16th lecture | 4 December 2025 | 19:00-21:00 CET | Online
16th Lecture: 4 December 2025, 19.00 – 21.00 (CET), online
Topic: Smart Production for Sustainable Materials
Invited Lecture: Pedro Fardim, President of EPNOE and Professor at KU Leuven, BE
1st Response: Teresa Riedmann, Head of Sales, ORGANOID GmbH, AT
2nd Response: Aimee Byrne, Assistant Professor in Climate Adaptation Engineering, E3, Trinity College Dublin, DE
Chair: Gregor Trimmel, TU Graz, AT
Host: Andrea Höglinger, ESEIA Vice-President and Vice Rector for Research at TU Graz, AT
Abstract:
In future, our built environment will be surrounded more and more by biofabricated materials. What sounds like utopia for some is daily business of European bright minds both in academia and in industry.
How can these plant-based materials be produced in a smart way by coating, sandwiching, and adding together different materials to enhance their qualities? What is needed for people to enjoy living in them? Which role could deep learning models play in developing these materials?
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Meet the Speakers:
Pedro Fardim is affiliated to KU Leuven in Belgium where he holds a professorship in Chemical Engineering for Health & Care at the Faculty of Engineering Science, Department of Chemical Engineering. He is also the President of the European Polysaccharide Network of Excellence (EPNOE) Association. He obtained his Doctor of Science in chemistry at State University of Campinas in Brazil and his Habilitation in Chemical Engineering at Åbo Akademi University in Finland. During 2005-2019 he was Head of the Laboratory for Fibre and Cellulose Technology and Professor in Biomass Engineering at Åbo Akademi University in Finland. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the International Academy of Wood Science and a member of the American Chemical Society. His research interest lies in topochemical engineering, a way to understand and mimic the bioassembly present in natural materials to create sustainable technologies for process and product design. His research is inspired on systems such as trees, plants and different microorganisms. He teaches sustainable chemical engineering for new materials and chemicals, biochemical process engineering and chemical engineering for human health. Biofabrication is his passion and he is inspired about patterns and functions of bioshapes in nature. He aims to reproduce the natural biofabrication using water as medium and biological polymers and inorganics as components.
Teresa Riedmann, the Head of Sales, ORGANOID GmbH, AT, winner of the Green Product Award 2025 with its CARPE DIEM product. Organoid® creates more than surfaces, it creates immersive, nature-infused interior experiences. Their handcrafted wallpapers and decorative panels are made from real botanical materials, alpine hay, flowers, herb leaves, moss and more, pressed and carefully processed on breathable substrates. The production takes place in Tyrol under climate-neutral, sustainable conditions, emphasizing regional raw-material sourcing, short transport routes and resource-efficient processes. The results are vividly tactile and scented surfaces that engage the senses — you can see the petals, feel the texture of hay or moss, and even sense the fragrance of natural plant material.
Aimee Byrne is an Assistant Professor in Climate Adaptation Engineering at Trinity College Dublin’s E3 department (Engineering, Environment, and Emerging Technologies). She is from a Civil & Structural Engineering background and her research has centred on sustainable buildings since 2009. She was Sustainability Education Lead at TU Dublin, where she was head of the Bio- and Circular Economies Research Group, a multidisciplinary team of 40 people. Her research has focused on sustainability in the built environment since 2009. Her current interests include sustainability education, circularity, bio-based materials, retrofit, building physics, and energy efficiency. Her reputation has earned her a place on committees for The National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI), Engineers Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, and 2 EU COST Actions.
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