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. John William Sheffield, Ph.D.

Professor of Engineering Technology Purdue University，U.S.A.

President, International Association for Hydrogen Energy

Speech Title: Critical Minerals and Materials for Scaling Up the Hydrogen Economy

Dr. Sheffield, joined Purdue University in January 2015. He holds the title of Professor Emeritus of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology. He has a broad base of experience in energy technologies. He has served as one of the founding associate directors at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization - International Centre for Hydrogen Energy Technologies (UNIDO-ICHET) during their first two years of operation in 2005-2006. He also served as the Associate Director of the National University Transportation Center at Missouri S&T. For more than forty years, he has served as an editor of the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. In August 2014, he completed a two-year assignment as a principal consultant at DNV GL - Energy supporting the evaluation, measurement and verification of energy efficiency programs and the response to the U.S. DOE Uniform Methods Project Protocol review of compressed air systems. In August 2015, he completed a 7-week National Science Foundation Innovation Corps program as an industrial mentor for a potential startup company based on the manufacturing of bio-inspired bipolar plates for PEM fuel cells. On 1 March 2019, he became the President of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy, having previously served as the Executive Vice President. He has also served as a part-time Professor at Xi’an Jiaotong University in Xi'an, China working in the summers with the School of Energy and Power Engineering on hydrogen energy technologies from 2019 to 2022 and teaching in the annual International Summer School offered by the State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering. He was appointed a member of the Advisory Board of the "H2 JRP - Hydrogen Joint Research Platform" for the three-year period 2022-2024. In April 2022, he was selected for the 2022 Outstanding Leadership in Globalization Award from Purdue University. In 2023, he was appointed as a 2023 Energy Scholar at the Institute for Resilient Environmental and Energy Systems at Oklahoma University.

Prof. Chung-Jen Tseng

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

Speech Title: Cell development and system analysis for proton-conducting ceramic electrochemical cells

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.