Dr. Kim is a professor in the School of Life Sciences at Kyungpook National University (KNU), Korea. He received B.S. (1993) from Kyungpook National University, Korea, and M.S (1996) and Ph.D. (1999) from Illinois Institute of Technology, IL, USA. Before joining KNU, he worked at Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, IL, USA (2000-02), Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Korea (2002-12). Major research interest includes structural biology, enzyme engineering, and plastic degradation. Using his PET degradative technologies, he found a venture company, Zyen, Co., and some of his technologies for biological PET degradation and enzyme engineering have been transferred to industries in Korea, such as CJ Cheiljedang, Daesang, and GENOFOCUS, and collaborated with CJ Cheiljedang for industrialization of biological PET recycle. Prof. Kim published >150 research papers and holds >30 patents.

Dr. Pierre Bérubé is a Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of British Columbia (UBC), where he has been a faculty member since 2002. He is internationally recognized for his expertise in drinking water treatment technologies, particularly membrane filtration. Over a career spanning more than 30 years in research, consulting, and teaching, Dr. Bérubé has made significant contributions to the advancement of water treatment systems, with many of his innovations now widely adopted as industry standards.
Through collaborations with industry, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations, Dr. Bérubé’s research has led to the development of new tools and methodologies for optimizing the design and operation of low-pressure membrane systems. His current work focuses on two key areas: the development of passive membrane systems that use gravity, rather than electricity, to produce high-quality potable water for small, remote, and marginalized communities; and the study of membrane material ageing to extend membrane lifespan and improve access to clean water technologies.
Dr. Bérubé has authored or co-authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications, conference papers, and technical reports, and has supervised over 60 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. In addition to his academic contributions, he serves as Vice President (Pacific) on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Association on Water Quality (CAWQ) and as a member of the Management Committee of the International Water Association (IWA) Specialist Group on Membrane Technology. He has also contributed to national and international scientific panels, including the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

Prof. Emile Cornelissen is a Principle Scientist at KWR Water Research Institute in the Netherlands (since 2003) and part-time Professor at the Particle and Interfacial Technology (PaInT) Group at the University of Ghent in Belgium (since 2017). He works also as a Visiting Scientist at the Singapore Membrane Technology Centre (SMTC) at the NTU in Singapore (since 2014).
He obtained his Chemical Engineering MSc (1992) and PhD degree (1997) at the University of Twente (the Netherlands) in the field of Membrane Science and Engineering. His past and current research topics include membrane fouling and cleaning, rejection of emerging contaminants (e.g. PFAS) by pressure, electrical and osmotic driven membranes and developing innovative membrane based concepts, such as (i) use of air/water to control spiral wound membrane fouling, (ii) fluidized ion exchange, (iii) osmotic membrane processes (forward osmosis on activated sludge and waste water) and (iv) salinity driven membrane processes for water and energy production (reverse electro dialysis and pressure retarded osmosis). His research bridges science to practice, and a strong collaborative research link is established with the water sector (BTO/TKI via KWR), material and system suppliers and industrial end-users.
He (co-)supervised 9 PhD-students (of which several Wetsus PhD-students) and is now currently supervising 8 PhD-students at PaInT. He published more than 129 papers in well-respected scientific journals (h-factor of 44), co-filed 5 patents and written three book chapters. He received several innovation awards in the field of water treatment and membrane science and engineering.