(*Alphabetically arranged by last name)
Prof. Gang Chen
South China University of Technology
Topic: The development of high stretch paper and its application for plastic-alternative packaging
Dr. Chen Gang is a professor and PhD Supervisor at South China University of Technology, with over 30 years of experience in the field of pulp and paper engineering research and teaching. He mainly focuses on new technologies in paper-making, specialty papers, and paper-based functional materials, including but not limited to coating technology and theory, multiple fiber blending mechanisms, preparation and application of nanocellulose, optimization and application of paper-making chemicals, paper anti-counterfeiting technology, and the application of functional materials in the paper-making process, etc. Dr. Chen has forged strong industry partnerships through his research and applied his results to guide his work that leads to substantial results to industrial counterparts, reflecting his commitment to the integration of industry, academia, and research.
He is now the Chief Professor for Special Paper Research Team, SCUT, Invited specialist for Special Paper Technology Committee of the China Technical Association of the Paper Industry, and Committee Member for Nanocellulose and Materials Committee of the China Technical Association of Paper Industry. He also serves as Deputy Director for Guangdong Paper Industry Association and Director for Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Special Paper and Paper-based Functional Materials.
Prof. Douglas W. Coffin
Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, USA
Topic：Residual curl in paper resulting from wrapping around a cylinder
Dr. Coffin is a Professor in the Chemical, Paper, and Biomedical Engineering Department of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he has resided since 2002. From 1994-2002, he was a faculty member at the Institute of Paper Science and Technology. Prior to entering the paper industry, he worked as an engineer with the General Dynamics Corp. His degrees were earned at the University of Delaware. In 1999-2000, Dr Coffin spent a year as a guest researcher at STFI. Dr. Coffin’s research focuses on the mechanical response of paper and paperboard in converting and end-use. He is a past recipient of the Van den Akker Prize, the William H. Aiken Prize and the Bettendorf Prize. He is currently Chief Editor of Tappi Journal and a member of the Pulp and Paper Fundamental Research Committee.
Prof. Alain Dufresne
Pagora-Grenoble-INP, France
Topic: Processing of cellulose reinforced polymer nanocomposites
Dr. Alain Dufresne is currently Professor of The International School of Paper, Print Media and Biomaterials (Pagora) at Grenoble Institute of Technology, Grenoble, France. He is an expert on polysaccharide nanofibrils and nanocrystals (cellulose, chitin, starch), on processing and characterization of nanocomposites based on renewable resources and on valorization of the biomass. He is, at the same time, member of the Editorial Board of “Carbohydrate Polymers, "Packaging Research", "Fibers" and so on. He has published over 280 SCI articles with citations of about 31000 times, 2 Single-author monographs, 5 Books and 45 Book chapters. Prof. Dufresne is also the receiver of EPNOE (European Polysaccharide Network of Excellence) Science Award on 2019.
Prof. Wei Ge
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Topic: Multiscale simulation of multiphase porous media
Prof. Wei Ge, born in 1970, got his B. Sc. Degree in 1992 and then Ph. D Degree in 1998, both from Harbin Institute of Technology, China. He has been professor of chemical engineering at Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences since 2006. He is mainly engaged in multi-scale simulation of multi-phase systems including fluidization, micro- and nano-flows, granular materials and porous media. He proposed pseudo-particle modeling for microscopic simulation of macro-scale flow behavior and improved the energy-minimization multi-scale model for gas-solid and gas-liquid flows. He has published over 200 journal papers and co-authored 5 monographs. He is editor of Chemical Engineering Science and advisory board member of Particuology.
Dr. Joel Panek
WestRock, USA
Topic: The role of fundamental research in the paper industry
Joel Panek is an R&D Scientist at WestRock in Richmond, Virginia. Joel completed his B.S. in Chemical Engineering at Michigan Technological University and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Paper Science at the Institute of Paper Science and Technology in Atlanta, USA. He previously was a guest researcher at the Swedish Pulp and Paper Research Institute (STFI) [1999-2001] and a research scientist at Iggesund Paperboard [2001-2006]. He is currently chair of the Pulp and Paper Fundamental Research Society. His areas of interest include papermaking, paper mechanics and converting.
Prof. Orlando J. Rojas
University of British Columbia, Canada
Topic：Cellulose gelation and dissolution for material development
Professor Orlando Rojas is a Canada Excellence Research Chair in University of British Columbia and Director of the Bioproducts Institute. In this latter role, he synergizes a distinguished group of professors and researchers conducting multi- and cross-disciplinary research to create fundamental knowledge and applications, from seed genetics to cutting-edge biorefining technologies, from thermochemical and bio-conversion pathways to novel bio-based products. His research group, Bio-based Colloids and Materials operates between Vancouver (UBC) and Helsinki (Aalto University).
Prof. Rojas received the Anselme Payen Award, established by the American Chemical Society in 1962, the highest recognition in the area of cellulose and renewable materials. He is an elected Fellow of the American Chemical Society (2013), the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters (2017) and recipient of the Tappi Nanotechnology Award (2015). He is adjunct professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering of North Carolina State University and 2023 guest professor in Mid-Sweden University and the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Austria.
Prof. Rojas is Associate editor of Biomacromolecules and Emeritus Editor of J. Dispersion Science and Technology. He is member of the Marcus Wallenberg Foundation Selection Committee and Honorary Chair of the Asia Pacific Young Scientists Association. Prof. Rojas most recent research grants include the prestigious European Research Commission Advanced Grant (ERC-Advanced) and a Horizon H2020 project, among others.
Prof. Rojas has been the PI of the national competence center to advance the Finnish materials bioeconomy, the FinnCERES Flagship, between Aalto University and the Finnish Research Center (VTT). Prof. Rojas is past-chair of Aalto’s Materials Platform and co-PI of the Academy of Finland's Center of Excellence in Molecular Engineering of Biosynthetic Hybrid Materials Research, HYBER.
During his career Prof. Rojas has advised 52 postdoctoral fellows, 63 Ph and 52 MS students. He has also hosted 112 international visiting scholars and professors. With a h-index of 88 and +36300 citations (Google Scholar), he has authored about 520 peer-reviewed papers as well as a larger number of conference contributions related to the core research, mainly dealing with nanostructures from renewable materials and their utilization in multiphase systems.
Prof. Wenhao Shen
South China University of Technology, China
Topic: Three dimensional structure and permeation simulation of coated paper and filled paper
Wenhao Shen is a Professor in the State Key Laboratory of Pulp & Paper Engineering, South China University of Technology. She obtained the Bachelor Degree in Computer and Automatic Control at Sichuan University in 1989, the Master Degree in Automation and PhD in Pulp and Paper Engineering at South China University of Technology in 1992 and 2000. During the year 2004 to 2005 she was a post-doctor in Laboratoire des Sciences du Genie Chimique, Ecole Nationale Superieure des Industries Chimiques, Nancy, France. She is the committee member of Pulp and Paper Fundamental Research Society also acted as a program committee member of 33rd-35th Chinese Control Conference. Her major research interests include: (1) Simulation of paper sheet structure and prediction of paper property. (2) Study of gas sensor based on nano-material. (3) Simulation and control for papermaking wastewater treatment process. (4) Photocatalytic degradation of gaseous pollutants.
Prof. Lars Wågberg
KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
Topic: Fundamental aspects on the action of chemical additives on the mechanical properties of papers from treated fibres
Lars Wågberg; Professor in Fibre Technology at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Department of Fibre and Polymer Technology, Stockholm Sweden.
Lars Wågberg holds a MSc of Chemical Engineering from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and 1988 he also received his PhD from KTH, in close co-operation with STFI-The Swedish pulp and paper Research institute, in Applied Surface and Colloid Chemistry with a focus on polymer adsorption at cellulose interfaces and polymer induced cellulose fibre flocculation. After achieving the PhD degree, he spent 12 years in the industry doing research on hygiene products and paper chemistry and between 1995 and 2000 he was manager of Research at SCA Research AB in Sundsvall. From 2000 to 2002 he was professor in Technical Fibre Chemistry at MidSweden University in Sundsvall, Sweden, and since 2002 he is professor in Fibre Technology at KTH in the department of Fibre and Polymer Technology.
Professor Wågberg has been the main supervisor of close to 40 PhD students and according to Google Scholar he has a h-factor of 63 and 400+ scientific publications.
He was awarded the Ekman-medal 2013, is a member of the Royal Engineering Academy of Science and is a Fellow of the RSC (Royal Society of Chemistry).
Prof. Huining Xiao
University of New Brunswick, Canada
Topic: Multi-barrier enhanced paper packaging: approaches, characteristics and mechanisms
Dr. Xiao, a Professor in Chemical Engineering at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) in Canada and the Fellow of Canadian Academy of Engineering (FCAE), obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at McMaster University in Canada in 1995. Before joining the UNB in 2001, he was a tenured Lecturer and PhD supervisor in Paper Science at the University of Manchester in the UK from 1996 to 2001. Prof. Xiao’s research interests mainly cover the functional-modified cellulose as environmentally friendly materials, multi-barrier enhanced paper packaging as well as barrier behavior and mechanism, bioadsorbents and smart hydrogels for water and soil remediation, antiviral/antibacterial polymers and nanocapsules for various substrates, cellulose nanofibrils and nanocomposites. Over the past decades, Dr. Xiao has attracted substantial research funding from various recourses; and acted as Theme leaders for two NSERC strategic networks in Canada. To date, Prof. Xiao has published over 390 SCI peer-reviewed journal papers; and supervised more than 50 PhD students and PDFs. The PhD students/PDFs under his supervision have won various prestigious awards, including the recipients of CRC Tie 2 in Canada and the National Science Fund of China for Distinguished Young Scholars.