CONFERENCE CHAIRS

Professor, Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

João B.P. Soares

João Soares is a Professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Alberta (Edmonton, AB, Canada). He holds a Campus Alberta Innovates Program (CAIP) Chair in Interfacial Polymer Engineering for Oil Sands Processing, and a Canada Research Chair (Tier I) in Advanced Polymer Reaction Engineering. Before joining the University of Alberta in 2013, he was a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo (Waterloo, ON, Canada) for 18 years.

Professor Soares is a Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada, a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and a Professional Engineer in the Provinces of Ontario and Alberta.

Prof. Soares is recognized as a leader in polymerization reaction engineering, a research area that focuses on how to bring results from laboratory‐scale experiments to industrial‐scale production. Novel findings on polymer chemistry require the applications of polymerization reaction engineering principles to be scaled up efficiently, safely, and economically to industrial production. In this sense, polymerization reaction engineering brings to society the benefits of fundamental discoveries in polymer science.

Since the beginning of his academic career in 1995, Prof. Soares has been refining his original methodology to investigate polymerization processes by integrating polymerization kinetics measurements, polymer molecular architecture characterization and testing, and mathematical modeling.

Prof. Soares’s accomplishments in polymerization reaction engineering are reflected in his appointments to editorial boards, participation in conference organizations, consulting activities, and industrial short courses. As a member of the Executive Advisory Board of the Wiley-VCH Macromolecular Journals, he coordinates Macromolecular Reaction Engineering, the only scientific journal entirely dedicated to polymerization reaction engineering. He has also been the Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering for the last 10 years.

He spent most of his early career applying PRE principles to ethylene, propylene, and a-olefin polymerizations with coordination catalyst. Since joining the University of Alberta, his research interests have extended to new fields: 1) synthesis of water-soluble polymers for wastewater treatment, particularly for the remediation of oil sands tailings, 2) synthesis of polymer absorbers for oil spill remediation in fresh and seawater, 3) production of thin film composite membranes for wastewater treatment, 4) synthesis of CO2-based polymers for carbon-capture by the oil industry, 5) synthesis of electrical conductive polymers, and 6) design of stimuli-responsive polymers.

Professor of Polymer Chemistry, Biomaterials Synthesis and Polymer Surface Engineering Laboratory University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Song Liu, Ph.D.

Song Liu is a Professor of Polymer Chemistry and directs the Biomaterials Synthesis and Polymer Surface Engineering Laboratory at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, MB. Dr. Liu earned a Ph.D. in Fiber and Polymer Science at the University of California, Davis.

Dr. Liu’s expertise lies in polymer/organic chemistry, biomaterials, nanotechnology and microbiology. The main focus of Dr. Liu’s research career is to approach the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases from the perspective of chemistry, nanotechnology and biomaterials. He has received over 1.97 M CAD in research funding as PI and 2.7 M CAD as Co-PI or collaborator from various granting agencies (including NSERC, CIHR, CFI and Research Manitoba) for his pioneering work in developing new broad-spectrum biocides, rechargeable biocidal coatings and “smart” polymeric materials.

Dr. Liu has published 61 peer-reviewed articles in prestigious journals such as Advanced Functional Materials (impact factor (IF) 18.808), Advanced Healthcare Materials (IF 9.933), Carbohydrate Polymers (IF 9.381), ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (IF 9.229), Acta Biomaterialia (IF 8.947), Nanoscale (IF 7.790), Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology, and Medicine (IF 6.458), Journal of Material Chemistry B (IF 6.331), and Progress in Surface Science (IF 6.071). Dr. Liu’s research has also had successful translation to industry with six patent applications, two granted patents and two licensing agreements. He has won the 2012 Rh Award in Interdisciplinary Studies from the Winnipeg Rh Foundation in view of his leadership in interdisciplinary research. He received the 2018 Merit Award for Research, Scholarly Work and Creative Activities from the University of Manitoba, and the 2019 John Ogilvie Research Innovation Award of Canadian Society for Bioengineering CSBE/SCGAB. He is one of the recipients of the 2019 Outstanding Teacher from the University of Manitoba through the Students’ Teacher Recognition program, and the 2021 Graduating Class Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Price Faculty of Engineering, University of Manitoba.

Senior Scholar, Department of Biosystems Engineering Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Lena Horne, Ph.D. FITS

In 2012, Lena retired from the Department of Textile Sciences at the University of Manitoba after 29 years of service. Her knowledge in textile science enables her to appreciate the invaluable role of polymer science in creating solutions for the healthcare sector. In her retirement, she continues to share her knowledge and administrative skills with textiles-related communities. Currently, she serves as President of the Institute of Textile Science and chairs the National Flag Committee within the Canadian General Standards Board.