Spiros N. Agathos is Professor Emeritus at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium and Chair Professor at Harbin Engineering University in China. His research interests include bioprocess design and optimization, biocatalyst development, bioremediation, and biotechnology for sustainability. He served as the Rector of Yachay Tech University, the first research-intensive university in Ecuador and the Andean Region of South America (2019) and as its Inaugural Dean of Biological Sciences and Engineering (2015-2019). Before that he was Professor (1993-2015) and Chair of Bioengineering (1998-2010) at the Catholic University of Louvain. He obtained his Diploma in Chemical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens, his Master’s in the same field from McGill University, and his Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Professor Agathos was a faculty member at Western University in Canada (1982-1985) and Rutgers University in the United States (1985-1993) and has served as a visiting professor in Europe, Asia and the Americas. He has published over 220 articles, 5 books and 4 patents. He is Editor or Editorial Board member of many journals. Among his many awards, he is a Member of the Academy of Europe (Academia Europaea) and of the Academy of Athens as well as elected Fellow of several scientific associations, including the International Water Association (IWA), the American Academy for Microbiology (AAM) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He is the recipient of the 2019 Waksman Outstanding Teaching Award of the Society for Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology (SIMB) for his role as mentor and educator.
REVISITING CONTAMINANT BIODEGRADATION CONCEPTS & REASSESSING TOOLS FROM SYNTHETIC MICROBIAL ECOLOGY & BIOENGINEERING
Michael Nelles is an environmental engineer and studied Technical Environmental Protection (Technical University of Berlin). From 1994 to 1999 he was the Vice Director of the Department Waste Management of the Montanuniversität Leoben in Austria. From 2000 to 2006 he was Professor of Environmental Engineering of the University of Applied Science in Göttingen (Germany). Since 2006 he is full professor of Waste and Resource Management of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences of the University of Rostock, Germany. Since 2012 Prof. Nelles is also the Scientific Director of the German Biomass Research Center (DBFZ) in Leipzig. His research activity is based on: fundamental and applied aspects of waste management with focus on technological, environmental and economic aspects to mechanical, biological and thermal treatment systems of waste and biomass in different recycling and recovery routes. He is a member of national and international Advisory Boards of organisations in the field of waste management, renewable energy and biomass utilisation (DGAW, RETech, ISWA Germany, IWWG etc.) and also a Board-Member of different national and international conferences and journals. He is author of over 500 articles and chapters in books and journals since 1994. He has led more than 100 major R&D and consulting projects and more than 50 doctoral theses have been successfully completed under his supervision.
RENEWABLE ENERGIES & CIRCULAR ECONOMY AS CENTRAL PILLARS FOR THE CLIMATE-NEUTRAL INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY OF THE FUTURE
