Dennis G. Drescher

USA

Dennis G. Drescher is Professor and Director of Molecular Research in the Department of Otolaryngology and Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan, USA. He obtained his Ph.D., M.M. and B.S. degrees from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and pursued postgraduate studies in biochemistry at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. He has served as Senior Staff Fellow at the NIH, Bethesda, Maryland and Research Associate at Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri. His interests include interactions of synaptic-complex and mechanotransduction proteins of the inner ear as analyzed by surface plasmon resonance.

Prof. Dr. José L. Ocaña

Spain

Prof. Dr. José L. Ocaña is MSc. (1979) and PhD. (1982) in Industrial Engineering (Energy) at the Polytechnical University of Madrid (Spain).

Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the ETSII-UPM School of Engineering and Founder Director of the UPM Laser Centre at this University.

He has actively promoted and participated in national (Spain) and worldwide R&D initiatives in the field of scientific and industrial applications of high power lasers, especially in high intensity laser-matter interaction, laser surface treatments, laser micromachining and on-line monitoring and control of industrial laser applications. As a result, he is author/coauthor of more than 250 scientific papers and more than 300 communications in the field of laser technology and applications.

He is member of multiple scientific committees and editorial boards in the field of laser technology and applications. Former Chairman of EULASNET II (Eureka Umbrella Network for Laser Technology and Applications) and Vice-President of the Executive Board of the European Laser Institute (ELI).

He has received several prizes related to his research activity.

Yen-Ho Chu

Taiwan

Yen-Ho Chu is a university research distinguished professor of chemistry and biochemistry at National Chung Cheng University (CCU) in Taiwan, ROC. He received his BS in Chemistry from National Tsing Hua University, MS from National Taiwan University, and PhD from Harvard University (Professor G. M. Whitesides). He was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard Medical School (Professor C. T. Walsh), Staff Scientist at the Barnett Institute (Professor B. L. Karger), and Assistant Professor at the Ohio State University, before he returned to Taiwan and joined CCU in 1999. His research interests include (bio)molecular interaction analysis, combinatorial organic chemistry, ionic liquids, and smart materials.

Thomas J. Webster

USA

Thomas J. Webster’s (H index: 129; Google Scholar) degrees are in chemical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh (B.S., 1995; USA) and in biomedical engineering from RPI (Ph.D., 2000; USA). He has served as a professor at Purdue (2000-2005), Brown (2005-2012; 2021-present), and Northeastern (2012-2021; serving as Chemical Engineering Department Chair from 2012 - 2019) Universities and has formed over a dozen companies (with some acquired by Medtronic) who have numerous FDA approved medical products currently improving human health in over 30,000 patients with no failures.  He is currently helping those companies and serves as a professor at Brown University, Saveetha University, Hebei University of Technology, UFPI, and others.  Dr. Webster has numerous awards including: 2020, World Top 2% Scientist by Citations (PLOS); 2020, SCOPUS Highly Cited Research (Top 1% Materials Science and Mixed Fields); 2021, Clarivate Top 0.1% Most Influential Researchers (Pharmacology and Toxicology); 2022, Best Materials Science Scientist by Citations (Research.com); and is a fellow of over 8 societies.  Prof. Webster is a former President of the U.S. Society for Biomaterials and has over 1,350 publications to his credit with over 70,000 citations. He was recently nominated for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Prof. Webster also recently formed a fund to support Nigerian student research opportunities in the U.S.

Farzan Gity ( Plenary)

Ireland

Dr. Farzan Gity is a senior staff researcher at the Tyndall Institute, UCC, and a Funded Investigator at the Research Ireland AMBER Centre. With over a decade of experience in emerging materials and devices, his research focuses on advancing nanoelectronics beyond Moore’s Law. His work spans simulation, fabrication, and characterization of novel materials and devices, with an emphasis on integrating 2D materials for innovative applications. Dr. Gity leads several collaborative research projects with academia and industry, including Intel, and supervises three PhD students and five postdoctoral researchers (including three MSCA Fellows) working on innovations in 2D materials and advanced nanoelectronics

Christian Pedersen (Plenary)

Denmark

Christian Pedersen received his MSc from Technical University of Denmark (DTU) in 1991. In 1995, he received his Industrial PhD from the Department of Physics within the field of nonlinear optics and solid-state lasers. From 1996 to 2004, he worked in two start-up laser companies. From 2005 to 2008, he headed the Optical Sensor Technology programme at Risø National Laboratory. In 2008, Risø National Laboratory became a part of DTU. Since then he has been employed by DTU Electro, Department of Electrical and Photonics Engineering, appointed professor in 2019 within the field of photonics sensors.

Bong-Joong Kim (Plenary)

South Korea

Dr. Bong-Joong Kim has been a Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at GIST, Korea, since 2012. He earned his Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from Purdue University. Previously, Dr. Kim held postdoctoral and visiting scientist roles at Brookhaven National Laboratory and IBM T.J. Watson Research Center. His research centers on developing and modifying organic/inorganic nanostructures for use in catalysis, electronics, and sensors. He excels in in situ analysis techniques such as TEM, SEM, and optical systems, which he uses to study nanomaterials under various environmental conditions.