Christos Markides is Professor of Clean Energy Technologies, Head of the Clean Energy Processes Laboratory, which numbers 45 researchers, and leads the Experimental Multiphase Flow Laboratory, which is the largest experimental space of its kind at Imperial College London. He is also, amongst other, Editor-in-Chief of ‘Applied Thermal Engineering’, a member of the UK National Heat Transfer Committee and the Scientific Committee of the UK Energy Storage SUPERGEN Hub. He specialises in applied thermodynamics and transport processes as applied to high-performance devices, technologies and systems for thermal-energy recovery, utilization, conversion or storage. His research interests include heating, cooling and power, and in particular, solar energy and waste heat recovery and conversion in heat-intensive industrial applications. He also has an ongoing interest in advanced diagnostic techniques for the provision of detailed, spatiotemporally resolved information in turbulent, reacting and multiphase flows. He has published >200 journal papers and >300 conference papers on these topics. He won IMechE’s ‘Donald J. Groen’ outstanding paper prize in 2016, IChemE’s ‘Global Award for Best Research Project’ in 2018, the Engineers without Borders ‘Chill Challenge’ in 2020, and received Imperial College President’s Award for Research Excellence in 2017.

Professor Yulong Ding CEng FIChemE FRSC is the founding Chamberlain Chair of Chemical Engineering at the University of Birmingham and director of Birmingham Centre for Energy Storage. His current research covers both fundamental (multiphase transport phenomena across length scales) and applied (new energy conversion and storage technologies) aspects.

He invented liquid air energy storage technology and led the initial stage of their developments and validation, which is commercialised by Highview Power, a UK engineering companies. He developed composite phase change materials for thermal energy storage and associated large-scale manufacture technologies, leading to large scale commercial applications with a total installation of >300MW / >1.2GWh so far.

He is a receiver of three IChemE Global Awards – Energy, Research Project and Outstanding Achievement Awards in 2019; Distinguished Energy Storage Individual Award (Beijing International Energy Storage and Expo, 2018); Cryogenic Energy Storage Research Chair Award (Royal Academy of Engineering, 2014); Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Progress Award (First Prize, Advanced Compressed Air Energy Storage System, 2014); Energy & Environment Award and Technology and Innovation Grand Prix Award (Liquid Air Energy Storage, ‘The Engineer’ Magazine, 2011).

He has published over 450 technical papers with ~250 in peer-reviewed journals (H Index of ~ 63), filed over 70+ patents, and co-founded Dispersia Ltd and Jinhe Energy Co Ltd, and more recently Kelvin Thermotech Ltd. He has served as a consultant to AnSteel Group, P&G, Shell Global Solutions, GSK, Pfizer and CREG over the last 20 years. He currently serves on IChemE Publication Medal Assessment Panel, European Technology and Innovation Platform Working Group on Smart Networks for Energy Transition (ETIPSNET), and editorial boards of Journal of Energy Storage (Wiley), Journal of Thermal Science (Springer), Particuology (Elsevier), and Energies & Applied Science (MDPI).

Dr. K. Nandakumar is currently Gordon A and Mary Cain Chair Professor at Louisiana State University. Prior to this he was the GASCO Chair Professor at The Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi. Formerly he was in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada for nearly 25 years. Dr. Nandakumar received his B. Tech from Madras University in 1973, M. Sc from University of Saskatchewan in 1975 and his PhD from Princeton University in 1979. He has received the Alexander von Humnboldt research fellowship from the German government in 1989-90 and the Albright & Wilson Americas Award from the Canadian Society of Chemical Engineering in 1991 for distinguished contributions to chemical engineering before reaching the age of 40. Dr. Nandakumar was elected as Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada in 1991 and a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada in 2006 and Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering in 2007. He has received, from the University of Alberta, the McCalla Professorship (1992), the Killam Annual professorship (2001) for excellence in research and the Rutherford Award (2001) for excellence in teaching. He has also received the Excellence in Education award (2002) from APEGGA, the professional engineering association in Alberta. He was Editor-in-Chief of The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering during 2005-2009. Dr. Nandakumar is also the recipient of the premier award of The Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering, called the R.S. Jane Memorial Award in 2008.