Plenary Speakers
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Prof. Reshef Tenne
Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel Title: "Inorganic nanotubes- synthesis, properties and applications" Reshef Tenne was born in 1944 in Kibbutz Usha. He earned his Ph.D. in 1976 in the Hebrew University. He joined the Weizmann Institute in 1979, where he was promoted to a professor in 1995. In 1992 he discovered a new family of nanomaterials- the so-called inorganic nanotubes and fullerene-like (IF) nanoparticles from layered compounds (2D materials). He and his research group synthesized and studied many kinds of inorganic nanotubes. He received numerous prizes including lately the ACS Chemistry of Materials award (2023) and the Von Hippel award of the MRS (2023)- the highest recognition of this society. He is a Fellow of several organizations and a member of the Israeli Academy of Sciences and Humanities; Academia Europaea and the European Academy of Arts and Sciences. |
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Prof. Shelley Minteer
University of Utah, United States Title: "Bioelectrocatalysis for Electrosynthesis" Dr. Shelley Minteer is a Professor of Chemistry and the Director of the Kummer Institute Center for Resource Sustainability at Missouri University of Science and Technology. She is also the Director of the NSF Center for Synthetic Organic Electrochemistry. She received her PhD in Analytical Chemistry at the University of Iowa in 2000 under the direction of Professor Johna Leddy. After receiving her PhD, she spent 11 years as a faculty in the Department of Chemistry at Saint Louis University before moving to the University of Utah in 2011 to lead the USTAR Alternative Energy Cluster. She was a Technical Editor for the Journal of the Electrochemical Society (2013-2016) and also an Associate Editor for the Journal of the American Chemical Society (2016-2020) before becoming the inaugural Editor-in-Chief of the ACS Au Journals. She has published greater than 450 publications and greater than 550 presentations at national and international conferences and universities. She has won several awards including the Luigi Galvani Prize of the Bioelectrochemical Society, International Society of Electrochemistry Tajima Prize and Bioelectrochemistry Prize, Grahame Award of the Electrochemical Society, Fellow of the Electrochemical Society and the International Society of Electrochemistry, American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry Award in Electrochemistry, and the Society of Electroanalytical Chemists' Young Investigator Award and Reilley Award. Her research interests are focused on electrocatalysis and bioanalytical electrochemistry for biosensors, biofuel cells, electrosynthesis, and bioelectronics. |
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Prof. Ulrich Wiesner
Cornell University, Ithaca, USA Title: "Nanostructured functional materials and their applications" Ulrich (Uli) Wiesner studied Chemistry at the University of Mainz, Germany, and UC Irvine, CA. He gained his Ph.D. in 1991 in Physical Chemistry with work at the Max-Planck-Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P), Mainz, on holographic information storage in polymer liquid crystals. After a two-year postdoc at E.S.P.C.I. in Paris, France, on local dynamics-mechanical property correlations in polyesters, he returned to the MPI-P in 1993. In 1998 he finished his Habilitation with work on block copolymers under oscillatory shear and block copolymer ionomers and received tenure as an MPI-P staff member. He joined the Cornell University, NY, Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) faculty in 1999 as a tenured Associate Professor, became a Full Professor in 2005, and since 2008 is the Spencer T. Olin Professor of Engineering. At Cornell, he holds secondary appointments (field membership) in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE), Biomedical Engineering (BME), and Chemistry and Chemical Biology (CCB). Since January of 2023 he is an inaugural faculty member of the multi-college Department of Design Tech at Cornell and Professor of Design Tech. Since his arrival at Cornell, he has worked at the interface between polymer science and inorganic/solid-state chemistry with the goal to generate multifunctional nanomaterials for applications including energy conversion and storage, clean water, and nanomedicine. From 2015-2021 he was the co-director of the MSKCC-Cornell Center for Translation of Cancer Nanomedicine (MC2TCN), one of six Centers for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNE) funded by the NCI. |
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Prof. Yoshihiro Iwasa
Deputy Director, RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science, Saitama, Japan Title: "Symmetry and nonlinear responses in nanomaterials" Yoshihiro Iwasa earned his Ph.D. in 1986 from The University of Tokyo, where he later held positions as a research associate and then a lecturer. In 1993-1994, he was a visiting scientist at AT&T Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, USA. In 1994, Iwasa transitioned to associate professor at the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST), before ascending to the position of full professor at the Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University in 2001. In 2010, he made the move to the Department of Applied Physics at The University of Tokyo, concurrently taking on the role of team leader at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science. His research expertise lies in the realm of nanomaterial physics, with a specific focus on 2D materials. Iwasa's work centers on field effect control of the quantum phase of matter through innovative device designs. Throughout his illustrious career, he has garnered several awards, including the Japan IBM Science Prize, The Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of MEXT, the Honda Frontier Prize, and the Nishina Memorial Prize. |
Keynote Speakers
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Prof. Ernst Wagner
Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Munich, Germany Title: "Genome Editing and RNA Delivery by Chemical Evolution" Prof. Ernst Wagner is Chair of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Pharmacy at LMU Munich since 2001. After PhD in chemistry (1985, TU Vienna, Austria) he was postdoc at ETH Zurich (1985-1987), working on origin-of-life chemistry of nucleic acids, Group Leader at IMP Vienna (1988-1995) exploring receptor-mediated gene delivery, Director for Cancer Vaccines (1992-2001) at Boehringer Ingelheim Austria, preparing the world-wide first polymer-based gene therapy trial in 1994. In 1996 he was Professor for Biopharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University. Ernst is Academician of European Academy of Sciences, member of College of Fellows of Controlled Release Society (CRS), Guest Professor at Fudan University (2012), Honorary Professor at Sichuan University (2018) and Jinan University (2021), Board Member of German Society for Gene Therapy and Nonviral Therapeutic Delivery Committee, America Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT). He authored 523 publications, >54 500 citations, h-index 116 (GS). |
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Prof. Naoki Komatsu
Kyoto University, Japan Title: “RadioNano Therapeutics” for Cancer by Functionally Programmed Medical Nanodevices" Prof. Komatsu received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctor’s degrees from Kyoto University in 1986, 1988 and 1993, respectively. He joined Okayama University in 1993 and moved to Kyoto University as Assistant Professor in 1994. In 1997, he worked at Florida State University as a visiting scholar for one year. In 2003, he moved from Kyoto University to Shiga University of Medical Science as Associate Professor. He was promoted to full Professor at Kyoto University in 2015. He is one of the cofounders of the startup “RadioNano Therapeutics Inc.” which was established in Apr. 2024, based on the novel “RadioNano” sensitizer in boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) for cancer. His research concept is to “apply organic chemistry to nanomaterials” including supramolecular chemistry for structural separation of nanocarbons and synthetic organic chemistry on inorganic nanoparticles for cancer nanomedicine. |
Organizer Talks
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Prof. Dominik Eder
Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria Title: "Water-stable Metal-organic Frameworks for Photoelectrocatalytic Water Treatment and Solar Fuel Production" Prof. Dominik Eder is head of the "Molecular Materials Chemistry" division at IMC at TU Wien. His division currently consists of 4 subgroups (faculty members), 4 non-scientific staff and about 20 students and postdocs. His research interests include the synthesis and characterization of nanocarbon hybrids, 0-2D molecular inorganics, metal organic frameworks (MOFs), zeolites and ordered mesoporous transition metal oxides and their in-depth fundamental evaluation for catalysis/photocatalysis, photovoltaics and electrochemical storage applications. His group has been instrumental in the introduction and development of nanocarbon-inorganic hybrid materials as a new class of functional composites. |
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Prof. Alla Zak
Holon Institute of Technology, Holon, Israel Title: "Inorganic nanotubes: synthesis properties and applications" Prof. Alla Zak is Dean of the Faculty of Sciences and Head of the Nanomaterials Laboratory at HIT, and Scientific Advisor in the Dept. of Molecular Chemistry and Materials Science at the Weizmann Institute of Science. An expert in nanoscience and nanotechnology, she holds a PhD from the Dept. of Materials and Interfaces at the Weizmann Institute and an MSc and BSc in Physics from Kishinev University in Moldova. Before joining HIT in 2012 she served as Chief Scientist at NanoMaterials Ltd. Prof. Zak holds 4 patents, has published more than 80 scientific papers, participated in more than 70 scientific conferences worldwide, and received several national and international awards and grants, in recognition of her excellence and innovation in research. The research of A. Zak is focused on synthetic of nanospheres and nanotubes from layered transition metal dichalcogenides useful in various electro-mechanical or electro-optical implementations. The unique properties of these material already proved their effectiveness for such applications as strengthening of polymers, piezoresistive sensors, effective catalyst for electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), as solar cells, memory for artificial vision system and others. |
Invited Speakers
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Prof. Larysa Baraban
Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany Title: "Role of nano- and microreactors for tumour modeling and clinical diagnostics" Prof. Dr. Larysa Baraban is the professor at the Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus of Dresden University of Technology. She is the head of department Nano-microsystems for life sciences and is the ERC Consolidator Grantee, keeping the main mission of her research to bridge the materials science and nanotechnology with the world of cancer research. She strongly contributes to the idea of the development of the nanoscopic biosensors and makes the links between the materials and life sciences. |
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Prof. Ladislav Kavan
The Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic Title: "Band structure and electrochemistry of semiconducting oxides for energy applications" Prof. Dr. Ladislav Kavan is a senior scientist at the J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences. His has been a guest scientist at the Fritz Haber Institute in Berlin, Germany, the University of Gunma in Kiryu, Japan, and the Institute of Solid State and Materials Research in Dresden, Germany. He has also conducted many research stays at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), where he has held the position of visiting professor of physical chemistry since 1988. Kavan’s research focuses on nanocarbons, oxide semiconductors, dye-sensitized and perovskite solar cells, spectro/photo/electrochemistry, and lithium batteries. He has received nine European research grants (FP5-FP7, H2020) that supported work in photocatalysis, photovoltaics, and nanocarbons, including participation in the Graphene Flagship project. Among his accolades are the Award of the Czech Academy of Sciences for outstanding scientific results (2008), the František Běhounek Prize for promoting the Czech Republic and science within the European Research Area (2017), the silver medal from the Faculty of Science, Charles University (2019), and Metrohm’s award for a lifetime contribution to electroanalytical chemistry (2021). He has co-authored three books and over 330 scientific publications, which have acquired over 18,700 citations; H-index = 63. |
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Prof. Josep Puigmarti-Luis
University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain Title: "Revolutionizing materials engineering and processing with microfluidic tools" Prof. Dr. Josep Puigmartí-Luis is a Full Professor at University of Barcelona, working on controlled synthesis of functional materials with the aid of microfluidic technologies. His work in supramolecular and flow chemistry, has been awarded with “Premi Antoni de Martí i Franquès de Ciències Químiques”, award from the Institut d’Estudis Catalans (2009), St. Jordi award from the Institut d’Estudis Catalans and the Societat Catalana de Química (2006) and an ETH fellowship in 2008. In 2012, he was appointed a Ramon Y Cajal (RyC) researcher, and in 2015 was awarded an ERC starting grant to study and control self-assembly processes of metal-organic based crystalline materials. In 2019, he was appointed as an ICREA Research Professor, and since 2020, his group is located at the University of Barcelona (UB). He was also awarded "Rising Star Award" from IEEE-3M Nano Community in 2023. |
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Prof. Daniela Placha
VŠB-Technical University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic Prof. Daniela Plachá obtained her MSc. degree in the Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology, Prague, the Czech Republic (1991), her Ph.D. in the Protection of the Environment in industry from the VSB - Technical University of Ostrava, the Czech Republic (2004). Since 2020 she is a full Professor (Prof.) of the Protection of the Environment, VSB – Technical University of Ostrava, Faculty of Mining and Geology (2020) teaching and tutoring students in field of organic chemistry, nanotechnology and environmental science. Daniela Plachá started her career at the VSB - TUO in 1996 as an analytical chemist in the field of chromatography. In 2008, she started to devote herself to science and research, namely the applications of nanomaterials in the field of the environment, and then to the development and research of nanocomposites for environmental and biomedical purposes. Currently, she is the Head of the Nanotechnology Centre of the Centre for Energy and Environmental Technologies, VSB - TUO. Research interests of Daniela Plachá are in the area of application of nanotechnology and nanomaterials in the environmental chemistry and biomedicine. The Laboratory of Advanced Nanotechnology Materials led by D. Plachá focuses particularly on synthesis of nanoparticles, nanomaterials, nanofibers and nanocomposites, their characterization, applications and environmental impacts. |
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Prof. Salvador Pané i Vidal
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland Title: "Magnetic Micro- and Nanorobots" Prof. Salvador Pané i Vidal (Barcelona 1980) is a Professor of Materials for Robotics at the Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems (IRIS) and co-director of the Multi-Scale Robotics Lab at ETH Zürich. He earned his B.S. (2003), M.S. (2004), and a Ph.D. in Chemistry (2008) from the University of Barcelona (UB). Prof. Pané has authored over 200 articles in international peer-reviewed journals and books on science education. His current focus is on integrating chemistry and materials with small-scale robotics. He has served as coordinator for the FET Open project (MANAQA) and FET Proactive (ANGIE). In 2013, he received the Starting Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). From 2015 to 2019, he chaired the COST Action "e-MINDS" and represents Switzerland in the European Academy of Surface Technology. Prof. Pané is a co-founder of Magnes AG, Oxyle AG and Swiss Vascular AG. In 2017, he was honored with the Big-on-Small Award at the International Conference on Manipulation, Automation, and Robotics at Small Scales (MARSS) and received a Consolidator Grant (ERC) in 2019, along with the ERC Proof-of-Concept grant in the same year. |
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Prof. Yogendra Kumar Mishra
University of Southern Denmark, Sønderborg, Denmark Title: "Tetrapods based Smart Materials for Advanced Technologies" Yogendra Kumar Mishra is Professor MSO at Mads Clausen Institute, NanoSYD, University of Southern Denmark (SDU), Denmark. Prior to SDU, he worked as group leader at Kiel University, Germany. He earned habilitation (Dr. habil.) in Materials Science from Kiel University in 2015 and Ph. D. in Physics in 2008 from Jawaharlal Nehru University (Inter University Accelerator Centre), New Delhi, India. He has introduced a new flame-based synthesis method for growth of tetrapod structures form zinc oxide and their highly porous 3D interconnected flexible networks. The tetrapods and their 3D networks have demonstrated many applications in engineering, agriculture, and biomedical fields. Additionally, tetrapods can be used as templates to create hybrid and new 3D materials. At SDU Sønderborg, he is heading ‘Smart Materials’ group with the focus to develop new materials for green and sustainable technologies. He is Humboldtian and recently honored with FRSC- Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry.
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Prof. Filippo Rossi
Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI), Milan, Italy Title:"Colloid surface functionalization to improve the performances of polymeric nanoparticles in central nervous system" Prof. Filippo Rossi (1984) is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI) and director of the 3Ce Lab at POLIMI. From 2015 he is also enrolled as Visiting Professors at Keio University (since 2018), at University of Southern Switzerland (since 2022) and at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (since 2025). He earned his B.S. (2005), M.S. (2007), and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering (2011) from POLIMI. His main research interests are in the field of innovative polymeric materials for nanomedicine, drug delivery and tissue engineering with experimental and model studies. Prof. Rossi has authored over 150 articles in international peer-reviewed journals and books on science education. For his research activities he has been awarded with several international prizes and appointed as Fellow of the Global Young Academy, Full Member of Sigma Xi and Fellow of the Accademia Petrarca di lettere, arti e scienze. |
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Prof. Rasa Pauliukaite
Center for Physical Sciences and Technology, Vilnius, Lithuania Title:"Carbon nanomaterials for electrochemical sensing" Prof. Dr. Rasa Pauliukaite is a chief researcher at the Center for Physical Sciences and Technology (FTMC) in Lithuania, where she is also head of the Functional Nanomaterials Laboratory at the Department of Nanoengineering. She received her Ph.D. in Natural Sciences, (Physical) Chemistry from the Institute of Chemistry, Vilnius, Lithuania in 1998. Since 2000, she has held several postdoctoral positions in different European groups such as Karl-Franzens University Graz, Austria; National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia; ETH Zurich, Switzerland; and University of Coimbra, Portugal. During postdoctoral fellowships she changed her research interests to electroanalysis and development of electrochemical (bio)sensors. She returned to Vilnius and joined FTMC in 2010. Her research interests are focused on the development of (bio)sensors, including new materials, conducting polymers, sensor architecture, etc. |
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Prof. Ciprian Iliescu
Polytechnic University of Bucharest, Romania Dr. Ciprian Iliescu-received B.S. and PhD degrees from Polytechnic University of Bucharest in 1989 and 1999 respectively. While pursuing his PhD degree he worked at Baneasa S.A. where he was involved in the design and fabrication of pressure sensors. Between 2001 and 2003 he worked as Post Doc at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and was involved in projects related to microphone, wafer level packaging of MEMS devices and RF microrelay. Between 2003 and 2017 he was with IBN, Singapore as Research Scientist and Senior Research Scientist being involved in projects related to drug screening, dielectrophoresis, electrical characterization of cells by impedance spectroscopy, liquid biopsy and transdermal drug delivery using microneedles array. He was also visiting PI @ IMT Bucharest where he set up the ''Micro and Nanofluidic lab''. He was with BIHHEART @ NUS, Singapore between 2017 and 2019. From 2019 he returned in Romania being affiliated with IMT Bucharest, and Regional Institute of Oncology, Iasi. His current research projects relate to molecular diagnostic, nanomedicine, transdermal drug delivery and e-tattoo. Dr. Iliescu is a member of Academy of Romanian Scientists. |
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Prof. Erik Reimhult
BOKU University, Vienna, Austria Title: "Studying bacteria and their interactions with holographic microscopy" E. Reimhult obtained his PhD in 2004 from Chalmers University of Technology, which was followed by postdocs at IMRE in Singapore and ETH Zürich. From 2008, he was a Senior scientist in the Laboratory for Surface Science and Technology at ETH Zürich, supervising a group working on lipid membranes, nanoparticles, and biosensors. Since 2010, he has been a Professor of Nanobiotechnology at BOKU University and head of the Institute of Colloid and Biointerface Science. He was awarded the ERC Consolidator Grant in 2012, followed by an ERC PoC grant, and was elected to the Young Academy of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in 2013. His research is currently focused on using colloidal methods to study the interactions of bacteria and biofilms with solid and liquid interfaces, fabricating functional bionanocomposites, and synthesizing responsive polymer nanostructures with applications in biotechnology and medicine. While primarily focusing on fundamental research in these areas, his research has led to numerous patents and three spin-offs. |
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Prof. Candan Tamerler
University of Kansas, United States Title: "Biomimetic, Biohybrid and Bioactive Interfaces and Materials Design Guided by Machine Learning Algorithms" Dr. Candan Tamerler is a Spahr professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department and the Bioengineering Program at the University of Kansas (KU). She currently serves as Associate Vice Chancellor for Research at KU, after having served three years as the School of Engineering's Associate Dean for Research. Prior to KU, Dr. Tamerler was a faculty member in the Materials Science and Engineering Department, and served as the assistant director of the GEMSEC (Genetically-Engineered Materials Science & Engineering Center, an NSF-MRSEC) at the University of Washington, and professor and chair of the Molecular Biology and Genetics Department at the Istanbul Technical University (ITU). While at ITU, Dr. Tamerler founded and served as the director of the Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Research Center (MOBGAM). Dr. Tamerler`s research has a strong interdisciplinary approach being at the intersection of engineering, biology, and nanotechnology. Her most notable contributions include engineering peptide and proteins to modulate materials/tissue interfacial interactions and designing biomimetic bioactive and functional materials for oral and overall health care. She has more than 200 publications and several patents. She received the 2023 Distinguished Scientist/Engineer Award by the Functional Materials Division of the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS). Tamerler is a Fellow of the Turkish Academy of Science (TÜBA), Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). |
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Prof. Uri Banin
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel Title: "Colloidal quantum dot molecules: Fusion chemistry, multiexciton spectroscopy and color switching" Uri Banin received his B.Sc. degree summa cum laude (1989) and Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry summa cum laude (1994), all from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. After his postdoc as a Fullbright and Rothschild fellow (UC Berkeley, 1994-1997) he joined the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1997) where he is a Full Professor since 2004, holding the Alfred and Erica Larisch Memorial Chair. He was the founding director of the Hebrew University Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (2001-2010), served on the scientific advisory board of Nanosys Inc. (2002-2007), was the founder (2009) of Qlight Nanotech that developed the use of quantum dots in displays – and that was acquired by Merck in 2015. He served as an Associate Editor of the ACS journal Nano Letters (2013-2021). Banin is studying the chemistry and physics of nanocrystals and is best known for inventing new types of semiconductor and hybrid semiconductor-metal nanocrystals, and for his studies on their unique chemical and physical properties with relevance for applications in nanotechnology in the fields of displays, alternative energy especially photocatalysis, materials science and quantum technologies. He published over 240 papers that have been widely cited and is an inventor of over 30 patents in nanotechnology. He received numerous awards including the Michael Bruno memorial award (2007-2010), the Landau prize in Nanotechnology (2015), the Israel Chemical Society Prize of Excellence (2018) a Miller fellowship at UC Berkeley (2019), and the Rothschild prize in chemical sciences (2024). He received the ERC advanced investigator grant twice (Project DCENSY 2010-2015; Project CoupledNC 2017-2023). |
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Prof. Maya Bar Sadan
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel Title: "Innovative Phosphides for Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution and Alcohol Oxidation Catalysis" Prof. Maya Bar Sadan is the Head of the Department of Chemistry at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. She earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry and Materials Science from the Weizmann Institute of Science in 2007. Following her doctorate, she was awarded a Minerva Foundation (Max Planck Society) postdoctoral fellowship, conducting research at the Institute of Solid-State Research and the Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons in Jülich, Germany. She joined Ben-Gurion University in 2011. Prof. Bar Sadan has been recognized for her excellence in both teaching and research. She received the Charles Roth Prize for Teaching Excellence from Ben-Gurion University in 2014 and the Krill Prize for Scientific Excellence from the Wolf Foundation in 2016. Her research focuses on correlating macroscopic properties, such as catalytic activity and optical behavior, with atomic-scale structures. Leveraging advanced high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and spectroscopy, she aims to design innovative electrocatalysts and photocatalysts. |
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Prof. Jurriaan Huskens
Institute for Nanotechnology (MESA+), University of Twente, Netherlands Title: "Multivalent Interactions in the Detection of DNA and Viruses" Jurriaan Huskens (1968) studied chemical engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology, and obtained his PhD (1994) at the Delft University of Technology with Herman van Bekkum. After postdoctoral stays with Dean Sherry (UT Dallas) and Manfred Reetz (MPI Kohlenforschung), he became assistant professor (1998) with David Reinhoudt at the University of Twente, where he became full professor “Molecular Nanofabrication” in 2005. He received the Unilever Research Award 1990, a Marie Curie fellowship (1997), the Gold Medal 2007 of the Royal Netherlands Chemical Society, a Fellowship of the Institute of Advanced Study, Durham University, UK (2019) and an ERC Advanced Grant (2024). Present research interests encompass: multivalency, virus and DNA sensing, supramolecular chemistry at interfaces, supramolecular materials, nanofabrication, and green chemistry. |
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Prof. Jozef Keckes
University of Leoben, Leoben, Austria Title: "In-situ nanoscale characterization of strains and microstructure in thin films" Jozef Keckes is a professor of material physics at Montanuniversität Leoben in Austria. His experimental research focuses on the extensive application of synchrotron X-ray diffraction in materials science, primarily for the characterization of thin films, coatings, metals, microelectronic components, and cellulosic materials. His work addresses both fundamental and applied aspects, analyzing the correlation between microstructure and strain on one side and the functional properties of materials on the other. A key focus of his research is the investigation of materials under operando and in-situ conditions, integrating a range of external stimuli to replicate real-world environments. This approach involves the incorporation of mechanical testing, controlled thermal conditions, and hydrogen charging directly into synchrotron experiments. These methodologies aim to uncover changes in strain and stress distributions, material microstructure, phase transformations, and functional performance. Jozef Keckes also serves as an editor for the Journal of Applied Crystallography. |
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Prof. Sharath Sriram
RMIT University, Australia Title: "Semiconductor biosensors for non-invasive diagnostics" Professor Sharath Sriram is a science and research leader creating and delivering breakthrough technologies in nanoelectronics, sensors, and medical technologies. He jointly leads the Functional Materials and Microsystems Research Group at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. The team are focussed on translating technology for healthcare, to bring science fiction to reality. Sharath led and coordinated a $60 million multi-user, inter-disciplinary research facility for micro- and nano-fabrication. He is currently leading medical device prototyping and scale-up manufacturing initiatives, as Director of the Discovery to Device Facility. He is the President of Science & Technology Australia and an active contributor to science policy with a focus on innovation and long-term strategy, research translation and commercialisation, and support for early- and mid-career researchers. |
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Prof. Ivana Vinkovic Vrcek
Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Zagreb, Croatia Title: "Endocrine disrupting activity of complex mixtures with plastic nanoparticles" Prof. Dr. Ivana Vinković Vrček is employed as Scientific Adviser Tenure at the Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health in Zagreb, and engaged as Titular Professor of Biochemistry at the Faculty of Medicine in Rijeka. Dr Ivana Vinković Vrček has pioneered Safe-by-Design approach in Croatian nanomedicine. Her research group is a unique multidisciplinary team focused on interaction of nanomaterials with biological systems and development nano-enabled tools for biomedicine. She is leader of a number of national and international research projects and actively participates in Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects. She supervised more than 10 PhD students and a number of PostDocs. Dr Vinković Vrček is a member of Thematic innovation council for health and quality of life of the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts of the Republic of Croatia. She is Croatian member in the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Scientific Network on Risk Assessment of Nanotechnologies in Food and Feed, nominated expert in the Cross-Cutting Working Group on Particle Risk Assessment at EFSA, Croatian expert in the Nanomaterials Expert Group (NMEG) of the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) and Head of Delegation of the Republic of Croatia in the Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). |
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Dr. Salih Veziroglu
Kiel University, Kiel, Germany Title: "Metal Oxide Nanocomposites: From Nanoscale Fabrication to Photocatalytic-Related Applications" Salih Veziroglu completed a bachelor's degree in chemistry (2007-2011) and a master's degree in Materials Science and Mechanical Engineering (2012-2014) at Erciyes University, Türkiye. In 2020, he earned his PhD, supported by Federal State Funding, from the Institute of Materials Science at Kiel University, focusing on functional metal oxide surfaces. Following his PhD, he established the Nano, Energy, and Surface Engineering subgroup within the Chair for Multicomponent Materials, led by Prof. Franz Faupel. His work spans various German Research Foundation (DFG) projects, with a focus on developing metal oxide-based materials and surfaces for practical applications. Currently, he has authored over 42 articles in international peer-reviewed journals and books. |
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Prof. Masazumi Fujiwara
Okayama University, Okayama, Japan Title: "Nanodiamond quantum thermometers and their applications" Masazumi Fujiwara is a Professor at the Department of Chemistry at Okayama University, Japan. He leads the Nanochemistry Group, focusing on nanodiamond-based quantum sensing for chemical and biological applications. Currently, he serves as the PI for several research projects, including those funded by Grant-in-Aid (A) and the International Strategic Grant (A) by JSPS, which explore diamond quantum thermometry. Additionally, he is a Co-PI in the JST-ASPIRE International Strategic Partnership Project for Quantum Sensing. |
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Prof. Krzysztof Pielichowski
Cracow University of Technology, Kraków, Poland Title: "Synthesis and Characterization of Polyurethane/POSS Hybrid Nanomaterials" Professor Krzysztof Pielichowski, head of Department of Chemistry and Technology of Polymers, Cracow University of Technology, and chairman of the Polish Society of Calorimetry and Thermal Analysis, is an expert in polymer (nano)technology and chemistry, thermal analysis and flame retardancy, particularly in the areas of polymer nanocomposites with engineering polymers and hybrid organic-inorganic nanomaterials containing POSS. He is co-author (or editor) of nine books and over 160 papers with impact factor, including K. Pielichowski, T.M. Majka (Eds.), Polymer Composites with functionalized nanoparticles. Synthesis, properties and applications, Elsevier, Amsterdam 2019. He has been recipient of a number of international and national awards, such as Kosciuszko Foundation Fellowship in 2000, Fulbright Fellowship Award in 2003 and the Rector of CUT Awards. He has also been a consultant or cooperating with a number of companies, such as ABB and Grupa Azoty SA. He is a member of the Committee of Chemistry and Committee of Chemical and Process Engineering of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Commission of Technical Sciences of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was supervisor of 16 Ph.D. thesis (completed) and four currently running. |
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Prof. Wilfred G. van der Wiel
University of Twente, Netherlands Title: "Information processing in disordered nanoelectronic devices" Wilfred G. van der Wiel (Gouda, 1975) is full professor of Nanoelectronics and director of the BRAINS Center for Brain-Inspired Nano Systems at the University of Twente, The Netherlands. He holds a second professorship at the Institute of Physics of the University of Münster, Germany. His research focuses on unconventional electronics for efficient information processing. Van der Wiel is a pioneer in material learning at the nanoscale, realizing computational functionality and artificial intelligence in 'designless' nanomaterial substrates through principles analogous to machine learning. He is author of more than 125 journal articles receiving over 13,000 citations. |
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Prof. Anna Klinkova
University of Waterloo, Canada Title: "Fine geometry control in metal nanoparticles for catalytic application" Dr. Anna Klinkova is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Waterloo. Her group's research is focused on developing systematic understanding of nanocrystal formation mechanisms and studying the effects of nanoparticle composition, morphology, and surface chemistry on their physicochemical properties relevant to thermo-, photo- and electrocatalysis and its mechanisms. Dr. Klinkova holds BSc in Chemistry from Saint Petersburg State University (2009), MSc in Chemistry and Photochemical Sciences from Bowling Green State University (2011), and PhD in Chemistry from the University of Toronto (2015), with her dissertation focused on the synthesis and applications of plasmonic nanoparticles and their self-assembly. In 2015, she was a recipient of the Connaught Postdoctoral Fellowship, which she held to conduct interdisciplinary research at the University of Toronto with Prof. Ted Sargent and Prof. Eugenia Kumacheva; her research aimed at designing electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction to liquid fuels. She was named a University Research Chair (2024) and a Nanoscale (RSC) Emerging Investigator (2023), and her research work has been recognized with the International Association of Colloid and Interface Scientists Emerging Investigator Award (2022), Nano Ontario Outstanding Early-Career Achievements Award (2022), and the University of Waterloo Excellence in Science Research Award (2022). |
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Prof. Klara Hernadi
University of Miskolc, Hungary Title: "Experimental and theoretical aspects of CCVD synthesis of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes" Klara Hernadi received her MSc degree in chemistry from the University of Szeged in 1983, PhD/Candidate of Chemical Science from the Hungarian Sciences in 1993, and Doctor of Chemical Science in 2004 (HAS). She had short-term employments at Texas A&M University, at Facultés Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix (Namur Belgium) and at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (Switzerland). Currently she is a full professor at the University of Miskolc, previously she worked at the University of Szeged. Her current research interest covers various topics in the field of nanocrystalline materials (carbon nanotubes, photoactive semiconductors, nanocomposites, etc. |
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Prof. Anja Boisen
Technical University of Denmark, Denmark Title: " Therapeutic drug monitoring and self-powered ingestible devices" Anja Boisen is head of section and professor at the Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark. Her research group focuses on the development and application of nano-sensors, energy harvesting in the body, and ingestible devices for sensing, sampling, and delivery. Anja is a cofounder of several companies and is, among others, a member of the board of the Leo Foundation, the Danish Academy of the Technical Sciences, and the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences. She has been awarded the largest research prize in Denmark, the Villum Kann Rasmussen Award, and the Order of Dannebrog by Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark. |
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Prof. Antonio Villaverde
Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain Title: "Artificial amyloids as implantable depots for the slow delivery of protein nanoparticles and therapeutic proteins" A. Villaverde is Chair Professor of Microbiology at the Department of Genetics and Microbiology and leader of the Nanobiotechnology group at the Institute for Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona. He coordinates a research team of about 20 people that is member of the Networking Biomedical Research Center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN). He also leads the Innovative Biodrugs Team of the Catalan autonomous government. Prof. Villaverde has authored more than 340 peer-reviewed research and review papers on microbiology-biotechnology-nanosciences, apart from several books, book chapters, patents and more than 330 communications to congresses. A. Villaverde founded the Open-Access journal Microbial Cell Factories, of which he has been Editor-in-Chief from 2002 to 2016. |
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Prof. Dirk Kuckling
Paderborn University, Paderborn, Germany Title: "STIMULI-DEGRADABLE POLYMERS FOR TRIGGERED DRUG RELEASE" Prof. Dr. Dirk Kuckling is the Head of the Institute and holds the W3 Professorship for Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry at Paderborn University, Germany. He earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel in 1994, with a dissertation focused on the stereoselective synthesis of Bi[10]paracyclophanes and enantiomerically pure trisubstituted tetrahydrofurans. Following postdoctoral research at the Technical University of Dresden, he completed his habilitation in Macromolecular Chemistry in 2004, presenting work on smart hydrogels. Prof. Kuckling has held visiting positions at Stanford University and was appointed to his current role at Paderborn University in March 2008. His research interests include the development of novel polymers from renewable resources and the creation of (bio-)degradable polymers with enhanced properties. In recognition of his contributions, he was awarded an honorary professorship at Jiangsu University in Zhenjiang, China, in October 2019. |
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Prof. Adalgisa Sinicropi
University of Siena, Italy Title: "DESIGN OF NOVEL ORGANIC COMPOUNDS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOLAR ENERGY CONVERSION DEVICES" Prof. Adalgisa Sinicropi (Female), FRSC, Associate Professor at the University of Siena, President of the Administrative Board and Co-founder of the Spin-off LifeCARES srl, Renewable Energy and Sustainability, (www.lifecares.unisi.it) and group leader of the R2ES Lab (www.r2eslab.com). She is a specialist in computational chemistry and her recognized research activity comprises the design and characterization by computational methods and life cycle analysis of innovative materials to produce new-generation photovoltaics characterized by high efficiency, stability, and high environmental added value. More specifically, she acquired a robust experience researching structural patterns to impart specific optical characteristics to chromophores to optimize solar cell properties and the life cycle environmental impact analysis of materials and their reuse/recycling potential. |
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Prof. Ioan-Cezar MARCU
University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania Title: "Highly effective hydrodeoxygenation catalysts obtained from transition-metal-containing layered double hydroxide precursors" Prof. Marcu got his BSc in Chemistry & Physics in 1995, and his MSc in Heterogeneous Catalysis in 1996 at the University of Bucharest. In 2002 he received his PhD in Catalysis at the Institute of Catalysis, University "Claude Bernard" Lyon 1, France, and was appointed as a lecturer at the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Bucharest. 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 the University of Bucharest. He got his Habilitation in Catalysis in 2013, and was appointed Professor of Chemical Technology and Catalysis at the University of Bucharest in February 2020. Currently he is the Head of Department of Inorganic & Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry & Catalysis of the University of Bucharest. His research interests cover the field of catalysis by metal oxides, including layered double hydroxide-derived oxides. He co-authored more than 80 research papers, including three book chapters and four encyclopedia articles. |
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Prof. Nejc Hodnik
National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia Title: "Our Advanced Characterization Platform for Studying Nanostructured Materials as Electrocatalysts for Fuel Cells and Electrolyzers" Prof. Dr. Nejc Hodnik is the head of the Laboratory for Electrocatalysis (ElectroCat) at the National Institute of Chemistry in Ljubljana and an adjunct professor at the University of Nova Gorica. He earned his PhD from the University of Ljubljana in 2013 and further advanced his research as a Marie Curie IEF Scholar at the Max Planck Institute in Düsseldorf, Germany. His work specializes in electrocatalysis for fuel cells and electrolyzers, with key contributions to nanomaterial development, advanced electrochemical methods, and precious metal recycling. Prof. Hodnik has published over 120 scientific articles (h-index 38), holds three patents, and has mentored more than 10 PhD students. He leads projects, including an ERC Starting Grant and NATO SPS, focusing on energy conversion, nanotechnology and sustainable technologies. |
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Prof. Bruno Fabre
University of Rennes, France Title: "Cost-effective Ni-based catalytic electrodes for alkaline (sea)water Splitting" Bruno Fabre (1967) is, since 2008, Directeur de Recherche at the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) working at the Institute of Chemical Sciences (ISCR), Rennes, France. He earned his engineering diploma from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Electrochimie et d'Electrométallurgie de Grenoble, France in 1990 and received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Grenoble, France in 1994. In 2002, he spent one year as an invited researcher (NATO fellowship) at the National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, collaborating with the Danial D. M. Wayner’s group. His main research interests are in the field of the functionalization of surfaces, and the development of functionalized (semi)conducting (photo)electrodes for light-activated molecular electronics and energy purposes (electrolytic water splitting and CO2 reduction). Dr. Fabre has authored over 150 articles in international peer-reviewed journals and is inventor of 4 patents. |
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Prof. Frank Marken
University of Bath, United Kingdom Title: "Intrinsically Microporous Polymer in Electrochemistry" Professor Frank Marken is a distinguished chemist at the University of Bath, specializing in electrochemistry with applications in water treatment, solar energy, and sensing technologies. His research focuses on developing innovative electrochemical technologies, including oxide nanostructures for electrocatalysis, liquid-liquid triple phase junction processes, bio-electrochemical systems, and the enhancement of electrochemical reactions using ultrasound, microwaves, and sunlight. He has also explored solid-state electrochemical processing, iontronics, ionic diodes in desalination, and paired organic syntheses. In recognition of his contributions, Professor Marken was awarded the Theophilus Redwood Lectureship by the Royal Society of Chemistry's Analytical Division in 2009 and the Geoffrey Barker Medal for electrochemistry in 2018. He was also elected as a Fellow of the International Society of Electrochemistry in 2019. Throughout his career, he has published over 530 research papers and supervised numerous doctoral students, significantly advancing the field of electrochemistry. |
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Prof. Esther Vazquez Gomez
Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain Title: "Targeting metastatic CXCR4+ cancers through self-assembled, self-delivered cytotoxic proteins" Esther Vázquez is a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), and Associate Professor at the Department of Genetics and Microbiology. At the UAB she is leading a team focused on the development of new therapeutic tools for protein-based drug delivery. In order to translate the new nanomedicines into therapeutic products for clinical use, she has co- founded a spin-off from the UAB, Nanoligent, of which she is member of the scientific advisory board. Dr. Vázquez is PI of the Nanobiotechnology group that belongs to the research network of excellence CIBER in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN) since 2007. In the whole of her scientific career, she has led or participated in 99 projects, some through agreements with private companies, focused on the production of multifunctional protein carriers for use as therapeutic biomaterials. She is the author of more than 190 publications in international journals, >95% in Q1; she has directed 12 PhD theses and participated as inventor of eleven patents, six of which have already been licensed. |
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Prof. Vincenzo Guidi
University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy Title: "Functional metal oxides for gas sensing" The scientific activity has consisted of Semiconductor Physics and Nanosized Materials with particular emphasis to fabrication of sensing devices for indoor and outdoor measurements of gas concentrations, as finalized to the development of smart sensors for IoT. He applied such techniques to environmental monitoring in urban and industrial areas, precision agriculture, landfill monitoring, automobile and safety applications. In the last years, research activity was devoted to research and application of sensing devices for monitoring of gas pollutants and malodors, detection of volatile organic compounds for agri-food applications, monitoring of green-house gases and CO2 for decarbonization processes. For such applications he also developed advanced deep learning methods for analysis of the responses of arrays of sensors. He patented some devices in semiconductors and optoelectronics and was author of 28 invited talks, key-note talks and plenary talks at international conferences as well as editor, guest editor of international scientific journals as well as organizer of about ten international corferences/workshops. He has been PI or unit responsible for several regional, national and European projects as well as referent of experiments at international facilities.He has been team leader of the Sensors and Semiconductors Lab (SSL) at Ferrara University since 2010. SSL consists of several labs, including a 125 m2 clean-room facility, equipped with high-quality and modern instrumentation for semiconductor studies, for an investment of more than 5 million euros. There are currently four main activities being pursued at SSL, namely silicon micro-fabrication for investigation of coherent effect in crystals, gas sensing via chemoresistive materials, hard x-ray optics through curved crystals and concentrated photovoltaics. At SSL, counting 25 people involved (5 staff members), basic investigations on semiconductors are harmonized with a traditional inclination toward applied physics. He mentored more than 35 PhD students in his career. He served as head of the Department of Physics and Earth Sciences (2018-2024) and is currently director of the Institute of Superior Studies at University of Ferrara and formerly pro-rector for Sustainability Politics at the same university. |
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Dr. Cuong Cao
Queen's University Belfast, United Kingdom Title: "Catalytic Gold Nanoparticles for Point-of-Care Diagnostics and Environmental Sensing" Dr. Cuong Cao is a Reader and Director of the Biochemistry Program at the Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, UK. He earned his PhD from Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea, and later pursued postdoctoral research at the Technical University of Denmark and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. At Queen’s, he founded the Applied Micro- and Nanotechnology Research Group. His research focuses on tackling global challenges related to infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, food integrity, and environmental pollution through micro- and nanotechnology innovations. His work encompasses the synthesis of plasmonic and catalytic nanomaterials, the development of nanoplasmonics-based biosensing platforms, and the creation of cost-effective, portable detection technologies to improve healthcare accessibility and affordability. |
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Prof. Eva Kovacevic
University of Orleans, France Prof. Dr. Eva Kovačević is a distinguished physicist specializing in low-temperature plasmas, plasma-surface interactions, and advanced carbon materials. She earned her diploma from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, in 1996. She continued her postgraduate studies there, obtaining a Magisterium in 2000 with research focused on laser-solid surface interactions. In 2006, she completed her Ph.D. at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, with a dissertation on plasma-polymerized carbonaceous nanoparticles as astroanalogs. Her research interests encompass diagnostics and applications of low-temperature plasmas, plasma-surface interactions, and the functionalization of advanced carbon materials. She has expertise in various diagnostic techniques, including emission and absorption spectroscopy, microwave interferometry, mass spectrometry, and electron microscopy. Prof. Kovačević has been recognized with several honors, such as the DAAD Prize from Ruhr University Bochum in 2006 and the Rector's Award from the University of Zagreb in 1996. She also serves as an associate editor for the journal "Contributions to Plasma Physics." |
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Prof. Zexiang Shen
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Prof. Zexiang Shen graduated from King’s College London with a PhD in Physics in 1989 and was awarded the King’s College London Prize for Excellence in Doctoral Dissertation. He is a Foreign Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences and is currently Professor in the School of Mathematical Sciences, Professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Director of the Centre for Advanced Photonics Technology and Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He was the Founding Associate Dean of the School of Mathematics and Science and Director of the Interdisciplinary Graduate School Programme at Nanyang Technological University. He has received the Singapore Newcomer Award for Outstanding Contribution, the Global Highly Cited Researcher, an Honorary Professor at Lomonosov Moscow State University, an Adjunct Professor at the Russian Academy of Sciences and other internationally renowned institutions, the Singapore Physical Society Gold Medal for Research Excellence, the Nanyang Technological University Research Innovation Award, an expert on the Expert Advisory Committee of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, and a former President of the Singapore-China Association for the Promotion of Science and Technology Exchange. He was invited by the Nobel Prize Committee to nominate candidates for the Nobel Prize in Physics and was invited to nominate candidates for the Japan Prize; under his initiative, Nanyang Technological University established the Institute of Photonics, with Sir David Payne as Director, and the Centre for Disruptive Photonic Technologies. He also began NTU’s collaboration with the Vietnam National University (Hanoi), initiated agreements with the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) and Moscow State University (MSU). |
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Prof. Simion Astilean
Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania Title: "Plasmonic and Hybrid Nanoplatforms for Light-Activated Therapies, Optical Bioimaging and Sensing" Prof. Simion Aștilean studied Physics at Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, and received his PhD degree in the field of optical spectroscopy at Joseph Fourier University in Grenoble in 1993. After several post-doctoral and visiting scientist positions abroad at the Institute of Optics in Paris (1997), Weizmann Institute in Israel (2000) and University of Exeter in UK (2002), he return to the home country and establish a research center in the field of nanobiophotonics (see https://nanobiophotonics.ro). The core research activity in his nanobiophotonics center is focused on development of plasmon-enhanced nano-biosensors, multifunctional nanoplatforms and targeted nanoparticles for cancer therapy using plasmonic hyperthermia combined with photodynamic therapy (PTT&PDT) and drug-delivery, new NIR fluorescent contrast agents for cell-imaging and real-time image-guided cancer surgery. His expertise is in the field of optical spectroscopy and microscopy using scanning confocal Raman and fluorescence microscopy, including time-resolved fluorescence FLIM, and nanofabrication procedures as chemical synthesis of plasmonic nanoparticles, nanosphere lithography and self-assembling. Prof. Simion Aștilean has over 35 years’ experience in research science and has published over 260 peer reviewed articles in spectroscopy, plasmonics and healthcare nanomaterials, given more than 200 communications at scientific conferences, including 40 invited/plenary conferences. In 2020 and 2021 was included in the list of the top 2% most cited scientists in the world in his field of research (Stanford Univ. and Elsevier by Scopus). His scientific results have been featured on the covers of journals, disseminated in the media, and presented in highlights on the websites of the journals. He was a finalist and winner in the category "Experienced Researchers. Research Team" at the first edition of the Romanian Research Gala (2023). Prof. Simion Astilean is a corresponding member of Romanian Academy. |
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Assoc. Prof. Luca Guerrini
Universitat Rovira I Virgili, Tarragona, Spain Title: "Plasmon-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for sensing applications" Dr. Luca Guerrini is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) in Tarragona, Spain. He obtained his bachelor's degree summa cum laude in Industrial Chemistry from the University of Bologna in 2001. After gaining experience in the R&D sector of the chemical industry, he pursued a PhD in Physical Chemistry at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC, Madrid), which he completed in 2009. He held postdoctoral positions at the University of Twente (Netherlands), the University of Strathclyde (United Kingdom), and the University of Vigo (Spain). He was later awarded a Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship (IEF) at URV. Between 2015 and 2017, he served as Deputy Scientific Director at Medcom Advance (Spain), a spin-off company specializing in nanotechnology research and development for biomedical applications. In 2017, he was awarded a Ramón y Cajal Fellowship at URV, where he later became an Associate Professor in 2022. His research focuses on the design of plasmonic nanomaterials for optical sensing, with a particular emphasis on detecting analytes of environmental and biomedical relevance. |
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Prof. Ivan Khalakhan
Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic Title: "Compositional design strategy for optimizing ORR catalyst performance and durability" Prof. Dr. Ivan Khalakhan is an Associate Professor at the Nanomaterials Group of Charles University in Prague. He earned his PhD in Physics of Surfaces and Interfaces from Charles University in 2013. He has also conducted research stays at the National Institute for Materials Science (Tsukuba, Japan), Graz University of Technology (Graz, Austria), and the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg for Renewable Energy (Erlangen, Germany). His work specializes in surface and interface physics and electrochemistry, focusing on the investigation of the physico-chemical and electrochemical properties of metal, metal-oxide, bi- and multimetallic catalysts for electrochemical energy conversion technologies. Prof. Khalakhan has published over 110 scientific articles (h-index 27). |
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Prof. Vojtěch Uhlíř
Brno University of Technology, Brno, Czech Republic Title: "Advanced Imaging of Metamagnetic Micro- and Nano-Structures: From Fundamentals to Biomedicine" Vojtěch Uhlíř received his Ph.D. in Physics of Materials and Physical and Materials Engineering in 2010 from Université de Grenoble and Brno University of Technology, respectively, for his work on current-induced magnetization dynamics. After postdoctoral appointment at University of California, San Diego he moved to Czechia in 2016 and holds a Research Group Leader position at Central European Institute of Technology in Brno. His current research is focused on metamagnetic materials under strong spatial confinement, high-resolution magnetic imaging, and ultrafast magnetization dynamics. |
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Prof. Andrea Lamberti
Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy Title: "Harnessing nanomaterials for electrochemical energy harvesting and storage: from solar cells and blue energy to supercapacitor integration" Andrea Lamberti is Full Professor of Experimental Physics of Matter at the Applied Science and Technology Department of the Politecnico di Torino. He graduated in Physical Engineering and did a PhD in Electronic Devices in the Italian Institute of Technology. He is the author of over 200 publications and several book chapters and patents in the field of nanomaterials for energy harvesting and storage devices. He has contributed significantly to projects on microfluidics, plasmonics, nanostructured materials and electrochemical energy devices (photovoltaics and supercapacitors and their integration) which have led to numerous European and national projects (MISE, MITE, MASE, H2020 and an ERC starting grant) and patents. Actually, he is the coordinator of the PhD NATIONAL program in Materials, Sustainable Processes and Systems for the Energy Transition, deputy-coordinator of the Bachelor degree in Physical Engineering at PoliTO and member of the board of the Italian Association of Science and Technology. |
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Prof. Marco Anni
University of Salento, Italy Title: "Ligand and environment dependence of the spontaneous and stimulated emission properties of fully inorganic perovskite nanocrystals" Marco Anni is Associate Professor of Experimental Physics at University of Salento (Italy). From 2006 he is Director of the Photonic Laboratory of the Mathematics and Physics Department. He graduated in Physics in 1998 and completed his PhD in Physic in 2001, both at the University of Salento. His main research expertise is in the field of optical spectroscopy of semiconductors, mainly conjugated molecules and lead halide perovskites, with particular attention to light amplification and lasing processes. He is author of about 140 papers in international journals. |
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Prof. M. Lucia Curri
University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy Title: "Tailoring functional nanomaterials for sustainable solutions to complex energy and environmental challenges" Maria Lucia Curri (b. 1968) is full professor of Physical Chemistry, University of Bari Aldo Moro (Italy), and Associate Research Scientist at the Institute for Physical and Chemical Processes of the Italian National Research Council (IPCF-CNR). She obtained her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Bari in 1997. Her research lies in the field of materials chemistry, with a focus on the development of innovative strategies for the synthesis and functionalization of colloidal nanocrystal-based inorganic and hybrid materials, aimed at applications in photocatalysis, energy conversion and storage, (bio)sensing, and biomedicine. She has been principal investigator of numerous national and EU-funded research projects in these domains. Author of over 260 peer-reviewed publications, she is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), Vice President of Italian National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology (INSTM), Associate Editor of Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, and former Panel Chair of the ERC PE5 Consolidator Grants. |
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Prof. Andrea Reale
University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy Title" Printable thermoelectric materials: from cell to modules" Research activity of Prof. Reale (H=40, Google Scholar) is focussed on 1) Printable electronics for energy: development and characterization of devices based on organic semiconductors and organic-inorganic hybrids, with particular attention to the technological aspects of large-area scale-up for applications in the energy field (photovoltaic, thermoelectric, termoelectrogalvanic) and telecommunication devices (photodetectors for VLC and IR, IR sources); 2) Nanostructured materials (graphene, carbon nanotubes): study of technological applications (thermoelectric composites, thermal management, deformation sensors); 3) Theoretical and experimental analysis of the optical, electro-optical and electrical properties of heterostructure devices for electronics and telecommunications. |
Last update April 28, 2025