Dr. Kiran Babu Uppuluri graduated from the Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, and currently serves as Professor in the School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. With over two decades of research experience, his work lies at the interface of bioprocess engineering, microbial biotechnology, biomass biorefinery, and sustainable biomanufacturing. His research focuses on the development, modeling, optimization, and intensification of sustainable bioprocesses for the production of biofuels, therapeutic enzymes, lignin-derived products, biopolymers, and other value-added bioproducts. A major focus of his research is the development of integrated technologies and consolidated bioprocessing strategies to valorize second- and third-generation (2G and 3G) biomass into biofuels and platform chemicals, supporting the transition toward a circular bioeconomy. He has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed international research publications and has edited five books. He has delivered numerous invited and contributed presentations at national and international scientific forums and has successfully undertaken several extramural research projects.

Dr. Widya Fatriasari is a Principal Investigator at the Research Center for Biomass and Bioproducts within the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) of Indonesia. Her pioneering research focuses on biomass conversion and lignin valorization, aimed at advancing sustainable bioproducts such as bioplastics, bio-composites, cosmetics and biodegradable biomedical pulp derived from agricultural waste. Prof. Widya has earned notable accolades, including the Satyalancana Wirakarya medal from the President of Indonesia (2024), the BRIN Intellectual Property Award (2024), and the title of Best Principal Investigator at the Research Center for Biomass and Bioproducts (2024). Her team was also distinguished for Best Research Group Performance in the same year. On the international stage, she served as a Visiting Researcher at Université de Lorraine, France (2023), and was a nominee for the Innovation Heroes Award by CIAS (2023).

Additionally, she was honoured with the title of Research Professor (2022), recognized as one of the Top 3 Researchers with the Most Scopus Citations at her research centre (2022), and named Top Innovator in Intellectual Property (2021-2022). Beyond her research achievements, Prof. Widya is a prolific author and holds numerous patents in biomass technology. She also serves as an editor for the book series on cosmetics published by Springer, contributing her expertise to the broader field of material science and bioproduct development.