Susana Arrechea works at New Sun Road, a Californian start-up incubated at the University of California at Berkeley (UCB), where she develops solar electrification and connectivity projects for rural Guatemala. She is the Project Director of the Digital Community Centres Stellar Ixq-Saq´e, funded by the US Agency for International Development-Microsoft. She holds a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering earned at the University of San Carlos of Guatemala (USAC). She received a scholarship from Fundación Carolina, which allowed her to earn a Master of Science and a PhD degree in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology from the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, in Spain. She described more than 14 new organic molecules derived from porphyrins with applications in solar devices. In 2015, she was a Visiting Researcher at UCB, under the Fulbright NEXUS Program aimed at generating renewable energy. From 2016–2020, she was a Research Professor at USAC. In 2017, she won the Galardón de Guatemaltecos Ilustres award and received the TWAS Fellowships for Research and Advanced Training. In 2020, she won the OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards for Early-Career Women Scientists in the Developing World.

Mary Donnabelle Balela is a full professor at the Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at the University of the Philippines (UP). She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from UP in 2004, a master’s degree in materials engineering from the Universiti Sains Malaysia in 2008, and a PhD in materials science and engineering from Kyoto University in 2011. She leads the Sustainable Electronic Materials Group, which develops low-cost advanced functional materials for applications in electronics, the environment, and energy. She recently received the 2020 Encouragement Award, which is part of the Hitachi Global Foundation Asia Innovation Award, for her work on developing customizable sorbents based on kapok fibers. She is the runner-up in the 2019 ASEAN-US Science Prize for Women, 2019 Department of Science Outstanding Research and Development Awardee for Applied Research for her work on silver-based flexible electronic devices.

Rinlee Butch Cervera is a Professor and Head of the Energy Storage and Conversion Materials Research Laboratory at the Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, College of Engineering, University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD). He is the current Program Director of the Energy Engineering Graduate Program (UPD) and the current Editor-in-Chief of the Philippine Engineering Journal. He received his Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and PhD all in materials engineering from UPD, Universiti Sains Malaysia, and the University of Tokyo, Japan, respectively. His research interests are in energy-related materials and devices such as lithium-based batteries, fuel cells and electrolysis cells, waste-to-energy, and renewable energy applications. In recognition of his achievements, he received several awards such as the 2018 Outstanding Young Scientist from the National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines; the 2018 Professional Degree Awardee for Materials Engineering by the UP Alumni Engineers; University of the Philippines Scientist I for the period 2019–2021; and the 2021 Outstanding Engineering Professor from the College of Engineering, UPD.

Mohammed Kadhom is an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at Alkarkh University of Science in Baghdad, Iraq. He teaches courses on water and air pollution, basics in environmental pollution, and environmental awareness. He earned a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Baghdad, and a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia, US. Kadhom's research and contributions encompass chemical and environmental engineering, with a focus on water treatment, desalination, adsorption, thin films, and nanomaterials. He served as a guest editor with three journals and participated as a reviewer with others. In 2016, he earned a certificate of merit from the American Chemical Society, securing various grants during his presence at the University of Missouri-Columbia. In 2021, he was awarded the Green Chemistry Summer School grant from the Green Sciences for Sustainable Development Foundation, Venice, Italy, receiving the best poster award. For his research achievements, he was awarded the Top Researcher Golden Medal (2024) from Alain University, Iraq for his scientific production.

Lai received his PhD in biomedical engineering from the Malaysia University of Technology and Ilmenau Technical University in Germany through the German Academic Exchange Service PhD Sandwich Programme. He is currently an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University Malaya, and chief technology officer of BioSight Sdn Bhd. Lai was awarded a fellowship by the Association of Commonwealth Universities by the UK in 2021 for his research on recovered COVID-19 patients’ risk of hospital readmission. Later, Lai was conferred the Young Engineer Award 2021 by the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia. Lai was also awarded the IEEE-EMBS Early Career Achievement Award 2021 by the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society Malaysia Chapter the same year. Lai was elected as Fellow of Engineers Australia and Fellow of Institute of Engineers Malaysia. In 2022, Lai was bestowed the Board of Engineers Malaysia Most Prominent Young Engineering Leader Award by the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Carolina Palma Naveira Cotta has been an Associate Professor of mechanical engineering and head of the Laboratory of Nano and Microfluidics and Microsystems, at Poli & COPPE-Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil, since 2011. At UFRJ, she earned a Bachelor of Science (2004), Master of Science (2006) and DSc (2009) in mechanical engineering, and she currently teaches heat transfer, mathematical methods, and transport phenomena at the nano and micro-scales. Her research interests also cover heat transfer enhancement, inverse problems, hybrid methods, water desalination, and sustainable energies. She has experience in research with the industrial sector, including sponsored projects with major companies such as Petrobras, General Electric, INB, and GALP. In 2014, she became an Affiliated Member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, for the term 2015–2019. In 2016, she was elected member of the Scientific Council of the International Centre for Heat and Mass Transfer. She received competitive research productivity grants from the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development and the Research Support Foundation of the State of Rio de Janeiro.

Lobna Said is an Associate Professor and Program Director of the Microelectronics System Design Master Program at Nile University in Egypt. At the same university, she teaches electric circuits and electronics courses. She holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in electronics and electrical communication from Cairo University, Egypt. She earned a PhD in electronics and electrical communication from Cairo University, Egypt. Her research interests are interdisciplinary, including modelling, optimization, linear and nonlinear circuits and systems, and chaos theory. In recognition of her contributions to science and development, Said was a winner of the 2019 State Encouragement Award for Engineering Science. In 2019 and 2020, she was the recipient of Dr. Hazem Ezzat Prize for the Outstanding Researcher. In 2020 and 2021, Her name was in the top 2 percent of scientists according to the Stanford Report. In 2021, she was awarded the IEEE Outstanding Branch Counsellor & Branch Chapter Advisor Award.

Sasitorn Srisawadi is a senior researcher at the National Metal and Materials Technology Centre (MTEC), one of the research centers of the National Science and Technology Development Agency, Thailand. She earned a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. She won a scholarship from the Thai Government to further her education and received her Master of Science and PhD from North Carolina State University, US, working on additive manufacturing and rapid tooling. In 2011, she joined MTEC where she works at additive manufacturing, or three-dimensional (3D) printing, production process optimization, and composite material fabrication. Her excellent track records include several high profile peer-reviewed publications and patent applications in the areas of her expertise, which encompass the new process of 3D printing for natural rubber and metal matrix composites. In recognition of her contribution in promoting the role of young scientists, she was appointed as a co-Chair of the Thai Young Scientists Academy (2019–2021) and was selected as a Young Leader Fellow at the Annual Meeting, Science and Technology in Society forum (2019).

Fernando Zorto is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and director of the Research Institute of Applied Science and Technology, Faculty of Engineering at the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH). At UNAH, he teaches heat transfer, design projects, and research methods to engineers. He holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from UNAH and a Master of Science in project management from the Central American Technological University, also in Honduras. He is a PhD candidate in design, manufacturing, and managing industrial projects with Valencia Polytechnic University, in Spain. His research interests include atmospheric water harvesting, innovative projects, and aerospace systems. Since 2017, he has led the first satellite project in Honduras. He received the Honour of Merit of Engineering of the Pan-American Confederation of Mechanical, Electrical, and Other Fields of Engineering. In 2017, Zorto won the Best Essay about UNAH Scientific Research and Research Management at the XI Conference of Scientific Research UNAH.

Mohammed Almahfali from Yemen is currently a researcher at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Lund University, Sweden. He holds a PhD (2014) in modern Arabic literature, Arabic Language and Literature Department, Faculty of Art, Cairo University (Egypt). From 2017 to 2019 he worked as a researcher at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Lund University, thanks to a fellowship received from the Institute of International Education, Scholar Rescue Fund SRF-IIE. In 2015 he served as the head of the Arabic Language Department, with the College of Education, Hadhramout University, Socotra Island, and was an assistant professor of modern literature and criticism. Almahfali authored and co-authored four books and more than 10 peer-reviewed scientific papers. His research interests include discourse analysis, capacity-building in higher education, and sustainable post-conflict recovery strategies to address the challenges in Yemen for the coming years. Particularly noteworthy is his dissemination activity: he is a regular contributor to the Arabi Website, where he deals with socio-political themes, human rights issues and war-related problems.

Elías Peraza has been the Educational Technological Prospective Manager of the Directorate of Educational Technology, Salvadoran Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, since 2022. He conducts studies in science, technology and innovation (STI), prioritizing those of interest to the education system, including emerging technologies. He graduated in business administration from the University of El Salvador in 2010 and earned a master’s degree in business management for innovation and internationalization from the University of Basque Country, Spain, in 2011. In 2019, Peraza received a PhD in economics with cum laude distinction from Universities of Burgos, Valladolid and Salamanca, Spain. He studied both his master’s and doctorate thanks to scholarships from the European Union. Peraza has published academic and diffusion articles about systems of innovation, STI policies, business innovation behaviour, and economic policy. Regarding awards, he got the Ruben Dario Central American Award for Academic Excellence in 2009, and participated in the 22nd TWAS-LACREP Young Scientist Conference at Rio de Janeiro.

Onjamirindra Sarobidy Rakotonarivo is a research fellow at the Department of Forestry and Environment at the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar. She holds a Bachelor of Science in agricultural sciences and a Master of Science in Sustainable Tropical Forestry. She earned a joint PhD in environmental and development economics from Bangor University, UK, and the University of Copenhagen, the Netherlands, in 2016. Her research interests are in nature-climate interventions in Africa, such as forest conservation, restoration, and climate-smart agriculture. She uses a mixed method approach, including field experiments and qualitative approaches, to study the political and socioecological factors that increase their effectiveness. By identifying what does and doesn’t work, and under what conditions, her research aims to support the design of policies that contribute to the long-term well-being of people and nature. She also has a track record of supporting evidence-based policy and working in multi-stakeholder engagement.

Diego Marques is a professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Brasilia, Brazil. At the same university, he teaches elementary and advanced courses on number theory for undergraduate and graduate students. He earned a Bachelor in Mathematics and a Master in Mathematics from the Federal University of Ceara, Brazil, and his PhD in mathematics from the University of Brasilia. Then, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia, in Canada. With over a decade of experience, Marques has supervised more than ten doctoral theses, focusing mainly on transcendental number theory and its techniques. His research interests include transcendental number theory, the arithmetic behaviour of transcendental functions, Diophantine approximation, Diophantine equations, recurrence sequences, and elementary number theory. In 2010, for his contributions to research, he was bestowed the Young Researcher Award from the Federal District Research Support Foundation, in the Federal District, Brazil. In the same year, he was elected as the youngest affiliated member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, strengthening his position in the academic community.

Halima Twabi is an associate professor of statistics at the Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Malawi. She holds a Bachelor of Science in statistics, as well as a Master of Science and a PhD, both in biostatistics from the University of Malawi. She studies causal inference for observational data, multivariate statistics, longitudinal and survival analysis, and statistical modelling and analysis of social and health data. Her recent work involves developing causal inference methods for non-experimental studies with multiple outcomes. In 2020, she received the L'Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Sub-Saharan Africa Young Talent Award for her work on applying causal inference to maternal and child health. In 2023, she was nominated treasurer of the International Biometric Society Sub-Saharan Africa Network, and treasurer of the IBS Malawi region. She is a founding member of the Girls in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics network in Malawi, and collaborates on the project "Strengthen Modelling and Analytics Capacity and Ecosystem for Women’s Health" funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Dr Blair is a policy adviser for S&T and R&D, applying her expertise and skills in academia and government to assist various triple helix R&D organisations for the advancement of research and innovation, knowledge management, S&T education, and international cooperation. She is an interdisciplinary professional with degrees in Environmental Studies & Anthropology (B.A., St. Lawrence University), Environmental sciences (MSc, University of Arkansas), Freshwater Systems Science (MSc, University of Glasgow), and Earth Sciences (PhD, University of Glasgow). Her PhD research was to describe and model the behaviour of microplastics in fresh- and wastewater systems and to inform policy, publishing her original work in three peer-reviewed journals before the end of her PhD. She has worked as Chief Science Officer creating the R&D Unit and developing institutional processes for the Ministry for Science, Technology and Innovation in Honduras; and later, was Adviser for S&T for the Government of Honduras. Currently, she is Policy Officer for the Scottish Government's Hydro Nation Strategy and also guest editor for a special issue on microplastics pollution in the journal Frontiers.

Dimobe is an Assistant Professor at the Insitute of Environmental Science and Rural Development, University of Dédougou, in Dédougou, Burkina Faso. Since January 2019, he has been working as a lecturer and researcher at the University of Dédougou. In 2020, he received the African-German Network of Excellence in Science grant for junior researchers. Dimobe earned a Master of Science in botany (2007), and in applied plant biology (2010), both from the University of Lomé, Togo, and a PhD in botany and plant ecology (2017) from the University Ouaga I Professor Joseph KI-ZERBO, in Burkina Faso, and Rostock, in Germany. From 2017–2020 Dimobe worked with the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use as a research scientist and member of the Earth Observation Applications Unit. His research interests include climate change, natural resources management, biogeography, conservation, and biomass modelling. He is involved in capacity building, especially in the use of open access earth observation data and software for addressing environmental change problems. In 2015, he spent six months at the University of Rostock, Germany, as a visiting scholar.

Paula Echeverría-Galindo is a scientific researcher with the Institute for Geosystems and Bioindication at the Technical University of Braunschweig, in Germany. At the same institute, she earned a magna cum laude recognition for her PhD degree in natural sciences. Paula holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of San Carlos of Guatemala, and a master’s degree in Limnology and Marine Sciences from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. She has over 10 years of experience as a teacher of biology, geosciences and climate change. Her research interests are in climate change and its impact on aquatic communities. Paula is focusing on modern ecology and paleolimnological reconstructions, using multiple aquatic microorganisms, sedimentology and geochemical approaches to understand how the systems adapt and respond to global warming. Her research work has been carried out in the neotropics and on the Tibetan Plateau. She was awarded with a grant to expand her research in the neotropics examining paleolimnological data from volcanic lakes in Guatemala. She has been involved in activities related to gender equality and scientific outreach.

Paul Kuman is a researcher and lead consultant at the Center for Climate Change and Sustainable Development, University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG), where he conducts research, and teaches earth sciences, climate, and environmental sciences. He holds a Bachelor of Science majoring in chemistry at UPNG, and a Master of Environment Advanced majoring in environmental protection at Griffith University, Australia. His PhD research is in Marine Geoscience. He is involved in the Northwest Pacific Ocean and Climate Experiment program initiated by the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He investigates marine sedimentary components and their impact on climate reconstruction in the Bismarck Sea. He is developing program and courses about chemical oceanography and paleoclimate studies to be taught at UPNG, providing technical advisory services to various organizations, including the Government of PNG newly established Ocean Office on strategic development plans, and policy formulation in coastal and deep-sea governance and management. He received the Australian Award Scholarship in 2014 and the European Union Scholarship in 2017

Al-Qadhi received her PhD degree with a major in oral biology from Cairo University, Egypt, and her research focuses on tissue regeneration using stem cells derived from oral tissues and evidence-based dentistry, a rare achievement for a woman from Yemen. Her master's project was about the effect of Khat extract on the oral tissues, as the habit of Khat chewing is a major health and social problem in Yemen. She has published several scientific articles in international journals. She received several awards, including the academic distinction for the highest-ranked undergraduate students, and a postgraduate scholarship from the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Yemen. She was selected as a TechWomen emerging leader representing her country in the USA in 2014. She had worked as an assistant lecturer at the University of Science and Technology in Yemen. Now, she is looking to pursue her scientific journey as a researcher in stem cells and tissue regeneration in a safe environment where she can improve her technical skills, gain knowledge, and make a positive impact on her community as well as the host institute.

Alexander Birbrair received his bachelor’s degree in biomedicine from Santa Cruz State University in Brazil. He completed his PhD in neuroscience at the Wake Forest School of Medicine. Then, he joined as a postdoc in stem cell biology at Albert Einstein School of Medicine in New York. His laboratory is interested in understanding how the cellular components of different tissues function and control disease progression. His group explores the roles of specific cell populations in the tissue microenvironment by using state-of-the-art techniques. In 2018, Alexander was elected affiliate member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, and, in 2019, he was elected member of the Global Young Academy, and in 2021, he was elected affiliate member of TWAS. He is the Founding Editor and Editor-in-Chief of Current Tissue Microenvironment Reports, and Associate Editor of Molecular Biotechnology. Alexander also serves on the editorial boards of several other international journals.

Dr. Chika Ejikeugwu is a Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH) in Germany and a Senior Research Fellow at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Leipzig, Germany. He is also the founder of the online microbiology platform, www.MicrobiologyClass.net. Dr. Ejikeugwu previously served as a DAAD Postdoctoral Fellow at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Berlin, Germany. Dr. Ejikeugwu completed his first postdoctoral training on HIV-1 at the Laboratory of Infectious Disease Models, Institute for Frontier Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan (2018), under the MIF Postdoctoral Fellowship. He holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Biotechnology from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. In addition to his research, Dr. Ejikeugwu is a senior lecturer and researcher at the Enugu State University of Science & Technology (ESUT), Nigeria, where he mentors both undergraduate and postgraduate students in microbiology and related fields. His research interests include antimicrobial resistance (AMR), soil health, One-Health, infectious diseases, bacteriology, and virology.

Taufiqul Islam graduated in medicine from Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, University of Dhaka (2008). He earned a master in public health (2016) from the American International University-Bangladesh and a Diploma in vaccinology from the Institute Pasteur, Paris, France. In 2020, he entered a PhD program at Griffith University, South East Queensland, Australia. His research interests include vaccine studies on Japan encephalitis, flu, and oral poliovirus vaccine. He was involved in Oral Cholera Vaccines (OCV) studies in urban settings. Islam contributed to setting the Cholera Vaccine Investment Strategy to enhance the cholera control program in Bangladesh. He is actively involved in the safety evaluation of OCV in pregnant women. He has expanded his scientific interests, which include vaccine delivery and surveillance in the complex humanitarian crisis in Bangladesh. His work aims at controlling endemic cholera in Bangladesh, to help achieve the 'Ending Cholera: A Global Roadmap to 2030' target. His scientific interest also covers the evaluation of vaccine co-administration. Islam has contributed to 30 research articles, which have been published in peer-reviewed journals.

Priscilla Kolibea Mante is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Pharmacology at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana. She obtained her PhD in pharmacology from the same university in 2013. She was a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Pharmacology, University of Michigan Medical School, US, under the University of Michigan African Presidential Scholars programme through which she underwent her postdoctoral training until 2018. Her research focuses on the development of better therapeutic options for resistant epilepsy. She is currently working on developing a portable device that reduces the costs of diagnosing mental conditions while improving the therapy. Mante received the International Rising Talents Award in 2019, in the frame of the L’Oréal Foundation-UNESCO programme. She is a beneficiary of the 2019 Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World Early Career Fellowship. She is also a Fellow of the Africa Science Leadership Programme and a Young Affiliate of the African Academy of Sciences. Mante is also a registered pharmacist with a specialization in neuropharmacology.