Richard A. Gross is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biology, Department of Biomedical Engineering; Constellation Chair of Biocatalysis and Metabolic Engineering appointed in Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies. Chief Technical Officer of SyntheZyme,Chair for Presidential Green Chemistry Award Panel, ACS. Director – NSF Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing of Macromolecules.

Sigbritt Karlsson was born in 1958. She graduated with the M. Sc. in Chemical Engineering specializing in Biotechnology from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden in 1982. She obtained the Ph.D. degree at the same University in 1988 in Polymer Technology after which she became an Associate Professor in 1992. From 1999 she is Professor in Polymer Technology-the Environmental Interaction of Polymeric Materials at KTH, School of Chemical Science and Engineering, Fibre and Polymer Technology.She is Editor-in-Chief for Rapra: Polymers from Renewable Resources since 2010. Presently she is on temporary leave to act as Vice-Chancellor of Skövde University 2010.

Her main research interest is in the Environmental Interaction of Polymers; Biofilm formation on polymeric surfaces; Adhesion of micro-organisms and antimicrobial polymers, Biopolymers (polysaccharides, proteins); Biocomposites: Long-term properties of Polymeric Materials; Polymer Analysis.

Ignacy has completed his PhD in Physical Chemistry at Gothenburg University in 1985 and afterwards he joined SP Technical research Institute of Sweden. In 2005 he became Associate professor in Polymer Technology at the Chalmers University of Technology. He is currently the R&D Manager at SP Polymer & Fibre section. He has published 25 papers in reputed journals and 45 contributions at international scientific conferences. He is serving as a reviewer for scientific journals. An essential part of his scientific work comprises degradation, stabilisation and lifetime technology of polymeric materials. Furthermore, his scientific work comprises recycling of plastics along with development of new polymeric materials with enhanced properties and reduced environmental impact. He is also involved in the development of test methods and international standardisation acting among others as convenor for the Swedish national standardisation committee for plastics.

Development and study of biodegradable plastics, Development, preparation and study of polymer nanocomposites, Degradation, stabilisation and lifetime technology of polymeric materials, Development and study of bio-based polymeric materials including recycling of bio-based thermoplastics, Recycling of plastics

Dr. Bingkun K. Chen is Assistant Professor of Medicine, Director of the Neural Component of the Biomaterials Characterization & Histology Core Laboratory, and Supervisor in Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. Dr. Chen graduated with an M.D. in China, further studied in Germany, later received his Ph.D. in Japan, and recently earned his M.B.A. in the United States. Dr. Chen focus on spinal cord injury and regeneration. He developed and optimized two axonal tracing techniques, i. e. Bidiretional axonal tracing with DiI and DiO, and retrograde axonal tracing with Fast Blue (FB). By using tissue engineered technology with biodegradable polymer scaffolds loaded with growth-promoting cells (schwann cells, SCs) to bridge the transection, it might aim to shift the balance in the injured spinal cord towards healing and functional regeneration. Dr. Chen is currently serving on the Mayo Diversity and Inclusion Committee and Mayo Research Safety Committee. Dr. Chen also serves as the Chair of Chinese Student & Scholar Association at Mayo and Chair of Chinese Mayo Employee Resource Group. Dr. Chen has authored and published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles; in addition he has served as Editor, Associate editor and Editor-in-chief for a numerous books and bulletins, and as Reviewer for a number of journals in neuroscience.

Spinal cord injury and regeneration by using tissue engineered technology with biodegradable polymer scaffolds.

Ben Chu is a Distinguished Professor at Stony Brook University with current research Interests in static/dynamic properties of macromolecular and supra-molecular solutions, polysaccharide nano-structured fibers, separation membranes for water/air purification, tissue engineering and gene/drug delivery. Chu was a Sloan Fellow, a Guggenheim Fellow, a Humboldt Awardee for Senior U.S. Scientists, a Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, a Langmuir Distinguished Lecturer of the American Chemical Society, a Gutenberg Lecturer at the University of Mainz and a recipient of the High Polymer Physics Prize from the American Physical Society. He is an Honorary Member of the Society of Polymer Science in Japan and an Honorary Professor of six Chinese institutes/universities, including the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Chu has authored/co-authored over 650 publications, 40 patents and patent applications, as well as authored/co-authored or edited 5 books, with Laser Light Scattering being published by Dover (2007) after the 2nd edition by Academic Press in 1991.

Static/dynamic properties of macromolecular and supra-molecular solutions, polysaccharide nano-structured fibers, separation membranes for water/air purification, tissue engineering and gene/drug delivery

Dr. Erol Sancaktar received his Ph.D. (Eng. Mechanics) and M.S. (Mech. Eng.) degrees from Virginia Tech. He is a Fellow of ASME, and served as Chair of ASME Tech. Committee on Reliability Stress Analysis, and Failure Prevention (1997-2008). He served as Associate Editor for the ASME J. Mech. Design (1995-2006) and Medical Devices (2006-2013). Dr Sancaktar has also served as member of the Editorial Board of J. Adhesion Sci. and Tech. (1993-2013), Int. J. Polymer Sci., as well as Recent Patents in Chemical Eng. since 2008, Current Nanoscience since 2009, Nanoscience & Nanotechnology-ASIA since 2010, Reviews of Adhesion and Adhesives since 2012, and J. Adhesion since 2013. Dr. Sancaktar organized 29 Conferences. He was a faculty member at the Mechanical Eng. Dept. at Clarkson University during 1978 to 1996 before joining Univ. Akron in 1996 as Professor of Polymer Eng. He has also been appointed professor of Mechanical Eng. in 2009. He edited 24 books, authored 94 refereed journal articles, 29 articles in books edited by others, including 2 chapters in ASM Engineered Materials Handbook, as well as two chapters in Handbook of Adhesion Technology by Springer. He has delivered 234 technical presentations, and has 3 patents. Dr. Sancaktar’s current research activities include: Self-assembly in block copolymers and stretched polymer films; Modification and use of electrospun nanofibers; Use of excimer laser in composite material, adhesion and polymer property evaluation, polymer welding, micromachining applications and nanolithography; Electrically/electronically conductive polymers/adhesives/composites; Optimization of adhesion and adhesive joint geometries, surface topographies, and Design of/with novel materials.

Self-assembly in block copolymers and stretched polymer films; Modification and use of electrospun nanofibers; Use of excimer laser in composite material, adhesion and polymer property evaluation, polymer welding, micromachining applications and nanolithography; Electrically/electronically conductive polymers/adhesives/composites; Optimization of adhesion and adhesive joint geometries, surface topographies, and Design of/with novel materials.

Dr Warren Grigsby is a Researcher Leader at Scion (New Zealand) with research activity spanning synthetic and polymer chemistry applications of biopolymer systems. Warren is leading the development of bio-based adhesive and polymer systems that can be used as substitutes for chemicals derived from petroleum. He has a lead role in the direction and coordination of innovative research efforts in both commercial and government-funded research. His current research activities include the synthesis of biobased adhesives and resins for use in engineered wood products and high performance composites, novel wood modification processing strategies, and adapting polyphenolics in a range of applications.

Synthesis of biobased adhesives and resins for use in engineered wood products and high performance composites, novel wood modification processing strategies, and adapting polyphenolics in a range of applications.

Nazim Cicek is a Professional Engineer and Professor in the Department of Biosystems Engineering at the University of Manitoba, Canada. He currently also serves as the Acting Department Head. He received his M.Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering in 1995 and Ph.D. degree in Environmental Engineering in 1999 from the University of Cincinnati, OH, USA. After working for 2 ½ years in the private sector, he returned to academia in November 2001. Nazim’s research interests are in the general area of biological waste treatment, biofuel and bioenergy production processes, bio-polymer production, fermentation, anaerobic digestion and nutrient removal from wastewater. Nazim has authored or co-authored over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles and presented his research results in numerous international conferences.

Nazim’s research interests are in the general area of biological waste treatment, biofuel and bioenergy production processes, bio-polymer production, fermentation, anaerobic digestion and nutrient removal from wastewater

Prof Sudip K. Rakshit joined Lakehead as a Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Biorefining and Bioenergy Processes in 2012 and is part of the Biorefining Research Institute (BRI) and the Department of Chemical Engineering at the university. Earlier he served as the Vice President for Research at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) and in the Food Engineering and Bioprocess Technology (FEBT) program there. His first employment was at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, India, Prof Rakshit obtained his Master and Phd in Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology from IIT, Delhi, India and B.Tech from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India. Dr. Rakshit has more than 150 publications in refereed journals, is a Life Member of the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers (IIChE), a foundation member of the Asian Association of Agricultural Engineers (AAAE), American Chemical Society (ACS),Canadian Society of Chemical Engineers (CSChE), etc. He has been on the board of several research and development programmes.

Examining innovative methods to convert renewable biomass such as wood and agriculture products to biofuels and renewable chemicals.

Professor Ramesh K. Agarwal is the William Palm Professor of Engineering and the Director of Aerospace Research and Education Center at Washington University in St. Louis. From 1994 to 2001, he was the Sam Bloomfield Distinguished Professor and Executive Director of the National Institute for Aviation Research at Wichita State University in Kansas. From 1978 to 1994, he was the Program Director and McDonnell Douglas Fellow at McDonnell Douglas Research Laboratories in St. Louis. Dr. Agarwal received Ph.D in Aeronautical Sciences from Stanford University in 1975, M.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1969 and B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India in 1968. Over a period of 35+ years, Professor Agarwal has worked in various areas of Computational Science and Engineering - Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Computational Materials Science and Manufacturing, Computational Electromagnetics (CEM), and Multidisciplinary Design and Optimization. He has also worked in Nanotechnology and computational modeling of top-down Nanofabrication, in particular in nanoparticles properties, synthesis, and their applications in drug delivery and their health effects. For past ten years, he is also working in the area of clean and renewable energy; the topics include, wind energy, solar thermal energy, chemical looping combustion for carbon capture, geological sequestration of CO2, and fuel cell and battery modeling. He is the author and coauthor of over 460 publications. He has given many plenary, keynote and invited lectures at various national and international conferences worldwide. Professor Agarwal continues to serve on many academic, government, and industrial advisory committees. Dr. Agarwal is a Fellow sixteen societies including the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS), American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), American Physical Society (APS), American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Royal Aeronautical Society, Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics (CSAA), Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) and American society for Engineering Education (ASEE). He has received many prestigious honors and national/international awards from various professional societies and organizations for his research contributions.

Dr. Tao Lowe is an Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Biomedical Engineering at University of Tennessee. Previously, she was an Assistant Professor of Surgery, Bioengineering, and Materials Science and Engineering, and Co-Director of the Integrated Graduate Degree Molecular Toxicology Program at Pennsylvania State University. She received her Ph.D. with an Eximia Cum Laude from the University of Helsinki, Finland, and conducted two years’ postdoctoral research in the Chemical Engineering Department at University of Wisconsin, Madison. Dr. Lowe’s research is focused on biomaterials for translational research. Her research activities include design and development of multi‐functional biomaterials for targeted and sustained drug delivery, gene therapy, tissue engineering, and biosensoring for the diagnoses and treatments of neurological disorders in the brain, eye diseases, cancers, bone fractures, and cartilage damages, and as well as contraception. Dr. Lowe has published more than two dozen peer‐reviewed papers in the leading journals in the field of biomaterials science and bionanotechnology, and has given more than 150 presentations and 60 invited talks. She has received funding from NIH, DOD, Coulter Foundation, JDRF, FHI360/Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other government and private funding agencies. She has trained ca. 60 students, including PhD, MD, MD/PhD, PharmD, and PharmD/PhD. She is a peer reviewer for 36 refereed journals, and an editorial board member of 11 international journals. She has served on more than 60 grant review panel, and has chaired more than 40 sessions at international conferences.