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.
Prof. Jannick Duchet-Rumeau got a PhD diploma of University of Lyon in Macromolecular Materials & Composites in 1996 focused on modelling of the interface in a polyethylene / glass system tuned by the grafting connecting chains to improve the adhesion properties. She has had a post PhD position in Louvain La Neuve (Belgium) where she worked on processing and characterization of polymer nanotubes. In 1998, she got an assistant professor position then a full professor position in 2010 in the laboratory ‘Ingénierie des Matériaux Polymères’ UMR CNRS #5223. She manages the National CNRS Network (GDR #3585) dedicated to Ionic Liquids and Polymers gathering 40 academic laboratories. Her research activities are dedicated to multiscale relationships between architecture and physical properties of polymer materials involving i/ nanocomposites materials ii/ mesoporous materials iii/ self assembled materials onto inorganic surfaces iv/ ionic materials from Ionic Liquids and v/ the multi-phased materials : polymer blends and fiber based composites. She is author of two hundred papers in international journals, 7 book chapters and 200 communications in international conferences. She has supervised 60 phd students. Since 2021, she has being managed the IMP Lab gathering 200 permanent and non permanent staff.
Luís P. Fonseca is an Associate Professor at the Department of Bioengineering (DBE) at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) in the University of Lisbon (UL). He received a PhD in Biotechnology in 1995 and later a DSc in Biotechnology in 2006 at IST.
Luis Fonseca stayed for one year (1998-1999) as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the School of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, and later (2004-2005) with a Fulbright fellowship, he was a Visiting Scholar at the Chemical Engineering Department, University of California, Berkeley, USA.
Luis Fonseca has been involved in 20 research projects, 14 of which were national (6 as coordinator), 6 of which were funded by the EU (2 as PI responsible in Portugal), and, since 2024, has been the coordinator of the Polymers-5B CBE-JU project, funded by the EU. He has published more than 190 articles in international journals, holds a national and international patent, and has supervised 6 postdocs, 16 PhD students, and several M.Sc. students.
Recently, Luis Fonseca is the Coordinator of the Biocatalysis and Biotransformation Research Group (2BRG), based in the Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences (iBB) at IST, on the development of bioprocesses for the valorisation of Agro/food wastes in the concept of a new Chemical Platform supplier to produce biobased monomers and bioactive compounds in the concepts of Biorefinery and Circular Economy.
Keynote talk title: From Agri-Food Residues to Sustainable Polymers based on the Polymers-5B Pathway Toward Circular Bioplastics
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.
Keynote talk title: Active Fibrous Materials Based on PLA/Magnetic nanoparticles Prepared by Solution Blow Spinning
Dr. Coltelli is an associate professor at the University of Pisa, Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering and holds a degree in chemistry and PhD in chemical science from the University of Pisa. She has 20 years of experience in materials science and technology, in particular polymers, biopolymers, blends, and composites, especially related to their interaction with the environment. She is the author and co-author of more than 70 publications in international journals, a book related to the reuse of polymers, and three patents related to added-value polymeric blends obtained from recycled materials.
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.
Prof. António José Vilela Pontes is an Associate Professor at the Department of Polymer Engineering (DEP) and Director of the Institute of Polymers and Composites (IPC) at the University of Minho in Guimarães, Portugal. He earned his PhD in Polymer Processing and Design from the University of Minho, where he has built an accomplished academic and research career focused on polymer engineering, advanced manufacturing, and product development. Prof. Pontes is widely recognized for his expertise in injection molding, additive manufacturing, polymer composites, and the optimization of processing–structure–property relationships in polymeric materials. He has coordinated and participated in more than 45 national and international R&D projects, many in collaboration with industry, notably leading the Bosch–UMinho partnership since 2012. His work bridges academia and industry, promoting innovation in polymer technologies and sustainable manufacturing. Prof. Pontes has published over 250 scientific papers and around 20 book chapters, contributing substantially to the advancement of polymer engineering. In addition to his academic roles, he serves as Vice-President of PIEP (Polímeros Engenharia Innovation & Technology Center) and as CEO of DONE Lab, specializing in advanced product and tooling development.
Maria Laura Di Lorenzo is Research Director at Italian National Research Council (CNR), Institute of Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials (IPCB). She is the author of three books published by Springer, three patents, and more than 150 articles published in JCR journals that have received nearly 8,000 citations (Scopus). Dr. Di Lorenzo's main research interests focus on polymer crystallization and melting, bio-based and biodegradable polymers, crystallization kinetics, glass transition, polymer blends and composites. Since 2017 (first edition), Maria Laura Di Lorenzo is in World's Top 2% Scientists, the ranking developed by Stanford University and published in the Elsevier Data Repository (August 2025), DOI: 10.17632/btchxktzyw.8.
She is currently Coordinator of EIC-PATHFINDER "BORN" project (Biobased thermal-resistaNt food packaging), Coordinator of PRIN 2022 PNRR "DesiRe" project (Design for Recyclability: mono-material multi-graded semi-crystalline polymer foams), and head of CNR unit of PRIN 2022 "0DeF3" project (Zero-defect Fused Filament Fabrication).
Dr. Di Lorenzo is Senior Editor of Thermal Advances (Elsevier) and member of the Editorial Board of: Thermochimica Acta (Elsevier), Thermo (MDPI), Reviews on Advanced Materials Science (De Gruyter), Polymers (MDPI), International Journal of Polymer Science (Wiley), Advances in Materials Science and Engineering (Wiley).
Frederik R. Wurm (Prof. Dr. habil.) is the chair of the group “Sustainable Polymer Chemistry” (SPC) at the Universiteit Twente. The group is located in the Faculty of Science and Technology (TNW) in the Department of Molecules and Materials (M&M).
The SPC group designs polymeric materials with molecularly defined functions that lead to macroscopic properties. In recent years, especially biobased and biodegradable materials have been the focus of Frederik's research and building the main line of the SPC group. The expertise of the SPC group covers the synthesis of (bio)degradable polymers and nanocarriers for agricultural or biomedical applications but also other potential applications are currently studied - always with a focus on the molecular control of the properties of the final materials. Frederik's favorite biopolymer is lignin, which is also the core of several research projects, e.g. biodegradable nano- and microcarriers for agriculture. SPC also researches new synthetic strategies and applications of (bio)degradable polyphosphoesters (PPEs) or develops new protocols for well-defined polyamines by living polymerization of aziridines. Frederik has published over 250 peer-reviewed papers and more than 15,000 citations (h-index: 61, May 2024).
Prof. Branka Pilić is a Full Professor at the Department of Materials Engineering, Faculty of Technology, University of Novi Sad, Serbia. She obtained her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in Synthetic Polymers from the same institution, completing her PhD in 2006. With a distinguished academic career spanning over two decades, Prof. Pilić has become a leading expert in polymer science, focusing on biopolymers, biodegradable and functional materials, and nanofiber technology. Her research explores the development of sustainable polymer-based materials, including active and intelligent packaging, biocomposites with natural additives, and electrospun nanofibers for applications in filtration, medicine, and environmental protection. She leads the Advanced Sustainable Plastic Materials (ASPM) Group at the University of Novi Sad, which emphasizes eco-friendly innovations in materials engineering. Prof. Pilić has authored more than 90 peer-reviewed papers and has participated in numerous national and international research projects, contributing significantly to the advancement of sustainable materials science in Serbia and abroad.
Filomena Freitas is an Assistant Professor at the Chemistry Department of NOVA School of Sciences and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon (FCT NOVA), Portugal, and a Senior Researcher at the Biochemical Engineering Group (BIOENG), at UCIBIO, FCT NOVA. She has completed a PhD in Biological Engineering by FCT NOVA in 2004. She has developed research on the development of upstream and downstream processes for the production of value-added microbial products, including polysaccharides and polyhydroxyalkanoates, as well as intellectual property development and technology transfer. Special focus is also given on the biological valorization of agro-industrial wastes/byproducts, aiming at implementing sustainable bioprocesses. She has over 110 papers published in international peer review journals, book chapters and International Patents, which have recently been granted in several countries.
Sergio Torres-Giner received in 2003 a Dipl-Ing in Chemical Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), Spain. In 2004, he achieved a MSc in Process Systems Technology at Cranfield University, England, followed by an MBA in Industrial Management in 2005 at Catholic University of Valencia ‘San Vincente Mártir’, Spain. He was able to complete his PhD in 2010 in Food Science at the University of Valencia, Spain.
He gathers more than 14 years of experience in both public research agencies and industrial R&D organizations. He was a Predoctoral Research Assistant at the Joint Research Unit of Agropolymer Engineering and Emerging Technologies (UMR-IATE) of the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) (2006) under the Leonardo da Vinci programme and later he carried out his PhD at the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology of the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (IATA-CSIC) (2006-11) with an I3P predoctoral fellowship. During his postdoctoral career he was a recipient of a Torres Quevedo contract and he worked as a Product Development Scientist for Ferro Corporation – Specialty Plastics Division (2011-14), as a Packaging Application Specialist for A. Schulman, Inc. – Masterbatch Division (2014-16), and as a R&D Project Manager for UBE Industries, Ltd. – Engineering Plastics (2016-17). In the teaching field, he was a part-time Associate Professor at the Universitat Jaume I (UJI) (2016-17) in the department of Chemical Engineering and since 2017 he teaches with a "Venia Docendi" at UPV in the area of Materials Science and Food Packaging.
In early 2017, he returned to IATA–CSIC to the group of Novel Materials and Nanotechnology for Food Applications, where since 2018 he has been the recipient of a Juan de la Cierva – Incorporación Postdoctoral contract. He has performed scientific missions at the University of Minho – School of Engineering as a Visiting Researcher (summer of 2017) through a Short Term Scientific Mission (STSM) of a European COST Action, at the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) as a Scientific Associate (summer of 2018) under a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action, and at the Institute for Polymer Materials (POLYMAT) of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) as an Invited Researcher (summer of 2019). In 2018, he co-founded the spin-off Ocenic Resins S.L. from the Joint Unit IATA-CSIC/Universitat Jaume I (UJI) in “Polymers Technology”, which is dedicated to the development and manufacturing of property balanced compounded bioresins for food packaging applications and food-contact disposable articles. He is also a Professional Member of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) since 2012, being actively involved in several conferences and events related to bioplastics. Currently, he is leading research activities to develop novel processes and materials that aim to enhance packaged food quality, safety, and even health attributes according to the Circular Economy and Bioeconomy strategies. He also currently serves on the Editorial Boards of Applied Sciences in Section "Food Science and Technology" and Polymers in Section "Bio-Based and Biodegradable Polymers" whereas he guests several special issues in the fields of biopolymers and sustainable food packaging.
Eliton S. Medeiros holds a B.S. in Materials Engineering from Federal University of Paraíba (2000), and M.S. (2002) and Ph.D. (2006) in Materials Science and Engineering from Federal University of São Carlos. Medeiros completed postdoctoral research at the United States Department of Agriculture in Albany, California (2006–2009), where he developed the Solution Blow Spinning Technique. Since 2009, has served as Professor in the Department of Materials Engineering at Federal University of Paraíba, and has supervised the Post-Graduation Program in Materials Science and Engineering since 2009. Medeiros has mentored over 150 undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students.
He is currently a Full Professor, and his expertise includes composites and nanocomposites, conductive polymers and sensors, biodegradable polymers and composites, and solution blow spinning. He has also published over 150 international papers and holds 32 patents.
Talk titte: Production of micro and nanofibers by solution blow spinning (SBS): current status
João Carlos Moura Bordado, PhD in Chemical Engineering by the University of Lisbon, completed his title of Aggregate in 2002. He is Full Professor at the University of Lisbon Instituto Superior Técnico since 2009. He published more than 130 articles in specialized journals. He has several book chapters, and more than 25 registered patents. He supervised several PhD and master's thesis, having also participated in several juries of these academic degrees. Received awards and participates as a Researcher in several national and international research projects, having recently coordinated one: the ENERGREEN Project for a New Clean Fuel for Use in Cement Production supported by QREN. He operates in the most diverse areas related to Chemistry, making the parallel between academy and industry. His specialization domain is linked to Chemical Engineering (sub area of reaction engineering, design and scale-up of chemical reactors), Reactive Polymers and Catalysis of polymerization reactions. His application fields focused on Adhesives (in particular binders for cork); Polyurethane reactive systems (foams and films); Films with controlled permeability; Chemical Engineering applied to environment technologies: natural resources and residues valorisation.
Dagmar Rafael D’hooge (1983) is a Senior Full Professor and the elected Chair for the Department "Materials, Textiles and Chemical Engineering" hosting > 300 employees. LCT is one of the six research units within this Department.
His research emphasizes on the design of polymerization, polymer processing and polymer recycling processes. The functional material design and process intensification is performed up to industrial scale, using advanced in-house developed multi-scale modeling tools in combination with experimental validation. He uniquely performs research in chemical engineering, materials science, polymer science, mechanics, and rheology.
He is a former postdoctoral researcher in the Matyjaszewski Macromolecular Engineering Group (Carnegie Mellon University, USA) in 2011, and in the Macromolecular Architectures Research Team (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany) in 2013. He was a postdoctoral researcher of the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO Vlaanderen). Since 2017, he is a visiting scientist at Stanford University (Materials Engineering). He is a member of the subcommittee on “Modeling of Polymerization Kinetics and Processes” of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and has been involved in the introduction of new sustainable products through valorization. In 2025, he received an ERC Advanced Grant on circular polymer design. He also coordinates the European Centre for Artificial Centre for Artificial Turf in his capacity as member of the Centre for Textile Science and Engineering of Ghent University.
He is currently a coauthor of over (i) 220 peer-reviewed full length research articles, including dissemination in e.g. Nature Materials; Nature Communications; Advanced Functional Materials; Chemical Engineering Journal; Polymer Chemistry; and Macromolecules, (ii) 6 book chapters, (iii) 1 book, (iv) 1 book as first editor, and (v) 3 granted patents.
He teaches polymer engineering courses at the Faculty, covering e.g. polymer reaction engineering, technology, physics and processing.
He is an editorial Board member of the journal Scientific Reports (Nature publishing group) and Polymers, and an advisory Board member of the journal Polymer Chemistry.
He is a co-founder of the spin-off Polinivo, supporting chemical and life sciences industry with expert consultancy services, and advanced synthesis & design tools. Current activities deal with design and support for polymer synthesis, modification and recycling.
He is a co-founder of a second spin-off MakinH, focusing on sustainable product and material design. A key commerical product is the rewetta ball for high quality hockey on non-irrigated fields, saving millions of liters of water per year per field.