BIOGRAPHIES
Chairman
Professor Risto Nieminen, Finland
Dr. Nieminen is Professor of Physics at Aalto University School of Science and Technology. He directs COMP, the National Center of Excellence in Computational Nanoscience and the National Graduate School in Materials Physics. His area of research includes condensed-matter and materials physics as well as computational methods. He holds positions in several international scientific organisations and advisory committees as well as editorships in many scientific publications.
Professor Eva-Mari Aro, Finland
Dr. Aro is Professor in Physiological Botany at University of Turku. Dr. Aro’s primary area of research is focused on photosynthesis, solar energy conversion and chloroplast signalling. She holds several honours and awards, acting as Academy Professor at the Academy of Finland where she currently heads the Center of Excellence. She has worked in a number of leading international research institutions and universities. Dr. Aro holds key positions in several international organisations, including the Presidency of the International Society of Photosynthesis Research (ISPR), and Member of the Steering Committee of the European Initiative for Clean Solar Fuels.
Professor Mikko Hupa, Finland
Dr. Hupa is Professor and Chairman of the Åbo Akademi University Process Chemistry Centre, a cross-disciplinary research centre working with novel processes and products from renewable raw materials. Dr. Hupa is also chairman of the National Graduate School in Chemical Engineering (GSCE) and holds positions in a number of international organizations including editorial board positions. Dr. Hupa’s research interests include high-temperature chemistry, clean combustion of biomass fuels and advanced inorganic materials.
Professor Bengt Kasemo, Sweden
Dr. Bengt Kasemo has been Professor of Physics at Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, since 1983. He heads a research group of 20 people active in Surface Science, Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Catalysis for emission cleaning, and Sustainable Energy Technology. He is the co-founder of the internationally recognized Competence Center for Catalysis at Chalmers, with member companies such as Volvo AB, Volvo Personal Cars (Ford), Saab AB (GM), Scania AB and Haldor Topsoe A/S. He has published some 370 scientific papers and cited more than 9000 times.
Professor Martti Mäntylä, Finland
Dr. Mäntylä is Professor of Information Technology at Aalto University School of Science and Technology. In 1999-2008 he was the founding Director of the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology, a joint research institute set up by the Helsinki University of Technology and the University of Helsinki, at which he still co-leads the Ubiquitous Interaction research group. His area of expertise focuses on the user-centric design of digital communication services and products.
Professor Konrad Osterwalder, Switzerland
Dr. Osterwalder is Rector of the United Nations University and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. From 1995 to 2007, he also served as Rector of ETH Zürich, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, where he earned his doctorate in theoretical physics in 1970. His research focuses on the mathematical structure of relativistic quantum field theory, on elementary particle physics and on statistical mechanics. He has been teaching the natural sciences and engineering for more than twenty years.
Professor V.S. Ramamurthy, India
Dr. Ramamurthy is a well known Indian nuclear scientist with several research contributions in the areas of nuclear fission and heavy ion reaction mechanisms. After serving as Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Science and Technology for nearly eleven years, Dr. Ramamurthy is currently Homi Bhabha Chair professor at the Inter-University Accelerator Center in New Delhi. He also serves as the chairman of the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi and Chairman of the Recruitment and Assessment Board of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India. He is also Chairman of the IAEA’s Standing Advisory Group on Nuclear Applications.
Professor Henry T. Yang, United States of America
Dr. Yang is the Chancellor of the University of California, Santa Barbara. Previously he was the Neil A. Armstrong Distinguished Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Dean of Engineering at Purdue University. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering. He has received five honorary doctorates and other awards. He serves on several boards, including the Steering Committee of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, the Executive Committee of the Association of American Universities, the HLHL Prize Selection Board of China, the Kavli Foundation Board, and the U.S. President’s Committee on the National Medal of Science; he is also Chairman of the Board for the Thirty Meter Telescope project. His current research is focused on aerospace engineering, bio-inspired smart infrastructure systems, and intelligent manufacturing systems.
