Meet the Leaders
Join us at ICMAT 2025 to draw inspiration from top experts in Materials Science. Our distinguished speakers offer a rich blend of experience and innovation. Explore their profiles and anticipate insightful discussions, groundbreaking keynotes, and dynamic sessions set to transform the future of materials science.
Guest of Honour
Mr Tan Kiat How
Senior Minister of State, Ministry of National Development & Ministry of Digital Development and Information
Plenary Speakers
Rose Amal
UNSW, Australia
Rose Amal
UNSW, Australia
Presentation Date and Time:
Plenary 2: 30 June (time TBC)
Title:
Sunlight to X: Advanced Catalysis for Sustainable Chemical and Fuel Synthesis
Abstract:
The immense power of sunlight, with just two hours of solar irradiation being sufficient to power the entire planet for a year, underscores the potential of solar energy. While commercial technologies exist for converting sunlight to electricity, achieving net zero emissions requires decarbonizing sectors that are hard to abate, such as long haul aviation and maritime, and the chemical and steel industries. This presentation delves into the role of advanced catalysis in harnessing solar energy to synthesise chemicals and fuels sustainably. Advanced catalysts, characterised by their unique intrinsic properties including modified optical and electronic characteristics, significantly enhance the efficiency and selectivity of solar-driven chemical processes. Our research uses the entire solar spectrum, utilising UV and visible light for photocatalytic reactions and infrared radiation for thermal catalysis. These processes facilitate critical reactions like water splitting for hydrogen production, CO2 reduction, NOx reduction, and CO2 hydrogenation. Key advancements include our work with advanced catalysts such as ZnxIn2S3+x, which have elucidated the interplay between structure, activity, and selectivity—optimising the conversion of furfuryl alcohol into hydrogen and hydrofuroin, a potential jet fuel. Additionally, our integration of a solar-thermal reactor with a photovoltaic-electrolyser demonstrates the practical application of our research, optimising the solar-driven reduction of CO2 with hydrogen to produce methanol. This work not only demonstrates the versatility of solar energy in generating clean fuels and value-added organic transformations but also marks a significant advancement in the application of advanced catalytic materials for solar energy conversion. By providing viable alternatives to fossil fuels and advancing catalysis technologies, our findings contribute substantially to global energy sustainability.
Bio:
Professor Rose Amal is a Scientia Professor in the School of Chemical Engineering, UNSW, Sydney. She is Co-Director of ARC Training Centre for the Global Hydrogen Economy and Lead of NSW Powerfuel including H2 Network. She is Co-Editor in Chief of Applied Catalysis B: Environment and Energy. Her current research focuses on designing catalysts for solar and chemical energy conversion applications, making solar chemicals and fuels (such as H2) . Professor Rose Amal has received numerous prestigious awards including CHEMECA medalist (2021) and named as 2019 NSW Scientist of the Year. She is a Fellow of Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (FTSE), a Fellow of Australian Academy of Science (FAA), Fellow of Royal Society NSW (FRSN), Fellow of IChemE, and Honorary Fellow of Engineers Australia. She has received the nation’s top civilian honour – the Companion of the Order of Australia - for her service to chemical engineering, particularly in the field of particle technology, through seminal contributions to photocatalysis, to education as a researcher and academic, and to women in science as a role model and mentor.
Plenary 2: 30 June (time TBC)
Title:
Sunlight to X: Advanced Catalysis for Sustainable Chemical and Fuel Synthesis
Abstract:
The immense power of sunlight, with just two hours of solar irradiation being sufficient to power the entire planet for a year, underscores the potential of solar energy. While commercial technologies exist for converting sunlight to electricity, achieving net zero emissions requires decarbonizing sectors that are hard to abate, such as long haul aviation and maritime, and the chemical and steel industries. This presentation delves into the role of advanced catalysis in harnessing solar energy to synthesise chemicals and fuels sustainably. Advanced catalysts, characterised by their unique intrinsic properties including modified optical and electronic characteristics, significantly enhance the efficiency and selectivity of solar-driven chemical processes. Our research uses the entire solar spectrum, utilising UV and visible light for photocatalytic reactions and infrared radiation for thermal catalysis. These processes facilitate critical reactions like water splitting for hydrogen production, CO2 reduction, NOx reduction, and CO2 hydrogenation. Key advancements include our work with advanced catalysts such as ZnxIn2S3+x, which have elucidated the interplay between structure, activity, and selectivity—optimising the conversion of furfuryl alcohol into hydrogen and hydrofuroin, a potential jet fuel. Additionally, our integration of a solar-thermal reactor with a photovoltaic-electrolyser demonstrates the practical application of our research, optimising the solar-driven reduction of CO2 with hydrogen to produce methanol. This work not only demonstrates the versatility of solar energy in generating clean fuels and value-added organic transformations but also marks a significant advancement in the application of advanced catalytic materials for solar energy conversion. By providing viable alternatives to fossil fuels and advancing catalysis technologies, our findings contribute substantially to global energy sustainability.
Bio:
Professor Rose Amal is a Scientia Professor in the School of Chemical Engineering, UNSW, Sydney. She is Co-Director of ARC Training Centre for the Global Hydrogen Economy and Lead of NSW Powerfuel including H2 Network. She is Co-Editor in Chief of Applied Catalysis B: Environment and Energy. Her current research focuses on designing catalysts for solar and chemical energy conversion applications, making solar chemicals and fuels (such as H2) . Professor Rose Amal has received numerous prestigious awards including CHEMECA medalist (2021) and named as 2019 NSW Scientist of the Year. She is a Fellow of Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (FTSE), a Fellow of Australian Academy of Science (FAA), Fellow of Royal Society NSW (FRSN), Fellow of IChemE, and Honorary Fellow of Engineers Australia. She has received the nation’s top civilian honour – the Companion of the Order of Australia - for her service to chemical engineering, particularly in the field of particle technology, through seminal contributions to photocatalysis, to education as a researcher and academic, and to women in science as a role model and mentor.
Clare P. Grey
Cambridge, UK
Clare P. Grey
Cambridge, UK
Presentation Date and Time:
Plenary 3: 1 July: 11:45 – 12:30
Title:
Developing and Applying New Tools to Understand How Electrochemical Devices Function and Fail – From Batteries, Supercapacitors to Gated Electronics
Abstract:
Rechargeable batteries have been an integral part of the portable electronics revolution and are now playing a critical role in transport and grid applications to help mitigate climate change. However, these applications come with different sets of challenges. New technologies are being investigated and fundamental science is key to producing non-incremental advances and to develop new strategies for energy storage and conversion.
This talk will focus on our own work to develop NMR, MRI and new optical methods that allow devices to be probed while they are operating, from the local, to particle and then cell level. This allows transformations of the various cell materials to be followed under realistic conditions without having to disassemble and take apart the cell. Starting with local structure and dynamics, as measured by NMR, I will then show - with new optical methods - how the different dynamics can result in different intercalation mechanisms. A good example is our work on LiCoO2, where via optical approaches we were able to directly visualize movement of phase fronts as lithium is removed and inserted into this material. New results on solution-based redox flow and extremely high-rate batteries will be outlined; I will then illustrate how our new metrologies can be extended to study a wider range of electrochemical systems.
Bio:
Clare P. Grey, FRS, DBE is the Geoffrey Moorhouse-Gibson and Royal Society Professor of Chemistry at Cambridge University and a Fellow of Pembroke College Cambridge. She received a BA and D. Phil. (1991) in Chemistry from Oxford University. After post-doctoral fellowships in the Netherlands and at DuPont CR&D in Wilmington, DE, she joined the faculty at Stony Brook University (SBU) in 1994. She moved to Cambridge in 2009, maintaining an adjunct position at SBU. She was the founding director of the Northeastern Chemical Energy Storage Center, a Department of Energy, Energy Frontier Research Center, the director of the EPSRC Centre for Advanced Materials for Integrated Energy Systems (CAM-IES) and a founding member of the Faraday Institution. Recent honours/awards include the Société Chimique de France, French-British Prize (2017), the Solid State Ionics Galvani-Nernst-Wagner Mid-Career Award (2017), the Eastern Analytical Symposium Award for Outstanding Achievements in Magnetic Resonance (2018), the Italian Chemical Society Sacconi Medal (2018), the Charles Hatchett Award, IoM3 (2019), the RSC John Goodenough Award (2019), the Richard R. Ernst Prize in Magnetic Resonance (2020), the RS Hughes Award (2020), the Körber European Science Prize (2021) and the ACS Central Science Disrupters Prize (2022). She is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Electrochemical Society, and the International Society of Magnetic Resonance, a Foreign member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an International Member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), and received a DBE in 2022. Her current research interests include the use of solid state NMR and diffraction-based methods to determine structure-function relationships in materials for energy storage (batteries and supercapacitors), and conversion (fuel cells). She is a cofounder of the company Nyobolt, which seeks to develop batteries for fast charge applications.
Plenary 3: 1 July: 11:45 – 12:30
Title:
Developing and Applying New Tools to Understand How Electrochemical Devices Function and Fail – From Batteries, Supercapacitors to Gated Electronics
Abstract:
Rechargeable batteries have been an integral part of the portable electronics revolution and are now playing a critical role in transport and grid applications to help mitigate climate change. However, these applications come with different sets of challenges. New technologies are being investigated and fundamental science is key to producing non-incremental advances and to develop new strategies for energy storage and conversion.
This talk will focus on our own work to develop NMR, MRI and new optical methods that allow devices to be probed while they are operating, from the local, to particle and then cell level. This allows transformations of the various cell materials to be followed under realistic conditions without having to disassemble and take apart the cell. Starting with local structure and dynamics, as measured by NMR, I will then show - with new optical methods - how the different dynamics can result in different intercalation mechanisms. A good example is our work on LiCoO2, where via optical approaches we were able to directly visualize movement of phase fronts as lithium is removed and inserted into this material. New results on solution-based redox flow and extremely high-rate batteries will be outlined; I will then illustrate how our new metrologies can be extended to study a wider range of electrochemical systems.
Bio:
Clare P. Grey, FRS, DBE is the Geoffrey Moorhouse-Gibson and Royal Society Professor of Chemistry at Cambridge University and a Fellow of Pembroke College Cambridge. She received a BA and D. Phil. (1991) in Chemistry from Oxford University. After post-doctoral fellowships in the Netherlands and at DuPont CR&D in Wilmington, DE, she joined the faculty at Stony Brook University (SBU) in 1994. She moved to Cambridge in 2009, maintaining an adjunct position at SBU. She was the founding director of the Northeastern Chemical Energy Storage Center, a Department of Energy, Energy Frontier Research Center, the director of the EPSRC Centre for Advanced Materials for Integrated Energy Systems (CAM-IES) and a founding member of the Faraday Institution. Recent honours/awards include the Société Chimique de France, French-British Prize (2017), the Solid State Ionics Galvani-Nernst-Wagner Mid-Career Award (2017), the Eastern Analytical Symposium Award for Outstanding Achievements in Magnetic Resonance (2018), the Italian Chemical Society Sacconi Medal (2018), the Charles Hatchett Award, IoM3 (2019), the RSC John Goodenough Award (2019), the Richard R. Ernst Prize in Magnetic Resonance (2020), the RS Hughes Award (2020), the Körber European Science Prize (2021) and the ACS Central Science Disrupters Prize (2022). She is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Electrochemical Society, and the International Society of Magnetic Resonance, a Foreign member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an International Member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), and received a DBE in 2022. Her current research interests include the use of solid state NMR and diffraction-based methods to determine structure-function relationships in materials for energy storage (batteries and supercapacitors), and conversion (fuel cells). She is a cofounder of the company Nyobolt, which seeks to develop batteries for fast charge applications.
Min Gu
University of Shanghai, China
Min Gu
University of Shanghai, China
Presentation Date and Time:
Plenary 7: 3 July: 11:45 – 12:30
Title:
Optical Artificial Intelligence Enabled by Functional Materials
Abstract:
Artificial intelligence based on ever-increasing computing power including neuromorphic computing has heralded a disruptive horizon in many ways of our life. The concept of optical artificial intelligence has demonstrated its unique advantage in terms of the ultrafast computational speed and ultralow energy consumption. In pursuing this vision, the diffractive neural network harvesting the spatial connection among digitised pixels is one of the promising emerging technologies in this race as it offers a potential for ultrafast neuromorphic computing power with a high neural density. Invented by Dennis Gabor in 1948, holography offers a diffractive approach to reconstructing both the intensity and phase information of an object under investigation. In the area of optical holography demonstrated in 1962, this technology can be multiplexed in many physical domains, which is advantageous for high connectivity of holographic neural networks. With the advanced function materials including graphene, topological and perovskite composites, I will show ultrafast artificial intelligence enabled by optical nanoscale holograms fabricated by femtosecond laser lithography as well as temporal optical inferencing.
Bio:
Professor Gu is Executive Chancellor and Distinguished Professor of University of Shanghai for Science and Technology. He was Distinguished Professor and Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor at RMIT University, and a Laureate Fellow of the Australian Research Council, Pro Vice-Chancellor, and a University Distinguished Professor at Swinburne University of Technology. He is an author of four standard reference books and has over 600 publications in nano/biophotonics. He is an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering as well as Foreign Fellow of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He is also an elected fellow of SPIE, Optica, IEEE, AIP, InstP and COS. He was President of the International Society of Optics within Life Sciences, Vice President of the Board of the International Commission for Optics (ICO) (Chair of the ICO Prize Committee) and a Director of the Board of Optica (formerly OSA) (Chair of the International Council). He was awarded the Einstein Professorship, the W. H. (Beattie) Steel Medal, the Ian Wark Medal, the Boas Medal and the Victoria Prize. Professor Gu is a winner of the 2019 Dennis Gabor Award (SPIE) and the 2022 Emmett Norman Leith Medal (Optica).
Plenary 7: 3 July: 11:45 – 12:30
Title:
Optical Artificial Intelligence Enabled by Functional Materials
Abstract:
Artificial intelligence based on ever-increasing computing power including neuromorphic computing has heralded a disruptive horizon in many ways of our life. The concept of optical artificial intelligence has demonstrated its unique advantage in terms of the ultrafast computational speed and ultralow energy consumption. In pursuing this vision, the diffractive neural network harvesting the spatial connection among digitised pixels is one of the promising emerging technologies in this race as it offers a potential for ultrafast neuromorphic computing power with a high neural density. Invented by Dennis Gabor in 1948, holography offers a diffractive approach to reconstructing both the intensity and phase information of an object under investigation. In the area of optical holography demonstrated in 1962, this technology can be multiplexed in many physical domains, which is advantageous for high connectivity of holographic neural networks. With the advanced function materials including graphene, topological and perovskite composites, I will show ultrafast artificial intelligence enabled by optical nanoscale holograms fabricated by femtosecond laser lithography as well as temporal optical inferencing.
Bio:
Professor Gu is Executive Chancellor and Distinguished Professor of University of Shanghai for Science and Technology. He was Distinguished Professor and Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor at RMIT University, and a Laureate Fellow of the Australian Research Council, Pro Vice-Chancellor, and a University Distinguished Professor at Swinburne University of Technology. He is an author of four standard reference books and has over 600 publications in nano/biophotonics. He is an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering as well as Foreign Fellow of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He is also an elected fellow of SPIE, Optica, IEEE, AIP, InstP and COS. He was President of the International Society of Optics within Life Sciences, Vice President of the Board of the International Commission for Optics (ICO) (Chair of the ICO Prize Committee) and a Director of the Board of Optica (formerly OSA) (Chair of the International Council). He was awarded the Einstein Professorship, the W. H. (Beattie) Steel Medal, the Ian Wark Medal, the Boas Medal and the Victoria Prize. Professor Gu is a winner of the 2019 Dennis Gabor Award (SPIE) and the 2022 Emmett Norman Leith Medal (Optica).
Pablo Jarillo-Herrero
MIT, US
Pablo Jarillo-Herrero
MIT, US
Presentation Date and Time:
Plenary 5: 2 July: 11:45 – 12:30
Title:
Next Generation Moiré Quantum Matter
Abstract:
The understanding of strongly-interacting quantum matter has challenged physicists for decades. The discovery five years ago of correlated phases and superconductivity in magic angle twisted bilayer graphene has led to the emergence of a new materials platform to investigate strongly interacting physics, namely moiré quantum matter. In this talk I will review recent experiments on next generation moiré quantum matter, both twisted multilayer graphene systems as well as dual (or asymmetric) moiré systems. In particular, first I will briefly discuss our experiments on magic-angle twisted multilayer graphene as a family of robust moiré superconductors. Second, I will discuss the engineering of moiré quasicrystals and a new type of unconventional ferroelectricity and electron ratchet in asymmetric moiré systems.
Bio
Pablo Jarillo-Herrero is currently Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics at MIT. He received his “Licenciatura” in physics from the University of Valencia, Spain, in 1999. Then he spent two years at the University of California in San Diego, where he received a M.Sc. degree before going to the Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands, where he earned his Ph.D. in 2005. After a one-year postdoc in Delft, he moved to Columbia University, where he worked as a NanoResearch Initiative Fellow. He joined MIT as an assistant professor of physics in January 2008 and received tenure in 2015. He was promoted to Full Professor of Physics in 2018. His awards include the Spanish Royal Society Young Investigator Award (2006), an NSF Career Award (2008), an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship (2009), a David and Lucile Packard Fellowship (2009), the IUPAP Young Scientist Prize in Semiconductor Physics (2010), a DOE Early Career Award (2011), a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE, 2012), an ONR Young Investigator Award (2013), and a Moore Foundation Experimental Physics in Quantum Systems Investigator Award (2014). Prof. Jarillo-Herrero has been selected as a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics-Web of Science (2017-present), and was elected APS Fellow (2018), Fellow of the Quantum Materials Program of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR, 2019), and Member at Large of the APS Division of Condensed Matter Physics (2019). Prof. Jarillo-Herrero is the recipient of the APS 2020 Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Physics Prize, the 2020 Wolf Prize in Physics, the 2020 Medal of the Spanish Royal Physics Society, the 2021 Lise Meitner Distinguished Lecture and Medal, the 2021 Max Planck Humboldt Research Award, and the 2021 US National Academy of Sciences Award for Scientific Discovery. He became elected to the US National Academy of Sciences in 2022.
Plenary 5: 2 July: 11:45 – 12:30
Title:
Next Generation Moiré Quantum Matter
Abstract:
The understanding of strongly-interacting quantum matter has challenged physicists for decades. The discovery five years ago of correlated phases and superconductivity in magic angle twisted bilayer graphene has led to the emergence of a new materials platform to investigate strongly interacting physics, namely moiré quantum matter. In this talk I will review recent experiments on next generation moiré quantum matter, both twisted multilayer graphene systems as well as dual (or asymmetric) moiré systems. In particular, first I will briefly discuss our experiments on magic-angle twisted multilayer graphene as a family of robust moiré superconductors. Second, I will discuss the engineering of moiré quasicrystals and a new type of unconventional ferroelectricity and electron ratchet in asymmetric moiré systems.
Bio
Pablo Jarillo-Herrero is currently Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics at MIT. He received his “Licenciatura” in physics from the University of Valencia, Spain, in 1999. Then he spent two years at the University of California in San Diego, where he received a M.Sc. degree before going to the Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands, where he earned his Ph.D. in 2005. After a one-year postdoc in Delft, he moved to Columbia University, where he worked as a NanoResearch Initiative Fellow. He joined MIT as an assistant professor of physics in January 2008 and received tenure in 2015. He was promoted to Full Professor of Physics in 2018. His awards include the Spanish Royal Society Young Investigator Award (2006), an NSF Career Award (2008), an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship (2009), a David and Lucile Packard Fellowship (2009), the IUPAP Young Scientist Prize in Semiconductor Physics (2010), a DOE Early Career Award (2011), a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE, 2012), an ONR Young Investigator Award (2013), and a Moore Foundation Experimental Physics in Quantum Systems Investigator Award (2014). Prof. Jarillo-Herrero has been selected as a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics-Web of Science (2017-present), and was elected APS Fellow (2018), Fellow of the Quantum Materials Program of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR, 2019), and Member at Large of the APS Division of Condensed Matter Physics (2019). Prof. Jarillo-Herrero is the recipient of the APS 2020 Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Physics Prize, the 2020 Wolf Prize in Physics, the 2020 Medal of the Spanish Royal Physics Society, the 2021 Lise Meitner Distinguished Lecture and Medal, the 2021 Max Planck Humboldt Research Award, and the 2021 US National Academy of Sciences Award for Scientific Discovery. He became elected to the US National Academy of Sciences in 2022.
Susan Trolier McKinstry
Penn State University, US
Susan Trolier McKinstry
Penn State University, US
Presentation Date and Time:
Plenary 8: 3 July: 15:45 – 16:00
Title:
Ferroelectric Thin Films for Piezoelectric MEMS and Three Dimensional Non-volatile Memory
Abstract:
In the first part of the talk, the use of ferroelectric films for low voltage piezoelectric microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) will be discussed. The key figures of merit for actuators and energy harvesting will be described, with emphasis on how to achieve these on practical substrates. For example, control of the domain structure of the ferroelectric material allows the energy harvesting figure of merit for the piezoelectric layer to be increased by factors of 4 – 10. Likewise, control of crystallographic orientation and substrate clamping enables large increases in the figure of merit for actuators. Examples of integration into MEMS structures will also be given, including miniaturized ultrasound systems for imaging and particle manipulation, low frequency and non-resonant piezoelectric energy harvesting devices, and adjustable optics. The second part of the talk will discuss new families of ferroelectric materials available for integration with CMOS electronics. These new materials, including Hf1-xZrxO2, Al1-xScxN, Al1-xBxN and Zn1-xMgxO, offer the possibility of new functionalities. This talk will discuss the possibility of exploiting the 3rd dimension in microelectronics for functions beyond interconnects, enabling 3D non-von Neumann computer architectures exploiting ferroelectrics for local memory, logic in memory, digital/analog computation, and neuromorphic functionality. This approach circumvents the end of Moore’s law in 2D scaling, while simultaneously overcoming the “von Neumann bottleneck” in moving instructions and data between separate logic and memory circuits. Computing accounts for 5 – 15% of worldwide energy consumption. While recent efficiency gains in hardware have partially mitigated the rising energy consumption of computing, major gains are achievable in a paradigm shift to 3D computing systems, especially those that closely couple memory and logic. Emphasis will be placed to the wurtzite family of ferroelectric films as potential candidates for non-volatile memory to address this problem.
Bio:
Susan Trolier-McKinstry is an Evan Pugh University Professor and Steward S. Flaschen Professor of Ceramic Science and Engineering, and Professor of Electrical Engineering. Her main research interests include thin films for dielectric and piezoelectric applications. She directs both the Center for Dielectrics and Piezoelectrics and the Center for Three-Dimensional Ferroelectric Microelectronics. She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a fellow of the American Ceramic Society, IEEE, and the Materials Research Society, and an academician of the World Academy of Ceramics. She currently serves as an associate editor for Applied Physics Letters. She was 2017 President of the Materials Research Society; previously she served as president of the IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control Society, as well as Keramos.
Plenary 8: 3 July: 15:45 – 16:00
Title:
Ferroelectric Thin Films for Piezoelectric MEMS and Three Dimensional Non-volatile Memory
Abstract:
In the first part of the talk, the use of ferroelectric films for low voltage piezoelectric microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) will be discussed. The key figures of merit for actuators and energy harvesting will be described, with emphasis on how to achieve these on practical substrates. For example, control of the domain structure of the ferroelectric material allows the energy harvesting figure of merit for the piezoelectric layer to be increased by factors of 4 – 10. Likewise, control of crystallographic orientation and substrate clamping enables large increases in the figure of merit for actuators. Examples of integration into MEMS structures will also be given, including miniaturized ultrasound systems for imaging and particle manipulation, low frequency and non-resonant piezoelectric energy harvesting devices, and adjustable optics. The second part of the talk will discuss new families of ferroelectric materials available for integration with CMOS electronics. These new materials, including Hf1-xZrxO2, Al1-xScxN, Al1-xBxN and Zn1-xMgxO, offer the possibility of new functionalities. This talk will discuss the possibility of exploiting the 3rd dimension in microelectronics for functions beyond interconnects, enabling 3D non-von Neumann computer architectures exploiting ferroelectrics for local memory, logic in memory, digital/analog computation, and neuromorphic functionality. This approach circumvents the end of Moore’s law in 2D scaling, while simultaneously overcoming the “von Neumann bottleneck” in moving instructions and data between separate logic and memory circuits. Computing accounts for 5 – 15% of worldwide energy consumption. While recent efficiency gains in hardware have partially mitigated the rising energy consumption of computing, major gains are achievable in a paradigm shift to 3D computing systems, especially those that closely couple memory and logic. Emphasis will be placed to the wurtzite family of ferroelectric films as potential candidates for non-volatile memory to address this problem.
Bio:
Susan Trolier-McKinstry is an Evan Pugh University Professor and Steward S. Flaschen Professor of Ceramic Science and Engineering, and Professor of Electrical Engineering. Her main research interests include thin films for dielectric and piezoelectric applications. She directs both the Center for Dielectrics and Piezoelectrics and the Center for Three-Dimensional Ferroelectric Microelectronics. She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a fellow of the American Ceramic Society, IEEE, and the Materials Research Society, and an academician of the World Academy of Ceramics. She currently serves as an associate editor for Applied Physics Letters. She was 2017 President of the Materials Research Society; previously she served as president of the IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control Society, as well as Keramos.
Nam Gyu Park
Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea
Nam Gyu Park
Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea
Presentation Date and Time:
Plenary 6: 2 July: 14:15 – 15:00
Title:
Perovskite Solar Cells: The New Frontier of Solar Energy
Abstract:
Meeting the escalating electricity demands of our advancing society, particularly at the terawatt scale, requires achieving high power conversion efficiency and low cost per peak watt in solar cell technology simultaneously. Prior to the introduction of perovskite solar cells, only a limited array of materials and technologies could meet both criteria. This presentation traces the evolution toward the development of practical solid-state perovskite solar cells. Beginning with an overview of initial technologies, the discussion progresses to the emergence of solid-state perovskite solar cells. Early efforts involved the use of quantum dot inorganic materials, such as nanocrystalline lead sulfide, as light harvesters. Despite their potential, these materials encountered significant challenges, primarily surface-defect-mediated recombination. Acknowledging these limitations, methylammonium lead triiodide (MAPbI3) perovskite emerged as an alternative to inorganic quantum dots. However, initial implementations as sensitizers in liquid-electrolyte-contained structures yielded disappointing results, with efficiencies as low as 3-4% in 2009 and the dissolution of MAPbI3. A breakthrough occurred in 2012 when a pioneering study demonstrated a 9.7% efficient and 500-hour-stable perovskite solar cell, leveraging MAPbI3 and a solid hole transporting material. This pivotal advancement rendered perovskite solar cells a viable and durable technology. Subsequent years witnessed rapid growth in perovskite photovoltaic research, with efficiencies approaching 27% using FAPbI3, surpassing existing technologies. Current research endeavors focus on enhancing stability and exploring tandem structures for electricity generation in both terrestrial and space applications. The perovskite solar cell stands poised as the most promising energy solution, with its potential impact on sustainable energy surpassing current expectations once stability and lead immobilization challenges are effectively addressed.
Bio:
am-Gyu Park is a Distinguished Professor at the School of Chemical Engineering and Director of the SKKU Institute of Energy Science and Technology (SIEST), Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU). He received his B.S. degree in chemical education in 1988, M.S. in 1992 and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry in 1995 from Seoul National University. Park worked as postdoctoral researcher at the Institut de Chimie de la Matiere Condensee de Bordeaux – Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (ICMCB-CNRS), France, from 1996 to 1997 and at National Renewable Energy Laboratory, US, from 1997 to 1999. He joined SKKU as a full professor of School of Chemical Engineering in 2009. His research interests are: perovskite solar cell, resistive memory (memristor) and X-ray imaging & LED.
Plenary 6: 2 July: 14:15 – 15:00
Title:
Perovskite Solar Cells: The New Frontier of Solar Energy
Abstract:
Meeting the escalating electricity demands of our advancing society, particularly at the terawatt scale, requires achieving high power conversion efficiency and low cost per peak watt in solar cell technology simultaneously. Prior to the introduction of perovskite solar cells, only a limited array of materials and technologies could meet both criteria. This presentation traces the evolution toward the development of practical solid-state perovskite solar cells. Beginning with an overview of initial technologies, the discussion progresses to the emergence of solid-state perovskite solar cells. Early efforts involved the use of quantum dot inorganic materials, such as nanocrystalline lead sulfide, as light harvesters. Despite their potential, these materials encountered significant challenges, primarily surface-defect-mediated recombination. Acknowledging these limitations, methylammonium lead triiodide (MAPbI3) perovskite emerged as an alternative to inorganic quantum dots. However, initial implementations as sensitizers in liquid-electrolyte-contained structures yielded disappointing results, with efficiencies as low as 3-4% in 2009 and the dissolution of MAPbI3. A breakthrough occurred in 2012 when a pioneering study demonstrated a 9.7% efficient and 500-hour-stable perovskite solar cell, leveraging MAPbI3 and a solid hole transporting material. This pivotal advancement rendered perovskite solar cells a viable and durable technology. Subsequent years witnessed rapid growth in perovskite photovoltaic research, with efficiencies approaching 27% using FAPbI3, surpassing existing technologies. Current research endeavors focus on enhancing stability and exploring tandem structures for electricity generation in both terrestrial and space applications. The perovskite solar cell stands poised as the most promising energy solution, with its potential impact on sustainable energy surpassing current expectations once stability and lead immobilization challenges are effectively addressed.
Bio:
am-Gyu Park is a Distinguished Professor at the School of Chemical Engineering and Director of the SKKU Institute of Energy Science and Technology (SIEST), Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU). He received his B.S. degree in chemical education in 1988, M.S. in 1992 and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry in 1995 from Seoul National University. Park worked as postdoctoral researcher at the Institut de Chimie de la Matiere Condensee de Bordeaux – Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (ICMCB-CNRS), France, from 1996 to 1997 and at National Renewable Energy Laboratory, US, from 1997 to 1999. He joined SKKU as a full professor of School of Chemical Engineering in 2009. His research interests are: perovskite solar cell, resistive memory (memristor) and X-ray imaging & LED.
Takao Someya
University of Tokyo, Japan
Takao Someya
University of Tokyo, Japan
Presentation Date and Time:
Plenary 4: 1 July: 14:15 – 15:00
Title:
Electronic Skins for Robotics and Wearables
Abstract:
The human skin, functioning as a large-area, multi-point, multi-modal, and flexible sensor, serves as inspiration for the development of electronic skin in robots, aimed at detecting pressure and thermal patterns simultaneously. With advancements in flexibility, electronic skin has transcended its initial use in robotics and expanded into next-generation wearable technologies for humans. This evolution has now reached a stage where ultra-thin semiconductor membranes can be directly attached to the skin. This seamless integration of electronics with human skin allows for continuous health monitoring over prolonged periods, facilitating personalized medical care. The ultimate goal of electronic skin is to non-invasively capture human activities in natural settings, fostering interactive synergy between electronic and human skin. In this presentation, I will discuss recent advancements in stretchable thin-film electronics, focusing on their applications in robotics and next-generation healthcare wearables. I will also address the challenges faced in this field and highlight the potential future prospects of electronic skin.
Bio:
Dr. Takao Someya is Executive Director and Vice President and Professor at the University of Tokyo. He also serves as Director General of the Division of University Corporate Relations, with oversight of startup initiatives. He is recognized as an inventor of electronic skins, which was featured in TIME Magazine as one of the best inventions of the year in 2005. His current research focus is on next-generation wearables with organic electronics for application to healthcare, biomedical, and robotics. His additional positions include Global Scholar at Princeton University, GlobalFoundaries Visiting Professor at National University of Singapore, and Hans Fisher Senior Fellow at Technical University of Munich. The Fujiwara Award has recently been added to the list of honors recognizing his achievements, alongside the 16th Leo Esaki Prize and the Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in 2019. He is the 2024 President of the Materials Research Society in the US, first to be elected to the position from Asia.
Plenary 4: 1 July: 14:15 – 15:00
Title:
Electronic Skins for Robotics and Wearables
Abstract:
The human skin, functioning as a large-area, multi-point, multi-modal, and flexible sensor, serves as inspiration for the development of electronic skin in robots, aimed at detecting pressure and thermal patterns simultaneously. With advancements in flexibility, electronic skin has transcended its initial use in robotics and expanded into next-generation wearable technologies for humans. This evolution has now reached a stage where ultra-thin semiconductor membranes can be directly attached to the skin. This seamless integration of electronics with human skin allows for continuous health monitoring over prolonged periods, facilitating personalized medical care. The ultimate goal of electronic skin is to non-invasively capture human activities in natural settings, fostering interactive synergy between electronic and human skin. In this presentation, I will discuss recent advancements in stretchable thin-film electronics, focusing on their applications in robotics and next-generation healthcare wearables. I will also address the challenges faced in this field and highlight the potential future prospects of electronic skin.
Bio:
Dr. Takao Someya is Executive Director and Vice President and Professor at the University of Tokyo. He also serves as Director General of the Division of University Corporate Relations, with oversight of startup initiatives. He is recognized as an inventor of electronic skins, which was featured in TIME Magazine as one of the best inventions of the year in 2005. His current research focus is on next-generation wearables with organic electronics for application to healthcare, biomedical, and robotics. His additional positions include Global Scholar at Princeton University, GlobalFoundaries Visiting Professor at National University of Singapore, and Hans Fisher Senior Fellow at Technical University of Munich. The Fujiwara Award has recently been added to the list of honors recognizing his achievements, alongside the 16th Leo Esaki Prize and the Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in 2019. He is the 2024 President of the Materials Research Society in the US, first to be elected to the position from Asia.
Aaron Voon-Yew Thean
NUS, Singapore
Aaron Voon-Yew Thean
NUS, Singapore
Presentation Date and Time:
Plenary 1: 30 June (time TBC)
Title:
Towards Chips That Rewire Themselves? …How Novel Material-System Co-design Can Enable Them
Abstract:
Ultra-low energy and area-efficient electronic systems are required to enable untethered computing at the edge of IoT. To realize self-learning edge-AI systems, conventional solely software-driven deep-learning neural networks becomes a major roadblock due the excessive energy expense of training. Hence, fundamental hardware change is likely needed. In this talk, we review our recent material innovations (E.g. Ferroelectric oxides and 2D Material) and we show how close coupling with new micro-architecture innovations (E.g. New memory physical layout and Monolithic 3D IC) may significantly accelerate in-memory computation. We explore wafer-level solution-processed CMOS-compatible use of 2D Material (MoS2/WSe2) to enable high-endurance memristors that can have properties superior to conventional oxide RRAMs. We discuss the use and enabling of multi-gated HZO-based low-thermal-budget ferroelectric oxide memtransistors for new reconfigurable non-volatile logic and interconnect. In co-operation with specific system-level innovations, we review material-system co-design in data encoding for deep convolution neural network. We show through material-device-aware data encoding, error correction, and novel physical memory layout (staggered + Manhattan arrays), that aim to simplify in-memory data process, one can significantly manage variabilities while accelerating convolution deep neural network operations and offer substantial low-energy opportunities towards reconfigurable Edge-AI systems.
Bio:
Aaron Thean is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He currently the Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost at NUS. In addition, he holds several technical leadership responsibilities at the University; which includes Director of SHINE research center on Next-Generation Hybrid Electronics research, and the founding Director of the Applied Materials-NUS Corporate Laboratory on Advanced Materials Research. Prior to NUS, Aaron Thean was the Vice President of Logic Technologies at IMEC. Working with Semiconductor Industry leaders like Intel, TSMC, Samsung, Globalfoundries, Apple, and Sony, he directed the research and development of next-generation semiconductor technologies and emerging nano-device architectures. Prior to joining IMEC in 2011, he was with Qualcomm’s CDMA technologies in San Diego, California. Aaron and his group worked on Qualcomm’s 20nm and 16nm mobile System-On-Chip technologies. From 2007 to 2009, Aaron was with IBM, where he developed the 28-nm and 32-nm low-power bulk CMOS technology at IBM East Fishkill, New York. Before IBM, Aaron was with Freescale Semiconductor (and Motorola) where he led research on many novel devices. Aaron graduated from University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, USA, where he received his B.Sc. (Highest Honors), M.Sc., and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering (Edmund J. James Scholar). He has published over 300 technical papers and holds more than 50 US patents.
Plenary 1: 30 June (time TBC)
Title:
Towards Chips That Rewire Themselves? …How Novel Material-System Co-design Can Enable Them
Abstract:
Ultra-low energy and area-efficient electronic systems are required to enable untethered computing at the edge of IoT. To realize self-learning edge-AI systems, conventional solely software-driven deep-learning neural networks becomes a major roadblock due the excessive energy expense of training. Hence, fundamental hardware change is likely needed. In this talk, we review our recent material innovations (E.g. Ferroelectric oxides and 2D Material) and we show how close coupling with new micro-architecture innovations (E.g. New memory physical layout and Monolithic 3D IC) may significantly accelerate in-memory computation. We explore wafer-level solution-processed CMOS-compatible use of 2D Material (MoS2/WSe2) to enable high-endurance memristors that can have properties superior to conventional oxide RRAMs. We discuss the use and enabling of multi-gated HZO-based low-thermal-budget ferroelectric oxide memtransistors for new reconfigurable non-volatile logic and interconnect. In co-operation with specific system-level innovations, we review material-system co-design in data encoding for deep convolution neural network. We show through material-device-aware data encoding, error correction, and novel physical memory layout (staggered + Manhattan arrays), that aim to simplify in-memory data process, one can significantly manage variabilities while accelerating convolution deep neural network operations and offer substantial low-energy opportunities towards reconfigurable Edge-AI systems.
Bio:
Aaron Thean is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He currently the Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost at NUS. In addition, he holds several technical leadership responsibilities at the University; which includes Director of SHINE research center on Next-Generation Hybrid Electronics research, and the founding Director of the Applied Materials-NUS Corporate Laboratory on Advanced Materials Research. Prior to NUS, Aaron Thean was the Vice President of Logic Technologies at IMEC. Working with Semiconductor Industry leaders like Intel, TSMC, Samsung, Globalfoundries, Apple, and Sony, he directed the research and development of next-generation semiconductor technologies and emerging nano-device architectures. Prior to joining IMEC in 2011, he was with Qualcomm’s CDMA technologies in San Diego, California. Aaron and his group worked on Qualcomm’s 20nm and 16nm mobile System-On-Chip technologies. From 2007 to 2009, Aaron was with IBM, where he developed the 28-nm and 32-nm low-power bulk CMOS technology at IBM East Fishkill, New York. Before IBM, Aaron was with Freescale Semiconductor (and Motorola) where he led research on many novel devices. Aaron graduated from University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, USA, where he received his B.Sc. (Highest Honors), M.Sc., and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering (Edmund J. James Scholar). He has published over 300 technical papers and holds more than 50 US patents.