Assoc. Prof. Khoa V. Le
Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan

Khoa V. Le received his Ph.D. in engineering from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, in 2011. He joined the Tokyo University of Science in 2015, where he is currently working as Associate Professor. His research interests include electro-optic effects in liquid crystals and molecular interactions in lyotropic systems. Recently, he has focused more on the research of water-based polymeric materials by combining lyotropic liquid crystals with hydrogels to create novel functionalities such as toughness and adhesiveness. His work aims to develop applications in biological alternatives, bio-adhesive materials, and microplastic capture materials.

 

Assoc. Prof. Young-Ki Kim
Pohang University of Science and Technology, Republic of Korea

Young-Ki Kim is currently Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Republic of Korea. He received BSc degree in Physics at Korea University (2007) and MSE at Hanyang University (2009), Korea. He then received his PhD (2015) in Chemical Physics from Liquid Crystal Institute at Kent State University under the supervision of Prof. Oleg D. Lavrentovich. Prior to joining POSTECH, he had worked as a postdoctoral associate in the laboratory of Prof. Nicholas L. Abbott in the Department of Chemical Engineering at University of Wisconsin-Madison (2015–2018) and Cornell University (2018–2019). His research focuses on the design of functional materials using liquid crystallinity for a variety of applications including drug delivery systems, chemical/bio sensors, micro-robot, and electro-optical devices. Prof. Kim has published over 60 papers in peer-reviewed journals including Nature, Science, Advanced Materials, Nature Communications, and Physical Review Letters.

 

 

 

 

Previous Speakers

Prof. Yasuhiro Morisaki
Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan

Yasuhiro Morisaki is Professor at Kwansei Gakuin University. He graduated from Kyoto University in 1995, and then, he received Ph.D. from Kyoto University in 2000. After a six-month postdoctoral stay at Osaka National Research Institute (currently called as National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) Kansai), he became Assistant Professor at Kyoto University in 2000. From 2004 to 2005, he carried out postdoctoral work at the University of Alberta. He became lecturer at Kyoto University in 2008 and full Professor at Kwansei Gakuin University in 2015. His research interests focus on polymer and organic synthesis, in particular, synthesis of functional molecules based on planar chiral cyclophane for opto-electronic materials.

Prof. Anja Pfennig
HTW-Berlin University of Applied Sciences, Germany

Prof. Anja Pfennig was born in Büdelsdorf, Germany in 1970. She studied Minerology at the Rheinische Friedrich Wilhelms University Bonn, Germany, where she graduated in 1997. Her Ph.-D. in the field of ceramic moulds for liquid metal casting was earned in 2001 from the Friedrich Alexander University of Erlangen, Germany. She then worked for Siemens Energy in charge of ceramic shields for stationary gas turbines and transferred to Berlin in 2008 where she conducted scientific research on the oxidation of high temperature materials and corrosion behavior of steels used in Carbon Capture Techniques. 2009 she became full professor at the Applied University Berlin, HTW where she currently teaches material science for engineering students. Anja Pfennigs research interest and expertise is in the field of corrosion fatigue of materials at high temperature and high pressure simulating geothermal environments.

Prof. Vissanu Meeyoo
Mahanakorn University of Technology, Thailand

Prof. Vissanu is a distinguished academic leader and innovator with over 20 years of expertise in materials science, focusing on catalytic processes, renewable energy, and membrane technology. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of New South Wales, Australia (1997), where he initially researched catalytic processes for odor control.
His research portfolio has since expanded to include advanced air pollution control technologies, sustainable hydrogen production, and biogas upgrading, contributing to critical solutions in environmental sustainability.
“He is renowned for his interdisciplinary approach, integrating chemical engineering with sustainable materials science to push forward innovative technologies in environmental and energy sectors.His work not only bridges academic and industrial applications but also addresses key challenges in sustainability and green energy.”