Mauricio Terrones, obtained his B.Sc. degree in Engineering Physics with first class honors at Universidad Iberoamericana, and was distinguished as the Best Student of Mexico in Engineering Physics in 1992. In 1994 he started his doctorate degree with Sir Prof. Harold W. Kroto (Nobel Laureate, FRS), and received his D.Phil. degree from University of Sussex in 1998. He has co-authored more than 650 publications in international journals and counts with more than 96,000 citations to his work (His H index is 130; Google Scholar H=150). He has published in Nature, Science, Phys. Rev. Lett., Nano Lett., Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Materials, Nature Communications, Nature Chemistry, ACS Nano, PNAS, Science Advances, etc. Some of his accomplishments include: 1) Fellow of APS, AAAS, TWAS and RSC; 2) Highly Cited Researcher (WoS; 2017-present); 3) The Jubilee Professorship at Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden; 2016), 4) Visiting Fellow, Trinity College, University of Cambridge (UK; 2012), 5) “The Somiya Award for International Collaboration” (IUMRS; 2009), 6) “The Japan Carbon Award for Innovative Research” (Japan Carbon Society; 2008), 7) “TWAS Prize in Engineering Science,” Academy of Sciences of the Developing World, 8) UNESCO-Javed Husain Prize for Young Scientists and Albert Einstein Medal (France, 2001), 9) Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, Max-Planck-Institut für Metallforschung (Stuttgart, Germany), 10) The Best Student of Mexico Award (Mexico, 1992).

Mauricio Terrones is Evan Pugh University Professor and the George A. and Margaret M. Downsbrough Department Head (Department of Physics, Penn State). He is also Professor of Physics, Chemistry and Materials Science & Engineering at Penn State. He is also the Founder Director of the Center for 2-Dimensional and Layered Materials at Penn State, and the NSF-IUCRC Center for Atomically Thin Multifunctional Coatings (ATOMIC). He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Carbon (IF=11.6).

Research: Mauricio Terrones works on low dimensional materials that mainly involve 1- and 2-Dimensions, ranging from carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoribbons to graphene, boron nitride and chalcogenide monolayers (e.g. WS2, MoS2, NbS2 , etc.). His group concentrates on challenging synthesis of novel nanoscale materials (1D and 2D) with unprecedented physico-chemical properties. Within his group and with close collaborators, he performs theoretical first-principles calculations that predict electronic, chemical, optical and magnetic properties. He also focuses on performing state of-the-art characterization of the produced materials using electronic transport, photo-transport, Raman spectroscopy, aberration corrected transmission electron microscopy, photoluminescence, electron energy loss spectroscopy, etc.

Dr. Zhang founded Novarials Corporation in 2010 and serves as its President since then. Dr. Zhang is a top industry expert on one-dimensional (1D) nanomaterials and an energetic entrepreneur. He has more than twenty years of industry research and development experience on nanomaterials, and a proven track record in commercializing new technologies. He was a group leader at SINOPEC Research Institute of Petroleum Processing (RIPP) in Beijing from 1992 to 1996. The work during this period led to the construction and successful operation of a brand-new N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) factory, Nanjing Jinlong Chemical Co., Ltd., in 1996. Dr. Zhang led the pilot production of the catalyst and the starting work of the commercial factory. He was awarded the “Scientific and Technical Progress Award” in 1996, a ministerial award in recognition for this significant contribution. From 2000 to 2001, Dr. Zhang was a Research Fellow of the Royal Society in St. Andrews University under the sponsorship of the Royal Society of UK. From 2001 to 2003, Dr. Zhang worked in DOE Pacific Northwestern National Laboratory (PNNL) on developing novel solid acid catalysts and a new process for the conversion of sorbitol to isosorbide. The developed technology was licensed by Battelle to Iowa Corn Promotion Board in 2005. From 2003 to 2010, Dr. Zhang was the leading scientist on carbon nanotube growth in Hyperion Catalysis International – the world’s first carbon nanotube commercialization company. He was the scientist in the world who first grew single-walled carbon nanotube forest back in 2004 (3 days earlier than the Science journal paper), and he also held two more groundbreaking breakthroughs on carbon nanotube growth. Dr. Zhang has 13 issued patents and 15 peer-reviewed journal publications. His recent focus is on the large-scale preparation, processing, application, and commercialization of one-dimensional nanomaterials including multi-walled carbon nanotubes and single-walled carbon nanotubes. Under his leadership, Novarials is commercializing over two dozen inorganic nanowires, a series of unmatched carbon nanotube technologies, and three revolutionary nanowire membrane platform technologies. He earned his Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from Peking University in 1999.

Dr. Arepalli is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering at Rice University. He received his Ph.D. from IIT Kanpur and did postdoctoral work at Univ. of Pennsylvania and Cornell University. During 2013 to 2014, he was the Vice President at the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA), Hampton, Virginia and supported NASA Langley. From 2009 to 2013, he was a Senior Professor in the Department of Energy Science at Sungkyunkwan University in Korea. He was the Chief Scientist of the Applied Nanotechnology Program and Reentry Plasma Diagnostics Program at NASA-Johnson Space Center, Houston and worked there for 22 years. He received global recognition for his work on single wall carbon nanotubes. He is an Associate Fellow of AIAA and was nominated as a Fellow of APS. His current focus is on nanomaterials for energy applications as well as nanocomposites for aerospace structures, environmental sensors and bioimplants.

Mark Banash is President and Chief Scientist at Neotericon LLC, a consultancy specializing in nanoscience, nanomaterials, and nanotechnology. He was VP-Chief Scientist at Nanocomp Technologies (now Huntsman Chemicals) where he was responsible for the fundamental science of how Nanocomp made their carbon nanomaterial-based sheet and yarns as well as identifying and proving the links between their unique nanoscale features and the performance of end products. Prior to Nanocomp, he was the Director for Production and Quality for Zyvex Corporation, where he managed manufacturing operations and initiated the industry’s first supply chain certification process to qualify carbon nanotubes. He holds a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Princeton University, an MBA from the University of Maryland University College, and a B.A. with honors in Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the International Standards Organization (ISO) U.S. Technical Advisory Group on the measurement of nanomaterials and has worked closely with NIOSH in their efforts to develop and deploy nanomaterial health and safety programs.

Prof. Mark A. Bissett obtained his BSc and PhD in Nanotechnology from Flinders University (Adelaide, Australia) in 2011. In 2012 he joined the Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering in Kyushu University (Japan) as a postdoctoral researcher and in 2013 was appointed as a Research Assistant Professor. At the beginning of 2014 he joined the University of Manchester in the Dept. of Chemistry as a Postdoctoral Research Associate, before moving to the Dept. of Materials at the beginning of 2016. In November 2016 he was appointed as a Lecturer in Nanomaterials within the Department of Materials, and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2019, then Reader in 2022, and Professor in 2025. He is currently the Head of Research for the Department. His academic research group focuses on the formulation and integration of low-dimensional materials, particularly graphene and other 2D materials, into electrochemical energy storage applications as well as polymer nanocomposites. This includes the synthesis, functionalisation and characterisation of carbon nanotubes and novel two-dimensional materials, such as graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides, and their integration into devices such as photovoltaics, flexible composites, and batteries/supercapacitors.