Committee Members

Dr. Juan Carlos Astudillo earned his PhD at the University of Hong Kong in 2015.  He is a marine ecologist with strong interest and experience in marine biodiversity assessment, invasion biology and ecological engineering for habitat rehabilitation.

Dr. Astudillo was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Swire Institute of Marine Science – School of Biological Science at the University of Hong Kong and a Research Associate at the State Key Laboratory of Marine Sciences – City University of Hong Kong.

The current research focus of Dr. Astudillo is to understand and apply ecological and engineering concepts for enhancing the biodiversity and ecosystem functioning/services (e.g., biofiltration, carbon storage, nursery ground, etc.) of degraded coastal ecosystems. The goal of his research is to develop ecologically engineered technologies/methods for ecological restoration that will support sustainable coastal development.  In regard to the ecological concept, his research elucidates the environmental and biological factors that affect biodiversity such as surface temperature, desiccation, surface pH, habitat complexity, seasonality, competition, predation, etc. As for the engineering concept, his research includes the development of novel ecologically friendly materials (e.g., an eco-concrete using local waste materials that is pending patent), novel designs that incorporate complex microhabitats and surfaces that benefit species recruitment and survival, the implementation of ecologically engineered shorelines and testing their performance in terms of biodiversity enhancement. These are fundamental aspects for developing successful and cost-effective ecologically engineered solutions to achieve sustainable development in Hong Kong, the South China Sea and elsewhere.

As a researcher, Dr. Astudillo has a good track record in the study of biodiversity and ecological engineering, with several publications on the ecology of benthic communities and invasive species. Currently, he is the Principal Investigator of one research fund and one citizen science fund, and the Co-Investigator of seven research funds. These projects are in the field of ecological engineering and biodiversity assessment.

Dr. Dora Mavridou is a Senior Lecturer and Course Leader for the BEng Engineering Management Top-Up program in the School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, within the Faculty of Technology at the University of Portsmouth.

Her teaching expertise includes Engineering Practice, Sustainable and Environmental Management, and Design. Her research interests focus on Building Optimisation, Inclusive Design, Sustainability, Environmental Design, and Social Sustainability. She is particularly passionate about exploring ways to maximize value while minimizing waste.

Dr. Mavridou has over a decade of industry experience as a chartered engineer, specializing in engineering design and project management. She graduated from the School of Architectural Engineering at Democritus University of Thrace, Greece, in 2006. She later earned an MA in Lighting Design from the School of Applied Arts and Sustainable Design at Hellenic Open University in 2017 and a PhD from Democritus University of Thrace, where her research focused on optimizing industrial buildings through sustainability and lean thinking. Additionally, she holds a PGCert Diploma in Higher Education from the University of Portsmouth.

Wenjiang Huang, Dr.& Professor, doctoral supervisor, Ph.D. in Physical Geography from Beijing Normal University of China. Director of Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Sciences, Director of SINO-UK Crop Pest and Disease Forecasting &Management Joint Laboratory, working in Aerospace Information Research Institute , Chinese Academy of Sciences（AIR-CAS）, acting as PI for more than 40 major scientific fundings, research interests cover quantitative remote sensing for land use and land cover, vegetation (crop, grass and forest) and soil monitoring,  Data fusion (multi-scale, multi-sensor, multi-temporal) for global climate change, has published more than 300 SCI papers.

Cleginaldo Pereira de Carvalho is a professor and researcher at São Paulo State University (UNESP), Brazil. He holds a Ph.D. and has built a distinguished academic career with a focus on ethics, education, and the intersection of science and human values. Dr. Carvalho has published extensively in national and international journals and is recognized for his contributions to interdisciplinary dialogue, particularly in bioethics and philosophy. He actively participates in academic conferences, collaborates on educational development projects, and mentors graduate students. In addition to his teaching and research, he serves on editorial boards and reviews for scholarly publications, consistently contributing to the advancement of ethical and humanistic education in Brazil and abroad.

Prof. Tao Ma’s research is mainly related to fundamental research and applications of solar photovoltaic technology. He has acted as a Principal Investigator of 15 research projects from MOST, NSFC etc, and he has published over 140 papers with a total citation of 12,400 and h-index of 58, including 15 ESI highly cited papers. Dr. Ma has received a number of awards, such as ‘Most Cited Chinese Researcher (Elsevier)’, ‘World’s Top 2% most-cited Scientists’ etc. He currently serves as the editorial board member of several journals including ‘Applied Energy’ and ‘Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells’.

Ousmane SARR has completed his PhD at the age of 37 years, become a Doctor of Agriculture in Marine Science (PhD)  and then a post-doctoral fellowship at Shanghai Ocean University/ College of Marine Living Resource Sciences and Management. Research direction: Fisheries Resources, stock assessment and fisheries management.

His research and expertise include water, air pollution, solid waste and waste water treatment, climate change, waste-to-energy, renewable energies, catalysis, bio-materials for CO2 capture, CO2 conversion and sustainability.

He has published his works in numerous ISI/Scopus journals including in top 5%, Q1, Q2, Q3 journals and in prestigious Springer, Elservỉer, RCS book series. He also serves as a reviewer for the fuel  journal, Elsevier, etc.,”

Dr. Đorđević’s expertise extends to the analysis of environmental samples using advanced techniques such as Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS), Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (AES), and Gas Chromatography (GC). She is also adept at employing data analysis methods like Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) to interpret complex environmental data. ​

Throughout her career, she has been actively involved in various national and international research projects, collaborating with scientists worldwide to address pressing environmental challenges. Her dedication to environmental protection is further exemplified by her active participation in organizations such as the American Chemical Society (ACS) and the Mediterranean Scientific Association of Environmental Protection (MESAEP). ​

Dr. Đorđević’s commitment to science and the environment has earned her recognition and respect in the scientific community, making her a leading figure in environmental chemistry both in Serbia and internationally.

Carla Ferreira holds a European doctoral degree in Environmental Science and Engineering from the University of Aveiro. She is currently an auxiliary researcher at the Polytechnic University of Coimbra, Portugal, and has previously worked as a researcher at Stockholm University, Sweden, and Swansea University, UK. She is a member of the Executive Committee of CERNAS research centre and was, until recently, its Research Area Leader for Environment and Society. Additionally, she serves as a Committee Member of the Soil System Sciences sub-division “Soil Erosion and Conservation” within the European Geosciences Union. She has participated in numerous national and international research projects—some as scientific coordinator—focusing on environmental science and engineering. Her work emphasizes soil and water management, land degradation, ecosystem services, and the application of nature-based solutions to strengthen climate resilience. She is also actively engaged with the editorial boards of some international scientific journals and has contributed to the organization of numerous scientific events.

GHEORGHE GRIGORAȘ is a Full Professor at the “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Energetics and Applied Informatics, Romania. Also, he is Head of the “Availability of Energy Systems Supplied from Renewable Sources” Research Laboratory and “Energy Management/Energy Quality Optimization” Department of the Power Systems Engineering Research Center at “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi. He is the author of 17 books, 15 book chapters, and more than 300 articles having as the research topic applications of Artificial Intelligence techniques in various research areas of power engineering (load modelling, power quality, increasing the energy efficiency in the electric networks, optimal integration of renewable energy sources in the electrical networks, supervisory and control of power systems). These research topics were motivated by the current technological developments in the Power Engineering field and the gradual implementation of the Smart Grid concept. He is a Topic Editor for two journals indexed by WoS (Mathematics – ISSN: 2227-7390) and Applied Sciences – ISSN 2076-3417). Professor Grigoras was a Guest Editor of five Special Issues for peer-reviewed journals indexed by WoS. He was a General Chair of 8 international conferences and a member of over 300 technical program committees of the international symposia and conferences carried out in countries from Europe, Asia, North America, Australia, and Africa. He is a Member of the International Association of Engineers and the World Academy of Science, Engineering, and Technology.

Dr.Duan Wu has a mixed background of industrial design, visual communication and Architecture design. Her education, research and practical are mainly about sustainable environmental design, experiential graphic design and innovation methods research. She is Associate Professor and vice director of Advanced Environmental Design Program, College of Design & Innovation, Tongji University. Founder/Co-Leader of SEGD Shanghai Chapter, Leader of Public Design Lab of D&I.

Serguei Alejandro-Martín has completed his PhD at the University of Concepcion, Chile and postdoctoral studies at the Catholic University of Temuco, Chile. He is the director of the Doctoral Program in Materials Engineering and Sustainable Processes and Head of the Laboratory of Gaseous Chromatography and Analytic Pirolysis at the University of Bio-Bio, Chile. He has published over 28 papers in reputed journals and has been a reviewer board member of several journals.

Tchuiendem Nelly Joel is a Ph.D. student at Beihang University, Beijing, China, specializing in corporate governance, green finance, and corporate social responsibility (CSR). He has researched the impact of CEO cultural background on internal control quality and agency costs in South African firms. His work focuses on the intersection of finance, sustainability, and corporate decision-making. He previously studied at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan, China. His research has been published in reputable academic journals.

Professor Eva Sørensen is a leading scholar in public administration and political science at Roskilde University, Denmark. She specializes in public sector innovation, political leadership, and citizen involvement. Sørensen has authored influential books, including Interactive Political Leadership (2020) and Political Innovations (2021). She has led major international research projects on governance and policy reform. Her work has over 13,000 citations, ranking her among Denmark’s top political scientists. Sørensen has also been a visiting professor at the University of Hong Kong.

Carsten Hobohm, Prof. Dr. rer. nat. habil. em., member of the University of Flensburg (EUF) and head of the interdisciplinary Ecology and Environmental Education working group, was a full professor from 2006 to 2021. Since 2025 he is teaching again at the University of Lüneburg (Leuphana).

Before moving to Flensburg, he worked at the Universities of Bayreuth and Freiburg (1978-1985, Diploma in Biology), Hannover (PhD on plant communities and vegetation ecology of the Wadden Sea island of Norderney with a minor in philosophy, 1987-1992), Lüneburg (postdoctoral position, 1992-2004, including habilitation, 1997 in the field of geobotany and nature conservation ), Siegen (2005-2006, visiting professorship for landscape and vegetation ecology).

During his civilian service and afterwards (1985-2004) he worked for a nature conservation NGO (Schutzstation Wattenmeer) in the Wadden Sea area on the islands of Sylt and Föhr and on various environmental projects for the private sector.

He is working on the relationship between nature and culture, landscape ecology, environmental science, international nature conservation management, environmental education and environmental ethics. The nature-culture relationship can be seen as his main subject in research.

He published the first scientific book on biodiversity in German language (2000). He edited a book on Endemism in Vascular Plants (2014) and on Perspectives for Biodiversity and Ecosystems (2021), both published by Springer. In 2021, he also published a book on the relationship between nature and culture, Natur und Kultur in Zeiten der ökologischen Krise (oekom verlag, Munich). In 2024, he submitted a manuscript on environmental policy (Springer, German language), Umweltpolitik aus sozialökologischer Perspektive. The same topic will be published in English language in 2026, again by Springer.

In 2014 and 2018, the quality of education in biology/ecology and didactics at the University of Flensburg was in a top position compared to other universities in Germany (CHE ranking). In 2020, Carsten Hobohm was honoured with the University of Flensburg Research Award.

Dr. Raúl Cortés-Martínez is a faculty member at the Facultad de Químico Farmacobiología, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico. His work is likely focused on pharmaceutical and biological sciences. While detailed biographical information is limited, he has an academic presence on SciProfiles. He may be involved in research, teaching, or both within his field. For more information about his background and contributions, direct contact is recommended.

Florian Marcel Nuţă is a Full Professor Dr. Habil. in Accounting at Danubius International University from Galaţi, with over 17 years of teaching and research experience. He is affiliated with the Ştefan cel Mare University of Suceava, Doctoral School of Social and Human Sciences, for research and doctoral supervising activities. Dr. Nuţă holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Insurance and a master’s degree in Accounting from the Dunărea de Jos University of Galaţi.

He attended the Doctoral School of Economics and Business Administration at Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iaşi, defending the thesis entitled Environmental protection accounting in the contemporary economy in 2009.

He is involved in numerous editorial initiatives as editor-in-chief, editor, member of the international scientific board, and reviewer for scientific journals and international conferences, conducting more than 500 peer-reviews during his academic career.

Dr. Nuţă worked as reviewer for Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, Energy Efficiency, Resources Policy, Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, Sustainability, Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Countries, Journal of Environmental Management, Energy Economics, Cogent Business and Management, and other peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Dr. Guanchao Tong is an Assistant Professor at Wenzhou-Kean University and Kean University. He obtained his PhD degree in Applied Mathletics and Statistics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 2023. He has research experience on data analysis, data mining and time series, and published serval papers in climate change and medicine data applying the mathematics.

Junior Cesar Avanzi has been an associate professor at the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA, Brazil) since 2016, where he works in undergraduate courses and the graduate programs in Soil Science, and Environmental Technologies and Innovations. He runs the YouTube and Instagram channels “Entusiastas do Solo,” dedicated to the promotion of Soil Science. He holds a degree in Agricultural Engineering from UFLA (2003), and a Ph.D. in Soil Science from UFLA (2009), with a research internship at Purdue University / National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory, USA (2008-2009). He is currently involved in projects in various regions of Brazil and Africa. His expertise is in Soil Science, with a focus on soil and water conservation, erosion control, soil carbon quantification, physical-hydraulic soil characterization, land use capacity, and the valuation of ecosystem services.

Prof. Miklas Scholz is a leading expert in water management and environmental engineering. He has published four books and 300+ journal articles, with 10,700 citations (h-index: 51, i10-index: 195). Ranked 5th globally in constructed wetland research, his work has shaped wetland and flood management guidelines across Europe. He developed the Sustainable Flood Retention Basin (SFRB) and Integrated Constructed Wetlands (ICW) concepts. His research has influenced policies in the UK, Ireland, and beyond. Prof. Scholz has secured €8.5M+ in funding, including EU H2020 WATERAGRI and RAINSOLUTIONS. His work promotes nature-based solutions for water management. He advocates for wastewater recycling to combat global water scarcity. His contributions extend to agriculture, pollution control, and public health. Prof. Scholz’s research continues to drive sustainable water solutions worldwide.