Next-Generation Materials for Sustainable Development - In collaboration with ICASM 2025

Dr. Mohammad K. Hassan is an associate professor at the Center for Advanced Materials, Qatar University. He got his PHD in chemistry/polymer science from the University of Cincinnati in 2004 and joined the University of Southern Mississippi where He participated in the development of a comprehensive vertically-integrated fuel cell membranes program through support from the US Department of Energy (DOE). His research interests include membranes development and characterization, polymer composites, and biodegradable polymers. He has published three patent and more than 120 articles in internationally renowned journals. His publications received more than 4427 citations with h-index of 39, according to Google Scholar. His research has been funded with more than $6 M from the Qatar National Research Fund, Qatar University, Research Development and Innovation Authority (Saudi Arabia), and US Air Force Office of Scientific Research. He has had multiple industrial collaborators in Qatar as well as Boeing Research and Technology, 3M, DuPont, CSL Silicones, MechNano, and Pall Corporation. He is a member of the sub-committee on polymer education of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).

Prof. Mohammad Irshidat is the Director, and Professor of Construction Materials at the Center for Advanced Materials (CAM), Qatar University (QU). He got his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Mississippi, USA in 2010, and then worked for one year, as Postdoctoral Research Associate with the Nano Infrastructure Research Group at the same university. Prior to joining Qatar University in 2018, he worked at Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) in the Department of Civil Engineering from 2011 to 2016 as an assistant professor and from 2016 to 2018 as an associate professor. During his period at JUST, he served as an Assistant Dean of Research at JUST for three years (2014-2017). Dr. Irshidat research interest mainly focuses on applied research projects in the field of sustainable construction materials, 3D printable concrete, nanotechnology applications in structural engineering, and strengthening and rehabilitation of reinforced concrete structures. He has a successful record of publications in refereed academic journals, peer reviewed conference proceedings and academic conference presentations. He has an active research agenda with collaborative projects with colleagues at Qatar University and other international universities. Dr. Irshidat supervised many graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, visiting scholars, and undergraduate research students. In addition, he taught several courses at the graduate and postgraduate levels.

Prof. Peter Kasak is technical manager and research professor in Center for Advanced materials at Qatar University. Prof. Peter Kasak obtained his Ph.D. in 2003 at Department of Organic Chemistry at Comenius University in Bratislava. Later, he was a Lisa Meitner postdoctoral fellow at University of Vienna before starting research at Polymer Institute at the Slovak Academy of Sciences, where he became a Senior researcher. Since 2012, he works in the Centre for Advanced Materials at Qatar University. His expertise is focused on surface modification, characterization of material surface chemistry, organic synthesis and catalysis. Main research topic are catalysis and surface modification and characterization for advanced application, elucidation of kinetics of polymeric processes in an aqueous environment, on heterogeneous catalysis and zwitterionic-based material and their application for biomedical as well as for antifouling purposes,. Moreover, he trained and supervised several high school, graduate, undergraduate students, RAs and post docs as a tutor. His research outcome includes over 180 research publications, 5 book chapters, 170 conference contributions and 1 book and patent. His managerial skills are manifested by management of technical support of Center as well as a LPI on various international, national and industry projects worth over 10 mil QAR.

Dr. Anton Popelka has been a Research Associate at the Center for Advanced Materials, Qatar University, since 2013. He obtained his Ph.D. in Polymer Technology in 2012 from the Polymer Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakia. His research primarily focuses on the surface modification of polymeric materials using atmospheric and low-pressure plasma techniques. Dr. Popelka has authored/co-authored 1 U.S. patent, 5 book chapters, and over 150 peer-reviewed publications, which have collectively received more than 2,300 citations. He has actively participated in numerous international conferences and symposia and has been involved in 20 research projects funded by the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), Qatar University, and industry, the majority of which he has led. These projects have placed a strong emphasis on advancing plasma technologies for polymer modification.