Speakers

Biography: Prof. Ng Choon Aun currently serves as a Professor in the Department of Environmental Engineering and has held the position of Dean at the Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology since 2022. He earned his PhD in Environmental Engineering from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and holds a Master of Engineering in Civil–Environmental Management as well as a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Civil–Environmental, both from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Prof. Ng’s research expertise lies in the areas of wastewater treatment, specifically using aerobic and anaerobic activated sludge processes, hybrid membrane technologies, and the development of sustainable green building materials. Over the course of his career, he has been involved in more than 30 research projects and has published over 70 peer-reviewed journal articles and 30 conference papers. He is the principal inventor of two granted patents involving membrane technology and wastewater treatment systems, and he recently filed another patent application in the field of green construction materials. Beyond academia, Prof. Ng is actively engaged as a consultant and professional trainer for numerous commercial and industrial projects. He is a Fellow of the ASEAN Academy of Engineering and Technology (AAET), a registered Professional Engineer with the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM), and also serves as a panel member for the accreditation of engineering programmes under BEM.

Abstract: The talk explored the innovative use of various waste-derived materials—specifically calcined alum sludge, partially carbonized alum sludge ash (ASA), ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), and bottom ash—as partial replacements for cement and sand in mortar production. The findings demonstrated that calcined alum sludge, particularly when treated at 800 °C, resulted in the highest mortar strength among all tested conditions. However, increasing the replacement level beyond 5 % led to a decline in workability, compressive and flexural strength, and overall durability. This was primarily due to the increased water demand and higher porosity caused by the sludge’s properties. In the second study, ASA treated at 200–300 °C was combined with GGBFS to assess their effectiveness as supplementary cementitious materials. While higher ASA content adversely affected mechanical strength and workability, an optimal blend of 2.0 wt% ASA and 4.0 wt% GGBFS achieved favorable performance, including a compressive strength of 20.6 MPa after 28 days, and contributed significantly to waste minimization efforts. The third study focused on bottom ash derived from thermal plasma-treated municipal waste. When used to replace 5–15 % of cement, it reduced strength and workability; however, substituting 10–20 % of sand with unwashed bottom ash led to improved strength and reduced porosity and water absorption. Collectively, these studies underscore the promising potential of incorporating industrial and municipal waste materials in mortar mixtures to support sustainability and environmental conservation. Nevertheless, careful control and optimization of replacement levels are essential to ensure the mechanical and durability properties of the final product are not compromised.

Biography:Prof. Dr. Foo Keng Yuen is the UNESCO Co-Chair on Ecohydraulics for Sustainable Water Infrastructures for SDG 6 in the Asia and the Pacific Region. His research interests are environmental engineering, waste utilization, water treatment technology, catalysis, food security and toxicology, and environmental health. He has involved in different kinds of university, national and international research grants, amounting to approximately RM 10 million. His aptitude for high quality research of international standing has been supported by the consultancy projects of exceeding RM 3 million, more than 150 international publications, with a total citation of exceeding 20,000, and an author h-index of 53. Foo’s scholastic achievements and thought leadership are recognised locally and internationally. He is honoured to be the Top 2% Scientists in their Respective Fields and Top 2% Highly Cited Scientists in the world by the Stanford University, California. Foo has been nominated to be the honouree of the Ten Outstanding Young Malaysians (ToYM) 2022, Top Research Scientist Malaysia (TRSM) 2019, National Young Scientist Award 2017, International Young Inventor Award, Marquis Who's Who in the World, Top 100 Engineers, and Honorary Doctorate of Letters by International Biographical Centre Cambridge, England, and special award or medal winners in International Inventions, Competitions and Exhibitions. He serves as the Editor, Editorial Board Members, Scientific Adviser, Technical Committee, Review Committee, Keynote and Invited Speakers in international scientific journals, conferences, and research seminars. Foo has been nominated as the Chief Consultant for several UNESCO’s international workshops, connecting with more than 30 industrial partners. He has been appointed as the technical consultant for TG Ocean Health Food Industries Limited Company and research and development (R&D) consultant for Gold Choice Food Industries Limited Company.

Abstract: SDG 6 is the Sustainable Development Goal 6 established by the United Nations (UN) which concerns the issues on Clean Water and Sanitation, with the mission statement to "Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all." Universiti Sains Malaysia becomes the first university in the country to be awarded the “UNESCO Chair on Ecohydraulics for Sustainable Water Infrastructures for SDG 6 in Asia and the Pacific Region”. Under the framework, selected actions and commitments related to the global education, community development and international volunteering under the Sustainable Development Goals will be highlighted. Among them are the Malaysia UNESCO Cooperation Programme (MUCP) and UNESCO workshops, which gathered experts throughout the world to contribute to the building of a culture of peace, the eradication of poverty, and intercultural dialogue through education, sciences, culture, communication and information. In parallel with the revolution of nanotechnology development, the key advance of microwave technology as a green, rapid and efficient strategy for activated carbon preparation and regeneration; upgrading of natural clay minerals into low-cost, active functionalized adsorbents; and green synthesis of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) as new class of organic-inorganic hybrid crystalline porous networks; a new insight for the innovative conversion of bio ashes into highly valuable nanocomposites; as well as the preparation of cellulose nanocrystals, from the natural polymers commonly found in forest wood, plant residue and agro-biomass have been emphasized. Moreover, the accomplishment of the soilless cultivation practice, the unique interplay between the complexities of water quality variability, available water resource, pollution status with the human health risks during the flood disaster, the concept of Urban Green Space management, together with the onsite application of Bio-ecological Drainage System for the quantitative and quality water runoff management will be systematically elucidated.

Biography: B. Kalidasan is a Lecturer at the Sunway Centre for Electrochemical Energy and Sustainable Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Sunway University, Selangor, Malaysia. He is basically a Mechanical Engineer graduate, with specialization in Energy Engineering from VIT University-Vellore, India. His doctoral research activity was focused on Nano-enhanced Phase Change Materials for Low Temperature Thermal Energy Storage at Sunway University. He also completed a year of post-doctoral research at Sunway University, in the Research Centre for Nanomaterials and Energy Technology. He hold expertise on thermal energy storage, nanomaterials, solar thermal system and more; as well he has published research/review papers in high impact journals such as, Progress in Material Science, Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, InfoMat, International Materials Review, Chemical Engineering Journal, SmartMat along with few other research magazines such as Journal of Cleaner Production, Renewable Energy, Journal of Environmental Management, Journal of Energy Storage, International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, Applied Thermal Engineering, Journal of Molecular Liquids, Materials Today Sustainability, Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessment. He has also filed and published 4 Indian Patents and 1 Malaysian Patent under his research activities. He has published over 85+ articles as per the Scopus database; with a citation of 2800+ while editing this book. He has also secured more than 750K Ringgits of research grants as PI for research project; and about 1.8M Ringgits as Co-PI.

Abstract: Phase change materials (PCMs) show promises for thermal energy storage (TES) owing to their substantial latent heat during phase transition. However, the power density and overall storage efficiency are constrained by low thermal conductivity, leakage issues and phase instability of most viable PCMs. While extensive research focuses on enhancing heat capacity, cooling power, and system integration, many innovative PCMs, including porous, silica-based, metal organic framework based PCM, photo switchable PCM, magnetically multifunctional PCM remain, bio-inspired materials, 3D printed PCM and flexible PCMs remain underexplored. The urgency surrounding the exploration of the Next Generation of Phase Change Materials is rooted in the contemporary energy challenges faced by the global community. As the world grapples with climate change and the pressing need to reduce carbon footprints, the role of PCMs in enhancing energy efficiency and sustainability is highly remarkable. Over the time, PCMs have emerged as potential candidates for efficient and sustainable solutions for energizing TES, thermal energy regulation, thermal comfort, thermal mitigation, and effective cooling in a passive way. Though PCM was first applied two decades ago, it remains an affordable, sustainable, and reliable solution for numerous TES and regulation problems. With meticulous exploration by researchers on PCM, every confine of PCM paves the way for a new class of PCM with improved performance and ease of operation. Timely research in this domain is crucial to harnessing the full potential of PCMs and integrating them into diverse sectors, ranging from buildings and transportation to electronics and beyond. As an emerging trend, the primary issues associated with PCMs are refining thermodynamic parameters, optimizing the kinetics of isomerization and phase change process, enhancing energy conversion efficiency; and tuning the absorption spectrum, liquid leakage and low thermal conductivity, disposal of nanomaterial dispersed PCM after long term operation which causes environmental issues. Considering the potential of PCMs and their footprints as new-class PCMs resolving the issue mentioned above, there is the utmost need for research's focusing on next-generation PCMs. Herein, I demonstrate the in-depth discussion of the intermolecular interaction mechanism involved in the energy storage ability of PCM and confers the primary confinement associated with PCM.