Yi-Bing Cheng is currently a Strategic Scientist at the Foshan Xianhu Laboratory, Guangdong Province and Professor of Wuhan University of Technology, China, and Emeritus Professor of Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Monash University, Australia. He is an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering. He was an academic staff at Monash University between 1991 and 2018. He specialises in materials science and technology and has worked in a wide range of materials and processing technologies. His current work at Foshan Xianhu Lab is to develop carbon-free fuel combustion technologies for high temperature manufacturing industries.

Chuyun (Chowreen) Zhang is the Assistant to the President at Monalisa Group, primarily focusing on brand management. As a representative of the younger generation in the Chinese ceramic tiles industry, she advocates for interdisciplinary and diversified approaches to sustainable brand development. She believes that a tile brand must engage in cross-field practices to survive and thrive. This perspective stems from her nearly nine years of academic experience in the United States. She began with a bachelor’s degree in arts, and later earned a master’s degree in brand management from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Chowreen is committed to advancing Monalisa toward becoming a more diversified and sustainable brand.

Ammonia combustion for manufacturing of ceramic tiles

Ning Yan is Professor of Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Director of Centre for Hydrogen Innovations at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Ning Yan works actively in advanced catalysis, renewable energy, and sustainable chemistry, for which he was duly recognized by recent awards from the Royal Society of Chemistry, American Chemical Society and National University of Singapore, among others. He is listed as a Highly Cited Researcher 2020 (Chemistry) as well as 2022, 2023 (Cross fields) by Clarivate, and he serves as Editor-in-Chief for Molecular Catalysis and President for Singapore Catalysis Society. Ning Yan received his BSc and PhD degree from Peking University, and he was a Marie-Curie Fellow in EPFL, Switzerland before joining NUS.

Sundar Chidambaram is the Vice President of Strategy and Business Operations for the Asia Pacific region at Siemens Energy, a position he has held since June 2020. Based in Singapore, he leads strategic initiatives and business operations to drive growth and excellence in the region. Previously, Sundar spent over five years at Siemens, where he served in various roles including Head of Service Quality and Business Excellence for Asia Pacific and China, and Regional Quality and Business Excellence Manager. His tenure at Siemens was marked by significant contributions to service quality improvement and operational excellence. Before joining Siemens, Sundar worked at Rolls-Royce for over seven years, where he held several key positions such as Regional Quality Manager and Six Sigma Black Belt, and Customer Service Quality Manager. His expertise in quality management and operational excellence was honed during his time at Rolls-Royce, contributing to his reputation as a leader in the field. Before joining Siemens, he held various roles at companies like Whirlpool Corporation, Nationwide, and Dell. His early career included positions such as Quality Engineer and SAS Consultant. Academically, Sundar holds a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) from The University of Manchester, a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of Southern California, and a Bachelor of Technology in Chemical Engineering from the University of Madras. He also completed the NextGen Leaders program in Organizational Leadership at the THNK School of Leadership.

Ammonia cracking: catalyst developments, reactor innovation and system integration