Jan Baeyens | KU Leuven, Belgium/Beijing University of Chemical Technology, China
Jan Baeyens studied Nuclear Engineering (Brussels) and Chemical Engineering (Leuven). He obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Bradford-U.K. After 13 years of employment in engineering divisions of various Belgian companies, he became a part-time professor at the University of Leuven (B) and worked as a process and project consultant in Europe and overseas. In 2003. He started the Faculty of Bio-engineering at the University of Antwerp. In 2005, he moved to the University of Birmingham (U.K.) and the University of Warwick (U.K.), where he lectured on process design, sustainable development, renewable energy and powder technology, while also co-ordinating research in these fields. He has contributed to over 200 publications in international journals, is author/editor of 12 books, and is a regular speaker at international congresses. His h-factor is 55, and citations exceed 15000. Since 2010, he is Visiting Professor at the Beijing University of Chemical Technology, where he is actively involved in Life Science and Technology research. Since 1989, he is managing director of European Powder and Process Technology (EPPT). Within EPPT, he continues to co-ordinate design and consultancies for Belgian and overseas companies, mostly in the field of powder technology and renewable energy. EPPT is a partner in European research projects (FP7, and H2020).
Valentina Busini | Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Prof. Valentina Busini has expertise in safety engineering and chemical engineering. In particular, with regard to industrial safety, she usually works on the analysis of the consequences of industrial accidental events, such as the CFD modelling of: heavy gas dispersion in complex environments, dispersion of hydrogen and carbon dioxide, design of vapour curtains; and the definition of methodologies for the evaluation of industrial accidents triggered by natural events (the so-called NaTech events). As far as chemical engineering is concerned, she focuses on process intensification finding methodologies for the transformation of batch processes into continuous ones.
Po-Heng (Henry) Lee | Imperial College London, UK
Po-Heng (Henry) Lee's team specialises in
resource recovery, greenhouse gas reduction, and enhancing human
health through the application of anaerobic biotechnologies,
including anaerobic sewage treatment, anaerobic digestion,
fermentation, and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox). His
research and teaching have been primarily focused on
transcending classical energetics limitations by exploring
discrete (quantum and quantum-like) pathways within microbial
metabolism and gene regulation.
His current research interests encompass two main areas:
Achieving superior antibiotics and nitrogen removal, producing
value-added chemicals, and generating energy through the
interactions between microbiomes and conductive materials under
micro-aeration conditions.
Procrastination and optimisation of full-scale wastewater
treatment plants using quantum computing.
Henry has developed state-of-the-art research techniques,
including the use of quantum computing with the IBM Qiskit
platform (such as Quantum Information Theory and Variational
Quantum Eigensolver) and hybrid meta-omics approaches. These
methods enable the manipulation of microbiomes to promote a
healthier environment.
Henry's academic journey includes earning his PhD, MS, BS, and
AAS degrees in Environmental Engineering from Iowa State
University (2010), the USA, National Chiao Tung University
(2003), National Ilan University (2001), and Hungkuang
University (1999), Taiwan, respectively. He joined Imperial
College London in 2019 after holding positions at the Hong Kong
Polytechnic University (2012-2018) and Inha University, South
Korea (2010-2012).