Bio
Dr. Alessandra Palella is Senior Researcher at the Italian National Research Council (CNR). Her research activity mainly focuses on the development and study of materials and processes for the clean energy generation, developing three main research themes: materials for energetic applications; catalytic/photocatalytic processes for the production of bio-/e-fuels and H2; materials and integrated systems for environmental protection/safeguard.

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Microalgae-Based Heavy Metal (HM) Removal: Novel Approaches for Bioremediation of Aquatic Environments

Bio
Dr. Angela Sardo is a Senior Technologist of the Ecosustainable Marine Biotechnology Department of the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn. Her research activity is mainly focused on the use of marine microalgae for biotechnological applications. She investigates the exploitation of microalgae as source of high-valuable compounds, and she also studies possible strategies for the bioremediation of water bodies by employing the capability of microalgae to adsorb and/or to incorporate persistent pollutants. Her expertise includes algal growth in enclosed systems on pre-industrial and industrial scales.

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From Sustainability to Thrivability: Bioinspired Routes to Bioproducts and Bioenergy for a Better Future

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Dr. Ernesto Hernandez is a Senior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering at Canterbury Christ Church University, where he was the Founding Program Director of Chemical Engineering. Following industry executive experience at Celanese, he obtained a PhD from the University of Sheffield, held three postdoctoral appointments, and was Lecturer at the University of Manchester and Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham, where he was Co-founder of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Tropical Environmental Studies. He leads the Bioinspired Engineering Research Group (BIERG), advancing bioprocess engineering and biocatalysis to integrate water, food and energy within circular-economy approaches for sustainable development. Ernesto is a Senior Member of AIChE, one of the Heads of Chemical Engineering UK and editorial member of multiple journals across chemical engineering and biotechnology.

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Production of Renewable Chemicals From Tree-Borne Oil (TBO) Over a Different Heterogeneous Catalyst

Bio
Dr Omvir Singh is currently working as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Sciences and Humanities at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology. He received his PhD degree from the CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP) in Chemical Sciences and his thesis epitomized the application of green catalysis for the conversion of unconventional feedstocks to valuable products. After his doctorate, Dr Omvir enjoyed a couple of brief tenures with the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, and Kyushu University, Japan as a Post-doctoral Fellow. During his post-doctoral fellowship, he worked on biomass upgradation and upcycling of waste plastics. He also attempted the holy grail of catalysis research by developing catalysts for low-temperature CO2 hydrogenation. His research at RGIPT shall be directed to the catalytic upgradation of unconventional feedstock such as Tree-Borne Oil (TBO), Sugar (Cellulose), and municipal plastic wastes into drop-in chemicals, which are highly demanding as they can be used without any modification of existing industrial setups. His expertise lies in synthesizing heterogeneous catalysts based on porous materials like zeolite, defect-rich metal oxides, MOF and ZIF-type materials, along with single-atom catalysts (SAC) for application in the development of sustainable processes. He has published more than 50 scientific publications, including reviews, patents, and papers.