Speakers

Prof. Didier Queloz, FRS, Jacksonian Professor of Natural Philosophy at Cambridge and part-time professor at ETH Zurich, pioneered the exoplanet revolution in 1995 by co-discovering the first planet orbiting another star. This breakthrough earned him the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics. Over the past 25 years, his research has advanced methods to detect and characterize exoplanetary systems, revealing their structure, formation, and evolution compared to our Solar System. He has led programs that identified hundreds of planets, including major discoveries. Currently, his focus is on Earth-like planets and habitability, driving comprehensive research into life in the Universe. He founded the Leverhulme Centre for Life in the Universe at Cambridge and the Centre for Origin and Life in the Universe at ETH Zurich. Beyond research and teaching, Prof Queloz actively engages in documentaries, media, and public outreach to share the excitement of science and inspire interest in exoplanets and life beyond Earth.

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Prof. Rui Fausto is a leading expert in molecular spectroscopy, photochemistry and computational chemistry. He serves as the ERA Chair Holder of the European Union’s Horizon Europe WIDERA Programme supported Spectroscopy@IKU Project at Istanbul Kültür University. Prof. Fausto is a Full Professor at the University of Coimbra, Portugal and a senior researcher at the Centre for Chemistry of Coimbra (CQC). His pioneer research combines experimental spectroscopy and quantum-chemical modeling to study the structure, dynamics, and photochemistry of isolated molecules and different types of materials. Prof. Fausto is the President of the European Congress on Molecular Spectroscopy (EUCMOS) series of meetings and serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Photochemistry and Spectroscopy journal. He has authored over 500 scientific publications and delivered numerous invited lectures worldwide. Through the Spectroscopy@IKU ERA-Chair initiative, he leads the development of IKU-SPECTRA Molecular Sciences & Spectroscopy Applied Research Center, established at IKU to promote international collaboration and excellence in molecular spectroscopy.

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Prof. Peter Atkins is an internationally renowned physical chemist whose contributions to chemical thermodynamics and molecular quantum mechanics have shaped modern chemical education. He is an Emeritus Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Lincoln College, where he taught and conducted research for many years. Prof. Atkins is the author of over 70 influential books, including Atkins’ Physical Chemistry and Molecular Quantum Mechanics, which are among the most widely used textbooks worldwide. His writings, translated into numerous languages, have played a central role in defining the conceptual foundations of physical chemistry for generations of students and researchers. Beyond his academic work, Prof. Atkins is celebrated for his exceptional ability to communicate complex scientific ideas with clarity, making him one of the most prominent science communicators of his time. His contributions continue to inspire the global scientific community and strengthen the connection between chemistry, education, and public understanding of science.

Prof. Małgorzata Baranska is an internationally recognized scientist specializing in vibrational spectroscopy and Raman imaging. She serves as a Full Professor at the Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University (Kraków, Poland) and leads the Raman Imaging Group, one of Europe’s foremost research teams in the field of bioanalytical spectroscopy. Prof. Baranska’s research focuses on the application of Raman and vibrational spectroscopy to biological systems, including cells, tissues and natural products, as well as the development of advanced imaging and chemometric methods for biomedical and pharmaceutical studies. Prof. Baranska has authored over 300 peer-reviewed publications. She is an active member of numerous international scientific societies and serves on editorial boards of leading spectroscopy journals. Her work bridges chemistry, biology and medicine - demonstrating the power of spectroscopic techniques in life sciences.

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Prof. Weitao Yang is a world-leading theoretical chemist known for his groundbreaking contributions to density functional theory (DFT), quantum chemistry, and multi-scale modeling of complex systems. By developing accurate simulations for large new theoretical frameworks that connect electronic-structure theory with molecular spectroscopy and biochemistry. Prof. Yang’s research has profoundly shaped the understanding of electronic correlation, charge transfer, and reactivity in molecules and materials. His seminal work on linear-scaling DFT methods, embedding techniques, and hybrid quantum–classical approaches has enabled accurate simulations of large molecular and condensed-phase systems that were previously computationally inaccessible. Author of more than 400 peer-reviewed papers, Prof. Yang is among the most cited chemists worldwide. His contributions have earned him numerous distinctions, including fellowships of the American Physical Society (APS) and the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).

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