Professor Hanafi Ismail

Professor Hanafi Ismail is the deputy Dean at the School of Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering, USM. Professor Hanafi won several awards, including  Khwarizmi International Award 2000 from Iran, APCTT (Asia Pacific) 2000 International Award, ISESCO Prize in Science & Technology 2001, in UAE and Silver  medal at the International Exhibition of Invention, New Technologies and Products in Geneva, Switzerland in 2002, 2004 and 2009. In 2005 he won Gold Medal at the International Trade Fair IENA 2005, Nuremberg, Germany. In 2007 he won Gold Medal with special mention by jury at  the 56th World Exhibition of Innovation, Research and New Technologies at Brussel, Belgium.

He has also won gold medal at the International Invention, Innovation, Industrial Design and Technology Exhibition (I-TEX 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2010 ) and Silver medal at the Science & Technology Expo 2003, 2006 and 2010. Last year he won  Gold Medal, Double Gold and Special Award from Russia at British Invention Show (BIS 2010), London, 13-16 Oct. 2010 and Gold Medal at Seoul International Invention Fair 2010.

This year he won Gold Medal and Best Invention Award at 22th International Invention, Innovation, Industrial Design and Technology Exhibition (I-TEX 2011), Kuala Lumpur 20-22 May 2011 and Gold Medal and Grand Eco Award Prize at International Trade Fair, Ideas, Inventions and New Products in Nuremberg, Germany from 27 -30 Oct. 2011. Professor Hanafi has published more than 250 research papers in various polymer international journals and currently one of the Editorial Board for Polymer Plastic Technology & Engineering (Marcel Dekker, USA),  Research Journal of Environmental and Earth Sciences (Maxwell Science), ASEAN Engineering Journal, Iranica Journal of Energy and Environment, Iranian Polymer Journal (Iran) and Central European Journal of Engineering (Springer).

At national level, he is also one of the Editorial Board for Journal of Physical Science, International Journal of Automotive and Mechanical Engineering and Journal of Electron Microscopy Malaysia.

Mark Spearing

Mark Spearing is a Professor of Engineering Materials in the Faculty of Engineering and the Environment in the University of Southampton, he is also Pro Vice Chancellor (International) for the University and was previously Head of the School of Engineering Sciences. He received his Ph.D from Cambridge University Engineering Department in 1990, working on the fatigue damage mechanics of carbon fibre composites. He worked as a research engineer at UC Santa Barbara from 1990-92 where he developed models for the failure of high temperature ceramic materials. From 1992-94 he was an engineering specialist at BP Research and subsequently a research engineer for Carborundum Microelectronics, where he was a member of the electronic packaging technology development team.

From 1994 to 2004 he was on the faculty of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, receiving tenure in 2001, and being appointed Full Professor in 2004. Professor Spearing's research focuses on developing mechanism-based models and design approaches for the failure of advanced engineered materials. His research activities involve advanced composites, layered materials and materials, structures and processes for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and other Microsystems. He has particularly worked on the development of wafer bonding processes for the creation of 3-D structures in MEMS and other Microsystems. This activity has involved developing an understanding of the interaction between surface chemistry, local and wafer level deformation mechanisms and tool and process parameters. He also works in the area of structural health monitoring of composite structures. His educational activities focus on integrating the teaching of materials and structures.

In November 2004 Professor Spearing received a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award. He is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and was chairman of that organization's Materials Technical Committee from 1997-1999. He is also a member of the Materials Research Society and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He is an editor of J. Microelectromechanical Systems, the European Editor of the Journal of Composite Materials and an editorial board member of Nanotechnology. He has published over 160 papers including over 100 in refereed journals. He is a co-inventor on 5 patents.

He has organized Materials Research Society symposia on the Materials Science of MicroElectromechanical Systems in 2000, 2001, 2007 and 2008. Professor Spearing twice won the MIT Aero/Astro Department's award for outstanding teaching in 1995 and 1997, and its award for student advising in 1999 and 2000.