Biografisk notat

Dr. A.F. Ismail is a Professor at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), where he is the Founding Director of the Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre (AMTEC). He has also served as Dean of Research for the Materials and Manufacturing Alliance at UTM and was the 7th Vice Chancellor of UTM from 2021 to 2024. Dr. Ismail’s research interests encompass membrane formation, membranes for wastewaster treatment and gas separation, and nanofibers and nanostructured materials for energy applications. Dr. Ismail has received several awards, including the ASEAN Young Scientist and Technologist Award in 2001 (the first Malaysian to receive this award), the Malaysian Young Scientist Award in 2000, the Malaysian Intellectual Property Award in the Patent Category, the Merdeka Award for Scholastic Achievements in 2014, and the highly coveted Mustafa Prize (2023) — often referred to as the “Muslim Nobel Prize.” A highly cited researcher in "Separation and Purification Technology" (Elsevier), Professor Fauzi has made several contributions to membrane science, particularly in polymeric, inorganic, and mixed matrix membranes for applications such as water treatment, desalination, gas separation, hemodialysis, fuel cells, and palm oil refining. With an impressive Scopus h-index of 120 and more than 71,000 citations (as of June 2025), he has authored more than 1,500 refereed journal articles, more than 50 book chapters, 6 authored books, and 20 edited volumes. Dr. Ismail also plays active roles in the scientific community, serving as Chairman of the Malaysia Membrane Society (MyMembrane) and Vice President of the Aseanian Membrane Society (AMS). Dr. Mukhlis A. Rahman is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Petroleum & Renewable Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Johor, Malaysia. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in 2004. He began his academic career as a tutor in the Department of Gas Engineering, UTM. He obtained a Master’s of Engineering (M. Eng) in 2006 before was appointed as Lecturer at UTM. In 2007, he undertook his PhD studies at Imperial College London, United Kingdom, focusing his research on ceramic hollow fiber membranes with micro-reactor characteristics. After receiving his PhD in 2011, he was promoted to Senior Lecturer at UTM. He is currently supervising a number of PhD students and Master degree students, with current research interests in inorganic/ceramic membranes for fluid separation. To date, he has published one original research book and more than 100 articles in refereed journals, with an h-index of 15. He has also led 12 research grants and has been a member of more than 50 research projects. Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman is an Associate Professor in Department of Energy Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering; the Deputy Director of Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre (AMTEC); and also Head of the Renewable Energy Research Group, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia. He received his Bachelor and Master degrees from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, and PhD from Imperial College London, United Kingdom. Dr. Othman’s current research focus is on development of inexpensive ceramic/polymer membranes for environmental protection and energy generation. Until 2017, he has supervised 29 PhD students and 19 Master degree students and has published almost 100 articles in Scopus-indexed journals, with an h-index of 15. He has been the principal investigator in 20 research projects (including two international grants) and co-investigator in another 50 projects, with a total worth of RM 16million (about USD 4million). Through these projects, he and his research team have successfully developed a novel membrane for the treatment of recalcitrant organic pollutant in water as well as an economical fuel cell for efficient electricity generation. He has been granted two patents and 10 more are currently being examined. Dr. Othman is an active member of the Young Scientist Network-Academy of Science Malaysia (YSN-ASM), a group of outstanding young scientists of Malaysian nationality with an age less than 40 years old who have the capability to contribute to strengthening the Malaysia scientific community. He was also selected as a member of the prestigious Global Young Academy (GYA). Professor Takeshi Matsuura is a senior academic with a career spanning more than 50 years and has held several distinguished posts in many countries including the USA, Canada, Japan, Germany and Singapore. Most recently he joined the University of Ottawa (1992) as the British Gas/NSERC Industrial Research Chair. He served as professor of the Department of Chemical Engineering and the director of the Industrial Membrane Research Institute (IMRI) until he retired in 2002 and was appointed as professor emeritus in 2003. He received the Research Award of International Desalination and Environmental Association in 1983. He is a fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada and a member of the North American Membrane Society. He has delivered plethora of invited lectures and presentations to many of the world’s foremost scientific events and conferences. He has published over 400 papers in refereed journals, authored and co-authored 6 books and edited 8 books. A special symposium was held at the Eighth Annual Meeting of the North American Membrane Society to honour Prof. Matsuura (together with Dr. S. Sourirajan) for life-long contributions to membrane research and a similarly the International Conference on Membrane Science and Technology 2013 was held in his honour. In addition, he has received the George S. Glinski Award for Excellence in Research and the occasion of his 75th birthday was marked with a special edition of the journal Desalination.