Digitalizing Material Innovations for Net-Zero Applications

Faiz Iqbal is a Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Lincoln, UK. His research focuses on smart manufacturing, Industry 4.0, and cyber-physical systems, with a particular emphasis on digital transformation for micro- and small-scale enterprises (MSMEs). He leads and co-leads several interdisciplinary research projects, including British Council and Innovate UK-funded initiatives on net-zero manufacturing, AI-based quality inspection, and sustainable automation. Dr. Iqbal holds a PhD in Manufacturing Automation from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. He has developed advanced automation frameworks and novel CNC-integrated finishing technologies, and his work on cyber-physical disinfectant manufacturing during the COVID-19 pandemic was nationally recognized in the UK with the COVID-19 Engineering Medal and a Scottish Knowledge Exchange Award nomination.

Suneela Sardar is a Senior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering at the University of Lincoln, UK, and a passionate Chemical Engineer dedicated to advancing sustainable energy technologies and mitigating environmental challenges. She completed her PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of Leeds, UK. Dr. Sardar has also worked on many consultancy projects on flow behaviour of polymeric materials and surface modification of particles. As a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Leeds, she worked on sustainable minerals processing for the extraction of valuable materials to support the foundation industries. At Lancaster University, she worked in the radioactive lab to research the molten salts for nuclear energy applications and simulated their behaviour.