Keynote Speakers

Assoc. Prof. Chua Kian Jon Ernest

National University of Singapore, Singapore

Dr. Chua Kian Jon is currently an Associate Professor with the Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore. He has been conducting research on renewable energy systems and heat recovery systems since 1997. He has conducted both modelling and experimental works for specific thermal energy systems including the applications of AI and machine learning methods. He is highly skilled in designing, fabricating, commissioning, and testing of many sustainable energy systems to provide heating, cooling and humidity control for both small- and large-scale applications. He has more than 280 international SCI-indexed peer-reviewed journal publications, and 8 recent monographs on advances in sustainable thermal energy and cooling systems.
He has been elected to several fellowships including Fellow of Royal Society, Fellow of Institution of Engineering and Technology, Fellow of Energy Institute and Fellow of IMechE. Consistently, he is highlighted among the top 1% of scientists in the world by the Universal Scientific and Research Network, top 2% of energy researchers in Elsevier database, and top 0.3% in the Stanford list of energy researchers. His works has garnered more than 17,500 over citations with a current H-index of 71. He is the Associate Editor of several reputable journals in Elsevier, Wiley, and Taylor & Francis. He is on the editorial boards of numerous journals in Elsevier, Springer, Wiley, Taylor & Francis, and MDPI. Further, he owns more than 10 patents related to several innovative cooling and dehumidification systems. On a regular basis, he has been invited to deliver many international plenaries, and keynote talks on his research findings. He is the Principal Investigator of several multi-million competitive research grants. Additionally, he has been awarded multiple local, regional, and international awards for his breakthrough research endeavors.

Speech Title: Empowering Decarbonization through Green Thermal Energy Innovation

Abstract:Green thermal energy is rapidly emerging as a transformative solution in the global effort to decarbonize heating and cooling which are two of the most energy-intensive and carbon-heavy sectors. Traditionally used for space conditioning and industrial processes, thermal energy offers vast potential when integrated with intelligent system design. This presentation showcases a next-generation smart quad-generation plant; a fully integrated system that simultaneously delivers electricity, potable water, cooling, and heating from a single energy source. Optimized for tropical climates, the plant employs a smart temperature cascading strategy to recover and reuse waste heat, significantly boosting efficiency. Offering up to 30% energy savings and significant CO₂ emission reductions over conventional systems, this compact, high-performance solution marks a major step forward in sustainable infrastructure. Its design is especially impactful in regions with high cooling needs and limited water resources. By linking energy, water, and environmental performance, the cascading thermal system not only cuts carbon emissions but also strengthens the energy-water-environment nexus, providing a scalable path toward net-zero goals.

Prof. S K Saha

National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan

Prof. S K Saha is currently working as a full professor in the Academy of Innovative Semiconductor and Sustainable Manufacturing (AISSM), National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan. Before joining AISSM, he has served over 30 years in different Universities in India and finally as the Chairman of the School of Materials Science, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata. After finishing his B.S and M.S degrees from Calcutta University, he persuaded his Ph D from Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata, in the year 1994. He is the recipient of MRSI medal offered by the Materials Research Society of India. He has become the Fellow of the Institute of Physics (Finst, UK) and West Bengal Academy of Science & Technology, India. He has visited several universities in USA, Japan and many others as visiting professor.
During the past 25 years, Prof. Saha is working on different aspects of low dimensional systems namely nanowires, nanotubes, quantum dots. Over the last 12 years he has concentrated intensively on 2D materials. Electronic, optical, optoelectronic and magnetic properties of 2D materials like graphene, MoS2, MXene, graphitic carbon nitrides etc have been investigated in depth. He is also working on 2D materials for energy (supercapacitor and hydrogen evolution from water splitting) and sensing applications. He has published more than 160 publications in reputed International Journals.

Prof. Xiaorong Wang

Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, China

Wang Xiaorong is a professor in the School of Mechanical Engineering at Jiangsu University of Science and Technology. She has long been engaged in research in the fields of mechanical and power engineering, as well as new energy. Currently, she serves as the Deputy Chief Technology Officer of Tway Machine Tool Co., Ltd. and is a member of the Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics. She has presided over multiple research projects, including the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, Jiangsu Province Graduate Education and Teaching Reform Projects, subprojects of the Army General Armament Project, and other horizontal projects. Professor Wang has received two third-prize awards for scientific and technological progress at the provincial and ministerial level, two second-prize awards for scientific and technological progress at the municipal and departmental level, and one third-prize award for outstanding scientific and technological papers in Zhenjiang City. She has also been honored with a third-prize award for graduate teaching reform achievements in Jiangsu Province, a second-prize award in the Jiangsu Province Micro-lecture Teaching Competition, and the title of "Advanced Individual in Teacher Ethics in Zhenjiang City."

Invited Speakers

Prof. Xilei Dai

Chongqing University, China

Xilei Dai is a professor at School of architecture and urban planning, Chongqing University. His research interests lie in the intersection of smart building, optimization theory, and energy system economics. His current research focuses on building decarbonization solutions through aggregation of IoT technology, Al-based control solutions, distributed energy resources and battery storage participation in building energy system. His google citation is 2938 with an h-index of 18. One of his journal papers about the viewpoint in green building has been wildly accepted by peers, with citation time more than 1500 and being ESI highly cited paper till now, He is now serving as the associate editor of Journalof Renewable and Sustainable Energy.