Keynote Speaker I
Pengfei Liu
Newcastle University, UK
Bio: Professor Pengfei Liu is a preeminent global expert in the field of ship propulsion hydrodynamics. He obtained his Bachelor of Engineering degree in Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering from Wuhan University of Technology in 1982, followed by a Master of Engineering and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in the same discipline from Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, in 1991 and 1996, respectively. From 1999 to 2016, he served as a Senior Research Officer/Federal Government Scientist at the Institute for Ocean Technology, National Research Council (NRC) of Canada. Between 2016 and 2024, he held the position of Chair Professor of Hydrodynamics at Newcastle University, UK, and concurrently served as Director of the Emerson Cavitation Tunnel Laboratory (now retired).
Professor Liu was elected a Fellow of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) in 2019, an Academician of the Canadian Academy of Engineering in 2021, and a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA) in 2022. He has held appointments as Visiting Professor/Researcher and Adjunct Professor at several internationally renowned institutions, including Memorial University of Newfoundland (2000–2019), Ocean University of China (2002–2005), Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (2005–2008), Harbin Engineering University (2008–2010), Australian Maritime College (2012–2016), and Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai (2017–2022). Additionally, he has held key roles in prominent international academic organizations: member of the Board of Directors, Canadian Computational Fluid Dynamics Society (CFDSC, 2001–2007); member of the 23rd ITTC (International Towing Tank Conference) Committee on Azimuthing Pod Propulsors (2002–2005); member of the ISSC (International Ship and Offshore Structures Congress) Committee on Marine Renewable Energy (2006, 2009, 2015); member of the ISSC Committee on Dynamic Response (2012); member of the ISSC Committee on Marine Space Utilization (2018–2022); and member of the ITTC Advisory Committee (2021–2027).
Speech Title: Can the Propeller Be Reinvented?
Keynote Speaker II
Rickard Everyd Bensow
Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden
Bio: Rickard Everyd Bensow is a full professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology. His research deals with understanding what forms the key hydrodynamic features of a good design, e.g. for ship hull and propulsion system. The goal is to reduce fuel consumption and environmental impact, including noise and vibrations, lower production costs, and improved life span. This also involves developing computational methods to make this possible. He is involved in the education of future naval architects and engineers in marine technology within the Mobility engineering master's programme through courses in ship hydrodynamics, ship propulsion and CFD.
Keynote Speech: TBD
Keynote Speaker III
Michael Palm
Voith Turbo Schiffstechnik, Germany
Bio: Michael Palm is the Head of the Ship Hydrodynamics and has more than 25 years of professional experience in the development of advanced marine propulsion systems. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Hamburg University of Technology, specializing in fluid dynamics with a particular focus on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Currently, he leads the hydrodynamic research and development of innovative technologies such as the Voith Schneider Propeller, Voith Linear Jet, and Voith Radial Propeller.
His core responsibilities include the numerical optimization of hydrodynamic systems, numerical simulation and testing of advanced propulsion technologies, as well as time-domain Dynamic Positioning (DP) simulations. These key technologies continuously contribute to improving the efficiency, reliability, and innovation of modern marine propulsion systems. He has published numerous academic papers on major industry topics including efficiency optimization, cavitation effects, and dynamic positioning, further demonstrating his extensive practical expertise in the field.
Keynote Speech: TBD
Keynote Speaker IV
Chao Wang
Harbin Engineering University, China
Keynote Speech: TBD