WFI 2026 Annual Virtual Conference
Future of Filtration: Why Filtration Matters
AI • Data Centers • Energy • Biopharma • Sustainability • Manufacturing
December 8–9, 2026 | 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET
Welcome from WFI 2026 Chairs
On behalf of the WFI 2026 organizing committee and all the distinguished speakers, we invite you to join us at the World Filtration Institute 2026 Annual Conference (WFI 2026), December 8–9, 2026, 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM EST. The theme of this year’s conference is “Future of Filtration: Why Filtration Matters.” Our distinguished international experts will explore the latest advances, emerging opportunities, and strategic importance of filtration and separation technologies across data centers, healthcare, energy systems, sustainability, advanced materials, digitalization, and next-generation industrial applications.
As the world rapidly evolves through artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, energy diversification, and sustainability initiatives, filtration has become more important than ever. Filtration is no longer viewed simply as a supporting technology — it is a critical enabler of reliability, efficiency, contamination control, equipment protection, human health, sustainability, and innovation across countless industries.
The virtual conference will feature the following six sessions:
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Data Center Cooling and Advanced Filtration
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Biopharmaceutical and Life Science Filtration
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Filtration Advances in the Energy Sector
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Sustainable Filtration and Circular Economy
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Filter Media Innovation and Future Technologies
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AI, Digitalization, and Smart Filtration
WFI 2026 brings together global experts, industry and academic leaders, researchers, innovators, and professionals to share insights, technologies, and strategies shaping the future of filtration and separation. Whether your focus is energy, AI infrastructure, healthcare, manufacturing, sustainability, clean air, water, or advanced materials, this event will provide a unique global platform to learn, connect, collaborate, and inspire innovation.
We believe the future of filtration will increasingly depend on interdisciplinary collaboration, global partnerships, and innovative technologies that address some of the world’s most important industrial, environmental, and societal challenges. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to engage with the forefront of filtration innovation and discover why filtration matters more than ever before.
We look forward to welcoming and seeing you online at WFI 2026!
Sincerely,
WFI 2025 Chairs
Dr. Christine Sun
President
WFI, US
Mr. Greg Hoverson
VP & CTO
Atmus, US
Mr. Richard Lydon
Secretary-General,
Filtration Society, UK
Mr. Tyler Smith
Vice President
Johnson Control, US
Conference Secretary: Ms. Camilla Gomes
Contact: admin@wfius.com
Organizing Committee
Dr. Christine Sun
President
WFI, US
Mr. Mike Clark
President, Filtration Division, H&V, US
Mr. Tobias Zimmer
Sr. Vice President
Camfil, SE
Dr. Thomas Peters
Sr. Director, Dr. Peters Consulting, DE
Greg Hoverson
Vice President and CTO
Atmus, US
Dr. Martin Lehmann
Principal Expert
Mann + Hummel, DE
Mr. Paul Marold
CEO
Aeristus, Inc., US
Dr. John McKeon
CEO
iAIR Group, IE
Mr. Richard Lydon
Secretary-General,
The Filtration Society, UK
Dr. Wu Chen
Chair, AFS Education Committee, US
Dr. Swarna Agarwal
Sr. Scientist
PTI Technologies, US
Dr. Nicolas PETILLON
CTO
IFTS, FR
Mr. Tyler Smith
Vice President,
Johnson Controls, US
Dr. Stephanie Taylor, MD
Chief Medical Officer
ThinkLite Air, US
Mr. Nick Agopian
President
Reviveaire, US
Dr. Yun Liang
Secretary-General, China Filtration Society, CN
Schedule at a Glance
Data Center Cooling and Advanced Filtration
Chaired by Tyler Smith
December 8, 2026
8:10 AM to 9:20 AM EST
Sustainable Filtration and Circular Economy
Chaired by Richard Lydon
December 9, 2026
8:10 AM to 9:20 AM EST
Biopharmaceutical and Life Science Filtration
Chaired by Wu Chen
December 8, 2026
9:25 AM to 10:35 AM EST
Filter Media Innovation and Future Technologies
Chaired by Mike Clark
December 9, 2026
9:25 AM to 10:35 AM EST
Filtration Advances in the Energy Sector
by Martin Lehmann
December 8, 2026
10:40 AM to 11:50 AM EST
AI, Digitalization, and Smart Filtration
Chaired by Greg Hoverson
December 9, 2026
10:40 AM to 11:50 AM EST
Distinguished Speakers
Dr. Andrew Zydney
Bayard D. Kunkle Chair
Penn State Univ., US
Dr. Raquel García-Pacheco
CEO & Founder
Ecomemb, ES
Dr. Cédric Vallet
Head BDPM
Ahlstrom, FR
Mr. Brian Schwandt
Director, Res & Tech
Atmus, US
Dr. Lu Liu
Engineering Fellow
Parker, US
Mr. Michael Rohr
Sales Engineer
GEA, US
Dr. Samuel Li
Vice President
Freudenberg Filtration, CN
Dr. Imran Latif
Global VP, Data Center
Johnson Controls, US
Mr. Matt Koukl
ASHRAE TC 9.9 Past Chair
Principal, AEI, US
Mr. Paul Flanagan
Director, EMEA West
Camfil, IE
Dr. Jatin Khanpara
Sr. Vice President
AprilAire, US
Dr. Saeed Khandan Siar
Lead Product Engineer
MANN+HUMMEL, DE
Mr. Arun Ramaratnam
Data Science Manager
Atmus, US
Dr. Thomas Peters
Sr. Director, Dr. Peters Consulting, DE
Dr. Trevor Sparks
Principal
Kipinat Ltd., UK
Dr. Rigoberto Advincula
Governor's Chair Professor
ORNL/UTK, US
Dr. Purv Purohit
Sales Director
Alkegen, DE
Mr. Michael Corbat
VP, Engineering
Rensa Filtration, US
Mr. Chris Muller
Global Director, Gas Phase
AAF International, US
Dr. Swarna Agarwal
Sr. Scientist, PTI Technologies, US
Mr. Scott Yeager
CTO, XF2 Water Technologies, US
Dr. Thomas Caesar
Vice President
Freudenberg, DE
Dr. Andreas Wiegmann
CEO
Math2Market, DE
Mr. Jaime De Souza
Sr. Scientist
MilliporeSigma, US
Mr. Stanton Wong
Executive Director
RESET Standard, CA
Ms. Emily Peterson
Director, R&D
H&V, US
Dr. Yasmine Skanji
Director
ZAACK, FR
Dr. Marc Schmidt
Vice President
AAF International, DE
Technical Program
Tuesday, December 8, 2026, 8:00AM–12:00PM ET
8:00–8:10 Welcome Introduction
8:10–9:20 Session 1: Data Center Cooling and Advanced Filtration
Chaired by Mr. Tyler A. Smith, Vice President, Global Service Product Management, Johnson Controls, US
8:10–8:25 1.1 Coming soon...
Presented by Dr. Imran Latif, Global VP, Data Center, Johnson Controls, US
8:25–8:40 1.2 Advanced Clean Cooling: Filtration for Next Generation of Data Centers
Presented by Mr. Matt Koukl, Principal, AEI, Past Chair, AHRAE TC 9.9, US
8:40–8:55 1.3 Optimizing Filtration for Data Centers: Performance, Energy Efficiency, and Sustainability
Presented by Mr. Paul Flanagan, Director, EMEA West, Camfil, Ireland
8:55–9:20 Round Table Panel Discussion
Panelists: Mr. Michael Corbat, VP, Engineering, Rensa Filtration, US
Mr. Chris Muller, Global Director, Gas Phase, AAF International, US
9:20–9:25 Coffee break
9:25–10:35 Session 2: Biopharmaceutical and Life Science Filtration
Chaired by Dr. Wu Chen, Dow Fellow (Ret.) and AFS Education Committee Chair, US
9:25–9:40 2.1 New Challenges and Opportunities in the Sterile Filtration of Biopharmaceuticals
Presented by Dr. Andrew L. Zydney, Bayard D. Kunkle Chair and Professor, Penn State University, USA
9:40–9:55 2.2 Latest Designs and Applications of Modern Sanitary Centrifuges for the Biopharmaceutical Industry
Presented by Mr. Michael Rohr, Sales Engineer – Chem/Pharm/Biotech, GEA, US
9:55–10:10 2.3 Virus Filtration in Downstream Bioprocessing: Prefilter Strategies and Next-Generation Membrane Technology
Presented by Mr. Jaime De Souza, Sr. Process Development Scientist, MilliporeSigma, USA
10:10–10:35 Round Table Panel Discussion
10:35–10:40 Coffee break
10:40–11:50 Session 3: Filtration Advances in the Energy Sector
Chaired by Dr. Martin Lehmann, Principal Expert, Mann + Hummel, DE
10:40–10:55 3.1 New Test Methods Enable Optimized Water Retention in Turbomachinery Air Intake Systems
Presented by Dr. Thomas Caesar, Vice President Global Filter Engineering, Freudenberg Filtration Technologies, DE
10:55–11:10 3.2 Design and Scale-Up of Air Path Balance-of-Plant Components for High-Power PEM Fuel Cells
Presented by Dr. Saeed Khandan Siar, Lead Product Engineer Fuel Cell Humidifiers, MANN+HUMMEL, DE
11:10–11:25 3.3 From Fuel Economy to Energy Efficiency: Filtration Through the Power Transition for Vehicles and Equipment
Presented by Mr. Brian Schwandt, Director, Research & Technologies, Atmus, US, US
11:25–11:50 Round Table Panel Discussion
Panelists: Dr. Marc Schmidt, Vice President, AAF International, DE
11:50–12:00 2026 Product of the Year Award Ceremony
Presented by Mr. Mike Malloy, Communications Director, WFI, US
Wednesday, December 9, 2026, 8:00AM–12:00PM ET
8:00–8:10 Welcome Introduction
8:10–9:20 Session 4: Sustainable Filtration and Circular Economy
Chaired by Mr. Richard Lydon, Secretary-General, The Filtration Society, UK
8:10–8:25 4.1 From Waste to Energy: Advanced Filtration Materials for Cleaner, Circular Energy Recovery
Presented by Dr. Purv Purohit, Sr. Sales Manager, Alkegen, US
8:25–8:40 4.2 Safer Storage of Mine Waste, Water Recovery and Unlocking Tailings Reprocessing
Presented by Dr. Trevor Sparks, Principal, Kipinat Ltd., UK
8:40–8:55 4.3 Ecomembranes: Recovered Reverse Osmosis Membranes for Reuse in Industrial Water Treatment
Presented by Dr. Raquel García-Pacheco, CEO & Founder, Ecomemb, Spain
8:55–9:20 Round Table Panel Discussion
Panelists: Dr. Swarna Agarwal, Sr. Scientist, PTI Technologies, US
Dr. Thomas Peters, Sr. Director, Dr. Peters Consulting, DE
Mr. Scott Yaeger, CTO, XF2 Water Technologies, US
9:20–9:25 Coffee break
9:25–10:35 Session 5: Filter Media Innovation and Future Technologies
Chaired by Mr. Mike Clark, President, Filtration Division, H&V, USA
9:25–9:40 5.1 Functionalized Filtration Media: When Filter Media Become Process Solutions
Presented by Dr. Cédric Vallet, Head of Business Development and Product Management, Ahlstrom, France
9:40–9:55 5.2 Nanofiber Technology for a more Sustainable Filtration Process
Presented by Ms. Emily Peterson, Director, R&D, H&V, US
9:55–10:10 5.3 From Best Media to Best Filter
Presented by Dr. Lu Liu, Engineering Fellow, Parker, USA
10:10–10:35 Round Table Panel Discussion
Panelists: Dr. Samual Li, Vice President, Freudenberg Filtration Technologies, CN
10:35–10:40 Coffee break
10:40–11:50 Session 6: Smart Filtration: Sensors, Data, and AI Innovations
Chaired by Greg Hoverson, Vice President and CTO, Atmus, US
10:40–10:55 6.1 Measuring Air Accessibility: The Next Evolution in Real-Time Air Cleaning Performance
Presented by Mr. Stanton Wong, Executive Director, RESET Standard, CA
10:55–11:10 6.2 Combining AI and Physics-Based Simulation to Design Next Generation Filter Media
Presented by Dr. Andreas Wiegmann, MATH2MARKET GmbH, Germany
11:10–11:25 6.3 AI/ML Driven High-Performance Materials and Advanced Filtration and Separations
Presented by Dr. Rigoberto Advincula, Governor's Chair Professor, ORNL/UTK, US
11:25–11:50 Round Table Panel Discussion
Panelists: Dr. Jatin Khanpara, Sr. Vice President, Engineering & Technology, AprilAire. US
Mr. Arun Ramaratnam , Data Science Manager, Atmus, US
Dr. Yasmine SKANJI, Director at ZAACK, IGIENAIR Group, FR
11:50–12:00 CFSS 2026 Class Graduation Ceremony
Presented by Dr. Christine Sun, President, WFI, US
WFI 2025 Highlight Recap
About Us
The World Filtration Institute (WFI) is a global non-profit organization dedicated to propelling the filtration and separation industry towards a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable future. Through our comprehensive education programs and robust industry support, we equip individuals with the knowledge, creativity, and skills to drive innovation and excellence. We offer a broad spectrum of resources, from cutting-edge research on filtration technologies to professional certification and networking opportunities. At WFI, we're bridging the gap between academia and industry to advance filtration and separation processes worldwide. Join us in our mission to create a better world through innovative filtration solutions.
