Confirmed Speakers

Arturo Pajares obtained his PhD in Nanoscience (Materials science) from the University of Barcelona in 2021. In 2022 he joined as researcher in the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) in Belgium. His research is related to the synthesis and characterization of transition metal carbides and nitrides for catalytic applications. Currently, he is working on the development of structured catalysts using 3D printing technology for the catalytic conversion of CO2.

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Luc Smulders obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and his Master’s degree in Nanomaterials Science, both from Utrecht University. For the Nanomaterials Science program, he did a master’s project on tandem catalytic conversion in Pickering emulsions and he conducted an internship at the ETH Zurich working on organometallic fuel cells. During his studies, he developed a strong interest in the field of catalysis. Currently, he is working as a PhD candidate under supervision of prof. Krijn de Jong and prof. Petra de Jongh. His project focuses on metal-acid bifunctional catalysts for hydroconversion reactions. Some of the results of this project have been published in Science

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Dan Zhao obtained her PhD degree in chemical engineering and technology from China University of Petroleum(Beijing) in December 2020. From 2018 to 2020, she was a joint-training PhD student in the group of Prof. Dr. Evgenii Kondratenko at the Leibniz-Institute for Catalysis in Rostock (LIKAT). Since March 2021, she has worked in the same group as a postdoc in the field of CO2 hydrogenation to methanol and non-oxidative dehydrogenation of light alkanes.

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Luisa Acevedo received graduated as Chemical Engineering (ChemE) in 2020 at Universidad Industrial de Santander - UIS. From 2019 to 2020, she worked at Ecopetrol as an intern specialized in catalytic hydrocracking at the Refinery in Barrancabermeja, Colombia. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in ChemE at UIS where she conducts research at the Centro de Investigaciones en Catálisis (CICAT) under the supervision of the Prof. Victor G Baldovino M. Her research is focused on the preparation of technical catalysts by mechanochemical synthesis and on their application to the hydrocracking of heavy crude oil.

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Limor is a PhD student at the Université Normandie in his last year. He has a master degree in "organic Chemistry" and also in "Catalysis and sustainable environment". Currently he is working in the Laboratoire Catalyse et Spectrochimie (LCS) in Caen, France where he is about to finish his PhD work. The LCS is laboratory known for its FTIR spectroscopy analysis under special conditions.

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Xiao Chen obtained his BSc in Chemical Engineering and Technology from Hunan University, China (2008) and his PhD from Dalian University of Technology, China (2013). He was an associate professor in chemical engineering at Dalian University of Technology (2015–). He then spent about 1 year at Technische Universität Chemnitz, Germany, as a postdoctoral fellow. His research focuses on the application of intermetallic compounds in catalysis.

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Arunraj Chidambaram (Arun) is a chemical engineer and materials chemist by training with degrees from Delft University of Technology, Netherlands and Anna University, India. Arun obtained his PhD from EPFL, Switzerland. In his PhD, he focused on acceleration of the discovery of Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) by closed-loop data driven methods of combining high-throughput, automated synthesis, characterization with ML/AI algorithms for gas separation applications like carbon capture and catalysis applications like carbon conversion to value added chemicals. Upon graduation, he joined imec Netherlands in December 2020 wherein, he researched and developed gas sensors for internet of things (IoT) application. In January 2022, he joined Chemspeed Technologies, Switzerland as a business development manager for the business unit materials science to provide unique automated, high-throughput solutions for enabling new possibilities in R&D of both industry and academia.

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Dr Carmen Ciotonea (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7711-356X) obtained her PhD from University of Poitiers (FR) and Technical University “Gh. Asachi” from Iasi, (RO) in july 2015. The PhD research was focused on development of materials based on non-metals (Ni, Cu and Co) with control of the metal nanoparticle size, in order to maximize the catalytic performance in the reaction of hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes. Currently she is working as assistant professor at Engineering School Littoral Cote d’Opale and she is developing the research at Unit of Environmental Chemistry and Interactions with Living Organisms” (UCEIV)- Dir. Stephane SIFFERT), https://uceiv.univ-littoral.fr/recherche/les-equipes/catalyse/, within Catalytic Treatment And Clean Energy Team (TCEP). Her research is focused on development of advanced nanostructured materials with accurate control of nanoparticles size and localization, various functionalization of materials surface and advanced characterization. The catalytic formulations that she is preparing are used for various reactions of hydrogenation (HMF, Furfural, levulinic acid), oxidation (formaldehyde, CO) or CO2 valorization (methanation, reforming), etc.

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Ludovica Conte is currently a PhD student in Chemistry in the “Catalysis for Renewables and Innovative Processes” group at the Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna. She started her PhD in November 2021 and since then she has been working for Professor Fabrizio Cavani. Her work centres around the selective oxidation of n-alkanes to maleic anhydride with V/P/O catalyst, result of a fruitful collaboration with Polynt Group S.p.A. In October 2021 she obtained her master’s degree in Industrial Chemistry with honours at the University of Bologna. Her thesis was focused on the continuous gas phase hydrogen-transfer process on levulinic acid esters performed with light alcohols in presence of heterogeneous catalysts. The project was supervised by Dr. Tommaso Tabanelli and Professor Fabrizio Cavani. Prior to that, she achieved her bachelor’s degree in Industrial Chemistry with 110/110 at the University of Bologna. Her thesis was centred around the synthesis and the characterisation of Ir(III) tetrazoles complexes as photo-initiator for ATRP polymerisation and was supervised by Professor Stefano Stagni.

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Candice Cottrez is a 3rd-year PhD student at IFP Energies Nouvelles, her research work has for purpose to apprehend the synthesis key parameters to control the Mo multi-scale arrangement within HDS catalysts to improve their efficiency. A multi-technique characterization strategy and especially the use of Anomalous Small Angle X-ray Scattering (ASAXS) has been developed during this PhD thesis to elucidate the genesis of this Mo multiscale arrangement, and to understand its relationship with accessibility loss and intrinsic activity.

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Dr Julien Devos obtained a MSc in Bioscience Engineering (Catalytic Technology) at KU Leuven (BE) and performed a doctoral thesis under supervision of Prof. Dusselier on zeolite synthesis, focusing on interzeolite conversion and the role of Al distribution. Obtaining a Junior Postdoctoral Fellowships from FWO, he now applies this zeolite knowledge in thermocatalytic CO2 hydrogenation to methanol, dimethyl ether and olefins.

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Dr. Fabien Drault obtained his Ph.D. in Chemistry (Heterogeneous Catalysis) from University of Poitiers in 2018, on the development of catalysts to replace noble metals by non-noble metals for hydrogenation reactions. He subsequently held two Postdoctoral Fellowships at Centrale Lille in France. His research interests cover materials science and catalytic materials design. In particular, his work is focused on the development of nanostructured catalysts for biomass valorization and pollutants degradation. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the MOST and BSMA teams in the IMCN the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium.

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Loïc Eloi obtained his MSc in Chemical Engineering Technology at Ghent university in 2021. He is currently in the second year of his PhD under guidance of prof. An Verberckmoes. The topic of his PhD is the synthesis of multifunctional catalysts containing zeolites and CeO2 for the catalytic dehydration of 1,3-butanediol to butadiene.

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Mr Gonzalez obtained his diploma in Chemistry from National University of La Plata (Argentina) in 2021 (2014-2021). He started his PhD research in September 2021 in Leibniz Institute for Catalysis (LIKAT) under the supervision of Dr.-Ing. Udo Armbruster and Dr. Sebastian Wohlrab in the department of heterogeneous catalytic processes. Since the beginning of his doctoral thesis, he has been focusing on the synthesis of Ni-based heterogeneous catalysts and reaction optimization for reforming technologies.

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Fanny Hanon is graduated from the faculty of bioiengineering of the UCLouvain with a master’s degree in chemistry and bioindustry and a specialization in nanobiotechnology, materials and catalysis. She did her master thesis on the synthesis of heterogeneous catalysts by humid air glidarc plasma and is currently working on a doctoral thesis on the same subject thanks to a FRIA grant. Fanny works at the IMCN institute with Prof. Gaigneaux and is in her 3rd year of PhD.

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Claudia obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Master’s degree in Science and Business Management, both at Utrecht University. She is conducting her PhD research at the Materials Chemistry and Catalysis group at Utrecht University, under supervision of prof. Petra de Jongh.

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Andrija Kokanović was born 10th of August 1998 in Belgrade, Serbia. He studied Chemistry at the University of Belgrade – Faculty of chemistry, where he graduated. He got his Masters degree at the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Chemistry, after which he enrolled on to PhD studies in the Cotutelle program. Now he is doing his PhD thesis at the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Chemistry and at École Doctorale 397 - Physique et Chimie des Matériaux, Institut des Nanosciences de Paris, Sorbonne Université. He is employed at the Innovative Centre of the Faculty of Chemistry, as a Junior Researcher. He is working in the field of heterogenous catalysis.

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Nynke started her PhD project at the Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis group in 2015 at Utrecht University under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Ir. Krijn de Jong and Dr. Jovana Zečević. During this PhD project, she investigated the attachment of colloidal iron oxide nanoparticles to various support materials for the Fischer-Tropsch reaction, with a focus on the use of electron microscopy. After finishing her PhD in 2020, she worked for the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) on nanomaterial safety policies. In 2021 she joined Protochips as an applications scientist specializing in specializing in in-situ liquid phase (S)TEM. Most of her time is spent educating, helping and discussing experiments with new and experiences users for in-situ microscopy.

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Lucie Leonová is a first-year Ph.D. student who gained her previous education in Materials Chemistry at Masaryk University in Brno. Within her research area related to her theses, she dealt first with non-hydrolytic syntheses of aluminosilicates and their surface modifications. Later on, she started applying these materials for catalytic purposes, for both model and industrial reactions. Nowadays she expanded her research toward catalyst preparation for carbon dioxide coupling with epoxides.

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Dr Malik received his PhD in Chemical Engineering with strong focus on heterogeneous catalysis from King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia (2019) where he worked on precious metal catalysis for CO2 conversion to valuable fuels and chemicals. He received his early education in Pakistan and his masters from University of Glasgow. His research is focused on heterogeneous catalyst development by innovative approaches, characterization using advanced tools and application for CO2 and biomass valorization. Dr. Malik is currently working as a postdoctoral fellow on a FNRS funded project for the production of transition-metallosilicates in strong collaboration between UNamur and UCLouvain in Belgium.

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Dr Eric Marceau is associate professor at the University of Lille. He obtained his PhD at Université Paris 6 (Paris, France) in 1997, under the supervision of Prof. Michel Che, and spent the first part of his career as a lecturer at the “Laboratoire de Réactivité de Surface”, before moving to the “Unité de Catalyse et Chimie du Solide” laboratory (UMR 8181 CNRS) in 2015. His research interests cover the preparation of supported base-metal catalysts for hydroconversion reactions, and their advanced characterization by in situ and operando techniques. He has been the principal investigator of the ANR-subsidized project “NobleFreeCat” between 2017 and 2022. The main results from the NobleFreeCat project form the core of this presentation.

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Dr Elena Martín joined the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC) in 2021 as a postdoctoral researcher, as an integral member of the Energy Storage, Harvesting, and Catalysis group. Her research is focused on the development of advanced catalytic materials for the production of synthetic fuels, with particular emphasis on the shaping of particulate porous materials, such as cerium oxide, alumina, and zeolites, into novel catalytic supports with industrial relevance. She has contributed to national and European projects and collaborated with industrial partners to develop innovative solutions concerning biogas conversion to green methane and the synthesis of sustainable aviation and marine fuels using Fischer-Tropsch processes. Her primary interest lies in developing and validating technologies that advance the decarbonization of the energy sector

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Swiss native, Michael started his career as an aspiring high mountain guide and then went on to study chemistry. He obtained a bachelor's degree in chemistry at the University of Strasbourg (2018), then a master's degree in chemical engineering jointly accredited by the Sorbonne and Chimie ParisTech (2020). He is currently in the third year of a PhD in collaboration with the Institut of Separative Chemistry in Marcoule (ICSM) and Saint-Gobain Research Provence, in France. His main research interests are in chemical engineering, heterogeneous catalysis and hydrometallurgy.

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Jose Alirio received his PhD in science-chemistry from “Universidad Nacional de Colombia” in 2020. His doctoral thesis was focus on the introducing mesopores inside of Y zeolite for cracking and hydrocracking reactions. In 2018, he joined the biorefinery and sustainable chemistry group at Max Planck Institute where he was conducting research about zeolite for green chemistry applications and photocatalytic reactions. Jose Alirio is doing his postdoc period at Dusselier research group in KU Leuven (Belgium) and his research interest is in CO2 valorization, propane dehydrogenation, catalyst preparation and performance catalytic test.

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Alexandra did her Chemistry Bachelors at University of Groningen (2016 – 2019), followed by a Masters in Green Chemistry, Sustainability and the Environment at Imperial College London where she graduated with Distinction. In 2020 she started a PhD at Eindhoven University of Technology in the group of Emiel Hensen (Inorganic Materials and Catalysis) focusing on developing transition-metal based solid catalysts for Hydrodeoxygenation of lignin feedstocks towards marine fuels.

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Yousuf Raed Ramzi completed his bachelor’s and master’s in chemical and biological engineering at Friedrich-Alexander-University between 2015 and 2022. During this period, he worked as a scientific assistant at the chair of particle technology at the Friedrich-Alexander-University (FAU). He completed his master’s degree with a thesis focusing on the development and testing of catalytically activated plates for LOHC dehydrogenation at the chair of chemical reaction engineering. Since august 2022, he has been working as a research associate at the chair of chemical reaction engineering in the working group “Hybrid Materials (HyMat) for Catalysis and Purification”. As a part of his doctoral thesis, he investigates the development and catalytic application of SCALMS materials in the oligomerization of butylene.

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Already during his school years at the First Gymnasium Maribor, Matevž Roškarič conducted a preliminary research on the topic of waste management and chemical recycling of plastics in cooperation with The Friends of Youth Association Maribor, in which he won third place at the national level with his research work. After graduation, he continued his chemistry studies at the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering in Maribor, where he now attends his 3rd year of his doctoral studies. During his time at the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering in Maribor (2014 to present), Matevž Roškarič has been and still is a member of several committees and councils of the Faculty and the University of Maribor. During his bachelor's and master's studies, he participated in several government-funded projects at the Faculty; the most prominent of which was Circular material-energy flow of non-hazardous waste, of which he published a paper in the conference proceedings of the International Conference on Technologies and Business Models for Circular Economy 2019. His interest in a variety of research topics was already evident in his bachelor's thesis at the National Institute of Biology in Ljubljana, followed by his master's thesis at the National Institute of Chemistry in Ljubljana. From the result of his master's thesis in the field of catalytic hydrogenation of methanol, Matevž Roškarič was also a co-author of a scientific research paper and received the Dean's Award for the best master's thesis of 2020. He is currently a PhD student at the National Institute of Chemistry, working in the field of photocatalysis for wastewater remediation and air purification. His current work focuses on the synthesis of various hybrid materials and the correlation between the material properties and their photocatalytic activity. He has authored or co-authored 7 publications and more than 10 abstracts for scientific conferences.

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'Charlotte is in the final year of her PhD at KU Leuven in the laboratory of Bioinorganic Chemistry working under the guidance of Prof. Tatjana Parac-Vogt. Her work focuses on the synthetic modulation of metal organic frameworks to enhance catalysis towards biological substrates, with particular interest in developing mixed metal MOF systems. Prior to her PhD, Charlotte completed her MSc Chemistry at KU Leuven, and her BSc in Biochemistry and Biological Chemistry at the University of Nottingham, UK

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Tommaso graduated cum laude in Industrial Chemistry in 2012 and then obtained his Ph.D. in Chemistry in 2016. Since then he has worked on the development of innovative catalytic processes aimed to the valorization of biomass and biomass derived compounds both in batch and in continuous-flow reactor systems, both in liquid and gas-phase. He is author (or co-author) of 52 scientific papers, 9 book chapters and 7 patents (already granted or applications). In 2021 he was awarded with the Robert Karl Grasselli memorial award for the results obtained in the field of heterogeneous catalysis applied in continuous-flow, gas-phase processes sponsored by the Interdivisional Group of Catalysis of the Italian Chemical Society (SCI) and with the Galileo Galilei Giovani international award for the results obtained in the field of Sustainable Chemistry and Environmental Science. Now he is part of the Catalysis for Renewable and Innovative Process group of the Industrial Chemistry Department “Toso Montanari” of the University of Bologna (Italy) where he held the position of Assistant Professor and senior researcher (RTD-b).

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Benjamin Torres-Olea is currently realizing his PhD studies in the University of Malaga, in Spain. His research is centered in the synthesis of materials and methods for the treatment of biomass and biomass derived compounds, specially for the production of furfural, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and its derivatives.

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Hisao Yoshida has been a full professor at Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University since 2013, where he has a research group studying heterogeneous catalysis and photocatalysis. He received the degree of PhD from Kyoto University in 1998. He received the Catalysis Congress Prize of the International Association of Catalysis Societies in 2000 and the Prize for Young Scientists of Catalysis Society of Japan in 2003. He has published more than 230 peer-reviewed articles, including several review articles, in international journals (h-index 53). His current research is focused on photocatalytic conversion of carbon dioxide, methane, and organics to useful compounds, as well as photothermal catalytic processes.

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