Advanced Polymer Composites for the Construction Industry: Properties, Techniques, and Future Trends

.Dr. Manoj Kumar Singh is a Senior Research Scientist (Specialist-3) at King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok. He has considerable experience in polymer composite manufacturing and its various characterizations. Currently, he is acting as Associate Editor of Materials Science Section of Heliyon Journal and Guest Editor of International Journal on Interactive Design and Manufacturing, Springer. He is also the Section Editor of Polymer Processing and Engineering in Journal of Polymer Science and Engineering, EnPress. His research interests include plastic waste recycling, pyrolysis, polymer and polymer composites, sustainable manufacturing, additive manufacturing, flame-retardants, mechanical and thermal characterizations, tribology of polymer materials, machining of materials, and the degradability of polymer composites.

Dr. Sathish Kumar Palaniappan, Senior Research Scientist (Specialist-3). Natural Composites Research Group Lab, The Sirindhorn International Thai – German Graduate School of Engineering (TGGS), King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok, Thailand. Dr. Sathish Kumar Palaniappan is currently working as a Research Scientist at King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok, Thailand, where he did his postdoctoral research. He finished his bachelor’s degree in engineering (Mechanical) at the University College of Engineering Villupuram (constituent college of Anna University), Tamil Nadu, India, in 2012. He received his Master of Engineering from Kongu Engineering College in Perundurai, Tamil Nadu, India, in 2014 working in the stream of CAD/CAM. He also finished his PhD in the Department of Mining Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, West Bengal, India in 2021. His research interests include polymer nanocomposites/composites; polymer blends and biomaterials; thin film coatings; tribology; bio-degradable polymers; machining characteristics of ceramics and polymer composites; natural and synthetic polymers; multi-functional composite materials and nanomaterials; and natural fiber reinforced composites. He has been granted one Indian patent and has published more than 70 research papers in international/national journals and 32 book chapters with highly reputed publishers.

Dr. Lorena Freitas Dutra is currently serving as an Associate Professor at the University of Picardy Jules Verne, where she also conducts her research at the Laboratory of Innovative Technologies (LTI). She completed her bachelor’s degree in Materials and Metallurgical Engineering at Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, where she worked in the field of metallography, ceramography, and heat treatments. She also collaborated with industrial partners on the development of ceramics based on boron nitride during her studies at the École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Saint-Étienne in France. Dr. Dutra pursued her PhD under a double degree agreement between the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná, Brazil, and University of Savoy, France, where she focused on the development of materials that enhance the hygrothermal and energy performance of buildings. Currently, she is an Associate Professor developing innovative materials for sustainable building solutions. Dr. Dutra has worked on numerous projects and supervised PhD theses focused on the development of bio-based materials, including rapeseed, flax, and hemp. Her research interests include smart composites, biomaterials, natural fiber reinforced composites, and ceramics. She has published research papers in international/national journals and conferences. Dr. Dutra also serves as a reviewer for international journals.

Dr. Sanjay Mavinkere Rangappa is Chief Scientist and Associate Professor, Natural Composites Research Group Lab, Department of Materials and Production Engineering, The Sirindhorn International Thai-German Graduate School of Engineering (TGGS), King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB), Bangkok, Thailand. He also serves as an Advisor within the President' s Office for University Promotion and Development towards International goals. Dr. Rangappa is the Executive Editor of Book Cluster: Fiber Science and Fibrous Composite Materials ( Elsevier), a former Associate Editor of Heliyon (Materials Science), and an Associate Editor of Frontier Materials Journals. He acts as a Board Member and Editor for various international journals in materials science and composites. He has reviewed over 250 international journals, including for Nature, Elsevier, Springer, and Wiley, as well as book proposals and conference submissions. He has published more than 425 articles in top- tier peer- reviewed journals indexed by SCI/Scopus, 13 editorial issues, 100 book chapters, and 70 books as an Editor with leading publishers such as Elsevier, Springer, Taylor & Francis, and Wiley. Additionally, he authored 3 books published by Elsevier and has presented research at numerous national and international conferences. Over 25 of his articles are highly cited in journals like the Journal of Cleaner Production and Carbohydrate Polymers. Dr. Rangappa is the lead editor for several special issues and has a Google Scholar citation count exceeding 39, 000, with an H- index of 100 and An i 100- Index of 475. He holds 1 US Patent, 11 UK Design Patents, 1 Thailand Patent, and 5 Indian patents. He has delivered keynote and invited talks globally, including Russia, South Africa, Malaysia, and India. Currently, he is an Academic Visitor at The University of Portsmouth, UK (2024), with upcoming visiting positions at various Malaysian and Indonesian universities from 2024 to 2027. His research focuses on Natural fiber composites, Polymer Composites, and Advanced Material Technology. He received the ‘Top Peer Reviewer 2019’ award from Publons, and the KMUTNB ‘Outstanding Young Researcher’ (2020) and' Outstanding Researcher’ (2021) awards. Recognized as one of the top 1% most- cited scientists by Stanford University (2019-2025), he ranks 5th in Thailand overall and 2nd In the Polymers category for 2023. He is also listed among the ‘Top 100 Scientists’ in Thailand by AD Scientific Index..

Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Suchart Siengchin is a former President of King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok and currently serves as the Director of TechnoPark at the same university. He earned his Dipl.-Ing. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Applied Sciences Giessen/Friedberg, Germany in 1999, followed by an M.Sc. in Polymer Technology from the University of Applied Sciences Aalen in 2002, and another M.Sc. in Material Science from Erlangen-Nürnberg University in 2004. He obtained his Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering (Dr.-Ing.) from the Institute for Composite Materials at the University of Kaiserslautern in 2008, including postdoctoral research at Kaiserslautern University and Purdue University's School of Materials Engineering. In 2016, he received his habilitation from Chemnitz University in Saxony, Germany. In 2024, he was honored as an Honorary Fellow by RWTH Aachen University. He has also served as a Lecturer in Production and Material Engineering at the Sirindhorn International Thai-German Graduate School of Engineering, KMUTNB, and has been a full Professor and President of KMUTNB. He received the Outstanding Researcher Award in 2010, 2012, and 2013 at KMUTNB. His research focuses on Polymer Processing and Composite Materials. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Applied Science and Engineering Progress, a Q1 indexed journal on Scopus, and has authored over 600 peer-reviewed journal articles, 15 editorial contributions, more than 100 book chapters, one authored book, and over 50 edited books. He has presented at more than 70 international and national conferences related to Materials Science and Engineering. Recognized as one of the world’s top 2% scientists by Stanford University for 2021- 2022, he received the National Excellence Researcher Award (Engineering and Research Industry) from Thailand's National Research Council in 2021, and has been listed as a Highly Cited Researcher in 2025 by Clarivate.