Speakers

Introducing Our Speakers & Special Guests

Plenary Lectures

Dariusz Brzeziński

Poznan University of Technology, Institute of Computing Science

AI-Enabled Interdisciplinary Research: Bridging Chemistry, Engineering, Math, and Computing

Associate Professor at Poznan University of Technology, where he received his PhD and DSc in computer science. He also spent some time at the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics at the University of Virginia. His research interests include machine learning, explainability, and structural biology. He also dabbled in projects involving genome-based diagnostics, metrology, materials science, product demand prediction, data streams, and AI in computer games.

Eduardo Bayro-Corrochano

Poznan University of Technology, Institute of Automatic Control and Robotics

Geometric Cybernetics and AI for Engineering and Computer Science

Eduardo Bayro-Corrochano received the Ph.D. degree in cognitive computer science from the University of Wales, Cardiff, U.K., in 1993. From 1995 to 1999, he was a Researcher and Lecturer with the Institute for Computer Science, Chris- tian Albrechts University, Kiel, Germany, where he worked on applications of geometric Clifford algebra for cognitive systems. He was a full Processor with the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, CINVESTAV Campus Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Currently, he is a full processor of the Institute of Automatic Control and Robotics of the Poznan University of Technology in Poland.

Keynote Speakers

Computer Science & Electrical Engineering

Krzysztof Krawiec

Institute of Computing Science, Poznan University of Technology

Unsupervised Neural and Neurosymbolic Architectures for Modeling and Interpretation of Imaging Data

Krzysztof Krawiec is a full professor Professor of Computer Science at Poznan University of Technology, Poland. His primary research areas include neurosymbolic systems, computer vision, medical imaging, and program synthesis. Krzysztof co-authored over 180 publications on the above and related topics, received the Fulbright Senior Advanced Research Award, and was a visiting professor at University of California and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He serves as an advisor at the Confederation of Laboratories for Artificial Intelligence in Europe and co-founded the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning, part of the Horizon 2020 Foundations of Trustworthy AI project funded by the European Commission. He acts also as the Chief AI Advisor at Optopol Technology, a leading manufacturer of ophthalmic imaging systems, and as the CTO of Hylomorph Solutions Ltd.

Materials Engineering & Physics

Agnieszka Łękawa-Raus

Centre for Advanced Materials and Technologies, Warsaw University of Technology, Poland

Electrical transport in nanostructured assemblies under Ultrahigh Magnetic Fields - experimental and modelling approach

Dr. Agnieszka Lekawa-Raus holds a PhD in Materials Science from the University of Cambridge, UK, where she also completed postdoctoral research. Her academic background includes an Electrical Engineering degree from Lublin University of Technology, Poland. She has held visiting research positions at Kanazawa University, Japan, and Los Alamos National Laboratories, USA. Her research focuses on nanocarbons, functional nanocomposites, and advanced conductive materials, with applications in green electronics, e-textiles, and printed electronics. Notably, she has explored the potential of carbon nanotube fibers as alternatives to traditional metal wires.

Daniil Nikitin

Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Czech Republic

Nanoparticles from the gas phase for advanced applications

Daniil Nikitin obtained his Ph.D. in 2019 from Charles University, Prague, Czechia. Following his Ph.D., he spent a year in the R&D department of HVM Plasma Ltd. (Prague), focusing on the optimization of gas aggregation cluster source technology. In 2021, he joined the Plasma-Tailored Nanomaterials group at Charles University, led by Prof. A. Choukourov, as a postdoctoral researcher. His research interests include advanced applications of gas-aggregated nanoparticles (neuromorphic engineering, plasmonic applications), plasma polymerization, and plasma modification of natural polymers. He is the author or co-author of more than 45 papers in high-ranking and prestigious journals.

Mathematical Modeling, Simulations & Optimization

Laura Baraldi

ETH Zürich, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Switzerland

Beating-wave analysis of small-angle x-ray scattering of unilamellar liposomes

Dr. Laura Baraldi is a young researcher with a passion for pharmaceutical sciences and advanced material characterization, particularly Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS). She earned her PhD in Chemical Sciences from the Università degli Studi di Parma, building on her Master’s Degree in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technology, awarded with top honors (110/110 cum laude). Her doctoral research, conducted in collaboration with Chiesi Farmaceutici, focused on enhancing the bioavailability of low-solubility, low-permeability anesthetic APIs through salification, cocrystallization, and nanoparticle encapsulation. Leveraging SAXS, Dr. Baraldi explored the structural interactions between drugs and excipients, uncovering insights into encapsulation efficiency and in-vitro release profiles. Currently a postdoctoral researcher at ETH Zurich, Dr. Baraldi focuses on the characterization of lipid mesophases using SAXS, advancing the understanding of their structural organization and dynamic behavior. 

Sandor Balog

University of Fribourg, National Center of Competence in Research Bio-Inspired Materials, Switzerland

Beating-wave analysis of small-angle x-ray scattering of unilamellar liposomes

Sandor Balog obtained a PhD in physics from the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) in 2007 based on experimental studies quantifying universal coherent wave-correlations in multiple light scattering. Before joining the Adolphe Merkle Institute at the University of Fribourg in 2012 as a staff scientist, he worked for the Paul Scherrer Institute (neutron scattering), Lausanne’s Federal Institute of Technology EPFL, (optical microscopy and spectroscopy on photonic crystal cavities) and CERN (optical methods for the Higgs boson and muons). Since 2012, Sandor’s activity has revolved around the theory, practice, and application of scattering, spectroscopy, and microscopy techniques in soft matter research. Sandor’s focus is on mathematical modeling, simulation, and data analysis.

Chemical Engineering & Technology

Peter Fischer

ETH Zurich, Institute of Food Science and Nutrition, Switzerland

A Fischerman’s job: Rheology of hagfish slime and fish schools

Peter Fischer studied physics and received his PhD in 1995. Followed by a Postdoc position at Stanford University he joined the Food Process Engineering group at ETH Zurich in 1998. His research activities focus on soft matter and food material sciences, in particular on interfaces and emulsions, viscoelastic surfactant solution, and biopolymers. Examples are protein and particle aggregation to manipulate mobile interfaces of emulsions, bulk delivery systems for food and carrier gels, new material design by mimicking highly functionalized biological systems, and the development and adaption of modern structure analysis techniques for complex soft materials such as meat analogues. Out of curiosity, he also ventures into geology, marine biology, animal physiology, biofilms and sludges, or microplastic in the ocean while always keeping the flow in his mind. Experimental techniques include rheology, interfacial rheology, microfluidics, neutron and x-ray scattering and reflectivity, and combinations thereof. 

Anna Rył

Lodz University of Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering

Conscious design of injectable scaffolds using microrheology

Dr. Anna Rył’s research areas focus on rheology and rheometry, soft matter, experimental and computational fluid mechanics, with particular emphasis on the theoretical foundations of non-Newtonian fluids, as well as computer-aided calculations within process optimization, design of experiment methods, and data analysis in chemical engineering. In recent years, Dr. Anna Rył has been implementing passive optical microrheology techniques in the conscious design of injectable drug carriers and scaffolds for biomedical applications, using, among others, the knowledge and experience gained during her research internship at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

Ali Altaee

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UTS Sydney, Australia

Reactive filter media-electrokinetic system for PFAO treatment

Dr Ali Altaee is working at the forefront of renewable energy, water engineering, and soil remediation, developing innovative technologies in alternative water sources.
A senior lecturer in Engineering and Information Technology at UTS, Ali is a member of the UTS Centre for Green Technology (CGT), and of the Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater (CTWW), which is a leading research centre in the field of alternative water sources. He has developed industrial and academic expertise working at both industrial research centres and institutes of higher education, and has particular research expertise in the areas of reverse osmosis and membrane technology.

Milad Radiom

Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zürich

Insights from Surface-Crosslinking of Virus-Like Particle Capsid Coat Proteins for Enhancing Nanocarrier Stability

Milad Radiom is a senior scientist and lecturer in the Department of Health Sciences and Technology at ETH Zürich. His current research focuses on the immunobiophysics of antibody-mediated immunity against gram-negative bacteria, the development of virus-like particles for mucosal immunization, and the investigation of liquid-liquid and liquid-liquid crystalline phase transitions using food amyloid fibers. Before joining ETH Zürich, he held postdoctoral research positions at the University of Paris, where he developed biomimetic models of pulmonary alveoli; KTH Royal Institute of Technology, where he investigated the interfacial properties of ionic liquids; and the University of Geneva, where he worked on single-molecule force spectroscopy. He earned his PhD from Virginia Tech in 2014. His expertise lies in biophysics, soft matter, and engineering.