Postgraduate Student Seminar at HKUST - Emerging Nanotechnologies for Health and Environmental Applications: Path to Sustainable Adaption and Implementation
Supporting the below United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:支持以下聯合國可持續發展目標：支持以下联合国可持续发展目标：
The convergence of nanotechnology with health and environmental science presents a transformative pathway toward achieving key sustainable development goals. This talk explores recent advancements in engineered nanomaterials, focusing on magnetic nanoparticles (e.g., core/shell Fe@C) for targeted drug delivery, biosensing, and personalized immune cell therapy, as well as their use in environmental remediation of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants. The presentation will also critically examine barriers to real-world implementation, including biocompatibility and ecotoxicity concerns, as well as the role of safety-by-design and life-cycle assessment frameworks.
Professor M. Ricardo Ibarra is a highly cited Spanish experimental physicist (h-index 79, over 24,000 citations) specializing in magnetism, functional nanostructures, biomedicine, and environmental remediation. He has held significant leadership roles, including head of Condensed Matter Physics at the University of Zaragoza (1995–2000), founding director of the Institute of Nanoscience of Aragon (2003–2020), director of the Advanced Microscopy Laboratory (2007–2022), and President of the EU's ELECMI electron microscopy infrastructure. He has co-founded three technology companies — Biomagnetics, Nanoimmunotech, and Graphene Nanotech — and is a Fellow of the European Physical Society and Doctor Honoris Causa from AGH University. His prolific academic output includes 481 articles, 17 book chapters, and 11 invention patents.