Professor Young was educated at the University of Cambridge and became Professor of Polymer Science and Technology in Manchester in 1986. He was the founding Head of the School of Materials in the newly-formed University of Manchester in 2004, which is now the largest university materials department in the UK and the focus of major UK materials research initiatives. He is a Fellow of Royal Society (2013), Royal Academy of Engineering (2006) and Academy of Europe (2015). His main research interest is the relationships between structure and properties in polymers and composites. He has introduced of a number of revolutionary techniques that have given a completely new insight into the micromechanics of deformation in fibres and composites. In particular, he has pioneered the use of Raman spectroscopy for the analysis of deformation processes that take place at the molecular level. Over recent years he has extended this approach to the mechanics of deformation of graphene and other 2D materials in nanocomposites. His contribution in research has been recognised through numerous invitations to give Plenary and Keynote lectures at International Conferences and through the awards of the Griffith Medal (2002), Leslie Holliday Prize (2011), Swinburne Medal and Prize (2012) and Platinum Medal (2019) from the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.

Geoffrey Mitchell is Chief Scientific Officer at Visionary Equation lda, a high tech startup company based in Marinha Grande, Portugal , a researcher at the Centre for Rapid and Sustainable Product Development at the Polytechnic of Leiria in Portugal. He is Adjunct Professor at the Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering, in Mysore India, Visiting Medical Physicist, Oxford University Hospitals Trust, Oxford UK and Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Reading in the UK. His eclectic research work bridges material science, physics, biology, chemistry, computer simulation and technology and he is passionate about the opportunities which arise in manufacturing. He has pioneered the development of in-situ time-resolving neutron and x-ray scattering procedures to evaluate the structural and morphological transformations involved during manufacturing including Reaction Injection Moulding, Thermoforming, 3D printing and Injection Moulding of semi-crystalline thermoplastic polymers and biopolymers. He plans to use this to develop a multiscale digital twin for injection moulding.   He has applied this approach to 3D printing to develop the concept of morphology mapping. He is actively engaged in the digitialisation of materials He is a strong advocate for Climate Change and the challenges of sustainability. He has edited a number of books, the most recent “Controlling the Morphology of Polymers” and “Electrospinning – Principles, Practise and Possibilities” with a second edition to be published in 2024. He currently writing a book in partnership with Professor Mahadevappa Kariduraganavar at Karnatak University in Dharwad India on “Design, Processing and Degradation of Plastics.

J. González began his scientific career in 1992 at the Complutense University of Madrid, where he studied cyclodextrin inclusion complexes. He earned his PhD at the Carlos III University of Madrid (UC3M), specializing in glass fiber-reinforced polymers. He completed research stays at several institutions, including Tampere University, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), UC Santa Barbara (UCSB), and NIST, focusing on polymer science and materials characterization. He currently leads the AFM Laboratory at UC3M. In 2006, he founded the Polymeric Composite Materials and Interfaces research group (an official UC3M group), dedicated to the development of multifunctional thermoplastic materials. He pioneered a high-energy ball milling method to achieve uniform nanoparticle dispersion, enabling the design of materials with unique electrical and antibacterial properties. He has extensive experience in advanced nanoscale characterization techniques and has established close collaborations with internationally recognized groups, including the University of Salerno, University of Aveiro, UCSB, CWRU, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, the University of the Basque Country, and the University of Navarra, among others. His current research focuses on developing polymer nanofibers via Solution Blow Spinning (SBS) for medical, electrical, and food packaging applications. He has published more than 125 SCI articles, led international, national, and regional research projects, and serves on several editorial boards in the field of polymer science.

Cyrille Boyer is an Australian Laureate Fellow and Professor within the School of Chemical Engineering, deputy-Head of School, postgraduate course coordinator, and co-Director of Australian Centre for Nanomedicine at the University of New South Wales. He is an associate Editor of European Polymer Journal and a member of Advisory Board of Advanced Materials, ACS Infectious Diseases, ACS MacroLetters, Polymer Chemistry, Journal of Polymer Science, Macromolecular Rapid Communications, Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics, Cell Reports Physical Science, Giant, etc.

His research has been recognized by several fellowships, including Australian Postdoctoral Fellowship (ARC-APD), ARC Future Fellowship, and more recently, ARC Australian Laureate Fellowship (starting in 2023). He has received several prestigious research awards, including 2018 IUPAC-Polymer International Young Researcher award, 2018 Polymer Chemistry Lectureship, 2018 Award of Excellence in Chemical Engineering, 2016 ACS Biomacromolecules/Macromolecules Young Researcher Award, 2016 Journal of Polymer Science Innovation award, Le Fevre Memorial Prize awarded by Australian Academy of Science for chemistry, and 2015 Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Science (one of the Prime Minister Prizes for Science). Since 2018, he has been listed as a Highly Cited Researcher in Chemistry or Cross-field by Clarivate and named as one of the Leaders in Polymers and Plastics in Australia by the Australian Newspaper.

Cyrille’s research interests mainly cover the preparation of functional macromolecules using photocatalysts, which find applications in various areas, including nanomedicine, advanced materials, and energy storage. In nanomedicine, his group designs new antimicrobial and anticancer polymers. More recently, he has implemented his photochemistry to 3D printing for the fabrication of 3D printed objects, enabling precise control over the nano- and macro-structure of 3D printed objects. He has coauthored over 440 articles.