Federico Carpi is an Associate Professor in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florence. His main research interest concerns smart material-based biomedical and bioinspired mechatronic devices. From 2013 to 2017 he has served as the first President of the ‘European Society on Electromechanically Active Polymer Transducers and Artificial Muscles’. Since 2019, he is included in the ranking of the top 100,000 most influential scientists according to standardized citation metrics (source: PLoS Biology). He is an Editorial Board member of several journals, and member of the scientific committees of several conferences. His publications include around 80 articles in international journals, 3 edited books and several contributions to books and conferences.

Professor Istvan TOTH is Chair in Biological Chemistry & Professor of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland (UQ), Brisbane, Australia; Affiliated Professorial Research Fellow and Group Leader, Institute of Molecular Biosciences, UQ. He graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering and obtained his PhD from the Technical University, Budapest, Hungary. In 1994 he was awarded a DSc for his work on drug delivery. Prof. Toth moved from the School of Pharmacy at the University of London to the University of Queensland in 1998, and leads a productive medicinal chemistry research group (presently 30 members). He is an elected RACI Fellow, Fellow of the Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences and Fellow (External) of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. In 2009 he was awarded the Adrian Albert award for sustained and outstanding research in medicinal biochemistry. He has over 350 peer-reviewed publications (>500 citations/year since 2012), 45 patents, and a strong record in research commercialization. His research has attracted over $84 million in competitive grants, research contracts and investment funds in the past 10 years, including an NHMRC Program grant, which is now in its fourth successive 5-year term.

Marina Tsianou is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University at Buffalo (UB), The State University of New York (SUNY). She joined UB after receiving a Diploma in Chemical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece, a Master’s in Chemical Engineering from Tufts University, a PhD degree in Chemistry from Lund University, Sweden, and having worked in industry. Tsianou’s research interests and activities involve the design, development, characterization and applications of molecularly-engineered nanomaterials with desirable functionalities. Her research has addressed thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of polymer mediated crystallization, bio-inspired material synthesis, nano- and meso-scale organization and structure, complex fluids and soft interfaces, nanostructured polymers in films and on surfaces, and biomass processing. Her current focus is on environmental separations: PFAS sequestration and polymer recovery from plastic waste. In addition to her research, Tsianou is very dedicated to improving undergraduate education and promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion. For her outstanding contributions to education and mentoring, she has been recognized with the 2021 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Tsianou has been active with the American Chemical Society (ACS) and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).  In AIChE, she has served as chair of Area 1C, “Interfacial Phenomena” and Area 2B “Crystallization and Evaporation”, and as a Director of the Separations Division.  She is currently serving on the executive committee of AIChE’s Women in Chemical Engineering and as the 2nd Vice-Chair of the Separations Division.