Innovations and Advancements in Lightweight Fiber Composites

Dr. Vinod Ayyappan is an Assistant Professor (SG) of Mechanical Engineering at Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (SIMATS), Chennai, India. Previously, he was a Research Scientist at King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, Thailand, where he completed his Post-doctorate from 2022 to 2023. He earned his Doctor of Engineering from TGGS, KMUTNB, Thailand, in October 2022. His key research interests include additive manufacturing and hybrid composite development using advanced technology, leading to collaborations with academic and industry partners worldwide. Besides his research, he holds life memberships in the Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE) and the International Association of Engineers (IAENG). He serves as Associate Editor and Editorial Board Member in various SCI and WOS indexed journals. He also serves as reviewer for over 70 international journals and conferences, also guest-editing special issues. With more than 70 articles and chapters in SCI, WOS, and Scopus-indexed journals from reputable publishers, he has accumulated over 5,000 citations, an H-index of 37, and an i10-Index of 51, according to Google Scholar. He has edited four books and contributed to others for international publishers, broadening his influence. His research excellence is recognized globally, including being listed among Stanford University’s top 2% of Most-Cited Scientists for 2022–2025. He ranks 10th among polymers in Thailand and is included in the AD Scientific Index for scientist ranking. He received the KMUTNB ‘Outstanding Young Researcher Award’ in 2025. His current research

areas include Additive Manufacturing, Advanced Material Technology, Natural Fiber Composites, and Polymer Composites.

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.