2025 ENG PRO

12th Annual International Conference on Technology & Engineering
as part of the Annual Academic Meetings of the Engineering Division of the Athens Institute
Program (Athens Local Time)

21-25 July 2025
9 Chalkokondili Street, 10677 Athens, Greece

(Note 1: the program is organized along time slots and not according to common theme)
(Note 2: at the end of each session questions and discussions will follow)


Monday 21 July 2025


08.30-09.00
Registration

09:00-09:30
Opening and Welcoming Remarks:

  • Gregory T. Papanikos, President, Athens Institute.
09:30-11:00 Session 1
Moderator: Bala Maheswaran, Director, Engineering Division, Athens Institute & Professor, Northeastern University, USA.
  1. Vladimir Riabov, Professor, Rivier University, USA.
    Title: Revising the Curriculum and Teaching Methods in STEAM Education.
  2. Nirusha Thavarajah, Associate Professor, University of Toronto, Canada.
    Tanzina Mohsin, Associate Professor, University of Toronto, Canada.
    Phanikiran Radhakrishnan, Associate Professor, University of Toronto, Canada.
    Radeshkiran Ratnakumar, Master Student, University of Toronto, Canada.
    Serina Liu, Researcher, University of Toronto, Canada.
    Kaarunya Kandeephan, Researcher, University of Toronto, Canada.
    Douglas Taylor Munro, Researcher, University of Toronto, Canada.
    Joe Hoang, PhD Student, University of Toronto, Canada.
    Title: Designing and Implementing Experiential Learning Approaches to Address Heavy Metal Contamination from Agrochemicals.
  3. Eva Klemencic, Assistant Professor, University of Maribor, Slovenia.
    Robert Repnik, Professor, University of Maribor, Slovenia, Matej Mencinger, Professor, University of Maribor, Slovenia & Petra Cajnko, Assistant Professor, University of Maribor, Slovenia. Energy Literacy in STEM: Opportunities for Interdisciplinary Integration in Higher Education.
  4. Fai Hang Lo, Lecturer, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
    Title: Flipped Classroom Approach to Biochemistry Laboratory Course, a Quantitative and Qualitative Review.
  5. Michihiro Sakai, Professor, National Institute of Technology, Kurume College, Japan.
    Katsutoshi Kawashima, Associate Professor, Osaka Sangyo University, Japan.
    Masatoshi Okita, Associate Professor, National Institute of Technology, Kurume College, Japan.
    Mitsuharu Aizawa, Professor, Ryutsu Keizai University, Japan.
    Title: Teaching Financial Literacy with a STEAM Approach.

 

11:00-12:30 Session 2
Moderator:  Zhengping Jay Luo, Assistant Professor, Rider University, USA.
  1. Daryush Aidun, Professor, Clarkson University, USA.
    Title: Weldability of Dissimilar Alloys and its Challenges.
  2. Nihad Dukhan, Professor, University of Detroit Mercy, USA.
    Hannah Klatzke, Graduate Student, University of Detroit Mercy, USA.
    Liang Ming, Engineer, Ford Motor Company, USA.
    Michael Dupuis, Engineer, Ford Motor Company, USA.
    Title: On the Weak Free Convection in Open-Cell Metal Foams.
  3. Assimina Pelegri, Professor, Rutgers University, USA.
    Parameshwaran Pasupathy, Graduate Researcher, Rutgers University, USA.
    Title: Characterizing the Mechanical Behavior of Brain White Matter Using a Fractional Viscoelastic Material Model.
  4. Cheng-Pu Yang, Master Student, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan.
    Shwin-Chung Wong, Professor, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan.
    Title: Natural Convection Experiments on a Novel Partially-Open Heatsink in Transitional and Turbulent Flow.

 

12:30-14:00 Session 3
Moderator: Daryush Aidun, Professor, Clarkson University, USA.
  1. Theodore Trafalis, Professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering and Director, Optimization & Intelligent Systems Laboratory, The University of Oklahoma, USA.
    Title: Privacy in Control Systems: A Federated Machine Learning Approach.
  2. Zhengping Jay Luo, Assistant Professor, Rider University, USA.
    Title: Adversarial Quantum Machine Learning. A Review.
  3. Rebeccah Ndungi, PhD Student, Saint Petersburg State University, Russia.
    Title: IT Job Market Time Series Forecasting Using Machine Learning.
  4. Anna Farzindar, Professor, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, USA.
    Title: A Comparative Compositional Analysis of AI-Generated and Human-Created Paintings.
  5. Yan Bai, Professor and Associate Dean of Academics, University of Washington Tacoma, USA.
    Juan Li, Professor, North Dakota State University, USA.
    Title: Training Next Generation Criminal Justice Professionals in Cybersecurity: A Pilot Study.

 

14:00-15:00 Session 4 – A Round-Table Discussion on The Future of Science and Technology
Moderator: Gregory T. Papanikos
, President, The Athens Institute. (slides)
  1. Bala Maheswaran, Director, Engineering Division, Athens Institute & Professor, Northeastern University, USA.
    Title: Empowering Global Citizens Through Science and Technology for a Sustainable Future.
    (slides)
  2. Assimina (Mina) A. Pelegri, Department Chair & Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA.
    Title: AI in Engineering Education and Research.
    (slides)
  3. Vladimir V. Riabov, Professor, Rivier University, USA.
    Title: Disastrous Challenges to the Humanity. (
    slides)
  4. Katsutoshi Kawashima, Associate Professor, Osaka Sangyo University, Japan.
    Title: Japanese Students’ Reading Skills and STEAM Education. (
    slides)
  5. Nirusha Thavarajah, Associate Professor, University of Toronto, Canada.
    Title: When Molecules Meet Machine Learning. (
    slides)

Invited Interventions:

  1. Rachid Kherrazi, Teacher, WailSalutem Foundation, The Netherlands.

 15:00-15:30 Lunch

15:30-17:00 Session 5
Moderator: Eva Klemencic, Assistant Professor, University of Maribor, Slovenia.
  1. Rafal Szopa, Assistant Professor, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Poland.
    Title: Pancomputationalism and the Non-Computational Nature of Consciousness.
  2. Anshuman Patra, Research Scholar, University of Delhi, India.
    Title: Abstract or Contextual: Decoding the Nature of Numbers.
  3. Mihail Calalb, Associate Professor, Ion Creangă State Pedagogical University of Chișinău, Moldova.
    Viorel Dabija, PhD Student, Ion Creangă State Pedagogical University of Chișinău, Moldova.

    Title: Four-Dimensional Pedagogical Model to Foster Lifelong Learning Competence in Physics Education.

 

18:00-20:00 Session 6 – Visit Aristotle’s Lyceum

It requires pre-booking

20:30-22:30
Athenian Early Evening Symposium (Sequence of Events: Ongoing Academic Discussions, Dinner, Wine and Water, Music, Dance)

 


Tuesday 22 July 2025


09:30-11:30 Session 7
Moderator:
Nikolaos Dimakis, Deputy Director, Sciences Division, Athens Institute & Professor and Chair, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, USA.
  1. Xiufeng Han, Professor, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.
    Title: Emerging Magnonics: Materials, Physics and Devices.
  2. Aaron Pergram, Assistant Professor, Miami University, USA.
    Title: Playlisting the World: How Music, Technology, and Global Influences Impact the Culture of College Student Listeners.
  3. Rachid Kherrazi, Teacher, WailSalutem Foundation, The Netherlands.
    Wail Kherrazi, Researcher, WailSalutem Social Innovation Lab, The Netherlands.
    Title: Picasso and Robotics?! Does that go Together? Yes!
  4. Yelena Istileulova, Researcher, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
    Veronika Kralj-Iglič, Professor, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
    Title: The Socratic Lectures Symposium: Bridging Arts and Sciences through Z-STEAM Approach.
  5. Petra Cajnko, Assistant Professor, University of Maribor, Slovenia.
    Robert Repnik, Professor, University of Maribor, Slovenia.
    Matej Mencinger, Professor, University of Maribor, Slovenia.
    Eva Klemencic, Assistant Professor, University of Maribor, Slovenia.
    Title: Enhancing Sustainability Competence: A Case Study of Physics and Mathematics Curricula at the University of Maribor.

 

11:30-13:00 Session 8
Moderator:
Assimina Pelegri, Professor, Rutgers University, USA.
  1. Hiroyuki Furukawa, Professor, Meijo University, Japan.
    Yusuke Nakatani, Graduate Student, Meijo University, Japan.
    Title: Numerical Study of Flow Around a Rotating Disk.
  2. Azadeh Ghaeini Kizilirmak, Researcher, Germany.
    Title: Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Technology Developed for Alzheimer’s-Dementia Patients and Elderly People to Live More Comfortably.
  3. Florian Deeg, PhD Student, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany.
    Title: Automata Decomposition and Pipeline Synthesis Using Krohn-Rhodes Theory for Asynchronous Dual-Rail Domino Logic.

 

13:00-15:00 Session 9
Moderator:
Aaron Pergram, Assistant Professor, Miami University, USA.
  1. Bernard Liu, Professor, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan.
    Title: Scanning Probe Microscopy: Its Past, Present, and Future Applications.
  2. Elli Gkouti, Assistant Professor, Western University, Canada.
    Title: Density-Based Analysis of Materials Using Magneto-Archimedes Levitation.
  3. Stylianos Vasileios Kontomaris, Researcher, European University Cyprus, Cyprus.
    Andreas Stylianou, Associate Professor, European University Cyprus, Cyprus.
    Title: Simplifying the Fitting Procedure in AFM Indentation Experiments on Samples with Finite Thickness.
  4. Grace Hui Xhuan Ong, Master Student, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan.
    Bernard Haochih Liu, Professor, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan.
    Ching Chich Leu, Professor, National University of Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
    Title: Atomic Force Microscopy Study of Gold Nanoparticle-Assisted Intermediate Phase Transformation in CH3NH3P3 Perovskite Hybrid Films.
  5. Yu Wen Ho, Student, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan.
    Title: Design and Fabrication of AFM Piezoresistive Cantilevers for Force Calibration.

15:00-15:30 Lunch

15:30-17:00 Session 10
Moderator: Evangelia Kotsikorou, Deputy Head, Natural Sciences Unit, Athens Institute &Associate Professor, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, USA.
  1. Jinmei Yuan, Professor, Creighton University, USA.
    Title: Could Set-Thinking Help AI? Exploring the Gaps between Probability and Certainty from the Perspective of Chinese Logic.
  2. Elizabeth Diaz, Associate Professor, University of Texas at Arlington, USA.
    Title: Using AI in Book Writing with Human Supervision: A Case Study in Astronomy.
  3. Svetlana Mikhaylichenko, Professor, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
    Marco Zimmer-De Iuliis, Associate Professor, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
    Kris Kim, Assistant Professor, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada.
    Title: Experiential Learning in Chemistry: In the Lab and Beyond.
  4. Rana Rais, Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins University, USA.
    Title: Orally Available, Skin Penetrable Prodrugs of Itaconate and 4-Methyl Itaconate.

 

17:15-20:30 Session 11
Old and New-An Educational Urban Walk
The urban walk ticket is not included as part of your registration fee. It includes professional tour guide and the cost to enter the Parthenon and the other monuments on the Acropolis Hill. The urban walk tour includes the broader area of Athens. Among other sites, it includes: Zappeion, Syntagma Square, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Ancient Roman Agora and on Acropolis Hill: the Propylaea, the Temple of Athena Nike, the Erechtheion, and the Parthenon. The program of the tour may be adjusted, if there is a need beyond our control. This is a private event organized by the Athens Institute exclusively for the conference participants.

21:00-23:00
An Ancient Athenian Symposium: Continuous Dialogues, Timeless Flavors (featuring authentic ancient Athenian dishes, local wine, and sweet delicacies from ancient Athens)


Wednesday 23 July 2025
An Educational Visit to Selected Islands
or Nafplio & Mycenae Visit


Thursday 24 July 2025
Visiting the Oracle of Delphi


Friday 25 July 2025
Visiting the Ancient Corinth and Cape Sounion



Conference Venue: 9 Chalkokondili Street, 10677 Athens, Greece