Dr. Xiao Yang is an experienced extractive metallurgist with 15+ years of research experience in the field. He received his B.S. from Beihang University in 2003, M. S. from Institute of Process Engineering-CAS in 2006, and Ph.D. in Metallurgical Engineering from The University of Tokyo in 2009. He has served as a research associate at National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan, a researcher at Shasteel Group, a research assistant professor at Kyoto University, a research fellow at The University of Texas at Austin, a visiting professor at Yonsei University, and an assistant professor at The University of Tokyo. Xiao joined Westlake University in 2020. His research is focused on developing smart extraction technologies for pure chemical elements through the utilization of molten salts.

Dr. Xianfeng Hu is a senior researcher in the Department of Metallurgy at the Swedish Research Institute for Mining, Metallurgy, and Materials (Swerim, Luleå site, Sweden). He holds a PhD degree in Process Metallurgy from Luleå University of Technology in Sweden. His research program is centered on the pyrometallurgical extraction of valuable metals from primary and secondary resources, as well as the development of new metallurgical processes. His contributions encompass a range of innovations, including DRI-EAF steelmaking, hydrogen plasma reduction, and electrolysis, which exemplify his dedication to the promotion of green steel and metal production practices.

Prof. Jianxun SONG received his doctor degree in University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB) in 2015. He continues his research in KU Leuven Belgium as a postdoc until 2017. And then, he joined the School of Materials Science and Engineering as a Professor (2022) at Zhengzhou University, China. Now, he is a principle investigator leading a group which includes 21 members. His current research interests focus on metal extraction through electrochemical method (Ti, Zr, V, Mo etc.) and sustainable resources. The research goal is to characterize and optimize processes, systems and devices through application of electrochemical techniques and materials knowledge. According his background that includes materials / metallurgy / manufacturing and the use of electrochemical techniques to study the electrochemical production of rare metals, his research aims include manufacturing apparatus and developing new test methodologies to assess the electrochemical reduction processes taking place. He has published more than 70 SCI papers in the above fields such as Adv. Sci., Small, Sep. Purif. Technol., J. Electrochem. Soc., ACS Sustain. Chem. & Eng. and so on. He has filed 37 patent applications. He is young advisory board /guest editor members for several SCI journals including Rare Met., T. Nonferr. Metal. Soc., Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater. (IJM), Front. Chem. etc., regular journal paper reviewers for more than 30 journals. He has also presides 4 projects come from National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and National Key Research and Development Program of China (NKDPC), and 8 other projects.

I am currently pursuing my PhD at Hanyang University in Korea, majoring in Materials and Chemical Engineering.