Plenary

Milad Abolhasani, NCSU – North Carolina State University, USA

Title: Fluidic Self-Driving Labs for Accelerated Materials and Molecular Discovery


Milad Abolhasani is the ALCOA Professor and a University Faculty Scholar in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at North Carolina State University. He also serves as the Director of Accelerated Technologies within NC State’s Integrative Sciences Initiative. Dr. Abolhasani leads a multidisciplinary research group that studies data-rich self-driving labs tailored toward accelerated discovery, development, and manufacturing of advanced functional materials and molecules. Dr. Abolhasani has received numerous awards and fellowships, including NSF CAREER Award, Dreyfus Award for Machine Learning in the Chemical Sciences & Engineering, AIChE Allan P. Colburn Award, AIChE Catalysis & Reaction Engineering Early Career Investigator Award, AIChE 35 Under 35, Scialog Fellowship, AIChE NSEF Young Investigator Award, and I & EC Research 2021 Class of Influential Researchers.

Tanja Junkers, Monash University, Australia

Title: Creating the data for an informatic chemistry future from flow synthesis


Prof. Tanja Junkers graduated with a PhD in physical chemistry from Goettingen University in Germany in 2006, having worked on the determination of kinetic rate coefficients for radical reactions during polymerizations. In the two years that followed, she was research associate at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, shifting her focus more and more towards synthetic polymer chemistry. From mid 2008 on she was a senior research scientist at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany. Early 2010 she was appointed professor at Hasselt University in Belgium, where she founded the Polymer Reaction Design group. January 2018 she joined Monash University as full professor, focusing on her work on continuous flow polymerizations, (nano)particle formation, chemical recycling of polymers and design of complex precision polymers. She is a pioneer in continuous flow polymer synthesis, and has shifted her research focus over the years more and more towards the digitalization and automation of chemical processes. Next to her scientific work, she is an active member of various committees and subgroups of the IUPAC, an associate editor of the Royal Society of Chemistry flagship journal Chemical Science and from December 2025 on the chair of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute’s Polymer Division.


Invited Speakers

Timothy Noel, University of Amsterdam

Title: RoboChem and the Rise of Intelligent Flow Chemistry


Timothy Noël studied Chemical Engineering in Ghent and obtained his PhD in synthetic organic chemistry at the University of Ghent. Next, he worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellow with Professor Stephen L. Buchwald. In 2012 he became an assistant professor at Eindhoven University of Technology where he was appointed associate professor in 2017. Currently, he is a Full Professor at the University of Amsterdam and Chair of Flow Chemistry at the Van ‘t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences. His research interests are synthetic organic chemistry and technology, and especially the delicate synergy between these two fields. He is the editor-in-chief of Journal of Flow Chemistry.

Marcus Baumann, University College Dublin

Title: New Tools for Photochemistry and Metalation Reactions in Flow Mode


After graduating from Philipps-University Marburg, Marcus Baumann moved to Cambridge for his Ph.D. with Prof. Steven Ley, where he focused on the development of new continuous flow approaches for important organic transformations and the synthesis of selected natural products. This was followed by a postdoctoral position at the University of California, Irvine, then with Prof. Ian R. Baxendale at the University of Durham, where he combined his interests in continuous flow technology and the synthesis of bioactive target molecules. In 2017, he joined University College Dublin as an Assistant Professor in Continuous Flow Chemistry, where he focused on new continuous flow methods, exploiting photochemistry, biocatalysis, and high-energy processes. He was promoted to Associate Professor in March 2023.

Selin Kara, Aarhus University and Leibniz University Hannover

Title: Process Intensification in Biocatalysis: Transitioning from Batch to Continuous

Selin Kara earned dual B.Sc. degrees in Chemical Engineering (2000–2005) and Food Engineering (1999–2004) from Middle East Technical University (Turkey). She completed her M.Sc. in Biotechnology at Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) in 2005, supported by a DAAD–Turkish Education Foundation scholarship, and received her Ph.D. in Bioprocess Engineering from TUHH in 2011. After a PostDoc at Delft University of Technology (2011–2013), she began her Habilitation at TU Dresden and later continued at TUHH, completing it in 2018. Since July 2018, she has been leading the “Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing” Group within the Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering at Aarhus University (Denmark). Since October 2021, she has been the head of the Institute of Technical Chemistry at Leibniz University Hannover (Germany).

Yi Jiang, Corning SAS

Title: Modular flow technologies made scalable continuous manufacturing of API and chemicals real


Dr. Yi Jiang is a highly accomplished expert in innovation, pharmaceutical processing, and chemical engineering, with over 35 years of academia and industry experience. Serving as Division Vice President of Corning Science & Technology and General Manager of Advanced-Flow Reactor and Advanced Flow Pharmaceutical Technology global businesses, Dr. Jiang leads strategic initiatives, business development, technological advancement and P&L across Asia, EMEA, and North America. He earned his PhD in Chemical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis. Since joining Corning Incorporated in 2003, Dr. Jiang has held multiple leadership roles, driving significant progress in flow chemistry and continuous flow manufacturing. His background includes research & development at ConocoPhillips gas-to-liquid and academic appointments. Dr. Jiang is the inventor of more than ten patents and author of twenty influential publications. He is widely recognized for his contributions to continuous process digitalization, manufacturing safety, and fostering long-term collaborations among industry, academia, and government.

Maria Jose Nieves, Eli Lilly

Title: TBA


Bio coming soon…

Andrea Laybourn, University of Leeds

Title: Microwave-Assisted Flow Technologies for Scalable Advanced Materials Production


Dr Andrea Laybourn received her MChem and PhD from the University of Liverpool, followed by postdoctoral research at the University of Nottingham. She was awarded a Nottingham Research Fellowship to develop continuous flow microwave synthesis of metal-organic frameworks and later served as Assistant Professor in Engineering (2019–2024). In 2023, she received the RSC Barrer Award. A co-founder and committee member of the award-winning RSC Porous Materials Group, she joined the University of Leeds in 2025 as a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow and Associate Professor focused on AI-driven continuous flow microwave technologies.

Anita R. Maguire, University College Cork

Title: Leveraging Flow Chemistry to Address Synthetic Challenges


Anita R. Maguire studied at University College Cork, focusing during her PhD on asymmetric catalysis. Following postdoctoral research at Namur, Belgium and subsequently at Exeter, she returned to Cork in 1991 to establish an independent research team. She is currently Head of the School of Chemistry. Her research interests include development of novel synthetic methodology employing a-diazocarbonyl compounds and organosulfur chemistry, asymmetric synthesis catalysis, continuous flow chemistry and the design and synthesis of bioactive compounds. She was the inaugural chair of Ireland’s National Research Integrity Forum, 2015-2024. She was elected as a Member of the Royal Irish Academy in 2014, Vice President of the Royal Irish Academy for 2019-22 and chaired the Diversity Committee of the RIA for 2019-2023. She became Vice President of the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland in 2025.

Thomas Toupy, Takeda, US       

Title: TBA


Bio coming soon…

Clemens R. Horn, Corden Pharma Chenove

Title: From hours to minutes to days -Transferring a batch hydrogenation to a pilot scale flow process


Clemens Horn is the Senior Flow Chemistry Expert at Corden Pharma Chenove. Clemens sees himself as an “European Alchemist”. He studied chemistry in Germany and the UK. He did his master thesis in supramolecular chemistry.  For the PhD in organometal chemistry, he moved to Bavaria and finished his education with a Postdoc in in medicinal chemistry in France. Clemens then joined the Corning European Technology Center where he developed for 14 years flow reactors.  Since 2020 he oversees the flow chemistry activities of Corden Pharma.

Rigoberto Advincula, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and University of Tennessee       

Title: TBA


Rigoberto Advincula is a Governor’s Chair Professor of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the University of Tennessee, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. He is also a Group Leader at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), ORNL. His area of expertise is in organic and polymer chemistry, nanomaterials, flow chemistry and reaction engineering, additive manufacturing, and biomaterials. He is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society, Materials Research Society, National Academy of Inventors, American Chemical Society (ACS), Polymer Science and Engineering Division (ACS), Polymer Chemistry Division (ACS), Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the Netzsch NATAS 2023 Fellow. In 2024, he received the International Prize of the Society of Polymer Science of Japan (SPSJ) He has been appointed to the World Economic Forum, Advanced Materials Council.

Sándor B. Ötvös, University of Graz and Research Center Pharmaceutical Engineering GmbH (RCPE)

Title: Continuous Mechanochemical Synthesis of Amides Using Bead Milling Technology


Sándor B. Ötvös received his PhD in 2013 from the University of Szeged (Hungary) focusing on various projects related to continuous flow chemistry. He conducted postdoctoral research at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Szeged, Hungary) and then at the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ, Tarragona, Spain). In 2018, he joined the University of Graz, serving as a Senior PostDoc (Lise Meitner Fellowship, FWF) and later as a Principal Investigator within the framework of an FWF Stand-Alone Project. Currently he is a Principal Scientist at Research Center Pharmaceutical Engineering GmbH (RCPE). His research focuses on sustainable concepts in organic synthesis, with particular emphasis on flow chemistry and catalysis, and more recently on solvent-free or solvent-minimized mechanochemical processes, as well as the use of aqueous slurries as reaction media.

Koen Kuijpers, The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson

Title: TBA


Koen Kuijpers studied at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, earning his BSc and MSc in Chemical Engineering & Chemistry. His MSc graduation project focused on scaling up gas-liquid photocatalytic oxidations in flow under Professor Timothy Noël. He continued in Noël’s group to earn his PhD, specializing in flow-reactor design and scale-up of photocatalytic processes. After completing his PhD in 2025, Koen joined Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine’s Process Engineering group, where he develops and scales processes for small molecules and is a subject matter expert in photochemical and flow processes.

Stephen G. Newman, University of Ottawa

Title: Taming Hazardous Reactions with Continuous Flow Chemistry


Stephen grew up in Newfoundland, Canada, and completed his B.Sc. (Honours) in Chemistry at Dalhousie University in 2008, conducting research in computational chemistry with Prof. Russell J. Boyd and organic synthesis with Prof. D. Jean Burnell. He then joined Prof. Mark S. Taylor at the University of Toronto for a summer project on boron catalysis before beginning doctoral studies with Prof. Mark Lautens, where he explored new palladium-catalyzed C–C bond-forming reactions and completed an internship with Prof. Frank Glorius (University of Münster) on NHC ligands.

After earning his Ph.D., he conducted postdoctoral research with Prof. Klavs F. Jensen at MIT, developing continuous chemical manufacturing processes in collaboration with Novartis AG and Shell Oil Company. In 2014, Stephen joined the University of Ottawa’s Centre for Catalysis Research and Innovation (CCRI), where he applies flow chemistry and transition-metal catalysis to the discovery of new, industrially relevant reactions. He was promoted to Full Professor in 2024 and has received several distinctions, including the Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Catalysis (2014–2024), the John Polanyi Prize in Chemistry (2016), and the Fagnou Award from the Canadian Society for Chemistry (2024).

Alexander Pomberger, ReactWise

Title: Integrating Machine Learning and Flow Chemistry for Accelerated Process Optimization


Dr. Alexander Pomberger is the CEO and Co-Founder of ReactWise, an AI company accelerating chemical reaction optimization. He earned his PhD from the University of Cambridge in 2024, under the supervision of Professor Alexei Lapkin, focusing on the integration of lab automation, organic synthesis, and machine learning for reaction optimization. Earlier in his career, he conducted research under Professor Klavs Jensen at MIT, developing continuous-stirred tank reactor (CSTR) cascades for heterogeneous photoflow chemistry. His work bridges chemistry and data science to equip chemists with intuitive, code-free tools for faster, safer, and more sustainable drug and fine chemical manufacturing.

Victor Sans, University Jaume I

Title: Reac-Discovery: An AI-driven platform for the discovery and optimization of catalytic reactors for continuous-flow sustainable transformations


Victor Sans graduated in Chemical Engineering at the University Jaume I in 2003, followed by a MSc and a PhD in Sustainable Chemistry (2007). In 2011, he graduated an Executive MBA at the University of Bath. From 2014 to 2019 he was an Assistant and Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham. He then joined the Universitat Jaume I and the INAM with a prestigious CIDEGENT Fellowship and is since 2024 an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering. His research interests are in sustainability for the development of chemicals and fuels; the digitalisation of chemical processes, including process automation, advanced fabrication with 3D printing and the integration of AI in chemistry; and the development of advanced materials for sustainability.