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.

David Andrés Fernández Benavides, Ph.D., is currently a professor-researcher at the Center for Industrial Engineering and Development (CIDESI), where his activities are focused on Additive Manufacturing Management within the Emergent Technologies area. He is a mechatronic engineer from the Universidad Autónoma de Occidente and holds a Master's degree in Engineering from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, both in Cali, Colombia. He also earned his Doctorate in Materials Science at CINVESTAV, Querétaro, Mexico. His main research interests involve the development of multifunctional materials through the study of structural, microstructural, dielectric, and electromechanical properties, and their subsequent analysis using advanced experimental design techniques. Additionally, it focuses on the development of devices, such as biodetection platforms, specifically for detecting viruses and toxic substances. He has experience in advanced manufacturing processes, including additive manufacturing of metals, polymers, polyacrylates, and ceramics.

Robert is an experienced and visionary leader in the building materials and bio-materials industries, with over 30 years of expertise in AI in Manufacturing, fiber processing, optimization, and innovation. He is the founder and CEO of Advanced Bio-Material Technologies Corporation (ABMTC), a company that leverages AI and smart factories to create sustainable and local solutions for hemp and other natural fiber products.

Séverine A.E. Boyer is a CNRS Researcher (France). She has completed her PhD from Clermont-Ferrand University (France) and was associate-researcher from Tokyo Metroplitan University (Japan), and Mines Paris and Mines Douai (France). Topics: Functional Meta-Structures activities to conduct combinations of chemo-physics / morphologies / poly-morpho-genesis / interfaces in hybrids materials (ceramics and polymers composites) to meet the challenges of energies of tomorrow, i.e. to develop new materials, new model-experiments and new numerical models based on the understanding phenomena. International recognitions: ‘William F. Giauque Student Award, CALCON 2003 (USA)’; ‘ICTAC Young Scientific Award, ICTAC 2012 (Japan)’ (1st time awarded to a French researcher); ‘First Place Best Poster, PPS 2019 (South Africa)’; and Awards deserved to her collaborative colleagues.

Hendrik Heinz is a Professor of Chemical Engineering, Biological Engineering, and Materials Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Senior Editor for the American Chemical Society (Langmuir). He received his Ph.D. degree from ETH Zurich and carried out postdoctoral work at the Air Force Research Laboratory. His research focuses on the simulation of biomaterials and nanomaterials from atoms to the microscale, including data science methods. He leads the development of the Interface force field and surface models for the simulation of compounds across the periodic table in high accuracy, including minerals, alloys, 2D materials, proteins, polymers. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and of the International Association of Advanced Materials, received the Career and Special Creativity Awards from NSF, a Sandmeyer Award from the Swiss Chemical Society, the Max Hey Medal from the Mineralogical Society, a NASA Group Achievement Award, and held guest professorships at ETH Zurich, the National Institute of Materials Science in Japan, and the University of Paris. He served as an Amazon Scholar and his contributions support developments by several companies.