxide reduction at various experimental conditions, and on redox flow batteries. She is a member of The Electrochemical Society (ECS), American Chemical Society (ACS) and International Society of Electrochemistry (ISE). In ECS she has served on many committees and co-organized numerous symposia. Presently, she is a Treasurer of Physical and Analytical Division and a Member-at-Large in Executive Committee of European Section. |
|
Prof. Jennifer R. Hiscock
University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom Title: "Preserving and capturing projectiles shot at supersonic speeds using protein " Jennifer Hiscock is currently Professor of Supramolecular Chemistry at the University of Kent. She obtained her PhD from the University of Southampton (UK) under the supervision of Prof. Philip A. Gale in 2010, studying supramolecular host:guest chemistry. She continued her post-doctoral research between this group and Dstl (Porton Down - UK) until 2015 when she moved to the University of Kent (UK) as the Caldin research fellow. In 2016 she was awarded a permanent lectureship position at this same institution, which was followed by her promotion to Reader in Supramolecular Chemistry and Director of Innovation and Enterprise for the School of Physical Sciences in 2019. In 2020 she was awarded a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship, developing novel cell surface active therapeutics and drug adjuvants. In 2022 she was promoted to full Professor and was the recipient of the University of Kent inspirational leader of the year award, and Royal Society of Chemistry Bob Hay award. Her research currently focuses on an interdisciplinary approach to applying supramolecular chemistry to solve real-world problems through the development and application of her patented Supramolecular Self-associating Amphiphile (SSA) and, jointly invented Talin Shock Absorbing Material (TSAM) technology. In addition, she is the founding member the international Women in Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network, currently supporting >1900 individuals internationally, and organisation that she chaired from 2019-2023, and has now moved to Chair of the WISC advisory board (2023-onwards). Finally, she is Chair of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s (RSC’s) Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (MASC) group and also sits on the international board for Supramolecular Chemistry (ISMSC). |
|
Prof. Jochen Lauterbach
University of South Carolina, Columbia, United States Title: "Morphological Influence on Catalytic Performance: A Comparative Study of Nanowires and Spherical Particles" Prof. Lauterbach received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry in the group of the 2007 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, Prof. G. Ertl. After a postdoc at the University of California at Santa Barbara, he joined the Chemical Engineering faculty at Pardue University in 1996 and moved to the University of Delaware in 2002. He joined the University of South Carolina in July 2010 as Smartstate Endowed Chair and Director of the South Carolina SmartState Centre for Strategic Approaches to the Generation of Electricity. Prof. Lauterbach's research interests are in the areas of heterogeneous catalysis and functional nanomaterial synthesis as applied to environmental processes, improving power generation from fossil fuels, the generation of synthetic fuels from methane and carbon dioxide, upstream fuel generation from ammonia for fuel cells, and biomass torrefaction. |
|
Assoc. Prof. Kai Wang
Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, China Title: "Performance optimization of wide-band gap perovskite solar cells and the fabrication of high-efficiency perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells" Kai Wang, an Associate Professor at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, primarily focuses on fundamental and applied research related to novel thin-film solar cells. His research is centered on the controllable preparation and modulation of inorganic charge transport materials, crystalline tuning, and interface modification of wide-bandgap perovskites. Furthermore, his work extends to the fabrication of large-area perovskite solar cells and perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells. As both the first author and corresponding author, Wang has published a total of 38 articles including prestigious journals such as Joule, Matter, Advanced Materials, Advanced Energy Materials, Advanced Functional Materials among others. His contributions have garnered significant recognition with 1591 citations on Google Scholar and an h-index value of 21. |
|
Prof. Kamila Sadowska
Nalecz Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland Title: "Bovine Serum Albumin – Hydroxyapatite Nanoflowers as Potential Local Drug Delivery System of Ciprofloxacin" Kamila Sadowska, Ph.D., D.Sc., holds the position of Professor at the Nalecz Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, where she serves as the Head of the Laboratory of Biosensors and Analytical Microsystems. For several years she was affiliated with Gdansk University of Technology. Her expertise lies at the intersection of supramolecular chemistry and nanotechnology, with a particular focus on carbon nanomaterials and surface functionalization. Presently, her research endeavors revolve around the innovative utilization of nanomaterials in the development of bioelectrodes and advanced drug delivery systems. |
|
Prof. Katarzyna Siuzdak
Center for Plasma and Laser Engineering, Institute of Fluid Flow Machinery, Poland Title: "Laser nanostructuring of the materials for electrochemical applications" PhD DSc Eng Katarzyna Siuzdak is the Head of Laboratory of Functional Materials and associate professor in Institute of Fluid-Flow Machinery Polish Academy of Sciences in Gdańsk, Poland. She is an expert in fabrication and characterization of electrochemically active nanostructures dedicated both for energy conversion and sensing devices. Her works are focused on using anodization, magnetron sputtering and laser treatment towards synthesis and tailoring of electrode materials dedicated for water splitting, photo-assisted catalysis as well as detection of molecules like dopamine, hormones and vitamins. She is the author of over 120 publications (H=30), book chapters, patent applications and PI of national and international projects realized in many scientific groups. She is a member of International Society of Electrochemistry and The Electrochemical Society. She also developed as scientist during internships in Bordeaux University of Technology in France, University of Coimbra in Portugal and Friedrich-Alexander University in Germany. She is a recipient of the Scholarship from the Minister of Science and Higher Education for the outstanding Young Researchers, the Scholarship START from Foundation for Polish Science, and for the technological achievement she obtained the scientific award of prof. Walter Nernst. She is also involved in popularization of science, especially STEM in social media on @science_mission profile. |
|
Prof. Leszek Zaraska
Jagiellonian University, Faculty of Chemistry, Krakow, Poland Title: "Electrochemical synthesis of nanostructured semiconductors for photoelectrochemical applications" Leszek Zaraska is an associate professor at the Faculty of Chemistry of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. His research interests include, among others, the electrochemical synthesis of nanostructured oxides (Al2O3, SnO2, ZnO, ZrO2, Fe2O3, and others) and template-assisted electrodeposition of metals and oxides for the formation of ordered nanowire arrays with precisely designed geometry. Currently, his works are mainly focused on controlled synthesis and characterization of nanostructured semiconductors for applications in photoelectrochemical systems. He is the author of more than 50 papers and several book chapters which were cited more than 1500 times. He has been PI and supervisor of several national and international research projects. Since 2012 he is also a member of the International Society of Electrochemistry. |
|
Dr. Li WAN
Hubei University, Wuhan, P. R. China Title: "Defect passivation of perovskite crystal thin films: from experimental methods to reagent selection" Associate Professor Dr. Li Wan has joined the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Hubei University since July 2011. In February 2016, she went to the Institute of Materials and Chemistry at Technische Universität Wien as a guest researcher, working on hybrid perovskite solar cells in Prof. Dominik Eder’s group until February 2017. In June 2016, she also received the position of university associate professor. Dr. Wan’s main research interests include high-efficiency and low-cost photovoltaic devices, the preparation of various nano-carbon (carbon nanotubes, graphene), and composites for solar cell and optoelectronic applications. She also starts to focus on the research of solid waste recycling and utilisation using some green technologies. Dr. Li Wan is the author of >40 publications (incl. Adv. Mater., Adv. Funct. Mater., Small, ACS Appl. Mater. Inter., Electrochim. Acta, Appl. Phys. Lett., Carbon) with >2200 citations and a Google H-index of 22. Dr. Li Wan has acquired research funding, including the Key Programme for Intergovernmental S&T Innovation Cooperation Projects of the National Key R&D Programme of China, the Nature Science Foundation of China, the Department of Science and Technology of Hubei Province of China and from the Educational Commission of Hubei Province. In 2021, she was selected as ‘2022 Emerging Investigators’ of the Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Royal Society of Chemistry. |
|
Prof. Luca Gavioli
Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Italy Title: "Nanogranular NiFe catalysts for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction: efficiency and stability from individual nanoparticles to thin films" Prof. Gavioli obtained his PhD. in Physics in 1997 working on metal/semiconductor interfaces. His post-doc experience at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (TN, USA) and at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne was centered on 2D systems. In the 2001-2013 period, he worked as tenure track researcher at the Università Cattolica on different subjects: Alkali metals on semiconductors; Organic molecules and fullerenes on vicinal metal surfaces; Carbon based nanostructured systems; Self assembled metal clusters on titanium oxide templates; Synthesis of nanomaterials by non thermal laser ablation; He became professor in 2014, and his research interested moved to the synthesis and characterization of nanogranular materials. He is the founder and deputy director of the “International Doctoral Program in Science”, established in 2016 among the Università Cattolica, KU Leuven (Belgium), the University of Notre Dame (Indi-ana, USA) and the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (Chile). |
|
Dr. Marco ALTOMARE
University of Twente, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, the Netherlands Title: "Solid-state dewetted nanoparticles: studying nanoscale effects in electro- (and photo-) catalysis" Marco Altomare obtained his MSc. degree in Environmental Chemistry from the University of Milano, Italy (2010), and his Ph.D. in Industrial Chemistry from the University of Milano, Italy (2014), under the supervision of Prof. Elena Selli. The topic of his thesis was “Towards the Photocatalytic Production of Solar Fuels – Nanostructured Titanium Dioxide for Photocatalysis & Photo-Electrochemistry”. After the Ph.D., he was postdoc and then Habilitation candidate at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany, in the lab of Prof. Patrik Schmuki. Since 2021, he is Tenure Track Assistant Professor and leads his own group specialized in nanomaterials for electrocatalysis, photocatalysis, and water splitting, in the Department of Chemical Engineering and MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology at the University of Twente, the Netherlands. The research of the group led by Marco Altomare bridges nanotechnology and materials science at the nanoscale with heterogeneous catalysis for the sustainable production of fuels and chemicals. Marco Altomare’s work deals with physical vapor deposition and solid-state dewetting methods to design model nanostructured catalysts, combined with in-situ synchrotron characterization techniques to elucidate structure-performance relationships and investigate catalyst stability in electro- and photo-catalytic processes. |
|
Prof. Maria Camilla Bergonzi
University of Florence, Florence, Italy Title: "Nanoencapsulation of natural compounds: an innovative strategy for a successful therapeutic approach" Prof. Maria Camilla Bergonzi is Associate professor at the School of Human Health Sciences of the University of Florence, Italy. She is titular of Course of Pharmaceutical Technology and Legislation for ungraduated students of degree course in Pharmacy and co-titular of the course Soft Matter Materials Applied to Drug Delivery Systems, Food Supplements and Cosmetic Sciences, for the master degree in Advanced Molecular Sciences. She is author of over 130 original papers in international peer-reviewed journals one patent and three chapters of books.She has a deep background in the pharmaceutical technology and analysis of herbal drugs and herbal drug preparations. Her research includes the improvement of bioavailability and technological features of natural compounds, extracts and drugs, by using conventional and innovative micro and nanocarriers. Her studies are concerning the preparation of formulations able to cross the blood-brain barrier and to promote the oral absorption. She is member of Editorial Board of Pharmaceutics, Molecules, Current Drug Delivey, ChemMedChem, reviewer for many international journals and Editor of several Special Issues. |
|
Dr. Marian Varga
Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia Title: "Tailoring 3D diamond and 2D transition metal dichalcogenides for functional heterostructures" Marian Varga received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in 2008 and 2013, respectively, from the Slovak University of Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology in Bratislava. In 2011, as a PhD student and later as a postdoctoral fellow, he joined the Diamond Materials group of prof. Alexander Kromka at the Institute of Physics (IoP) of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague. In 2020, he obtained the position of senior researcher at the Institute of Electrical Engineering (IEE) of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS) in Bratislava within the Mobility and Reintegration Programme (MoRePro) of the SAS. His research activity focuses on chemical vapour deposition of carbon-based materials (mainly using polycrystalline diamond) in their intrinsic or doped form, preparation of 2D materials, post-growth modification including nanostructuring, etching and surface chemical functionalization, and characterization of their opto-electronic properties. He participated in research activities documented by more than 75 scientific publications (>1200 citations, Hirsch index 17), 1 book chapter and 1 utility model. |
|
Prof. Marko Huttula
University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland Title: "Role and functionality of nanocatalysis on hydrogen and energy research" Marko Huttula is Professor of physics and the head of the Nano- and Molecular Systems research unit with research focus is in the physics of green transition, including hydrogen production. He is leading the Academy of Finland-funded (PROFI7) "Hydrogen Future as Climate Change Solution" research programme, Strategic Research Council JustH2Transit consortium and is a founding partner of the Hydrogen Research Forum Finland. He is leader of numerous research projects e,g, two intersectoral EU-MSCA COFUND doctoral programs. He is widely connected with international research institutions and infrastructures as well as EU organs such as Hydrogen Europe Research and the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance. |
|
Prof. Markus Scharber
Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria Title: "Are perovskites the better absorbers in photovoltaic devices?" Markus Scharber is currently Associate Professor at the Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria. He studied physics at the Johannes Kepler University Linz and at the Napier University, Edinburgh, Scotland. In 2002 he received a PhD from the Linz Institute for Organic Solar Cells. From 2002 until early 2012 he was working at Konarka Technologies Inc. heading among other responsibilities the Material and Device Development Group. His research interests lie in the area of fundamental processes in novel semiconductor materials focusing on applications for energy harvesting and detection. |
|
Dr. Martina Rihova
University of Pardubice and Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic Title: "Centrifugal spining as a viable technology to prepare advanced bipolymeric and inorganic fibers for various applications" Dr. Martina Rihova is a senior researcher at the Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC) in Brno, Czech Republic in the Advanced Low-Dimensional Nanomaterials group. She got her Ph.D. in 2018 at the University of Pardubice, Czech Republic, in the biopolymers. Her work focuses on the synthesis of nanofibers using centrifugal spinning targeting diverse applications. In particular, she focuses on the preparation of unique carriers of biopolymer fibers for cosmetic and dermatological applications. She has been a principal investigator of industrial projects with fiber producers. She received the CEITEC BUT Innovation award in 2021 for the successful transfer of achieved results into commercial practice. She has also published a number of publications on the fiber development, characterization, and application. The presentation will focus on the synthesis, characterization, and utilization of centrifugal spun biopolymeric and inorganic nanofibers, highlighting their applications in cosmetics and catalysis |
|
Prof. Mattia Fanetti
Materials Research Laboratory, University of Nova Gorica, Slovenia Title: "Chemical instability at the interface between metals and Bi2Se3 topological insulator: selected cases and general trends." Mattia Fanetti obtained M.Sc. in physics in 2003 at Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Italy. In 2006 he obtained a PhD at the School of Physics, Astrophysics and Applied Physics of University of Milan, with a thesis entitled: »Building nanostructures at surfaces: growth and morphology investigation«. After some post-doc years in Trieste, where he got further experience in surface science (both in synthesis and analysis techniques), in 2012 he moved to University of Nova Gorica (UNG) as microscopy expert and until present he is coordinating the electron microscopy center of UNG. In 2018 he became associate professor in physics. His research is generally focused in the investigation of structural, chemical and electronic properties of films, surfaces, interfaces and nanostructured systems (catalysts, coatings, 2D materials, ...), mostly by electron microscopy and related techniques (SEM, TEM, EDX, cathodoluminescence, ...). In the last years he investigated the physico-chemical phenomena occurring at the interface between metals and topological insulators. |
|
Dr. Moran Frenkel-Pinter
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel Title: "Synthesis of Primordial Polymers" Dr. Moran Frenkel-Pinter is an assistant professor in the Institute of Chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She received her BSc and PhD in biotechnology from Tel Aviv University. As a PhD student, under the supervision of Prof. Daniel Segal and Prof. Ehud Gazit, she studied the role of protein glycosylation in the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease, and in collaboration with Prof. Shai Rahimipour from Bar-Ilan University, she synthesized glycopeptides to study the effect of glycans on peptide selfassembly. She then became a NASA postdoctoral fellow at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta and, subsequently, a research scientist in its School of Chemistry. As a member of the Center for Chemical Evolution and team leader at the NASA Center for Origins of Life, she focused on elucidating mechanisms that lead to the formation of proto-peptides that can spontaneously polymerize, fold, and interact with nucleic acids under prebiotic conditions. As an Azrieli Early Career Faculty Fellow and Vice Director of the Minerva Center for the Planetary Emergence of Life, Frenkel-Pinter’s research merges concepts from biotechnology and origins of life chemistry, fields in which she specialized during her PhD and postdoctoral research, respectively. She harnesses the creative power of chemical evolution to develop evolving functional biodegradable polymers for biotechnological applications. |
|
Prof. Nguyen Hoa Hong
Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia Title: "2D nature of magnetic states at SnO2 surfaces" Dr. Nguyen Hoa Hong got her PhD in Materials Science from JAIST, Japan in 2001 and her Habilitation in Physics from the University . of Tours, France in 2004. She was research associate at Leipzig Univ. in 2001-2002, then worked at the University . of Tours, France from 2002 to 2009 as CNRS postdoc, then CNRS visiting researcher, then termed lecturer. She then worked as Faculty and was the Head of the Nanomagnetism Lab. at Seoul National University . from 2010 to 2018. Currently, she has been working as Faculty at the Dept. of Condensed Matter Physics, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia. Her main interest of research is about magnetism and magnetic materials. Her most significant work was about Diluted Magnetic Semiconducting Oxide Thin Films that are potential for Spintronic Applications. She has been author/co-author of 105 publications and currently has over 5600 citations and H-index as of 37 (according to Google Scholar June 2024). |
|
Prof. Peter Sutter
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA Title: "Van der Waals Semiconductors: From Stacking-Controlled Crystals to Unconventional Heterostructures" Peter Sutter is Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Physics from ETH Zürich. Following postdoctoral work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he held appointments as Assistant/Associate Professor in Physics at the Colorado School of Mines and Group Leader in the Center for Functional Nanomaterials at Brookhaven National Laboratory. His research focuses on 2D/layered materials and nanomaterials, studied by microscopy and nanometer-scale spectroscopy. |
|
Prof. Piercarlo Mustarelli
University of Milano Bicocca, Italy Title: "Functionalized nanofillers in batteries, fuel cells and electrolyzers" Piercarlo Mustarelli is a full professor at the Department of Materials Science of the University of Milano Bicocca. During the last 35 years, he has been interested in the study of the chemical-physical, structural, and transport properties of several materials, including functional glasses, liquid and solid electrolytes for lithium batteries, membranes for fuel cells and electrolysers, and cathode materials for lithium and post-lithium batteries. He has also been interested in thin films, nanostructured materials, and biomaterials of broad technological interest. He is a member of the Secretariat of Batteries Europe and of the Batteries European Partnership. He is head of the R2BATT Laboratory, granted by Regione Lombardia and dedicated to the issues of the reuse of lithium batteries and the recovery and recycling of critical materials. He is the author or co-author of approximately 300 publications in international journals and over 500 communications at national and international conferences. He has an H-index of 59 (Google Scholar). |
|
Dr. Qiao Chen
University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom Title: "Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting by a 3D Hierarchical Sea Urchin-like Structure: ZnO Nanorod Arrays on TiO2 Hollow Hemisphere" As a senior lecturer at Sussex University, my long-term research interests are in the applications of nanomaterials and nanotechnology. We have been focused on developing green energies, including solar cells and photocatalytic water splitting. Recently, it was extended in the application in ultrasensitive chemical sensors and the green approach in chemical synthesis. The application of nanotechnology to biosensor design and fabrication promises to revolutionize diagnostics and therapy at the early stage of the disease. Based on electrical and magnetic field effects in a chemical transistors, we were able to facilitate the impossible chemical reaction with high yield and conversion. Developing an ionic solution for low loss energy storage is another direction of our work. It overcomes the limitations of energy decay in a battery and the limited capacity in a supercapacitor without the hazardous operational risks. |
|
Dr. Shaghayegh Naghdi
Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria Title: "Highly Water-stable Mixed-Coordination Metal-Organic Frameworks for efficient adsorption of nitrate from aqueous solutions" Shaghayegh Naghdi obtained her master's degree in Organic Chemistry from Kharazmi University in Tehran, Iran, focusing on the synthesis and characterization of novel thermally stable polyamides. After completing her master's degree, she worked in the industry for five years as quality control manager. Then, in August 2017, she moved to TU Wien in Austria to conduct her doctoral research in the Molecular Materials Chemistry group. She received her Doctorate in Natural Science in April 2022 and has been working as a postdoctoral researcher in the Molecular Materials Chemistry group at TU Wien since May 2022. Her current research is centered on designing and applying metal-organic frameworks in environmental efforts, specifically in photocatalysis and water treatment with the focus on hydrogen evolution (HER) and synthesizing new water-stable MOFs. |
|
Prof. Shengzhong Liu
Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Title: "Perovskite: a wonder material for PV applications" Prof. Liu received his PhD from Northwestern University, USA in 1992. Upon completing his postdoctoral research at Argonne National Laboratory in 1994, he joined high-tech industrial research, most notably on solar cells with Solarex/BP Solar and United Solar Ovonic. His research focus includes nanomaterials, thin films, photoelectronics and solar cells. His major outcome in basic research are published in scientific journals, including Science, Nature, Joule, Science Advances, Nature Communications, Advanced Materials, etc. He now serves as an associate Editor for NanoSelect, Editorial Board Member for Advanced Science, Device, Next Energy, Small Structure, J. Energy Chemistry and Scientific Report. He is selected as the top 1% most highly cited author by RSC and Clarivate Analytics. He is also among the “Top 2% Scientists Worldwide” by Stanford. His H-index is >100 and i10-index >300. He is a RSC Fellow. |
|
Prof. Urska Lavrencic Stangar
University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia Title: "Thin Films for Photocatalysis" Urška Lavrenčič Štangar began her career at the National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, researching sol-gel materials for various electrochemical devices. She was a postdoc at the Vienna University of Technology, Institute of Materials Chemistry, with Lise Meitner and Marie Curie fellowships. Then she joined University of Nova Gorica, where she did pioneering work in the field of photocatalysis for environmental applications in Slovenia. She was also Head of the Laboratory for Environmental Research and later Dean of the School of Environmental Sciences. She was President of the Organising Committee of the 3rd European Symposium on Photocatalysis. Since 2016, she has been Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana, and leads the national research programme “Chemistry for Sustainable Development”. She has published more than 150 articles with over 4000 citations and is editor of the Chemical Engineering Journal. |
|
Dr. Vojtech Uhlir
Brno University of Technology, Brno, Czech Republic Title: "Control, Imaging, and Dynamics of Metamagnetic Transitions in FeRh Nanostructures" Vojtěch Uhlíř was born in Uherské Hradiště (former Czechoslovakia) in 1983. He received a MEng. degree in Physical Engineering from Brno University of Technology, the Czech Republic in 2006. His diploma thesis was devoted to investigation of magnetic properties of thin films by magneto-optical Kerr effect. In 2010, he received a Ph.D. in Physics from University of Grenoble, France and in Physical and Materials Engineering from Brno University of Technology for his work on current-induced magnetization dynamics in nanostructures. During the postdoctoral appointment at University of California, San Diego he was involved in several projects – all-optical magnetization switching, magnetic vortex dynamics and modification of magnetic properties by electric field. In 2016 he moved to Czechia to Brno University of Technology and since January 2018 holds a Research Group Leader position at Central European Institute of Technology. |
|
Priv.-Doz. Dr. Yolanda Salinas
Assistant Professor (with Habilitation) at Institute of Polymer Chemistry, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria Title: "Sustainable and functional hybrid nanomaterials for nanomedicine and optoelectronics" Priv.-Doz. Dr. Yolanda Salinas graduated as a Chemical Engineer in 2008 at the University of Valencia, and she finished her PhD in Chemistry in 2013 at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (Spain), based on mesoporous silica particles for optical recognition of explosives involving supramolecular interactions. Then, a Marie Curie Experience Researcher postdoc position within Prof. Resmini’s group enabled her to develop for two years responsive nanogels for cancer treatment, at the Queen Mary University of London (UK). In 2015, she joined the Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria, as an Assistant professor within the team of Prof. Brüggemann at the Institute of Polymer Chemistry. In 2017 she was awarded with her first independent funding (Young Career Project) from the JKU’s elite funding system, Linz Institute of Technology. That allowed her to build up her sub-group working on sustainable, degradable organosilica-based nanomaterials, as well as motorized nanoparticles for active drug delivery and other nanomedical applications. Besides, in the last years, her research has gained significant impact on fine-tuning highly luminescent nanostructured perovskites for optoelectronics, in collaboration with Prof. Sariciftci and Prof. Scharber (Linz Institute for Organic Solar Cells, JKU) together with the Brno University of Technology (Czech Republic). She has published 42 peer-reviewed papers in well-known chemistry and materials journals (two of them highly cited reviews) and she is a co-author in 3 books (one of them is her Biography), as well as Guest Editor of a Special Issue ("Development of Biomaterials for Using as Nanomedicines and Drug Delivery") in Materials, an MDPI journal. In 2021 she obtained her Habilitation (Venia Docenci) in Polymers and Materials Chemistry and in the last years she has received several awards, such as the Cardinal Innitzer Award 2022 presented to outstanding young Austrian scholars in support of advancing science, and the Habilitation Award from the Austrian Chemical Society 2022, among other regional gender equality prizes. |
|
Dr. Flavio Carsughi
Jülich Centre for Neutron Science at MLZ, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany Title: "NFFA-Europe Pilot: a great research and innovation opportunity for the European and worldwide nanoscience community" Flavio Carsughi has a degree in Nuclear Engineering, Material Sciences, at Politecnico di Milano, Italy, and a PhD in Physics at RWTH Aachen, Germany. His current position is as a scientist at the Forschungszentrum Juelich. In his scientific activity, he has used neutron as well as synchrotron radiation beams to investigate on the condensed matter, with a special focus on radiation damage characterization, biophysics and treatment of Small-Angle Scattering data. He has wide experience in managing EU project, such as, for example, SoftComp (A Network of Excellence 2004-2010), ESMI/EUSMI (Research Infrastructure 2011-2021), GNeuS (COFUND of the MSCA program 2021-ongoing), NFFA-Europe/NFFA-Europe-Pilot (Research Infrastructure 2015-ongoing). |