Keynote Speakers

"Unleashing Valuable Resources from Wastewater with Cutting-Edge Membrane Technology for a Sustainable Tomorrow"

Professor Ooi Boon Seng, 
Universti Sains Malaysia.

Professor Ooi Boon Seng, an esteemed academic specializing in Membrane Technology, Functional Polymer, and Water Treatment, currently holds the position of Professor at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). His academic journey includes earning a Ph.D. in Membrane Technology from USM and a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Instrumental in securing numerous international and national grants, Professor Ooi notably obtained the Long Term Research Grant (LRGS) from the Malaysia Ministry of Education, serving as the Program and Project Leader for 30 researchers. His research, published in over 130 indexed journals, places a strong emphasis on resource recovery from wastewater using Membrane Technology.

To date, he has secured over RM 6 million in International and National grants, addressing water-related issues and presenting innovative solutions using membrane technology. The obtained grants showcase Professor Ooi's commitment to addressing critical environmental challenges. His contributions extend to supervising and graduating more than 30 Master's and Ph.D. students, making significant contributions to the academic community. Recognized for his excellence, Professor Ooi was named a World Class Professor by Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia and achieved Top Research Scientist status from the Academy of Sciences Malaysia in 2023 and 2021, respectively. As an accomplished speaker, he has been invited to present at international conferences and workshops, showcasing his leadership and expertise.

Professor Ooi's innovation awards at international exhibitions underscore his contributions to membrane technology. His dynamic research, particularly in resource recovery from wastewater using membrane technology and functional polymer, positions him as an influential figure in sustainable solutions and environmental conservation. With a rich background in academic achievements, impactful research projects, and innovation recognition, Professor Ooi Boon Seng brings a wealth of expertise and inspiration to the conference stage, emphasizing his work in resource recovery, such as nutrients and metal ions, from wastewater through cutting-edge membrane technology and functional polymer applications.

"Role of Process intensification in Decarbonisation"

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tejas Bhatelia,
Curtin University Australia

Without active decarbonisation initiatives such as large-scale implementation of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies, the risk of catastrophic anthropogenic climate change is unavoidable. Despite the fact, that in 2020 the global emission was reduced by about 7% from its previous year, it is well known that this reduction was only temporary. CDR technologies at large scale will thus play a pivotal role in achieving any practical decarbonisation goals and establishing a "Circular Economy". However, the implementation of CDR technologies is facing unprecedented number of techno-economic challenges. To overcome these techno-economic barriers, process equipment needs to achieve efficiencies that are of several order of magnitude better than the current state of the art.

Process intensification tools provide an opportunity and a pathway to accelerate implementation fo large-scale CDR technologies to achieve a decarbonised economy. A/Prof Bhatelia leads the Process Intensification and Innovation group in the Chemical Engineering Discipline of WA School of Mines Minerals and Chemical Engineering and has been working on developing such intensified solution for lower and negative carbon processes.

He commenced his research career 14 years ago and has made significant contributions to the field of Gas processing, Carbon Capture and utilisation, Catalytic Reaction Engineering and Process intensification.

His work in understanding the reaction kinetics of complex heterogeneous catalytic reactions for gas processing is one of the most highly cited papers in this area in the past five years. Recently, he has developed the lowest CO2 footprint process for Methanol production. He has extensively worked on the application of additive manufacturing (3D printing) for process intensification in chemical and processing applications. He was one of the first researchers to apply chemical engineering principles to design 3D printed reactors, flow distributors, multiphase contactors, and mixers for chemical and processing engineering applications. His approach was highly unique and brought a considerable paradigm shift in the way chemical and processing equipment are designed and developed.

In addition, to his substantial publication track record, he holds four international patents and is in process of commercialising two technologies that have direct application in decarbonisation and H economy. Some examples that have quantifiable benefits to clean energy processing industries and their applications include:

• Development of the super capacity (gas-liquid contactor) structured packing – SpiroPak for applications such as:

• Carbon capture

• Direct Air Capture

• General mass transfer applications

• Novel isothermal reactor for:

• Methanol synthesis

• CO2 Hydrogenation

• Ammonia synthesis

• Highly uniform and ultra-low pressure loss fractal flow distributor for:

• Catalytic reformer

• Highly efficient burner for the clean burning fuel

• Liquid-Liquid extractor

A/Prof Bhatelia is a theme leader in an ARC-IRTH hub on Carbon utilization and recycling which is industry driven hub with over 15 national and global industrial partners and five universities established to translate the research outcomes into commercial outcomes. A/Prof Bhatelia research is driven by his passion to make this planet sustainable for future generations. 

"Enhancing the Sustainability of Post-Processing for Metal Additive Manufacturing"

Assoc. Prof. Hao Wang,
National University of Singapore

Dr. Hao Wang is an Associate Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore. He is an Alexander von Humboldt fellow (Germany), JSPS fellow (Japan) and visiting professor at Université Paris 13 and Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse, France.

Dr Wang has a persistent dedication to research in the physics of ultraprecision microcutting, additive manufacturing, and intelligent manufacturing. His research themes are centralised on pushing the envelope of state-of-the-art precision machining with enhanced sustainability and bridging the gap between additive manufacturing and ultra-precision machining technology. Dr Wang has published over 160 peer-reviewed papers in renowned journals including Nature, Advanced Functional Materials, Additive Manufacturing, International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture, etc. He currently serves as an international scientific committee member of The European Society for Precision Engineering and Nanotechnology (euspen), Chairman-elect of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Singapore Section, Associate Editor for the Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, Youth Editor for the International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, Co-Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Systems, editorial board member of Journal of Materials Processing Technology.