Chair

Prof Huanting Wang is a Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor and an ARC Australian Laureate Fellow in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and also serves as Pro Vice-Chancellor and President (Suzhou) at Monash University. Professor Wang was awarded an ARC QEII Fellowship in 2004, an ARC Future Fellowship in 2010, RACI R.K. Murphy Medal in 2019, the Membrane Society of Australasia Tony Fane Award and an ARC Australian Laureate Fellowship in 2020, and IChemE Underwood Medal in 2021. He was a member of the ARC Future Fellowship selection advisory committee in 2011, and a member of the ARC College of Experts in 2012–2015. Prof Wang was a Board Member of the Membrane Society of Australasia and a Council Member (treasurer) of the Aseanian Membrane Society, and is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Chemistry, The American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. He was the Associate Dean (International) of Faculty of Engineering (2010–2011, and 2014–2020), the Associate Dean (International) of Faculty of Informational Technology (2014–2015), Deputy Head of Department of Chemical Engineering (2012–2014), Founding Director of the Monash Centre for Membrane Innovation (2018–2022), Director of the ARC Research Hub for Energy-efficient Separation (2022–2024), and Vice-President of Monash Suzhou (June 2023–September 2024). He served as Asia Editor of Journal of Experimental Nanoscience in 2014-2019, and is currently an Associate Editor of Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research and an Executive Editor-in-chief of Advanced Membranes. Prof Wang’s research focuses on nanomaterials and composite membranes for gas separation, water desalination and purification, chiral separation, ion transport and separation and electrochemical energy applications. He has co-authored over 470 papers, and been recognised as a Clarivate Highly cited researcher. Prof Wang has 11 patents licensed to six companies in Australia, the US and China, including two Monash University spin-outs.

Co-chairs

Prof. Chunghwan Jeon
Pusan National University

Professor Chung-Hwan(Steve) Jeon is currently working as Director of Pusan Clean Energy Research Institute(PCERI) at Pusan National University. He has established and supervises several major research organizations at the university. In the energy field where he focuses, PCERI(Pusan Clean Energy Research Institute) has been conducting world-leading research accelerating the development of carbon-free energy. He has been appointed Director of the Korea(PNU)-Australia(UoN, University of Newcastle) Global Hub Center, designed for green energy(ammonia) production and utilization for international cooperation. In recognition of his contributions to steel technology research, he was appointed as a POSCO Affiliated Professor in 2016, and as a result of international cooperation with China, he was also appointed as a THU Distinguished Visiting Professor. In particular, in PNU ‘Glocal Project’, he is in charge of campus specialization, industry-academia cooperation, and globalization, and is currently striving to strategically promote global cooperation and exchange at the university level in research and education with Newcastle University in Australia. Professor Jeon has served as a technical advisor to a number of Korean energy companies and has contributed to many national key projects on combustion and gasification, IGCC, and major projects related to energy plants. As a result, Professor Jeon published more than 300 technical papers in the SCI journals and other domestic academic journals.

Professor Jianglong Yu currently acts as the Vice-President (Education) of Monash University Suzhou Campus and the Vice-Dean of the Monash-Southeast University Suzhou Joint Graduate School, and a professor of Chemical Engineering at Monash University. He received his PhD degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Newcastle in 2003. His current research interests include coal and biomass pyrolysis, hydrogen energy, smart coke-making technology, advanced carbon materials, and pollution control. He has undertaken 62 projects so far with 9.52 million Australian dollars in research funding. He has supervised 82 high-degree research students including 46 PhD students. He has published more than 300 articles in international journals and conferences with several high-citation papers and four international journal special issues. Professor Yu has been granted 21 patents and has won several Chinese local government talent program titles in his academic career.

Prof. Sankar Bhattacharya
ᅟᅠ     ‎‏‎‏Monash University

Professor Bhattacharya joined academia in 2009 having worked in industry for over twenty years in three different countries – in India on power plant design and commissioning, in France managing the Cleaner Fossil Fuels program at the International Energy Agency, in Australia as a Principal Process Engineer with Anglo Coal Australia and as a Principal Research Engineer with the Lignite CRC in Australia operating large pilot plants in Australia and the USA. At Monash University, Professor Bhattacharya’s research areas include a)thermo-catalytic processing of wastes to liquid fuels, chemicals and hydrogen, gasification, b) rare earth metal recovery from eWastes and fly ash, c) conversion of biomass to high-value platform chemicals. He leads a group of 16 PhD students and a research fellow, having supervised 28 PhD students to completion. Professor Bhattacharya advises several governments, domestic and international, on energy issues. He is the holder of three patents, edited three books, authored six book chapters and over 180 journal papers on energy, fuels and biochemicals. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Energy.