Jae-Kwang Kim | Renewable Energy | Best Researcher Award

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jae-Kwang Kim | Renewable Energy | Best Researcher Award

Assoc. Prof. Dr.  Jae-Kwang Kim | Cheongju University | South Korea

Jae-Kwang Kim is an accomplished materials scientist and energy storage researcher currently serving as Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Energy Conversion Engineering at Cheongju University, Korea, since 2015. He previously held a research-focused Assistant Professorship at UNIST and completed both his postdoctoral research and Ph.D. at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, specializing in material science. With over 150 international publications and multiple patents, his work spans lithium-metal, sodium, and seawater battery systems, solid and hybrid electrolytes, organic polymer electrodes, and flexible energy storage technologies. His research contributions have appeared in leading journals such as Advanced Energy Materials, Nano Energy, Energy Storage Materials, Chemical Engineering Journal, and NPG Asia Materials. Kim has led projects in both academia and industry, having worked as an assistant researcher at VK EIG, Hanwha Chemical, and Kaya MA, contributing to cathode development and electrochemical testing. He also served as Research Director at the Solar Research Institute (2018–2019) and currently advises the Chungcheongbuk-do government on energy strategies. His innovations have resulted in more than a dozen patents covering hybrid solid electrolytes, secondary batteries, and organic electrode technologies. Recognized internationally, he received the Korea Minister of Education Award in 2017 and has been ranked by Elsevier among the top 2% most influential researchers worldwide in 2023 and 2024. Through decades of interdisciplinary work bridging materials chemistry, electrochemistry, and device engineering, Kim continues to advance high-performance, sustainable, and scalable energy storage solutions.

Profile: Scopus | ORCID 

Featured Publications

Kim, J.-K., Lee, J., & Yang, J. (2025). Mechanically reinforced solid-state polymer electrolyte using illite filler for flexible all-solid-state Li-metal batteries. Journal of Power Sources.

Kim, J.-K., Lee, J., & Yang, J. (2025). Effect of plasticizers on the electrochemical performance of PEO-based solid polymer electrolytes for rechargeable lithium batteries. Journal of Power Sources.

Wu, F., Kim, J.-K., & Zhang, X. (2021). Dual-anion ionic liquid electrolyte enables stable Ni-rich layered oxide cathodes in lithium batteries. Joule, 5(7), 1736–1750.

Na, D., Kim, J.-K., & Lee, J. (2022). Highly safe and stable Li–CO₂ batteries using conducting polymer composites. Electrochimica Acta, 421, 140–149.

Lee, J. H., Kim, J.-K., & Lee, J. (2022). A high-stable polyacrylonitrile/ceramic composite electrolyte for all-solid-state lithium batteries. Materials Science and Engineering: B, 273, 115–123.

Adel | Sustainability | Best Academic Researcher Award

Dr. Adel | Sustainability | Best Academic Researcher Award

Assistant Professor | Vienna University of Economics and Business | Austria

Dr. Adel Aazami, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at the Institute for Transport and Logistics Management, Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU), Austria. He earned his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the Iran University of Science and Technology, where he graduated with distinction, and has previously served as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Sharif University of Technology. His academic journey also includes a visiting research position at the University of Toronto. Dr. Aazami’s research focuses on operations research, optimization, sustainable supply chains, logistics, production and distribution planning, competition and game theory, stochastic programming, and decomposition algorithms. He has published extensively in leading international journals such as Sustainability, Journal of Manufacturing Systems, and Computers & Industrial Engineering, contributing impactful work on vehicle routing, perishable goods distribution, and robust optimization models. He has authored books in Persian and presented his work at renowned international conferences, strengthening his presence in the global academic community. Recognized with prestigious awards such as the Iranian Nobel Award (Alborz National Foundation) and multiple accolades from the National Elites Foundation, he has been consistently ranked among the top students and researchers throughout his academic career. Alongside his teaching roles at WU and several Iranian universities, he has supervised numerous theses and conducted industrial research projects in areas like productivity management, innovation systems, and green supply chains. A dedicated reviewer for more than 30 leading international journals, he contributes to advancing scholarship across industrial engineering and logistics. Complementing his academic career, Dr. Aazami is actively engaged in community service through volunteer work with the Iranian Red Crescent Society, showcasing a strong commitment to both professional excellence and social responsibility.

Profile:  ORCID  |  Google Scholar

Featured Publications

Aazami, A., & Saidi-Mehrabad, M. (2021). A production and distribution planning of perishable products with a fixed lifetime under vertical competition in the seller-buyer systems: A real-world application. Journal of Manufacturing Systems, 58, 223–247.

Goli, A., Aazami, A., & Jabbarzadeh, A. (2018). Accelerated cuckoo optimization algorithm for capacitated vehicle routing problem in competitive conditions. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence, 16(1), 88–112.

Makui, A., Heydari, M., Aazami, A., & Dehghani, E. (2016). Accelerating Benders decomposition approach for robust aggregate production planning of products with a very limited expiration date. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 100, 34–51.

Saeedi Mehrabad, M., Aazami, A., & Goli, A. (2017). A location-allocation model in the multi-level supply chain with multi-objective evolutionary approach. Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering, 10(3), 140–160.

Aazami, A., & Saidi-Mehrabad, M. (2019). Benders decomposition algorithm for robust aggregate production planning considering pricing decisions in competitive environment: A case study. Scientia Iranica, 26(5), 3007–3031.

Heydari, M., & Aazami, A. (2018). Minimizing the maximum tardiness and makespan criteria in a job shop scheduling problem with sequence dependent setup times. Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering, 11(2), 134–150.

Zarreh, M., Khandan, M., Goli, A., Aazami, A., & Kummer, S. (2024). Integrating perishables into closed-loop supply chains: A comprehensive review. Sustainability, 16(15), 6705.