INVITED SPEAKERS

Kuichang Zuo<<Peking University, China

Dr. Kuichang Zuo obtained his Ph.D. in 2016 from Tsinghua University in Beijing, and worked as a postdoc in the department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Rice University in Houston, USA, during 2017-2021. After that, Dr. Kuichang Zuo joined the college of Environmental Sciences & Engineering at Peking University, Beijing, China, as an assistant professor since 2022. The research interest of Zuo’s group is water desalination and ion management, including hypersaline water desalination, target ion selective removal/recovery, and anti-scaling etc. Some specific technical processes include membrane distillation (MD), capacitive deionization (CDI), electrodialysis (ED), nanofiltration (NF), reverse osmosis (RO) etc. Dr. Zuo’s group focuses on novel materials, processes, as well as pilot scale reactor and system designs. He has published over 60 SCI articles, including some published on top journals such as Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Communications, Nature Reviews Materials, Materials Today, Environmental Science & Technology, Water Research etc., with a H index of 27. Dr. Kuichang Zuo is a recipient of American-Made Geothermal Lithium Extraction Prize (DOE, USA), Outstanding achievement award of scientific research (Ministry of Education, China), Capital ECO-PRO Group “Water Star” Scientific Innovation Prize etc. Dr. Kuichang Zuo is also a Scientific Committee Member of the IWA Specialist Group on Membrane Technology, member of youth editorial board of Desalination journal, and member of IWA Young Water Professionals.

Yew Ming Kun<<Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia, Malaysia

He completed his studies at the University of Malaya (UM), where he earned his degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, UM (Manufacturing). He pursued further education at the same university, attaining both his M.Eng. and Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering with a collaboration in Mechanical Engineering (Materials). Commencing his academic journey at UM in 2009 and 2012, he undertook roles as a postgraduate researcher, tutor, and demonstrator.
Following the submission of his Ph.D. Thesis, C.Eng. Yew became a Lecturer in the Faculty of Engineering and The Built Environment at SEGi University. He subsequently joined Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) in 2015. Presently, he operates within the Department of Civil Engineering at UTAR's Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science. He guided a significant number of final-year students and postgraduate students, fostering their growth and engagement in numerous projects, leading to award-winning products, patents, and the development of "Green & Sustainable Building Materials."
In his capacity as a Principal Investigator (P.I) and Co-P.I, he spearheaded over three research projects and secured eight intellectual property rights, encompassing both international and national domains. His accomplishments extend to receiving Gold Medals at ITEX 2011, 2019, 2020, and 2022, as well as a Gold Medal at iENA 2012 in Germany. He earned a distinguished accolade from the Japan Intellectual Property Association (JIPA-2022) for his exemplary work in Green Technology.
C.Eng. Yew's contributions to academia span over 75 technical papers and more than 8 books, predominantly focusing on sustainable construction materials and fire protective materials/coatings with sustainability in mind. He holds a significant role as the Lead Guest Associate Editor for Coatings-Special Issue: Recent Research on Surface Engineering of Cement and Concrete Materials, as well as Frontiers in Built Environment- Construction Materials. Moreover, he serves as an Editorial Board Member for (1) Scientific Reports- Springer Nature, (2) Nanoscience And Nanotechnology (N) and (3) Current Chinese Engineering Science, while also fulfilling the role of a reviewer for esteemed journals such as Engineering Structures (Elsevier), Construction and Building Materials (Elsevier), Journal of Building Engineering (Elsevier), Journal of Cleaner Production (Elsevier), Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering (Elsevier), Fire, Coatings, Journal of Renewable Materials, British Journal of Applied Science & Technology, among others. He was also honored with the 2023 Outstanding Editor Award.
In addition to his scholarly commitments, he actively participates in international conferences, assuming roles within Technical and Conference Committees such as ICFMM:2021&2022, ICMSET:2023, and ICCEE-2018&2022. His involvement extends to the American Concrete Institute, ACI Malaysia, where he contributes as a Committee member. His professional background includes stints as a Project Engineer and Structural Engineer at IJM and Sapura Energy Berhad Malaysia. Throughout these roles, he demonstrated expertise in design, manufacturing, fabrication, construction, development, and management.
Furthermore, he engages in consultancy projects, collaborating with government entities and private enterprises within UM-UPUM and UTAR-DCC, Malaysia. His consultancy portfolio encompasses the design and development of projects related to Energy Sustainability and Smart Communities. Notable projects include "Fibre Reinforced Lightweight Floating Concrete Pavement Integrated with Solar Panel and IoT Devices," catering to various applications in the construction, oil & gas and aquaculture industries, including Marine Products Association, Pangkor Dolphin Fish Farm, Fajar Aqua, and others.