Assistant Professor Marco J. Castaldi
Earth & Environmental Engineering, Columbia University

Professor Carlo Vandecasteele
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Prof. Vandecasteele (°1949) obtained his master and Ph.D. degrees in Chemistry from the University of Ghent, Belgium, both summa cum laude. From 1972 until  1990 he was a researcher (finally research director) of the Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research at Ghent university, first active in the field of radiochemistry, later on in atomic spectrometry for analysis of environmental and biological samples. In 1990 he was appointed as Professor at the department of Chemical Engineering, faculty of Engineering of the University of Leuven. Successively he was program director of the ‘environmental science and technology’ master program, head of the laboratory of environmental technology, program director of the ‘chemical engineering’ master program, and  chairman of the department of Chemical engineering (until 2005). His research at University of Leuven focuses  to date on ‘recycling and energetic valorization of reststreams’ and ‘environmental impact assessment of industrial processes and of  waste treatment’. He teaches ‘environmental technology’, ‘environmental problems and techniques’,  ‘analytical chemistry’, ‘industry and sustainable development’, ‘recycling and energetic valorization of reststreams’. In his teaching he timely introduced concepts as sustainability, industrial ecology, recycling, recovery, …. to engineering students. He is author of over 250 international journal papers (h=38)  and author and coauthor of several books. 

Professor Stefano Consonni
Politecnico di Milano

Born in 1958, prof. Stefano Consonni holds a Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Politecnico di Milano and a Ph.D. from Princeton University.
Since 1990 he has been on the Faculty of the Department of Energy Engineering of Politecnico di Milano, becoming full professor of Energy Systems in 2000.
From 1997 to 2005 he has been Head of the campus of Politecnico in the city of Piacenza. Since 2005 he is President of LEAP (Laboratory for Energy and Environment, Piacenza), a consortium promoted by Politecnico to carry out research on energy and environmental technologies. In 2011 he has been appointed chair of MatER (Material & Energy from Refuse) a Research Center focused on the scientific and technological issues of recovery from waste.
Visiting Scholar at the Princeton Environmental Institute in 2002-03 and again in 2007, prof. Consonni has lead or contributed to a number of international research programs on gas turbines, combined cycles, cogeneration, gasification, energy from biomass, energy from waste and residues, decarbonization of fossil fuels, enviromental impact of energy systems.
Author of more than 80 scientific papers presented at international meetings or published on international journals, prof. Consonni has been on the testing committee of a number of large industrial plants for the production of energy from waste or biomass.
His most recent research activity focuses on advanced waste-to-energy technologies, the production of electricity or fuels from biomass and the capture of CO2 in fossil fuel-fired plants.

Professor Goran Vujic
University of Novi Sad

Dr. Goran Vujić is Assistant Professor and Head of the Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Technical Science at University of Novi Sad. He is also member of the ISWA board representing the RDN the Balkans, Middle East and Mediterranean Region. He graduated 1998 in Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Technical Science at University of Novi Sad. He obtained his M.Sc. (2003) and Ph.D. (2007) degrees in Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Technical Science at University of Novi Sad. He is expert in field of waste management. He has published more than 65 scientific papers. He was participant and project manager of many national and international environmental projects.

Dr. Costas Velis
Lecturer, University of Leeds
Managing Director, WtERT-UK

Dr.Costas Velis is Lecturer in Energy and  Resource Efficiency Systems in the School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds, Managing Director of WtERT-UK, and Honorary Research Associate in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Imperial College London. He obtained BSc in Physics with specialisation in Environmental Physics from University of Athens (Greece), an MSc in Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Development from Imperial College London (UK), and holds a PhD in environmental engineering from Cranfield University, Centre for Energy and Resource Technology, Sustainable Systems department (UK), where he developed an innovative material flow model for mechanical-biological treatment plants (MBTs) producing solid recovered fuels (SRF). Costas’s research is focussed on innovative ways to turn waste into useful and safe products and renewable energy, by using multiple research tools and disciplines, from statistical design of experiments for modelling, to analytical chemistry and materials science. He is publishing in SRF production and quality assurance, biogenic energy-from-waste quantification, waste characterisation and informal sector recycling. His wider expertise in waste and resources science and management resulted in various prestigious invitations to scientific committees, such as ORBIT 2012, chairing conference sessions and delivering invited lectures around the world. He is coordinating member of the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) Globalisation and Waste Management Task Force, steering committee member at the CIWM Thermal Recovery Special Interest Group, and member of the ISWA Working Group on Energy Recovery. He is also on the steering committee of the Environment Technical Group of the Society of Chemical Industry, which brings together academia with industry. Costas had a prominent role in establishing the WTERT-UK (www.wtert.co.uk) in 2011/2.

Dr. Efstratios Kalogirou
President of WTERT-Greece (SYNERGIA)

Dr. Efstratios Kalogirou is the President of WTERT Greece (Synergia, www.wtert.gr) and also a member of the Board in WTERT/USA in Earth Engineering Center of Columbia University (www.wtert.org). Has a Ph.D. at the National Technical University of Athens, School of Chemical Engineering. He is an Expert in Waste Management. His scientific fields: are energy from waste, potable water resources and ozone sterilization technologies in Earth Engineering Center of Columbia University, New York (in cooperation with Professor Themelis). He is involved in many environmental projects worldwide. He is author in many scientific and technical papers, especially in WTE. Since August 2011 he is the Vice Chairman of Global WTERT Council.

Assistant Professor Epaminondas C. Voutsas
National Technical University of Athens

Dr. Epaminondas Voutsas received his diploma in Chemical Engineering from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1991. In 1997, he obtained his PhD from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Greece. Now, he is an Assistant Professor at the School of Chemical Engineering, NTUA, Athens. He has published 69 papers in scientific journals and 2 book chapters, while he has more than 65 contributions in international conferences. He has been member of the organizing committee of 2 international conferences. He has given 2 invited lectures at universities (USA and Italy) and has been an invited plenary lecturer at 1 European Conference. He is a frequent reviewer of manuscripts for many journals (20) and proposals submitted to granting agencies. He has been the coordinator of 10 research programs funded by Industry and NTUA, while he has participated as researcher in 9 more research programs funded by EU, Industry and the Greek General Secretariat of Research and Technology. His current research activities in the area of waste management include: Design and optimization of the plasma gasification process, Energy and Exergy Analysis of Waste-to-Energy Processes Stabilization of Flue Gas residues-from Waste to Energy Plants

Associate Professor Avraam Karagiannidis
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUT)

Dr Avraam Karagiannidis is Associate Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He works mainly on: (a) treatment and integrated management of solid wastes, (b) location of noxious and obnoxious facilities, allocation of flows and impact assessment, (c) energy conservation and utilization of waste heat, and (d) multi-criteria decision support on energetic and environmental applications. He is the head of the Solid Waste Management group at the Laboratory of Heat Transfer and Environmental Engineering since 1994 and has participated in over 50 national and international research projects since 1991. He is the author and co-author of over 50 scientific publications in peer reviewed journals and member of the Hellenic Solid Waste Management Association. He has served as reviewer for international journals and as scientific committee member for international conferences being also a book editor on the field of solid waste management.