Title:Division Director, Biological Systems and Engineering Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley, CA

About: Dr. Simmons is the Director of the Biological Systems and Engineering Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (biosciences.lbl.gov). He also serves as the Chief Science and Technology Officer and Vice-President of the Deconstruction Division at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (www.jbei.org), a DOE Office of Science funded project tasked with the development and realization of advanced biofuels and bioproducts produced from sustainable, non-food lignocellulosic biomass. After spending 15 years at Sandia National Laboratories, he joined Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He has over 400 publications and holds more than 50 patents.

Title:Professor, Korea University Business School, Korea

About: Professor Jay Hyuk Rhee is a leading authority on ESG and sustainable management at Korea University Business School. As a pivotal leader bridging academia and practice, he serves as Director of the ESG Research Institute and pioneered the university’s first ESG curricula. Professor Rhee has profoundly shaped national policy as the chief architect of the South Korean government’s "K-ESG" guidelines and through key advisory roles with the International ESG Association (IESGA), the Korea Exchange (KRX), and the National Pension Service (NPS). An acclaimed scholar, he has been inducted into the Korea University Hall of Fame and is a recipient of multiple prestigious awards for excellence in both research and teaching. His influential authored works include 'Sustainability and ESG Management' and 'Stakeholder-Centric Management'. Today, he remains a premier advisor to major conglomerates and multinational firms, steering the future of sustainable strategy in Korea and beyond.

Title:Professor, Korea University , President of the International ESG Association, South Korea

About:Professor Yong Sik Ok is a Full Professor in the Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering at Korea University and President of the International ESG Association. He has been ranked as the world’s No. 1 environmental scientist by multiple global evaluation bodies, including ScholarGPS. His research spans climate change, soil biodiversity, and ESG management, conducted through a highly interdisciplinary approach. He has authored landmark publications in leading journals including Nature, Science, Nature Water, Matter (Cell Press), Nature Sustainability, Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, Nature Protocols, Nature Reviews Bioengineering, and Environmental Science & Technology. In 2019, he became the first Korean scholar to be named a Highly Cited Researcher (HCR) in the field of environmental ecology. In 2022, he achieved a world-first distinction by being simultaneously recognized as an HCR across environmental ecology, engineering, and biology/biochemistry.

Professor Ok previously served as President of the U.S.-based international society International Society of Trace Element Biogeochemistry (ISTEB). As Program Director of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), he has led large-scale international research initiatives addressing global environmental challenges in collaboration with the world’s top universities, including Stanford University. He is also the Korean partner of the Planetary Health Alliance (PHA), the world’s largest academic–policy collaboration launched at Harvard University and has spearheaded the establishment of the Korea headquarters of the Climate Governance Initiative in partnership with the University of Cambridge and Deloitte.

Currently, Professor Ok focuses on translating ESG management and sustainability science into corporate strategy and public policy. He has delivered ESG strategy lectures and provided executive advisory services to CEOs and CFOs of major global corporations, including Shinhan Financial Group, Samsung Electronics, LG, and POSCO. At Korea University Business School, he founded MBA and EMBA courses titled “Business and the Environment,” contributing to the training of next-generation ESG leaders. He also leads national-level research to establish ESG evaluation criteria and methodologies for Korea’s top 200 corporations.

Through extensive international collaborations, Professor Ok is conducting large-scale field research on biochar-based climate change mitigation technologies and solutions to plastic pollution. In collaboration with Stanford University, he recently developed ESG evaluation indicators related to corporate water use for leading global companies, with the results accepted in Nature Water. His work exemplifies integrative scholarship bridging science and engineering with the humanities and social sciences.

Professor Ok has accumulated over 133,750 citations, with an h-index of 188, and has received more than 105 Highly Cited Papers (HCPs). His annual citation rate has exceeded 20,000 citations per year consistently over the past four years (2022–2025), underscoring his sustained global impact and leadership in environmental and sustainability science.

Title:Professor ,Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. ,Hong Kong

About: Prof. Dan Tsang is the Executive Director of School of Engineering, Director of Research Center on Decarbonization Technology, and Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He holds fellowships at the Institution of Civil Engineers (FICE), Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM), Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), and Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (FHKIE). Dan also serves as the founding Editor-in-Chief of npj Materials Sustainability (Nature Portfolio), Chairman of the Hong Kong Waste Management Association (2023–2025), and Waste Management Subcommittee Chair (2023&2024) of the Advisory Council on the Environment of the Hong Kong Government.

Title:Chair Professor and Vice President ,Tunghai University ,Taiwan

About:Professor Jo-Shu Chang is the Chair Professor and Vice President of Tunghai University and also serves as an Emeritus Chair Professor at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in Taiwan. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine in 1993. Between 2019 and 2021, he was recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher by the Web of Science Group. He has been included in Stanford University’s list of the world's top 2% scientists from 2020 to 2025. Additionally, Professor Chang ranked No. 1 in Taiwan's Biology and Biochemistry category for 2021-2025 (Research.com). His research interests cover biochemical engineering, environmental biotechnology, and applied microbiology, with a recent focus on utilizing microalgae for CO 2 capture and conversion into biofuels and biorefineries. In 2009, he established the world’s first microalgae-based carbon capture and utilization pilot plant at China Steel Co. (CSC), capturing flue gas from CSC's blast furnace. He also built a microalgae cultivation and biorefinery plant at NCKU featuring large-scale systems and advanced microalgae technologies from upstream to downstream. In the 2010s, his team constructed a 2,000-ton microalgae-based swine wastewater treatment plant, converting the microalgal biomass generated from wastewater into fertilizers and aquaculture feed. His publication in the microalgae category ranked No. 1 globally (WoS). He served as President of Taiwan's Society of Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering (BEST) from 2019 to 2022. Furthermore, he is the principal investigator of Taiwan's National Energy Project, leading a world-class team specializing in microalgae biorefinery and bio-based CO 2 utilization. He also leads the Negative Carbon Technology and Biomass Energy task groups for Taiwan's 2050 Net Zero Pathway Task Forces. Professor Chang has received numerous prestigious awards, including three Distinguished Research Awards from Taiwan's National Science and Technology Council. Since 2015, he has been a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), and since 2018, a Fellow of the International Forum of Industrial Bioprocessing (IFIBiop). He has also served as Editor or Associate Editor for five renowned international journals and as an editorial board member for nearly 10 SCI-indexed journals. His academic contributions are reflected in his extensive publication records, comprising nearly 900 SCI-indexed journal papers (including 28 ISI Hi-Ci papers), with a total of over 93,000 citations (Google Scholar). His h-index stands at an impressive 163 (Google Scholar). In addition, he has authored 15 book chapters, holds nearly 50 patents, and has over 10 technical transfers, with several research findings successfully applied in industry and commercialized. He also founded a venture company dedicated to microalgae-based biofuels, which has attracted significant investment from the Formosa Group. Through his leadership in research, industry collaboration, and national policy initiatives, Professor Chang continues to advance sustainable bio-based technologies to address the pressing challenges of global climate change.

Title: Staff Scientist ,Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA

About:Edward Baidoo, Ph.D., is a Staff Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Deputy Director of Functional Genomics in the Technology Division of the Joint BioEnergy Institute. His research interests lie in the use of metabolomics analyses to characterize engineered biosynthetic and metabolic pathways towards addressing key environmental challenges and engineering robust plant and microbial platforms for producing valuable renewable bioproducts. He received his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Sheffield Hallam University in the UK (2003), where he was advised by Prof. Malcolm Clench, Dr. Robert Smith, and Dr. Lee Tetler. Prior to his doctoral studies, he earned his master’s and bachelor's degrees in Biomedical Sciences and Biochemistry, respectively, at the University of Wolverhampton in the UK.

Title: Associate Professor, Dept. of Convergent Biotechnology & Advanced Materials Science, Kyung Hee University South Korea

About:Dr. Hwang Sung Yeon is a researcher showing the most excellent research results in the field of plastics sustainability, one of the national challenges, and is leading the recent research trend in the field of bioplastics. He is serving as a planning committee member of the ministerial research project including the Ministry of Environment to solve social problems and is serving as a director of the Korea Bioplastics Association (KBPA), which aims to foster the bioplastics industry.
The developed bioplastics was introduced to the president at the 2020 Ministry of Science and ICT work report and recognized as an innovative growth achievement in resolving issues felt by the people. It has been selected in the TOP 100 of environmental field and is leading the related research. In terms of award history, he has been awarded the Minister of Science and ICT's Citation in 2021, the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology in 2020, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy in 2019, and the Minister of Science and ICT in 2018. In addition, as the first biodegradable bioplastic manufacturing technology, the technology was transferred to a large company through domestic R&D and is about to be commercialized soon.

• (Former) Head, Bio-based Chemistry Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology
• (Former) Associate Professor at University of Science and Technology
• Member of Directors at Korean Bioplastics Association
• Member of Directors at International ESG Association
• Committee of 2021 Nature Conference (Hosted by NATURE based in UK)
• Organizing Chairman, Global ESG Forum (Waste: Plastic) parallel with Nature Forum (2022)
• Program Committee [Polymers and Environment], IUPAC-MACRO2020+ (2021)
• Chief-program Chairman of Global Symposium on Bio-based Polymeric Materials (KRICT) (2018~2022)

Title: Professor,Bergische University Wuppertal, Germany

About:Dr. Jörg Rinklebe is Professor for Soil- and Groundwater-Management at the University of Wuppertal, Germany. He has been selected as ISI Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022. Prof. Rinklebe was Vize-President, President and Past-President of the International Society of Trace Element Biogeochemistry (ISTEB). His academic background covers environmental science, bioavailability of emerging contaminants, and remediation of contaminated sites. His main research is on soils, sediments, waters, plants, and their pollutions and linked biogeochemical issues with a special focus in redox chemistry. He also has a certain expertise in soil microbiology.

Prof. Rinklebe published plenty of scientific papers in leading international and national journals. According to SCOPUS data base (10.12.2025), he published 603 articles, which have been cited 53,784.0 times with h-index = 124. The Google Scholar total citation= 64,530.0; Google h-index = 134, and i10-index = 519. Also, he published six books entitled "Trace Elements in Waterlogged Soils and Sediments” (2016), “Nickel in Soils and Plants” (2018), “Soil and Groundwater Remediation Technologies” (2020), “Vanadium in soils and plants” (2022), “Methylmercury Accumulation in Rice” (2024), Green Technologies for Pollutants Remediation and Recovery from Water and Soil (2026) as well as numerous book chapters.

Prof. Rinklebe was serving as Editor in Chief for Environmental Pollution, and he was Chief Editor of special issues of the Journal of Hazardous Materials; Co-Editor in Chief of the international journal Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology (CREST) and guest editor of the international journals Environment International, Chemical Engineering Journal, Science of the Total Environment, Chemosphere, Journal of Environmental Management, Applied Geochemistry, and Environmental Geochemistry and Health. Also, he is member on several editorial boards (Ecotoxicology, Geoderma, Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, Archive of Agronomy and Soil Science).

Prof. Rinklebe was the chair of the first joint international conferences of Biogeochemistry of Trace Elements” (ICOBTE) and “International Conference on Heavy Metals in the Environment” (ICHMET) in September 2023,. He was an invited speaker (plenary and keynote) at many international conferences. In 2016, Prof. Rinklebe got an appointment as Honorable Ambassador for Gangwon Province, South-Korea which was renewed in June-2018. Also, he got an appointment as Adjunct Professor at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia, Visiting Professor at the Sejong University, Seoul, South Korea and Guest Professor at the China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.

He got those awards:

• Award as "Distinguished Scientist" by the Academy of Sciences, China
• Award for internationalisation of research and teaching: Weltlöwe
• JIOMICS & Proteomass Scientific Society Career Awards
• IESGA Fellowship Award 2023

Title: Professor,Department of Environmental Sciences,Central University of Jammu, India

About:Dr. Richa Kothari is Professor at Department of Environmental Sciences, Central University of Jammu, Jammu, (J&K), India. She was a WARI Fellow (IUSSTF) at Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, USA. She has more than 22 years of teaching and research experience at Amity University, Noida (U.P.), Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (Central University), Lucknow (U.P.), India.

Dr. Kothari has been actively involved in research in the areas of algal-based biofuel production, bio-hydrogen production and utilization of renewable energy for wastewater treatment. She is also the recipient of prestigious research fellowships from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) by Government of India.Also, he published six books entitled "Trace Elements in Waterlogged Soils and Sediments” (2016), “Nickel in Soils and Plants” (2018), “Soil and Groundwater Remediation Technologies” (2020), “Vanadium in soils and plants” (2022), “Methylmercury Accumulation in Rice” (2024), Green Technologies for Pollutants Remediation and Recovery from Water and Soil (2026) as well as numerous book chapters.

Dr. Kothari has published more than 180 research papers/book chapters in reputed international peer-reviewed (SCI/Scopus) journals with high impact factor and supervised several M.Sc.(>50), M.Phil.(02), M.Tech.(>20) and Ph.D. students (10).

She has written a textbook titled Environmental Science for Undergraduates and edited thirteen books with National and International publishers. She has more than 7000 citations with h-index 50 and i-10 index 121. She has delivered several keynote/invited lectures in different countries (Vietnam, Malaysia, South Africa, USA, India). She is listed for 2% Scientist since 2020 continuous by Database published by Stanford's University and Elsevier.

Title: Professor,University Mohamed 6 Polytechnic (UM6P), Morocco.

About:Pr. Hicham ELARROUSSI is Professor, in Algal Biotechnology, MAScIR, University Mohamed 6 polytechnic, Morocco. With 20 Years’ experience on natural resources valorization using biotechnological tools, his research team was involved during last 10 years in several projects related with microalgae and seaweeds production and valorization in different applications such as wastewater treatment, agriculture, environment and bioenergy. .

Prof. ELARROUSSI’s research focuses on based algae bioprocess, and studies of theirs intercations with biological and chemical of wastewater. In addition, Prof. ELARROUSSI has developed strong expertise in the microalgae-bacteria studies consortium for watewater tretament and biomass production and valorisation to biofuel development.

Prof. ELARROUSSI is researcher with important contributions include several international patents and publications in algae biotechnology for bioproducts and new process development in different field such as wastewater treatment and bioproducts development for sustainable bioeconomy. Prof. ELARROUSSI has set up and led several projects on a national and international scale. Prof. ELARROUSSI is the founder of TECALGA, an innovative startup focused on the development and production of plant biostimulants based on microalgae biotechnology.

Title: Professor,Gyeongsang National University, South Korea.

About:Dr. Seung Gu Shin studied environmental engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology, Korea. He is currently a tenured professor at Gyeongsang National University. His research focuses on anaerobic digestion, biogas production, microbial ecology, and organic waste-to-energy technologies. He has contributed to interdisciplinary studies on microbial community analysis, process stabilization, and sustainable bioenergy recovery from organic residues.

Title: Emeritus Professor,University of Alaska Fairbanks, USA.

About:Michael Stekoll is an Emeritus Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Alaska Southeast and is a Collaborating Faculty at the Juneau Center, College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks. He received a BS in chemistry from Stanford and a PhD in biochemistry from UCLA. He has spent the last 40+ years in Alaska teaching university classes in chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, aquatic pollution and phycology. His research interests have focused on two major areas: aquatic pollution effects on fish, invertebrates and marine algae (seaweeds) and research on the mariculture of seaweeds. His research on the culture of kelps such as Saccharina latissima and Nereocystis luetkeana marked the beginning of the seaweed mariculture industry in Alaska. His lab created the first seaweed “hatchery” in Alaska and continues to provide kelp seed to commercial farmers. He is currently involved in several applied research projects that are contributing to innovations in seaweed hatchery and outplanting methodology. Some of this research led to his team being awarded Grand Champions of the inaugural US DOE Algae Prize competition.

Title: Professor,Case Western Reserve University, USA.

About:Dr. Huichun (Judy) Zhang is the Frank H. Neff professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Case Western Reserve University. She earned her Ph.D. from Georgia Institute of Technology and her B.S. and M.S. from Nanjing University. Her research focuses on the fate and transformation of environmental contaminants in natural and engineered aquatic environments and the removal of organic contaminants from contaminated water. Her recent research areas also include predictive modeling for contaminant reactivity and sorption using machine learning tools. Dr. Zhang has published in numerous journals, such as Chemical Reviews, Environmental Science and Technology, and Water Research. She has received seven competitive research grants from the NSF as the PI, and directed research projects for many other agencies and industry. She is an Associate Editor for ACS ES&T Water and the Secretary of AEESP Board of Directors. She is a past recipient of Nanova/CAPEES Frontier Research Award, CAPEES Award for Environmental Application of AI/ML, and ES&T Best Paper Award, among others.

Title: Senior Lecturer,Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia.

About:Dr. Intan Salwani Mohamed (Google Scholar h-index = 22; Scopus h-index = 11, WOS h-index = 7) is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Accountancy, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia. Her PhD thesis has been formally subscribed to and catalogued by the libraries of leading Ivy League and internationally renowned universities, including Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford, Yale, Columbia, and Duke University.

Dr. Intan Salwani has received extensive recognition for her research and innovation achievements at both international and national levels. Notably, her Book Award (2019) was for a scholarly book published by Oxford University Press (OUP). Her other awards include the Outstanding Scientist Award (Google Scholar Citations, 2017), Gold Medal at the Geneva Invention Exhibition (2009), Gold and Silver Medals at the Brussels Invention Exhibition (2008), two Silver Medals at the INPEX Invention Show, Pittsburgh, USA (2007), and a Bronze Medal at the Seoul International Invention Fair (SIIF), South Korea. She has also won more than 70 medals at invention and innovation competitions, including ITEX, PECIPTA, MTE, and UiTM Invention & Innovation Exhibitions. In addition, she has received Best Paper Awards at several international conferences, including the ICAAF Conference at the University of Western Australia (2024), the EABR Conference in Prague (2009), the ICFC Conference in Jakarta (2024), and the ICiFFC Conference in Malaysia (2020).

In terms of scholarly output, Dr. Intan Salwani has published 86 articles in Flagship, High Impact, and Indexed Journals, 13 books and book chapters, and 44 conference proceedings. She serves as an Emerald Peerwith Expert, an Inderscience Reviewer, and is the current Co-Editor-in-Chief and former Managing Editor of Management & Accounting Review, a Scopus and ERA indexed journal. She is also an active reviewer for several high-impact journals, including Research in International Business and Finance, International Journal of Electronic Governance, and International Journal of Organizational Analysis.

Throughout her academic career at UiTM, Dr. Intan Salwani has been frequently invited as a keynote and invited speaker at international and national conferences, research colloquiums, and capacity-building workshops. Notable engagements include the adjunct faculty at UNIKOM Bandung, Indonesia, distinguished guest speaker at Universitas Brawijaya Indonesia (2025), keynote speaker at ICOBEST Conference in Bandung (2020), invited speaker at the Seoul MMF Conference in South Korea (2015), and invited lectures and workshops at institutions such as the Malaysia Nuclear Agency, University of Malaya–Wales, and Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN). She is an Associate Member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants, a Visiting Lecturer at Widyatama University, Bandung, and has served as an Academic Advisor and External Examiner at SEGi University and Limkokwing University, Malaysia.

At the institutional level, Dr. Intan Salwani has received numerous prestigious recognitions, including the Top WoS Q1 Author Award (2024), the Highest Number of WoS Q1 Journal Publications Award (Second Place, 2024), the Deputy Vice-Chancellor’s Excellence Award (Research and Innovation) (2022), the Promising Researcher Award (2009), the Incentive for Publishing in High Impact Factor Journals (2011), multiple Excellence Service Awards (2024, 2020, 2009, and 2005), and the Potential Research for Commercialisation Award (2005), among others.

Title: Associate Director and Professor,Jain University, Bangalore, India

About:

Prof. S.K. Nataraj is currently working as Associate Director and Professor at the Centre for Nano and Material Sciences (CNMS), Jain University, Bangalore, India. He obtained his PhD on “Membrane Based Separation Processes for Industrial Effluent Treatment” in 2008 from the Centre of Excellence in Polymer Science (CEPS), Karnatak University, Dharwad, India.

After completion of his PhD, he moved to the Alan G. MacDiarmid Energy Research Institute (AMERI), Chonnam National University, South Korea, as a Postdoctoral Associate (2007–2009) to work on Energy Materials. During 2010–2011, he worked as a Postdoctoral Associate at the Institute of Atomic Molecular Sciences (IAMS), Academia Sinica, Taiwan, where he developed ion-exchange membranes for Fuel Cell applications.

Further, he was awarded the Qatar University Visiting Fellowship at the University of Cambridge (2010–2011) and continued as a full-time Postdoctoral Research Associate (2011–2013) at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, UK.

Later, he moved to India to work as a DST-INSPIRE Faculty Fellow (2013–2015) at CSIR-CSMCRI, Bhavnagar, where his major research areas included Sustainable Materials and Processes for Energy and Environmental Applications such as Supercapacitors, Fuel Cells, Membrane Processes for Wastewater Treatment, Functional Nanomaterial-based Devices for Wastewater Treatment, and Value Addition of Bioresources.

Dr. Nataraj serves as a Member of the Editorial Board of the prestigious Chemical Engineering Journal and several other reputed journals. He teaches postgraduate courses in Separation and Purification Technologies, Battery-Fuel Cells, and Solid-State Materials.

He has published more than 220 research articles, holds 14 US/PCT patents, authored over 45 book chapters, 6 books, and 1 edited book. He has received more than 9100 citations and delivered over 60 invited talks. His socially relevant works have been highlighted in magazines and news articles including Nature Asia and Outlook.

Prof. S.K. Nataraj has appeared in the list of Top 2% Researchers issued by Stanford University for the last six consecutive years.

Title: Professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), USA.

About:Eakalak Khan is a Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Department and the Director of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Water Resources, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). From 2002 to 2017, he was a Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, North Dakota State University (NDSU). He also served as the Chair of Civil Engineering Department, NDSU from 2010 to 2013. Prior to NDSU, he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, New York University (formerly Polytechnic University), New York from 1999 to 2002. He received his Bachelor of Engineering in Environmental Engineering from Chiang Mai University, Thailand in 1990, M.S. in Agricultural Engineering from University of Hawaii in 1993, and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1997. In 1998, he was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Institute of Environment, UCLA. Eakalak has published more than 200 refereed journal articles. His research has been well supported (~13 million U.S. dollars) by various governmental and private agencies. His contributions to the field of water and wastewater were recognized by many honors and awards such as Fair Distinguished Engineering Educator Medal, Water Environment Federation in 2023 and International Water Association Fellow in 2024.

Title: Professor, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Poland.

About:Professor Patryk Oleszczuk is a Full Professor of Environmental Chemistry and Head of the Department of Radiochemistry and Environmental Chemistry at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, Poland. His research focuses on: (1) ecotoxicology and environmental chemistry, (2) the behavior and fate of organic and inorganic contaminants in environmental matrices (soil, water, and sediments) and anthropogenic materials such as sewage sludge, composts, and food, (3) nanoparticles in the environment, (4) sustainable waste management and resource recovery, and (5) the properties, production, and environmental applications of biochar. With more than 20 years of research experience, Professor Oleszczuk has made significant contributions to understanding the environmental behavior, remediation, and ecotoxicological impacts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heavy metals, nanomaterials, and emerging contaminants. He has authored over 250 peer-reviewed publications in leading international journals and is a frequent invited speaker at scientific conferences and universities worldwide.

Professor Oleszczuk currently serves as Associate Editor of Chemosphere, Environmental and Biogeochemical Processes, and New Contaminants, and is a member of the Editorial Boards of Environmental Sciences Europe and Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology. His international experience includes research stays and collaborations with institutions such as the University of Massachusetts Amherst (USA), Duke University (USA), Texas Tech University (USA), and the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (Norway), and Kunming University of Science and Technology (China).

His scientific achievements have been widely recognized internationally. He has been included among the World's Top 2% Most-Cited Scientists every year from 2017 to 2023. According to Google Scholar, his work has received more than 18,500 citations and his H-index exceeds 73.

Professor Oleszczuk is currently ranked as the No. 1 Environmental Scientist in Poland according to the 2026 Research.com ranking in Environmental Sciences and has received the Research.com Environmental Sciences in Poland Leader Award for multiple consecutive years.

His expertise in biochar and waste-derived materials is also internationally recognized. According to ScholarGPS, he is ranked among the world's leading experts in this field, holding the 1st position worldwide for the keyword "Sewage Sludge" and the 6th position worldwide for "Biochar" and “Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons” among highly ranked scholars based on research productivity, impact, and quality.

Through his interdisciplinary research, Professor Oleszczuk continues to advance sustainable remediation technologies, circular economy solutions, environmental risk assessment, and the development of innovative biochar-based materials for environmental applications.

Title: General Manager – Growth & Energy Transition Verbrec Ltd, Australia.

About:Erik Vandenberg is General Manager – Growth & Energy Transition at Verbrec and an engineer with more than 20 years’ experience across the energy, resources and infrastructure sectors. His work spans engineering, asset management, project development and commercial strategy, with a current focus on the practical development of renewable gas, bioenergy and low-carbon fuels in Australia. Erik brings a strongly technoeconomic perspective to the energy transition, focusing on how emerging technologies, existing infrastructure and viable commercial models can be brought together to develop investable projects and new industries.

Title: Associate Professor, Tsinghua University, China.

About:Dr. Ming Zhao is an Associate Professor of School of Environment, Tsinghua University. He is the founder of LBC Group (Lab for Bio-resource & Carbon-mitigation Technologies). He obtained his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Sydney in 2010. He joined Tsinghua University after the completion of his work at Imperial College London in 2014. Dr Zhao and his group possess the expertise in thermo-chemical conversion of biomass (wastes) into clean energy and value-added chemicals, and CO2 capture and utilization. LBC Group has published 135+ peer-reviewed articles in recently years. Dr. Zhao also maintains linkage to industry and one of the gasification technologies has been commercialized for gaseous fuels production from solid wastes.

Title: ECOTEC University, Ecuador.

About:Rafael Luque (PhD in 2005 from Universidad de Cordoba, Spain) has significant experience in biomass and waste valorization practices to materials, fuels and chemicals including nanoscale chemistry, green chemistry and catalysis as well as environmental remediation with a particular interest on plastic waste (>1000 publications, h-index 121, >65,000 citations, 7 patents, >10 edited books). He was named 2018-2022 Highly Cited Researcher (Clarivate Analytics) and received Honorary Professor titles (Doctor Honoris Causa) at Universitá degli studi Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria and RUDN University.

Prof. Luque is currently Head of B4 group (Bioresources, Biopolymers, Biotechnology and Biorefineries) and Project Director at National University of Science and Technology Polytehnica Bucharest (Romania), holding various positions as DFSP Chair Professor at King Saud University (Saudi Arabia), Distinguished Visiting Professor at University of Lahore (Pakistan) and International Distinguished Scientist and Rectoral Advisor at Universidad ECOTEC (Ecuador). .

Title:Director, Center of Excellence for Research, Malaysia

About:Professor Ir. Ts. Dr. Pau-Loke Show is currently Director of the Center of Excellence for Research, Value Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CERVIE) at UCSI University, Malaysia. Prior to joining UCSI, he was a Full Professor in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Before his appointment at Khalifa University, he served as Professor of Biochemical Engineering in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, at the University of Nottingham Malaysia. He was also the founding Co-Director of Future Food Malaysia, Beacon of Excellence, and Director of the Sustainable Food Processing Research Centre. In addition, he served as the Founding President of the International Bioprocessing Society, based in Malaysia.

Prof. Show has received numerous prestigious academic accolades, including the Mustafa Prize Young Scientist Medal, Young Asian Biotechnologist Prize, Biology and Biochemistry in Malaysia Leader Award, World’s Rising Stars of Science, Highly Cited Researcher recognition, Ten Outstanding Young Malaysian Award, Tan Sri Emeritus Professor Augustine SH Ong International Special Award on Innovations and Inventions in Palm Oil, APEC Science Prize for Innovation, Research and Education (ASPIRE) Malaysia Award, Malaysian Young Scientist Award, The DaSilva Award, JSPS Fellowship Award, Top 100 Asian Scientists recognition, Asia’s Rising Scientists Award, and the Young Researcher Award by IChemE, among others.

An active and highly sought-after reviewer, Prof. Show serves as a peer reviewer for more than 150 esteemed international journals, including those published by Nature, Science, Elsevier, Wiley, Springer, ACS, RSC, and Taylor & Francis. He has been recognized as a Top Peer Reviewer by Publons, receiving Top 1% Global Peer Reviewer awards in Engineering, Cross-Field, Chemistry, Biology and Biochemistry, and Agricultural Sciences. He has also acted as a handling editor for more than 3,000 manuscripts across numerous journals.

Through his research, leadership, and professional service, Prof. Ir. Ts. Dr. Pau-Loke Show continues to make significant contributions to biochemical engineering, microalgae biotechnology, and sustainable food processing, maintaining his position as a global leader in academic research and innovation.

Title: Professor,Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Korea.

About:Dr. Sung Kuk Lee is a Professor in the Department of Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology; https://sites.google.com/site/skleelab/), Korea. He received his BS (1994) from the Department of Microbiology at Kyungpook National University, Korea, and his MS (1997) and PhD (2001) from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Korea. Before joining UNIST, he worked at the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA (2001–2003), SynBERC/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) (2004–2007), and the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI)/LBNL, where he served as Co-Director of the Fuel Synthesis Division (2007–2008). Prof. Lee is an Editorial Board member of Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering (BBE) and the Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology (JMB), and serves in professional societies including KSBB, KMB, MSK, and the Korean Society for Synthetic Biology. His major research interests include metabolic engineering and synthetic biology for the development of microbial platforms and recombinant DNA tools to produce biofuels, bioplastics, chemicals, cosmetics, and drugs. His work has been recognized with multiple BBE Best Paper/Best Article Awards. Dr. Lee has mentored numerous graduate students, published more than 80 peer-reviewed research papers, and filed or registered many domestic and international patents and patent applications.

Title: Associate Professor,Korea University, South Korea.

About:Sun-Mi Lee is an associate professor in the Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering at Korea University. She received her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. She worked as a research scientist at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) for twenty years. She serves on the expert committee of the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology in Korea and holds editorial roles as an Associate Editor for Biomass & Bioenergy and an Editorial Board Member of Bioresource Technology. Her research focuses on applying synthetic biology tools to address energy and environmental challenges. Her work primarily involves engineering yeast as a cell factory for the sustainable production of fuels and chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass, as well as for the bio-upcycling of plastics. To enhance the efficiency and expand the capabilities of these cell factories, she evolves enzymes, optimizes cellular networks, and develops integrated bio-chemical processes.

Title: Associate Professor,Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Petroleum & Energy (IIPE), Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh (An Institute of National Importance, Govt. of India) ,India

About:Dr. Ravi Kumar Sonwani is currently working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy. He also serves as an expert member of the Consent Management (CTE & CTO) cum Monitoring Committee of the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board. He obtained his M.Tech. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) in 2016 and 2020, respectively. During his Ph.D., he was awarded the SPARC Fellowship by the Government of India and worked as a visiting research scholar at Hanyang University, where he developed highly porous metal-organic frameworks (MOF-199) for VOC (BTEX) removal. He also visited National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology under a faculty mobility program in December 2024.

His current research focuses on hydrogen generation, corrosion mitigation, wastewater treatment, air pollution control, bioenergy, and waste-to-energy conversion technologies. He is currently working on projects (1) “H₂ Generation from Seawater through Flue Gas Desalination (GH₂-FGSW DeSal Plant): Development and Design” and (2) “Development of Sustainable and Cost-Effective Strategies for Corrosion Mitigation at NTPC Simhadri.” Dr. Sonwani has published more than 55 peer-reviewed research articles and 3 book chapters, and has presented his work at several international conferences. He has also received multiple awards and actively serves as a reviewer and guest editor for reputed international journals published by Elsevier, Springer Nature, and Wiley.

Title: Professor,Chonnam National University,South Korea

About:Dr. Hyeun-Jong Bae is a Professor in the Department of Bioenergy Science and Technology and Director of the Bioenergy Research Center at Chonnam National University, Republic of Korea. He received his BS and MS degrees from Chonnam National University and earned his Ph.D. in Phytology from Université Laval, Canada, in 2002. Since 2006, he has led research programs in bioenergy and biotechnology, serving as Principal Investigator for several major national initiatives, including the Biogreen 21 Program, BK21 Program, and the University Priority Research Center Program. Dr. Bae has extensive international academic experience, including serving as an adjunct professor at the University of Texas at Dallas. More recently, he has been active as a guest professor at Qingdao Agricultural University, China, and Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan. His research focuses on lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment, enzymatic deconstruction, second-generation bio-sugar production, and integrated biorefinery strategies for renewable fuels, chemicals, and biomaterials.

Title: Professor,University of Campinas,Brazil

About:Arnaldo Walter is Professor at University of Campinas (Unicamp) and former Director (from 2009 to 2013) of the Sustainability Research Program at the Brazilian Bioethanol Science and Technology Laboratory (CTBE). He has a background in Mechanical Engineering, with M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering and Ph.D. in Energy Planning. He has received a specialization degree in Argentina (Energy Planning) and developed post-doctoral research at the NREL-US, at King’s College-UK and at KTH, Sweden. Along the years developed professional activities in different countries, and taught in Ecuador, Peru, Sweden, Mexico, Colombia and Argentina. He acted as executive-editor of Energy – the International Journal (Elsevier) from July 2011 to July 2013 and was co-convener of an ISO project that allowed the approval of the standard ISO 13065 Sustainability Criteria for Bioenergy. Arnaldo Walter joined groups that developed projects in the context of the European Commission and IEA (International Energy Agency) Bioenergy Agreement. His recent research activities have been focused on sustainability of biofuels and market assessment of biofuels (including trade).

Title:Analytical chemist,Berkeley, United States

About: Emine Akyuz Turumtay received her MSc and PhD degrees from the Department of Chemistry at Karadeniz Technical University, Türkiye. She studied in the Pfizer Analytical Research Centre, Ghent University, Belgium with supervisor, Prof. Partick Sandra focusing on advanced chromatographic analysis of plan extracts. She worked at Auburn University, Harrison School of Pharmacy on a project led by Prof. Dr. Robert Arnold. Since April 2024, she has been working as a Senior Research Associate at LBNL and the JBEI. My research focuses on the quantitative analysis of metabolites generated during the modification of energy plants and microbial communities using a QTOF-LC-MS system.

Title:Professor,Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, India

About: Work Experience Teaching Experience Twenty eight years to Undergraduate and Postgraduate students. Currently posted as Professor in Botany at Banaras Hindu University, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, UP, India. Research Experience  Twenty eight years. The main areas of research work are: Experimental Phycology, Microbial Ecology, Biotechnology.  PhD/ D.Phil degree of Sixteen students have been awarded. Supervision of four students is underway for the D.Phil degree of BHU as well as Banasthali Vidyapeeth University.

Books & Research Papers  Three Text Books (Practical) 1. Practical Botany for B.Sc. Ist Year Botany Students Published by Anand Publication, Noida, India. Rajan Kumar Gupta, Manjul Dhiman and Ajai Swami. (Eds.), 2007. 2. Practical Botany for B.Sc. IInd Year Botany Students Published by Anand Publication, Noida, India. Rajan Kumar Gupta, Manjul Dhiman and Ajai Swami. (Eds.), 2007. 3. Practical Botany for B.Sc. IIIrd Year Botany Students Published by Anand Publication, Noida, India. Rajan Kumar Gupta, Manjul Dhiman and Ajai Swami. (Eds.), 2007.  Edited books Published 1. Glimpses of Cyanobacteria. (2006). ISBN No. 81-7035-435-8 Daya Publishing House, New Delhi, (eds) Rajan Kumar Gupta, Mukesh Kumar & G.S. Paliwal. 2. Advances in Applied Phycology. (2007) ISBN No. 81-7035-476-5 Daya Publishing House, New Delhi, (eds) Rajan Kumar Gupta and Vidya Dhar Pandey. 3. Soil Microflora. (2009) ISBN No. :81-7035-597-4 978-81-7035-597-7 Daya Publishing House, New Delhi, Uttarakhand, (eds) Rajan Kumar Gupta, Mukesh Kumar & Deepak Vyas. 4. Biodiversity: An Overview (2011) ISBN No. 978-93-80578-88-0 I.K. Internationl Publisher , New Delhi, India.(eds) Mukesh Kumar & Rajan Kumar Gupta. 5. Diversity of Lower Plants ISBN No. 978-93-82332-41-1 I.K. Internationl Publisher , New Delhi, (eds) Rajan Kumar Gupta & Mukesh Kumar . in Press 6. Microbial Biotechnology & Ecology Vol. I (2011) ISBN No.: 81-7035-695-4 978-81-7035-695-0 Daya Publishing House, New Delhi, (eds) D. Vyas, G.S. Paliwal, P.K. Khare & Rajan Kumar Gupta 7. Microbial Biotechnology & Ecology Vol II (2011)ISBN No.: 81-7035-696-2 978-81-7035-696-7 Daya Publishing House, New Delhi, (eds) Deepak Vyas, G.S. Paliwal, P.K. Khare & Rajan Kumar Gupta 8. Biotechnology: An Overview (2015) ISBN No.: 978-93-5124-333-5 978-93-5130-303-9 Daya Publishing House, New Delhi, (eds) Rajan Kumar Gupta, Nasim Akhtar and Deepak Vyas 9. Environmental Biotechnology: A New Approach (2016) ISBN No.: 978-81-7035 Daya Publishing House, New Delhi, (eds) Rajan Kumar Gupta and Satya Shila Singh 10. Bio-hydrogen Energy and Sustainable Development (2016) ISBN No.: 978-81-7035 Astral International Publisher, Darya Ganj, New Delhi Deepak Vyas and Rajan Kumar Gupta (Eds) 2016

Title:University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture,Croatia

About: Gabrijel Ondrašek is a full professor at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, with over 25 years of experience in teaching and mentoring, as well as in research and academic leadership. His teaching and scientific work has been focused on sustainable soil and water management in agroecosystems, with particular emphasis on soil salinization, metal contamination, and their impacts on soil–plant–water systems. Throughout his career, he established extensive international and interdisciplinary collaboration, spending almost 40 months at leading research and academic institutions worldwide. During last several years, in collaboration with industry, his research has focused on the circular bio-economy and the transformation of different waste streams into value-added products for sustainable and resilient agri-food production. This includes the development and evaluation of innovative growing media, combined organo-mineral fertilizers, and advanced soil amendments, designed to improve soil fertility, crop productivity, and agro-environmental resilience. His scientific achievements have been recognized through multiple prestigious international awards, medals, and protected intellectual property rights. Since 2023, he has been continuously listed among the top 2% most cited scientists worldwide, reflecting the global impact and visibility of his research and home institution.

Title: Associate Director, Wisconsin Energy Institute Madison, USA

About:Mary Blanchard is the Associate Director of the Wisconsin Energy Institute (WEI) at UW – Madison. Blanchard’s career portfolio spans business development, international and domestic product management and marketing, and governmental relations. Formerly the Director of Marketing and Government Affairs at a bioenergy start-up company, Blanchard has extensive knowledge of the bioenergy industry and a broad understanding of energy technologies, challenges, and the economic, social, and environmental opportunities created by sustained, cross-disciplinary energy research. She has served on bioeconomy and biofuels advisory groups for the Midwestern Governors Association and the Wisconsin Legislative Council. Blanchard holds bachelor's degrees in Electrical Engineering and English from the University of Notre Dame, a master's degree from the London School of Economics, and an MBA from Northwestern University.

Title:Professor, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Mexico

About: I’m full professor in the chemistry faculty of the Autonomous university of Chihuahua, Mexico. I have a bachelor’s in Chemist Bacteriologist Parasitologist, a master's degree in Biotechnology, both from the Autonomous University of Chihuahua, and a doctoral degree in Microbiology by the Northwestern Center for Biological Research in 2015. Currently, my research lines are focused on the study of the basis for establishing microalga-bacteria interactions and how these can be applied to improve biotechnological processes. In addition, I have an interest in describing how biotechnological conditions can change the nature of microalga-bacteria interactions, thus affecting the process. I have published 38 research papers in high-impact journals, and 3 chapters of books. I have been reviewer for journals as Algal Research, ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, Bioresource Technology, Nature Communication Biology, Microbiological Research, and other more. I’m member of the board editorial in BMC Microbiology journal and guess editor in Frontiers in Microbiology, Sustainability, Processes and Microorganisms journals.

Title: Research Scientist - Synthetic Biology ,Biological Systems and Engineering ,Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA

About: Justin Panich, Ph.D., is a research scientist working at the intersection of microbial metabolism, redox biochemistry, and biomanufacturing. His research focuses on engineering microbial systems to couple electrochemistry and C1 feedstocks to the production of fuels, chemicals, and materials, with particular emphasis on hydrogenases, electro-microbial interfaces, and alternative feedstocks. He has led interdisciplinary research programs spanning fundamental enzymology, strain engineering, and process-relevant system design, supported by federal and industrial funding. Justin also engages in translational and investment-oriented work exploring pathways to scale low-carbon biomanufacturing technologies.

Title: Associate Professor, Jiangnan University, China

About: Meysam Madadi is an Associate Professor at the School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, China, and an Adjunct Professor at Diponegoro University, Indonesia. He has more than ten years of academic and research experience in China and was granted Chinese permanent residency through the talentcategory pathway. His research focuses on green lignocellulose fractionation, cellulose utilization, catalytic lignin conversion, and integrated biorefineries. He combines experiments with machine learning, DFT/MD modeling, and life-cycle assessment to develop efficient routes to biofuels, platform chemicals, renewable aromatic compounds, and functional biobased materials. Dr. Madadi received his Ph.D. in Biomass and Bioenergy Science from Huazhong Agricultural University and completed postdoctoral research at Jiangnan University. He has published 80 peer-reviewed papers, with one additional paper forthcoming, in journals including Nature Food, Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials, Advanced Science, Journal of Energy Chemistry, Chemical Engineering Journal, Green Chemistry, Energy, and Bioresource Technology. His publications have received 2,635 citations, with an h-index of 32 (Google Scholar, July 2026). His major contributions include recyclable acid/pentanol biphasic fractionation; machinelearning-guided reductive catalytic fractionation for lignin-monomer production; lignin-first and organosolv routes for aromatic bio-oil, biochar, nanomaterials, and composite reinforcements; and mechanistic interpretation of lignin/xylan dissolution and lignin-cellulase interactions. He has also integrated environmental and economic assessment into biomass valorization to support scalable circularbiorefineries. Dr. Madadi is the principal investigator of the National Natural Science Foundation of China Foreign Young Investigator Program and two institutional research projects, and serves as the Sino-Iran bilateral coordinator of an NSFC international cooperative project. He also participates in an NSFC Regional Joint Fund Key Support Project and an NSFC General Program. His honors include Excellent Researcher at Jiangnan University, the Jiangsu 333 High-Level Talent Cultivation Project, Excellent Young Researcher, Excellent Postdoctoral Fellow of Jiangsu Province, and Excellent Ph.D. Dissertation. He is a Youth Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Wood and Forest Science and Technology, a Guest Editor for a Catalysts special issue, and an editor of the Elsevier book LigninDriven Advanced Materials: The State-of-the-Art. He has completed peer-review assignments for more than 40 international journals, including Nature Food, Nature Communications, Advanced Science, Journal of Energy Chemistry, Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, Green Chemistry, and Chemical Engineering Journal. Across his current portfolio, he has secured or contributed to competitive projects totaling more than RMB 5.4 million as principal investigator, bilateral coordinator, or key participant. His teaching includes Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering for postgraduate international students through English-medium instruction. He currently supervises or co-supervises three master's students, three Ph.D. students, three visiting Ph.D. students, and two postdoctoral researchers, including both Chinese and international researchers. Dr. Madadi is an inventor on three Chinese patents covering enhanced ethanol production from lignocellulose, nanocellulose composite films, and amino-acid-assisted biomass pretreatment. In addition to editing the Elsevier volume on lignin-driven advanced materials, he has contributed chapters on lignin fractionation, higher-alcohol production, and life-cycle assessment of biomass-derived energy. He maintains active collaborations with research groups in China, Iran, Indonesia, Belgium, India, Egypt, and other countries and contributes to international manuscript development, researcher mentoring, special-issue organiz

Title: Researcher, National Taiwan University , KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden

About:Suraj Negi is a PhD candidate at National Taiwan University and a visiting researcher at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. His research spans anaerobic digestion, electrochemical CO2 conversion, life-cycle assessment, techno-economic analysis, and the circular bioeconomy. He has authored 21 journal articles, four book chapters, and 19 conference contributions. His honors include the 2026 ISBS Zhenya Distinguished Young Researcher Prize, the ACS Environmental Chemistry Division Graduate Award, recognition through the ACS Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Scholars Recognition Program, the CMC Magnetics Award, the Innolux Scholarship, and the GREENIE Award. He currently serves as an Editor of the Journal of Agrosociology and Sustainability and has completed more than 100 peer reviews for over 35+ academic journals.