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Dr. Urban Bren
Dr. Urban Bren is a full professor in the area of Physical Chemistry at the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Maribor. He conducts research in the fields of molecular modelling, free-energy calculations, computer-aided drug design, and microwave catalysis. He is the recipient of numerous domestic and international awards: the Prešeren Award, the Pregl Prize, the Samčeva Award, the Jožef Stefan Golden Emblem, the Lek Star, the Pregl Award, the Zois Prize, and the Best Fellow Prize of the World Federation of Scientists. He occupied the prestigious Fulbright Visiting Professor post at the elite Johns Hopkins University and is a Full Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, Class IV: Natural Sciences. He is particularly proud of his publications in prestigious journals Nature Chemical Biology, Nature Reviews Chemistry, Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences USA (PNAS), and of the joint publication with Prof. Dr. Arieh Warshel – recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2013.
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Prof. Dr. Maša Knez Marevci
Maša Knez Marevci, PhD, is a Full Professor at the University of Maribor. She is a chemical engineer and researcher specializing in separation processes, phase equilibria, supercritical fluids, sustainable extraction, and the isolation and formulation of bioactive compounds.
She graduated in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maribor in 2008 and received the Krka Award in the same year. She began her research career in 2008 on the SUPERMETHANOL project and joined the University of Maribor as a young researcher in 2009. Her international research experience includes research stays as a host researcher at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), Greece, and at the UAB – The University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her collaboration with AUTH has contributed to her international research network and scientific cooperation. Her research focuses on advanced and sustainable separation technologies, supercritical-fluid processes, natural bioactive compounds, and product formulation. She has published extensively in international peer-reviewed journals and is involved in research mentoring and international scientific collaboration. Since 2021, she has also headed the Department of Chemistry at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor, where she teaches chemistry to medical and dental medicine students.
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Prof. Dr. Lidija Fras Zemljič
Prof. Dr. Lidija Fras Zemljič is a Full Professor at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maribor, where she heads the Laboratory for Characterization and Processing of Polymers and leads the national research programme “Textile Chemistry and Advanced Textile Materials.” Her research focuses on the analytical characterization, functionalization, and end-of-life behaviour of polymeric and textile materials, with particular emphasis on the degradation, recycling, and valorisation of waste and post-consumer plastics within a circular-economy framework. She is the author or co-author of more than 160 scientific publications, has led or participated in more than 50 national and international research and industrial projects, and holds three patents. She works closely with industrial partners on the development of sustainable, bio-based, and functional materials with a strong environmental focus, and currently also serves as Vice-Dean for Research at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maribor.