Omead Afshar is an operations and manufacturing leader who spent 8+ years at Tesla, rising to VP of Manufacturing and Operations after roles in the CEO’s office leading cross-functional initiatives. He previously held leadership posts at Abbott and St. Jude Medical, overseeing technical operations and product engineering. A biomedical engineering graduate of University of California, Irvine, he’s based in Austin and known for aligning strategy, execution, and innovation.

Andrejka Bernatova is Founder, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of a publicly traded company, Dynamix Corporation (NASDAQ: DNMXU), focused on acquisitions in the energy, infrastructure, and power industries. She is a seasoned investor and operator who has raised over $35B globally across sectors spanning oil & gas, water, midstream, and clean power.

Earlier this year, Andrejka led the Dynamix team in a merger with The Ether Machine, an institutional-grade Ethereum investment vehicle, in an approximately $2 billion public debut. Prior to Dynamix, she held CFO roles at leading water and power infra firms like Goodnight Midstream and Enchanted Rock, served as CEO of ESGEN (which merged with Florida’s largest residential solar installer to form ZEO Energy), and held investing roles at Blackstone and Mubadala. She currently leads Dynamix Capital Partners, an energy and infrastructure-focused private investment platform.

Earlier in her career, Andrejka served as CFO of Enchanted Rock Energy, Goodnight Midstream, and Core Midstream (which she co-founded), and held finance leadership roles at PennTex Midstream Partners (NYSE: PTXP). She also worked in investment banking at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse, and held investment roles at The Blackstone Group, Mubadala / Masdar Clean Energy in the UAE, and the World Bank. Andrejka holds an A.B. in Government with a Citation in Spanish from Harvard University.

Matthew Boms is Executive Director of the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA), the Texas chapter of Advanced Energy United. He has served on the Texas Backup Power Package Advisory Committee and the Aggregated Distributed Energy Resource (ADER) Task Force. Before joining TAEBA, he served as Director of Strategic Programs and International Manager at The Climate Reality Project. Earlier in his career, he was Communications Manager for the Communitas Coalition in New York, helping secure a UN Sustainable Development Goal for cities and communities. He holds a Master’s in Local Economic Development from the London School of Economics and is fluent in English and Spanish.

Andres leads Halliburton Labs’ objective to advance cleaner, affordable energy and collaborate with participant companies to accelerate their commercial success. Andres joined Halliburton in 2011 and held multiple leadership roles within the company including director of asset performance for Global Business Lines and strategic business manager for Production Enhancement. Most recently, he led the strategy and execution of the Company’s sustainability programs, as well as compliance with global environmental and chemical regulations.

Andres holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Texas A&M University and an MBA from Rice University. He also completed executive programs in strategy and marketing at Caltech and The University of Texas, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Coastal Prairie Conservancy and the API Climate Committee.

Anne-Laure Chassanite is the CEO of Engie Resources, Engie’s B2B Power Retail business. Laure has close to 20 years of experience in the energy industry, working across the entire value chain in Europe and USA. After managing Back Office operations in Gas wholesale, she switched to managing a commercial retail group and then led operations at a French gas utility as it transformed to host biomethane. She joined Engie North America as VP of Power Supply in the B2B Retail affiliate in Houston. She left the US for a few years, becoming Managing Director for Storengy UK, the largest Natural Gas Storage site in salt caverns in the UK, before coming back to Houston. All across her career she has supported international business development with a focus on sharing of best practices and market intelligence.

Anne Laure has initially joined ENGIE in Paris in 2007, she holds a Master’s degree in Law and is graduated from Science Po Paris.

Dr. Clarno is a tenured Associate Professor in the Nuclear and Radiation Engineering program at the University of Texas at Austin with a research focus on computational nuclear energy, including algorithm development for radiation transport and reactor multiphysics. Dr. Clarno worked 15 years at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and was also assistant professor at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville as joint faculty member in nuclear engineering. He has led national, multi-institutional high-performance computing (HPC) research programs, including the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL) as Interim Director; the CASL Physics Integration (PHI) Focus Area; modernization of the SCALE nuclear analysis software; development of the Advanced Multi-Physics (AMP) fuel performance code; and a portfolio of ORNL laboratory-directed strategic research projects. As a technical contributor at ORNL, Dr. Clarno has developed high-performance computing software, researched new algorithms for SCALE, and performed analyses of nuclear reactors for a diverse set of US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and DOE projects.

Dr. Clarno’s primary research areas include multiphysics coupling methods for advanced simulation of nuclear reactors to integrate analyses and improve accuracy; multiscale neutronics, fuel performance, and thermal-hydraulics to enable high resolution analyses in coupled physics applications and design, optimization, and analysis of advanced commercial and test reactor concepts amongst others.

Christian Claudel is an associate professor in the Fariborz Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at UT Austin. His research interests include control and estimation of distributed parameter systems, cyberphysical systems monitoring, and the use of wireless sensor networks for environmental applications.

Travis Cook is Manager of Capital Markets and Project Finance at Jupiter Power, a utility-scale battery energy storage developer and IPP. With over six years in renewable energy and a finance career spanning more than a decade, Travis has structured and closed financing for approximately 2 GWh of battery storage projects across multiple capital structures, including tax equity, construction and term debt, and private placements. He manages project finance transactions from initial structuring through financial close, coordinating lenders, tax equity investors, and internal stakeholders across complex BESS deployments. Travis holds a BBA in Finance from Texas A&M University and an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin.

Jason Cooper is the President & CEO of GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy, a world-leading provider of nuclear fuel bundles, services and advanced nuclear reactor designs including the BWRX-300 small modular reactor.

Jason joined GE Vernova Hitachi in June 2025 as Advanced Nuclear CEO and was appointed President & CEO of the business in January 2026.

Before that, he was President and CEO of GE Vernova Gas Power’s Heavy Duty Gas Turbine Equipment portfolio. In this role, he managed a $7 billion global business line, overseeing commercial operations from initiation to project execution and delivering best-in-class gas power generation.

Jason joined GE in early 2022 as Chief Executive Officer for the Onshore Wind North America business from Dematic—part of the KiON Group, the global leader in supply chain automation and intralogistics solutions—where he served as the Chief Operating Officer.

Prior to joining Dematic, Jason spent 13 years in a variety of roles across the Linde Group, the world’s largest industrial gas company and a leader in global energy markets. He was previously Senior Vice President of Asset Delivery for Linde Gas Asia Pacific, where he was responsible for the development, execution, and commercialization of the Singapore Gasification Complex. Prior to that, he was President and CEO of Linde Engineering North America; Managing Director of Linde Engineering, Southeast Asia; and VP of Project Management and Construction for Linde Process Plants. Jason has lived and worked internationally for much of his career, having completed multiple assignments in the UK, India and Singapore.

Jason holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mechanical Engineering with a specialization in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and completed executive education programs at the University of Oxford, UK.

After years of working at the intersection of tech and real estate development, Chris Crosby set out in 2011 to take a new approach to data center development. His vision was to focus on greenfield projects and deliver customizable, scalable, sustainable and low-cost data centers in an expedited time frame.

A testament to Chris’ bold vision and a solid culture centered around four core convictions from which the company has never wavered, Compass has grown at a remarkable rate. From completing its first 1.2 MW data center in 2012 to serving the campus-level hyperscale market with developments underway across the globe less than a decade later, Compass’ success is the result of Chris’ vision, a strong foundation and a talented team of innovative thinkers.

Beyond his role at Compass, Chris is dedicated to shaping the future of the industry’s workforce through education. He serves as a member of the SMU Lyle School of Engineering Datacenter Systems Engineering Advisory Board, where he was instrumental in developing the Master of Science in Datacenter Systems Engineering curriculum. The first degree of its kind in the United States, the interdisciplinary curriculum blends engineering, computer science, business management and finance to prepare students for leadership roles. Additionally, Chris launched the MEI Data Center Pathways Program at Texas State Technical College (TSTC) to bring more workers into the “new-collar” jobs created by the data center industry.

In 2025, Compass was recognized by the Financial Times as one of the Americas’ Fastest Growing Companies. Since 2020, it has consistently appeared on Inc. Magazine’s 5000 fastest-growing companies list. In 2024, the Dallas Business Journal named Compass among the Best Places to Work, a ranking determined by employee feedback. Additionally, in 2023, Chris was honored as EY’s Southwest Area Entrepreneur of The Year®. Under Chris’ leadership, Compass continues to drive industry-leading sustainability practices, making a lasting impact on the data center industry.

Mr. Cumberland has over 30 years of experience in renewables, power and gas infrastructure – both domestically and internationally. He is currently a Managing Partner at EnCap Energy Transition.  Prior to EnCap, Mr. Cumberland was Head of North America for Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners

From 2002 to 2016, Mr. Cumberland was with Arctas Capital Group, a firm he co-founded that was an investor and advisor on several renewables and other energy infrastructure projects. Previously, Mr. Cumberland was with Enron, where he held senior executive roles, including President of Enron Caribbean, which owned fifteen energy businesses in eight countries. He was also a Senior Managing Director at El Paso Merchant Energy, and a co-founder of both The Wing Group and Power Pacific Company – firms that developed power infrastructure investments in emerging markets. Mr. Cumberland started his career in 1986 as a corporate securities and finance attorney in the Houston and London offices of Vinson & Elkins.

He has served on the boards of most of ETF’s portfolio companies, including Broad Reach Power, Jupiter Power, Catalyze Energy, Linea Energy, Bildmore and Quantica.

Mr. Cumberland holds a Juris Doctor degree and a B.B.A. in Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin where he graduated with honors and highest honors, respectively.

Following a PhD and post-doctoral studies in Mathematics, Dr. Felix joined the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA – France) in 1990. Since then, he has been working as a research engineer in the field of Structural Analysis.

Along with the framework of his CEA activities, he also served as Nuclear Counsellor at the French Embassy in various countries, South Korea, India and Japan.

In addition, he acted as Personal Assistant to the Chairman of the Generation IV International Forum (GIF), during the French Presidency of this Forum, from 2006 to 2010.

Dr. Sunil Felix was awarded the National Order of Merit by the French National Authorities in 2015.

Rudy D. Garza is the President & CEO of CPS Energy, the nation’s largest municipally owned electric and natural gas utility. He is the first Hispanic leader to hold the position. Rudy has more than 25 years of experience as a leader in the utility industry and has served in both the public and private sectors over the course of his career.

To deliver on CPS Energy’s mission to serve our community and in collaboration with his Board of Trustees, Rudy developed a strategic plan called Vision 2027, a roadmap to guide CPS Energy through the rapid transformation of the utility industry. As part of Vision 2027, Rudy and his leadership team increased the capacity of our power generation portfolio by 1,710 megawatts with the acquisition of natural gas plants in South Texas. This milestone acquisition marks CPS Energy’s growing role as a regional energy utility.

Rudy joined CPS Energy in 2012 and previously served as Chief Customer & Stakeholder Engagement Officer and as Senior Vice President of Distribution Service & Operations where he oversaw the maintenance and construction activity of the electric distribution system. He also served the company in the role of Vice President of External Relations.

Rudy has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Texas. He continues to serve his Austin alma mater as an Engineering Advisory Board member for the Cockrell School of Engineering and as a mentor through the Cockrell Advisory Mentoring Program (CAMP) where he enjoys connecting and guiding future engineering leaders.

Rudy is dedicated to public service and is actively engaged in his community through multiple board roles, including the Brooks Development Authority, greater: SATX, and the Large Public Power Council. Additionally, he and his wife Emily are Co-Chairs of the 2025 United Way of San Antonio & Bexar County Community Campaign.

Dr. Rajendra Ghimire is a global leader at the intersection of water, energy, chemicals, and sustainability, with deep expertise spanning technology commercialization, policy, and market development. He currently serves as Vice President and Board Member of the Produced Water Society (PWS), where he helps shape the organization’s strategic direction, global programming, and industry engagement across produced water management, beneficial reuse, desalination, mineral recovery, and energy expansion.

In his role with PWS, Dr. Ghimire works closely with operators, technology providers, policymakers, and investors to advance pragmatic, scalable solutions that strengthen energy resilience, water security, infrastructure readiness, and digital demand, including the rapidly growing needs of AI and data‑center ecosystems. He is actively involved in curating technical agendas, global conferences, executive forums, and international partnerships spanning North America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

Professionally, Dr. Ghimire also serves as Vice President of Business Development for Produced Water at Badwater Alchemy and as Managing Partner of FIOPO, a water‑energy advisory and platform. A trusted C‑suite advisor, he frequently bridges laboratory innovation with field deployment and commercial scale, aligning technology, economics, and policy for real‑world impact. Dr. Ghimire holds a Ph.D. in Physical Organic Chemistry and an Executive MBA from UCLA, and he mentors startups and emerging leaders across the water, energy, and sustainability ecosystem.

François began his career with TotalEnergies in 1997 and has since alternated between operational roles at industrial platforms and strategic positions in supply and optimization at the Company’s headquarters in Paris as well as in Berlin and Houston.

In 2016, he was appointed Vice President of Supply, Sales and Optimization for the Refining & Base Chemicals Europe Business Unit before taking the role of Senior Vice President, Refining & Petrochemicals Orient in 2018, overseeing operations across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. As part of this role, François also became a member of the Company’s Refining and Chemicals Management Committee. In 2021, his responsibilities expanded further with his appointment as Senior Vice President, Strategy and Growth, in addition to his existing role.

In May 2024, François took over TotalEnergies’ downstream business in the U.S. as Senior Vice President, Refining & Petrochemicals Americas, where he continues to drive innovation and operational excellence in one of the most dynamic regions of the world.

In July 2025, François was also appointed Country Chair USA in addition to his existing responsibilities.

François is an engineering graduate of France’s École Polytechnique and holds a joint Master’s degree in Petrochemicals, Polymers & Plastics from the IFP School
(Paris) and McGill University (Montreal). Last updated in July 2025.

Keith Gray has spent his career bringing high performance computing to the front lines of energy exploration and expanding its role in oil and gas science. He is now VP for Computational Science and Engineering at TotalEnergies. Prior to this role, Gray was an HPC Advisor at Intel and the Director of HPC and Technical Computing at BP where he led the company’s High Performance Computing team for 22 years.

Gray has since brought the same ethos to TotalEnergies, where he oversees global teams evaluating next-generation CPUs, GPUs, networks and storage, and partners with DOE labs and TACC to translate national lab innovations into commercial practice.

As another lasting contribution to HPC, Gray is a co-founder of the Rice Energy HPC Conference (formerly known as the Rice Oil & Gas HPC Conference). After nearly 20 years, Gray is still a co-chair on the conference’s Organizing Committee. He is also on the Steering Committee for the HPC User Forum.

Recognized as an HPCwire Person to Watch in 2006, Gray’s career has been dedicated to proving that massive compute and smart algorithms can illuminate what lies miles beneath the sea and keep the world’s energy flowing. Now, he enjoys spending time with his family and continuing to explore energy challenges.

As Chief Operating Officer of T1 Energy, Mr. Jaime Gualy has more than 30 years of energy experience in business development, investment banking, portfolio management and power trading. Prior to T1, he was a managing partner at Brittmoore Advisors and before that he was chief commercial officer at Stagecoach Renewables. Mr. Gualy earned a BBA in finance and marketing from the University of Houston and an MBA from Rice University.

Dr. Derek Haas is an Associate Professor, the Area Coordinator for Nuclear and Radiation Engineering, and holds the Chevron Centennial Fellowship No. 2 in the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. Outside his role as a professor, he is also a consultant to nuclear energy development companies and co-founder of NuWells Energy.

His research interests focus on radiation detection for nuclear arms control, non-proliferation, and advanced reactor design and licensing. This includes the fundamental physics of radioactive decay processes, fission yields, environmental transport of radionuclides, and radiation detection techniques. Dr. Haas’s research is primarily experimental and uses the 1.1 MW TRIGA Mark II reactor at The University of Texas at Austin. He is the lead of the team at UT Austin collaborating on the Natura Resources Molten Salt Research Reactor at Abilene Christian University and is the co-PI on the Molten Salt Reactor Digital Twin project at UT Austin.

In addition to his research, Dr. Haas is involved in nuclear energy policy and workforce development. He was appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to the Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group to develop a plan to grow the nuclear industry in Texas. He currently serves as the UT Austin representative to the Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization (NEDHO) and Board of the Texas Nuclear Alliance.

Dr. Haas previously served as a surrogate inspector from the United States for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and a technical advisor for U.S. nuclear arms control and non-proliferation policy development. He also contributed to the analysis of the Fukushima nuclear reactor accident and nuclear tests in the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea.

Dr. Haas joined the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin after eight years at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory where he worked as a Senior Research Engineer in the National Security Directorate. He earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from UT Austin.

Jeff Hahn is a 30-year crisis communications expert and the author of Breaking Bad News: Essential Tools For Crisis Communications, a practical guide for communicating in crisis and high-stakes moments.  

It’s not a stretch to say that Jeff’s crisis experience began at age 11. In November 1975, a tornado ripped through his family’s farm while he and his parents and siblings were sheltered in the cellar. After leaving the farm years later, he finished an enlistment in the U.S. Air Force, then earned a degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio and eventually a master’s degree from Texas State University.  

His career has taken him from Lockheed Space Operations to 15 years at Motorola and 18 as a public relations and marketing agency owner. Hahn Marketing & PR specializes in serving brands that provide the essentials of life—energy, food, and health—by leveraging data science, creative strategy, and digital innovation to build trust and drive growth. 

Dr. William Inboden began serving as executive vice president and provost on August 1, 2025. He also holds the William Powers Jr. Chair and a joint faculty appointment with the Department of History and the School of Civic Leadership. As the University’s chief academic officer, he leads UT Austin’s academic mission and ensures the excellence and continued innovation of research and teaching endeavors across campus.

These responsibilities cover academic programs and initiatives across the University’s 19 colleges and schools, which serve more than 52,000 students and support more than 3,000 teaching and research faculty.

In addition, Dr. Inboden oversees UT Austin’s libraries and museums, archival collections and academic support units. Working closely with the deans and other academic leaders, his responsibilities also span:

• Faculty recruitment, retention, development and advancement
• Strategic enrollment management 
• Curriculum
• Resource management and academic space utilization
• International engagement
• Accreditation and assessment
• Institutional reporting
• Non-residential, continuing education and online offerings

Dr. William Inboden began serving as executive vice president and provost on August 1, 2025. He also holds the William Powers Jr. Chair and a joint faculty appointment with the Department of History and the School of Civic Leadership. As the University’s chief academic officer, he leads UT Austin’s academic mission and ensures the excellence and continued innovation of research and teaching endeavors across campus.

Most recently, Dr. Inboden served as director of the Alexander Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education at the University of Florida and Peterson Senior Fellow with the Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Before that, he spent 13 years at UT Austin, including as founding executive director of the Clements Center for National Security, associate professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, Distinguished Scholar at the Strauss Center for International Security and Law, and founding editor-in-chief of the Texas National Security Review.

He previously served as senior director for strategic planning on the National Security Council at the White House, at the Department of State as a Member of the Policy Planning Staff and a Special Advisor in the Office of International Religious Freedom, and as a staff member in both the United States Senate and the House of Representatives. He also served as head of the London-based Legatum Institute, and as a Civitas Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. In addition, Dr. Inboden has served as an associate with the National Intelligence Council, a member of the CIA Historical Advisory Panel and State Department’s Historical Advisory Council, and a Senior Fellow with the Trinity Forum.  He is a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Dr. Inboden has authored numerous books, articles and chapters on diplomatic history, religion and foreign policy, the American presidency, and national security. His most recent book is the award-winning The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink.  He is also the author of Religion and American Foreign Policy, 1945-1960: The Soul of Containment (Cambridge University Press), co-editor of The Last Card: Inside George W. Bush’s Decision to Surge in Iraq (Cornell University Press), and co-editor of Hand-Off: The Foreign Policy That George W. Bush Bequeathed to Barack Obama (Brookings Institution Press), A champion of student mentorship, Dr. Inboden has chaired or served on nearly 30 doctoral committees, and supervised over 30 pre- and postdoctoral fellows. He is the winner of multiple research, teaching and leadership awards, including recognition as a “Texas 10” by the Texas Exes Alumni Association, and selection as “Lecturer of the Year” at the LBJ School, where courses he taught were voted by students as “Best Class in the LBJ School” and “Class Most Likely to Challenge Your Assumptions.”

Dr. Inboden received his B.A. in History with Honors from Stanford University and his M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. in History from Yale University.

Travis Isakson is the Assistant Director of Plant Operations for UT Austin’s Utilities and Energy Management (UEM) Department. Travis oversees the management of the Power Plant and Chilling Stations Operations. Travis also supports gas procurement and load forecasting for UEMs gas futures purchasing.

Travis previously was an Energy Engineer with UEM’s Demand Side Energy Management program. Under that role, Travis performed Existing Building Recommissioning projects on a variety of buildings across campus with the overall goal of reducing the campus energy load.

Before joining The University of Texas, Travis worked as a HVAC and Plumbing design engineer at I&S Group out of Mankato, MN. While at I&S group Travis designed HVAC and Plumbing systems for a variety of buildings including Hospitals, Museums, Retail, Office, Manufacturing, Food manufacturing, and Industrial buildings.

Travis Earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.

Travis is a Licensed Professional Engineer, a Certified Energy Manager, and a Certified Measurement and Verification Professional.

Governor Greg Abbott appointed Morgan Johnson to the Public Utility Commission (PUCT) of Texas on October 23, 2025, for a term set to expire on September 1, 2031.

Prior to Johnson’s appointment to the PUCT, Johnson served as deputy general counsel for the Office of the Governor providing legal advice on matters ranging from federal and state constitutional issues to land use and water law. Johnson also served as senior counsel to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s (TCEQ) executive director after serving as senior counsel to a TCEQ commissioner. While at TCEQ, Johnson provided legal advice on pending litigation, strategic direction on policy matters, and assisted with risk mitigation. Johnson was also in private practice for several years at the Austin based firm, McGinnis Lochridge L.L.P.

Commissioner Johnson received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin and a Juris Doctor from South Texas College of Law. Johnson lives in Austin with her husband, Andrew, and their slew of animals.

Vishnu Sree Shanthanu Katakam is a Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. student at The University of Texas at Austin specializing in system-scale analysis of advanced desalination and integrated water–energy nexus systems for data centers, direct lithium extraction, and produced water management. His research focuses on developing and applying heat–mass transfer analogy–based design frameworks for Osmotically Assisted Reverse Osmosis (OARO) and Reverse Osmosis (RO), with integrated thermo-economic and second-law analyses-based optimization of brackish, seawater, and hypersaline brine treatment pathways. He works on UT Energy Institute–sponsored projects addressing sustainable water sourcing and cooling optimization for emerging data centers in Texas, as well as hybrid membrane–thermal desalination systems for energy-efficient lithium recovery from hypersaline brines. His doctoral research has led to peer-reviewed publications in journals such as Desalination and Journal of Water Process Engineering. In recognition of his academic and research contributions, he was awarded the George J. Heuer Jr. Ph.D. Endowed Graduate Fellowship for AY 2024–25.

Vishesh holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Master’s in Data Science with a passion for natural language programming. Vishesh works on creating custom NLP solutions for our clients, along with creating internal automation tools that can be used across all clients. Vishesh also has a knack for automation and continually assists our data analysts with creating, optimizing, and automating dashboards.

In addition, Vishesh holds certifications in Tableau, Power BI, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and Adobe Analytics.

Brittany Kelm is a Senior Policy Advisor on the White House’s National Energy Dominance Council, drawing on 10 years in the oil and gas private sector across upstream, midstream, and downstream. She leads domestic and international policy on oil, gas, LNG, pipelines, and infrastructure. Previously she represented Shell USA, supporting Midstream, Deepwater Gulf of America, Downstream, Trading & Supply, and Chemicals. She earlier worked at Valero HQ in strategic planning and policy, and began in the Permian Basin oilfields with operators including Noble Energy. A University of Texas at Austin graduate, she was active in Young Conservatives of Texas, served in the 83rd Legislative Session, and interned for Senator Cruz.

Therese is based in the company’s Denver office and manages strategy for EdgeCore, which includes site acquisition, utility relationships, IT, and business operations.

Therese has over a decade of managerial and operational experience in the data center space and has a proven track record of successfully acquiring data center land, driving business process improvement, and leading client support teams. Therese joined EdgeCore following roles of progressive accountability at CoreSite Realty Corporation, most recently as Vice President supporting and leading the company’s activities around client-lifecycle management for more than 1,200 clients and $500M+ in annualized revenue. In the role, her responsibilities included a) on-boarding and capacity deployment, b) on-going support via self-service systems (portal management) and a team of Strategic Account Service Representatives, c) capacity and contract management, d) service-processes design and improvement, and e) incident engagement, remediation, and avoidance. Prior to CoreSite, Therese was a Dean’s Research Fellow at the University of Colorado School of Law, where she authored and collaborated on works related to cybersecurity, telecommunications, and technology.

Therese holds a B.A. in International Business from The University of Texas at Austin. She also holds a J.D. from the University of Colorado School of Law.

Dr. Carey W. King performs interdisciplinary research related to how energy systems interact within the economy and environment as well as how our policy and social systems can make decisions and tradeoffs among these often competing factors. The past performance of our energy systems is no guarantee of future returns, yet we must understand the development of past energy systems. Dr. King’s research goals center on rigorous interpretations of the past to determine the most probable future energy pathways.

Dr. King is a Research Scientist at The University of Texas at Austin and Assistant Director at the Energy Institute. He also has appointments with the Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy within the Jackson School of Geosciences and the McCombs School of Business. He has both a BS with high honors and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. He has published technical articles in the academic journals Environmental Science and Technology, Environmental Research Letters, Nature Geoscience, Energy Policy, Sustainability, and Ecology and Society. He has also written commentary for American Scientist and Earth magazines as well as major newspapers such as The Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle, and Austin American-Statesman. Dr. King has several patents as former Director for Scientific Research of Uni-Pixel Displays, Inc.

Dr. Dale E. Klein rejoined The University of Texas at Austin in September of 2022, after serving eight and a half years as Presidential Appointee. Dr. Klein also served as the Associate Vice Chancellor for research at The University of Texas System from January 2011 through August 2022. Dr. Klein was sworn into the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2006, and was appointed Chairman by President George W. Bush, serving in that role from July 2006 to May 2009. As Chairman, Dr. Klein was the principal executive officer and official spokesman for the NRC, responsible for conducting the administrative, organizational, long-range planning, budgetary, and certain personnel functions of the agency. Additionally, he had the ultimate authority for all NRC functions pertaining to an emergency involving an NRC licensee. The remainder of this term was as Commissioner of the NRC from May 2009 to March 2010.

Before joining the NRC, Dr. Klein served as the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs. He was appointed to this position by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate in 2001. In this position, he served as the principal staff assistant and advisor to the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense, and the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology for all policy and planning matters related to nuclear weapons and nuclear, chemical, and biological defense.

Previously, Dr. Klein served as the Vice-Chancellor for Special Engineering Programs at The University of Texas System and as a Professor in the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering (Nuclear Program) at The University of Texas at Austin. During his tenure at the university, Dr. Klein was Director of the Nuclear Engineering Teaching Laboratory, Deputy Director of the Center for Energy Studies, and Associate Dean for Research and Administration in the College of Engineering.

Honors and awards Dr. Klein has received include Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Nuclear Society, Engineer of the Year for the State of Texas, the University of Missouri Faculty-Alumni Award, and the University of Missouri Honor Award for Distinguished Service in Engineering.

A native of Missouri, Dr. Klein holds a doctorate in nuclear engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He has published more than 100 technical papers and reports, and co-edited one book. He has made more than 400 presentations on energy and has written numerous technical editorials on energy issues that have been published in major newspapers throughout the United States.

In addition to his academic assignments, Dr. Klein serves on the Board of two publicly traded companies: the Southern Company and the Board of Pinnacle West/Arizona Public Service Company. He also serves on the Committee for Nuclear Power in the United Arab Emirates and chairs the Nuclear Reform Monitoring Committee for the Tokyo Electric Power Company following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. Dr. Klein also serves on the Boards of two private companies: AVANTech and LATA (Los Alamos Technical Associates).

Scott LaBelle is a senior communications leader at Amazon, where he shapes the company’s external narrative at the intersection of energy, AI infrastructure, and sustainability. In his current role, Scott leads strategic communications focused on how Amazon powers its operations — from energy procurement and grid reliability to supporting the growth of cloud computing and AI data centers. He works closely with electric utilities, energy developers, and policymakers to advance constructive dialogue around infrastructure expansion, affordability, and carbon-free energy. Scott has spent nearly two decades building communications programs across the energy and technology sectors, including roles at AWS and SLB (formerly Schlumberger). He holds a Master of Arts in Communication from the University of Houston.

Dr. Landsberger is a professor for the Nuclear and Radiation Engineering technical area. He has served on the faculty of the Cockrell School of Engineering since 1997. He has published numerous technical articles and publications.. Dr. Landsberger was appointed as Director of the UT Nuclear Engineering Teaching Laboratory (NETL) in Spring, 2002 and served until 2007. He also served as the Coordinator of the Nuclear and Radiation Engineering program from 1997-2012.

In 2007 he received the Arthur Holly Compton award from the American Nuclear Society for outstanding achievements in education in nuclear science and engineering for designing and implementing one of the most advanced distance learning programs in the nation for nuclear engineers. In 2005 he received the Glenn Murphy Award from the Nuclear and Radiological Division of the American Society of Engineering Education, recognizing his notable professional contributions to the teaching of undergraduate and graduate nuclear engineering students.

Jean-Francois started his career with SLB in 1997, in Houston, after finishing a Master’s degree in Human Resources Development, from the University of Lille, in France.  Jean-Francois also holds a double Master’s in Psychology and Sociology and an MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management.

Over the years, Jean-Francois held many Sr HR Management positions within the organization, leading several of the company core divisions, technology centers and corporate HR roles.  He recently moved back to Houston with his family to become HR Director, Total Talent Management after directing the company’s Global HR Business Service team for more than 4 years, in Paris.

Jean-Francois is a dedicated health and sports advocate. He raced in many triathlons across the globe and while no longer competing, he is still spending a lot of his free time training in the three disciplines.

He is married and the proud father of 3 girls.

Marek Locmelis is an associate professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin. He is an economic geologist who focuses on critical mineral exploration, helping mining companies to improve metal recovery from existing production streams, and strengthening the critical mineral workforce. Dr. Locmelis specializes in critical minerals that are important for the energy transition, such as nickel, cobalt, and the rare earth elements, as well as sustainable and ethical approaches to mining. He is a fellow of the Society of Economic Geologist and the Chair of the North American Workshop Series on Critical Mineral Research, Development and Education that is held biannually in Austin, Texas.

Dr. Locmelis holds a Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Sciences from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and BSc and MSc degrees from Leibniz University in Hannover, Germany. He joined UT Austin in 2024 from Missouri University of Science and Technology (S&T) where he worked as an Assistant and then Associate Professor from 2016 to 2024. Before Missouri S&T, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the University of Western Australia.

Andy Maas is the Assistant Vice President – Technology Transfer, with more than 20 years of experience in technology licensing and commercialization. Andy’s activities have taken him from an engineering startup where he built a company from two to 14 employees to academic roles in both university and research foundation settings.

Currently, Andy leads a team at Discovery to Impact, the commercialization arm of the University of Texas at Austin, supporting Intellectual Property Management, Licensing, Business Development, and Collaborative Research. Prior to his role at UT Austin, Andy was the Associate Vice President for Research over the office of Innovation and Ecosystem Development at Louisiana State University, where he was responsible for all technology commercialization, small business support, incubation, acceleration, and SBIR/STTR activities. At LSU,Andy was the Principal Investigator for a $160M National Science Foundation (NSF) Engine award, Future Use of Energy in Louisiana (FUEL), which brought together 65+ partners across the state and over 165 individuals during the ideation, planning, development, and submission process. In addition to the $160M from the NSF, Louisiana Economic Development committed $67.5M to support the program.

Andy recently stepped off the AUTM Board of Directors after six years, where he served as the Board Chair in 2024. He is also an Honorary member of the National Academy of Inventors.

Andy has a JD and an LLM in Intellectual Property, both from the University of Akron School of Law, and he is licensed to practice law in the State of Ohio. Prior to law school, he helped build an engineering startup from two employees to 14. He received his BS in engineering from Brigham Young University and an MS in engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He is licensed as a professional engineer in Texas.

Karra Marino is a commercial growth leader with nearly three decades of experience building revenue engines and scaling go-to-market strategies across the energy, climate, and consumer sectors. She has led sales, business development, and marketing organizations through periods of rapid growth and market transition, helping companies translate innovation into sustainable commercial momentum.

Most recently, Karra served in a senior commercial leadership role at ERM Coho, where she helped guide the company through a key growth phase by strengthening market positioning and building a more repeatable commercial engine. Throughout her career, she has focused on bridging the gap between breakthrough ideas and market adoption—bringing structure, discipline, and strategic clarity to organizations navigating growth.

Karra holds an MBA from the C.T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston and a BBA in Marketing from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. She lives in Houston with her husband and two rambunctious boxers and enjoys running, traveling, and time with friends and family.

Katharine McAden is a public affairs and policy strategist with more than 20 years of experience translating complex regulatory and legislative landscapes into strategic advantage for organizations operating at the intersection of technology, energy, and government. Based in the Austin, Texas metropolitan area, she currently serves as Head of Public Policy and External Affairs, South at Google, where she leads government relations and external engagement across a six-state region. In this role, she advises senior leadership on legislative risk, infrastructure policy, and community impact, aligning public policy strategy with business priorities in AI, digital innovation, and energy while helping secure major regional investments.

Previously, McAden was Director of Public Affairs and Corporate Communications at Parsley Energy, guiding enterprise-wide strategy during a period of rapid growth for the multibillion-dollar public company and advising executive leadership on regulatory, investor, and ESG positioning. Earlier in her career, she served as State Director and Deputy State Director for U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, where she oversaw statewide operations, stakeholder engagement, and policy strategy, following roles in Texas legislative and campaign leadership.

A frequent public speaker on AI, energy infrastructure, workforce development, and economic growth, McAden is known for convening public- and private-sector leaders to advance policy solutions that balance innovation, accountability, and opportunity. She holds a BS in Public Relations from The University of Texas at Austin, where she served as President of the University Panhellenic Council, and is active in civic and business leadership, including serving as Chairman of the Texas Association of Business Foundation and as a member of the Texas Business Leadership Council.

Matthew McClellan holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He began his professional career in 2018 at ExxonMobil, working as a chemical engineer supporting pilot scale research and development in the chemicals division. In 2019, he joined Nike as a chemical engineer, where he focused on research involving footwear adhesives, rubbers, and foams.

From 2021 to 2024, Matthew transitioned into a cost engineering role at Nike, supporting global footwear manufacturing and helping optimize production costs across the company’s supply chain. In 2024, he joined Aalo, where he currently works as a cost engineer contributing to strategic cost modeling, investor relations, engineering design, and project management.

Matthew is passionate about addressing climate change, advancing the deployment of nuclear energy, and fostering a culture of continuous learning.

Michael is an experienced strategy executive with 15+ years across energy, consulting, and private investment. Michael specializes in shaping growth strategies, guiding organizations through transformation, and creating long-term value. As EVP of Strategy at WTG Energy, he helps lead the company’s evolution as it rebrands from West Texas Gas. WTG operates more than 8,000 miles of natural gas distribution and 1,500 miles of transmission pipelines, serving over 30,000 customers across Texas and Oklahoma. Michael’s focus is on growth strategy, market positioning, and innovation, ensuring WTG delivers reliable, customer-focused energy solutions while preparing for the future of energy infrastructure.

Previously, he spent over seven years at Boston Consulting Group, rising to Partner and advising clients on growth, transformation, and operational excellence across energy, industrials, and private equity. Earlier strategy and operations roles at CBRE and 2M Companies broadened his perspective across industries and business models. Michael holds an MBA from SMU Cox School of Business and a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin. Based in Dallas, he brings a collaborative, forward-looking approach to leadership, anchored in strategic clarity, disciplined execution, and a commitment to advancing dependable energy solutions for communities and businesses.

Dr. Tip Meckel spent the last 20 years as research scientist investigating geologic carbon storage for the Bureau of Economic Geology at The University of Texas at Austin. During his time with the Gulf Coast Carbon Center, he led applied CCS research focusing on geologic characterization, seismic interpretation, monitoring design, capacity estimation, and pressure evolution for CO₂ injections. After early participation during the first-of-a-kind FRIO injection tests east of Houston in 2006, he initiated and led the DOE and TX-GLO funded research initiative to identify offshore sequestration potential in the Gulf of Mexico with focus on regional seismic and geologic interpretation, capacity assessment, and high-resolution 3D marine seismic monitoring technologies. He was also a lead contributor and editor for a regional CO₂ storage atlas for the Texas State Waters. During his time as a researcher, Meckel has participated in and helped organize over 100 CCS national and international meetings and conferences, and is a recognized global expert on CCS. Meckel was a technical contributor to parts of the 2019 National Petroleum Council study on CCUS provided to the Secretary of Energy, and participated in the formation of the Society of Petroleum Engineer’s Storage Resource Management System (SRMS) – a method for providing transparent CO₂ storage capacity estimates for SEC compliance. He is a member of the White House Task Force on CCS on Federal Lands, including the Outer Continental Shelf. Tip has published over 50 articles on CCS topics, and has been Pi or Co-PI on CCS projects with over $75M in total funding since 2006.

Samuel Mercer is a third-year chemical engineering PhD candidate at The University of Texas at Austin advised by Dr. Michael Baldea. His research is in process and energy systems engineering, where he focuses on the design, modeling, and optimization of novel electrified processes for chemical manufacturing as well as their interaction with the power grid. Outside of his research, Sam is the President of the Longhorn Energy Club, a member of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Energy Center Student Advisory Council, and a TEX-E Fellow with Greentown Labs and the MIT Martin Trust Center.

Sam earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) in 2023. As an undergraduate, Sam developed catalysts for carbon upgrading to produce specialty chemicals and synthetic fuels at the University of Florida and UNH as well as for battery-grade graphite synthesis at the National Laboratory of the Rockies (formerly National Renewable Energy Laboratory). His undergraduate thesis focused on the process design and techno-economics of a waste plastic pyrolysis plant, which was awarded first place nationally in the 2023 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Student Process Design Competition.

Sam is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow (GRFP), Associated Fellow at RWTH Aachen University, Barry M. Goldwater Scholar, and 2026 CERAWeek NextGen Fellow.

Andrew Miller is a final-year Master’s student in Petroleum Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, advised by Prof. Hugh Daigle. His research focuses on engineering carbon management systems through technology and policy optimization. At the 2026 SESG Research Showcase (9:35–9:45 am slot) he is presenting two studies: a spatially resolved, component-based vintage learning model for solid-sorbent direct air capture that projects Iceland-to-Texas cost trajectories through 2050 under conservative and aggressive deployment pathways, and a multi-scenario assessment of 2035 point-source capture costs versus utilization market price ceilings across EOR, urea, mineralization, and e-fuels. He additionally brings AI systems expertise from co-authoring “The Adversarial Calibration Gauntlet” (multi-agent LLM debate robustness) — informed by UTCS coursework in Generative AI, Machine Learning, and AI Agents — plus physics-informed neural surrogates for hydraulic fracturing. An ASME L.E.A.D. Petroleum Division Fellow and former reservoir/AI R&D engineer, Andrew bridges high-performance simulation and policy to accelerate decarbonization.

Brandon Mulder is an Energy Journalism Fellow at the University of Texas’ Energy Institute in Austin. Brandon started his journalism career in Texas’ Permian Basin, where he reported on the local boom-bust economy and the environmental impacts of oil and gas drilling. He later reported for the Austin American-Statesman, where he was covering state politics when Winter Storm Uri caused widespread blackouts across Texas. Looking to further root his journalism career in energy and environmental topics, Brandon wrote for a series of business publications covering various energy transition themes, including clean tech, carbon markets, and global climate policy.

Brandon is a 2024 graduate of the LBJ School of Public Affairs, where his studies concentrated on energy and climate policies. This included a summer research fellowship in Monterrey, Mexico, helping the state of Nuevo León establish a carbon tax policy.

Crystal Myers is an energy communications professional with more than 20 years of experience spanning corporate communications, industry associations and consulting. After beginning her career with ConocoPhillips, she went on to lead communications and marketing for a midstream trade association. Today, she advises energy companies and executives on LinkedIn strategy and digital communications.  

Experience Nduagu is an Advanced Research Associate at ExxonMobil Technology and Engineering Company with 17 years of experience in process engineering, greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reduction technologies, techno‑economic and life cycle assessments. Since joining ExxonMobil in 2019, he has led and contributed to programs on lower‑carbon hydrogen (including blue hydrogen and methane pyrolysis), carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), iron and steelmaking, chemical recycling of plastic waste, and the environmental impacts of plastic packaging and alternatives. His technical leadership has enabled collaborations across industry, consulting, and academia, spanning the United States, Europe, and the Asia‑Pacific region and addressing complex research challenges in sectors such as power, iron and steel, and packaging.

Before joining ExxonMobil, he led GHG emissions and technology assessments at Alberta Innovates, the Canadian Energy Research Institute, and the University of Calgary, where he was an Eyes High Postdoctoral Scholar. Experience holds a PhD and MSc in Chemical Engineering from Åbo Akademi University, Finland, and a B.Eng. in Chemical Engineering from the Federal University of Technology Owerri, Nigeria. He is a licensed Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) in Canada, a Senior Member of AIChE, and has authored more than 20 peer‑reviewed publications and 40 conference presentations.

Kenan Ögelman is LCRA’s vice president of Strategic Projects and Optimization, with responsibility for key initiatives within the LCRA Wholesale Power group.

Kenan joined LCRA in 2024 and brings over twenty-eight years of experience in the Texas power market. Prior to joining LCRA, Kenan worked at ERCOT as VP of Commercial Operations. Kenan was the director of Energy Market Policy for CPS Energy for seven years. In that role, he was responsible for managing CPS Energy’s activities at ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) and developing strategic policy. Previously, Kenan worked for the Texas Office of Public Utility Counsel, which represents residential electric consumers in Texas, as a senior economist from 1997 to 2007.

Kenan serves as a board member to the Energy Institute at The University of Texas at Austin and has held various other leadership roles in the power industry, including Chairman of the ERCOT Technical Advisory Committee and the board of the Gulf Coast Power Association’s (GCPA), presiding as vice president in 2014 and president in 2015.

He graduated from Boston University in 1987 with a B.A. in International Relations. Subsequently, he received an M.A. in Economics from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1991 and an M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from The University of Texas at Austin in 1995.

Zachariah A. Page is an Associate Professor in the Chemistry Department at The University of Texas at Austin, where his research develops light-driven strategies to make and manipulate plastics for applications in soft robotics, wearable electronics, and critical materials sequestration. Dr. Page earned a B.S. in Chemistry at Juniata College and a Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with Prof. Todd Emrick. He then trained as a postdoctoral scholar with Prof. Craig Hawker at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He joined UT Austin in 2018, where he directs a research program centered on photoredox catalysis, polymer synthesis, and additive manufacturing. Dr. Page has published more than 100 scientific papers, received several awards including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (2025), Sloan Award (2024), and DoD AFOSR Young Investigator Award (2021), and co-founded Supra Elemental Recovery Inc. (2025).

Fabian Parra graduated with a B.Sc in Mechatronic Engineering from the Nueva Granada Military University in Bogota. After working in automation for 5 years, he moved to Estonia where he received his M.Sc Cum Laude in Robotics and Computer Engineering from the University of Tartu in 2020. Fabian joined the NRG in fall 2021. His current research focuses on supervised autonomy and human-machine interfaces.

Jorge R. Piñon began his thirty-year professional career in the energy sector when he joined Shell Oil Company’s supply and transportation organization. He served as president of Amoco Oil de México and president of Amoco Oil Latin America, based in Mexico City. After the merger between Amoco and BP, Mr. Piñon was transferred to Madrid, Spain, to manage BP Europe’s western Mediterranean petroleum supply and logistics operations.

He was Director of the University of Texas at Austin’s Jackson School of Geosciences Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy and a Research Fellow at the Energy Institute. Prior to joining The University of Texas at Austin he conducted research and country energy risk assessments as a Visiting Energy Fellow at the University of Miami’s Center for Hemispheric Policy, Brookings Institution and Florida International University’s Latin American and Caribbean Center. He was a Lecturer at the University of Miami’s School of Continuing Education, and at the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business.

Mr. Piñon has testified on regional energy issues before committees of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. He holds a degree in Economics and a certificate in Latin American Studies from the University of Florida, from where he received the Center for Latin American Studies 2019 Lifetime Achievement Alumni Award. He is the coauthor of Cuba’s Energy Future: Strategic Approaches to Cooperation (Brookings 2010); and Contemporary Cuba: The Post-Castro Era (Rowman& Littlefield 2023).

Renato Poli is a petroleum reservoir and geomechanics engineer currently pursuing a Ph.D. at The University of Texas at Austin, expected to graduate in 2027. He holds a B.S. in Computer Engineering and an M.S. in Petroleum Engineering. He brings over a decade of industry experience at Petrobras, where he worked on presalt carbonate fields in Brazil’s Santos Basin. He is currently on an educational leave to complete his doctorate. His research focuses on numerical modeling of fractured reservoirs and geomechanics, with his most recent work investigating the effects of creep in salt caprocks. 

Mitch Pryor earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Southern Methodist University in 1993. After graduating, he taught math and science courses at St. James School in St. James, Maryland before returning to Texas. He completed his master’s and PhD degrees at The University of Texas at Austin with an emphasis on the modeling, simulation, and operation of redundant manipulators.

Since completing his doctoral degree, Pryor has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Department of Electrical and Computer Science and conducted research in applied robotics and automation with an emphasis on robotics in hazardous environments including nuclear, energy, and defense. He has worked for numerous research sponsors including Army Futures Command, NASA, DARPA, DOE-EM, Idaho National Lab, Los Alamos National Lab, Oak Ridge National Lab, Savannah River National Lab, Y-12, and many industrial partners.

Dr. Pryor is a co-founder of the Nuclear & Applied Robotics Group and RAPID – an industry affiliate program supporting automation in the energy sector. Both are interdisciplinary research efforts to deploy robotics in hazardous, uncertain environments to perform manufacturing, material handling, mobile survey, mobile manipulation, and other tasks. He has been a member of ROS-Industrial, IEEE, ASME, PGE, and ANS Professional Societies. He served as chair of the executive committee of the ANS Robotics & Remotes Systems Division. Dr. Pryor served as a Fulbright Specialist in 2018 and a Fulbright Scholar in 2023.

Alain Rouault, CEO of Watt & Well USA, a subsidiary of the French company Watt & Well, is a leader in energy technologies, electric mobility, and space. A graduate of engineering school ENSEA in France with a specialization in Automatic Control, Electronics, and Computing, he began his career at Zodiac Aerospace, where he developed innovative solutions in power electronics, contributing to the transition towards more efficient electric systems in aircraft like the A380 and Boeing 787.

He joined Watt & Well in 2011, initially as Technical Director for the French parent company, where he led strategic projects in sectors such as Oil & Gas, electric mobility, and space. During this time, he developed advanced technologies, including motor control systems for harsh environments in Oil & Gas and the early-stage development of chargers for electric vehicle batteries in partnership with Renault. In 2016, he founded and incorporated Watt & Well USA in Houston, where he now leads the company’s growth in the U.S. market.

His greatest achievement has been creating synergy between the company’s three business units, driving significant advances in optimizing technologies for Oil & Gas, electric mobility, and space. For example, redundancy developed for space applications is now used to enhance system reliability in Oil & Gas, and the use of Oil & Gas qualification data has accelerated space testing and certifications.

Today, he continues to guide Watt & Well in implementing innovative solutions that contribute to energy transformation and the development of a more sustainable future.

Gabriel has over a decade of experience in the oil and gas environmental services industry. He is currently the President and CEO of Milestone Environmental. In 2025 he was named EY Entrepreneur of the Year for the Gulf South Region. 

Prior to leading Milestone, Gabriel worked as an Operating Partner with Intervale Capital, now known as Amberjack Capital, an industrial and infrastructure services focused private equity firm, which became a key investor in Milestone. He was previously the Executive Vice President of Strategy and Business Development for R360 Environmental Solutions, Inc., a national provider of environmental services to the E&P industry. At R360, Gabriel orchestrated the strategy and mergers and acquisitions work which led to the formation and rapid growth of the company through its sale in 2012 to Waste Connections. 

Prior to R360’s formation in 2010, he was an investment professional with Three Cities Research, Inc., a mid-market private equity firm, where he was principally responsible for US Liquids of LA, LP, a regional oilfield waste treatment and disposal provider in Louisiana and Texas. Earlier in his career, Gabriel worked as an Associate Equity Research Analyst covering the global chemical industry at UBS Investment Bank, as a Petroleum Practice Fellow with McKinsey & Company, a global strategy consultancy, and as an Associate at Purvin & Gertz, a Houston-based oil and gas consultancy. Gabriel holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. 

Gabriel lives in Houston with his wife Mona, with whom he shares two daughters. He also is an elected member of the Advisory Board of the Energy Workforce & Technology Council (EWTC) and the Texas Oil & Gas Association (TXOGA) Board of Directors. 

Chad V. Seely is Senior Vice President, Regulatory Policy, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and Corporate Secretary for ERCOT and has been serving as General Counsel since January 1, 2016.

Mr. Seely oversees state and federal policy and manages the overall litigation strategy of ERCOT. In addition, Mr. Seely is responsible for the leadership of the Compliance, Information Governance, Public Affairs, Corporate Communications, and Client Services departments. The Chief Audit Executive who manages the Internal Audit department administratively reports to Mr. Seely. Mr. Seely also oversees the ERCOT Reliability Monitor function which assesses ERCOT and ERCOT Market Participant compliance with Texas electric reliability laws under the direction of the Public Utility Commission of Texas. Mr. Seely has been with ERCOT since May 2005. 

Prior to joining ERCOT, Mr. Seely was an attorney at the Texas Department of Insurance, working on enforcement matters against insurance agents and companies before the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) and the Commissioner of Insurance.

Mr. Seely grew up in Irving, Texas, and received Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and French from Texas Tech University in 1999. He graduated from South Texas College of Law in 2002 and earned awards in South Texas’ esteemed advocacy program.

He has lived in Austin since 2002 and is happily married with two daughters.

Vitaly is a founder of several deep tech startups in upstream oil and gas, including Nanoborne, launched during his master’s studies at UT Austin. He holds a Ph.D. in Petroleum Engineering, along with master’s degrees in Economics, Entrepreneurial Law, and Technology Commercialization. Since starting his career in oil and gas, Vitaly has founded multiple successful ventures and continues to drive innovation through ongoing collaborations with leading global corporations.

Sam Siegel is Vice President of Business Development at Vistra Corp., where he leads strategic growth initiatives across natural gas, renewable, and next-generation energy development. Based in Dallas, he brings a multidisciplinary background spanning energy markets, regulatory strategy, trading, and compliance.

Since joining Vistra in 2015, Siegel has held several senior leadership roles, including Vice President of Wholesale Strategy and Vice President of Regulatory Compliance for Trading & Generation. His work has focused on commercial origination, generation portfolio strategy, and navigating complex regulatory environments. He also serves as Managing Counsel, Compliance for the Texas Energy Reliability Council, contributing to statewide reliability and policy initiatives.

Earlier in his career, Siegel held compliance and governance leadership positions at JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley, where he worked on corporate policy, financial holding company governance, and derivatives regulation, including Dodd-Frank Title VII swap dealer compliance.

Siegel earned his J.D. from Columbia Law School and a B.A. in Plan II Honors and History from The University of Texas at Austin. He is widely engaged in industry dialogue on the future of energy, including demand growth, grid reliability, and the transition to cleaner power sources, and has participated in major sector forums such as the S&P Global Finance US Power Conference.

Destin leads Hahn’s work with clients across oil and gas, utilities, and critical infrastructure, helping organizations communicate with clarity and confidence during moments of high-stakes change, transformation, and crisis. Destin brings more than 25 years of experience in strategic communications, with deep expertise in M&A integration, crisis response, system implementations, and reputation recovery. Her work is grounded in hands-on leadership roles inside complex global organizations. Prior to joining Hahn, Destin was the founder and principal consultant at Emic Communications, where she spent six years advising executives, boards, and communications teams through major transitions. Before that, she served as Director of External Communications at Marathon Petroleum Corporation, where she led enterprise reputation management, crisis strategy, and supported C-suite leaders during large-scale M&A activity and brand transformation.

Dilawar Syed is an entrepreneur and former U.S. cabinet official whose leadership has spanned various public and private sector organizations, including as Deputy Administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration and Special Representative for Commercial Affairs at the State Department. In a decades-long career in Silicon Valley, Dilawar led and scaled ventures in AI, software, and consumer web.

At SBA, Dilawar advanced the Biden Administration’s priorities for small businesses by expanding access to capital ($56B in 2024), government contracting for small businesses, and entrepreneurship enablement– particularly in the underserved and rural communities. He coordinated SBA’s disaster response after Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the Southeast, the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, MD, and the wildfires in Maui, HI.

As Special Envoy for Commercial & Business Affairs, he was America’s top commercial diplomat at the State Department, championing U.S. companies in markets abroad and strengthening U.S. competitiveness. He mobilized private sector support for Ukraine after Russia’s invasion, advocated for strategic deals in advanced tech, energy, aviation, and defense, and negotiated market access in his 24 bilateral visits across the globe.

Dilawar’s civic entrepreneurship has spanned local, state, and federal governments. Appointed by President Obama in 2010 to the White House Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, he led engagement with small businesses during the economic recovery. In 2017, he launched the California Entrepreneurship Task Force with the Governor’s Office to bridge Silicon Valley with rural communities and promote inclusive economic growth.

Dilawar has previously served as CEO of Lumiata, an AI healthcare company backed by Khosla Ventures and BlueCross BlueShields, and as founding President at Freshworks. Freshworks had a successful IPO in 2021. Earlier, he held leadership roles at Yahoo! and Siebel Systems. Dilawar started his career in management consulting at Ernst & Young and Deloitte Consulting.

Shigeki Uchihashi is Vice President of Strategy & Corporate Venturing at JERA Americas, where he leads enterprise‑wide strategy and innovation initiatives to support long‑term growth across the energy value chain. His work spans corporate strategy, productivity and transformation programs, digital enablement, and corporate venturing, operating at the intersection of business, technology, and organizational change.

He plays a central role in aligning JERA’s global headquarters and its U.S. operations, working closely with executive leadership to translate strategic priorities into execution across fuels, power generation, and commercial domains. His mandate includes cross‑functional program leadership and collaboration with external partners to advance innovation in a rapidly evolving energy landscape.

Prior to his current role, Uchihashi held senior positions at JERA Co., Inc., including Head of Group ICT Strategy & Governance, reporting to the Global CIO. In this capacity, he led group‑wide digital and governance initiatives, directly supporting C‑suite decision‑making and overseeing strategic programs across multiple subsidiaries and regions. He previously led the foundation of JERA Digital Academy, an internal capability‑building initiative focused on digital skills, transformation mindset, and leadership development.

Before joining JERA, Uchihashi built a 20+ year career across global companies such as IBM, Dell, Rakuten, and PERSOL, with experience spanning IT, consulting, e‑commerce, and human capital–related industries. His background includes business and corporate strategy, global project and program management, change management, and cross‑border team leadership, having worked directly with executive stakeholders in multinational environments.

Uchihashi holds a Bachelor of Environmental Information from Keio University and an MBA from IESE Business School. He is based in Houston, Texas, and brings a bicultural perspective shaped by professional experience in Japan, the United States, and Europe.

Andy Uhler is an award-winning public radio correspondent and host of Phases and Stages: The Texas Energy Story. He’s a journalism fellow through a partnership between UT’s Energy Institute and Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. He started his journalism career as an undergraduate at KUT, the University of Texas at Austin NPR affiliate. He transitioned to music journalism in 2006, becoming the senior producer of Texas Music Matters. After completing a Master’s degree in global policy studies at the LBJ School of Public Affairs in 2014, he returned to KUT to help launch the Texas Standard. The following year, he took a job as a sustainability reporter at American Public Media’s Marketplace, where he remained until accepting his current role as a fellow. 

Tianyi Wang is a first-year Ph.D. student of Mobile Automation and Sensing Systems (MASS) Lab in the Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at UT Austin. He is also an NSF Ethical AI Portfolio Student at The University of Texas at Austin. In May 2025, he received a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science from Yale University. Prior to that, he earned his Bachelor of Engineering degree in Vehicle Engineering (Automobile) from Tongji University in China. He has been a research assistant in Urban Information Lab (UIL) at The University of Texas at Austin and Digital Twin Lab at Purdue University. His research interests include intelligent transportation systems and connected and automated vehicles, particularly in decision-making, trajectory-planning and cooperative control. His research vision is to build a safer, more efficient, and more stable autonomous driving system.

Eric began his advertising career at GSD&M in 1981 while in the Ad School at UT. He returned to the agency in 1998 to serve as VP/Communications Director. In this role, he managed all internal and external communications and was a key member of the New Business team. In 2008, he joined McGarrah Jessee to create a Public Relations and Social Media practice within the agency. During his decade-long tenure there, he also acted as the PR Director for the Spoetzl Brewery, makers of Shiner Beers.

In 2018, Eric transitioned into teaching and freelancing, collaborating with ad agencies and maintaining a small client roster that spans from law firms to Kenyan wildlife conservancies. An expert in brand reputation management, he produces a wide range of content and counsel for his clients. Throughout his career, he has worked with iconic brands such as, Southwest Airlines, YETI, AT&T and Wal-mart, plus a long list of small brands and startups.

On the academic side, Eric is an Assistant Professor in UT’s Moody College of Communications, teaching the capstone courses in the School of Advertising and Public Relations. He is currently a holder of the Richards Fellowship in Creativity.

A native New Mexican raised in an Air Force family, Eric is also a sometimes travel writer and photographer whose work has appeared in the London Telegraph and the New York Daily News, and he was featured in the 2025 travel anthology, Tales from the Runway. Outside of his professional life, Eric is married to the lovely Amber Green. He’s an avid tennis player and a geek-level soccer fan, devotedly supporting Tottenham Hotspur.

Mr. Wichterich serves as Interim President & Chief Executive Officer and Chair of Expand Energy Corporation’s Board of Directors. He hasserved as Chair of the Corporation’s Board of Directors since 2021 and served as the Company’s Interim Chief Executive Officer from April to October 2021. Mr. Wichterich is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Three Rivers Operating Company LLC, a private exploration and production company with a focus in the Permian Basin. Prior to founding Three Rivers Operating, he served as the Chief Financial Officer of Texas American Resources, New Braunfels Utilities and Mariner Energy (NYSE: ME). Mr. Wichterich began his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers in its energy auditing practices. He has served as a board member of Sabine Oil and Gas, Grizzly Energy, Bruin E&P Operating, and Extraction Oil and Gas (NASDAQ: XOG).

Mr. Wichterich earned a B.B.A. from the University of Texas.

Ken Wisian, Ph.D., Major General USAF (retired), is Associate Director, Environmental Division, of the Bureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geoscience, The University of Texas at Austin. He also holds appointments in the Center for Space Research and in the Aerospace and Engineering Mechanics Department, Cockrell School of Engineering, is a charter member of the Center for Planetary Systems Habitability at UT Austin and is a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society. Previously, Dr. Wisian was a senior state executive responsible for disaster recovery, oil spill prevention and response, and coastal infrastructure and environmental protection for Texas.

Dr. Wisian is a geophysicist whose main research is geothermal systems for electricity generation. Other research interests include; infrastructure resiliency, disasters, autonomy/drones, applied gravity, planetary geology/space exploration and international relations. Dr. Wisian has published/presented work in subjects as diverse as geophysics, defense, artificial intelligence, crisis leadership and deep space exploration. Dr. Wisian holds a Ph.D. in Geophysics from Southern Methodist University, an M.S. in Strategic Studies from the US Army War College, an M.S. in Geology from Centenary College, and a B.A. in Physics from the University of Texas at Austin. He teaches or has taught; environmental geology, military history, leadership and currently teaches “Life in the Universe”.

Militarily, General Wisian, a navigator/bombardier, flew bombers, transports and fighters, is a graduate of the USAF Test Pilot School and commanded the 147th Reconnaissance Wing flying the MQ-1 Predator. General Wisian participated or lead military disaster response efforts for the Shuttle Columbia crash and multiple hurricanes. Ken is a graduate of the US Air Force Test Pilot School and has more than 70 hours of medium and high-risk test flights. General Wisian has combat time in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans, and his medals include the Bronze Star and Air Medal.

Tiffany Wu is an energy markets and regulatory consultant at McAdams Energy Group. From 2022 to 2023, she advised former Commissioner Will McAdams at the Public Utility Commission of Texas through the Department of Energy Solar Energy Innovation Fellowship. During her fellowship, she helped establish the Aggregate Distributed Energy Resources (ADER) Task Force and pilot program and helped shape policies on DER operations, resiliency, and reliability. Most recently, she was a Senior Project Manager at TEPRI, leading virtual power plant (VPP) development for multi-family housing and community resilience hubs in low to moderate income communities. Tiffany also spent a decade with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Notable projects include commissioning the world’s first fully integrated carbon capture process from stack to storage at Southern Company’s Plant Barry Generating Station (2011) and designing the world’s largest post-combustion capture project at
NRG’s W. A. Parish Plant (2013).

Tiffany holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, a Master of Public Affairs, and an M.S. in Energy and Earth Resources from The University of Texas at Austin. As part of her master’s research, she analyzed resiliency considerations made by key decisionmakers during the deregulation of ERCOT’s market and published papers quantifying environmental externalities and generation resource diversity as part of the Energy Institute’s Full Cost of Electricity initiative.

Haibin Xu is a senior leader in energy, with career experiences in upstream oil and gas, innovation, corporate strategy, and venture investment. Most recently, he was General Manager Shell Research Alliance, and a member of the Shell Science Council. Previously he was co-founder and founding director of GCxN, an award-winning global cleantech incubator as a partnership between Shell and the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL). He is the 2026 President-Elect of the Asian American Academy of Science and Engineering (AAASE). He has a passion for mentoring early career professionals and has delivered a TEDx talk on career growth. Haibin holds a Ph.D. in Geophysics from Stanford University.

Dr. Elena M. Zannoni is an assistant professor in the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, as core faculty of the Nuclear and Radiation Engineering Program, adjunct faculty of Texas Robotics and with courtesy appointment in the Department of Diagnostic Medicine at the Dell Medical School.

Dr. Zannoni’s research focuses on the development of nuclear medicine imaging instrumentation and data analysis techniques for advanced applications in radiological science and molecular imaging. Since the beginning of her doctoral career, she has been involved in several NIH-funded multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary collaborations for the development of state-of-art imaging systems for clinical and preclinical applications. At the University of Texas at Austin, she directs the Translational Radiological Advanced Imaging Lab (TRAIL).

Dr. Zannoni received her Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2021, and her M.Sc. degree (2015) with honors in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Pisa (Italy). Dr. Zannoni’s contribution has been recognized by several awards to young investigators, including the first place in the IEEE NPSS Christopher J. Thompson Student Paper Award at the 2017 IEEE Medical Imaging Conference, the first place in the Physics, Instrumentation and Data Science Council (PIDSC) Young Investigation Award at the 2021 Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) Annual Meeting, the 2022 IEEE NPSS Edward J. Hoffman Early Career Development Grant, and the 2022 Rising Stars in EECS.

Dr. Zannoni has recently been recognized with the prestigious 2024 SNMMI Tracy Lynn Faber Memorial Award “for her contributions in advancing SPECT technology based on semiconductor detectors and new collimator designs”. Active in the international imaging community, she is currently the vice-chair elect of the Imaging Data Science interest group of the World Molecular Imaging Society, and a member of the Nuclear Medical and Imaging Sciences Committee of the IEEE Nuclear & Plasma Sciences Society. In 2025-2027, she serves as the “Instrumentation & Computational & Data Science” chair in the program committee of the World Molecular Imaging Congress.