Prof. K.D.P. Nigam, a distinguished Chemical Engineer and faculty member at IIT Delhi, has made significant contributions to research and academia, with over 250 published papers garnering approximately 11,800 citations and an h-index of 60. He has held visiting professorships across renowned institutions in France, Germany, Australia, the UK, the USA, China, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, and Mexico. Currently serving as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Adelaide (2023-26), he pioneered the Coil Flow Inverter (CFI), a groundbreaking device in Process Intensification, widely adopted by academia and industry across 20 countries. Prof. Nigam has been actively involved in editorial roles for leading journals, including Chemical Engineering Research and Design, Chemical Engineering Science, and Green Processing & Synthesis. His expertise has been recognized with prestigious accolades, including the Humboldt Research Award (2011) and election to the Mexican Academy of Sciences. In his distinguished career, he has also served on key scientific advisory panels for the Indian government and as an Independent Director for Engineers India Ltd. and National Fertilizers Ltd. His exceptional contributions to chemical engineering have been honored through Festschrift issues in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research (2012) and Chemical Engineering and Processing – Process Intensification (2022).

Dr. Amol A. Kulkarni is a Scientist in the Chemical Engineering & Process Development Division at the CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune (Since 2005). He is a chemical engineer by training (B. Chem. Eng. 1998, and Ph.D. in chemical engineering 2003 from the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai. He did his post doctorate at the MPI-Magdeburg (Germany) as a Humboldt Fellow (2004) and was an IUSSTF Research Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA in 2010.

He works in the area of design and development of microreactors and exploring their applications for continuous syntheses of pharmaceutical intermediates, dyes, perfumery chemicals and nanomaterials. He has established the first of its kind microreactor laboratory in India. He also works on multiphase reactors, boiling reactors, design of fluid devices, new impeller concepts and experimental fluid dynamics.

He has been awarded with VASVIK Award by VASVIK Foundation for Excellence in Industrial Research (2016), Swarnajayanti Fellowship by the Dept. of Sci. and Tech. (2015), OPPI Young Scientist Award (2015), Scientist of the Year Award of NCL (2014), CSIR Young Scientist Award (2011), INSA Medal for Young Scientists (2009), Young Engineer Award by the Indian National Academy of Engineering (2009). He is also a member of the Selection Committee of Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany) and FWO Foundation (Brussels).

He has published over 90 papers in international peer reviewed journals, supervised 7 PhD students (7 ongoing), filed over 35 patents and also designed several flow reactors that are licensed to Indian industries. He also works on industry sponsored design and feasibility projects and consultant to many industries. He is on the editorial boards of a international peer reviewed journals like Journal of Flow Chemistry (Springer), Advanced Powder Technology (Elsevier) and on the Advisory Board of Reaction Chemistry and Engineering (RSC UK). He is also on the international scientific committee of IMRET and a member of the national organizing committee for ISCRE-2020

Dr. Rakeshwar Bandichhor is currently working as Director and Senior Principal Scientist at API-R&D, Process Chemistry, Innovation Plaza, IPDO, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Hyderabad, A.P., India. He has completed his PhD in Chemistry from CDRI & University of Lucknow, and Post doctorate from University of Regensburg and Roy and Diana Vegelos Laboratories for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Pennsylvania. He is having 20 years working experience. Previously he was appointed as Postdoctoral Research Associate at Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, Associate Director and Head at Centre of Excellence in Chemistry and Functional Expert in Chemistry, API-R&D, Innovation Plaza, IPDO, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Hyderabad, A.P, India. Dr. Rakeshwar received honors includes Best Cost Leadership Award 2008, Co-investigator of major research project granted and funded by University Grant Commission, Registered Ph.D. Supervisor at Institute of Science and Technology, Jawahar Lal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, Part of a Team Award for Excellence (IPDO) in Project Execution, Biography published in Who’s Who in the World, and invited speaker in number of scientific meetings. He is editor for Internal Newsletter: Noteworthy Science in Practice, member of editorial board in Organic Chemistry: Current Research, OMICS Publishing Group, Journal of Chemical Sciences, and International Journal on Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. He also contributed to route scouting, process research and development of entire product development pipeline. He is professional member of American Chemical Society, Division of Organic Chemistry, Chemical Research Society of India, Indian Pharmaceutical Congress, Indian Society of Chemists and Biologists, UP Association for the Science & Technology Advancement and MRSC, UK. He is also serving as reviewer for journals such as Organic Process Research & Development, Bioorganic Medicinal Chemistry Letters, Journal of Enzyme Inhibition and Medicinal Chemistry, Arkivoc, Chirality, ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, Journal of Chemical Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Tetrahedron Letters, and Journal of Organic Chemistry. He successfully supervised/supervising 21 MSc and PhD students. He has published 269 research articles in journals, conferences and presentations contributed as author/co-author.

Simon Kuhn obtained his PhD from ETH Zurich (Switzerland) and was a SNF postdoctoral fellow at MIT (US). Currently, he is a professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering at KU Leuven. He was awarded starting and consolidator grants by the European Research Council for his work on intensified flow reactors for multiphase reaction systems and particle synthesis. His research interests lie in the characterization of transport processes in complex flows, scaling-up micro-chemical systems, and the design of novel flow reactors.

Prof. Georgios Stefanidis holds an MSc degree in Chemical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA, Greece) and a PhD degree in the same field from the University of Gent (Belgium). He is currently Director of the Department of Process Analysis and Plant Design at the School of Chemical Engineering at NTUA and head of the Chemical Process Engineering Laboratory (CPEL) at the same University. He has co-authored over 140 peer-review papers in the broad field of Process Intensification, mostly focusing on alternative energy forms and transfer mechanisms (mainly microwaves and plasma), and the first book on the “Fundamentals of Process Intensification” (Wiley VCH, 2019). His research activity includes modeling of simultaneously occurring flow, chemistry and multiscale transport phenomena in electromagnetic and plasma fields as well as design and development of tailored equipment for microwave- and plasma-assisted reaction and separation processes including, among others, CO2, CH4 and waste valorization processes. He is currently the Chairman of the EFCE Working Party on Process Intensification, Executive Editor of the Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification Journal (Elsevier) and serves on the management board of the Association of Microwave Power in Europe for Research and Education (AMPERE).

Dr Kishan received his Ph.D (Catalysis) from  IICT- Hyderabad in 1997.  He did his post-doc at International Universities in South Korea (1997-98), The Netherlands (1999-2000) and was also visiting scientist at University of Ulm, Germany. Dr Kishan has started his career with GE India Tech. Center, Bangalore in 2000, and became Technical Director in 2009. He became Global Technology Leader for Aromatics & chloro-alkali in 2012 (Geleen, Netherlands) and Managing Director, STC Bengaluru (~350+ team) & Board of Director for SRTPL during 2014-2019.

In 2019, he has founded 2 new companies “Sravathi Advance process Technologies Pvt Ltd & Sravathi AI Technology Pvt Ltd”. He is presently Founder, MD & CEO and also Board of director for both Sravathi companies. His team (~150+ people) working on cutting edge Sravathi AI platform for chemistry and flow chemistry.

Dr Kishan’s work in monomers and catalysis have been significant in commercialization of various projects in GE /SABIC. Dr Kishan has received many accolades over the years, such as CV Raman Innovation Award (2006), Most valuable player award (2008), Supper achiever award (2002), Gold patent award and >20 Management awards received from GE/SABIC. Dr Kishan has 35 publications, 25 conference papers and >50 are granted patents to his credential.  He was invited speaker in National & International conferences. He is also Ph.D thesis examiner and referee for International journals.

Dr. P.R. Sowbna is an expert in process safety, chemical engineering, and crystallization process development. She is a highly accomplished chemical engineer with over 25 years of experience in process safety, crystallization process development, and process engineering across the pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and specialty chemical industries. She holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from ICT Mumbai and has worked with leading organizations such as Deccan Fine Chemicals, Syngenta, and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories. Currently, she is leading R&D Process Safety at Aarti Industries.

Dr. Sowbna specializes in developing inherently safe processes, ensuring safe scale-up, and establishing systems for hazard assessment. She has extensive expertise in chemical reaction hazard evaluation, fire and explosion hazard assessment, process optimization using Design of Experiments (DOE), and scaling up chemical processes with advanced modeling tools like DynoChem and Aspen Plus. Her work in crystallization process development focuses on polymorph identification and process control using Process Analytical Technology (PAT) tools.

With a strong commitment to process safety and risk mitigation, Dr. Sowbna has played a key role in setting up process safety labs and implementing best practices for safe and efficient chemical manufacturing. Her expertise in data interpretation, reaction kinetics, and advanced analytical techniques has contributed to the development of robust and scalable chemical processes. Dr. Sowbna\\\'s contributions to the industry continue to drive innovation in chemical process safety and optimization, making her a respected leader in the field.

Hari Bukya is an experienced professional with over 17 years of expertise in Environmental Health & Safety (EHS), Process Safety Management (PSM), and Chemical Reaction Hazards. His specialization includes thermal and reaction calorimetry studies, dust explosion testing, safe scale-up approaches, and plant automation in design safety engineering.He has held leadership positions in renowned organizations such as Asian Paints (Corporate Safety Head & PSM), Aragen Life Sciences (Deputy General Manager – Process Safety), Pfizer Healthcare India (Process Safety Lead), Alembic Pharmaceuticals (Corporate Process Safety Lead), Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (Senior Team Member – SHE PSM), and Mylan Laboratories (Senior Engineer – EHS Process Safety).

Hari Bukya holds several prestigious certifications, including Industrial Safety, Certified PHA Leader, ISO 45001:2018 Lead Auditor, OHSAS 18001:2007 Lead Auditor, and advanced training in reaction calorimetry, thermal screening, and rapid screening units. With an extensive professional network of over 6,000 LinkedIn connections, he is a recognized expert in process safety and industrial risk management.

Dr Satyanarayana Thirunahari is currently working as a General Manager at Laurus Labs Limited,
Hyderabad, responsible for process engineering of active pharmaceutical ingredients, scale up and
technology transfer to manufacturing scale. He has 15+ years of experience in working with various
industries like Dr Reddys Labs Hyderabad, Applied Process Company Limited Ireland, ICES Singapore
etc. He holds a PhD degree in chemical engineering from National University of Singapore. He
published 7+ articles in international journals and gave several talks in various national and
international conferences. He has 17+ patents to his name. His core expertise areas are process scale
up & technology transfer, continuous/flow manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, polymorph & particle
engineering, process analytical technologies, application of AI/ML methodologies in chemical
engineering etc.

Dr Veeraswamy Rama is currently serving as the Assistant General Manager at Neuland Laboratories Limited in Hyderabad. He leads the Particle Engineering lab, focusing on crystallization development to achieve the desired physicochemical properties of APIs, NCEs, and intermediates, as well as solid form screening. Additionally, he oversees process safety studies to ensure smooth scale-up.

With over 18 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr Rama has worked with renowned companies such as Dr. Reddy\\\'s Labs, Aurobindo Pharma Ltd, and Sai Life Sciences Ltd. He holds a PhD in Chemistry from Andhra University, Vizag, and has published more than four articles and holds two patents. Dr. Rama has delivered numerous talks at national and international conferences.

His core expertise includes crystallization development using process analytical technologies (such as Purity, polymorph, BD, Hausner ratio and many yield improvements ), addressing plant troubleshooting, and conducting process safety evaluations to identify and mitigate risks, ensuring smooth scale-up.

Dr. Sandeep Jain, Associate Vice President, at Sun Pharmaceutical is heading the Flow Chemistry Lab & Process Development Division. He received PhD in Organic Chemistry from Jiwaji University, Gwalior, India.  He has an extensive industrial experience of 23 years in leading pharma based organizations including Aurobindo Pharma, Jubilant Life Sciences, Torrent Research Centre and Ind-Swift Labs. He is an expert of continuous flow chemistry, process development, process safety and crystallization techniques. He had started a dedicated flow chemistry lab at his previous and current organization and scaled up many projects at commercial scale.

With 18 years of experience in Industrial Engineering, he has worked across diverse domains including Process Engineering, Project Management, and Production. Currently serving as Deputy General Manager – Process Engineering at Alivus Lifesciences Limited (formerly Glenmark Lifesciences), Navi Mumbai, lead initiatives in process safety, flow chemistry, and technology transfer.
Gaurav\\\'s career spans reputed organizations such as Biocon Ltd, Ecologic Technologies Ltd, and Gharda Chemicals Ltd. He brings hands-on expertise in various unit operations including extraction, distillation, crystallization, filtration, and drying. Has successfully scaled up continuous gas-liquid reactions at the plant scale and handled scale-up of complex molecules including immunosuppressants, anticancer agents, and peptides.
Additionally, He has experience in downstream processing of fermentation-derived products and possess in-depth knowledge of solid-state peptide synthesis, preparative chromatography, tangential flow filtration, and lyophilization.

Dr. Nitesh Ayare earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) in Mumbai. His doctoral research concentrated on the development and isolation of fluorescent azo and anthraquinone dyes for applications in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), textile dyeing, and nonlinear optics (NLO), correlating experimental findings with computational chemistry. During his tenure at BASF, Dr. Ayare developed multi-step synthetic pathways in the Process R&D department, focusing on aroma chemistry and metal-organic frameworks. He has previously worked with Mettler-Toledo as a Technology and Software Tester in R&D before completing his post-doctoral research at IIT Bombay. His post-doctoral project involved the synthesis, purification, and isolation of novel anti-cancer drugs and sensor moieties using crystallization processes. Currently, Dr. Nitesh Ayare serves as a Technology and Application Scientist at Mettler-Toledo India Private Limited, where he is responsible for Particle System Characterization (PSC) tools, enabling the real-time monitoring of particles through process analytical technology (PAT) tools. He continues to research various technologies and their correlations to deepen the understanding of crystal behavior and morphology.

Dr. Ninad Loke is an accomplished chemical process development expert with over 15 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. Currently serving as a Tech Lead at Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, he specializes in process analytical technology (PAT), reaction engineering, and mathematical modeling to enable efficient and sustainable API development.

His work integrates advanced spectroscopic techniques—including IR, NIR, and Raman spectroscopy—for mechanistic and quantitative studies. He applies chemometrics for real-time qualitative and quantitative analysis during screening and process optimization. Dr. Loke also has expertise in tools such as Focused Beam Reflectance Measurement (FBRM) and Particle Vision and Measurement (PVM) for crystallization and polymorph investigations.

Throughout his career, he has been instrumental in process scale-up and technology transfer for both new product introductions and plant troubleshooting. His contributions extend to developing reaction kinetics, optimizing various chemistries including hydrogenation and coupling reactions, and overseeing separation processes such as crystallization, filtration, and drying.

Dr. Loke\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s prior roles include senior scientific positions at SABIC, BBRC, Pfizer, and HPFL. He holds three patents and has one publication to his name. His current focus lies in leveraging enabling technologies like PAT and mathematical modeling to drive green chemistry initiatives and enhance real-time process understanding—aligned with the 11th principle of green chemistry for pollution prevention.

Mr. Amin Ismaili is currently working as Head – Process Engineering Research & innovation (PERI) at Deepak Nitrite Limited Vadodara, He is having bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Gujarat University with 33 years of industrial experience in all aspects of process engineering. Prior joining Deepak Nitrite, he worked with Alembic group company, Cadila Pharmaceutical ltd and Torrent Pharmaceutical. During his journey he has worked on 360 deg aspect of process engineering like innovative technology development from lab to commercial, process equipment design, basic & detail engineering, plant trouble shooting, capacity debottlenecking related issue in pharma and specialty chemical industry. Since 2007 he exclusively works on developing different innovative technology for process intensification and continuous flow chemistry. His dream is ‘HOME FACTORY’ concept i.e to develop Platform Technology which can produce tons of intermediate products in 10 x 12 ft room without use of any solvent and without generation of any effluent.  He has filed 17 patents + published articles and papers in various journals & magazines + actively participated as a speaker in various research conferences, workshops and engineering colleges.

Vilobh Shete is an After Sales Service Support Manager at H.E.L. India Pvt. Ltd., where Vilobh provides Technical and applications-related support for customers, which includes process safety evaluation, instrument data analysis and interpretation, and instrument/ application troubleshooting. Vilobh has a total of 12+ years of professional experience, he has worked with reputable chemical and automation industries like Mettler-Toledo, Exide Industries, Xytel India, IPCA Laboratories, etc. His expertise lies in core chemical engineering operations, process safety, process design-development-optimisation, process automation, PAT implementations, and turnkey projects.

Dr. Pranab Kumar Patra is a seasoned scientific leader with deep expertise in synthetic organic and process chemistry. Currently serving as Head of R&D at Adama India, he brings over two decades of experience across global academic institutions and leading chemical and pharmaceutical organizations. His core competencies include route scouting, process development, scale-up, and sustainable manufacturing with a strong focus on reducing cost of goods (CoGs) through innovative chemistry and technology integration.

Dr. Patra has held senior leadership roles such as Vice President of Chemistry R&D at Sajjan India Ltd. and Head of Process Innovation at PI Industries, where he established world-class R&D capabilities, drove the development of novel active ingredients, and led strategic projects in crop protection and pharmaceuticals. His prior role as Head of Science and Technology at Jubilant Biosys saw him oversee drug discovery collaborations and IND-enabling development, including work on Darolutamide (NUBEQA®) and advanced flow chemistry.

With specialized knowledge in sulfur and heterocyclic chemistry, catalysis (homogeneous and heterogeneous), and the safe handling of hazardous reagents, Dr. Patra has contributed to multiple patented technologies and commercialized processes. He has a robust background in analytical science (UV, HPLC, NMR, MS, IR, SEM/TEM) and is highly proficient in cheminformatics and chemical IT tools like SciFinder-n, Reaxys, Chemdraw, and DOE platforms.

Dr. Patra’s academic accolades include prestigious international fellowships—JSPS (Japan), Alexander von Humboldt (Germany), and NSC (Taiwan)—where he conducted cutting-edge research in organometallic synthesis, thiol chemistry, and nanomaterials. He earned his Ph.D. in Synthetic Organic Chemistry through joint work at North-Eastern Hill University and IIT Kanpur.

He is the author of 25 research publications in reputed journals (including Green Chemistry and Angewandte Chemie) and holds 17 patents, many in crop protection chemistry. Known for his collaborative and ethical leadership style, Dr. Patra is committed to mentoring talent, promoting safety, and fostering innovation-driven growth in the chemical sciences.

Dr. Ravindra Athavale holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai. He began his professional journey in 1991 with Hoechst Pharmaceuticals, where he worked in Basic Research for four years. In 1995, he joined the R&D department at Colour-Chem Ltd., which later became Clariant Chemicals India Limited.

With a career spanning over three decades in the chemical industry, Dr. Athavale has built extensive expertise in research and development. He currently serves as the Head of R&D and Technical Applications at Clariant IGL Specialty Chemicals Private Limited, driving innovation and supporting strategic technological advancements.

Lorenzo graduated in Economics in 2018 and worked for 3 years in the USA as a salesperson, supplying cleanrooms to the North American pharmaceutical market. He joined Zaiput at the beginning of 2021 to support the growth of the company in Europe and he is now Zaiput’s direct sales contact for all customers outside of North America. In his role, his focus is on helping customers improve their chemical processes through enhanced extractions and separations in flow.