Panče Naumov is Professor of Chemistry at New York University Abu Dhabi, with a cross-appointment at New York University in New York, and serves as Director of the Center for Smart Engineering Materials. A founder of the UAE Chapter of the American Chemical Society (ACS), he has played a leading role in advancing the chemistry and materials science community in the UAE. He is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the Chinese Chemical Society, and is a member of the European Academy of Sciences and the national academies of sciences of the UAE and Macedonia. His honors include an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship and a Radcliffe Fellowship at Harvard University. Professor Naumov has authored more than 340 publications, delivered nearly 400 invited and conference presentations, mentored over 60 students and researchers, and secured more than USD 15 million in competitive research funding. He also founded the biennial Middle East Materials Science Conference and has organized several major international scientific meetings, including the ACS Middle East and Africa Conference in the UAE.