Plenaries
Plenaries
Abstract
Biography
Nam-Gyu Park is a Lifetime Distinguished University Professor at the School of Chemical Engineering and Director of the SKKU Institute of Energy Science and Technology (SIEST), Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU). He earned his B.S. degree in chemical education in 1988, followed by M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry from Seoul National University in 1992, and 1995, respectively. Prof. Park has served as a postdoctoral researcher at ICMCB-CNRS, France, from 1996 to 1997 and at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), USA, from 1997 to 1999.
Prior to his current role, Prof. Park held key positions, including director of the solar cell research center at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) from 2005 to 2009 and senior researcher at the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) from 2000 to 2005. He joined SKKU as a full professor in 2009. Prof. Park is an elected fellow of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology (KAST). His expertise lies in the field of photovoltaics, with a career spanning back to 1997. He made groundbreaking contributions by being the first to report a long-term stable perovskite solar cell in 2012, thereby initiating the research domain of perovskite photovoltaics.
Acknowledging his significant impact in the scientific community, Prof. Park was honored as a Citation Laureate (top 0.01% scientist), a New Class of Nobel Prize-Worthy Scientist, in 2017, and consistently recognized in the highly cited researchers (HCR, top 1% scientists) list from 2017 to 2025 by Clarivate Analytics. Throughout his career, Prof. Park has received numerous awards, including the Scientist Award of the Month (2008), the KIST Award of the Year (2009), the Dupont Science and Technology Award (2010), the SKKU Fellowship (awarded three times in 2013, 2018, and 2021), the PVSEC Hamakawa Award (2015), the Dukmyung KAST Engineering Award (2016), the Samsung Ho-Am Prize (2018), the Rank Prize (2022, UK), the NAEK (The National Academy of Engineering of Korea) Grand Award (2024), the Korea’s Top Scientist and Technologist Award (2024), the Eni Award (2024, Italy), the Humboldt Research Award (2025, Germany) and the NIMS Award (2025, Japan). Beyond his research contributions, Prof. Park actively contributes to the scientific community as the Senior Editor of ACS Energy Letters and serves on the Editorial Advisory Board for Chem. Rev., ChemSusChem, and Solar RRL.
Abstract
Biography
Prof. Zhengyi Fu is the director of the State Key Lab of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing of Wuhan University of Technology, China. He is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, a fellow of the American Ceramic Society, an honorary fellow of the European Ceramic Society, and the president of the International Ceramic Federation. He is an editor-in-chief of Interdisciplinary Materials.
His research fields are focused on multifunctional ceramics and ceramic-based composites, structural/functional integrative composites, novel materials structure and properties, in-situ reaction synthesis and processing, fast and ultra-fast sintering, bioprocessing-inspired synthesis and processing.
He has published 550 papers and obtained 100 patents. He has been awarded two Second-class Award of National Technology Invention Prizes (2012, 2015) and one Third-class Award of National Science and Technology Progress Prize (1997) issued by the State Council of China. He has been awarded the John Jeppson Award of the American Ceramic Society (2020), Ross Coffin Purdy Award of the American Ceramic Society (2019), Samuel Geijsbeek International Award of the American Ceramic Society (2019).
Abstract
Energy harvesting from human motion is suitable for powering battery-less wearable devices/skin electronics. In such applications, electret energy harvesters (EH) have advantages over other types of EHs because low-frequency motion is dominant for human motion. In this talk, the development of new electret materials based on quantum chemical analysis and machine learning are presented, and their application to kinetic EH is introduced.
In the last 100 years since the first development of electret using Carnauba wax, electret materials have been developed by heuristic approaches. In this study, a high-performance polymer electret has been proposed based on quantum-chemical analysis. The end group of the amorphous fluorinated polymer electret CYTOP was optimized via machine learning, and a new CYTOP electret with a record-high surface charge density up to 4 mC/m2 and extremely-high thermal stability of implanted charges has been developed.
More recently, a novel stretchable electret material based on fluorinated elastomer FFKM has also been developed. By using the cross-linking agent as the charge trap, a high surface charge density up to 1 mC/m2 has been obtained. The charging performance of FFKM is found to be well correlated with the vertical ionization potential computed with DFT.
In this talk, the application of these high-performance electrets to kinetic EHs for wearable devices and skin electronics will also be presented.
Biography
Yuji Suzuki received the B.S., M.S., and Dr.Eng. degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan, in 1987, 1989, and 1993, respectively. He is currently with the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the University of Tokyo, as a Professor. He received IEEE Fellow, Fellow of Combustion Institute, and Fellow of JSME. He serves as Steering Committee Member of PowerMEMS Conference, Organizing Committee member of IEEE International Symposium on Electret (ISE). He also served as the general co-chair of IEEE MEMS2010 (Hong Kong), the General Chair of PowerMEMS 2017 (Kanazawa), and the General Chair of 20th IEEE International Symposium on Electrets. His research interests include MEMS-based energy harvesting using electrets, micro energy conversion such as microscale combustion, and optimal design/control of micro heat and fluid flow.
Abstract
Biography
Wonyong Choi received his B.S. from Seoul National University (Korea) in 1988, M.S. from POSTECH (Korea), and Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech, USA) in 1996. He then conducted postdoctoral research at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 1996 to 1998. He joined POSTECH in 1998 as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Full Professor in 2008. In 2022, he moved to the Korea Institute of Energy Technology (KENTECH), where he established the Center for Environmental and Climate Technology and serves as its inaugural Director.
His research interests are centered on semiconductor photo(electro)catalysis and photochemistry for solar energy conversion and environmental applications. He has received numerous prestigious honors, including the Young Scientist Award from the Korean Academy of Science and Technology (KAST) in 2005, the KAST Science and Technology Award in 2015, the Korea Engineering Award in 2018, and the Korea Toray Science & Technology Prize in 2024. He was elected a Member of KAST in 2014, a Member of the National Academy of Engineering of Korea (NAEK) in 2023, and an International Member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 2024.
With more than 380 peer-reviewed articles published and a Google Scholar H-index of 130, he has been recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics consecutively from 2019 to 2025. He served as an Editor for the Journal of Hazardous Materials (2008–2017) and as an Associate Editor for Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T) (2017–2019). He is the inaugural Editor-in-Chief of ACS ES&T Engineering (2020–present).
Abstract
This abstract reviews recent advances in the design and fabrication of glass scintillators, highlights their expanding range of applications, and critically assesses the advantages and current limitations that will shape future developments in radiation detection technologies.
Biography
Prof. Dr. Jakrapong Kaewkhao earned his Ph.D. in Physics from King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Thailand, in 2008. After Ph.D. graduation, he later conducted research on X-ray-induced luminescence in glass materials at Kyungpook National University (KNU), Republic of Korea.
Prof. Kaewkhao is a leading researcher in glass science, radiation physics, and functional materials. His research interests include glass scintillators, rare-earth-doped photonic glasses, radiation shielding materials, color glasses, gemstone enhancement technologies, and advanced glass-based materials for industrial and environmental applications. Currently, he serves as Director of the Center of Excellence in Glass Technology and Materials Science (CEGM) at Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University, Thailand. He has led several research projects in glass science, radiation physics, and advanced materials. He is also a member of the AMoRE (Advanced Molybdenum-based Rare Process Experiment) Collaboration, an international research program investigating the mass of neutrinos.
Prof. Kaewkhao has published more than 900 papers in international journals, with over 14,000 citations and an H-index 60. He has been recognized among the World’s Top 2% Scientists, as compiled by Stanford University and Elsevier. His research has received recognition from national and international organizations, including awards for innovations in glass-based gemstone materials and lead-free radiation shielding glasses. In 2026, he was recognized by the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) as an Outstanding Researcher in Mathematics and Physical Sciences. He also was recognized as an Outstanding Alumnus of Silpakorn University.
In addition to his research activities, Prof. Kaewkhao actively contributes to the scientific community through editorial and leadership roles. He has served as Editor for several international journals and currently holds positions in professional organizations including the International Radiation Physics Society (IRPS), the American Ceramic Society–Thailand Chapter (ACerS-Thai), the Materials Research Society of Thailand (MRS-Thailand), Rare Earth and Mineral Association, Thailand and Thai Physics Society (TPS). He has also been invited to deliver keynote and plenary lectures at numerous international conferences worldwide.
Abstract
Particular emphasis will be placed on the evolution of piezocatalytic materials from conventional piezoelectric systems toward two-dimensional materials, engineered heterostructures, high-entropy ferroelectric catalysts, and emerging flexocatalysts. These material platforms enable effective utilization of mechanically induced polarization and interfacial electric fields to promote charge separation, surface redox reactions, and catalytic activity. Their applications will be discussed across a broad range of sustainable chemical transformations, including environmental remediation and pollutant degradation, hydrogen evolution from water, and nitrogen fixation for ammonia production. Recent efforts toward harvesting more practically available mechanical energy, particularly low-frequency deformation, water flow, and gravity-driven mechanical stimulation, will also be highlighted as an important step beyond conventional high-frequency ultrasonic excitation.
Beyond demonstrating catalytic performance, these studies reveal how dimensionality, heterointerface engineering, defect chemistry, polarization dynamics, and strain gradients can be exploited to regulate mechanically induced charge generation and interfacial reaction pathways. Finally, the challenges and future opportunities of piezocatalysis will be discussed, highlighting its potential to harness ambient mechanical energy for environmental remediation and sustainable fuel and chemical production, toward self-powered and low-carbon chemical transformations.
Biography
Prof. Dr. Jyh-Ming Wu is a Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at National Tsing Hua University (NTHU), Taiwan. He currently serves as Executive Associate Dean of Tsing Hua College and the Tsing Hua Interdisciplinary Program, and as Director of the Taiwan Net Zero Strategy and Sustainable Development Association. Professor Wu’s research focuses on nanostructured materials, energy harvesting, intelligent materials, and advanced catalysts for sustainable energy and environmental applications. His work spans piezoelectric and triboelectric nanogenerators, self-powered systems, piezotronics, piezophotronics, and mechanically driven catalysis, with particular emphasis on converting ambient mechanical energy into useful electrical and chemical energy. Professor Wu pioneered the development of two-dimensional materials for piezocatalysis, including mechanically driven hydrogen production and environmental pollutant degradation, contributing to the establishment of 2D piezocatalysis as an active international research field. More recently, his group has expanded piezocatalysis toward nitrogen fixation for sustainable ammonia production under ambient conditions. His current research further explores high-entropy piezocatalysts, flexocatalysts, piezoelectric heterostructures, and multi-field coupled catalytic systems, providing new insights into polarization-induced charge transfer, interfacial electric fields, and strain-mediated catalytic reactions. Professor Wu has received numerous honors for his research contributions. He was listed among the world’s Top 2% most-cited scientists based on Stanford University citation metrics from 2021 to 2024, with his scientific impact ranked within the top 0.18% in 2024. His honors include the Outstanding Research Award from Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology, FutureTech Awards from the National Science and Technology Council, the National Industrial Innovation Award, and the NTHU Industry–Academia Excellence Award. He was also appointed Distinguished Talent Chair Professor at NTHU in 2023 and 2024. As of 2026, his Google Scholar h-index is 52. Professor Wu currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Materials Chemistry and Physics: Sustainability and Energy. Through his research and international academic activities, he continues to advance mechanically driven catalysis, sustainable energy conversion, and next-generation functional materials.