Plenary speakers
Professor Sandra Boetcher, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Title: Techno-Energy Assessment of Hybrid Pressure Swing Adsorption and Cryogenic Direct Air Capture
Sandra Boetcher is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. She also serves as Chair of the Department of Engineering Fundamentals. She received her B.M.E., M.S., and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 2001, 2003, and 2006, respectively. Prior to her appointment at Embry-Riddle, Professor Boetcher was a founding faculty member in the newly formed Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering at the University of North Texas and worked for several companies, including Honeywell, 3M, and Donaldson Company. Her recent research interests include developing latent heat thermal energy storage systems using advanced manufacturing, investigating the fundamental behavior of phase-change materials through numerical simulations and experiments, and characterizing the heat transfer performance of supercritical fluids. She is the recipient of the ASME Dedicated Service Award (2023), the ASHRAE E.K. Campbell Award (2025), and the ASME Heat Transfer Memorial Award (2026). She is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Numerical Heat Transfer Part A: Applications, an Associate Editor of Carbon Capture Science and Technology, an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow, and an Associate Editor for the ASME Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer. She also serves as a U.S. delegate to the Assembly for International Heat Transfer Conferences (AIHTC), is the Past Chair of the ASME Heat Transfer Division, and is a Fellow of ASME.
Professor Zhongyi Jiang, Tianjin University
Title: Organic molecular sieve membranes for carbon capture
He is the winner of NSFC Outstanding Young Investigator Award, Cheung Kong Chair Professorship, fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), fellow of The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China (CIESC), fellow of Chinese Chemical Society (CCS). He serves the member of ACS council and chair of ACS Jingjinji International Chapter (2021-).
He is the leader of a scientific innovation team supported by Ministry of Science and Technology of China. He is the Chief Scientist of National Key Research and Development Program. He is the Associate Editor of Advanced Membranes, Research journals, Materials Horizons and the Editorial Board Member of several journals, including Journal of Membrane Science, Macromolecules, Separation and Purification Technology, Green Chemical Engineering, etc.
His research interest primarily focuses on membranes and membrane processes, and enzyme-photo-coupled catalysis. He pioneered the Biomimetic & Bioinspired Membranes and Membrane Processes research direction in membrane field. He proposed the “Organic Molecular Sieve Membrane” concept and “New Three Transfers (electron-proton-molecule transfers) concept. Until now, he has published over 800 SCI papers with total citations over 57000 and h-index 123 (data from Web of Science). He has been consecutively selected on the list of highly cited scientists in the world.
Prof. Mengxiang Fang, Zhejiang University
Presentation title: Solvent development for CO2 chemical absorption process
Prof. Mengxiang Fang, a professor at College of Energy Engineering of Zhejiang University, Director of Qingshanhu Energy Research Center of Zhejiang University. His interest is CO2 chemical absorption including low energy consumption amine based solvents development and management, energy saving process and amine emission control. He has already been responsible to finished more than 40 projects including National Natural Science Foundation Project, National Key Basic Research Project(973), National High Technology Research and Development Project(863), EU cooperation project, China International cooperation projects. He got more than20 patents and presented more than 200 papers in Journal and conference. He got a 2nd award of Science &Technology Progress of State and two 1st award of Science &Technology Progress of Province.
Professor Vivek Polshettiwar, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR)
Presentation title: Light, hot electrons and CO2 conversion
Prof. Vivek Polshettiwar is Professor of Chemistry at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, where his research lies at the interface of nanomaterials and catalysis, with a focus on solar energy harvesting and the conversion of CO₂ into fuels and chemicals. He is the inventor of dendritic fibrous nanosilica (DFNS) and plasmonic Black Gold. His work spans materials chemistry, plasmonics, defect engineering, and strong metal–support interactions, providing design principles for next-generation catalysts to address critical energy and environmental challenges. He has published nearly 150 peer-reviewed articles and holds 17 national and international patents and patent applications. He has over 20000 citations with an h-index of 70.
His work has been recognized with numerous prestigious honors, including the ORISE Research Fellowship (US EPA), the Asian Rising Star Lectureship from Nobel Laureate Prof. Ei-ichi Negishi, the IUPAC CHEMRAWN VII Prize for Green Chemistry, the MRSI and CRSI Medals, and the Falling Walls Award, Germany (Winner in Physical Sciences, 2023). He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India (FNASc), the Indian Academy of Sciences (FASc), and the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK). In 2024, he received the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award, one of the India’s highest science honor, conferred by the President of India.
Professor Ryan Lively, Administrative Center for China’s Agenda 21
Presentation title: TBC
Dr. Zhang Xian is the director of the Division of Climate Change in the Administrative Center for China’s Agenda 21, the director of the Climate Change Committee of the Chinese Society for Sustainable Development, the Chair of the UNCSTD and the committee member of Youth United Association organized by China’s state institution at the central level. He has been selected for the National High-Level Talents Special Support Program and the Ten-Thousand Program for Young Talents, listed among the Top 2% of the World’s Top Scientists, and WRIII Coordinating Lead Author of the IPCC AR7 report.
Dr. Zhang Xian has been dedicated to strategic research on climate change and low-carbon technology development. He has also been committed to promoting the development of CCUS technology in China and technology transfer in South-South cooperation. Additionally, Dr. Zhang Xian has served as the state representative in international climate change negotiations and multiple cooperation mechanisms, such as the Clean Energy Ministerial and the Mission Innovation. Moreover, he has conducted extensive cooperation with international organizations and institutions, e.g., the United Nations Development Programme and the International Energy Agency. Dr. Zhang Xian has published more than 150 papers in prominent journals such as Nature Climate Change, Nature Reviews Clean Technology, and One Earth (major environmental sub-journals of Nature and Cell), as well as journals like Engineering from the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Additionally, he has also published more than 20 books, taken a lead or participated in more than 60 national and provincial/ministerial research projects, as well as a number of international cooperation projects. He has led the research on “The Roadmap for China’s Carbon Neutrality Technology Development” and the report “The Roadmap for China’s Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage Technologies”. He is the first author of the CCUS technologies assessment chapters in China’s 3rd and 4th National Climate Change Assessment Report.
Professor Mingyue Ding, Wuhan University
Presentation title: Directional Catalytic Conversion Of COx Molecules
Mingyue Ding is a Professor at Energy and Chemical Engineering department in Wuhan University Since 2016. He received his B.S. degree in applied chemistry from Wuhan University in 2003, and Ph.D. degree in physical chemistry from Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2009. His group mainly focus on the conversion of syngas derived from coal or biomass to clean liquid fuels, the catalytic conversion of CO2 to chemicals. As the first or corresponding author, he has published more than 150 high-level SCI papers in authoritative international energy and catalysis journals such as Science, PNAS, Chem and ACS Catal.. He has received a number of awards, including Changjiang Scholars of the Ministry of Education, Distinguished professor of Chutian Scholars in Hubei Province. More information can be found at https://energychem.whu.edu.cn/index.htm.
Professor Yongchun Zhao, Huazhong University of Science & Technology (HUST)
Presentation title: Direct Photocatalytic Reduction of CO2 with SO2 Impurity by Pt Modified TiO2
Dr Yongchun Zhao is a Professor of Huazhong University of Science & Technology (HUST). He obtained his Ph.D. from Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) in 2008. From 2007 to 2008, he was study at National Institute of Coal, Spain, as a visiting PhD student. Following postdoctoral work at HUST, he joined the faculty at State Key Laboratory of Coal Combustion (SKLCC) of HUST as an Associate Professor in the end of 2010, as Vice Director of SKLCC since 2014, been promoted to Professor in 2017. He is also the vice dean of School of Energy and Power Engineering, the director of the National Environmental Protection Engineering Technology Center for Trace Elements Pollution Control and Low Carbon Utilization of Coal (TE&CC). His research interests are, at present, focus on CO2 capture and conversion, CO2 monitoring, trace element (Hg, As, U…) partition, release, retention, and its potential as a resource, clean and low-carbon energy utilization etc. He is the chief scientist of National Key R&D Programs, Principal Investigator of more than 20 projects supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and large energy enterprises. He has published more than 150+ peer reviewed international journal papers and given 30+ keynote presentations and invited talks. Based on his achievement, he has elected to National “Ten Thousand Talents Plan” young top talents, received 5 Science and Technology Progress Awards from Hubei and Guangdong Provinces; etc. He has been served as associate editor of Clean Coal Technology, the guest editor of International Journal of Coal Geology, Journal of Fuel Chemistry and Technology, session chair and committee member of many international conferences.
Dr Paul Iacomi, Surface Measurement Systems
Presentation title: Realistic screening of materials for carbon capture at the lab scale: cycling, water, sour gas, kinetics and more
Dr Paul IACOMI is a Research Manager and UKRI Future Leaders Fellow at Surface Measurement Systems (SMS). He holds an EU-funded MSCA PhD in material science from Aix-Marseille University, France. His career has been focused on the advanced characterisation of challenging novel porous materials, like defect-engineered or flexible metal organic frameworks (MOFs), alongside their integration for high-performance applications such as carbon capture, paraffin separation and sensors for satellites. At SMS, his team is leading the development of next generation of sorption methodologies, bringing together a wide range of expertise in sorption techniques and porous material/surface characterisation – including gravimetric and chromatographic (breakthrough) instruments. His research output comprises over 25 peer reviewed publications, 1 patent and 1 book chapter.
CCST2026 