Advanced Nanomaterials for Membrane Synthesis and Its Applications

Dr. Woei Jye Lau is currently an associate professor in the School of Chemical and Energy Engineering, at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). Dr Lau has a very strong research interest in the field of membrane science and technology for water applications and has published >250 scientific papers with total number of Scopus citations exceeding 10,000. He is the author of the book Nanofiltration Membranes: Synthesis, Characterization and Applications published by CRC Press in 2017 and has edited several books published by CRC Press and Elsevier. Currently, Dr Lau serves as a subject editor for Chemical Engineering Research and Design (Elsevier) and is associate editor for Water Reuse (International Water Association). In recognition of his research excellence, Dr Lau received the Australian Endeavour Research Fellowship in 2015, UI-RESOLV Program 2016 (Indonesia), Mevlana International Exchange Program 2017/2018 (Turkey), Sakura Exchange Program 2018 (Japan), TÜBİTAK’s Fellowships for Visiting Scientists 2018 (Turkey), ASEAN-India Collaborative R&D Scheme 2019 and the 6th Science & Technology Exchange Program (Iran). Professor Ahmad Fauzi bin Ismail is the Founding Director of the Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre (AMTEC), UTM. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemical and Process Engineering from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom, under the Commonwealth Academic Staff Scholarship. Prof. Fauzi is the recipient of more than 200 prestigious national and international awards. Among his most notable accolades are the Mustafa Prize Award / (OIC/Muslim Nobel Prize) 2023 (the first Malaysian to receive the Award), The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) Prize in Engineering Sciences 2019, Merdeka Award 2014, Malaysian Toray Science & Technology Foundation Award 2013, and three consecutive Malaysia’s Rising Star Awards (2016–2018), Malaysian Young Scientist Award, 2001. He also received the ASEAN Young Scientist and Technologist Award 2000 and the Elsevier Groundbreaking Research Award, 2025.Arun M. Isloor is a Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry and serving as a Professor in the Department of Chemistry, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, India, since last 16 years. His research interests includes Membrane technology, Nanomaterials, Medicinal Chemistry & Polymer chemistry. Amir Al Ahmed is working as a Research Scientist-I in the IRC-Renewable Energy and Power Systems (IRC-REPS), at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), Saudi Arabia. He completed his Ph.D. (2003) degree in Applied Chemistry from the Department of Applied Chemistry, AMU, India, followed by three consecutive postdoctoral fellowships in South Africa and Saudi Arabia. During this period, he worked on various multidisciplinary projects, in particular, conducting polymer, electrochemical sensors, nano-materials, polymeric membranes, electro-catalysis and solar cells. At present, his research activity is fundamentally focused on 3rd generation solar cell devices, such as, low band gap semiconductors, quantum dots, perovskites, and silicon nanowire based tandem cells. At the same time, he is also having projects on energy storage technologies, such as, electricity, hydrogen (in porous materials) and heat. He has worked on different NSTIP, KACST and Saudi Aramco funded projects in the capacity of a principle and co-investigator. Dr. Amir has 8 US patents.

• 1. Development of Adsorptive Ultrafiltration Membranes for Heavy Metal Removal 2. Carbon-Based Nanocomposite Membranes for Water and Wastewater Purification 3. Development of Nanomaterial-Based Photocatalytic Membrane for Organic Pollutants Removal 4. Progress of Stimuli Responsive Membranes in Water Treatment 5. The Use of Nanomaterials in the Synthesis of Nanofiber Membranes and Their Application in Water Treatment 6. Zeolite-Based Mixed Matrix Membranes for Hazardous  Gas Removal 7. Nanomaterial-Incorporated Nanofiltration Membranes for Organic Solvent Recovery8. Carbon Nanotube Composite Membranes for Microfiltration of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products 9. Metal-Organic Framework Based Membranes for Gas Separation 10. Nanomaterial-Incorporated Sulfonated Poly (Ether Ether Ketone) (SPEEK) Based Proton-Conducting Membranes: Properties and Applications 11. Synthesis of Nanomaterial-Incorporated Pressure Retarded Osmosis Membrane for Energy Generation12. Beneficial Effect of Carbon Nanotubes on Membrane Properties for Fuel Cell Application 13. Nanocomposite and Nanostructured Ion-Exchange Membrane in Salinity Gradient Power Generation Using Reverse Electrodialysis