Bach Endowed Chair
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Drexel University (USA)
Yury Gogotsi is a Distinguished University Professor and Bach Endowed Chair in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Drexel University (Philadelphia, USA). He is the founding Director of the A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute. He is credited with principal contributions to developing materials for electrochemical capacitors, the discovery of a large family of 2D carbides and nitrides known as MXenes, and tuning porosity of carbide-derived carbons with sub-nanometer accuracy. He published the first microscopic observation of water inside carbon nanotubes, discovered polygonal nanotubes (graphite polyhedral crystals), and invented the field of high-pressure surface science. The impact of his work is demonstrated by over 325,000 citations. The 2025 Stanford List placed Gogotsi 21st among all scientists in all disciplines worldwide, based on his 2024 citations.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Drexel University (USA)
Prof. Michel W. Barsoum is Distinguished Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Drexel University. He is an internationally recognized leader in the area of MAX phases and more recently the 2D solids labeled MXenes derived from the MAX phases. Ten years ago he discovered a new universal mechanism – ripplocation – in the deformation of layered solids. Most recently he discovered a new form on titania: a truly one-dimensional titania. At a core-section of 5×7 Å, this titania is the thinnest possible. With over 550 refereed publications and a Google h index is > 150, his work has been cited >137,000 times to date. He has been listed on the Web of Science’s highly cited researchers list in 2018 to the present. This year, according to a recent Stanford University study, he had the highest c-index (combines citations and h-index) in the Materials Science subfield in 2022 and was 8th on the all-time list of material scientists in the world. He is a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Society of Engineering Sciences, National Academy of Inventors, fellow of the American Ceramic Soc. and the World Academy of Ceramics. He is the author the books, MAX Phases: Properties of Machinable Carbides and Nitrides and Fundamentals of Ceramics, a leading textbook in his field. In 2020, he was awarded the International Ceramics Prize for basic science by the World Academy of Ceramics. This prize is awarded quadrennially and is one of the highest in his field. The prize was awarded for “… outstanding contribution in opening new horizons in material research and specifically for your pioneering work in MAX phases and their derivatives.”
Science and Technology,
Khalifa University Abu Dhabi (UAE)
Head of the Immune-Nanolab
University of Padua (ITA)
Prof. Lucia Gemma Delogu is an Associate Professor at Khalifa University of Science
and Technology, Abu Dhabi, and Head of the Immune-Nanolab at the University of Padua, Italy. In 2024, she was awarded the prestigious ERC Advanced Grant (€2.5M) for the project BIO-MX. Her research bridges materials chemistry, immunology, and nanobiotechnology, with a focus on 2D nanomaterials. From 2006 to 2010, she carried out postdoctoral training at the University of Southern California and the Sanford-Burnham Institute, USA. She served as Assistant Professor at the University of Sassari before joining Padua as Associate Professor in 2019. Since 2010, she has coordinated multiple EU-funded projects with 20+ partners worldwide, securing over €6M in funding. Her achievements include the Marie Curie Fellowship, recognition among Italy’s “200 Best Young Talents”, and the NIH Bedside-to-Bench Award. Her research is widely published in top journals such as Nature Nanotechnology, Advanced Materials, Nature Communications, Nano Today, and ACS Nano.
School of Chemistry
Beihang University (CHN)
Professor Qunfeng Cheng is a professor in the University of Science and Technology of China. He currently serves as the Executive Deputy Director of the State Key Laboratory of Bioinspired Interfacial Materials Science and the Executive Deputy Director of the Nanocomposites Division of the China Society for Composite Materials. Professor Cheng’s research focuses on MXene nanocomposites, where he has identified key scientific challenges in enhancing macroscopic properties and developed green, low-carbon bioinspired fabrication strategies. His original research achievements provide both a theoretical foundation and technical support for MXene nanocomposite applications. Dr. Cheng has been awarded the XPLORER PRIZE, the Meituan Green Tech Award, the Beijing Distinguished Young Zhongguancun Award, the Mao Yi-sheng Science and Technology Award-Beijing Youth Science and Technology Award, and China Young Scientist Award of Composites Society, etc. Dr. Cheng has published more than 110 papers including 3 papers in Science, 1 paper in Nature, with over 13,000 citations, and a Google Scholar h-index of 63. He has authorized 45 Chinese patents and has authored the book “Bioinspired Layered Two-dimensional Nanocomposites”
Head of Materials Design
Linköping University (SWE)
Prof. Rosen earned her PhD from RWTH Aachen University in Germany in 2004. Following her doctoral studies, she pursued postdoctoral research and held visiting scientist positions at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), USA, and the University of Sydney, Australia. In 2007, she returned to Sweden and was recruited to Linköping University for a tenure-track position as a LiU-Assistant Professor. Since then, she has established a state-of-the-art laboratory and a dynamic research environment that integrates predictive theoretical modeling with advanced materials synthesis and characterization of one-, two-, and three-dimensional materials. Today, prof. Rosen is the Head of the Materials Design division, and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (KVA) and the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA).
