Prof. Takaaki Tomai is a Professor at the Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Tohoku University, Japan. He received his Ph.D. in Science from The University of Tokyo in 2008 and was awarded prestigious JSPS fellowships for both domestic and international research. He was appointed as an Assistant Professor in Tohoku University in 2010. In 2023, he was appointed as a Professor in Tohoku University. His research expertise spans supercritical fluid chemistry, hierarchical nanomaterials design, and environmentally friendly chemical processes. He is particularly known for his work on hydrothermal and supercritical synthesis techniques applied to energy materials, catalysis, and carbon recycling.
Prof. Tomai leads the Nanomaterials Process Data Science Division at Tohoku University, where he integrates data science with chemical process engineering to accelerate materials discovery. His research aims to contribute to carbon-neutral industrial systems through innovative material conversion technologies.
He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, with over 3,000 citations and an h-index of 30. He serves on the editorial board of Biochar (Springer Nature) and actively participates in several professional societies including the Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan. His interdisciplinary approach bridges fundamental science and sustainable innovation.

Yimin Chao was appointed as a Professor in the School of Chemistry at University of East Anglia on the basis of an established track record in investigating nanostructured systems from the basic physical and chemical mechanisms of synthesis, through their optical and electronic properties to scientific and industrial applications. Dr Chao has a wide range of experiences in synthesis of nanoscale materials, analysis of their impacts on environmental and biological systems, and sustainable applications.
Since 2001, he has published over 100 papers in leading international refereed journals such as Nature Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials. He has presented his research results in more than 50 international conferences, either as Plenary speaker or Keynote speaker. Funding from the Royal Society/Wolfson Foundation and the University enabled the setting up of the Sustainable Energy Innovation Laboratory of which he is the Head. He is a Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), Chair of Chemical Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Network in RSC. He is serving as a member of UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships Peer Review College and Sift/interview Panel College, and EPSRC Peer Review College, and also acting as funding reviewer for various other funding bodies, such as Leverhulme Trust, Cancer Research UK, National Natural Science Foundation of China, and Saudi Arabic government. Current research themes include design and functionalization of Si quantum dots (Si-QDs), and their applications in lithiun-ion batteries and thermoelectric modules.

Prof. Hong completed his Ph.D. in Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University in 1984. After R&D experience at Stanford University as a research associate, he joined Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) as a professor in 1986, where he is directing research and education on design, fabrication processes and applications of composites and nanocomposites. Prof. Hong pioneered to develop global leading technologies for fabrication processes and applications of nanomaterials filled multi-functional nanocomposites. Prof. Hong has published 263 international journal papers, registered or filed 158 patents, delivered 72 keynote or invited talks mainly in areas of nanomaterials and nanocomposites.
Prof. Hong had served as a Managing Director of the Office of Strategic R&D Planning (OSP) in the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE), Director for Basic Science and Engineering in National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea, Presidents of the Korea Society for Composite Materials (KSCM) and the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute (KPMI). He currently is acting as the President of SAMPE Korea and the Vice President of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology (KAST).

Kwang Leong Choy [D.Phil. (Oxon), DSc] is the Professor of Materials Science at Duke Kunshan University (DKU). Prior to this, she was a Professor of Materials Discovery and the founding Director of the UCL Institute for Materials Discovery at University College London (UCL). She also held a Chair in Materials, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham (2002-2014), where she was the Research Director of the University Innovation Centre and University’s Knowledge Exchange Board. Professor Choy earned her D.Phil. in Materials Science from the University of Oxford, where she was awarded the Hetherington Prize and Oxford Metallurgical Society Award. Additionally, she has received accolades such as the Grunfeld Medal Prize and Kroll Medal & Prize. She has been awarded the Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Mining and Minerals (FIMMM) and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC). She has authored over 300 publications, including 4 books and 20 patents, given over 150 keynote papers/invited lectures and conference session Chairman. She also helped to establish two university spin-out companies. Her expertise has been recognized through Guest Professorships at the University of Uppsala (2001/03), Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE, 2010/2012), and a Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Visiting Professorship for Senior International Scientist (2011/2013). She is leading a multidisciplinary research team and collaborating closely with material engineers, chemists, physicists, bioengineers, nanobiotechnologists, and engineers to create new opportunities in materials creation, discovery and utilization. Her team focuses on developing high-performance, eco-friendly, and cost-effective processes for the production of new nanostructured materials, nanocomposites, thin films, and coatings. These materials find applications in various fields, including solar cells, clean energy generation, energy storage, electrical systems, optoelectronics, environmental sustainability, healthcare, and biomedicine. Professor Choy has successfully obtained and managed numerous multimillion-pound national and European flagship research programs, fostering extensive collaboration between academia and industry. In addition, she has established state-of-the-art nanomaterials, innovative thin/thick film processing, and characterization facilities, representing a significant investment in cutting-edge infrastructure.

Dr Chengzhong Yu received his bachelor and Master’s degrees (1990, 1993) from East China Normal University, and his PhD from Fudan University in 2002. He was a Professor at the Department of Chemistry, Fudan University till 2010. Currently he is a professor and group leader at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, the University of Queensland, Australia.
Prof. Yu is a chemist and materials scientist in functional nanostructured composites and their applications. Since 2000, he has published over 260 peer-reviewed journal articles, which have been cited over 16,900 times and resulted in an H-index of 64. He has developed broad industrial collaborations to extend the applications of functional materials in a real world. He has received several awards including the Le Févre Memorial Prize from the Australian Academy of Science, the ARC Future Fellowship, and the Second prize of the National Science Award of China (3/5).

Guozhen Shen received his MS degree in 1999 from Anhui Normal University and Ph. D degree in 2003 from University of Science and Technology of China. From 2004 to 2013, he conducted his research in Hanyang University (Korea), National Institute for Materials Science (Japan), University of Southern California (USA) and Huazhong University of Science and Technology (China). He joined Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese academy of Sciences as a professor in 2013. His current research focuses on flexible electronics and printable electronics. He has published more than 300 papers with an H-factor of 79. He received several important awards, including the Research Fund for Distinguished Young Scientists, Mao Yi-Sheng Science and Technology Awards, Science and Technology Award of C-MRS, etc.

Prof. Yonghui Deng received his B.S. in chemistry from Nanchang University (2000) and Ph.D in polymer chemistry and physics from Fudan University (2005). He worked as a postdoctoral researcher with Prof. Dongyuan Zhao (2005–2007), and was promoted as associate professor (2007) and full professor (2011) in Department of Chemistry at Fudan University. He worked in University of California at Berkeley (2009–2010) as visiting scholar. He has coauthored over 120 papers in refereed journals with total citation over 8000 times and h-index of 46. He received the second prize of Natural Science Award of Ministry of Education (the first awardee), the National Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars by NSFC, the National “Youth Top-notch Talent Support Program, and Youth Cheung Kong Professor” by Ministry of Education. He is currently the acting associate editor of Chinese Chemical Letters (SCI indexed) and the assessor of Australian Research Council (ARC). His research interests include functional porous materials, core–shell nanomaterials, and their applications in catalysis, chemical sensor, biomedicine, etc.