Keynote Speakers

 

Young-Cheol Chang | Muroran Institute of Technology, Japan

 

He was born in South Korea and earned his Ph.D. from Gifu University in Japan. Currently, he works at the Muroran Institute of Technology. He also completed his administrative responsibilities as a Research Fellow at the University of Central Florida, USA.
His research focuses on the biodegradation of pollutants, including petroleum, chlorinated inorganic compounds (such as PCE, TCE, and PCBs), and endocrine disruptors like Bisphenol A and 4-tert-butylphenol. Recently, he has been concentrating on biopolymer production (bioplastics) using biomass and CO2.
His contributions to research and his fellowship training have garnered several awards, including honors from the Secretary of Korea's Ministry of Construction & Transportation and the Secretary of Korea's Ministry of Science & Technology.
In addition to his research, he serves on the editorial boards of several esteemed journals, including the Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering Technology (Editor-in-Chief), Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology (Assistant Editor), Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology (Associate Editor), and Processes and Water-Energy Nexus.
He is also an expert reviewer for a range of journals, including Green Chemistry, RSC Advances, Bioresource Technology, and many others. Additionally, he reviews projects for the National Science Centre in Poland and the National Research and Development Agency (NEDO) in Japan.

Speech title "Production of Biodegradable Plastics Using Non-Competitive Carbon Feedstock"

Abstract-This research addresses a critical challenge in biodegradable plastics production: high feedstock costs, which represent approximately 35% of total production expenses. While bioplastics currently account for only 0.5% of the 435 million tons of plastic produced annually, their adoption is hindered by costs that are 2–5 times higher than those of conventional plastics.
The study explores non-competitive carbon sources that do not compete with conventional biomass resources, specifically focusing on waste aromatic compounds and industrial exhaust gases containing CO₂. This approach aligns with Japan’s 2050 carbon neutrality goals and supports the Green Innovation Fund initiative, which has allocated 176.7 billion yen for carbon recycling technologies.
The research demonstrates the successful isolation of high-concentration phenol-degrading bacteria from rhizosphere soil and activated sludge. Strain C2, isolated from the plant rhizosphere, achieved degradation of phenol at concentrations significantly higher than those of typical bacterial strains. The phenol degradation pathway was characterized, showing conversion through metabolic intermediates ultimately producing CO₂.
Critically, the final degradation product (CO₂) was successfully converted into the biodegradable polymers PHB and PHBV through fed-batch culture using mixed gases. The extracted polymers showed thermal properties comparable to those of commercial products. This zero-emission upcycling approach transforms phenol wastewater—traditionally viewed as a pollutant—into a valuable resource, potentially recovering 12,000 kWh/year of energy and reducing 5.4 t-CO₂/year, while supporting decentralized production systems across Japan’s expanding hydrogen station infrastructure.

 

 

 

 

Hyunook Kim | University of Seoul, Korea

 

Dr. Hyunook Kim is Professor at Environmental Engineering, University of Seoul, Korea, and Director of R&D Center of Core Technologies for Water Treatment. Professor Kim earned his B.S. degree in Environmental Science from Yonsei University, Korea in 1994, and an M.S. degree in Environmental Engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 1997, and a Ph.D. from University of Maryland at College Park in 2000. Before he joined the faculty member at University of Seoul in 2002, he worked as Environmental Engineer for US Dept. of Agriculture, MD, USA.
Professor Kim’s research in the area of water pollution control includes a number of projects on process control and operation of water and wastewater treatment plants. Especially he is interested in monitoring and control of contaminants of emerging concern. He has published numerous journal papers and made conference presentations. He has been received a few awards for his academic and research achievements.

 

 

 

 

Wanida Kanarkard | Khon Kaen University (KKU), Thailand

 

Prof. Dr. Wanida Kanarkard graduated with second class honors in Computer Engineering from Khon Kaen University, Thailand. She further pursued her academic journey with a master’s degree in Advanced Computing from Imperial College London, UK, and Ph.D degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Hertfordshire, UK. Her academic journey was further enriched by postdoctoral research in Mobile Computing at the National Institute of Informatics (NII), Japan. Since joining Khon Kaen University in 1995, Prof. Dr. Wanida has been a driving force in integrating digital innovation with urban and environmental sustainability. As the Director of the Smart City Operation Center, she has spearheaded initiatives to transform the university into a Green Campus, focusing on energy efficiency and environmental stewardship. Her pioneering work extends to the development of smart cities across Thailand, where she leverages digital technologies to advance the circular economy, particularly in waste management—including plastic, industrial, electronic, and biomass waste—turning challenges into valuable opportunities. With numerous internationally published research papers and a few awards to her credit, reflecting her commitment to bridging technology, sustainability, and societal impact.

 

 

 

 

Hyo Choi | Gangneung-Wonju National University, Korea

 

Dr. Hyo Choi is meteorologist, environmental scientist and physical oceanographer with over 40 years experiences in numerical modeling researches as Overseas invited senior researcher (by Korean Government) of Korea Ocean Research & Development Institute (KORDI; now KIOST), Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST), Ministry of Science & Technology, a High level-finserly researcher (two times nominated by President of Korean Government) of National Fisheries & Research Development Institute (NFRDI), Ministry of Maritime Affairs & Fisheries, Korea, and Full Professor (nominated by President of Korean Government) of Gangneung-Wonju National University, Korea.
He obtained 2 Ph.D. degrees from USA (Dept. of Civil Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, TX; 1984) and China (College of Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing; 2004). His research interests cover a variety of fields in Meteorology-(Weather and climate change, Severe weather and disaster-Wind storm, Snow storm, Flood and Fog, Cyclogenesis and Tropical cyclones), Environmental Science & Engineering-(Health GIS and Modeling, Air pollution modeling and data analysis), and Physical Oceanography-(Ocean wave & circulation modeling, Ocean environment modeling for fishery), Oceanic internal waves, Upwelling,Chlorophyll-a blum) in collaboration with universities and government institutions in Korea, USA, Canada, United Kingdom (England), Russia, Germany, France, Belgium, Hungary, Nigeria, Iran, Turkey, India, Sri Lanka, Mianma, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Japan, Chile and Mexico, etc..
He acted not only as Interpreter and Scientific Investigator of Korean Antarctic Scientific Expedition Team two times (Nov.~Dec., 1985~April~May, 1987) before establishing the Korea Antarctic Scientific Station but also as Korean Government Representative for 1) Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Meeting (Sandiego, USA; 23~27 June 1986), and 2) Inter-governmental Meetings on Antarctic Treaty and Science Policies (Racine, USA); June 1986), and further he tried to visit and obtain the Antarctic Treaty Parties's cooperation. He was awarded the National Order of Civil Merit-Mogryeon Medal from the government for his great contribution to the accession of the Korean Government to the Antarctic Treaty (1986; His age was 37).
He has been Council member of Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Maritime and Fishery Affairs, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Science & Technology of Korean Government, and Evaluation (or Deliberation) Committee Members of institutes istablished by Korean Government (Korean Science & Engineering Foundation (KOSEF), Korea Research Foundation (KRF), National Research Foundation (NFR), Korea Institute of Science & Technology Information (KISTI), National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER),Korea Hydrographic & Oceanic Agency (KHOA), National Fishery Research & Development Institute (NFRDI), etc.) and Provincial Governments of Korea.
He has performed his duties on President of Korean Environmental Sciences Society for 2 years (2002~2003), President and Vice President of Asia-Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS; 60 nations; Singapore -Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences sections) for 5 years (2005~2009) and Deputy Director General of International Biographical Centre (UK) (2005~2009). He has been Director General of East Sea Regional Research Institute (1989~1991) and Dean of the Graduate School, Gangneung-Wonju National University two times (2009~2011, 2011~2012). In present, he is Director General of Atmospheric & Oceanic Disaster Research Institute, Korea (2014~present), High-end Foreign Expert of South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academia Sinica (CAS), China (2015~present), Adjunct Professor of Zhejiang Ocean University, China (2013~present) and Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO—WESTPAC Working Group Member on Tropical Cyclones, etc.
He has been also acting as Editor-in-Chief of 15 International journals (USA, Singapore, India, Korea) and Editor of 35 ones (USA, United Kingdom (England), Switzerland, Italy, Singapore, India, Nigeria, Canada, Hong Kong) in the fields of Environment & Pollution, Disaster, Agriculture, Water resources, Hydrology, GIS, Physical sciences, Fluid Mechanics, Civil Engineering, Oceanography, Ocean Engineering, Fishery and Meteorology. He has served as not only Committee Member, Keynote Speaker, Invited Speaker and Plenary Lecturer but also more than 100 times Session Chair or Convener of many International Conferences in the world. Thus, he is very fluent to control both scientific and administrative affairs and to construct international networks.

Speech title "Comparative Analysis of Hybrid Deep Learning Frameworks for Forecasting Ground Level Air Quality in an East Korea Urban Area"

Abstract-This study presents hybrid deep learning frameworks based on neural network (ANN) models that combine Sigmoid (sigmoid) and Hyperbolic (tanh) activation functions to predict hourly average ground-level urban air quality states in a eastern coastal city (Gangneung) of South Korea, using additionally the HYSPLIT model for air particle back-trajectory and 3D-WRF meteorological model for wind field. The ANN models of MLP with a back-propagation training algorithm for error calculation with 15 nodes in each of two hidden layers were performed using 15 input variables of 1,455 data, which combined PM, gas, and meteorological data of Gangneung city, affected by PM and gas in the upwind site, Beijing city, China. Two models’ forecasting abilities were assessed to calculate root mean square error (RMSE) and the coefficient of determination (R²) between the predicted and measured values, using 60% (20%; 20%) of total input data for the model training (testing, validation). The values of R2 by ANN_(sigmoid-sigmoid+tanh) (ANN_(tanh-tanh+sigmoid) with 15 neurons in the two hidden layers were 0.846 (0.897) on PM10, 0.859 (0.880), on PM2.5, and 0.841 (0.785) on NO2, showing better prediction performance by the ANN_(sigmoid-sigmoid+tanh) model with higher values of R2. The predicted values of air quality states are very close to the measured ones through their scatter plots and hourly distributions, and also the importance (or contribution) of 15 independent variables to each of the output variables was presented.