Sector Panel: Advanced Materials

Thursday October 8, 2026 13:30 - 14:10 Auditorium (W280)

Panelists: Bijish Babu, Michel Lefèvre, Mohini Sain

Hear from industry leaders in Advanced Materials on how they're tackling the greatest challenges faced in both Sweden and Canada.

Lecturers

Bijish Babu PanelistExhibitor

Founder & CEO
Aerobase Innovations

Bijish Babu, Ph.D., is the founder and CEO of Aerobase Innovations AB, a spin-off launched in 2020 from Luleå University of Technology in Sweden. His expertise spans computational mechanics, materials science, and software engineering. He leads Aerobase's development of physics-based material models that predict how steel, aluminum, and composites change during forming, welding, casting, and additive manufacturing, and how these changes affect crash performance. Aerobase works with industrial customers in Sweden, the US, and Brazil, and participates in seven Horizon Europe projects alongside partners including Volvo Cars, Stellantis, and Gestamp.

Michel Lefèvre Panelist

Director - Programs & International Collaboration
PRIMA Québec

Michel Lefèvre, Director – Programs and International collaborations, is responsible for the deployment of the various calls for projects in addition connecting with foreign partners. He also supports Quebec companies and academic researchers in their innovation projects in the field of advanced materials. With over 20 years of experience in materials research, analysis and development, Mr. Lefèvre has developed an expertise in battery and fuel cell nanomaterials and energetic materials. As a Materials Science Engineer at the Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium), he obtained his doctorate on non noble metal catalyst for oxygen reduction for fuel cells in 2003 from the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique – Énergie Matériaux et Télécommunication (INRS-EMT) while working under Prof. Dodelet, a world leader in the field. As a INRS Research Associate in Prof. Dodelet’s research group, he co-invented two patents and co-authored 42 publications in journals that include Science and Nature Communications. In 2010, he co-founded Canetique Electrocatalysis Inc., a start-up that emerged from his INRS research, and has taken part in the company’s R&D and management activities for 5 years.

Mohini Sain Panelist

Professor and Director (CBBP)
University of Toronto

Professor Mohini Sain is a leading expert in advanced and sustainable materials, with extensive industry experience particularly in the automotive and transportation sectors. As the Ford Motor Canada Chair in Sustainable Materials at the University of Toronto, he works with close to 100 companies worldwide and has completed more than 70 technology transfers to industry. His expertise spans biocomposites, nanocellulose, sustainable energy and advanced energy materials, biomaterials and lightweight materials, with a strong focus on translating research into commercial applications.

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