Abstract

Biography

Currently, Professor Abdel-Aty holds key positions, serving as the Director of the International Relations Center at Sohag University in Egypt and as the Vice-President of the African Mathematical Union. He has previously held leadership roles, including Vice-President of the African Academy of Sciences and the Dean of Research and Graduate Studies at Applied Science University and Ahlia University in the Kingdom of Bahrain. He completed his doctorate in Information and Communication Technology at the Max-Planck-Institute for Quantum Optics in Germany in 1999. He has conducted significant postdoctoral research on Information Sciences at Flensburg University in Germany from 2001 to 2003. He has also made substantial contributions to the Quantum Information Group in Egypt, focusing on areas such as quantum measurement, nanomechanical modeling, highly non-classical light, practical information security, and optical implementations of quantum information tasks. His exceptional achievements, numerous awards, and editorial engagements highlight his significant impact and recognition within the scientific community.

Abstract

Numerous biological structures have intricate compositional arrangements, well-organised pieces and stronger mechanical properties than the materials that make them up. Therefore, this study focused on enhancing the mechanical characteristics of bio-mimicked acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) structures. Selected parts/systems of three natural (animal/plant) materials were designed/modelled and analysed to mimic their natural lattice structures (biomimicry), using CATIA V5 and finite element method/Ansys software. The simulation results showed that the tensile strength of the biomimetic-designed beetle increased by 13.63%, the bending strength of the biomimetic lotus stem improved by 2.00 and 19.86% in simple and three-point bending tests, and the compressive strength of biomimetic trabecular bone enhanced by 87.59%, when compared with their conventional structures. In addition, the biomimetic design recorded 10.00% higher compressive strength than a fillet design and nearly 64.00% than the repeated pattern. It was evident that biomimetic designs enhanced the mechanical properties of all the biomimicked ABS structures. Further experimental tests of three-dimensional (3D)-printed ABS and other materials are ongoing to leverage additively manufacturing technology and advance this study.   

Biography

Dr Sikiru O. ISMAIL is a Chartered Engineer and a Senior Lecturer in Manufacturing Engineering and Materials, Department of Engineering, School of Physics, Engineering and Computer Science, University of Hertfordshire, England, UK. He is an active member of Centre for Engineering Research as well as Outreach and Networking Coordinator of Centre for Climate Change Research. He completed his Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in the School of Mechanical and Design Engineering, University of Portsmouth, England, UK, after obtaining his PhD degree in the same University, as a sponsored researcher with prestigious awards. Prior to his PhD degree, he obtained ND, BEng (Hons) and MSc with First Class Honours/Distinction Grades as Overall/Best Student in all his degree programmes, among other outstanding prizes. Moreover, Dr Ismail has several years of professional (industrial, research and academic/lecturing) experience, having worked in many sectors. His research specialisation focuses on Materials (mainly Bio/composites) Design, Development, Testing, Characterisation and Optimisation for Specific Applications as well as Advanced Manufacturing Engineering: Innovative Manufacturing Processes (Subtractive: machining; Additive: 3D and 4D printing and Formative: extrusion, injection moulding, among others), using Experimental and Numerical Simulation/Finite Element/Analytical Modelling Techniques. He has obtained PGCE, hence successfully supervised many undergraduate and postgraduate projects. He has won both prestigious internal and external research grants or funding and scholarships. In addition, he has published/presented over 130 reputable high impact articles. Dr Ismail is a Reviewer and Editorial Board Member of many reputable local/international journals and conferences. He is currently a Visiting Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education, Tamil Nadu. In addition, he was Guest Editor of Special Issues of a few good Journals. He is a qualified Advance Higher Education Internal and External (local and international) Examiner. Furthermore, Dr Ismail is a Member, Chartered Engineer and Fellow of some local and international professional bodies: MASME and MASC (USA), MIMechE, CEng MIET, FHEA and FRSA (UK). Summarily, Dr Ismail is an active lecturer and researcher; he is very passionate about supporting students to achieve excellence and solving engineering problems for industries through cutting-edge, state-of-the-art and globally relevant research.

Abstract

The presentation addresses the mechanochemical approach to solid-state chemical synthesis, enabling the solvent-free preparation of a wide variety of molecular, ionic, and hybrid inorganic-organic materials. The state of the art in the field of mechanochemistry is briefly reviewed, using authors' experimental results as examples, while highlighting feasible mechanisms of mechanochemical transformations. Mechanochemical preparations of novel hybrid and complex materials, such as complex meta hydrides, 3D misfit heterostructures, high-entropy transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), and rare earth-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), are discussed. Additionally, the applications of mechanochemistry in the Circular Economy are highlighted, including the recently discovered mechanochemical deconstruction of spent magnetic and battery materials, as well as the depolymerization of polystyrene at room temperature. Finally, the transformation of research results into commercial products will be briefly emphasized, using mechanochemical processes as examples.

Biography

Dr. Viktor Balema is an expert in novel electronic and energy materials, as well as non-conventional materials preparation techniques. He earned his BS/MS degrees from L'viv State University, Ukraine, and PhD from the A. Nesmeyanov Institute of the Academy of Sciences in Moscow. Subsequently, he conducted research at the universities of Karlsruhe and Leipzig, Germany as Visiting Scientist, then joined Ames Laboratory of the US Department of Energy. Over two decades, Dr. Balema directed the Hard Materials Segment and Materials Science R&D at Sigma-Aldrich Co. and held Senior Scientist and CTO positions at Ames Laboratory and in the chemical industry. Currently, he is an Adjunct Professor at Clemson University, SC, USA. Dr. Balema has authored over 100 papers and patents, delivered numerous invited talks, and served as a reviewer for the US DOE, NSF, US CRDF, ACS PRF, and numerous peer-reviewed journals. His research has also been featured in popular scientific magazines, including New Scientist and Scientific American.

Abstract

Novel thermoluminescence (TL) features of La2O3 are reported in this work. Novel La2O3 phosphor was obtained by an optimized solution combustion synthesis (SCS), in which a redox combustion process between lanthanum nitrate and urea at 500 °C is accomplished under stoichiometric conditions. The powder samples obtained were annealed at 900 °C during 2 h in air. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) results showed the hexagonal phase of La2O3 for annealed powder samples. The TL glow curve obtained after exposure to beta radiation of these samples, displayed two maxima located at ~ 101 °C, ~ 200 °C and a shoulder at ~ 247 °C. Results from experiments such as dose response and fading showed that annealed La2O3 powder obtained by SCS is a promising material for high-dose radiation dosimetry applications.

Biography

Victor R. Orante-Barrón, Ph.D. Associate Professor since february, 2010. Departamento de Investigación en Polímeros y Materiales. Universidad de Sonora. México. Education Ph.D., Materials Science, Universidad de Sonora. México. 2009. M.Sc., Polymers and Materials, Universidad de Sonora. México. 2005. B.Sc., Chemical Sciences, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey (ITESM). México. 1999. Research Fellowships Post-Doctoral Fellowship, in the Radiation Dosimetry Laboratory of Oklahoma State University. From 2009 to 2010. Supervisor: Dr. Eduardo G. Yukihara. Visiting Researcher, in the Department of Physics of University of South Africa (UNISA), from September 4 to December 6, 2015. Awards Member of the National System of Researchers (SNI, in Spanish) of the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT, in Spanish). Level 1, since January, 2011. Acknowledgement to Desirable Profile from Program for Professional Teacher Development (PRODEP, in Spanish) of the National Secretary of Public Education. Participation in Conferences 98 presentations of scientific contributions in national and international conferences. Publications 24 articles published in international journals. Organizing Committees Member of organizing committees for three international conferences. Teaching Professor of several courses for undergraduate and graduate students. Human Resources Training Advisor of three B.Sc. theses (two concluded, one in process), five M.Sc theses (four concluded, one in process), and one Ph.D. thesis (in process)

Abstract

Changes to the surface of materials can have very significant impacts on the properties of those materials and therefore on their applications. Many changes in the materials occur via reactive species that are short-lived and very difficult to probe. Probing chemical reactions for such reactive species on the surface of materials in fluids and on the interfaces is very difficult and almost impossible under the surface. In this presentation, I will describe how this impossible can be made possible and I will give an overview of the impact of such studies on the applications of the materials. I will explain why we must use rather exotic muon-based techniques, to gain such information.

Biography

Dr. Ghandi received his PhD in experimental chemical physics with a focus on radiation chemistry from Simon Fraser University in 2002. He did his postdoctoral research at the University of British Columbia and TRIUMF National Laboratory on materials science. He has also been invited visiting scientist at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the UK before joining Mount Allison University in 2005. Dr. Ghandi received his early tenure in 2009, and he was a member of the Chemistry and Biochemistry department as well as a member of the physics department of Mount Allison University until July 2018. In July 2018, he joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of Guelph as an associate professor. Dr Ghandi has published more than 120 refereed papers, book chapters and patents that span a broad range of interests in material science, nuclear energy, physical chemistry, analytical chemistry, green chemistry, nanotechnology, and radiation physics and chemistry. The results of this research have implications for the development of new antimicrobial material, sensors, and energy technologies, increasing the lifetime of nuclear reactors as well as material to reduce radiation therapy side effects. He has also been one of the founding members of the Atlantic Green Centre and was the president of the International Society of Muon Spectroscopy. He was the VP of America (North, Central and South America) of the International Society for Muon Spectroscopy before that. He is the National Representative of the Physical and Biophysical Chemistry Division of IUPAC, the Co-Chair of the Environment Waste Management and Decommissioning Division of the Canadian Nuclear Society and the president of the Physical, Theoretical and Computational Chemistry Division of the Chemical Institute of Canada. In 2009, he received the NBIF Breakthru (first prize) for opening inventive frontiers in the fields of polymeric materials, nanotechnology, and green chemistry. In 2010 he received the KEK Visiting Scientist Fellowship award for distinguished contributions to applications of muon science in studies of green technologies. In the same year, he received the Paul Paré Excellence Award for outstanding research without compromising excellence in teaching and service. He received this award again in 2013. In 2008 he received the leadership Mount Allison award for his contributions in training undergraduate research students at Mount Allison University (from both chemistry and physics programs). In the same year, he received the Marjorie Young Bell Award for his research on green chemistry. In 2017/2018 he received the Jean d'Alembert chair from the University of Paris/ Saclay in France. In 2024, he received the best paper award from the journal, nanomaterials. Ghandi was selected as one of the members of the five-year plan steering committee for TRIUMF national lab (selected by the director of TRIUMF) (2012-2015). He was the chair-elect of the TRIUMF national lab user group which is an elected position, by international users of TRIUMF and the chair of the user group selection committee for a new director of TRIUMF. He has been the Chair of many sessions and invited, and keynote speaker at many conferences on material science, nuclear chemistry, radiation chemistry, green chemistry, polymer science and muon science. He has been on the International advising board of the central laser facility in the UK. He has been on the review panels of different international particle accelerator proposal evaluation committees over the last few years. He was invited by CIC as a delegate of the Canadian Chemical Society, Environmentally Friendly and Sustainable Chemistry to China (2008). He has organized international conferences, and symposia and serves often as a grant and paper reviewer and he is on the editorial board of several international journals.

Abstract

Nanomedicine is the use of nanomaterials to improve disease prevention, detection, and treatment which has resulted in hundreds of FDA approved medical products. While nanomedicine has been around for several decades, new technological advances are pushing its boundaries. For example, this presentation will present an over 25 year journey of commercializing nano orthopedic implants now in over 30,000 patients to date showing no signs of failure (Figure 1). Current orthopedic implants face a failure rate of 5 – 10% and sometimes as high as 60% for bone cancer patients. Further, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized numerous industries to date. However, its use in nanomedicine has remained few and far between. One area that AI has significantly improved nanomedicine is through implantable sensors. This talk will present research in which implantable sensors, using AI, can learn from patient’s response to implants and predict future outcomes. Such implantable sensors not only incorporate AI, but also communicate to a handheld device, and can reverse AI predicted adverse events (Figure 2). Examples will be given in which AI implantable sensors have been used in orthopedics to inhibit implant infection and promote prolonged bone growth. In vitro and in vivo experiments will be provided that demonstrate how AI can be used towards our advantage in nanomedicine, especially implantable sensors. Lastly, this talk will summarize recent advances in nanomedicine to both help human health and save the environment.

Biography

Thomas J. Webster’s (H index: 124; 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), and Northeastern (2012-2021; serving as Chemical Engineering Department Chair from 2012 - 2019) Universities and has formed over a dozen companies who have numerous FDA approved medical products currently improving human health in over 20,000 patients. His technology is also being used in commercial products to improve sustainability and renewable energy. He is currently helping those companies and serves as a professor at Brown University, Saveetha University, Vellore Institute 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 55,000 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.

Abstract

The rapid progress in  the electronic devices and renewable energy technologies calls for the development of high-performance dielectric materials  for efficient energy storage. There is a huge demand of miniaturized and efficient energy devices which possess high energy density, low energy loss, light weight, chemically resistive, easily processable structures, and thermally stable. Different ceramic and polymeric capacitors are available for electronic applications in the market. These ceramic and polymeric materials individually have certain limitations.

Ceramic-polymer composite dielectric materials have become promising candidates due to their unique combination of high dielectric constants of ceramics with the excellent mechanical flexibility and processability of polymers. Integrating ceramics with polymers improves dielectric properties, energy density, and thermal stability, making these composites suitable for a wide range of applications. Ceramics offer high dielectric constants but suffer from brittleness and difficulty in processing. Polymers on the other hand, provide flexibility and ease of fabrication but have relatively low dielectric constants. By combining these materials, ceramic-polymer composites can achieve a synergistic effect, enhancing dielectric performance while maintaining mechanical robustness. In the proposed work, the ceramic-polymer composites are synthesized and studied for their microstructural, compositional properties and are characterized for their dielectric performance and thermal stability. 

Biography

Dr. Meena Laad is currently Professor in Physics and Head of Applied Science Department at Symbiosis Institute of Technology, a constituent of Symbiosis International Deemed University, Pune, India. A doctorate in Physics with more than 28 years of teaching and research experience, Dr Laad specializes in synthesis and characterization of Metal, Polymer and Ceramic Matrix Composite materials, Intermetallic compounds, Nanolubricants. She has more than 60 research papers published in peer reviewed International journals with high impact factors. Dr Laad has been the recipient of several research grants and fellowships from prestigious national and international funding agencies such as University Grants Commission- Department of Atomic Energy Consortium for Scientific research, Defense Research & Development Organization, AICTE, UKIERI grant by British Council, UK. Dr Laad has 1 patent granted and 3 patents published to her credit. She has authored a book on Thermoluminescence in Inorganic solids and contributed book chapters published by Springer, Elsevier, Wiley, Taylor & Francis, Royal Chemical Society. She has been honored with National Award conferred to her as Best Researcher by the Society for Technologically Advanced Materials of India. Dr Laad has also received DUO India Professor fellowship 2020 with International collaborations from MHRD, Government of India and prestigious SPARC grant of DST, Govt. of India. Dr Laad is on Editorial board /Reviewer of some of the reputed international journals. She has been invited as keynote speaker, technical committee member, and session chair in several international conferences organized by Universities abroad.

Abstract

Micro physiological models will decidedly improve medical doctors, clinicians and scientists examination of organs of the human body in the laboratory. After defining a micro physiological model; the subsequent development of MAPS i.e. microphysiological analytical platforms of in-vitro 3D tissue models (i.e. organs on chip) followS. In order to realize functional, excellent microphysiological analysis platforms as in-vitro organ models (or living systems on chip), an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary convergence of life sciences, engineering, and medicine makes up the foundation for understanding disease mechanisms and the precision of drug efficacy testing. Modelling human tissues in microphysiologically relevant ‘chips’ will increasingly help to unravel mechanistic knowledge of an underlying disease, and might eventually accelerate the productivity of drug development and predict how individual patients will respond to specific drugs.

Here we cover several cases of organ-on-a-chip, also in combination with relevant 3D Bioprinting,  such as heart, liver, bone and vertebral disc which may will provide groundbreaking solutions for future systems physiology, organogenesis, pathogenesis, or personalized medicine. The hypothetical  “patient-on-a-chip” system would only use cells derived from a single line of patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells, achieve matured tissues with stable phenotypes, use inert materials, have separated tissue and vascular compartments which also will be covered.

Biography

Professor des. Dr. Per Arvid Löthman obtained his Ph.D. degree from Twente University , The Netherlands in the field of Magnetics and Self-assembly, conducted research in Canada, France and Germany on carbon nanotubes, Graphen and related 2D nanomaterials. His research is interdisciplinary and involve sensors and sensing, 2D advanced materials, BioNanotechnology including DNA, S-layers, Viruses (archaea, bacteriophages), Biomolecular Architecture, Botany and functional surfaces, Mechatronics and BioMechatronics. Dr. Löthman has published over 90 scientifical articles, several book chapters & books and serves as a reviewer and he is on the editorial board for several journals such as Nature, Nature Materials, Journal of Bioanalytical and Analytical Chemistry, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Thin Solid Films, Sensors and Actuators, Microsystems Technologies. Dr. Löthman is Professor des. in BioMechatronics at the European University of Applied Science Hamburg, and researchgroup leader at University of Bayreuth in the field Organ-on-a-Chip and 3D Bioprinting. Furthermore, Dr. Per Arvid Löthman is Senior lecturer in “Nanomedicine, Nanopharmacy” and “Sensors and Sensing in Engineering, Biology and Medicine” (Kaiserslautern University) and Mechatronics Systems and Design (Hamburg University), Germany and Manufacturing Engineering (HTW Berlin) Germany.

Abstract

Natural spider silk is considered a highly potential, environmentally friendly high-performance fiber material due to its excellent comprehensive mechanical properties, which stem from the intricate hierarchical structure within the silk. The β-sheet nanocrystals formed by poly-alanine stacking endow the fibers with extremely high modulus and strength, while glycine-rich domains with α-helix structures and random coil structures serve as amorphous regions that are seen as major contributors to the elasticity and extensibility of spider silk. The complex network of β-folded nanocrystals and amorphous regions forms spider silk nanofibers, and the multi-level cross-linking and interlocking structures between these nanofibers further enhance the overall toughness of the fibers. However, due to spiders' cannibalistic nature, it is not possible to obtain spider silk in bulk through large-scale farming like silkworms. Therefore, bionic strategies using chemical synthesis or biosynthesis methods are needed for large-scale production of high-performance artificial spider silk. Additionally, as protein-based materials, spidroin also exhibit excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability, making them promising candidates for tissue engineering materials. This presentation will introduce how to prepare artificial spider silk with superior performance through chemical synthesis and biosynthesis methods and briefly discuss recent advances in spidroin protein materials in the field of tissue engineering.

Biography

Jinlian Hu is currently a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at City University of Hong Kong and serves as the President of the Hong Kong Federation of Invention and Innovation as well as Executive Vice Chairman of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Invention and Innovation Association. Professor Hu is a top 2% of scientists by Stanford Ranking (actual ranking 0.07%), an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (USA) and fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, International Association of Advanced Materials, Textile Institute in UK and the Hong Kong Institute of Textiles and Apparel respectively. Professor Hu is also an awardee of National Talents by China Central government, a recipient of Sang Ma Technology award (China) and distinguished achievement award of USA Fiber Society. Specialized in textiles engineering and materials by education, Professor Hu received PhD from the University of Manchester, is a pioneer in shape memory polymer materials for textiles and medical devices. Her research areas cover 1)smart polymers/ fibers /textile materials, 2)spider silk and bionics, and 3)biomaterials and wearable devices. She published 14 books and 33 book chapters and has been a keynote/Plenary speaker at more than 140 conferences and published more than 400 journal papers. Professor Hu is also distinctive in her impact on industries: Apart from 5 start-ups from her Ips, she has cooperation with ~60 local, regional, national, and international companies, holds more than 100 patents and has translated more than 20 items to industries. Besides, for her sustained influence in the theory and application of shape memory polymeric and fiber materials, the University of Manchester awarded her a Doctor of Science in 2023.