Prof. Vladimir Gevorgyan
University of Texas at Dallas, USA

Vladimir Gevorgyan received his PhD from the Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis in 1984. After two years of Postdoctoral research (1992-1994, JSPS- and Ciba-Geigy International Postdoctoral Fellowships) at Tohoku University, Japan, and a visiting professorship (1995) at CNR, Bologna, Italy, he joined faculty at Tohoku University (Assistant Professor, 1996; Associate Professor, 1997-1999). Vladimir Gevorgyan joined UIC as an Associate Professor in 1999. He was promoted to the rank of Full Professor in 2003, and a Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2012. In 2019, Vladimir Gevorgyan moved to Texas to become a Robert A. Welch Distinguished Chair in Chemistry at the University of Texas at Dallas. He also holds a Professor position at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
Gevorgyan group focuses on development of novel synthetic methodologies. The emphasis is placed on conceptual novelty and potential application of the newly developed methods in synthetic and medicinal chemistry and materials.

Prof. Kazuo Umemura
Tokyo University of Science, Japan

Dr. Kazuo Umemura is a full professor of Tokyo University of Science. His specialty is biophysics, especially, nanobioscience and nanobiotechnology. One of his recent interests is nanoscopic research of hybrids of biomolecules and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Unique structures and physical/chemical properties of the hybrids are promising in biological applications such as nanobiosensors and drug delivery.
Dr. Umemura received his B.S. degree in Physics from Nagoya University. His M.S. and Ph.D. degrees were given from Tokyo Institute of Technology. After working at several institutes/universities as a researcher in Japan and in China, he became a professor of Tokyo University of Science. Kagurazaka campus of Tokyo University of Science is located at the center of Tokyo, so five subway/railway lines reach in front of the campus.