Prof. Amine Agriss
Faculty of Sciences, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco
Exploring the Future of Aerodynamics: Passive Flow Control for Advanced Drag Reduction
Dr. Amine Agriss holds a Ph.D. in Applied Sciences with a specialization in Mechanical Engineering, received in 2022, from Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco. He also holds a State Engineering Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from the Mohammedia School of Engineers, earned in 2017. He is currently an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Sciences, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco. His research focuses on computational fluid dynamics, aerodynamics, passive flow control, drag reduction, heat transfer, energy efficiency, and numerical simulation of engineering systems. His work aims to develop innovative numerical approaches and passive flow control strategies to enhance aerodynamic performance and improve energy efficiency in engineering applications. He also serves as a reviewer for several international peer-reviewed journals and conferences in the fields of mechanical engineering, fluid mechanics, and energy.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gokhan Demircan
Mechanical Engineering Department, Harran University, Türkiye
Multifunctional h-BN/PDMS-Modified Polyester Nano-Gelcoats for GFRP Composites: Mechanical and Viscoelastic Performance
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gokhan Demircan is a faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Harran University, Türkiye. He currently serves as Deputy Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Harran University Technology Transfer Office. His research focuses on fiber-reinforced polymer composites, polymer nanocomposites, functional coatings, environmental aging, mechanical and viscoelastic behavior, and additive manufacturing. His studies combine experimental characterization, statistical analysis, and finite element modelling to evaluate the performance and durability of advanced composite materials. He has participated in and contributed to several nationally funded research projects, particularly TÜBİTAK projects. In recognition of the impact of his scientific work, he has been included in the World’s Top 2% Scientists list.
Prof. Cuiying Jian
York University, Canada
Multifunctional Carbon Material Platforms Enabled by
Intelligent Manufacturing and Predictive Modelling
Dr. Cuiying Jian is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at York University and holds a York Massey Fellow appointment at Massey College, University of Toronto. Prior to joining York, Dr. Jian worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on developing sustainable, economically viable applications of carbon-rich materials (e.g., polymers and industrial residues) through intelligent manufacturing for energy, health, and environmental systems. Dr. Jian has received the 2024 Petro-Canada Emerging Innovator Award, the 2025 Lassonde Innovation Award, and the 2025 Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering I.W. Smith Award, among other honours.
Prof. Katsuyuki Kida
University of Toyama, Japan
Professor Katsuyuki Kida was born in 1968 in Osaka, where he studied mechanical engineering at Osaka University from 1988. Apart from course work, he studied rolling contact fatigue (RCF) occurring in TiC and TiN coated steels using both X-ray diffraction and scanning acoustic microscopy. After graduation he pursued his academic career and obtained a Ph.D. in engineering mechanics in 2000, investigating RCF problems of all-Si3N4 bearings. By observing cracking and flaking failure under RCF, he succeeded in explaining the material`s features from the viewpoint of fracture mechanics. From 2000 he focused his work on investigating the contact problems of several materials used in machine elements. He has also continued fundamental research on contact problems, for which he received ‘The Best Paper Prize (FFEMS PRIZE)’ from ‘Fatigue & Fracture of Engineering Materials & Structures’ journal in 2005. The awarded papers reported establishing a crack growth mechanism under contact pressure, a problem previously unsolved for over 70 years since S. Way’s proposed theory. His research interests now include the development of three dimensional scanning Hall-probe microscope technologies, fatigue phenomena in polymer bearing, crack growth mechanism under contact stresses and refinement of high-carbon steels.
Prof. Teik-Cheng Lim
Singapore University of Social Sciences, Singapore
Speech Title: Metamaterials with Poisson’s ratio discontinuity at the original state
Teik-Cheng Lim won a Faculty of Engineering Annual Book Prize for his undergraduate education at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and was awarded an NUS Research Scholarship to pursue his PhD at the same university. Teik-Cheng is currently Full Professor as well as the Head of the PhD (Engineering) and Master of Engineering programmes at the Singapore University of Social Sciences. His monographs include Auxetic Materials and Structures (Springer, 2015), Mechanics of Metamaterials with Negative Parameters (Springer, 2020) and A Partially Auxetic Metamaterial Inspired by the Maltese Cross (Cambridge University Press, 2022). Professor Lim has been listed in Stanford’s list of top 2% scientists in the field of materials science since its inception.
Prof. Koshiro Mizobe
University of Toyama, Japan
Speech Title: Thermally Induced Degradation of Contact Surfaces in Radial Polymer Bearings under Dry Conditions: Observation of Wear Particle Generation and Wear Track Melting
Koshiro Mizobe is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Toyama, Japan. He has published over 50 papers in various research fields including: evaluation of stress intensity factors, repeated heating, homology evaluation of microstructure, and polymer bearings. Koshiro studied mechanical engineering at Kyushu University, Japan, graduating in 2013. He studied the repeated quenching refinement method of high-carbon chromium steels in his PhD course. For this work he received the Research Fellowship for Young Scientists in 2013-2014 from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science as well as Top Young Researcher Award in 2012 from Kyushu University. Since 2015 he has been an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Toyama. He has won some best paper awards from international committees (ICMDME, CMPSE and ICMTM) and received some grants (25th ISIJ research promotion grant from the Iron and Steel Institute of Japan and research promotion grant from JKA). His current research topics with a brief explanation are as follows. Repeated heating method Martensitic high-carbon high-strength bearing steel is one of the main alloys used for rolling contact applications where high wear resistance is required. Refining the prior austenite grain size through repeated heating is a process commonly used to enhance the material’s strength. He studied the effect of repeated heating on the microstructure near inclusions through the rolling bending fatigue tests. Development of hybrid polymer bearings Koshiro is focusing on polymer bearings because it is suitable for the no lubricant situation and the corrosive situations. In particular, he focuses on PEEK which is a tough semi-crystalline thermoplastic polymer and PTFE which has low friction coefficient. Now, he develops the combination of PEEK races-PTFE retainer bearings.
Assoc. Prof. Tze Chuen Yap
Heriot-Watt University Malaysia, Malaysia
Ir. Dr. Yap Tze Chuen is an associate professor in Mechanical Engineering. He is a Chartered Engineer with Engineering Council U.K. (ECUK), member of IMechE since 2013, professional engineer with Board of Engineers, Malaysia (BEM), and member of IEM (MIEM). He is a Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy, UK (SFHEA). He is also a Certified Trainer by PSMB (HRDF). His research interests are in dry friction and wear, cryogenic tribology, additive manufacturing, and non conventional manufacturing. Currently he is working on enhancement of additive manufactured partsCreate.
Prof. Dr. Hasan Erhan YÜCEL
Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, Türkiye
Dr. Hasan Erhan Yücel is a Professor in Construction Division, in the Department of Architecture at Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, Türkiye, where he also serves as Vice Dean of the Faculty of Architecture. He received his B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering from Gaziantep University. His research interests include sustainable composite construction materials, engineered cementitious composites (ECC), concrete technology, geopolymer composites, and recycled construction materials. He has participated in numerous national and international research projects funded by TÜBİTAK and the European Union and has supervised several master's and doctoral theses. Prof. Yücel has published extensively in leading international journals, including Construction and Building Materials, Scientific Reports, Materials, and Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering. His current research is dedicated to developing next-generation green sustainable cement-based composites for resilient buildings and infrastructure.