Speakers

Prof. Zhongmin Liu got his PhD in 1990 from Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Now he is the Director of the same Institute, the Director of National R&D Center on Low-carbon Catalysis and Engineering, a member of Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Prof. Liu has long been working on zeolite catalysis research, process development and technology transfer, and made significant achievements. Prof. Liu’ team finished the first industrial demonstration test of methanol to olefin process, named as DMTO, and then licensed to 36 units with a total olefins production capacity of 24 Mt/a. He also developed C1 route ethanol production technology (carbonylation of dimethylether and further hydrogenation), and realized its commercialization. He also developed naphtha-methanol, gasoline-methanol coupling technologies to olefin and aromatics.

Prof. Liu has published more than 600 research papers and filed 500 patents or more. He also received many awards, including The Top Prize of the Technology Invention Award by Chinese Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation (CPCIF)(2025), China Molecular Sieves Achievement Award (2025), The First Class of the National Technological Invention Awards (2014), The First Class of the National Scientific and Technological Progress Award (2017), Chinese Catalytic Achievement Award (2017), etc.

Valentin Valtchev obtained an MSc at the University of Sofia (Bulgaria) and a PhD at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Currently, he is a Distinguished Professor (Directeur de Recherche Class Exceptionnel) at the Laboratory of Catalysis and Spectrochemistry in Caen, France, and a Visiting Professor at the China Academy of Sciences. His research involves synthesizing and modifying zeolites and other porous solids for catalysis, separation, and molecular recognition. He has published over 370 refereed journal papers, 29 patents, and delivered over 60 plenary and keynote lectures. Valentin Valtchev is a recipient of the highest recognition of the Federation of European Zeolite Associations - “Baron Axel fon Cronstedt” award (2014) and the highest recognition of the International Zeolite Association - “Donald Breck” award (2016). In 2022, he received the all-carrier award of the International Zeolite Association (IZA). Valentin Valtchev served as President of the International Zeolite Association from 2016 to 2019 and as Ambassador of the IZA from 2022 to 2025.

Matthias Thommes is currently full Professor and Head, Institute of Separation Science and Technology at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and holds also an Honorary Professorship at University of Edinburgh, U.K.. In addition, he holds prestigious leadership positions in a number of authoritative bodies associated with adsorption and characterization science.

Matthias Thommes’ work involves investigating the adsorption, phase and wetting behavior of fluids in nanoporous materials, developing methodologies for a targeted  nanoporous material characterization for various application including separation, catalysis, gas-and energy storage.

His research forms a link between the adsorption properties of adsorbents and their characteristics with the development of nanoporous materials and their use in various processes. Matthias has an h-index of 67 with 56200+ citations (Google Scholar, April, 2026).

Prof. Matthias Thommes has received numerous recognitions for his work, among them for instance  the  induction as a Fellow of the International Adsorption Society (IAS) in 2021, a dedicated  Honorary Session in his name at the 2024 AIChE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers) annual meeting (San Diego) for his outstanding achievements in the area of fundamentals of adsorption and porous materials characterization, and most recently the prestigious Clarence (Larry) Gerhold Award, one of the most significant accolades in the field of chemical separations technologies.

Silvia Bordiga is Full Professor in Physical Chemistry at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Turin. From 2012 to 2020 she was Prof. II at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Oslo. Her scientific activity is mainly devoted to the characterization of the physical–chemical properties of high surface area nanostructured materials (Zeolites and MOFs) used as heterogeneous catalysts, materials for adsorption, separation and storage, through in situ spectroscopic studies. She became member of Accamia dei Lincei in 2023 and Accademia delle Scienze di Torino in 2024.

She received many awards:  2017- Prize from the French Chemical Society (bilateral prize France – Italy); 2019- Francois Gault Lectureship Award from EFCATS; 2018-2019- Chemistry European Fellow; 2019- Wilhelm Manchot Research Professorship of the Dep. of Chemistry at the TUM University, Germany; 2021- Premio Antonio Feltrinelli dall’ Accademia dei Lincei, 2023- Paolo Chini award.

Georgia Cametti is an Italian researcher specialized in mineralogical crystallography. Her research focuses on the study of porous materials, particularly zeolites and novel mineral phases, investigating the relationships between crystal structure, chemical composition, and physical properties. After obtaining her PhD in Earth Sciences in 2013 from the University of Rome “Sapienza,” she began her career at the University of Bern as a Research Assistant at the Institute of Geological Sciences. From 2018 onward, she strengthened her academic profile by securing a prestigious grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation. Since 2021, she has held the position of Lecturer and Senior Researcher at the same institute, where she is also responsible for the Single Crystal X-ray Diffraction facilities. In 2022, she achieved her habilitation as Private lecturer in mineralogical crystallography.

Maksym Opanasenko is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry at Charles University, where he has been based since 2016. He earned his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry in 2011 from the Pisarzhevsky Institute of Physical Chemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
His academic career has been closely tied to leading research institutions in Prague, including the J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry, where he worked as a postdoctoral researcher and later as a research assistant. He has also gained international research experience as a visiting associate at University of Bayreuth and University of St Andrews.
His research focuses on the design of nanostructured inorganic and hybrid materials, particularly for applications in adsorption and catalysis. He has made significant contributions to the development of innovative synthetic strategies, including the ADOR method for preparing zeolite catalysts with tunable confinement, and the creation of covalently bonded layered hybrid organic–inorganic materials with controlled porosity.
Since 2020, he has also served as President of the Czech Zeolite Association, reflecting his active role in the field of zeolite research.

Toshiyuki Yokoi received a Ph.D. in 2004 from Yokohama National University under the supervision of Prof. Takashi Tatsumi. Soon afterwards, he worked as an assistant professor of Prof. Tatsuya Okubo, The university of Tokyo, from 2004 to 2006. He returned to the Tatsumi’s group in Catalytic Chemistry Division, Chemical Resources Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology as an assistant professor in 2006.

In 2017, I was a research unit leader of “Nanospace Catalysis” Research Unit, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology. This unit focuses on nanospace materials such as zeolite and mesoporous materials, and aims to create nanospace catalyst that can make efficient use of diverse carbon resources, contributing to the development of green productions of chemical feedstocks and value-added chemicals. I was Associate Professor at April 2018, and then promoted to be a full Professor at July 2024. Since October 2024, I am a full Professor, Nanospace Catalysis Research Unit, Institute of Integrated Research, Institute of Science Tokyo.

Fernando Rey (Madrid, 1963) obtained his degree in Chemistry from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in 1986 and completed his PhD at the Institute of Chemical Technology (ITQ) in 1992, focusing on the synthesis, characterization, and catalytic applications of hydrotalcites. He carried out postdoctoral research from 1993 to 1995 in the group of Professor John M. Thomas at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, where he worked on the development of in situ synchrotron‑based characterization techniques for micro‑ and mesoporous catalysts. He returned to ITQ in 1995, obtained a permanent position in 1996, and was promoted to Research Professor of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in 2007. He served as Director of ITQ from 2014 to 2022.

His research focuses on the synthesis and characterization of zeolites for applications in catalysis and adsorption, with an emphasis on the discovery of new zeolite structures through the design of organic structure‑directing agents and on the development of optimized adsorbents for targeted separation processes. He is co‑author of more than 200 scientific publications, has an h‑index of 67, and is co‑inventor of over 45 patents, many of which have been licensed and adopted in industrial applications.

Minkee Choi began his academic training in chemistry at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), where he received his B.S. in 2002. He remained at KAIST for graduate studies, earning his M.S. in 2004 and Ph.D. in 2007. After completing his doctorate, he continued at KAIST as a postdoctoral researcher until 2009, before joining the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, for a postdoctoral appointment with Prof. Enrique Iglesia. In late 2010, he returned to KAIST as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2015 and is currently serving as a Full Professor.

Choi’s research centers on the design and application of functional porous materials, including zeolites, silica, alumina, polymers, carbons, and their composites. His work spans catalytic and adsorption processes, with a particular interest in molecular diffusion and acid site distributions in zeolites, as well as interfacial control in supported metal catalysts. His group also investigates advanced materials for environmental applications such as post-combustion CO₂ capture and nuclear waste treatment. He currently serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of ACS Catalysis and council member of the International Zeolite Association (IZA).