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2nd International Conference on

Materials for Humanity (MH 22)

Organised by the Materials Research Society of Singapore

19th – 21st Sept 2022

National University of Singapore, University Town, Singapore

Leveraging on the success of the first virtual “International Conference on Materials for Humanity (MH 21)” held in 2021, MRS-S will move ahead with the organization of a hybrid (physical + virtual) MH 22 on September 19-21 to showcase the latest developments in materials science and engineering that will secure a sustainable future. The conference symposia will encompass the following 6 themes
Programme
Abstract Submission

Theme 1

MATERIALS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Symposia

The atmospheric level of carbon dioxide (CO2) has increased up to 414.5 ppm, which has forced the public to take the global warming issue seriously. Developing eco-friendly and carbon neutral materials is essential to meet the ambitious target of global net zero emission by 2050. In this symposium, we will present and discuss the recent studies in the following topics:

  1. Bio-based and nature-derived materials
    • Biomass valorization
    • Properties and performances of bio-based plastics
    • New advances in the chemistry and materials development from renewable resources
  2. Materials from wastes
    • New approaches, strategies, and challenges towards recycling, recovery, and reprocessing electronic wastes
    • Technologies for integrating CO2 in chemicals and materials
    • Recycling, recovery, and reprocessing of wastes other than electronic wastes
  3. Materials degradation and environmental impacts
    • Degradation mechanisms of waste materials in different environments
    • Environmental impacts and carbon emissions of waste materials degradation
    • Life cycle assessments (LCAs) and life cycle costing (LCC) of waste materials management

Chair: Kai Dan (A*STAR, Institute of Materials Research and Engineering)

Co-Chair:

  1. Fei Xunchang (Nanyang Technological University)
  2. Zibiao Li (A*STAR, Institute of Materials Research and Engineering)
  3. Jia Hong Pan (North China Electric Power University)

Invited Speakers:

  1. Sayeef Salahuddin (UC Berkeley)
  2. Azad Naeemi (Georgia Institute of Technology)
  3. Mark Hersam (Northwestern University)
  4. Karem Camsari (UC Santa Barbara)
  5. Benjamin Tee (National University of Singapore)
  6. Ang Kah Wee (National University of Singapore)

This symposium will focus on recent developments and their application of various in situ electron microscopy techniques (e.g. heating, liquid, gas, biasing, light, etc) to understand novel nanomaterials at work for energy- or environment-related applications, such as batteries, catalysts, etc.

Chair: He Qian (National University of Singapore)
Co-Chair: See Wee Chee (Fritz Harber Institute)
Invited Speakers:

  1. Utkur Mirsaidov (National University of Singapore)
  2. Moaz Waqar (A*STAR)
  3. Miaofang Chi (Oak Ridge National Laboratory )
  4. Huolin Xin (University of California Irvine)
  5. Dong Su (Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Science)
  6. Sheng Dai (East China University of Science and Technology)
  7. Meng Gu(Southern University of Science and Technology)
  8. Ryo Ishikawa (University of Tokyo)
  9. Sarah Haigh (University of Manchester)
  10. Marc Willlinger (ETH Zurich)
  11. Aram Yoon (Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society)

This symposium will focus on the advances in the field of new materials and device concepts for photovoltaic energy conversion.  Material systems covered would include halide perovskite materials as well as organic semiconductors, chalcogenides,  and hole/electron transport layers. In addition to photovoltaic devices, photocatalysis and photoelectrochemical devices for sustainable fuel production are also topics of interest.

Chair: Nripan Mathews (Nanyang Technological University)

Co-Chair:

  1. Leong Wei Lin (Nanyang Technological University)
  2. Joel W Ager (Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory )
  3. Guifang Han (Shandong University)

Invited Speakers:

  1. Wallace Choy (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)
  2. Iain McCulloch (University of Oxford)
  3. Juan Bisquert (University of Jaume)
  4. Aung Ko Ko Kyaw (Southern University of Science and Technology)
  5. Prashant Sonar (Queensland University of Technology)
  6. Jacek J. Jasieniak (Monash University)
  7. Alberto Salleo (Stanford University)
  8. Pablo P Boix (University of Valencia)
  9. Satvasheel Powar (IIT Mandi)
  10. Xiaoming Zhao (Princeton University)
  11. Nimai Mishra (SRM University)
  12. Xiaodan Zhang (Nankai University)
  13. Lingling Mao (Southern University of Science and Technology)
  14. Hin-Lap Yip (City University of Hong Kong)
  15. Hongxia Wang (Queensland University of Technology)
  16. Lay-Lay Chua (National University of Singapore)
  17. Guan-Jun Yang (Xi’an Jiaotong University)
  18. Yeng Ming Lam (Nanyang Technological University)
  19. Sudhanshu Shukla (Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre Belgium)

This symposium will cover the advances of perovskites and other emerging solar materials and their applications in solar cell. Materials includes new perovskites (e.g., 2D perovskite, lead free, low bandgap and wide bandgap), inorganic semiconductors, organic charge transporting materials, etc. Fundamental aspects will focus on the light management, charge transport, charge recombination, phase segregation, long term stability for improving the performance of the next-generation solar cells. The symposium will feature several live panel discussions involving the invited speakers on open questions in the fields of scaling up perovskite PV, tandem perovskite solar cells, and stability issue in wide-bandgap perovskite, etc.

 

Chair: Yi Hou (National University of Singapore)

Co-Chair:

  1. Mengfei Wu (A*STAR, Institute of Materials Research and Engineering)
  2. Yuanyuan Zhou (Hong Kong Baptist University)

Invited Speakers:

  1. Byungha Shin (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)
  2. Anita Ho-Baillie (University of Sydney)
  3. Rui Zhu (Peking University)
  4. Jixian Xu (University of Science and Technology of China)
  5. Yen-Hung Lin (University of Oxford)
  6. Ning Li (South China University of Technology)
  7. Dewei Zhao (Sichuan University)
  8. Gang Xiong (First Solar)

Theme 2

MATERIALS FOR CLEAN ENERGY & TRANSPORTATION

Symposia

The scope of this symposium will focus on new and novel energy conversion materials, catalysis for sustainable production of chemicals/fuels, clean environment, components and devices, including novel materials designs, new catalysts synthesis, electrodes, structure features at varying nano-, meso-, micro- and macro-scales, and their wide applications.

  • Novel materials for energy conversion
  • Electrocatalysts and electrocatalysis
  • Catalyst materials for HER, OER, ORR, NRR and CO2RR;
  • Novel electrocatalysts for metal-air batteries
  • New electrode design and cell assembly 
  • Materials physics for energy conversion
  • Novel fabrication processes for energy devices
  • Fuel cells and other electrochemical conversion processes
  • Photocatalytic/Photoelectrochemical systems

Chair: John Wang (National University of Singapore)

Co-Chair:

  1. Lum Yanwei (National University of Singapore/A*STAR, Institute of Materials Research and Engineering)
  2. Li Xu (A*STAR, Institute of Materials Research and Engineering)
  3. Hui Pan (University of Macau)
  4. Ming Yang (Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

Invited Speakers:

  1. Aijun DU (Queensland University of Technology)
  2. Ruediger-A. Eichel (RWTH Aachen University)
  3. Jinsong HU (Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences)
  4. Haitao HUANG (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University)
  5. Kuo-Wei HUANG (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology)
  6. Donglin MA (Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique)
  7. Liqiang MAI (Wuhan University of Technology)
  8. Xianwen MAO (National University of Singapore)
  9. Lei SHEN (National University of Singapore)
  10. Shuhui SUN (Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique)
  11. Xinyong TAO (Zhejiang University of Technology)
  12. Qing WANG (National University of Singapore)
  13. Lei WANG (National University of Singapore)
  14. Zhichuan XU (Nanyang Technological University)
  15. Dan ZHAO (National University of Singapore)
  16. P. Sangeetha (Institute of Technology – Chennai Campus)

Limiting global warming requires major discoveries in energy storage technologies. Among the most prominent technologies in our society, rechargeable batteries have reshaped our lives, while constant improvements in materials and chemistries of new battery architectures will dictate our energy future. This symposium builds upon recent developments in energy storage technologies toward battery materials that can reliably provide the necessary power and energy for a broad range of application. Several topics in the battery field will be covered ranging from the design of new materials to the engineering of battery devices. This symposium will target experimental and computational approaches oriented to materials discovery, the development of new characterization tools to provide insight in electrochemical processes occurring at the materials and at the device levels.

Chair: Piero Canepa (National University of Singapore)

Co-Chair:

  1. Stefan Adams (National University of Singapore)
  2. Shou-Hang Bo (Shanghai Jiao Tong University)

Invited Speakers:

  1. Teje Vegge (Technical University of Denmark)
  2. Prabeer Barpanda (Indian Institute of Science)
  3. Matteo Bianchini (University of Bayreuth)
  4. Raphaële Clément (University California Santa Barbara)
  5. Xianfeng Li (Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics)
  6. Atsuo Yamada (University of Tokyo)
  7. Vanessa Peterson (Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation)
  8. Rui Wen (Chinese Academy of Science)
  9. Jean-Noël Chotard (Université de Picardie Jules Verne)
  10. Ivano E. Castelli (Technical University of Denmark)
  11. Robert House (University of Oxford)
  12. Maximilian Fichtner (Helmholtz Institute Ulm)
  13. Aninda J Bhattacharyya (Indian Institute of Science)
  14. Ashish Rudola (Faradion Limited, UK)

This symposium will include presenters who will present on the state-of-the-art in the area of CO2 electroreduction for the conversion of CO2 into value-added products. Topics will include development of catalysts for improved activity and selectivity, demonstration of new cell and electrode designs, and predictions from first principle calculations.

Chair: Andrew Wong (National University of Singapore)

Co-Chair: Liu Bin (Nanyang Technological University)

Invited Speakers:

  1. Chris Hahn (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)
  2. Joel Ager (Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory)
  3. Haotian Wang (Rice University)
  4. Erwin Reisner (University of Cambridge)
  5. Pong Chakthranont (National Nanotechnology Center, Thailand)
  6. Yun Jeong Hwang (Seoul National University)

Theme 3

MATERIALS FOR COMMUNICATION

Symposia

The symposium aims to bring together well-known academicians, physicists, engineers, and researchers to discuss different aspects of self-assembly processes and their applications. It also provides a premier platform to present and share the advances in this field, trends, challenges encountered and solutions.

Some key topics covered are as follows,

  • Bottom-up fabrication processes and micro-nano-patterning
  • Directed- and Block Copolymer-enabled- self-assembly
  • Capillary assembly of nanoparticles
  • Functional Materials and Devices by Self-Assembly
  • Self-assembled nanostructures for transparent electronics, sensors and other applications

Chair: Lee Pooi See (Nanyang Technological University)

Co-Chair:

  1. Vignesh Suresh (A*STAR, Institute of Materials Research and Engineering)
  2. Idriss Blakey (University of Queensland)
  3. Tan Kwan Wee (Nanyang Technological University) 

Invited Speakers:

  1. Andrew Whittaker (University of Queensland)
  2. Daniel Chua (National University of Singapore)
  3. Suhanya Duraiswamy (IIT Hyderabad)
  4. Steve Park (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)
  5. Stacey Bent (Stanford University)
  6. Padma Gopalan (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

The proposed symposium will gather leading experimentalists, technologists and computer scientists who are exploring the design and realization of new domain-specific electronic systems that can outperform state-of-the-art CMOS processors by processing information in ways that best leverage on the physical behaviour of the material systems and device technology. The call-for-participation will seek out (i) experimental and theoretical research groups who are exploring new materials and device technologies (e.g., mem-transistors, mem-capacitors, and (anti)ferroic devices), and (ii) engineering and computing research groups who are designing innovative computing schemes that leverage the physical phenomenon in emerging materials and devices to process data/information. Specifically, we will be inviting: (1) experimental and theoretical research groups to report on their latest findings on mem-transistors, mem-capacitors, (anti)ferroic materials and devices, (2) circuit/microarchitecture researchers to report on innovative electronic systems that leverage the abovementioned devices to perform computation using approaches such as stochastic/analog computing, reservoir/neuromorphic computing, and Ising/Boltzmann machines.

Chair: Kelvin Fong (National University of Singapore)

Co-Chair: Anh Tuan Do (A*STAR, Institute of Microelectronics)

Invited Speakers:

  1. Sayeef Salahuddin (University of California Berkeley)
  2. Azad Naeemi (Georgia Institute of Technology)
  3. Kerem Camsari (University of California Santa Barbara)
  4. Mark C. Hersam (Northwestern University)
  5. Paolo Radaelli (University of Cambridge)
  6. Benjamin Tee Chee Keong (NUS)

The Symposium will focus on recent advancements in materials for photonic applications, including:

  • Phase change materials for active photonics (chalcogenides, metal oxides etc.)
  • 2D materials for light emitting devices, photodetectors etc.
  • Plasmonic and polaritonic materials (topological insulators, hybrid perovskites, etc.)
  • Dielectric platforms for nanophotonics (silicon, III-V, metal oxides, etc)
  • Organic photonic materials
  • Low dimensional materials (quantum dots, nanowires etc.)
  • Nanostructured materials for photonic metamaterials and metasurfaces
  • Novel concepts in photonics (topological photonics, PT-symmetry, Non-reciprocal photonics, etc.)

Chair: Ramon Jose Paniagua Dominguez (A*STAR, Institute of Materials Research and Engineering)

Co-Chair:

  1. Patrice Genevet (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)
  2. Arseniy Kuznetsov (A*STAR)
  3. Cesare Soci (Nanyang Technological University)

Invited Speakers:

  1. Romain Quidant (ETH ZĂŒrich)
  2. Junsuk Rho (Pohang University of Science and Technology)
  3. Arka Majumdar (University of Washigton)
  4. Hai Son Nguyen (Institut des Nanotechnologies de Lyon, Ecole Centrale de Lyon)
  5. Junghyun Park (Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology)
  6. Alexandra Boltasseva (Purdue University)
  7. Hilmi Volkan Demir (Bilkent University and Nanyang Technological University)
  8. Patrice Genevet (UniversitĂ© CĂŽte d’Azur, CNRS – CRHEA)
  9. Anna Paterova (Institute of Materials Research and Engineering)
  10. Cheng-Wei Qiu (National University of Singapore)
  11. Dawn Tan (Singapore University of Technology and Design)
  12. Joel Yang (Singapore University of Technology and Design)

Theme 4

MATERIALS FOR HEALTHY LIVING AND AGING

Symposium

This symposium aims to bring together researchers from academia and industry to discuss the current challenges in human healthcare and recent development of advanced materials for bioimaging, disease diagnostics and therapy. It will give a broad survey of major advances being made in the design of smart and functional materials or small molecules for imaging, diagnosis or treatment of human diseases.

 

Topics of interest include, but not limited to:

  • Current challenges in disease diagnostics and treatment: from concept to clinic.
  • Advanced materials as imaging or diagnostic agents for imaging of diseased tissues or detection of disease biomarkers, including functional materials such as gold nanoparticles, semiconductor quantum dots, fluorescence dyes, lanthanide doped nanocrystals, iron oxide nanoparticles, carbon nanodots, graphene, black phosphorus, etc.
  • Advanced materials as a therapeutic agents or drug/gene delivery vehicles for chemotherapy, gene therapy, immunotherapy, ionic or non-ionic radiation therapy, etc.
  • Small molecules for imaging, diagnosis or therapy such as DNA, RNA, aptamers, peptides, proteins, vaccines, exosome vesicles, etc.
  • other related topics

 

Chair: Zhang Yong (National University of Singapore)

Co-Chair:

  1. Chen Peng (Nanyang Technological University)
  2. Chen Xiaoyuan (National University of Singapore)

Invited Speakers:

  1. Shao Huilin (National University of Singapore/ A*STAR, Institute of Molecular & Cell Biology)
  2. Tay Kah Ping, Andy (National University of Singapore)
  3. Chen Chia Hung (City University of Hong Kong)
  4. Eun Ji Chung (University of Southern California)
  5. Jie Zheng (The University of Texas at Dallas)
  6. Gang Zheng (University of Toronto)
  7. Pradip Paik (Indian Institute of Technology)

Theme 5

MATERIALS FRONTIERS

Symposia
Reports of extreme weather events, increasing emissions and environmental disasters are stark reminders of the urgent challenge humanity faces. As world leaders struggle to establish a consensus on concrete emission targets, the focus is shifting towards scientists for solutions. Technologies for carbon capture and sequestration and clean energy harvesting have long been the centrefold for a sustainable future, but can quantum enabled technologies also play a key role? What are its near-term goals? How do we advance from proof-of-principle demonstrations to real-world applications? Will quantum computers catalyse the development of emerging clean technologies and reduce energy utilization? Can advances in precise metrology help humanity deal with a changing world? Is quantum research itself sustainable or will hungry energy consumption such as in low temperature experiments add to emissions? Join us to find out!
  • Quantum materials and processes engineering
  • Quantum enabled solutions to real world problems
  • Opportunities in new quantum materials
Chair: Johnson Goh (A*STAR, Institute of Materials Research and Engineering) Co-Chair:
  1. Manas Mukherjee (National University of Singapore)
  2. Aaron Lau Chit Siong (A*STAR, Institute of Materials Research and Engineering)
  3. Nathalie de Leon (Princeton University)
Invited Speakers:
  1. Manish Chhowalla (Cambridge University)
  2. Lapo Bogani (University of Oxford)
  3. Sven Rogge (University of New South Wales)
  4. Peter Maurer (University of Chicago)
  5. Nathalie de Leon (Princeton University)
  6. Jan Mol (Queen Mary University of London)
  7. Louis Gaudreau (National Research Council of Canada)
  8. David Wilkowski (Nanyang Technological University)

Nature is a tremendous source of inspiration for creating materials and structures that sense and adapt, are multifunctional, or have outstanding properties, all this while processing its materials in ambient conditions of temperature and pressure. Recent research has deciphered mechanisms and principle of natural materials and structures in order to transpose them to artificial materials, to fit the requirements of engineering applications.

 

Although many examples of biomimicry and bioinspired materials exist, there are still many challenges to overcome, such as how to create complexity from small amount of building blocks, how to scale up, and how to utilise this knowledge to build a more sustainable future.

 

Examples of topics that this Symposium will cover are:

  • bioinspired robotics
  • bioinspired materials for biomedical applications
  • bioinspired materials for aerospace
  • hierarchically structured materials
  • soft bioinspired materials
  • characterisation and modelling of bioinspired materials and structures
  • biomimetic and bioinspired materials in applications
  • bioinspired fabrication methods

 

Chair: Hortense Le Ferrand (Nanyang Technological University)

Co-Chair:

  1. Pablo Valdivia y Alvarado (Singapore University of Technology and Design)
  2. Haimin Yao (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

Invited Speakers:

  1. Anuj Jain (Biomimcry Network)
  2. Sierin Lim (Nanyang Technological University)
  3. Zhai Wei (National University of Singapore)
  4. Jerry Qi (Georgia Tech)
  5. Bram Vanderborght (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
  6. Zuankai WANG (City University of Hong Kong)
  7. Ling Li (Virginia Tech)
  8. Shlomo Magdassi (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

The symposium will cover new advances and developments in the fields of fundamental magnetism, magnetic materials and applied magnetism.

Topics of interest will include

  • Magnetic Microscopy and Imaging
  • Domain Wall, Skyrmions and Spin-orbitronics
  • Antiferromagnetic Spintronics
  • Multiferroic Materials
  • Spin-based neuromorphic computing

 

Chair: Ho Pin (A*STAR, Institute of Materials Research and Engineering)

Co-Chair: Chen Jingsheng (National University of Singapore)

Invited Speakers:

  1. Evgeny Tsymbal (Nebraska University)
  2. Eiji Saitoh (The University of Tokyo)
  3. Jakub ĆœeleznĂœ (Institute of Solid State Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences)
  4. Jean Anne C. Incorvia (University of Texas at Austin)
  5. Felix BĂŒttner (Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin)
  6. Satoru Emori (Virginia Tech)
  7. Xin Fan (University of  Denver)
  8. Simone Finizio (Paul Scherrer Institute Swiss Light Source)
  9. Lim Sze Ter (A*STAR, Institute of Materials Research and Engineering)
  10. Andrivo Rusydi (National University of Singapore)

Chair: Kedar Hippalgaonkar (Nanyang Technological University/A*STAR, Institute of Materials Research and Engineering)

Co-Chair: Mike Sullivan (A*STAR, Institute of High Performance Computing)

Invited Speakers:

  1. Tan Teck Leong (A*STAR, Institute of High Performance Computing)
  2. David Scanlon (University College London)
  3. Nicola Marzari (École Polytechnique FĂ©dĂ©rale de Lausanne)
  4. Nong Artith (Utrecht University)
  5. Prashun Gorai (Colorado School of Mines, NREL)
  6. Shyue Ping Ong (University of California San Diego)

Theme 6

MATERIALS FOR EDUCATION & COMMUNICATION

Symposium

Climate change exacerbated by increase in greenhouse gases, land, air and water pollution, loss of biodiversity and rise of zoonotic resulted in a major global sustainability challenge. Besides, consumption of materials has rapidly increased in the last years, reaching an unsustainable material footprint per capita. Materials’ extraction, manufacturing, consumption, and end-of-life options significantly impacted the economic, social, and environmental conditions. Majority of economies is still dominated by a linear path where extraction–consumption–disposal makes processes highly unsustainable. At the same time, development of materials to address environmental, social and economic challenges is a powerful fundamental tool to facilitate achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs), which, in accordance with the circular economy principles, aim to save resources and maintain the products for as long as possible, then recovering and regenerating materials at the end of their life. These materials can be produced in required volumes without depleting non-renewable resources and without disrupting the established steady-state equilibrium of the environment and key natural resource systems.  Developing and implementing new environmentally friendly approaches to materials synthesis as well as reconsidering and valorising waste can largely contribute into resolving the global challenges. Moreover, materials play an essential role in bringing novel solutions to enhance food and energy security, environment sustainability, address biomedical and health challenges and mitigate climate change. The Symposium will focus on two areas: sustainable methods of materials production and sustainable purpose-driven deployment/use of materials.

 

The main topics to be discussed during the Symposium are:

  • Ubiquitous use of materials in achieving SDGs;
  • Explanation of the role of materials in achieving each SDG with the aim to promote purpose-driven approach to the materials development;
  • The necessity for sustainable methods of materials production, including green chemistry, waste valorisation, bio-inspired materials etc;
  • Examples of materials helping achieve SDGs, including approaches to recycling, development of energy generation and storage devices, materials for wastewater treatment and sustainable agriculture, health and biomedical materials etc;
  • Introduction of Sustainable Materials Management as the governance framework and addressing the barriers to the adoption of sustainable materials (incapability to account for the benefits of their use, the level of required knowledge and skill, cultural factors, challenges of initial cost, and long payback period, difficulties in the adoption of new methods and technology, and lack of suitable legislation able to promote their use)

 

Chair: Iuna Tsyrulneva (Nanyang Technological University)

Co-chair: Javier Fernandez (Singapore University of Technology and Design)

Invited Speakers:

  1. Philip Jessop (Queen’s University)
  2. Sebastien Siol (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science)
  3. Shirley Meng (University of Chicago)
  4. Carol Lin (City University of Hong Kong)
  5. Sierin Lim (Nanyang Technological University)
  6. William Chen (Nanyang Technological University)
  7. Tan Lay Poh (Nanyang Technological University)
  8. Javier Fernandez (Singapore University of Technology and Design)
Each symposium will contain invited, contributed and flash-oral/poster presentations. In addition, 6 plenary lectures focussing on different themes for the benefit of all the targeted 1,400+ participants are planned.
Abstract Submission
Organising Committee

Co-Chairs:

B.V. R Chowdari (MRS-S)
Pieremanuele Canepa (NUS)
Ho Pin (A*STAR IMRE)

Advisors:

Tim White (NTU)
Feng Yuan Ping (NUS)

Technical Advisors:

S. N. Piramanayagam (NTU)
Yang Le (A*STAR IMRE)

Members:

Lum Yanwei (NUS/A*STAR IMRE)
Tan Yu Jun (NUS)
Renshaw Wang Xiao (NTU)
Hortense Le Ferrand (NTU)
Vignesh Suresh (A*STAR IMRE)

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In 2017, to better support our customers in Southeast Asia, Quantum Design Singapore was founded. Sales, service and applications support are provided by this office for QD’s Southeast Asia customers. The long term goal of QD Singapore is to introduce new technologies and leading instruments into the Asian market by partnering up with leading manufacturers who wish to penetrate this market and also with researchers who have great ideas and would like to commercialize their prototypes. Once a partnership is established, we work quickly to build market awareness by establishing technical capability combined with innovative marketing activities. In this way, we are able to quickly respond to the user’s technical needs and provide an effective link between the manufacturer and Asian customers. Quantum Design Singapore has been very successful in bringing leading edge instruments from our partners into the Asian market in the areas of materials characterization, physics, nanotechnology and Bio science.

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Professor Wolfgang Parak

University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

Wolfgang Parak is Professor at the University of Hamburg. He has studied physics and obtained his PhD in Munich. After a postdoctoral fellowship at Berkeley he returned 2003 to Munich to start his own group. Before moving to the University of Hamburg in 2017 he spent 10 years as professor at the Philipps University Marburg. The research of Wolfgang Parak is dedicated towards the development of new surface chemistries of inorganic nanoparticles and towards the characterization of their physicochemical properties. In particular, the development of an amphiphilic polymer coating is nowadays used by many different groups worldwide. Nanoparticles with such high colloidal stability are the bases of experimentally correlating their physicochemical properties with their interaction will cells (involving uptake and cytotoxicity), which has been the research topic of the Parak group for the 2 decades. The group also uses polymeric polyelectrolyte capsules fabricated by layer-by-layer assembly for biological applications (in vitro sensing and delivery).

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In and Out of Nanoparticles and Cells

ORCID: 0000-0003-1672-6650

Examples will be presented on how colloidal nanoparticles can manipulate and investigate the interface between biology and materials science. This will involve characterization of protein adsorption, particle uptake by cells, fate of particles, and delivery and sensing applications. Special importance will be given to the discussion on how nanoparticles are endocytosed, and the subsequent loss of nanoparticles per cell due to proliferation and exocytosis. A description on how nanoparticles may be designed to favor different behavior will be given. Another focus will be on the discussion on how in vitro technology could be transferred to in vivo technology.

 

References:

1. H. Yan, M. Cacioppo, S. Megahed, F. Arcudi, L. Dordevic, D. Zhu, F. Schulz, M. Prato, W. J. Parak, N. Feliu, “Influence of the chirality of carbon nanodots on their interaction with proteins and cells”, Nature Communications 12, 7208 (2021).

2. D. Padro, P. Cienskowski, S. Lopez-Fernandez, I. Chakraborty, C. Carrillo-Carrion, N. Feliu, W. J. Parak, M. Carril, “Toward Diffusion Measurements of Colloidal Nanoparticles in Biological Environments by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance”, SMALL 16, 2001160 (2020).

3. S. Ashraf, A. H. Said, R. Hartmann, M.-A. Assmann, N. Feliu, P. Lenz, W. J. Parak, “Quantitative Particle Uptake by Cells as Analyzed by Different Methods”, Angewandte Chemie 59, 5438-5453 (2020)

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Adjunt. Professor Loh Xian Jun

A*STAR Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, Singapore

Executive Director, A*STAR Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, Singapore
Adjunt. Professor, National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University

Xian Jun Loh completed his basic and postgraduate studies at the National University of Singapore. A polymer chemist by training, he is currently the Executive Director of the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), A*STAR.

 

He is concurrently an Adjunct Professor in the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University. As a pioneer and recognized global expert in the area of biodegradable thermogels, he is highly knowledgeable in developing these materials for various applications spanning biomedical, engineering, cosmetics, personal care and food. His scientific contributions have earned him the position of Fellowship in Fitzwiliam College in the University of Cambridge, Fellowship in the Royal Society of Chemistry, Fellowship in IOM3 – The Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining and Fellowship of the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

 

He is also awarded the Highly Cited Researcher Award by Clarivate Analytics. He is also the current Vice President and member of the Executive Committee of the Singapore National Institute of Chemistry. With his extensive experience in authoring >250 journal papers, 38 patents and know-hows, >30 book chapters and 7 books, he currently sits on several editorial boards of international journals as an expert in his area. He has also successfully helped in the commercialization of 8 different products and is always interested in the translation of science to products.

Thermogels for Biomedical Applications

lohxj@imre.a-star.edu.sg

Thermogels are valuable soft materials for biomedical applications. At low temperatures, they remain as solutions which can be used to entrap therapeutic payloads such as drugs and proteins within their solvated polymer matrices. Upon injection into the body, higher body temperatures cause the solutions to gelate in situ at the site of injection, allowing localized placement for applications such as drug delivery. Herein, we present our three-component thermogelling polyurethane technology comprising of biocompatible polyethylene glycol (PEG), poly(propylene glycol) (PPG) and a third component, which can be poly(caprolactone) (PCL), poly(tetrahydrofuran) carbonate (PTHF) or poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate-(R)-3-hydroxyhexanoate] (PHBHx), as a unique platform for biomedical applications.

 

Our thermogels loaded with anticancer drugs were highly effective for inhibition of tumour growth in vivo using mice models. Docetaxel-loaded PEG-PPG-PHBHx thermogels showed enhanced anti-melanoma effects on solid melanoma tumours compared with the free drug, whilst exhibiting excellent biosafety and no apparent harm to organs. With doxorubicin-loaded PEG-PPG-PTHF thermogels, sustained drug release for 16 days in vivo successfully inhibited growth of hepatocellular carcinoma. Impressively, incorporating a dye capable of aggregation-induced emission into the polymer structure allowed it to be used to track in-vivo doxorubicin release status and gel degradation, revealing valuable insights on the drug transportation pathways.

 

Recent efforts on PEG-PPG-PCL thermogels are concentrated on their unprecedented use in vitreoretinal surgery as a vitreous substitute and an internal tamponading agent. The thermogel showed long-term biocompatibility in rabbit vitrectomy models, and was an effective endotamponade in a non-human primate surgical retinal detachment model. This is likely attributed to the thermogel providing support for the retina and preventing subsequent re-detachments. Intriguingly, there is reformation of a vitreous-like body that mimics the property of natural vitreous as the polymer biodegrades over three months. Thermogels offer vast scope for customizable tuning of their mechanical properties for various biomedical applications. We have also successfully modified the polyurethane synthesis conditions using different monomer ratios together with novel catalysts, which allowed thermogels of vastly improved stiffness and mechanical strength to be accessible. Studies are currently underway, and this opens up new and exciting avenues for our thermogels to be used in further biomedical applications requiring higher mechanical strength.

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Professor Christoph J. Brabec

Friedrich-Alexander-UniversitÀt, Germany

Christoph J. Brabec received his PhD (1995) in Physical Chemistry from Linz University, Austria joined the group of Alan Heeger at UC Santa Barbara (USA) for a sabbatical. He joined the SIEMENS research labs (project leader) in 2001, Konarka in 2004 (CTO), Erlangen University (FAU – Professor for Material Science) in 2009, ZAE Bayern e.V. (scientific director and board member) in 2010, spokesmen of the Interdisciplinary Center for Nanostructured Films (IZNF) in 2013 and became director at FZ Jülich (IEK-11) in 2018. In 2018 he was further appointed as Honorary Professor at the University of Groningen, Netherlands.

 

His research interests include all aspects of solution processing organic, hybrid and inorganics semiconductor devices with a strong focus on photovoltaics and renewable energy systems. His combined scientific and technological interests supported the spin-out of several companies. He published over 700 articles, about 100 patents, several books and book chapters and overall received more than 80000 citations. His h-index is over 130 and Thompson Reuters HRC lists him for the last years consecutively as a highly cited researcher.

ACCELERATION PATHWAYS FOR EMERGING PV TECHNOLGOIES

1) Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Department of Materials Science and Engineering, FAU, Martensstrasse 7, 91058 Erlangen, Germany

2) Helmholtz-Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg (HI ERN), Forschungszentrum Jülich , Immerwahrstrasse 2a, 91058 Erlangen, Germany

3) Zernike Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands

 

Keywords: Solar energy, OPV, Perovskites, Materials Genome,

 

The development of complex functional solar materials poses a multi-objective optimization problem in a large multi-dimensional parameter space. Solving it requires reproducible, user-independent laboratory work and intelligent preselection of experiments. However, experimental materials science is a field where manual routines are still predominant, although other domains like pharmacy or chemistry have introduced robotics and automation long before. Human interaction in the process of data acquisition is seen critical due to incomplete assessment of meta-data or hidden processing correlations which complex reproducibility. Materials Acceleration Platforms (MAPs) are regarded as an enabling technology for Data- Driven Material Science, leading to an increased number of concepts and a dynamic evolution of MAP lines. In this talk, I will present our approach to laboratory automation in materials science with a strong focus on fully functional solar devices. AMANDA (Autonomous Materials and Device Application Platform – www.amanda-platform.com) was developed as a generic platform for distributed materials research comprising a self-developed software backbone and several MAPs. However, one realizes that accelerating a whole technology requires more than accelerated materials research. It also takes devices and process development to truly accelerate a PV technology. These are concepts are summarized under Technology Acceleration Platforms (TAP).

 

This talk will stepwise introduce the current concepts and technologies to accelerate solar technologies: from the material to the device and to the process. The outlook will discuss how these platforms can be made communicative to each other in order to transform them into autonomously acting TAP with the power to accelerate the learning curve for a whole solar cell technology.

Professor Shirley Meng

The University of Chicago, USA

Dr. Y. Shirley Meng is currently a Professor in the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at The University of Chicago. She serves as the Chief Scientist of the Argonne Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Science (ACCESS) Argonne National Laboratory. Dr. Meng is the principal investigator of the research group – Laboratory for Energy Storage and Conversion (LESC). She received her Ph.D. in Advance Materials for Micro & Nano Systems from the Singapore-MIT Alliance in 2005. She held the Zable Chair Professor in Energy Technologies at University of California San Diego (UCSD) from 2017-2022. Dr. Meng received several prestigious awards, including the Faraday Medal of Royal Chemistry Society (2020), International Battery Association Battery IBA Research Award (2019), Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists Finalist (2018), American Chemical Society ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces Young Investigator Award (2018), C.W. Tobias Young Investigator Award of the Electrochemical Society (2016) and NSF CAREER Award (2011). Dr. Meng is elected Fellow of Electrochemical Society (FECS), Fellow of Materials Research Society (FMRS) and Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). She is the author and co-author of more than 260 peer-reviewed journal articles, two book chapters and five issued patents. she is the Editor-in-Chief for Materials Research Society MRS Energy & Sustainability.

Designing Better Materials for Future Batteries

Y. Shirley Meng, Ph.D.

Laboratory for Energy Storage & Conversion, The University of Chicago, IL, USA

Argonne Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Science (ACCESS), IL, USA

High energy long life rechargeable battery is considered as key enabling technology for deep de-carbonization. Energy storage in the electrochemical form is attractive because of its high efficiency and fast response time. Besides the technological importance, electrochemical devices also provide a unique platform for fundamental and applied materials science & research since ion movement is often accompanied by inherent complex phenomena related to phase changes, electronic structure changes and defect generation. In this plenary talk, I will discuss a few new perspectives for energy storage materials including new superionic conductors, new intercalation compounds and their interfacial engineering. With recent advances in photon and electron characterization tools and computational methods, we are able to explore ionic mobility, charge transfer and phase transformations in electrode and electrolyte materials in operando, and map out the structure-properties relations in novel functional metals, ceramics and gaseous materials for next generation energy storage and conversion. Moreover, I will discuss a few future priority research directions for electrochemical energy storage.

Professor Madhu Bhaskaran

RMIT University, Australia

Professor Madhu Bhaskaran is a multi-award winning electronics engineer and innovator – she has won medals from leading Australian academies and was also named one of the Top 10 Technology Innovators under 35 in Asia-Pacific, by the MIT Technology Review. She co-leads the Functional Materials and Microsystems Research Group at RMIT University which she established in 2010. She is Deputy Director – Research for the ARC Research Hub for Connected Sensors for Health. She is also a Chief Investigator and Node Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence in Transformative Meta-Optical Systems.

 

Her work on electronic skin and wearable sensors has been patented and her group now works collaboratively with multiple industry and design partners to commercialise the technology for healthcare and aged care.

 

She is a migrant Australian and a passionate advocate for diversity and is on the Advisory board for STEM Sisters and is co-chair of Women in STEMM Australia.

Conformal and Miniaturised Sensors for Health Care, Aged Care, and Point of Care Diagnostics

ABSTRACT

Electronic devices typically use coatings of materials such as semiconductors or oxides – these materials are usually brittle. To enable conformal technologies for wearable and nearable applications, they would need to be combined with rubber-like membranes. However, this process is accompanied by two challenges – the brittle nature of oxide materials and the high temperatures which are usually utilized to deposit them. The presentation will focus on ways in which we have overcome these challenges and discuss results from the various oxide based stretchable platforms for applications in sensing, optics, and memories. Some of our fundamental breakthroughs in demonstrating electronic skin using artificial somatosensors will also be touched upon.

 

These next-gen electronics represent opportunities for a diverse range of current and visionary applications which are currently being commercialised with our industry partners. Examples include skin-worn sensors to warn people about harmful UV and nicotine levels, wearables for health monitoring, nearables in bedding, and point of care diagnostic devices. The presentation will also shed insights on our collaborative efforts with industry, design, and manufacturing partners in the research translation and user studies of some of these technologies.

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Professor Yong Sik Ok

Full Professor and Global Research Director

Korea University, Seoul, Korea

Chair and Program Director, Sustainable Waste Management Program, Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU)
Co-President, International ESG Association (IESGA)

Dr. Ok is a full professor and global research director of Korea University, Seoul, Korea. He has published over 900 research papers and books, 92 of which have been ranked as Web of Science ESI top papers (90 have been selected as “Highly Cited Papers” (HCPs), and two as “Hot Papers”). He has been a Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher (HCR) since 2018 in Cross Field, Environment and Ecology, and Engineering. In 2019, he became the first Korean to be selected as an HCR in the field of Environment and Ecology. Again in 2021, he became the first Korean HCR in two fields: Environment and Ecology, and Engineering. He is working at the vanguard of global efforts to develop sustainable waste management strategies and technologies to address the rising crisis in electronic and plastic waste, and pollution of soil and air with particulate matter.

 

Dr. Ok has also served in a number of positions worldwide including, as an honorary professor at the University of Queensland (Australia), a visiting professor at Tsinghua University (China), an adjunct professor at the University of Wuppertal (Germany), and a guest professor at Ghent University (Belgium). He maintains a worldwide professional network by serving as a Co-Editor-in-Chief of Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, an Editor of Environmental Pollution, a member of the editorial advisory board of Environmental Science & Technology, and an editorial board member of Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Chemical Engineering Journal, and Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, and several other top journals.

 

He currently serves as the Director of the Sustainable Waste Management Program for the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) and the Co-President of the International ESG Association. Moreover, he has served on the Scientific Organizing Committee of P4G Nature Forum: Climate Change and Biodiversity, and Nature Forum: Plastics and Sustainability. Dr. Ok has also served as the chairman of numerous major conferences such as Engineering Sustainable Development series (ESD series), organized by the APRU and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). In 2021, Dr. Ok hosted the first Nature conference among South Korean universities in Seoul on waste management and valorization for a sustainable future together with Chief Editors of Nature Sustainability (Dr. Monica Contestabile), Nature Electronics (Dr. Owain Vaughan), and Nature Nanotechnology (Dr. Fabio Pulizzi). Prof. Ok will host the first Nature Forum on Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) for Global Sustainability: the “E” Pillar for Sustainable Business.

E-mail: yongsikok@korea.ac.kr

https://apru.org/our-work/pacific-rim-challenges/sustainable-waste-management

https://www.nature.com/articles/d42473-020-00128-6

https://www.nature.com/articles/d42473-020-00539-5

SMART Biochar Technology—A Shifting Paradigm towards Advanced Materials to Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Korea Biochar Research Center, APRU Sustainable Waste Management Program &

Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, South Korea

Corresponding author: yongsikok@korea.ac.kr

ABSTRACT

Biochar, produced through pyrolysis of biomass under low or no oxygen conditions, has found a wide range of applications from soil quality improvement to removal of contaminants. Initial interest in biochar is to use it as a means to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere; however, recent developments are seeing biochar being applied in engineering, and health care and life sciences, some of those applications have large potentials for rapid commercialization. We expect a paradigm shift towards the development of the next generation of biochar with applications in a range of new fields to achieving UN SDGs.

Keywords: Black carbon; Carbon neutrality; UN SDGs; Sustainability; ESG