Speakers

Professor Marianthi Ierapetritou is the Gore Centennial Chair in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Delaware. 

Dr. Ierapetritou’s research focuses on the following areas: 

• process operations 

• design and synthesis of flexible production systems focusing on pharmaceutical manufacturing

• energy and sustainability process modelling and operations

• modelling of biopharmaceutical production 

Her research is supported by several federal (FDA, NIH, NSF, ONR, NASA) and industrial (BMS, J&J, GSK, PSE, Bosch, Eli Lilly) grants. 

Among her accomplishments are the 2016 Computing and Systems Technology (CAST) division Award in Computing in Chemical Engineering, the highest distinction in the Systems area of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the Award of Division of Particulate Preparations and Design (PPD) of The Society of Powder Technology, Japan; the Outstanding Faculty Award at Rutgers; the Rutgers Board of Trustees Research Award for Scholarly Excellence; and the prestigious NSF CAREER award. 

She has also been appointed as a Consultant to the FDA under the Advisory Committee for Pharmaceutical Science and Clinical Pharmacology, elected as a fellow of AICHE and as a Director in the board of AIChE. 

She has more than 250 publications, and has been an invited speaker to numerous national and international conferences. Dr. Ierapetritou obtained her BS from The National Technical University in Athens, Greece, her PhD from Imperial College (London, UK) in 1995 and subsequently completed her post-doctoral research at Princeton University (Princeton, NJ). Prior to joining the University of Delaware, Prof. Ierapetritou was a Distinguished Professor and Associate Vice President for the Promotion of Women in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics at Rutgers University.

Dr Vassilis Charitopoulos is a Lecturer (Assist. Professor) in the Department of Chemical Engineering, CPSE at UCL. He specialises in developing mathematical programming models and methods to incorporate uncertainty considerations for chemical process and energy systems engineering problems. He holds a Diploma in Chemical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens and a PhD from the Department of Chemical Engineering at UCL.

Before joining UCL, he was a Research Associate at the Energy Policy Research Group at Cambridge Judge Business School where he worked on optimisation of heat decarbonisation pathways. Dr. Charitopoulos has received global recognition for his excellent research activity including: Springer Thesis Award (2019), UCL David Newton Prize (2019). He was the recipient of an Early Career Fellowship (2019) from the Isaac Newton Trust, University of Cambridge. In 2022, he was Highly Commended as Best Young Researcher by the IChemE Global Awards.

His current research focuses on the development of novel techniques for model-based and data-driven optimisation frameworks for digital process manufacturing and sustainable energy systems engineering.

Professor Tony Ryan OBE is a Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Sheffield and the founding Director of the Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures. 

Tony focuses on the global challenge of the food, water, and energy nexus; feeding a growing world population; reducing the impacts of agriculture and food production that account for 30% of green house gas emissions and 70% of water use; and harnessing the power of the sun for food production and renewable energy.

The Grantham Centre's projects cover many of the aspects of the UN's Sustainability Development Goals, and many of the national priorities of the developing world. Tony leads the University of Sheffield's programme in sustainability research, integrating across traditional boundaries in the pure and applied sciences, engineering, medicine, and social sciences.

Tony is very active in translational research, disseminating evidence-based science to both experts and non-experts, and has been a regular contributor to TV, Radio, National Press and at learned societies from The Royal Society of Chemistry to Chatham House, The Royal Institute of International Affairs. He presented evidence at the UNFCCC COP21 in Paris in 2015 and returned to COP22 in Marrakech in 2016.

Tony delivered the televised Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in 2002 and was awarded an OBE in 2006 for 'Services to Science'.

His research covers sustainable synthesis, structure, processing, and applications of polymers using advanced analytical and measurement techniques. Recent research projects included renewable sources for polyurethane synthesis, organic photovoltaics, maximising the properties of polymers and biopolymers through flow-induced crystallisation, formulation of home and personal care products and polymer foams for high intensity urban agriculture. He has co-authored more than 300 papers and patents and 2 books, "Polymer Processing and Structure Development" and "The Solar Revolution: One Planet, 10 Billion People, One Solution."

Tony holds a BSc and PhD from the University of Manchester and a DSc from UMIST. He held a NATO Research Fellowship at the University of Minnesota, was a Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Reader in Materials Science at The University of Manchester and was seconded to the Synchrotron Radiation Source at Daresbury. In 1997 he moved to Sheffield and served as Head of Chemistry before becoming the Pro Vice Chancellor for the Faculty of Science in 2008, a role which he fulfilled until 2016.

Dr Geoff Darch is Senior leader at Anglian Water, accountable for the development, monitoring and reporting of strategic plans for water and wastewater; related evidence and advice; and resource trading, including the company’s long-term Water Resources Management Plan, Drought Plan and associated investment planning.

Prior to joining Anglian Water in 2017, Geoff was Head of Climate Risks & Adaptation at Atkins, where he led applied research and consultancy studies for clients including international finance institutions, government departments, environmental agencies and utility companies.

Geoff is a guest lecturer at the Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia, and sits on several climate change working groups including at CIWEM and BSI.  He is co-founder of the Analysis under Uncertainty for Decision Makers network (http://au4dmnetworks.co.uk/). Geoff has a PhD in hydro-climatology, is a Chartered Scientist, and a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society.