Biographical note

Professor Abdel Salam Hamdy Makhlouf is the Vice President of Integrated Mechanical Material Corrosion Consulting (IM2C), Texas, USA, and a Full professor at Central Metallurgical Research and Development Institute. He has 26 years of experience working in R&D with a blend of both industrial and academic leadership as a Professor of Materials Science, and Advanced “nano-bio” Manufacturing Engineering, and Materials Engineering Consultant. He is the recipient of numerous national and international prizes and awards including the Humboldt Research Award for Experienced Scientists, at Max Planck Institute, Germany; Fulbright, NSF, and Dept. of Energy Fellowships, USA; Shoman Award in Engineering Science; and the State Prize of Egypt in Advanced Science and Technology. His research has focused on five critical areas: Energy, Health, Environment, Advanced manufacturing, Advanced materials. Dr. Makhlouf has published over 200 journal articles, as well as 17 books and handbooks for Springer and Elsevier on a broad range of cross‐disciplinary research fields including advanced multifunctional materials, nanotechnology, smart coatings, corrosion, biomaterials, waste/water treatment, and materials for energy applications. Dr. Makhlouf has served as both a Senior Editor and board member of many international journals, as well as reviewer for several international funding agencies in USA, Germany, UK, Qatar, Belgium, EU, Kazakhstan. He is a Consultant/Reviewer for several universities worldwide. Dr. Nedal Abu-Thabit holds a Ph.D. in chemistry with specialization in polymer chemistry. Currently, Dr. Nedal is an associate professor in the Chemical & Process Engineering Technology department at Jubail Industrial College. Since 2013, he holds the position of the Program Director for Polymer Engineering Technology major. Dr. Nedal has published more than 20 research articles and reviews in refereed journals, 5 book chapters and 2 patents. His research interests in the areas of polymer synthesis, polymer post-functionalization, synthesis of functional polyelectrolytes for fuel cells applications, water sterilization using nanomaterials, synthesis of electrically conducting polymers for sensing applications, preparation of conductive hydrogels and conductive textiles; and isolation of biopolymers from natural sources. In addition, Dr. Nedal has contributed with many articles in the area of educational polymer chemistry.