J. González began his scientific career in 1992 at the Complutense University of Madrid, where he studied cyclodextrin inclusion complexes. He earned his PhD at the Carlos III University of Madrid (UC3M), specializing in glass fiber-reinforced polymers. He completed research stays at several institutions, including Tampere University, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), UC Santa Barbara (UCSB), and NIST, focusing on polymer science and materials characterization. He currently leads the AFM Laboratory at UC3M. In 2006, he founded the Polymeric Composite Materials and Interfaces research group (an official UC3M group), dedicated to the development of multifunctional thermoplastic materials. He pioneered a high-energy ball milling method to achieve uniform nanoparticle dispersion, enabling the design of materials with unique electrical and antibacterial properties. He has extensive experience in advanced nanoscale characterization techniques and has established close collaborations with internationally recognized groups, including the University of Salerno, University of Aveiro, UCSB, CWRU, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, the University of the Basque Country, and the University of Navarra, among others. His current research focuses on developing polymer nanofibers via Solution Blow Spinning (SBS) for medical, electrical, and food packaging applications. He has published more than 125 SCI articles, led international, national, and regional research projects, and serves on several editorial boards in the field of polymer science.
Keynote talk title: Active Fibrous Materials Based on PLA/Magnetic nanoparticles Prepared by Solution Blow Spinning
John Botsis obtained his diplôme in civil engineering at the University of Patras, Greece in 1979. He continued his education at Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland Ohio/USA, where he received his MS and Ph.D. 1984. After two years at the research centre for national defence in Athens he was nominated assistant professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago, associate in 1991 and full professor in 1995. In 1996, he was nominated professor of solids and structural mechanics at the EPFL. His activities cover experimental mechanics, fracture and fatigue of advanced materials including composites and biomaterials using novel experimental techniques, numerical methods and micromechanics. He has co-authored more than 150 journal papers, several book chapter and two textbooks. His research has been funded from the Swiss National Science Foundation, State Secretariat for Education and Research, Swiss commission for technology and innovation, EU and Swiss industry.
Professor Young was educated at the University of Cambridge and became Professor of Polymer Science and Technology in Manchester in 1986. He was the founding Head of the School of Materials in the newly-formed University of Manchester in 2004, which is now the largest university materials department in the UK and the focus of major UK materials research initiatives. He is a Fellow of Royal Society (2013), Royal Academy of Engineering (2006) and Academy of Europe (2015). His main research interest is the relationships between structure and properties in polymers and composites. He has introduced of a number of revolutionary techniques that have given a completely new insight into the micromechanics of deformation in fibres and composites. In particular, he has pioneered the use of Raman spectroscopy for the analysis of deformation processes that take place at the molecular level. Over recent years he has extended this approach to the mechanics of deformation of graphene and other 2D materials in nanocomposites. His contribution in research has been recognised through numerous invitations to give Plenary and Keynote lectures at International Conferences and through the awards of the Griffith Medal (2002), Leslie Holliday Prize (2011), Swinburne Medal and Prize (2012) and Platinum Medal (2019) from the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.
Maria Laura Di Lorenzo is Research Director at Italian National Research Council (CNR), Institute of Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials (IPCB). She is the author of three books published by Springer, three patents, and more than 150 articles published in JCR journals that have received nearly 8,000 citations (Scopus). Dr. Di Lorenzo's main research interests focus on polymer crystallization and melting, bio-based and biodegradable polymers, crystallization kinetics, glass transition, polymer blends and composites. Since 2017 (first edition), Maria Laura Di Lorenzo is in World's Top 2% Scientists, the ranking developed by Stanford University and published in the Elsevier Data Repository (August 2025), DOI: 10.17632/btchxktzyw.8.
She is currently Coordinator of EIC-PATHFINDER "BORN" project (Biobased thermal-resistaNt food packaging), Coordinator of PRIN 2022 PNRR "DesiRe" project (Design for Recyclability: mono-material multi-graded semi-crystalline polymer foams), and head of CNR unit of PRIN 2022 "0DeF3" project (Zero-defect Fused Filament Fabrication).
Dr. Di Lorenzo is Senior Editor of Thermal Advances (Elsevier) and member of the Editorial Board of: Thermochimica Acta (Elsevier), Thermo (MDPI), Reviews on Advanced Materials Science (De Gruyter), Polymers (MDPI), International Journal of Polymer Science (Wiley), Advances in Materials Science and Engineering (Wiley).
Thomas J. Webster’s (H index: 131) degrees are in chemical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh (B.S., 1995; USA) and in biomedical engineering from RPI (Ph.D., 2000; USA). He has formed over a dozen companies who have numerous FDA approved medical products currently improving human health in over 30,000 patients. His technology is also being used in commercial products to improve sustainability and renewable energy. He is currently helping those companies and serves as a professor at Brown University, Saveetha University, Hebei University of Technology, UFPI, and others. Dr. Webster has numerous awards including: 2020, World Top 2% Scientist by Citations (PLOS); 2020, SCOPUS Highly Cited Research (Top 1% Materials Science and Mixed Fields); 2021, Clarivate Top 0.1% Most Influential Researchers (Pharmacology and Toxicology); 2022, Best Materials Science Scientist by Citations (Research.com); and is a fellow of over 8 societies. Prof. Webster is a former President of the U.S. Society for Biomaterials and has over 1,350 publications to his credit with over 55,000 citations. He was recently nominated for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Prof. Webster also recently formed a fund to support Nigerian student research opportunities in the U.S.
Prof. Jannick Duchet-Rumeau got a PhD diploma of University of Lyon in Macromolecular Materials & Composites in 1996 focused on modelling of the interface in a polyethylene / glass system tuned by the grafting connecting chains to improve the adhesion properties. She has had a post PhD position in Louvain La Neuve (Belgium) where she worked on processing and characterization of polymer nanotubes. In 1998, she got an assistant professor position then a full professor position in 2010 in the laboratory ‘Ingénierie des Matériaux Polymères’ UMR CNRS #5223. She manages the National CNRS Network (GDR #3585) dedicated to Ionic Liquids and Polymers gathering 40 academic laboratories. Her research activities are dedicated to multiscale relationships between architecture and physical properties of polymer materials involving i/ nanocomposites materials ii/ mesoporous materials iii/ self assembled materials onto inorganic surfaces iv/ ionic materials from Ionic Liquids and v/ the multi-phased materials : polymer blends and fiber based composites. She is author of two hundred papers in international journals, 7 book chapters and 200 communications in international conferences. She has supervised 60 phd students. Since 2021, she has being managed the IMP Lab gathering 200 permanent and non permanent staff.
Dr Cristina Vallés is a Lecturer in Polymer Nanocomposites at the Department of Materials. She leads a research group focused on the development of multifunctional polymer nanocomposites for applications in the aerospace sector, and nanostructured polymer fibres for wearable electronics. Her research activity in the field of Functional Nanomaterials has been published in over 60 high-ranking, peer-reviewed international journals. She has presented her research work in more than 50 International Scientific Conferences and has several patents accepted out of her work. In her research career to date she has formed and actively maintain multiple collaborations in an international and interdisciplinary context, including both academia and industry. Some of the main current foci of her group’s research include the fabrication of multifunctional polymer nanocomposites for applications in the aerospace sector and graphene/polymer fibres for wearable electronics. Dr Vallés is also working on the development of sustainable materials that can replace products currently used in industry, e.g. she is currently leading a research project on sustainable replacements for coal tar pitch binders.
Prof. António José Vilela Pontes is an Associate Professor at the Department of Polymer Engineering (DEP) and Director of the Institute of Polymers and Composites (IPC) at the University of Minho in Guimarães, Portugal. He earned his PhD in Polymer Processing and Design from the University of Minho, where he has built an accomplished academic and research career focused on polymer engineering, advanced manufacturing, and product development. Prof. Pontes is widely recognized for his expertise in injection molding, additive manufacturing, polymer composites, and the optimization of processing–structure–property relationships in polymeric materials. He has coordinated and participated in more than 45 national and international R&D projects, many in collaboration with industry, notably leading the Bosch–UMinho partnership since 2012. His work bridges academia and industry, promoting innovation in polymer technologies and sustainable manufacturing. Prof. Pontes has published over 250 scientific papers and around 20 book chapters, contributing substantially to the advancement of polymer engineering. In addition to his academic roles, he serves as Vice-President of PIEP (Polímeros Engenharia Innovation & Technology Center) and as CEO of DONE Lab, specializing in advanced product and tooling development.
Dr. Coltelli is an associate professor at the University of Pisa, Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering and holds a degree in chemistry and PhD in chemical science from the University of Pisa. She has 20 years of experience in materials science and technology, in particular polymers, biopolymers, blends, and composites, especially related to their interaction with the environment. She is the author and co-author of more than 70 publications in international journals, a book related to the reuse of polymers, and three patents related to added-value polymeric blends obtained from recycled materials.
Dimitrios Papageorgiou studied Physics and Materials Science and obtained his PhD in Polymer Nanocomposites from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. He then moved to The University of Manchester as a Research Associate working under the Graphene Flagship project, investigating the use of graphene and other 2D materials as reinforcements for multifunctional, polymer-based nanocomposites. He is currently a Reader in Functional Polymers and Composites at Queen Mary University of London. His research focuses on polymer engineering and polymer nanocomposites, with an emphasis on developing sustainable and high-performance materials. I integrate nanotechnology with polymer science to create biodegradable, recyclable, and multifunctional materials for applications in electronics, packaging, textiles and structural composites. By bridging fundamental materials science with industrial applications, I aim to drive sustainability and innovation in next-generation polymeric materials.