HEET 2025

Prof. Dr. Enio Pontes de Deus

Federal University of Ceará, Brazil

Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

Laboratory of Fracture Mechanics and Fatigue Analysis

Speech Title: Artificial Intelligence in Material Innovation: Advances for the Hydrogen Supply Chain

Enio Pontes is a distinguished Full Professor at the Federal University of Ceará (UFC), specializing in Materials Engineering with a focus on renewable energy technologies and environmental sustainability. He holds a Ph.D. in Structural Engineering from the University of São Paulo and Technische Universität Braunschweig (TU-BS) in Germany, and has served as a Visiting Professor at QUT Australia and as a Professeur Invité at ENS Paris-Saclay (formerly ENS Cachan), France.
Combining his robust academic background and international experience, Enio Pontes works as a professor and researcher in UFC’s Graduate Program in Materials Engineering and Science. He coordinates the Materials Failure Laboratory (LAMEFF) and spearheads innovative research projects aimed at developing advanced materials and technologies for efficient renewable energy utilization, with a strong emphasis on reducing carbon footprints and mitigating climate change.
As Coordinator of the Thematic Session: Renewable Energies at the 5th National Conference on Science, Technology, and Innovation (CNCTI) in Fortaleza, CE, and Organizer of the International Conference on Renewable Energy Technologies (CITER Piauí), he plays a central role in fostering global knowledge exchange and promoting cutting-edge research in clean energy.
Enio Pontes also serves as Director of Science and Technology at PROIFES - Federation, a member of the Advisory Councils of the 5th CNCTI and FINEP, and actively contributes to crafting public policies and funding strategies to drive innovation and sustainability forward.

Dr. Bang Cheng Xu

Dason Technology Inc. USA

Speech Title: Development of A Stable and Efficient Dual-Bed CPOX Reactor for On-Site Hydrogen Generation at Fueling Stations

Dr Bang Cheng Xu, is the founder and Chief Technology Officer of Dason Technology Inc. (USA), specializing in chemical reaction engineering, syngas production, and hydrogen technologies. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and has over 30 years of combined industrial and research experience in reactor design, catalyst development, chemical process R&D, and system-scale process engineering. From 2011 to 2018, he served as a reviewer for the U.S. Department of Energy’s ARPA-E program, supporting innovation in clean energy technologies.
Drawing on his deep expertise and leadership, Dr. Xu has pioneered the development of a stable and efficient dual-bed Catalytic Partial Oxidation (CPOX) reactor system for decentralized hydrogen production. He led the successful pilot-scale demonstration of this technology and continues to drive laboratory advancements to enable modular hydrogen generation at fueling stations.
Dr. Xu’s work plays a significant role in bridging fundamental research and real-world application, contributing to the advancement of low-carbon energy solutions and the global hydrogen economy. He actively collaborates with partners across industry and academia to promote scalable, cost-effective clean energy deployment.

Prof. Chen-Hao Wang, Ph.D.

Chairman and Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Associate Dean, College of Engineering

National Taiwan University of Science and Technology

Joint Appointment Researcher, Research Center for Critical Issues, Academia Sinica

Speech Title: Precise Atomic-Level Engineering of Electrocatalysts Unlocking the Potential of Next-Generation Fuel Cells and Electrolyzers

Professor Chen-Hao Wang is the Chairman and Professor of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and the Associate Dean of the College of Engineering at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST), as well as a Joint Appointment Researcher at Academia Sinica.
Professor Wang’s work is noted for developing innovative non-precious metal catalysts for fuel cells and enhancing electrode performance in all-vanadium redox flow batteries. In this capacity, he leads a key academic-industry alliance to advance the applications of all-vanadium redox flow battery technology. In parallel, he develops advanced catalysts for various fuel cells, including both proton-exchange and anion-exchange membrane types.
A prolific scholar, Professor Wang has authored over 112 SCI papers (h-index: 37), holds 15 patents, and is ranked in the top 1.06% globally in the energy field by ScholarGPS. Beyond his research, Professor Wang actively collaborates with industry and holds key leadership roles in several academic organizations, including serving as the Vice President of the Taiwan Association for Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell, and as a director in the Taiwan Energy Society and the Electrochemical Society of Taiwan, demonstrating his significant impact on both academia and industry.

Prof. S.A. Sherif

Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering,University of Florida,USA

Speech Title: Sustainable Transportation in a Solar-Hydrogen Economy

Dr. SA Sherif, Dr. SA Sherif is a tenured Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida. He is a Life Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME); a Life Fellow of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE); a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society; a Fellow of the American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers (ASTFE); an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA); a Vice President of Commission B-2 of the International Institute of Refrigeration; a Member of the Board of Directors of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy; and a Founding Member of the Board of Directors and Vice President of Programs for the American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers (ASTFE). He served as Editor-in-Chief of the ASME Journal of Thermal Science and Engineering Applications (2014-2019) and as Editor-in-Chief of the ASME Journal of Solar Energy Engineering (2020-2028). Dr. Sherif has 600 publications and two US patents.

Prof. Li Sun

Southeast University, Nanjing, China

Speech Title: The Role of Thermal Inertia in Improving the Flexibility of Power Grid with High Renewable Penetration

Dr. Li Sun, IEEE Senior Member, received the PhD degree from Tsinghua University in 2017. He is currently the Youth Chair Professor in the School of Energy and Environment at Southeast University, Nanjing, China. He was a Visiting Associate Professor in Cornell University since 2019 to 2020. He is mainly engaged in the research of dynamics and control of energy systems with thermal and hydrogen components. He has led over 30 national and enterprise commissioned research projects with more than 20 million CNY, and authored 1 book and more than 120 referred journal papers with more than 5000 citations. He was listed in the Stanford's top 2% top scientists in the world. He is the Vice Chair of the Working Group of IEEE Standard P3464 and (guest) editors of renowned journals like Energy, Renewable Energy, and Control Engineering Practice. He was awarded the National-level Youth Talent Program in 2023 and Jiangsu Province Outstanding Young Scholars Fund. As the leading scientist, he won the First Prize of China Electric Power Science and Technology Award and the Second Prize of Jiangsu Province Science and Technology Progress Award, for contributions to the coordinated control of electricity and heat integrated energy systems.

Prof. Chung-Jen Tseng

Distinguished Professor, Dept. Mechanical Engineering
Director, Center for Energy Research
College of Engineering, National Central University, Taiwan

Speech Title: GQD-modified CoFe-LDH@nickel foam as a high-performance anode catalyst for anion exchange membrane water electrolysis

Dr. Chung-Jen Tseng is presently a distinguished professor and the director of the Center for Energy Research at College of Engineering, National Central University, Taiwan. He received his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, USA. Professor Tseng also serves as a National Climate Change Committee member, an Executive Director of Taiwan Association for Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cells, a Section Editor of the Journal of Energy Engineering. He received the 2024 Outstanding Research Award from the National Science and Technology Council of Taiwan. His current research interest is in energy conversion and storage, such as fuel cell (PEM & SOFC) material development, innovative fuel cell and stack design, hybrid system analysis and design, and hydrogen production by water electrolysis.

Professor Dr. Jesús Toribio

ESIS Fellow (ESIS: European Structural Integrity Society)
ICF-WASI Director (ICF-WASI: International Congress of Fracture-The World Academy of Structural Integrity)
Chairman of the ESIS Technical Committee 10 (TC10) on Environmentally Assisted Cracking (EAC) &Hydrogen Embrittlement (HE)
Head of Fracture & Structural Integrity Research Group (FSIRG).
University of Salamanca (USAL)，E.P.S., Campus Viriato，SPAIN

Speech Title: Hydrogen Transport by Diffusion in the Vicinity of Cracks and Implications in Hydrogen Embrittlement of Structural Materials
A Tribute to Antonio Machado and Thomas Stearns Eliot

Professor Jesús Toribio graduated in Civil Engineering in 1982 and then in Mathematics in 1986. In 1987 he was awarded his PhD in the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) and turned into Associate Professor in that Institution. In 1992 he became Full Professor and Head of the Materials Science Department of the University of La Coruña (at the age of 32, thus being the youngest Full Professor in the area of Materials Science in Spain). In 2000 he moved to the University of Salamanca (USAL) where is currently Full Professor of Materials Science & Engineering and Head of the Fracture & Structural Integrity Research Group (FSIRG) of that Institution.
His research work is mainly concerned with fatigue and fracture mechanics, environmentally assisted cracking, stress corrosion cracking and hydrogen embrittlement/degradation/damage of metals and alloys (mainly cold drawn pearlitic steel wires for civil engineering and austenitic stainless steels for nuclear engineering and energy applications), covering theoretical, computational and experimental aspects. He actively participates in International Scientific Conferences, very often being a member of the International Advisory Committee, organising Special Sessions and Symposia, being Session Chairman or specially delivering Plenary/Keynote/Invited Lectures. Professor Dr. Jesús Toribio has published more than 600 scientific papers, most of them in international books and journals.
He is the Chairman of the Technical Committee 10 (TC10): Environmentally Assisted Cracking & Hydrogen Embrittlement of the European Structural Integrity Society (ESIS) and has been Director (2013-2017) of the International Congress of Fracture-The World Academy of Structural Integrity (ICF-WASI), being responsible of launching the Ibero-American Academy of Structural Integrity (IA2SI). Prof. Toribio has been awarded a variety of scientific research prizes and awards including: (i) UPM Young Scientist Award of the Polytechnic University of Madrid; (ii) METROTEC Award for the best Technological Research Project; (iii) Honour Medal of the Spanish Group of Fracture (GEF/SEIE) in recognition of his research achievements in the field of fracture mechanics; (iv) Fellow of the Wessex Institute of Technology (WIT) in recognition of leadership and outstanding work in engineering sciences; (v) Top Reviewer 2011 in recognition of an outstanding contribution to the quality of the Elsevier International Journal Engineering Fracture Mechanics; (vi) Fellow of the European Structural Society (ESIS Fellow) for his outstanding contributions to the art, science, teaching or practice of fracture mechanics and his service to the society; (vii) Honorary Member of the Italian Group of Fracture (IGF) in acknowledgement and appreciation of his outstanding achievements in the research field of fracture mechanics; (viii) Best Paper and Presentation Award in the International Conference on Energy Materials and Applications (ICEMA 2017) held in 2017 in Hiroshima, Japan, with a paper entitled: Numerical Simulation of Hydrogen Diffusion in the Pressure Vessel Wall of a WWER-440 Reactor; (ix) María de Maeztu Scientific Award of the University of Salamanca (800th anniversary during 2018) in recognition of academic trajectory and excellence in scientific and technological research; (x) Scientific Merit Award of the Portuguese Group of Fracture (PGF) in recognition of scientific contributions during his career.