Keynote speakers

M. Santosh is a Professor at the China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China, Honorary Professor at the University of Adelaide and Emeritus Professor at the Kochi University, Japan. Founding Editor of Gondwana Research as well as the founding Secretary General of the International Association for Gondwana Research. Editorial Advisor Geoscience Frontiers, Advisor Geosystems and Geoenvironment, Associate Editor Ore Geology Reviews, and Geological Journal. Research fields include petrology, geochemistry, geochronology, metallogeny, supercontinent tectonics, environment and early life evolution. Receipt of National Mineral Award, Outstanding Geologist Award, Thomson Reuters Research Front Award and Global Talent award. Recognized as High Cited Researcher by Clarivate during the last ten years.

Dr. Meert’s research is primarily focused on the paleogeography of the Proterozoic Eon and how paleogeography influences climate, the biosphere and the tectosphere. My research team uses a toolbox aimed at learning where (paleomagnetism) a particular piece of the Earth’s crust was located and when (geochronology) it occupied that space. By obtaining coeval paleomagnetic data from multiple cratons, we can establish past paleogeographic maps. During the Proterozoic, at least two supercontinents are thought to have formed. The first is named Columbia (also Nuna) and the second younger supercontinent is called Rodinia. We are also interested in the origin, structure and evolution of the Earth’s magnetic field.

Andrea Festa is a Professor of Tectonics and Structural Geology at the Department of Earth Sciences at University of Torino, Italy, and a field-based structural geologist working on the spatial and temporal relationships between tectonics and sedimentation, the processes of mélange formation at convergent margins, and the reconstruction of intra-oceanic tectonostratigraphic settings of exhumed ophiolitic belts. He has worked extensively in the Circum-Mediterranean Region, the U.S. Appalachians, U.S. Western Cordillera, and the Argentinean Andes. He is an Elected Fellow of the Geological Society of America and received the Episodes Best Paper Award 2016, and the Geoscience Frontiers Best Paper Award 2020. He has edited several books/special issues of international journals, and he is currently Deputy Editor of the Journal of the Geological Society, and Associate Editor for Gondwana Research, Geosystems and Geoenvironment, and Episodes.

Yunpeng Dong is the director of State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics and professor at the Northwest University, China, and Adjunct Research Professor at the Western University, Canada. Recipient of Fund for Outstanding Youth Scientist, and Scientific Leader of the Innovative Research Group of Continental Tectonics and Dynamics, NSFC. Distinguished Professor of “Changjiang Scholar Program”. National selected Person of “Millions of Talents Project” and Young Expert with Outstanding Contributions. He is the co-EiC of Geological Journal, SE of Lithosphere, and AE of Gondwana Research, etc. Research fields include structural geology, tectonics, geochemistry, geochronology and geosystem science. Published over 350 research papers, edited several journal special issues of Earth-Science Reviews, Gondwana Research, Precambrian Research and Journal of Asian Earth Sciences.

Inna Safonova, Professor at the Southwest Jiaotong University (Chengdu, China), Leading Research Scientist at the Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy SB RAS and the Head of Laboratory of Evolution of Paleo-Oceans and Mantle Magmatism (LEPOM) at the Geology-Geophysical Department of the Novosibirsk State University, both last in Novosibirsk, Russia. Vice President of the International Assentation for Gondwana Research (IAGR). Associate Editor of Gondwana Research (2011-2023), Geoscience Frontiers (2011-2023) and Journal of Asian Earth Sciences (since 2016). She has published over 150 peer-reviewed papers in SCI journals, is a coauthor of several monographs. Research fields include tectonics, geochemistry, petrology and geochronology with special foci to continental growth in Central Asia, Pacific-type orogenic belts, ocean plate stratigraphy, mantle magmatism, and subduction erosion.

Dr C. Manikyamba is presently Emeritus Scientist and former Chief Scientist & Head, Geochemistry at CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, India. Her research is mainly focused on different Archean cratons and greenstone belts with special emphasis on geochemical, geochronological studies on the volcanic and sedimentary rocks and related gold, PGE and REE mineralization. Precambrian tectono-thermal evolution, Archean-ocean oxygenation, emergence of biosphere and biogeochemical processes and the evolution of habitable Earth are her interested areas of research. She joined NGRI in 1980, and has served four decades in various positions, published 132 research papers in national and international peer reviewed journals. She is the recipient of several awards and honours including CSIR-Young Scientist Award, National Mineral Award from Ministry of Mines, National Award for Woman Scientist from Ministry of Earth Sciences, Woman Scientist Award from Geological Society of India, besides the best paper award from Geoscience Frontiers. She is Associate Editor in Geological Journal and Geoscience Frontiers and also Fellow of various scientific bodies.

Yirang Jang is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Republic of Korea. She completed her B.Sc. degree in geology in 2008, followed by an M.Sc. in 2012 and a Ph.D. in 2018, specializing in Structural Geology, all from Yonsei University in Korea. Before joining her current position, she worked as a junior exploration geologist in the E&P industry and as a senior field geologist at the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM). Currently, her research interests include deciphering the full cycle spatio-temporal tectonic evolution of orogenic belts from rifting to collision processes in the Korean Peninsula and East Asia. She collaborates with international researchers on structural geology and tectonics, covering various terranes in China, India, Vietnam, the USA, Greece, and the South Korean Peninsula. In addition to her research, she serves as an associate editor for Geoscience Frontier and Geological Journal and holds director positions in several Korean academic societies, aiming to contribute significantly to the geological community.

Prof. Pradhan is an expert in natural hazards modelling, including spatial predictive modeling and hazard and risk assessments. He combines spatial modeling with statistical and machine learning techniques for predicting hydrometeorological extreme events, such as terrigenous mass movements, floods, and droughts. His work bridges multiple disciplines involving spatial intelligence, remote sensing, data science, environmental change, and machine learning. With over 850 journal articles published and amassing 67,300 citations, and h-index 128, Prof Pradhan has been recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher for five consecutive years (2016-2020) by Clarivate Analytics. He ranked number one (1) in the field of “Geological & Geomatics Engineering” during the calendar year 2021-2023, according to the list published by Stanford University Researchers, USA. This list ranks the world’s top 2% most highly cited researchers based on Scopus data.

Stijn Glorie is an Associate Professor at the University of Adelaide. His research focusses on the development and application of a variety of radiometric dating methods to constrain the thermo-tectonic history of the continental crust. He has 15 years of experience in thermochronology and he has led the development and application of novel geochronological methods using LA ICP MS/MS reaction cell technology (Lu-Hf, Re-Os and Rb-Sr).

Peter Cawood is currently ARC Laureate Fellow at Monash University. Peter’s research has focused on the origin of the Earth’s continental lithosphere (crust and upper mantle) and the processes of its generation, stabilization and reworking. He integrates direct field observations with leading laboratory techniques, and has worked in regions from Archean cratons to modern and active margins, and at scales ranging from global to microscopic. His work aims to resolve the range of tectonic processes involved in lithosphere formation and the feedbacks with the rest of the Earth system. Peter obtained undergraduate and PhD degrees from the University of Sydney and has held academic positions in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the UK.

Dr. V. Balaram (DOB 1^st June 1951) is a Former Emeritus Scientist at the Geochemistry Division, CSIR – National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, India. He is a Consulting Scientist at the Inter-University Accelerator Center (IUAC), New Delhi. He is also a Member of RAB – Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), Dehradun. His research areas include trace element geochemistry, marine geochemistry, mineral exploration, spectroscopy, environmental sciences, and climate change. He is author of more than 340 SCI publications, which have been cited more than 9,200 times (h-index 47, i-10 index 154), and guided 5 Ph.D. students. He has received several prestigious national and international awards such as the “National Geoscience Award” from the Government of India, New Delhi (2000), the S. Narayanaswamy Award – from the Geological Society of India, Bangalore (2010), Dr. C.V. Raman Memorial Award from the Andhra Pradesh Academy of Sciences, Amaravati in 2019, and the ‘ISAS Sastra Pithamaha Award 2023’ from the Indian Society of Analytical Scientists (ISAS), Mumbai in 2024. He represented India at the United Nations/IAEA Meeting at IAEA Headquarters in Vienna, Austria in 2022. His name is included in Stanford University’s new list of the “Top 2% of Scientists in the World” in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 & 2024. Won “The Academician Sazhin Medal 2024” from the ROSATOM State Atomic Energy Corporation, GIREDMET JSC, Moscow, Russia for his outstanding contributions to rare earths and rare metals. He also won the “GSF Highly Cited Paper Award” for his 2019 publication on rare earths from the Geoscience Frontiers Journal (Elsevier) to be awarded at an international Conference being held at Curtin University, Malaysia in November 2024 for his most referenced paper with 1540 citations.

Dr. Lee Keat Teong obtained his Ph.D in Chemical Engineering from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in 2004 and upon graduating he joined the School of Chemical Engineering, USM as a faculty staff. He was promoted to full professorship in 2014. Currently he is the Coordinator for the Academic and Professional Development Unit for USM. Dr. Lee has co-authored 2 books, 10 book chapters, 30 review articles and more than 150 technical research articles in peer reviewed international journals.  Dr. Lee is currently the Editor-in-Chief for Energy Conversion and Management: X (Elsevier), Editor for Energy Conversion and Management (Elsevier) and Editorial Board Member for       Journal of the Japan Institute of Energy, Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts and Biofuel Research Journal. Dr. Lee is now working on the production of biofuels (biodiesel and bioethanol) from biomass (including macro and microalgae) using various technologies. Apart from that, he also has special interest on the social and sustainability aspects of biofuels.

Harsh Gupta, INSA Senior Scientist, National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), Hyderabad, India is the President of the Geological Society of India and a Member of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. Formerly, a Member of the National Disaster Management Authority, India; Secretary to Government of India, Ministry of Earth Sciences; Director, NGRI; Vice Chancellor, Cochin University of Science and Technology; Professor, University of Texas at Dallas. Former President of IUGG and AOGS. He is globally known for discovering 65-70 km thick crust below Himalaya and Tibet Plateau; developing criteria to discriminate artificial water reservoir triggered earthquakes from normal earthquakes; setting up of India’s first permanent station in Antarctica in a record time of one Antarctic summer; Chairing the Steering Committee of Global Seismic Hazard Program where ~ 500 scientists worked globally to produce Global Seismic hazard Map; setting up of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System after the disastrous 2004 Mw 9.2 Sumatra earthquake; planning and editing Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics 1^st Edition in 2011 and Second Edition in 2021published by Springer. Recognitions include S. S. Bhatnagar Award (1983); National Mineral Award for Excellence (2002); Padma Shri (2006); Waldo Smith Award (2008); Axford Medal (2016); National Lifetime Excellence Award by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, India (2022); IASPEI Medal (2023). Prof Gupta is a fellow of Indian Academies; TWAS; AGU; IUGG; Foreign Fellow of Russian Academy of Sciences and Fellow of the International Science Council.