Biomass, Biofuels and Bioenergy

Leticia López Zamora is a chemical engineer by profession and a professor-researcher at the National Institute of Technology of Mexico, with a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering and a PhD in Engineering. For 17 year she has been working in the Graduate Studies and Research Division. As a professor she has taught several subjects, some of them are: optimization of processes, experiment design, plant design and optimization theory. For more than 10 years, she has been conducting research related to the generation of biofuels (1G ethanol, 2G ethanol, biodiesel), some of them with financed by Mexican institutions. Also, she has given conferences in various national and international congresses. She has directed more than 30 master's thesis and has been an evaluator of CONACYT, TecNM, PRODEP, among others

Mahmood Hossain is a professor of Forestry and Wood Technology Discipline of Khulna University, Bangladesh. He is graduate in Forestry from Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, University of Chittagong, Bangladesh; and Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in forest Ecology from University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia. Mahmood has 21 years of teaching and research experiences in the field of forest nutrient dynamics and mangrove ecology. He was involved in 2nd National Forest Inventory of Bangladesh (BFI) for last five years. He has published more than eighty research articles in different international and national journals. Mahmood grew up in Bagerhat district that is situated at South-west corner of Bangladesh.

Professor Thakur, FNASc, FNAAS, FIBA, FBRS, ENESA, Former Dean, presently a Professor in the School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, developed bacteria by genetic breeding, and characterized by genomics, proteomics and metabolomics for Green House Gases sequestration for biofuel, bioflocculant, bioplastic and biomaterials production. Microorganisms applied for degradation of pentachlorophenol in tannery, lignin biovalorization, degradation of melanoidin, dioxin-like compounds, ecoestrogens, phthalates and emerging contaminants in industries, municipal sludge, landfill leachate, risk assessment and characterization was performed. Cyanobacteria and algae used for biofuel and biodegradation of emerging contaminants in waste water and risk assessment. Metagenomics of microbes from Pangong lake, caves and lysimeter performed for environmental management, pesticide degradation and nutrient management. He published more than 200 research papers in peer reviewed journals, 4 patents and 26 Ph.D. students completed Ph.D. under his supervision.

Dr. Elsayed Elbeshbishy is an assistant professor at Ryerson University. He is collaborating with different Canadian industries and municipalities for developing new technologies for value-added products recovery from wastes. He investigated different pretreatment technologies for enhancement of biohydrogen and biomethane production from municipal solid wastes. He introduced ultrasonication, for the first time, as a novel pretreatment method for enhancing biohydrogen production from solid waste as opposed to the common application of ultrasonication prior to anaerobic digestion to enhance methane formation. He has more than 50 peer-reviewed journal article, 70 conference proceeding, and three book chapters with h-index of 22. Dr. Elbeshbishy focuses on developing new solid pre-treatment technologies to enhance the anaerobic digestion process.

Dr. Huiming Yin received his Bachelor degree from the Hohai University, China, in 1995, Master Peking University, China, in 1998, and Ph.D. The Iowa University in 2004. Before joining Columbia University in 2008, Dr. Yin was employed by Caltrans as a Civil Engineer, for two years and by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering for two years. Dr. Yin’s research focuses on the multiphysical and mechanical characterization and modeling of civil engineering materials and their applications in energy-efficient infrastructure systems. He received the NSF CAREER Award in 2010. He founded the Pao Sustainable Engineering and Materials Laboratory, and serves the Site Director of NSF IUCRC Center for Energy Harvesting Materials and Systems. Dr. Yin has actively worked with Columbia Technology Ventures for commercialization of the applied research through small business companies and start-ups. From his research, two STTR projects have been awarded by DOE (for solar roofing materials) and AFOSR (for particulate composites), respectively. He is the leading author of the book - The Introduction to Micromechanics of Composite Materials, CRC Press and Spon Press, 2016, and has authored or co-authored 4 other book chapters and >70 refereed journal papers.

Dr. Hossam Gaber is leading research in the area of waste-to-energy with advanced plasma technologies. He worked in international research projects related to biomass/biofuel (Japan), plastic production chain with recycling (Japan), and leading research group to plasma-based plastic-to-oil pyrolysis and MSW gasification process technology. He the founding chair of the IEEE technical committee on Intelligent Green Production Systems (IGPS) and Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Process Systems Engineering (IJPSE). He is expert in intelligent safety and control systems and their applications on clean energy technologies. This research facility will extend the research capabilities in the research group within UOIT and will allow ROI for energy from waste. It will support the research activities in plasma generation, diagnostics, and control, and their applications on high performance waste-to-energy process technology.

Marc A. Rosen is a Professor at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa, Canada, where he served as founding Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. Dr. Rosen was President of the Engineering Institute of Canada. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Ontario, and serves as Editor-in-Chief of several journals and as a Director of Oshawa Power and Utilities Corporation. With over 60 research grants and contracts and 800 publications, Dr. Rosen is an active teacher and researcher in sustainable energy, environmental impact, and energy technology (including renewable energy and efficiency improvement). Much of his research has been carried out for industry, and he has written numerous books. Dr. Rosen has worked for such organizations as Imatra Power Company in Finland, Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago, and the Institute for Hydrogen Systems near Toronto. Dr. Rosen has received numerous awards and honors, and is a fellow of several societies and organizations.

Founder of LatAm BioEnergy. A Dominican entrepreneur with a concentration in renewable energy. He has more than 15 years of financial experience in the Dominican Republic and New York. Eduardo has developed a multidisciplinary team of engineers specializing in physics, materials sciences, industrial processes, coding, and programming as well as climate change. He formed part of a group of bankers on Wall Street who, among other activities, educated and inspired Latino children in New York public schools to continue their studies and find their careers. He worked in Argentina, where he developed the first power plant through the gasification of olive waste in Latin America. He has built other similar plants in the Dominican Republic. He was advisor of the renewable energy integration policy of several Argentine governors. His team has documented the feasibility of generating energy with a broad spectrum of agroindustrial and organic waste.

Founder and CEO of Pellet Mexico, a company developing the biomass market in Mexico. Former Managing Director of Bold Group Latin America and Amplify Latin America, both consulting firms specialized in innovation. Founder and former CEO of Contorno, a consulting firm specialized in tourism, strategic communication, and urban development. Partner of firms that range from ecommerce to the management of archives and digital information. Fomer University professor at Universidad Iberoamericana, CENTRO Diseño-Cine-Televisión, Centro de Investigacion y Docencia Economicas, A.C. (CIDE). Graduated in Philosophy from Universidad Iberoamericana and studied a Master in Communication and Culture at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. During 2014 he was editor in chief of The Futurist in Spanish, magazine dedicated to the promotion in Mexico of Research &Development, Innovation and Technology. He was part of an editorial team in Nexos magazine (2009-2011). Passionate reader, writer and editor who has collaborated in newspapers and magazines. Constantly collaborating with academic work in journals and books with subjects concerning film, political philosophy, aesthetics, public space, culture and technology and participating in various seminars, conferences and events as a speaker. Actively driving Mexico’s development and firm believer in it’s potential. Avid traveler, film lover, foodie and melomaniac.

Sergio López is co-founder of Rayo Bioenergía, a startup pioneer in applying different bioenergy processes to provide solutions to the problem of organic waste in Mexico, with more than 5 years of experience in Bioenergy issues. Together with their team, they are creating a model that allows them to give the best application of bioenergy to all kinds of specific waste from the agricultural and food industry.

Dr. Ramesh Soysa is a Bioenergy and Bioresource Expert working for Biomass Group in developing their biomass supply chain alongside developing Gliricidia secondary bioenergy resources such as torrefied chips, white pellets, torrefied pellets and biofuels. He holds a BEng in Environmental Energy Engineering from University of Leeds, United Kingdom, MEng in Energy Technology from Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand and a PhD in Chemical Engineering (Biofuels) from University of Science and Technology, South Korea. He has five journal publications and is currently involved as an Environmental Expert for World Bank Group. He also currently reviews for journals such as Bioresource Technology and Bioresource Technology Reports. He carries an array of technical expertise in the lines of waste to energy, environmental engineering, environmental safeguards, natural resource utilization, engineering design, power plant design, thermochemical biofuel production, process controls, analytical techniques, kinetic studies, material analysis and nanoimprint lithography. He has worked in industry, academia, financial, business sectors with emphasis on energy and environment and climate change mitigation over the last 20 years.

William (Bill) Anderson is research geneticist at USDA-Agricultural Research Service’s Crop Genetics and Breeding Research Unit in Tifton, GA, and co-coordinator of the USDA Southeastern Regional Biomass Research Center. Bill develops germplasm of warm-season grasses and management systems to maximize biomass yields and desired quality traits for forage, biomass for bio-fuels and conservation. He has been on numerous ASA committees and was elected chair of the Agronomic Production Systems for 2017. He has authored 75 peer-reviewed publications. Anderson is nationally and internationally known for work in biomass for energy research and has had numerous invitations to present his research at national and international conferences. He is active in the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and the American Forage and Grassland Council. Anderson is an adjunct professor with the University of Georgia and has served on numerous graduate student committees.

Dr.G.Ramya is an Assistant Professor by profession and works with St.Joseph’s Institute of Technology in India. She holds a doctorate in chemistry from Anna University, Chennai, India. Ramya has 5 years of teaching expertise and also academic counseling experiences. She has published more than 12 research articles in reputed journals. She has been awardee of various fellowships like MOEF (Ministry of Environment and Forestry), DIBER (Defence Institute of Bio Energy Research), DST PURSE (Directorate of Science & Technology – Progress under Research), UGC (University Grants Commission). She has presented her findings in 14 international and national conferences including FEZA 2011, Spain. She has secured University first rank in undergraduation and was winner of 3 Gold medals in academics. Ramya grew up in Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu, a state in India and is passionate about alternative liquid fuels from waste biomass.

Temitope Olumide Olugbade is presently a researcher at the Mechanical Engineering Department, City University of Hong Kong. He specializes on biomass, bioenergy, materials, materials processing and characterization. Temitope has 6 years of lecturing in the University and has attended local and international conferences, both as speaker/delegate and organizing committee. He has published over 20 papers and has been serving as an editorial board member of repute.

Daniel P. de Souza is a Ph.D. candidate in Forest and Natural Resources Management at SUNY-ESF in the USA. He holds a B.Sc. in Forestry from Universidad de Los Andes in Venezuela and an M.S. in Forestry from Auburn University in the USA. Daniel’s research has been focused on short rotation woody crops (SRWC) management and harvesting. His current research focuses on nutrient management and dynamics on shrub willow crops in the State of New York, USA, considering factors such as different sites, cultivars, the timing of harvest, and harvest methodology. He has also been involved in projects aiming at reducing the cost of delivered woody biomass through harvesting optimization depending on crops’ attributes and biomass storage and logistics. Prior to starting his graduate degrees Daniel worked with Eucalyptus in Venezuela, Guatemala, and the USA, performing research on cultivar propagation, development of hybrid cultivars, and establishing frost resistant plantations. Daniel major interests are the establishment and development of SRWC as a means to reduce fossil fuels usage, mitigate climate change, sequester carbon, and replace fossil intense products while promoting sustainable management practices.

Ayaz Ali Shah has been working as a researcher in the Advanced Biofuel group at the Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, Denmark. Ayaz Ali Shah has completed his Master of Engineering from the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro, Pakistan, which is one of most leading research institutes in Pakistan. Ayaz Ali Shah has published a few conference articles, one high impact factor journal paper as a lead author, along with two book chapters on renewable energy and green sustainable technologies. Recently, His research area is focused on the optimization of the aqueous phase in HTL processing, which would bring a new knowledge in state-of-art of biomass processing to cope up the economic and environmental challenges related to the field of HTL.

Dr. Mahmoud Nasr (born in December 1983) is a director of Nasr Academy for Environment Protection. He has more than ten years of specialization in Environmental Engineering. A strong academic background in Infrastructure, Sanitary Engineering and Environmental Studies, supports his experience. Currently, he is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, as well as, a Design Lead at a Consulting Office. He has an in-depth capability as Team-Leader, Design Lead and Projects Coordinator for Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants. He has a specific practice with all aspects of Environmental Studies, Wastewater Collection & Treatment and Reuse, Water Management and Networks Design, Water Supply, Water Plants Operation and Maintenance, background analyses to Conceptual Studies, Master Plans and Projects Economic Research