Sofia Electrochemical Days '2024
Sofia Electrochemical Days (SED) is well recognized among the scientific community a national scientific conference with international participation, focused on the latest advances in electrochemistry. Since its inception in 1996 until now, the event is organized every two years, with the support of the Bulgarian Electrochemical Society and the Bulgarian section of the International Society of Electrochemistry.
Over the years, SED has established itself as a prestigious event, uniting the interests and ideas of young researchers, with the expertise of scientists from prestigious academic institutions and industrial enterprises, promoting collaboration and the dissemination of expertise in the field of Electrochemical Science.
Within each forum, a Young Scientists’ Session is organized where young researchers and doctoral (PhD) students present their scientific achievements, the best of which are awarded by an International Jury.
Sponsors and Partners
of the SED 2024 Forum
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Prof. Dr. Anton Momchilov
Invited Speaker
WaveTech GmbH,
Sofia center, Bulgaria
- 1973-1979: graduated with Master's degree in Physics from SU "St. Kliment Ohridski", Bulgaria.
- 1979: research fellow in IEES-BAS
- 1997: completed PhD Thesis in Electrochemistry in IEES-BAS
- 1998: appointed as a senior research scientist of IEES-BAS
- 2015: elected as a Professor of Electrochemistry in IEES-BAS
- 2000 – 2016: asociate professor of chemical power sources at UCTM-Sofia
- 2001: co-director of NATO-ASI "New Trends in Intercalation Compounds for Energy Storage".
- Research focus: Li/MnO2 and Li/SO2 electrochemical systems, developments of batteries for military applications and for high discharge rates and heavy mechanical loads
- Member of several research teams involved in developments of: regular production of Li/SO2 cells; design of a filling system with SO2 electrolyte; Li-ion battery for traction purposes under European project ERBCIPDCT930337; synthesis and research of cathode and anode materials for Li-ion batteries
- Co-author of 91 scientific publications and 11 patents with over 700 citations, h-index 13.
- Member of IEES Scientific Council and R&D group for "dry" batteries at the Battery plant in the town of Nikopol, Bulgaria.
- Event organizer and Editor of the collection of materials for the EU Center of Excellence POEMES, Co-editor of the collection NATO science series, Course lecturer in "Chemical Power Sources" at the Center for Doctoral Studies at the BAS.
Prof. Dr. Boris Markovsky
Invited Speaker
Bar-Ilan University, Department of Chemistry,
Ramat Gan, Israel
- Achieved a Diploma with Honors for his Master of Science and PhD degrees from the Department of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry at Chernovtsy University in Ukraine.
- Senior researcher at Chernovtsy University for over 15 years studying electroplating and corrosion of metals and alloys and electrochemical non-isothermal systems comprising aqueous solutions of inorganic acids and salts.
- 1993: repatriated to Israel and joined Prof. Dr. Aurbach’s Electrochemistry Group at Bar-Ilan University.
- Current research interests: lithium and sodium ion batteries, intercalation processes, structural transformations in cathode materials, in situ methods of investigation, Raman spectroscopy, and electrochemical sensors.
- Group leader investigating new cathode materials for advanced lithium-ion batteries.
- Active Member of the Electrochemical Society (ECS) and Israel Electrochemical and Chemical Societies.
- Co-author of 140 scientific publications with over 15,000 citations, h-index 59.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Boštjan Genorio
Invited Speaker
Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology,
University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
- 2005: received Master of Science degree from the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
- 2004-2009: completed and defended PhD thesis in Organic Chemistry at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
- 2009-2013: assistant researcher in Materials Chemistry” at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
- 2011-2012: postdoctoral research associate at Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA
- 2013-2018: Assistant Professor “Materials Chemistry” at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
- 2015-2021: Assistant Professor “Materials” at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
- 2013-2015, 2018 and 2019: visiting scientist at the Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory
- Since 2021: Associate Professor “Materials” at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
- Research interests: materials functionalization and the design of selective solid-electrolyte interfaces for energy storage and conversion systems.
- Author of 43 peer-reviewed articles, 10 published invited scientific conference contributions and 3 patents which are cited more than 2600 times; h-index: 23
- Member of Editorial Board of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Quarterly journal (since 2022), Guest editor of the Energies journal (2020) and Guest editor of Acta Chimica Slovenica (2016), reviewer of numerous scientific papers.
Prof. DSc. Evelina Slavcheva
Plenary Speaker
Corresponding member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS)
Chairman of BAS General Assembly, Bulgaria
Head of Centre of Competence "HITMOBIL" of 10 scientific organizations
- 1994: defended PhD Thesis at UCTM-Sofia, from where she previously graduated as a chemical engineer.
- 1994: joined IEES-BAS team as a research scientist.
- 2010: defended DSc thesis in chemical sciences.
- Research fellow under specializations in Great Britain and Germany.
- 2005: elected as a Associate Professor at IEES-BAS
- 2012: appointed as a Full Professor at IEES-BAS
- 2021: elected for Corresponding Member of BAS
- 2015-2023: Director of IEES-BAS
- Prominent scientist in the field of electrochemistry and electrochemical materials science with pioneering developments in hydrogen electrochemical technologies and systems. Her research interests also include corrosion and corrosion protection, as well as applications of electrochemistry in medicine and sensors.
- Author of over 100 publications, mostly in renowned scientific journals with IF and inventor of 6 registered utility models, more than 2,300 times, h-index 23.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Galin Borisov
Invited Speaker
Department of Hydrogen energy systems,
Institute of Electrochemistry and Energy Systems – IEES
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
- 2010: Technologist, Institute of Electrochemistry and Energy Systems.
- 2014: PhD student, Dept. of Hydrogen systems with polymer electrolyte, Institute of Electrochemistry and Energy Systems.
- 2015: Research Fellow, Dept. of HT-PEMFC Research Centre Juelich - Institute IEK – 3
- 2016: Assistant professor, Dept. of Hydrogen energy systems, Institute of Electrochemistry and Energy Systems
- 2021-till now Associate Professor, Institute of Electrochemistry and Energy Systems, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
- Prominent scientist in the field of electrochemistry and electrochemical materials science with pioneering developments in hydrogen electrochemical technologies and systems.
- Author of over 30 publications, mostly in renowned scientific journals with IF and inventor of 8 registered utility models in the field of hydrogen technologies.
Prof. Dr. Ilia Valov
Plenary Speaker
Head of Group Nanoelectrochemistry at Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, and lecturer at RWTH-Aachen University, Germany
Full Professor at IEES-BAS, Bulgaria
- 1998: graduated as a chemical engineer at the University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy (UCTM), Sofia
- 1998 - 2002: research associate at the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IPC-BAS).
- 2002- 2006: completed PhD degree at the Institute of Physical Chemistry, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen.
- Research interests and activities: electrochemical and, in general, physicochemical phenomena at the nano and sub-nanoscale, such as mass and charge transport, point defects, surfaces and interfaces with a focus on memristive devices, artificial neurons/synapses, energy conversion and electro-catalysis (water splitting).
- Author of over 130 original research, over 9000 citation, h-index 49, listed in the top 2% of scientists in the world (Stanford University study)
- Editor for Scientific Reports, NPG and for Materials, MDPI and has edited 4 books and 6 special issues for Nanoscale, Advanced Electronic Materials, the Journal of Electroceramics and Microelectronic engineering
- Member of the International Advisory Board of Advanced Electronic Materials and of the Editorial Advisory Board of APL Machine Learning; of the Scientific Advisory Council of Leibnitz Institute for Surface Modifications, Leipzig, Germany (since 2022)
- Invited lecturer and an external PhD examiner at universities such as ETH Zurich, MIT Boston, Cambridge UK, NIMS Tsukuba, Waseda University Tokio, Tsinghua University, Peking University, CAS, etc.
Prof. Dr. Luís Cadillon Costa
Plenary Speaker
Department of Physics of the University of Aveiro, Portugal and member of the research laboratory I3N, classified as Outstanding.
- Coordinator of the Physics of Advanced Materials and Devices Research Group, which integrates 50 permanent doctors.
- Invited Professor at the University of Calais and the University of Timor Lorosae.
- Research activity in the field of synthesis and characterization of materials for applications in electronics and electrical engineering.
- Co-author of approximately 250 papers in journals of the Science Citation Index (SCI), 7 books, and 23 book chapters, with 4000 citations and an h-index of 32.
- Presented about 500 communications at conferences, including 18 invited plenary talks.
- Participant in the development of 2 industrial prototypes and inventor of 1 patent.
- Coordinator of 16 R&D projects (financed with 1.8 million euros), with participation in a total of 46 projects (financed with 10 million euros).
- Responsible for supervising 54 students across Bachelor, Master, PhD, and Postdoc degree programs.
- Served as the Director of the PhD program in Physics Engineering.
- Member of the Scientific Council of the University of Aveiro, the Installation Committee of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Timor Lorosae, the editorial boards of 6 scientific journals, and a referee for 74 international scientific journals.
- Awarded the Peer Review Award of ACS Journals and the Pedagogic Award of the Department of Physics at the University of Aveiro.
Prof. Dr. Maria Manuela da Silva Pires da Silva
Plenary Speaker
Department of Chemistry, University of Minho (UMinho), Portugal
- 1990: Degree in Chemical Technology from the University of Lisbon
- 1991- 1999: Teaching Assistant at the University of Minho
- 1999 - 2014: Assistant Professor (with Aggregation in Chemistry 2014-2020) at the University of Minho
- 2020- 2024: Associate Professor with Aggregation in Chemistry at the University of Minho
- Since April 2024: Full Professor at University of Minho
- Research Interests: Polymer Electrolytes (study of commercial poly(ethylene oxide) hosts, hybrid networks prepared by the "sol-gel" method, high polymers, and natural polymers (such as cellulose derivatives, chitosan, DNA, starch, and natural rubber) for the preparation of solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) as potential multifunctional components (electrolyte/adhesive/sealant) of solid-state devices (e.g., intelligent windows and batteries)) and Materials Characterization (Techniques include thermal analysis by DSC and TGA, total ionic conductivities by complex plane analysis, cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and other methods (AFM, POM, XRD, and SEM)).
- Author and co-author of over 270 scientific publications, including 7 book chapters, over 6000 citations, h-index 42.
- Supervised 11 PhD students
- Member of 7 Advisory Boards of EU projects.
Prof. Dr. Perica Paunović
Invited Speaker
Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy
St. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, North Macedonia
- 2005:PhD in Technology and Metallurgy from St. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Macedonia
- Research studies: Institute of Electrochemistry and Energy Systems of Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, (2003-2010), Institute of Physical Chemistry of Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (2006-2013), Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, Germany (2012), Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry of Lodz University of Technology, Poland (2018) and Arizona State University and North-Eastern University, USA (2000).
- Research interests: chemical metallurgy, corrosion and protection of metals, modern electrolysis processes, materials engineering, degradation of materials
- Career Progression: Project's Researcher (1993-1999), Research Assistant (1999-2006), Assistant Professor (2006-2010) to Associated Professor (2010-2015)
- 2007-2015: Head of the Institute of Extractive Metallurgy
- 2010: Co-director on NATO ADVANCED STUDY INSTITUTE 2010: "Nanotechnologies and Nanomaterials for Advanced Sensors", Sozopol, Bulgraia
- Since 2015: Full Professor of St. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, North Macedonia and member of the University Senate (since 2020).
- Author of more than 110 scientific publications, with over 700 citations, h-index 19.
Prof. Dr. Paolo Piccardo
Plenary Speaker
Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Genoa, Italy
- Full Professor at the University of Genoa
- Coordinator of the M.E.T.A.L. Research Group and the Delegate of the Rector for web radio and cinema promotion
- Research interests: Archaeometry- Applying modern materials science methodologies to the investigation of ancient artifacts; Modern Metallurgy: Ranging from the characterization of new alloys to additive manufacturing; Energy: Focusing on solid oxide fuel cells and Li-ion batteries
- Author of over 160 publications, h-index 21 (Scopus).
- Organizes dissemination events that blend art and science.
- Career as a chemist and metallurgist, he has sought to understand the relationships among events, particularly how materials interact with each other and with their environment.
Prof. Dr. Petra Uhlmann
Invited Speaker
Head of the Department of Nanostructured Materials
Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (IPF), Germany
- 1986: graduated from Dresden University of Technology, Germany with a diploma in chemistry entitled ‘Contributions to research on atmospheric corrosion mechanisms’.
- 1986-1991: Research Associate at the Institute of Physical and Electrochemistry, Technical University of Dresden.
- 1992: completed PhD degree at the Institute of Physical and Electrochemistry, Technical University of Dresden.
- 1993-1995: Postdoctoral Researcher at CNRS Centre de Recherches sur la Physico-Chimie des Surfaces Solides, Mulhouse, France, in Dr. Papirer’s group.
- 2014: Appointed Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA.
- Research interests in the field of nanostructured surfaces and thin films; polymer brushes; intelligent, adaptive and switching surfaces; physical chemistry of surfaces and interfaces, and polymeric materials; surface functionalization; coatings and surface technology; adsorption phenomena onto polymer surfaces; characterization techniques of (nanostructured) surfaces, interfaces and thin films; nano and micro fluidics; intelligent biointerfaces; sensors nanocatalysts
- Chairman of the board "Combined Surface Technology" of four German Coatings and Thin Films Associations (DFO, DGO, Inplas, and EFDS).
- Member of the scientific board of the German Research Society for Surface Treatment (DFO), Neuss, Germany, and of the cooperation network "Functional Surfaces" (fotec).
- Author of more than 170 scientific publications, over 3700 citation, h-index28.
- Reviewer for more than 15 journals devoted to material science and physical-chemistry from ACS, Wiley VCH, Elsevier, Springer, and others.
Prof. DSc. Tony Spassov
Plenary Speaker
Corresponding member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS)
Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Sofia University “St. Kl. Ohridski”, Bulgaria
- 1979-1984: Master of chemistry, Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", Faculty of Chemistry, Specialty - Chemistry,
- 1988: Ph.D. degree in Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Sofia University
- 1984-1995: Assistant Professor (in Inorganic Chemistry), Faculty of Chemistry, Sofia University
- 1995-2005: Associate Professor (in Solid State Chemistry), Faculty of Chemistry, Sofia University
- 2003: Dr.Sci. degree in Solid State Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Sofia University
- 2005: Professor in Solid State Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Sofia University
- 2012: Corresponding Member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
- 2019 - 2023: Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Sofia University
- 2023: Vice-Rector for Research and Scientific Project Activities, Sofia University
- Research interest: functional materials; metastable materials; nanocrystalline (nanophase) materials; phase transformations in metal alloys and salts; kinetics of nucleation and crystal growth; thermodynamics of alloys; thermal and magnetic properties of quenched and metastable materials; hydrogen in metals; metal hydrides; new energy sources; oxidation and corrosion of metal alloys; selective dissolution of alloys (micro- and nanoporous materials).
- Teaching Activities Abroad: Invited lectures at universities in Melbourne, Australia, Dortmund, Cologne, and Bochum, Germany; at Central Michigan University, USA; at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain; lecture series on "Nanomaterials" at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain.
- Supervision of Graduates and PhD Students: PhD students (15), international PhD students (2); graduates (36), trainees (3).
- Author of 200 scientific articles, textbook "Introduction to Solid State Chemistry; 100 reports at International Conferences: 2645 citations, h-index 29.
- Awards: National award “Pitagor” as most successful manager of international projects (2013), Award of the Ministry of Education and Science in Bulgaria (2014), Medal of honour “St. Kl. Ohridski” with blue band (2011)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Stoyan Bliznakov
Invited Speaker
Associate Director for the Research Infrastructure, Center for Clean Energy Engineering (C2E2)
Associate Research Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, United States
- 2007: defended PhD Thesis at the Institute of Electrochemistry and Energy Systems, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria.
- 2007-2009: postdoctoral fellow at Binghamton University, Binghamton, New York, United States
- 2010-2016: fellow at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York, United States
- 2017: analytical chemist for Health Level One Inc., Hauppauge, New York, United States
- Research interests in field of fuel cells, catalysts, electrochemistry, electrodeposition, electrochemical energy sources, chemistry and physics
- Author of over 120 publications, cited more than 2500 times, h-index 23 (Scopus).
- Synergistic activities: reviewer for six prominent peer-reviewed international journals such as the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy; invited speaker at the 243rd ECS meeting, Boston (2023); proposal reviewer for funding organizations, such as Breakthrough Energy Fellows - Spring 2021, reviewer for NSF panel, Fall 2021.