KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Prof. Malthias Ulbricht
Universität Duisburg-Essen, Germany
Mathias Ulbricht is a Full Professor for Chemical Technology in the Department of Chemistry at University Duisburg-Essen (UDE), Germany. He had studied and received his doctoral degree in Organic Chemistry at Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany. Before joining UDE, he was a researcher at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, USA, accomplished his Habilitation at Humboldt University, worked at GKSS Research Centre in Teltow, Germany, and acted as founder and CEO of a start-up company in Berlin, Germany. His research is on functional polymeric-based materials and has one focus on synthetic membranes and membrane-based technologies for water purification, bioseparation and energy conversion.
Prof. Mustafa Ersoz
Selcuk University
Mustafa Ersoz received his PhD. Chemistry from Glasgow University, UK in 1994, Postgraduate fellow in GKSS Research Center, Germany in 1997, Visiting Professor at Department of Chemistry, Hull University, 2001-2002. Professor at Department of Chemistry since 2004. Awarded “Junior Scientists Award” in Natural Sciences in 1998, and “Scientists Award”.
He has been administrative positions at different levels at Selcuk University and founder and director for Advanced Technology Research and Application Center, Selcuk University, Natural Products Research Center, Consultant of Konya Chamber of Industry. Involved for Establishment of Science Center in Konya ”TUBITAK-Konya Metropolitan Municipality, Project coordinator for “Establishment of Research and Development infrastructure of Selcuk University” and “Scientific Human Resources Development Program” State Planning Organisation, Turkey. and Joint PhD program “liquid/liquid interfaces” with EPFL (Laboratorie d’Electrochimie Physique et Analytique), Switzerland
He has been involved many International projects, particularly European framework projects, as coordinator and core partner HE “Bio-Acouis, Regeneu”, H2020 “EngSurf-Twin, Waste2Fresh” FP7 “LAMAND, ChitoClaen, EU-SOLARIS, LignoFood, and leader of Nanometrology WP in LAMAND. PParticpated as MC COSTCA22154, CA22131 and as core-STSM-MC member for COST CM1101, COSTMP1106, COST 637 and COSTD43, COST D36, projects. Scientfic Committee Member of COST between 2015-2021 and vice chair of COST SC between 2017-2019. Full member of Turkish Academy of Sciences (TUBA) and also Council member of TUBA since 2018. Invited publications, author of more than 160 publications in leading scholarly journals. His research areas, physical chemistry, membrane technology, nanochemistry, energy, surface chemistry
Prof. Mohammad Younas
University of Eng. & Techn. (UET)
Dr. Younas Mohammad is Professor and leader of the “Membranes and Process Intensification” group in the department of Chemical Engineering at University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar, Pakistan. Prof. Younas obtained the Master (II) by research and Doctorate degrees from Université de Montpellier 2, France during 2006-2011. He worked as research associate under a European applied research project FP7 (DemoCLOCK) at University of Technology Eindhoven, The Netherlands during 2011-12. Currently, he is working as visiting scientist in Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, China. Dr. Younas also served the State Key Laboratory of Separation layers and Membrane Processes, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, China during 2019. He is also engaged as a visiting scholar in the department of chemical and environmental engineering at University of Toledo, OH USA. Prof. Younas authored/coauthored more than 100 highly cited journal publications (h-index -29), a number of conference proceedings and 5 book chapters. He is also the author of two books published by Springer and Wiley Tech. Prof. Younas was awarded the Gold Medal Award in the year 2021 in recognition of his services in the profession of Chemical Engineering globally by Pakistan Institute of Chemical Engineers.
His research focus is in the general area of the membrane technology in water-environment-food nexus and to the service of the broad areas of learning and training. Specifically, his research in engineered and natural environmental systems involves membrane-based processes for energy-efficient desalination, environmental applications and implications of nanomaterials, water treatment and juice concentration.
Prof. Nicholas Low
Nanjing Tech University, China
Nicholas Ze-Xian Low is a Professor at the National Engineering Research Center for Special Separation Membrane and the State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering at Nanjing Tech University. He is also a National Foreign Expert, Distinguished Professor of Jiangsu Province and an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Monash University, Australia. Low’s research focuses on advancing energy-efficient composite separation membranes based on microporous materials, including metal-organic framework and emerging nanosheet membranes, targeting industrial challenges across desalination, resource recovery, and environmental remediation.
Prof. Ooi Boon Seng
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Prof. Ooi Boon Seng received the B.Sc. degree (Hons.) in bioprocess engineering from the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, in 1998, and the Ph.D. degree in chemical engineering from the Universiti Sains Malaysia, in 2005. He is specializing in the area of membrane science and technology. He is currently a Professor with the School of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia. His research interests include water treatment and resource recovery using advanced polymer and bbreak membrane technology
PROF. WOJCIECH KUJAWSKI
NICOLAUS COPERNICUS UNIVERSITY, POLAND
Prof. Wojciech Kujawski was graduated from Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun (Poland).
Research professional with a vast experience in education, research, and cooperation with national and foreign universities. Principal investigator of projects funded by NATO, Polish National Science Centre, National Centre for Research and Development, Visegrad Fund (V4), Horizon MSCA DN. Reviewer for various international JCR indexed journals.
Author and coauthor of over 220 papers (Scopus) and over 250 conference contributions (SCOPUS: CI>6500 /without self-citations/, H=46). Since 2020 he has been listed within top 2% of the most cited world’s authors (according to the ranking prepared and published by Stanford University). His main research interest is related to membrane separation processes (e.g. pervaporation, membrane distillation, gas separation, ultra- and nanofiltration), fuel cells, as well as the modification and functionalization of nanomaterials, polymeric and ceramic membranes.
PROF. TAKEO YAMAGUCHI
INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE TOKYO, Japan
Prof. Yamaguchi graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1988 and completed his doctoral studies in March 1993. He worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Colorado at Boulder beginning in 1993. In July 1995, he returned to the University of Tokyo as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Lecturer and Associate Professor. In February 2007, Prof. Yamaguchi was appointed full professor at the Chemical Resources Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology. Now, he is a professor at the Laboratory for Chemistry and Life Science, Institute of Integrated Research, Institute of Science Tokyo. He has been serving as a director of the Academy of Materials and Informatics and as a director of the Laboratory for Chemistry and Life Science.
Prof. Antoine Venault
Chung Yuan Christian University, Taiwan
Antoine Venault is a professor at the Research and Development Center for Membrane Technology and at the Department of Chemical Engineering of Chung Yuan Christian University in Taiwan. His research interests include the control of membrane formation mechanisms, the applications of vapor-induced phase separation membranes in water treatment and desalination, the design of photocatalytic membrane reactors, and biomedical filtrations.
Prof. Yibin Wei
Ningxia University, China
PI of Membrane Material & Process group at State Key Laboratory of High-efficiency Utilization of Coal and Green Chemical Engineering, Ningxia University. His scientific interests focus on inorganic membranes (e.g. ceramic, 2D material) for chemical production, environmental and energy applications. He has received more than 2 million USD research funds from government and industry. He (co)authored 59 publications with over 1800 citations, including J Membr Sci and Sep Purif Technol etc. He devoted himself to engineering field that has successfully commercialized SiC membrane and provided ceramic membrane-based solutions for hydrometallurgy.
Prof. Dr. Ismail Koyuncu
Istanbul Technical University
He had a B.Sc., M.S., Ph.D degrees in Environmental Engineering Department of Istanbul Technical University. He has completed two-year-post doctorate studies at Rice University, USA. He worked as a Research Assistant in Istanbul Technical University between 1996-2004 and is currently working as a Professor in Environmental Engineering Department of Istanbul Technical University. He has also an adjunct faculty at Michigan State University Civil and Environmental Engineering Department since 2019.
He worked as the president of Istanbul Technical University between 2020-2024 and Dean of graduate school between 2012-2018. Now, he is a director of National Research Center on Membrane Technologies (MEM-TEK). He is also member of Turkish Academy of Sciences since 2012.
He was awarded with The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) Young Scientist Award (2008), Turkish Higher Education Council (YÖK) outstanding achievement award and Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) International Award 2009 (in the field of Environment).
Research areas are water and wastewater treatment, water reuse, membrane technologies and environmental nanotechnology.
As of 2023, he has published more than 280 international indexed journal articles and presented around 300 papers (160 of them are international symposiums) in the symposiums. Additionally, he has given an invited lectures at many symposiums.
PROF. SANG HYUN JEONG
PUSAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, SOUTH KOREA
Prof. Jeong’s main area of research include coupling membranes with physico-chemical and biological processes for advanced water and wastewater treatment, solid – liquid separation technologies, hybrid and integrated solutions for energy efficient water treatment including desalination, development of advanced water treatment systems for sustainable strategies targeting water reuse. Dr Jeong has authored about 100 refereed high impact journal publications in this field and has produced ten patents in water treatment.
PROF. HOKYONG SHON
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
Professor Ho Kyong Shon holds the position of Director at the Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Hub for Nutrients in a Circular Economy (ARC NiCE Hub). Concurrently, he serves as the Head of Discipline for Environmental and Water Engineering and assumes the role of Deputy Director and Founding Member of the Center for Technology in Water and Wastewater Treatment (CTWW) at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). His extensive research journey, initiated in 2000, encompasses a diverse array of interests such as circular economy, membrane technologies, water treatment processes for water reuse and desalination, resource recovery, environmental nanomaterials, physico-chemical processes, and environmental applications. Professor Shon is actively engaged beyond the university, contributing as an ARC College of Experts Member and holding the esteemed position of Editor-in-Chief of the Desalination journal and Executive Editor of the Desalination and Water Treatment journal. His scholarly impact is underscored by his co-authorship of one book, 31 book chapters, and over 610 refereed journal articles, along with three patents. This body of work has garnered significant recognition, accumulating over 30,650 citations and resulting in an impressive H-index of 91, as of Jan. 2025. Over the past two decades, Professor Shon has been instrumental in securing numerous projects for UTS from the ARC and various industry partners. This includes an ARC Future Fellowship (2015-2020), leadership in two ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hubs on NiCE and EESep, as well as multiple ARC Discovery grants, ARC Linkage Project grants, and ARC LIEF grants. He has also been successful in obtaining grants from the National Centre of Excellence in Desalination Australia (NCEDA), CRC CARE, and several international industry and national research grants from countries such as Japan, Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, China, UN, Tuvalu, and Bhutan. Professor Shon’s commitment extends to the mentorship and supervision of research students and fellows, reflecting in their success as research leaders. Currently supervising two postdoctoral research fellows, eight PhD students, two exchange students, and numerous engineering undergraduate/postgraduate project students, he has overseen the completion of thirty-two PhD and four MSc students by research. The research students under his guidance consistently produce high-quality publications, exhibit timely task completion, and have received numerous international and national prizes, reflecting the excellence of his mentorship.
PROF. YING LING LIU
NATIONAL TSING HUA UNIVERSITY, TAIWAN
Professor Ying-Ling Liu is a Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University (Taiwan). He served for Aseanian Membrane Society (AMS) as the Secretary General (2010-2011), President (2020-2021), and Council Member (2020-present). He has been admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC). Professor Liu’s research interests include polymer chemistry and polymeric membranes for separation and energy application. He has authored/coauthored more than 220 original papers with a number of citation > 11,950 and an h-index of 60 (Web of Science).
PROF. ALICIA KYOUNG JIN AN
THE HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, HONG KONG
Alicia An is a Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). Her work focuses on membrane-based technologies like seawater desalination and resource recovery, resulting in over 150 publications. Recognized as a top 2% highly cited researcher, she won the RGC Research Fellow award in 2022. She serves as a section editor for JWPE, associate editor for PSEP, and board member of Desalination. Dr. An was appointed to the XPRIZE Water Scarcity Advisory Board in 2024, showcasing her dedication to advancing membrane technologies for sustainable water treatment solutions.
PROF. HAMZAH FANSURI
INSTITUT TEKNOLOGI SUPULUH NOPEMBER, INDONESIA
MR. ADAM SAFFIAN
SYARIKAT AIR SELANGOR
MRS. FARAHDILA KADIRKHAN
PETRONAS RESEARCH SDN BHD (PRSB)
PROF. ALEXEY VOLKOV, A.V.TOPCHIEV
INSTITUTE OF PETROCHEMICAL SYNTHESIS, RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, RUSSIA
Alexey Volkov is Professor of Russian Academy of Sciences. He received his PhD degree in Membranes and Membrane Technologies, and Polymer Science in 2007, and his Dr. Habil. degree in Membranes and Membrane Technologies, and Petrochemistry in 2017. During his PhD, Alexey Volkov spent about 2 years in University of Twente (the Netherlands) as visiting scientist. He worked in King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Saudi Arabia) as Visiting Professor in 2022-2023. Alexey Volkov is Distinguished Professor by School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials, Heilongjiang University. Alexey Volkov is serving as Executive Advisor of Topchiev Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis, Russian Academy of Sciences (TIPS RAS), and coordinating the research activity in Membrane Center of TIPS RAS as Scientific Director.
PROF. DR. MOHAMED MAHMOUD EL-SAYED NASEF
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA
Prof. Dr. Mohamed Mahmoud Nasef is currently a Professor at the Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department, Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). He is also a Deputy Director of Center of Hydrogen Energy at the same university. He also served as a professor at Chemical Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi Petronas for 5 years. He was also a visiting Professor at Kyushu University (Japan), the University of Surrey (UK) and Paul Scherrer Institute (Switzerland). Prof. Nasef has vast experience in planning and execution of R&D in the field of functional polymeric materials for renewable energy and environmental applications. He pioneered research on fuel cell and hydrogen applications in mobility with late Prof. Hamdani Saidi at UTM. His research interests include but are not limited to the development of polymer electrolyte membranes, ion exchange resins, adsorbents, nanofibrous scaffolds, polymer catalysts and permeation membranes in addition to their uses in relevant applications such as fuel cells, PEM water electrolyzers, lithium & vanadium redox flow batteries, CO2 capture, removal of heavy metal and dyes and membrane separation processes at large. He is also specialized in polymer modifications with high energy radiation techniques.
PROF. DR. MADZLAN AZIZ
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA
Prof. Dr. Madzlan Aziz graduated with a B.Sc. (Hons) Applied Chemistry from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Polytechnic, United Kingdom in 1983. He joined Universiti Teknologi Malaysia as an Assistant Lecturer and pursue his M.Sc. in Chemistry in University of Manchester in 1985. After working as a lecturer for 7 years at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia he continued with his Ph.D. studies in polymer electrolytes at De Montfort University, United Kingdom and graduated in 1996. He was promoted to the professor chair of Physical Chemistry in 2006 and since that he held various administrative posts as Faculty of Science Dean, Advanced Materials Dean of Research and Director of Research Management Centre of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. He specializes in electrochemical processes and systems. His research area covers development of materials for electrochemical applications in photocatalysis, fuel cells and batteries.
Prof. Mahmoud Atif Abdulhamid
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM)
Dr. Mahmoud Abdulhamid is a Research Associate Professor at the College of Petroleum Engineering and Geosciences at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Saudi Arabia. Before joining KFUPM in 2021, he was a postdoctoral researcher at KAUST under the mentorship of Prof. Gyorgy Szekely. He earned his PhD in 2019 in Chemical Sciences from KAUST, where he focused on developing polymers of intrinsic microporosity-based membranes under the supervision of Prof. Ingo Pinnau in the Advanced Membrane and Porous Materials Center. His research group is dedicated to addressing challenges in water treatment, separation, and sustainability by developing advanced polymers for various membrane technologies in industrial applications. His work has broad applications, including oil spill removal, water desalination, environmental remediation, and gas separation.
DR. ZONGLI XIE
AUSTRALIA NATIONAL SCIENCE AGENCY, AUSTRALIA
Dr Zongli Xie’s groundbreaking membrane and catalysis technologies have generated tangible benefits for both industry and the environment. She works with major national firms and small enterprises to find solutions that help address environmental and water challenges and is known for her masterful ability to translate ideas from the lab into commercial success. Her research encompasses applications in emission control, wastewater treatment and water recycling. She has five patents and led commercial trials for innovative environmental catalyst to abate air pollution and greenhouse gases from industrial emissions. Dr Xie is a role model and a leader in her field, recognised through various appointments including as vice president of the Membrane Society of Australia, committee member of the International Water Association, and as a board director of the Monash Centre for Membrane Innovation.
Prof. Wang Rong
NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY (NTU), SINGAPORE
Prof. Rong Wang is a Full Professor and President’s Chair at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. She also holds the position of Executive Director, Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, NTU. She is an elected Fellow of the Academy of Engineering Singapore, and the President of the Aseanian Membrane Society (AMS) from 2022 to 2023.
Prof. Wang has over 30 years of experience in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Water and Energy related research and innovation. She serves as an Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Membrane Science (JMS), a flagship journal in the global membrane community since 2020. Among various awards received by her, she won the prestigious “President’s Technology Award” 2022, which is the highest honor bestowed on exceptional research scientists and engineers in Singapore for their excellent achievements in science and technology.
Prof. MURIELLE RABILLER-BAUDRY
RENNES INSTITUTE OF CHEMICAL SCIENCES, FRANCE
Prof. Murielle Rabiller-Baudry received her Ph.D. in Material Science in 1990 at the University of Rennes 1 (France). She is currently Full Professor of the University of Rennes 1 where she mainly teaches analytical chemistry using separation techniques. Prof. Rabiller-Baudry’s research lies at the interface of chemical engineering, chemistry of materials and physico-chemical characterisations at interfaces. Since 1991, her research activities focus on the understanding of the transfer mechanisms of charged proteins in ultrafiltration as well as the fouling, cleaning and membrane ageing mastering in UF of fluids containing proteins. For more than 10 years now she is also involved in the use of nanofiltration applied in organic solvent (OSN) especially for separation of organometallic catalysed media of olefin transformation. She published about 70 scientific papers and book chapters on these topics. She is the chair of the membrane group of “Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes” since 2006. Since 2009, she was the coordinator of 2 consecutive projects dedicated to OSN in fine chemistry involving 5 academic laboratories and Arkema funded by the French National Agency for research
PROF. WEI-SONG HUNG
NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, TAIWAN
Prof. Wei-Song Hung is a professor of Applied Science and Technology at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST). He obtained his master’s degree from NTUST-Department of Polymer Engineering in 2006, and received his PhD from Chung Yuan University-Department of Chemical Engineering in 2011. He was an assistant professor in 2012 and from 2015 he became an associate professor at Chung Yuan University – Department of Chemical Engineering. In 2018, he was hired as a professor at NTUST-Graduate Institute of Applied Science and Technology. His research focuses on using positron annihilation techniques to study the free volume of materials and on fabricating graphene membranes for water production and energy generation. Since 2007 he published more then 200 SCI journals, cited 9500 times, h-index: 51, 10 patents, and won awards: Gold Award for three consecutive years (2016-2018) at The United States Pittsburgh International Invention Exhibition, and Gold Award at the 2017 Swiss Geneva Invention Exhibition, Received R&D Top 100 Award in 2021 USA. Additionally, he was recognized as one of the World’s Top 2% Scientists for three consecutive years, from 2022 to 2024.
PROF. JONG HAK KIM
YONSEI UNIVERSITY, SOUTH KOREA
Assoc. Prof. Naoko Yoshida
NAGOYA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, JAPAN
PROF. DR. ARSHAD HUSSAIN
PAK-AUSTRIA FACHHOCHSCHULE INSTITUTE OF APPLIED SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY, PAKISTAN