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Fabio Tosti
University of West London, UK
Prof. Dr. Fabio Tosti (IEEE
M’17–SM’19) received the M.Sc. and
Eng. degrees (cum laude) in
Infrastructure and Transportation
Engineering from Roma Tre
University, Rome, Italy, in 2010,
and the Ph.D. degree in Civil
Engineering with European Doctorate
Label (excellent rating) from Roma
Tre University, in 2014. A
registered Chartered Engineer, he is
a Professor of Civil Engineering at
the School of Computing and
Engineering, University of West
London (UWL), London, U.K., and the
Director of “The Faringdon Research
Centre for Non-Destructive Testing
and Remote Sensing” at UWL. His
research interests include the
development of new algorithms,
methodologies, and models for
geoscience applications and the
non-destructive and satellite remote
sensing assessment, repair, and
maintenance of civil and green
infrastructure. He has
authored/co-authored over 220
research publication records in
international journals, conferences,
and books and delivered numerous
keynote and invited lectures. Prof.
Tosti was a recipient of the ECSs
Award by the European Geosciences
Union (EGU) in 2017 and several Best
Paper Awards at International
Conferences, including the 2023
International Conference on
Geographic Information and Remote
Sensing Technology (GIRST 2023), the
2021 IEEE Asia–Pacific Conference on
Geoscience, Electronics and Remote
Sensing Technology (AGERS2021) and
the IEEE 2020 43rd International
Conference on Telecommunications and
Signal Processing (TSP2020). He was
the General Co-Chair of the 3rd and
2nd International Workshop on Signal
Processing Techniques for Ground
Penetrating Radar Applications in
2022 and 2020 (TSP—IEEE Conf. Record
49548), respectively, and he served
as the main organiser, scientific
committee member and chair of
technical sessions in 50+
international conferences and
workshops. He served as the managing
guest editor for various journals.
He is the Editor-in-Chief of NDT
(MDPI), and an Associate Editor of
the International Journal of
Pavement Engineering (IJPE), Remote
Sensing (MDPI), Frontiers in Remote
Sensing, Geoscientific
Instrumentation, Methods and Data
Systems (GI), and the Journal of
Railway Engineering.
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Alberto T. Estévez
Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Spain
Alberto T. Estévez (Barcelona,
1960), Architect (UPC, 1983),
Architecture Ph.D. of Sciences (UPC,
1990), Art Historian (UB, 1994), Art
History Ph.D. of Arts (UB, 2008).
With a professional office of
architecture and design (Barcelona,
1983-today). Chairman-Professor
(Catedrático) in Architecture,
teaching in different universities,
in the knowledge’s areas of
architectural design, architectural
theory and art history (UPC, TU
Wien, UB, UPF Elisava, HSAK Vienna,
UDEM, UdG, USTA Bucaramanga).
Founding as first Director the ESARQ
School of Architecture (UIC
Barcelona, 1996), as an avant-garde
international school in its first 10
years: it was then the first school
in the world with an architecture
curriculum including –among other
things– mandatory subjects of
sustainability and international
cooperation, as well as laboratories
for biological architecture
(genetics) and digital architecture
(manufacturing). He also founded two
research lines there, with two
officially accredited research
groups, two masters’ degrees and
Ph.D. programs: “History,
Architecture and Design” (UIC
Barcelona, 1998- today) and “Genetic
Architectures / Biodigital
Architecture” (UIC Barcelona,
2000-today). As well as the Master
of International Cooperation with
Alex Levi and Amanda Schachter (UIC
Barcelona, 2004-today). He was also
the Founder and 1st Director of the
UIC Barcelona PhD Program of
Architecture. Director of 31 PhD
Thesis. He has written more than
three hundred publications, and has
participated in a large number of
exhibitions, congresses and
committees. Invited to give more
than one hundred lectures around the
world, presenting his ideas,
research, projects and works of
architecture and design (in the last
two decades on biodigital
architecture & genetics). He was
also Vice-Chancellor /
General-Manager of UIC Barcelona
(Universitat Internacional de
Catalunya), where he is currently
the Director of iBAG-UIC Barcelona
(Institute for Biodigital
Architecture & Genetics) after
founding it.
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Ernest Kian Jon Chua
National University of Singapore, Singapore
Dr. Ernest Kian Jon Chua is a faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS), where he has been at the forefront of research in innovative cooling and dehumidification, renewable energy and heat recovery systems. His expertise spans both modelling and experimental work, with a strong emphasis on applying AI and machine learning to sustainable cooling and thermal energy systems. Dr. Chua has authored over 280 SCI-indexed journal publications, eight monographs, and holds more than 10 patents in innovative cooling and dehumidification technologies. A Fellow of the Royal Society, IET, Energy Institute, and IMechE, consistently ranks among the top 1% of scientists globally (USR Network), top 2% of energy researchers in the Stanford list since 2021, with over 17,500 citations and an h-index of 71. He is currently the founding Editor-in-Chief of Thermal Science and Engineering, a new Nature-based journal and serves as Associate Editor and editorial board member for leading journals published by Elsevier, Springer, Wiley, Taylor & Francis, and MDPI. Dr. Chua has received numerous prestigious awards, including the IChemE Energy Award (2017), WSSET Innovation Award (2016, 2018), ASEAN Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award (2018, 2019), and the IET Innovation Grand Winner Award – Sustainability Category. A two-term Dean’s Chair holder at NUS, he is the Principal Investigator of several multi-million-dollar competitive research grants and is frequently invited to deliver keynote lectures and serve on technical committees at major international conferences.
Speech title "Redefining Urban
Engineering with Low-Carbon Thermal
Energy Innovations"
Abstract-This presentation examines cutting-edge cooling and dehumidification approaches that enhance the sustainability, resilience, and urban engineering of green buildings. It showcases membrane-based dehumidification systems for efficient moisture control and heat-driven chillers that capitalize on low-grade thermal energy to curb electrical consumption. The integration of advanced superabsorbent desiccants, offering high moisture uptake and regeneration at low temperatures, is also explored. These technologies collectively address both sensible and latent heat loads while minimizing environmental impact. By aligning with the principles of urban engineering, they support the development of low-carbon, climate-responsive buildings; particularly critical in dense, warm, and humid urban environments where conventional HVAC systems are often inefficient and energy-intensive.
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