Bio
DLuca Gonsalvi obtained his Laurea Degree in Chemistry in 1994 from the University of Parma (Italy) and a Ph.D. in Chemistry (1996–1999) from the University of Sheffield (UK) under the supervision of Dr. Anthony Haynes in Prof. Peter Maitlis’ group. He was postdoctoral fellow (1999-2001) at Delft University of Technology (NL) in Prof. Roger Sheldon’s group, and in December 2001 he joined CNR-ICCOM in Florence (Italy) as Researcher, being then promoted to CNR Senior Researcher (2010) and Research Director (2021). He has been Research Unit Leader at CNR-ICCOM since 2009. He received the Italian National Habilitation as Full Professor in General and Inorganic Chemistry (2016) and Industrial Chemistry (2019). His current research interests, centered on homogenous catalysis, include carbon dioxide activation and utilization, hydrogen activation, the production and storage from LOHCs with precious and Earth-abundant transition metal catalysts, organometallic chemistry and catalysis in water, and the study of catalytic mechanisms.

Bio
Rita Mazzoni received her Ph.D in Chemistry in 2005 from the University of Bologna, working on the design of rhodium homogeneous catalysts applied in hydroformilation and hydrosililation. Currently, she holds a position as Associate Professor in Inorganic Chemistry at the Department of Industrial Chemistry (University of Bologna). Her main research interests are focused on the rational design of homogeneous catalytic systems for sustainable biomass conversion (e.g. bio-oil mixtures, HFM and bio-ethanol valorization) and energy transition (water oxidation, hydrogen production, aqueous phase reforming) based on noble and Earth-abundant transition metal complexes which combine cyclopentadienone and N-heterocyclic carbene ligands.

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Pincer-Metal Catalysis for Generation of Hydrogen, Fuel and Specialty Chemicals

Bio
Akshai Kumar obtained his B.Sc. (2002) and M.Sc. (2004) from Mangalore University. He pursued his doctoral studies under the supervision of Prof. Ashoka G. Samuelson at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, where he was awarded a Ph.D. degree in 2009. After a postdoctoral stint in the same laboratory, in October 2010, he joined the group of Prof. Andreas Terfort at Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany, as a postdoctoral fellow. In 2012, he extended his postdoctoral activities and worked in the Goldman group at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick. In 2015, he was appointed as Assistant Professor in Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati. His research interests include: (i) upgradation of light hydrocarbons and their derivatives to fuel grade chemicals; (ii) utilization of petrochemicals and alkanes to generate aromatics; (iii) biomass conversion and transformation of waste biomass to value-added fine chemicals; (iv) conversion of greenhouse gas to fuels and fine chemicals; (v) synthesis of heteroatom- and fluorine-doped π-conjugated molecules for material applications; and (vi) asymmetric catalysis. Career highlights include the development of efficient catalysts for the transformation of waste to fuel and value-added chemicals. This includes the conversion of unproductive hydrocarbons to fuel-grade chemicals, upgrading low-energy-density ethanol to high-energy-density fuels and the generation of green hydrogen via transformation of inexpensive glycerol, ethanol and methanol to high-value lactic acid, acetic acid and formic acid, respectively. He is a member of the Indian Young Academy of Science, a member of the Bureau of Indian Standards, Core Committee Member of Society of Carbon Dioxide Research & Innovation, member of Chemical Research Society of India and fellow of the Indian Chemical Society. In addition to Associate Professor at the Department of Chemistry, he is currently the Head of the Centre for Nanotechnology at IIT Guwahati.

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Selective Production of Hydrogen and Lactate from Glycerol Dehydrogenation Catalyzed by a Ruthenium PN3P Pincer Complex

Bio
Saikat Pal obtained his M.Sc. in chemistry from Vidyasagar University, India, in 2017. He received his Ph.D. in Organometallic Synthesis and Catalysis from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India, in 2024 under the supervision of Prof. Jitendra K. Bera. Later, he joined Dr. Luca Gonsalvi’s group as a postdoctoral fellow in CNR-ICCOM Florence, where he worked on the valorization of biomass-derived polyol using homogeneous catalysis. He has more than 5 years of experience in organometallic chemistry and catalysis. His interests include organometallic synthesis, homogeneous catalysis, reaction mechanisms, and industrial applications.

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Tandem hydrogenation–Guerbet catalysis for the upgrading of esters to fuel alcohols

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Duncan Wass completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Durham (1992-1995). He then studied for his PhD (1995-1998) under the supervision of Professor Vernon Gibson CB FRS at Imperial College London in the area of late transition metal olefin polymerisation catalysis. In 1999, he joined BP Chemicals Ltd, working in their Sunbury-on-Thames laboratories on various olefin polymerisation and oligomerisation projects. After secondment to a commercial sales and marketing team, he moved to BP's research site in Brussels, Belgium. He moved back into an academic environment in 2004, joining the School of Chemistry at the University of Bristol, and was promoted to Professor of Catalysis in 2012. He moved to Cardiff University in 2018, where he is currently Professor of Catalysis and Director of the Cardiff Catalysis Institute. His research interests are in organometallic chemistry and homogeneous catalysis, including: (i) selective catalytic upgrading of small bio-alcohols into advanced biofuels; (ii) transition metal 'frustrated' Lewis pairs and cooperative catalysts; (iii) catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide into useful products; (iv) selective oligomerisation of olefins; (v) using catalysis to make self-healing materials; (vi) catalytic conversion of waste (including plastics) into products; and (vii) small-bite-angle phosphine ligands in catalysis.

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Homogeneous green conversion of bioethanol to higher alcohols through homologation (Guerbet reaction)

Bio
Chiara Lenzi received her Bachelor of Science in Industrial Chemistry in 2021 and her Master of Science in Industrial Chemistry in 2023, both from Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Italy. She is currently a PhD student under the supervision of Prof. Rita Mazzoni at the University of Bologna, focusing on the synthesis, characterization, and study of organometallic complexes for biomass valorization, including scale-up processes. Since 2024, she has been a research fellow working on homogeneous catalysis. Her research background includes studies on N-heterocyclic carbene-based catalysts for water oxidation and noble metal nanoparticles for wastewater treatment.