Polysaccharides and their composites are highly promising materials for food, pharmaceutical and biomedical applications; including drug delivery, tissue engineering and packaging. Fiber- and nano-reinforced composites are good alternatives to non-biodegradable petroleum‐based polymers. The great advantage of these materials is that they are both environment friendly and nontoxic.
Author
Dr. Amir Al-Ahmed is working as a Research Scientist-II (Associate Professor) in the Center of Research Excellence in Renewable Energy, at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), Saudi Arabia. He graduated in chemistry from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), India. He obtained his M.Phil (2001) and Ph.D. (2003) degree in Applied Chemistry on conducting polymer based composites and its applications, from the Zakir Hussain College of Engineering and Technology, AMU, India. During his postdoctoral research activity, he worked on different multi-disciplinary project in South Africa and Saudi Arabia such as biological and chemical sensor, energy storage and conversion and also on CO2 reduction. Throughout his academic career, he has gained extensive experience in materials chemistry and electrocatalysis for applications in energy conversion, storage, sensors and membranes.
Currently, he is involved in several multidisciplinary research projects, funded by Saudi national research programs (thin film solar cells) and Saudi Aramco. Dr. Amir has on his credit a good number of articles published in international scientific journals, conferences and as book chapters. He has edited six books (publisher: Trans Tech Publication, Switzerland) and he is in the process of editing and writing another two books with Springer and Elsevier. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of an international journal “Nano Hybrids and Composites” along with Professor Y.H. Kim.
Dr. Inamuddin is currently working as Assistant Professor in the Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He is a permanent faculty member (Assistant Professor) at the Department of Applied Chemistry, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India. He obtained Master of Science degree in Organic Chemistry from Chaudhary Charan Singh (CCS) University, Meerut, India, in 2002. He received his Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Applied Chemistry from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), India, in 2004 and 2007, respectively. He has extensive research experience in multidisciplinary fields of Analytical Chemistry, Materials Chemistry, and Electrochemistry and, more specifically, Renewable Energy and Environment. He has worked on different research projects as project fellow and senior research fellow funded by University Grants Commission (UGC), Government of India, and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Government of India. He has received Fast Track Young Scientist Award from the Department of Science and Technology, India, to work in the area of bending actuators and artificial muscles. He has completed four major research projects sanctioned by University Grant Commission, Department of Science and Technology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, and Council of Science and Technology, India. He has published 147 research articles in international journals of repute and eighteen book chapters in knowledge-based book editions published by renowned international publishers. He has published 60 edited books with Springer (U.K.), Elsevier, Nova Science Publishers, Inc. (U.S.A.), CRC Press Taylor & Francis Asia Pacific, Trans Tech Publications Ltd. (Switzerland), IntechOpen Limited (U.K.), and Materials Research Forum LLC (U.S.A).
He is a member of various journals’ editorial boards. He is also serving as Associate Editor for journals (Environmental Chemistry Letter, Applied Water Science and Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration, Springer-Nature), Frontiers Section Editor (Current Analytical Chemistry, Bentham Science Publishers), Editorial Board Member (Scientific Reports-Nature), Editor (Eurasian Journal of Analytical Chemistry), and Review Editor (Frontiers in Chemistry, Frontiers, U.K.) He is also guest-editing various special thematic special issues to the journals of Elsevier, Bentham Science Publishers, and John Wiley & Sons, Inc. He has attended as well as chaired sessions in various international and national conferences. He has worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow, leading a research team at the Creative Research Initiative Center for Bio-Artificial Muscle, Hanyang University, South Korea, in the field of renewable energy, especially biofuel cells.
He has also worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center of Research Excellence in Renewable Energy, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia, in the field of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells and computational fluid dynamics of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. He is a life member of the Journal of the Indian Chemical Society. His research interest includes ion exchange materials, a sensor for heavy metal ions, biofuel cells, supercapacitors and bending actuators.
