Speakers

Keynote Speaker

Professor Saman Seneweera, Research Professor & Discipline Leader of Plant Biology at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia (2014 to date), Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Biology, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka (2013 to-date), and Adjunct Associate Professor, MSLE, The Melbourne University, Australia, (2015- to date). Between 2006 and 2014 he worked as a Senior Research Fellow & Program Leader at The Melbourne University, Australia. He has also worked as a Research Fellow at the University of Western Sydney, Australia (2006-2008), an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, USA (2005 – 2006), a Research Fellow / Senior Research Fellow at the Tohoku University, Japan (1999-2005), a Lecturer / Research Fellow of the Western Sydney University, Australia (1995-1999), a Teaching Assistant at the University of Western Sydney, Australia (1992-1995) and a Junior Research Associate, Institute of Fundamental Studies, Sri Lanka (1990-1992).

Professor Saman Seneweera Professor Saman Seneweera is a distinguished plant scientist, serving as the Chairman of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka and Chair Professor of Agricultural Engineering andEnvironmental Technology at the University of Ruhuna’s Faculty of Agriculture. With over three decades of groundbreaking research, he is recognized globally for his work on climate change biology and its impact on agriculture and sustainability. His research focuses on plant metabolism to extreme climate conditions, elevated CO2 levels, and water scarcity, and he has developed innovative adaptation strategies to adapt our crops and pasture to future climates.
After earning his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree from the University of Ruhuna, Professor Seneweera began his research career at the National Institute of Fundamental Studies (NIFS) in Sri Lanka, working with world-leading scientists like F.N. and Cyril Ponnamperuma.
His passion for plant science led him to pursue a Ph.D. in Plant Physiology at the University of Western Sydney, where he explored the effects of rising CO2 concentrations on photosynthetic carbon metabolism. This early work laid the foundation for his continued research on climate change’s impact on global food security and sustainable agriculture.
Throughout his career, Professor Seneweera has held academic and leadership roles at prestigious institutions, including the University of Melbourne, University of Southern Queensland Australia, Tohoku University of Japan, and the University of Illinois of UK, as well as Director, CEO, and CFO at NIFS, Sri Lanka. Under his leadership, NIFS achieved significant improvements in global rankings and research output.
Professor Seneweera has supervised over 40 PhD students and many Master’s candidates, emphasizing the integration of research into teaching. His academic portfolio includes over 200 peer-reviewed publications in top-tier journals such as Nature and Science, with an h-index of 50. His research has earned international recognition, placing him in the top 2% of scientists worldwide according to Stanford University rankings.
In addition to his research achievements, Professor Seneweera has secured over $20 million in research funding, driving large-scale initiatives to improve crop resilience and mitigate climate change effects. He has played a key role in fostering national and international collaborations and influencing policies to promote sustainable agricultural practices. Professor Seneweera’s work continues to inspire innovations in agriculture and sustainability, contributing to global efforts towards a more secure and sustainable future.

NSF website: https://www.nsf.gov.lk/index.php/about-nsf/chairman

University of Ruhuna website: https://ageng.agri.ruh.ac.lk/?staff_ac=professor-chair-s-seneweera

Plenary Speaker

Ge-Fei Hao, a Professor at Guizhou University and Central China Normal University , specializes in pesticide informatics research under agricultural environment. Prof. Hao has devoted himself to this field for a long time, focusing on the key scientific issue of “The relationship between biomacromolecules and pesticides” within the pesticide innovation domain. He successfully established the world’s first systematic pesticide informatics platform. Professor Hao Gefei, renowned for his research in pesticide informatics, shared his expertise and experience. His remarkable contributions to the field of pesticide informatics have earned him prestigious accolades, including the National Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars and the Chief Scientist of the National Key Research and Development Program. He has been recognized as a Young Scholar in the Changjiang Scholar Award Program and the National 100 Outstanding Doctoral Dissertations in Plant Protection. Prof. Hao Gefei has published more than 200 research articles in the field of plant protection, Pest management and Pesticide application Technologies in High impact SCI journals with h-index 33 and are recoded more than 3500 citations. https://chemyang.ccnu.edu.cn