CFP Flyer

Keynote Speakers

Prof. Nam-Joon Cho

President’s Chair Professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering
Director (Flagship Programmes) President’s Office NTU
Director, The Centre for Cross Economy, NTU

Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore

Biography

Professor Nam-Joon Cho is a leading scholar of material science and infectious disease medicine. He pioneered new fields in sustainability and healthcare: from antiviral peptide technology to develop broad-spectrum drugs responding to COVID-19, to transformation of plant pollen to replace environmentally harmful plastics.
Dr. Cho initiated a new paradigm for sustainability called “Cross Economy” which designs to create new industrial opportunities through material innovation including using the wastes. He works closely with healthcare companies and other industrial partners in these translational projects, including serving as Project Lead at Stanford University’s Antiviral Drug Discovery Centre for Pathogens of Pandemic Concern, where he spearheads collaborative research funded by the US National Institutes of Health. A pioneer in developing a new economic model for economic prosperity in hybrid worlds, he has received international honours from organisations such as the American Liver Foundation and Ministry of Science and ICT in South Korea. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering of Korea.
His research efforts have resulted in over 280 scientific papers in top journals such as Nature Materials, Nature Medicine, Nature Communications, Nature Protocols, Nature Human Behaviour, Science Translational Medicine, and Science Advances. He currently received the funding from MOE, NRF of Singapore as well as NIH (US) to S25,000,000. The technology from his research group has been licensed and spun out to biotech companies with over S$20,000,000 in investment funding.
Dr. Cho is also a passionate educator and mentor who has played leadership roles in the NTU Renaissance Engineering Programme, developed youth science education programs together with the United Nations and World Economic Forum, created international undergraduate research programs and joint graduate degree programs with leading university partners, and had group alumni become tenure-track faculty members and entrepreneurs worldwide. In addition, he currently serves as President of the Korean Scientist and Engineers Association in Singapore, is a member of the National Academy of Engineering of Korea. Earlier in his career, he was awarded the Nanyang Associate Professorship and Singapore National Research Foundation Fellowship.
He is a graduate of Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley.


Speech Title: Beyond the Circular Economy: Preparing for Tomorrow with Materials Today

Throughout history, new materials have been the foundation of disruptive technologies. From bronze, paper, and ceramics to steel, polymers, and semiconductors, each material enabled far-reaching advances and defined the era. Seventy years ago, the synthesis of pure semiconductors as single crystals led to a complete transformation of the electronics industry and sweeping changes in communications, computing, and transportation. Today, inspired by the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all – another new class of materials is emerging—one with both the potential to alleviate environmental burden, provide radically new functions, and to challenge our notion of what constitutes a “material.” These materials, inspired and co-opted from biology, combine (1) hybrid-composite design, combining disparate building blocks; (2) compartmentalized architecture, encapsulating desirable biomolecules while excluding others; and (3) hierarchical organization. Together, they enable unique and remarkable combinations of properties, including adaptability, plasticity, multi-functionality, and environmental responsiveness – far beyond those achieved by monolithic materials of the synthetic world. An extraordinary example is pollen, a discrete mesoscale compartment, which encapsulates, protects, and transports male genetic material in flowering plants enabling the biological imperative of reproduction. In this talk, I will introduce our ongoing efforts to explore the materials science of pollen and to transform pollen into a valuable commodity to produce pollen-based materials innovation as a sustainable solution to numerous outstanding environmental challenges. Key examples that will be covered include digital printing of shape-morphing materials, recyclable and reusable paper, and oil-absorbing sponges.

Prof. Sergey V. Taskaev

Chelyabinsk State University, Russia

Biography

Prof. Sergey V. Taskaev is the rector of Chelyabinsk State University, Russia. He received master degree in physics from Chelyabinsk State University in 2000. In 2004 he obtained PhD degree in condensed matter physics. In 2012 Prof. Taskaev defended habilitation thesis devoted to first-principles calculations of Heusler alloys. He has been the dean of Faculty of Physics, Chelyabinsk State University, from 2012 to 2019. In 2019 he was elected rector of Chelyabinsk State University.
Area of his scientific interests includes condensed matter physics, physics of magnetic phenomena, physics of metals and alloys. He co-authored over 140 scientific articles in the per-reviewd journal, 3 patents, 4 educational and methodical works and 4 monographs, among them chapters in “Chelyabinsk Superbolide” (Springer, ISBN: 978-3-030-22985-6) and “Encyclopedia of Smart Materials” (Elsevier, ISBN: 9780128157329).


Speech Title: Natural Gases Liquefaction by Magnetic Cooling

Abstract: This work explores a new method for liquefying natural gases using magnetic refrigeration, which offers an alternative to traditional energy-intensive technologies. It focuses on the use of extremely strong magnetic fields generated by modern superconducting materials for efficient liquefaction of natural gas at low temperatures. It summarizes current research advances aimed at developing magnetocaloric materials capable of delivering high liquefaction efficiency due to their significant magnetocaloric effect. Particular attention is paid to various classes of intermetallic compounds, which exhibit large changes in magnetic entropy and phase transition temperatures near the critical boiling points of key industrial gases (nitrogen, hydrogen, etc.). The potential of a cascade active magnetic regenerator is explored, and the materials science and engineering challenges required for the practical implementation of the proposed technology are discussed. Conclusions are drawn about the prospects for the development of the magnetic cooling method and the possibilities for the widespread introduction of new technologies into industry.

Prof. Konstantin Skokov

Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany

Biography

Konstantin P. Skokov is a senior researcher and lecturer in the Functional Materials group at the Technical University Darmstadt, Germany (from 2012 up to present). He received his Ph.D. in physics at the Tver State University, Russia in 1998 and worked as an assistant professor in Tver State University in 1999-2008. From 2008 to 2012 he was a scientist at Leibniz Institute IFW Dresden, Germany. His scientific career bridges both fundamental physics and materials engineering, combining deep theoretical insight with advanced experimental expertise. His research focuses on discovering and optimizing novel materials with tailored magnetic and thermodynamic properties for energy-efficient applications, such as solid-state refrigeration, green energy generation and harvesting, hydrogen liquefaction. In recent years, he has been particularly active in advancing additive manufacturing of magnetic materials, integrating process optimization with microstructural control to achieve superior magnetic performance. A hallmark of his research is the development of customized scientific instruments for advanced magnetic characterization. His publications have significantly shaped the research landscape in magnetocaloric and permanent-magnet materials, especially concerning hysteresis management, first-order phase transitions, and the development of new rare-earth permanent magnets and their rare-earth-free alternatives.


Speech Title: Design of Magnetic Materials for Refrigeration from Ambient Temperatures to Hydrogen Liquefaction

Abstract: The magnetic refrigeration technology with enhanced energy efficiency and environmental sustainability is emerging as a viable and sustainable alterna-tive to conventional gas-compression refrigeration. This talk provides an overview of our recent advancements in developing and optimizing magne-tocaloric materials for applications in refrigerators operating at ambient tem-peratures and for cryogenic conditions (hydrogen liquefaction). The talk also examines the trajectory from laboratory research to industrial implementa-tion of the various classes of magnetocaloric materials (rare-eathe metals and alloys, La(FeSi)13, Heusler alloys, RCo2, R2In, etc.). Key issues to be dis-cussed include achieving maximum adiabatic temperature change and iso-thermal magnetic entropy change, reducing thermal hysteresis in materials first-order magneto-structural transitions, enhancing thermal conductivity and corrosion resistance, and improving durability and scalability [1-3]. The talk will also discuss permanent magnet-based magnetic systems required for magnetic refrigeration devices.