Samir El Hankari
Samir El Hankari received his PhD degree in the synthesis of nanostructured silica hybrid materials in 2012 from the University of Montpellier 2 (France). He then joined four different teams as a post-doc researcher in United Kingdom, Morocco, China and Austria.
He has experience in organic synthesis and materials science, particularly: i) sol-gel, ii) nanostructured porous silica bearing organo-ionic species, iii) templating and processing of mesoporous Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), MOF capsules and MOF@oxide composites and evaluating their practical application in catalysis, sensing and adsorption. Recently, his experience has been extended to the Sol-gel of MOFs, bio-polymer@MOFs and ceramic@MOFs composites as well as their shaping into membranes, films and monoliths.
Since September 2019, Samir joined Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Chemical & Biochemical Science (CBS) department as an Assistant Professor in inorganic chemistry – hybrid materials with major interests on the development of sustainable synthesis, and processing of porous organic-inorganic materials such as MOFs and their composites as well as porous silica hybrid materials for the adsorption, sensing, and (photo)catalysis.
Wendy L. Queen
Wendy L. Queen obtained her PhD in chemistry from Clemson University (August 2009). Her dissertation was focused on the synthesis and characterization of extended solids that contain low-dimensional magnetic nanostructures. Upon receipt of her PhD, she was awarded a fellowship from the National Research Council to study neutron scattering at the NIST Center for Neutron Research in Gaithersburg MD. Here she chose to focus her work on elucidating small molecule interactions on the internal surface of porous adsorbent materials, such as metal-organic frameworks and zeolites.
In 2012, she was appointed a project scientist position at the Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley CA where she helped launch a new user program focused on the synthesis and characterization of porous adsorbents. In 2015, she was appointed Assistant Professor in the Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering at EPFL. Her research is currently focused on the synthesis and characterization of novel porous adsorbents, namely metal-organic frameworks, that are of interest in a number of host-guest applications.
The ultimate goal of her research is to contribute knowledge towards solving globally relevant problems, like reducing energy consumption, developing sustainable processes, cutting CO2 emissions, and water purification. Her desire is to help train a new generation of researchers that have the knowledge and scientific skill set necessary to become future frontrunners in energy and environmentally-related research.