Dr. Naim Rashid has a PhD in Civil Environmental Engineering from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, (KAIST). He has over 10 years' experience in developing microalgae technologies and wastewater treatment. He has expertise in microalgae cultivation, dewatering technology, oxygenic and anoxygenic photosynthetic microbial growth, anaerobic digestion, and fermentation. He worked as a Fulbright Research Scholar at Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation (AzCATI), Arizona State University, and the University of California, USA. He expanded his research experience in microalgae while working as a researcher at the Advanced Biomass R & D Center. He has published 55 journal articles with over 4000 citations, 5 book chapters, and 30 conference proceedings. He is listed among the top 2% scientists of in the world.

Based on his research contribution in developing green technologies he is awarded the "Green Talent Award" by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany. Dr. Selvaratnam is an Associate Professor and Environmental Engineer with a primary focus on sustainable energy-positive wastewater treatment technologies and biological water/wastewater treatment processes. His main research focus revolves around achieving bioremediation of municipal/ industrial wastewater using an algal-based system. He evaluated a novel approach to treat municipal wastewater using an acidophilic mixotrophic algae for his doctoral studies. He has over 10 years of experience in microalgae biorefinery.