Nanocellulose Harnessing Sustainability from Biomass to Biocomposites

S.M. Sapuan is a Professor (Grade A) of composite material Department of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Head of Advanced Engineering Materials & Composite Research Centre, UPM and Chief Executive Editor of Pertanika journals in office of Deputy Vice Chancellor, UPM. He earned BEng in Mechanical Engineering, University of Newcastle, Australia, MSc in Engineering Design, Loughborough University, UK and PhD in Material Engineering, De Montfort University, UK. He is Professional Engineer, and Fellow of the World Academy of Sciences, Society of Automotive Engineers International, Academy of Sciences Malaysia, International Society for Development and Sustainability, Plastic & Rubber Institute Malaysia, Malaysian Scientific Association, International Biographical Association and Institute of Material Malaysia. He is Honorary Member of Asian Polymer Association and Founding Chairman and Honorary Member of Society of Sugar Palm Development & Industry, Malaysia. He was World Class Visiting Professor, Andalas University Indonesia. He is Editor in Chief of Journal of Natural Fibre Polymer Composites, co-editor-in-chief of Functional Composites and Structures, Associate Editor-in-Chief, Defence Technology, Elsevier, and editorial board member of 30 journals. He has produced over 2000 publications including over 988 journal papers, 68 books, and 250 chapters in book. He has delivered 75 plenary and keynote lectures, and 150 invited lectures. He organized 33 journal special issues as guest editor, reviewed 1500 journal papers and has 8 patents. He successfully supervised 100 PhD and 75 MSc students and 16 postdoctoral researchers. His h-index is 121 with 53,000 citations (Google Scholar). He received ISESCO Science Award, Khwarizimi International Award, National Book Award, Endeavour Research Promotion Award, Citation of Excellence Award, Emerald, UK, Malaysia’s Research Star Award, Publons Peer Review Award, USA, Professor of Eminence Award and Top Research Scientists’ Malaysia Award. He was listed in World Top 2% Scientists, Stanford University, USA. He received SAE Subir Chowdhury Medal of Quality Leadership, International Society of Bionic Engineering Outstanding Contribution Award, China, Ikon Akademia 2022, Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia , The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) Award in Engineering Sciences, Materials Science Leader Award by Research.com, IET Malaysia Leadership Award, William Johnson International Gold Medal, Life Time Achievement KnowTex Award and COMSTECH Best Scientific Book Award.

Dr. Imran Ahmad holds a PhD in Wastewater Treatment and Environmental Engineering from the Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban University of Technology, South Africa. Dr. Ahmad specializes in designing closed and open photobioreactor systems for microalgal bioremediation and biomass production. His research includes investigating microalgae–bacteria symbiosis to enhance nutrient removal, carbon uptake, and system stability in wastewater treatment processes. He also assesses the treatment potential of High-Rate Algal Ponds (HRAPs) for the removal and biodegradation of emerging contaminants from municipal and industrial effluents, and simulates and analyzes hydrodynamic characteristics within HRAPs to optimize mixing efficiency, light distribution, and overall reactor performance. Dr. Ahmad has published his work in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters, and has presented at international conferences.

N. M. Nurazzi is a senior lecturer at the School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia. Before joining the Universiti Sains Malaysia he was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Centre for Defence Foundation Studies, National Defence University of Malaysia, under a Newton Research Grant to study the “Role of Intermolecular Interaction in Conductive Polymer Wrapped MWCNT as Organophosphate Sensing Material Structure”. He obtained BSc. and MSc. in Polymer Technology from the Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) in 2011 and 2014, respectively. In 2018, he was awarded a PhD from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) in Materials Engineering under the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia scholarship. His main research interests are polymer composites and natural fibre composites. To date, he has authored and co-authored over 200 publications, including 100 journal papers, 4 books and 50 book chapters.