Advanced Nanomaterials for Membrane Synthesis and Its Applications

Dr. Woei Jye Lau is currently an associate professor in the School of Chemical and Energy Engineering, at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). Dr Lau has a very strong research interest in the field of membrane science and technology for water applications and has published

>250 scientific papers with total number of Scopus citations exceeding 10,000. He is the author of the book Nanofiltration Membranes: Synthesis, Characterization and Applications published by CRC Press in 2017 and has edited several books published by CRC Press and Elsevier. Currently, Dr Lau serves as a subject editor for Chemical Engineering Research and Design (Elsevier) and is associate editor for Water Reuse (International Water Association).

In recognition of his research excellence, Dr Lau received the Australian Endeavour Research Fellowship in 2015, UI-RESOLV Program 2016 (Indonesia), Mevlana International Exchange Program 2017/2018 (Turkey), Sakura Exchange Program 2018 (Japan), TÜBİTAK’s Fellowships for Visiting Scientists 2018 (Turkey), ASEAN-India Collaborative R&D Scheme 2019 and the 6th Science & Technology Exchange Program (Iran).

Dr. A.F. Ismail is a Professor at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), where he is the Founding Director of the Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre (AMTEC). He has also served as Dean of Research for the Materials and Manufacturing Alliance at UTM and was the 7th Vice Chancellor of UTM from 2021 to 2024. Dr. Ismail’s research interests encompass membrane formation, membranes for wastewaster treatment and gas separation, and nanofibers and nanostructured materials for energy applications. Dr. Ismail has received several awards, including the ASEAN Young Scientist and Technologist Award in 2001 (the first Malaysian to receive this award), the Malaysian Young Scientist Award in 2000, the Malaysian Intellectual Property Award in the Patent Category, the Merdeka Award for Scholastic Achievements in 2014, and the highly coveted Mustafa Prize (2023) ― often referred to as the “Muslim Nobel Prize.” A highly cited researcher in "Separation and Purification Technology" (Elsevier), Professor Fauzi has made several contributions to membrane science, particularly in polymeric, inorganic, and mixed matrix membranes for applications such as water treatment, desalination, gas separation, hemodialysis, fuel cells, and palm oil refining. With an impressive Scopus h-index of 120 and more than 71,000 citations (as of June 2025), he has authored more than 1,500 refereed journal articles, more than 50 book chapters, 6 authored books, and 20 edited volumes. Dr. Ismail also plays active roles in the scientific community, serving as Chairman of the Malaysia Membrane Society (MyMembrane) and Vice President of the Aseanian Membrane Society (AMS).

Arun M. Isloor is a Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry and serving as a Professor in the Department of Chemistry, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, India, since last 16 years. His research interests includes Membrane technology, Nanomaterials, Medicinal Chemistry & Polymer chemistry.

Amir Al Ahmed is working as a Research Scientist-I in the IRC-Renewable Energy and Power Systems (IRC-REPS), at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), Saudi Arabia. He completed his Ph.D. (2003) degree in Applied Chemistry from the Department of Applied Chemistry, AMU, India, followed by three consecutive postdoctoral fellowships in South Africa and Saudi Arabia. During this period, he worked on various multidisciplinary projects, in particular, conducting polymer, electrochemical sensors, nano-materials, polymeric membranes, electro-catalysis and solar cells. At present, his research activity is fundamentally focused on 3rd generation solar cell devices, such as, low band gap semiconductors, quantum dots, perovskites, and silicon nanowire based tandem cells. At the same time, he is also having projects on energy storage technologies, such as, electricity, hydrogen (in porous materials) and heat. He has worked on different NSTIP, KACST and Saudi Aramco funded projects in the capacity of a principle and co-investigator. Dr. Amir has 8 US patents.