Speakers

Dr. François Galgani

François Galgani, former scientist at IFREMER, France, chairs the NGO Echos d’Oceans, which specializes in marine environmental issues and plastic pollution. He has worked with several international institutions, including the Tokyo University of Fisheries, Stanford University, CNRS, and IFREMER, and has coordinated numerous expert groups for the United Nations, Regional Seas Conventions, and the European Commission, notably the MSFD Technical Group on Marine Litter (2010–2022). He has also contributed to major global initiatives, including the G7, G20, and UNEA, and served as a member of the European Mission Board for Healthy Oceans, Seas, Coastal and Inland Waters between 2019 and 2022. Author of more than 230 international scientific publications, he serves as Editor-in-Chief of Marine Pollution Bulletin and the Journal of Marine Systems. He was also responsible for the chapters on plastic pollution in the United Nations World Ocean Assessments II and III.

Andreja Palatinus

Andreja Palatinus is an environmental expert at the National Institute of Chemistry in Slovenia, working at the intersection of marine litter, microplastics, environmental monitoring, policy and stakeholder engagement. Active in marine litter and microplastics research and monitoring since 2007, she has extensive experience connecting scientific evidence with policy and practical implementation.

She is the founder of Microplastics for Breakfast Slovenia, an initiative fostering dialogue between scientists, policymakers, industry and civil society, and coordinates the International Coastal Cleanup in Slovenia. She also contributes to the EU Mission Ocean projects REMEDIES and REMEDIES 5.0 and the Interreg IPA ADRION project PREVENT.

At the Future of Plastic (R)evolution Conference, she will contribute to the opening programme, moderate the discussion following François Galgani’s keynote, and lead the roundtable “From data to action”, focusing on how scientific knowledge on micro- and nanoplastics can be translated into meaningful decisions and practical action.

Dr. Dušan Materić

Dr Dušan Materić is an analytical chemist specialising in the detection, quantification, and environmental fate of micro- and nanoplastics. He completed his PhD in the UK within the PIMMS Marie Curie Initial Training Network, focusing on advanced mass spectrometry. He subsequently spent six years at Utrecht University, where he developed thermal desorption–proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (TD-PTR-MS) for the analysis of DOM and nanoplastics. He then spent four years at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Leipzig, where he led the Microplastics, Nanoplastics and Elements research group and received a UFZ research award for his work. He is now leading the Microplastics and Nanoplastics group at the National Institute of Chemistry (KI) in Ljubljana. His research spans method development and the study of micro- and nanoplastics in the atmosphere, oceans, glaciers, soils, and biological matrices. His recent work includes research demonstrating the widespread presence of nanoplastics in the North Atlantic Ocean, published in Nature.

Vesna Kuralt

Vesna Kuralt is the REMEDIES Project Manager and Leader of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development. In addition to leading a EU Horizon Europe project developing innovative solutions to monitor, collect, and prevent (micro)plastic waste in our ocean, she is experienced in co-designing various green and digital transition projects focused on human-centered and responsible innovation as well as dedicated to fostering more inclusive and sustainable communities contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals. As an anthropologist with a PhD in Market Communication, she understands any change starts with people and is thus passionate about co-creating a movement aiming to restore our oceans and waters.

Tit Neubauer

Tit Neubauer is a Senior Adviser of the Science Division of the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth. He is mainly responsible for EU affairs and international cooperation but has also worked as an EU Missions National Contact Point and is currently the NCP for New European Bauhaus (NEB) and the Joint Research Centre (JRC). With a background in political science, he has extensive experience in EU and international affairs, has briefly worked as a researcher and is the coordinator of Science Month, a national initiative, focusing on science popularisation, science communication and citizen science.

Anamarija Lukenda

Anamarija Lukenda is a political scientist completing a master’s degree in cognitive science. In her work she combines a theoretical understanding of policies and social systems with insight into cognitive and behavioural processes — an analytical, interdisciplinary approach that is key to designing policies and addressing complex societal challenges.

She worked at the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth, in the Open Science Division, where she served as the National Contact Point (NCP) for the EU Missions. In this role she supported the involvement of Slovenian stakeholders in key European initiatives and encouraged the development of ambitious, strategically oriented project partnerships. As a national delegate to the Horizon Europe Programme Committee for Cluster 5 she contributed to work on climate, energy and mobility, and she was also involved in the ERA Action on AI in science, working on artificial intelligence in science and research policy. Alongside artificial intelligence, her focus extended to quantum technologies across European and national research, development and innovation policies.

Her experience also spans other areas of international and European cooperation: before joining the ministry she worked in youth policy and EU programmes, including Erasmus+, where she gained experience in project coordination and management and in building and developing partnerships.

Dr. Uroš Novak

Dr. Uroš Novak is a distinguished researcher holding a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering with over 15 years of expertise in advanced natural biomaterials, biotechnology, and zero-waste technologies. He currently leads the Bioplastics, Biocomposites, and Zero-Waste Technologies research group at the National Institute of Chemistry in Slovenia.

A highly accomplished scholar, he has authored over 60 scientific articles with 3,000+ citations and spoken at 200+ events, including high-level European Commission engagements. Passionate about translating science into real-world impact, he is a multi-award-winning innovator, the co-founder of two start-ups, and an NGO director. He is a prominent leader in European research and innovation project, coordinating major Horizon Europe projects like Mission Ocean and Waters lighthouse project REMEDIES and REMEDIES 5.0.

Dr. Mariacristina Cocca

Mariacristina Cocca is Senior Researcher at the Institute of Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials (IPCB) of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR). She has over 20 years of experience in polymer science, sustainable materials, micro- and nanoplastics, polymer degradation, and environmental pollution. Her research focuses on understanding the generation, characterisation, environmental fate and mitigation of microplastics, with particular attention to sustainable materials, functional coatings and innovative remediation strategies. She is currently Principal Investigator for the CNR in several Horizon Europe projects, including REMEDIES, REMEDIES 5.0 and DANUBINA, addressing plastic pollution and the restoration of marine and aquatic environments. She was also Italy’s Management Committee Member and Working Group 5 Leader in COST Action CA20101 PRIORITY. She is co-Founder and Co-Chair of the µMED International Conference on Microplastic Pollution in the Mediterranean Sea and has authored over 110 scientific publications. In 2025, she was recognised among the World’s Top 2% Scientists by Stanford/Elsevier.

Dr. Antonia Praetorius

Dr. Antonia Praetorius is an Associate Professor in Environmental Chemistry at the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) of the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands).

Antonia is an expert in environmental exposure assessment of particulate emerging contaminants, such as engineered nanomaterials and micro-/nanoplastics. Her research also addresses plastic additives, PFAS and pharmaceuticals, with an overarching goal to inform science-based regulations and mitigation strategies to minimize current and future impacts of emerging contaminants.

With her team, Antonia combines computational modeling, analytical chemistry, laboratory experiments and citizen science in various inter- and transdisciplinary projects. She has been co-leading a citizen science project on synthetic microfibre release from textiles for the past 4 years and is PI of a Dutch Research Council personal grant (NWO-Vidi) on the long-term feedback processes between synthetic microfibres and natural sediments. From 2022–2025 she served as an Associate Editor for the RSC Journal Environmental Science: Nano.

Dr. Marjetka Levstek

Marjetka Levstek has been employed at the Domžale-Kamnik wastewater treatment plant since 1996 and holds a PhD and a university degree in chemical engineering.

She has participated in numerous development and research projects and in the implementation of improvements to wastewater treatment processes.

In 2023, she took over the management of the company, where she continues to fulfil the company’s vision of remaining a reputable, socially responsible company, recognised for its expertise, successful operations, implementation of advanced technological solutions, and committed employees.

In addition to fulfilling the mission of providing effective municipal and industrial wastewater treatment, the plant also carries out various activities involving additional technological processes and optimisation, through which they have achieved more than 100% annual self-sufficiency in electricity. They share their knowledge and experience through consulting and their own educational events and also participate in the adoption of legislation.

Dr. Ana Catarino

Dr. Ana Isabel Catarino is a Senior Researcher at the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ, Belgium), where she leads the team on Plastics in Local and Global Waters. Her research investigates the combined impacts of anthropogenic stressors on aquatic ecosystems, specializing in the interactive effects of nano- and microplastics alongside climate change drivers on marine organisms. Dr Catarino also leads research on strategies and solutions to mitigate plastic pollution, being part of the coordination team of the Horizon project INSPIRE (Innovative solutions for plastic free European rivers) and pillar leader in the Interreg North Sea TREASURE (Targeting the REduction of plAStic oUtflow into the noRth sEa). She is also engaged in citizen science initiatives to raise public awareness and contribute to Ocean Literacy, namelly in the international project COLLECT (POGO) and Plastics Pirates.

Dr. Katrin Schuhen

Dr. Katrin Schuhen completed her doctorate in chemistry at Heidelberg University in 2007. After working in medical technology and polymer production, she led her own research group as Junior Professor for Organic and Ecological Chemistry at the University of Koblenz-Landau (2012–2018). Her research addresses new material classes for removing microplastics and micropollutants from water, plus their detection, reuse, and digitized process control.

In May 2020, she founded Wasser 3.0 gGmbH, a non-profit GreenTech company dedicated to water without microplastics and micropollutants — combining innovation transfer, scaling, and growth with research, education, and awareness raising. Together with her team, she developed a fast and efficient analytical method for microplastics in water and the Wasser 3.0 PE-X® Clump & Skim technology for filter-free microplastic removal and reuse.

Her work has received multiple awards. In 2023, she was named one of the TOP 100 Women in Social Enterprises by Euclid Network. Alongside numerous scientific publications, she has authored two German-speaking non-fiction books: Rebel of the Water and The Microplastics Case.

Dr. Milica Velimirović

Milica Velimirovic Fanfani, PhD is a Senior Researcher at Flemish Institute for Technological Research, specializing in analytical chemistry, environmental monitoring, plastics and microplastics, and emerging contaminants. Her work focuses on understanding the environmental fate, transformation, and impacts of chemicals associated with plastics, polymers, and circular materials through the application of advanced analytical techniques, including mass spectrometry.

She has contributed to numerous European research and innovation projects addressing plastic pollution, sustainable materials, chemical safety, and Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design approaches. Milica currently coordinates the HEU SSbD4CheM and VisionAir projects and is actively involved in the development of innovative methodologies for the detection, identification, and characterization of contaminants and degradation products in complex environmental and industrial matrices.

Her research aims to support the transition towards a circular economy by generating scientific knowledge that enables safer materials, improved resource efficiency, and evidence-based environmental decision-making. She is particularly interested in bridging analytical innovation with sustainability challenges to accelerate the development of safer and more sustainable material systems.

Jaka Kranjc

Jaka Kranjc is the lead expert and secretary general at Društvo Ekologi brez meja, a leading Slovenian environmental NGO. A full-time environmentalist since 2009, he has worked at grassroots, organizational and national policy levels on various waste prevention projects, zero waste strategies and the challenges of illegally dumped waste. He co-led two cleanup campaigns that each mobilized every 7th Slovenian to volunteer on the same day and produced the first nationwide illegal dumpsite registry. As the NGO shifted its focus to waste prevention, he led the scale up of the zero waste programme to encompass a quarter of the country's population in cities with zero waste strategies. Plastic pollution and mismanagement remain a transversal theme both in policy work, awareness raising and citizen science (e.g. Plastics Pirates, ICC, brand audits).

Dr. Gordon Dalton

Dr. Gordon Dalton is a Renewable Energy Economics Engineer and senior research fellow at PLOCAN, the Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands. His work covers the broad economic and socio-economic analysis of the emerging ocean energy industry in Europe, as well as creating business models for emerging technologies.

He coordinates several European projects, including PHAROS (nature-based solutions for ecosystem and biodiversity restoration), H2heat (hydrogen renewable energy for commercial building heating), SECURE (sustainable careers for researcher empowerment) and OPUS (Open Universal Science), and has coordinated or contributed to many more, among them MUSICA, RRING, GRRIP and MARIBE.

Dr. Rodrigo Sedano

Rodrigo Sedano is a Lawyer and EU Project Manager at ITCL Technology Centre, with extensive experience in the coordination and implementation of European research and innovation projects in the fields of environmental sustainability, water management and pollution prevention.

He is the coordinator of the iMERMAID project, a Horizon Europe project funded under the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters”, focused on the development, demonstration and integration of innovative solutions for the monitoring, prevention and remediation of chemical pollution in European aquatic environments. At ITCL, his work combines strategic project coordination, legal and regulatory understanding, stakeholder engagement and the integration of technological solutions, with particular emphasis on translating research and innovation into scalable applications and policy-relevant outcomes.

Elisabetta Balzi

Elisabetta Balzi is Active Senior at the European Commission Research & Innovation DG, and member of the Board of Administration at Università del Sannio. She is former Head of Ocean, Seas and Waters and Deputy Director of Healthy Planet at EC RTD, and previously Head of Bioeconomy at the EC Joint Research Centre. She has been in charge of EU R&I on marine and waters including Mission Ocean and Waters, as well as of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy and Knowledge Centre. She co-ordinated the EU R&I policies and Framework Programme design, implementation and international co-operation on food, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, biotechnology and the bioeconomy. Previously, she was research associate at the Université Catholique de Louvain. She holds a PhD in Sciences (UCL) and was trained at the Università di Torino, Université de Paris-Sud Orsay and the Deustches Krebsforschungszentrum. She is author of various scientific publications.

Gotelenne Piaton

Gotelenne Piaton is Head of Research Support at the Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute (CMMI). She is also the Coordinator of MEDCONNECT, the Mediterranean Lighthouse of the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters”, which promotes cooperation, dialogue and the uptake of innovative solutions across the Mediterranean.

Her work focuses on marine and maritime governance, international cooperation, stakeholder engagement, and the development of collaborative approaches connecting science, policy and society. She also coordinates initiatives such as the PUREEF-Y, AXOLOTL and LORELEI-X projects, addressing marine research, innovation, sustainability and regional collaboration with a keen interest on the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems and novel technologies (AI and autonomous systems-based) for various marine and maritime applications.

She also leads CMMI’s engagement in strategic European and international partnerships, with particular attention to strengthening cooperation between research organisations, public authorities, industry and civil society. A mother of two, she loves inspiring the next generation of ocean lovers.

Dr. Aleš Mihelič

Dr. Aleš Mihelič is an experienced R&D and innovation professional with extensive expertise in technology development, structural design and optimisation, and innovation policy. He currently works as Lead Engineer in R&D for wet appliances at Gorenje, where he contributes to the development of innovative solutions in the home appliance sector.

Throughout his career, Dr. Mihelič has held several senior positions in Slovenian public administration, including roles at the Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of the Economy, and Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. He has been actively involved in shaping national research, development and innovation policies and implementing measures to strengthen the competitiveness of Slovenian companies.

His international experience includes cooperation within EU Framework Programmes, EUREKA and bilateral initiatives. He has also served as a member of European innovation policy expert groups and technology platform mirror groups and chaired the EUREKA High-Level Group during Slovenia’s chairmanship.

Dr. Zlatko Šabič

Renata Zamida

Tomaž Lanišek

Tomaž Lanišek is a former CEO of Knauf Insulation in Slovenia and Croatia, and prior to joining Knauf Insulation, he worked in the field of purchasing, sales and general management at Goodyear Dunlop Sava Tires. He holds a degree of a Master of Science in Economics and an MBA from Drury University in the USA and completed Program for Executive Development and Digital Business Excellence program at IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland.

From 2020 he is a Smart City Manager at the City of Kranj, successfully implementing digital transformation. Under his leadership, the development of the city's digital platform and unique city card CeKR has started; when fully developed, it will be among the most advanced at EU level, if not wider. In 2020 the Smart Mlaka pilot project was successfully implemented, working with local businesses to develop solutions for introducing modern technologies into the living environment. This is one of the reasons why Kranj was selected in 2022 in a report by the European Commission, together with Gartner and JRC, as one of the five EU cities with the greatest potential for developing smart communities. Between 2024 and 2026, the MuniCity of Kranj is leading a multi-million innovative development project called UrbanMind within the framework of the EU project DS4SSCC in the field of data spaces, developed in cooperation with the city of Pula in Croatia and the companies 3fs and Riko.

He is former Acting President and First Vice-President of American Chamber of Commerce in Slovenia (AmCham). In 2011, he was honoured Top Potential of the Year title in the initial year of the programme of AmCham Young Professionals in Slovenia. He is working on several areas, the current preoccupation being a Smart City Manager at the City of Kranj, successfully implementing digital transformation.

In companies where he worked, he always fostered talents and work with employees, renovation of business processes and innovation. He is a Master of photography, president of the Slovenian Photographic Federation (FZS) in the current term (2023-2028), operational firefighter and keen sportsman.

Franka Cepak

Franka Cepak is Head of the Health Protection and Ecology Department and Environmental Manager at Luka Koper, Slovenia. She has been responsible for environmental protection and management at the Port of Koper for many years, overseeing environmental monitoring, compliance and the implementation of environmental management systems across port activities. She was appointed Environmental Manager of Luka Koper in 2010 and has been closely involved in the development of the port’s environmental and sustainability policies, including the implementation of the EMAS environmental management scheme.

Her professional and research work focuses on environmental protection, pollution monitoring, sustainable port development, circular economy and the management and reuse of marine sediments. She has participated in research projects and published scientific and professional contributions on topics including particulate matter, carbon footprint and environmental impacts of port activities.

She was the initiator and author of the innovative project on the reuse of marine sediment for the production of bricks, which received national and regional innovation awards and was recognised by the European Sea Ports Organisation as an example of good practice in waste management.

Franka Cepak holds a Master's degree and is registered as a researcher in the field of chemistry. She is also responsible for the Research Group of Luka Koper and has been involved in numerous research and environmental projects focusing on sustainable port development.

Guido Sacchetto

Guido Sacchetto is working as Policy Officer in the European Commission, DG MARE Unit “Maritime innovation, Marine Knowledge and Investment”. He has a background on political sciences and international affairs, and a varied expertise in Research and Innovation, business incubation and project/programme management, with more than 10 years of experience in DG RTD and previous positions in private companies, academia and private-public organisations.

Lina Silveira

With an extensive global professional experience, working in international organizations, Lina Silveira developed skills in research, strategy, and policy analysis. Her career includes roles at the European Parliament (Brussels, Belgium) and the EMRC (European Research Center) in Brussels—a non-governmental organization dedicated to business promotion, financing and technological development across Africa.

She also possesses know-how in regional policy with European and international scope, having worked for the Regional Government of the Azores on two separate occasions: first in the Sub-Secretariat for European Affairs and External Cooperation and later at the Regional Fund for Science and Technology (FRCT).

She is currently a doctoral student in Political Theory, International Relations, and Human Rights. Additionally, she holds a degree in European Studies and International Policy. Currently Lina works remotely, as a European project manager, in F6S, a global company headquartered in Ireland, that aims to accelerate the growth of startups, SMEs, and research initiatives by managing EU-funded projects addressing global economic, social, and environmental challenges. It's in this context that she leads REMEDIES WP5 Scaling & Replication.