ENFHT Plenary Speaker
Dr. Stavroula Balabani, University College London, UK
Stavroula Balabani (FIChemE, Professor of Fluid Mechanics) obtained a Chemical Engineering degree from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA, Greece) and a PhD from King’s College London where she started her academic career. She joined UCLMechanical Engineering in 2011 where she leads an experimental fluid mechanics group (FluME), applying high resolution, optical diagnostic techniques to probe complex flows and transport phenomena, both at the macroscale and microscale, with applications to healthcare, energy and manufacturing. Her research interests evolve around cardiovascular flows, fluid structure interaction, microscale flow technologies for energy recovery, diagnostics and drug delivery, particle suspension flows, viscoelastic instabilities and elastoinertia transitions in polymeric flows. She has received funding from EPSRC, BBSRC, EU, Innovate UK and charities (BHF, AVM Butterfly) and her research has appeared in prestigious fluid mechanics journals. Stavroula is a Fellow of IChemE and a member of various scientific committees, such as the EPSRC College, the Executive committee of the International Microflows Nanoflows conference (MNF), the Osborne Reynolds Day Scientific Committee, the British and Hellenic Societies of Rheology and the ICHMT Scientific Council. She also serves as an Editorial Board Member for the Medical Engineering and Physics Journal. https://wp.cs.ucl.ac.uk/flume/
ENFHT Plenary Speaker
Dr. Afshin J. Ghajar, Oklahoma State University, USA
Afshin J. Ghajar is Emeritus Regents Professor and John Brammer Endowed Professor in the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA and an Honorary Professor of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees all in mechanical engineering from Oklahoma State University. His expertise is in experimental heat transfer/fluid mechanics and development of practical engineering correlations. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers (ASTFE). He is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Oklahoma. Professor Ghajar has received countless teaching/service awards, such as the 75th Anniversary Medal of the ASME Heat Transfer Division, the ASME ICNMM Outstanding Leadership Award, and the Donald Q. Kern Award, among others. His research work has resulted in over 250 publications including professional journals, reports, books, peer-reviewed conference papers or symposium proceedings. His research achievements have also been documented by a large number of presentations as well as keynote and invited lectures all over the world. A 2020 study conducted by Ionnidis et al. of Stanford University [Updated science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators (plos.org)], ranked nearly 160,000 scientists of all disciplines based on citations to their work over their career and for the year 2019, Professor Ghajar ranked in the top 1.3% of researchers in Mechanical Engineering and Transports category. He currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Heat Transfer Engineering Journal and is the Heat Transfer Series Editor for CRC Press (he has edited 13 books to date). He is the co-author of two popular textbooks, 4th (2011), 5th (2016), 6th (2020) editions, and 2025 Release of Heat and Mass Transfer – Fundamentals and Applications; 6th edition and 2026 Release of Fundamentals of Thermal-Fluid Sciences, both published by McGraw-Hill; and the author of Two-Phase Gas-Liquid Flow in Pipes with Different Orientations, Springer Briefs in Applied Sciences and Technology, published by Springer 2020, and Single- and Two-Phase Flow Pressure Drop and Heat Transfer in Tubes, Mechanical Engineering Series, published by Springer, 2022.
ENFHT Keynote Speaker
Dr. Behnaz (Beth) Rezaie, University of Pittsburgh, USA
Dr. Behnaz Rezaie is a globally recognized expert in sustainable energy systems, with a distinguished career spanning academia, industry, and applied research. With over a decade of experience in engineering education and more than 10 years in the automotive and manufacturing sectors, she bridges the gap between cutting-edge research and practical application. Her research focuses on improving the efficiency, sustainability, and resilience of district energy systems, with deep expertise in thermal energy storage, renewable integration, and the energy-water nexus. Dr. Rezaie has developed innovative models to optimize multiple thermal energy storages, evaluated alternative energy technologies under economic and environmental constraints, and pioneered methods for sustainable energy planning in smart cities. Her contributions include advanced simulations for server room cooling using AI, lifecycle assessments of additive manufacturing, and guidelines for geothermal energy systems. Dr. Rezaie is the author of over 50 peer-reviewed journal and conference publications, including a landmark review on district energy systems recognized as a “Highly Cited Paper” by Applied Energy. She has secured over $1.5 million in research funding as PI or Co-PI from agencies such as DOE and industrial partners, and has led multi-disciplinary projects in energy optimization, sustainability assessment, and water conservation. In industry, Dr. Rezaie has held senior engineering and managerial roles, including the launch of over 140 automotive programs and the development and accreditation of six quality assurance laboratories for automakers such as Toyota, Chrysler, Mazda, and KIA. She is a registered Professional Engineer in Ontario, Canada.