Committee Members

Carlos A. Guerrero-Fajardo holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering with a focus on Heterogeneous Catalysis from Universidad Nacional de Colombia (2007) and a PhD in Chemistry, specializing in Heterogeneous Catalysis, from Université Louis Pasteur (Strasbourg, France). His research centers on advanced materials for selective methane oxidation. With over 45 years of experience as a professor at Universidad Nacional de Colombia, he has taught extensively in Organic, Industrial, and Environmental Chemistry. Dr. Guerrero-Fajardo has made significant contributions to heterogeneous catalysis, particularly in designing catalysts for methane oxidation to formaldehyde, developing sol-gel methods for high metal dispersion, and advancing syngas-to-fuel conversion processes from biomass gasification. His work also includes process and product design aimed at improving technologies for converting natural resources into energy sources.

Dr. Hong Chen has a multidisciplinary background in environmental chemistry, environmental engineering, inorganic chemistry, material chemistry, and applied physics. His main research interest is green energy-driven resource recovery and environmental pollution control. He received his doctoral degree in inorganic chemistry from the Department of Environmental and Material Chemistry at Stockholm University in 2014, working with Prof. Junliang Sun and Xiaodong Zou. After a short postdoc training, he continued his postdoc training at KTH-Royal Institute of Technology with Prof. Licheng Sun, Stanford University with Prof. Michael F. Toney, University of California-Berkeley with Prof. Peidong Yang. In September 2018, he joined SUSTech. Now he is an associate professor at the School of Environmental Science and Engineering.

He has applied for more than 10 patents and published more than 140 peer-reviewed papers with an h-index of 47 and google scholar citations >8300. More than half of them were published in prestigious journals with an impact factor higher than 10, including Nature Mater., PNAS, Science Adv., Nature Comm., JACS, Angew. Chem. Nano Lett., Environ. Sci. Tech., Water Res., Green Chem. etc..He serves as the associate editor for Environmental Chemistry Letters (IF:13.6), board member for the journal of Sustainable Horizons, Environmental Surface and Interfacse, Environmental Functional Materials, young editorial committee member of Chinese Chemical Letters, Chemical Engineering Journal Advances, Industrial Wastewater Treatment(In Chinese), Engineering Science &Technology (In Chinese). He serves as a regular reviewer for more than 40 journals, including Nature Comm., Engineering, Adv. Mater., Angew. Chem., Environ. Sci. Tech., ACS Catal., Nano. Energy., ACS Catal. etc

Han Yu is dedicated to research in hydrology, water resources, and hydrodynamics. Through rigorous investigation, Han systematically uncovered the spatiotemporal scale and generation mechanisms behind the turbulent co-sequence structures in complex open channel configurations. This work has overcome longstanding theoretical limitations related to real-time, high-precision water data in complex agricultural water networks, addressing a critical gap in flow measurement theory for irrigation. The Chinese Hydraulic Engineering Society recognized this achievement, stating that “this mechanism provides important foundational support for monitoring flow in non-standard channel sections.”

Using advanced modeling approaches, Han focused on the hydrodynamic characteristics of agricultural water networks under various environmental conditions, developing an optimized control model for multi-level channel system measurement points. This model effectively addressed challenges in the comprehensive design of water metering equipment used in water distribution processes, including integrated control and measurement for trough gate sensors deployed by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation. This technology has been widely adopted, with over 100 installations in the Yellow River Irrigation District, and is applied by major irrigation centers such as the First Division Water Resources Management Center and the Xinjiang Eighth Division Water Conservancy Bureau. Notably, this control technology was highlighted as a key innovation at the Second National Smart Irrigation Conference, underscoring its importance in advancing water measurement control in western irrigation areas.

With an emphasis on regional applications, Han developed the “information perception – intelligent cognition – intelligent control” simulator for irrigation, an integrated platform for water data perception and intelligent control, facilitating large-scale numerical simulation and water management. This technology has been successfully deployed across irrigation areas in Ningxia, Heilongjiang, and Xinjiang, establishing collaborative water information perception systems to support the strategic development of water measurement equipment in the Northeast and Northwest agricultural regions.

Han’s work has been published in 98 respected academic journals, including Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, Journal of Hydraulic Research, Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, and Ecological Engineering, with 58 articles in the last five years and 7 patents authorized. Han has been recognized with several awards, such as the Young Talent of Science and Technology Think Tank title, the second prize of the National Agricultural Water-saving Science and Technology Award, and the Outstanding Innovation Team Award from the Shennong Chinese Agricultural Science and Technology program. Han has also guided students to success in 15 national and provincial innovation competitions and led or participated in 26 national, provincial, and horizontal projects. Notably, Han has directed two projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation, a National Key R&D Program project, and other key initiatives for the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and various enterprises.

As a research scientist, Dr. Omid Akbarzadeh Pivehzhani works with Texas A&M University, Department of Petroleum Engineering. He worked with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the USA and Nanotechnology and Catalysis Research Centre (NANOCAT) at the University of Malaya in Malaysia. His main research areas are heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis, catalytic reaction engineering, nanocatalyst synthesis, nanomaterials characterization, CO2 conversion, and gas process. He has spent 15 years in academic-industrial projects as a research officer and post-doctoral. He developed advanced smart catalysts, especially for the oil and gas industries. Omid has contributed to two PETRONAS Research Sdn Bhd industrial catalyst projects and worked on an international Airbus R&D project in NANOCAT. He was a project member of the FRGS grant in UTP Malaysia. Omid was the Chairman, keynote speaker, and organizing committee of many international conferences. He supervised three PhD students from different countries. He has published many ISI papers; book chapters and inventor of two approved and granted international patents. Also, he has hands-on experience and passed several pieces of training on handling different types of advanced equipment which are being widely used for nanomaterials synthesis, characterization, and performance evaluation. He is in close collaboration with other departments, government agencies, and universities worldwide. He was a visiting researcher at Jiangsu University China and Hokkaido University Japan. He is a Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) member and a Senior Member of the Hong Kong Chemical, Biological & Environmental Engineering Society. Omid was awarded a full fellowship from the University Technology PETRONAS during his PhD and was involved as a lab demonstrator and teaching in the different courses of chemical engineering. He was awarded a Silver Medal at the 27th International Invention & Innovation Exhibition (ITEX 2016), Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Malaysia, and a Silver Medal of Post Graduate Research Project at the 35th Science & Engineering Design Exhibition (SEDEX 35).