C. Oliver Kappe, Professor, University of Graz, Scientific Director, Center for Continuous Flow Synthesis and Processing

C. Oliver Kappe Biographical Sketch

C. Oliver Kappe received his undergraduate and graduate education at the University of Graz. After periods of postdoctoral research work at the University of Queensland and at Emory University, he moved back to the University of Graz in 1996 to start his independent academic career. In 1999 he became Associate Professor and in 2011 was appointed Full Professor for “Technology of Organic Synthesis” at the University of Graz. Professor Kappe has an extensive general experience and a 25 year track record in synthetic and physical organic chemistry, process intensification using batch microwave technology and flow chemistry/microreaction technology, communicated in ~400 scientific publications (WoS h-Index 72). His current research interests involve continuous flow chemistry, API manufacturing, and process intensification technologies.

Guangsheng Luo, Professor, Tsinghua University

Guangsheng Luo Biographical Sketch

Professor Guangsheng Luo is a Cheung Kong distinguished professor and Head of State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering. He received his Ph.D. and B.Sc. degrees in 1993 and 1988, respectively, both from Tsinghua University. His research interests include microstructured chemical systems, separation science and technology, and functional materials. He has published more than 300 papers in peer-reviewed journals and holds more than 100 Chinese patents. He was awarded the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, and he is the recipient of several awards, including the second prize of China State Technological Invention Award. His is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Jean-Christophe Monbaliu, Full Professor of Organic Chemistry, Principal Investigator WEL Research Institute, CiTOS I Center for Integrated Technology and Organic Synthesis, FloW4all I Flow Technology Research Center, University of Liège

Jean-Christophe Monbaliu Biographical Sketch

Jean-Christophe M. Monbaliu, born in Brussels, Belgium, studied chemistry at the Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium, where he received his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry. In 2008, he started a postdoc at the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering of the Ghent University, Belgium, where he was later appointed as a postdoctoral associate of the Research Foundation-Flanders. In 2010, he was awarded a Belgian American Educational Foundation fellowship that triggered his relocation to the USA. He joined the Center for Heterocyclic Compounds at the University of Florida, Gainesville, USA. In 2012, he was appointed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, USA. In 2013, he came back to Belgium and settled at the University of Liège. Monbaliu created the Center for Integrated Technology and Organic Synthesis (CiTOS), where he is currently developing new methods for organic synthesis using micro- and mesofluidic reactors. CiTOS is the first European Corning® Advanced-Flow™ reactor (AFR) qualified lab.

Kai Wang, Associate Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University

Kai Wang Biographical Sketch

Professor Kai Wang obtained his PhD degree in 2010 from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. During 2015 to 2016, he worked as a visiting scholar in Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is now working as an associate professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering Tsinghua University. His research interest is flow chemistry and electrochemical synthesis.

Paul Watts, Paul Watts, Distinguished Professor and Research Chair, Nelson Mandela University

Paul Watts Biographical Sketch

Professor Paul Watts started his career as a lecturer at the University of Hull in 2002, being promoted to full professor in 2011. At the University of Hull he led the micro reactor and flow technology group. In February 2013, he moved to Nelson Mandela University to hold the Distinguished Professorship and Research Chair in Microfluidic Bio/Chemical Processing. He has published of over 120 highly cited papers. He strongly believes that scientists should conduct research that impacts society; the biggest project underway involves the local production of key drugs as the morbidity and mortality from major diseases are much more devastating in Africa than in other regions of the world. The vision is that new technology will be used within South Africa to manufacture generic drugs; this could create jobs and a new manufacturing industry within the country.

Shinichiro Fuse, Professor, Nagoya University

Shinichiro Fuse Biographical Sketch

Shinichiro Fuse has been a professor of chemistry at Nagoya University since 2019. He earned his B.S. degree in 2000 and his Ph.D. in 2005 from Tokyo Institute of Technology under the supervision of Prof. Takashi Takahashi. He was a researcher at ChemGenesis Incorporated between 2005 and 2006, and a postdoctoral fellow from 2006 to 2008 at Harvard University in the group of Prof. Daniel E. Kahne. In 2008, he joined the faculty at the Tokyo Institute of Technology as an assistant professor. He then moved to the Chemical Resources Laboratory at the same university as an associate professor in 2015. His research is aimed toward the development of efficient synthetic processes based on a deep understanding of organic chemistry using flow synthesis, automated synthesis, theoretical calculations, and machine-learning technologies.

Volker Hessel, Professor, The University of Adelaide

Volker Hessel Biographical Sketch

Professor Volker Hessel studied chemistry at Mainz University/D. 1994: Institut für Mikrotechnik Mainz/Germany (Director R&D); 2005: Professor Eindhoven University of Technology/NL; 2018: Deputy Dean (Research), Professor University of Adelaide, Australia; 2019: part-time professor University of Warwick/UK.

He is author of 678 peer-reviewed publications (h-index: 90; >37,000 citations). He received the AIChE Excellence in Process Development Research Award, IUPAC ThalesNano Prize in Flow Chemistry. He is program lead in the ARC Centre of Excellence Plants for Space (P4S), and is Research Director of the Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources. He received several EU’s research excellence grants (ERC Advanced/Proof of Concept/Synergy, FET OPEN). He is a member on the College of Experts for the National Research Foundation (NRF) within the Prime Minister’s Office."

Yosuke Muranaka, Assistant Professor, Kyoto University

Yosuke Muranaka Biographical Sketch

Yosuke Muranaka has been an assistant professor at Kyoto University since 2015. He obtained his PhD degree in 2015 from Kyoto University under the supervision of Prof. Kazuhiro Mae. His research interest is microreaction technology, biomass conversion, and biodegradable polymer.