Panelist Speaker Bio's

• Kasia Izdebska - Keynote Speaker

  

  Since 2017, Kasia held the position of Innovation Lead at the X-Lab Innovation hub, and was a hardware designer for a variety of products. These technologies being developed in-house, drive efficiency and productivity throughout the organization. Under her leadership, Kasia led a group of part-time, discretionary effort employees to deploy X-Lab’s first-ever innovation pilot program at the Pickering Nuclear Station. Kasia is the proud recipient of the Power of YOU Award; an annual award given to employees that exemplify a culture of high performance, where the attributes of innovation, creativity, and efficiency are evident. In 2020, Kasia assumed the position of Senior Manager, Enterprise Innovation for OPG’s first Enterprise-Wide innovation department that supports both the Renewable Generation and Nuclear lines of business. Kasia holds 3 patents and has 7 patents pending for the technologies she developed with her innovation team. Kasia holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from McMaster University, where she was also a member of the varsity rowing team and holds a P. Eng. License. On her spare time, Kasia plays the piano, learns new languages, and she is an avid cyclist – having cycled from Vancouver BC to St John, Newfoundland.

• Alaa Khamis

  

  Dr. Alaa Khamis works as AI & Smart Mobility Technical Leader at General Motors Canada. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Ontario Tech University, a Sessional Lecturer at University of Toronto and, an Affiliate Member of Center of Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence (CPAMI) at University of Waterloo. His research interests include smart mobility, autonomous and connected vehicles, intelligent data processing and analysis, machine learning and combinatorial optimization. He published 4 books, and more than 150 scientific papers in refereed journals and international conferences. He also filed 38 US patents. For more information, please visit: http://www.alaakhamis.org/

• Anthony Ciccone

  

  Anthony is an accomplished technical and business development executive with a track record in building successful business in Canada and globally. He has demonstrated an ability to work across various disciplines and levels of business to deliver short and long-terms goals to his clients and his partners.

  Dr. Ciccone has delivered environmental and strategic services to the energy sector with a current focus on nuclear and decarbonization of the industry. In addition, he is an Adjunct Professor at University of Western Ontario as well as sits on Western’s Advisor Board for the Wind Engineering, Energy and Environment Research Institute (WindEEE RI).

  As VP of Global Nuclear Services, he leads a cutting edge technical and business savvy team to provide valued added solutions to our clients. His team is involved in the entire life cycle of nuclear energy including uranium mining, new builds (SMRs), operations, decommissioning and waste management. The team aligns its core service capabilities and unique differentiating technologies to advance our clients objectives and the communities where they are located.

  Dr. Ciccone has corporate oversight on client delivery and execution of projects in the nuclear sector.  He provides strong corporate direction to the successful completion and execution of projects.  In addition, he is corporate sponsor to Canadian Nuclear Labs ensuring excellence and safety of all projects with CNL.

• Arunabh Basak

   

  Arunabh Basak is an R&D engineer at FORD R&D focusing on ICE and BEV development work while engaging in enhancing the electrification vision of FORD. With over 14+ years of Engineering experience in Managing Industrial R&D projects and Manufacturing Process Optimization from General Electric company, he applies his experience and knowhow in solving critical challenges involving BEVs and improving ICE reliability. Over the years, he has extensively worked on High temperature Fuelcells, High temperature batteries component development, Fast charging protocol development, Additive manufacturing, Wind/Aero turbines, etc.

• David Tyndall

  

  OPG has led the way in safe, reliable, nuclear operations for the last few decades.  They led the  decarbonization of Ontario’s electrical grid through eliminating coal generation, and taking action on their Climate Change Plan driving towards being a net-zero carbon company by 2040, and embracing a leadership role towards a net-zero carbon economy by 2050, through delivering innovative solutions for electrification, and low-carbon generation.  In order to achieve net-zero, nuclear presents a vital part of the pathway to decarbonization.  OPG will take you through a look at the Ontario and Canadian nuclear outlook, and what action OPG is taking.

• Ivano Labricciosa

  

  Chief Executive Officer | Transformational Leader | Energy Industry Expert

  Ivano Labricciosa is a proven executive leader with utility industry experience spanning over 30 years. Ivano leverages his leadership skills and change management experiences to effect sustained business performance improvement throughout the organization.

  In his latest assignment as the President and CEO of Oshawa Power and Utilities Corporation (Oshawa Power), he was instrumental in supporting the energy and communication service needs of Oshawa, Durham Region, and parts of the GTA.  As CEO of Oshawa Power, Ivano played a pivotal role in the overall strategic planning of the company and its subsidiaries involved in energy distribution, energy generation, and telecom ventures. His background in engineering, business development, and strategic planning combined with his international experience with alternative and renewable energy brings innovative leadership to not only Oshawa Power, but to Ontario’s energy sector.

  Ivano holds a Bachelor of Engineering Science degree from Western University, a Master of Engineering degree from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Business Administration from Queen's University. He is also a graduate of the Directors College at McMaster University DeGroote School of Business.

  In addition to the experience Ivano brings to the company he freely volunteers his time to sit on Boards and Committees related to the community and the industry.  Ivano serves on the Boards of The Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce, Parkwood Estates National Historic Site, Ontario Infrastructure Health & Safety Association, and the Ontario Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition, he sits on Committees for several of these Boards and is an advisor to several industry start ups. In the past, Ivano has served on the Boards for the Electrical Distributors Association, Canadian Solar Industry Association, Municipal Electric Association, Reciprocal Insurance Exchange, Oshawa Downtown Business Improvement Association, and as an advisory Board member for University of Toronto Engineering Faculty, Ryerson University Centre for Urban Energy, Canadian Electric Association, and the Georgian College Engineering Technology Program.

• Jayesh Shah

  

  Sr. Manager, Distribution System Control - Hydro One Networks Inc.

  Jayesh Shah has Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Master’s degree in Business Administration and more than 25 years of experience with utility and energy industry. As a thoughtful and proficient leader, Jayesh has highest abilities in managing the overall picture and provide complete solutions for increasingly complex and evolving needs of power system industry. He has expertise in conceptualizing and implementing custom solutions for cutting-edge power distribution technologies such as smart grid, micro grid, and neon grid. With his expertise in distributed energy generation, Jayesh focuses his actions towards fighting climate change and supports the energy transition with innovative approaches while addressing sustainability targets.

• Jennifer Mckellar

  

  Dr. Jennifer McKellar is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Ontario Tech University and a licensed Professional Engineer in Ontario.  She currently holds an Ontario Tech Research Excellence Chair.  She leads the Energy Systems Analysis research group.  The group’s goal is to contribute to the development of sustainable energy systems by (1) developing analytical tools in support of decision- and policy-making, and (2) completing techno-economic and environmental assessments of energy systems.  Her students’ work has been presented at conferences on energy economics, industrial ecology, chemical engineering and nuclear energy.  Dr. McKellar’s undergraduate and Master’s degrees are in Chemical Engineering, and her doctorate is in Civil Engineering, with a focus on Environmental Engineering.  Following her PhD, Dr. McKellar held a Postdoctoral Fellowship jointly with the Universities of Toronto and Calgary.  Prior to pursuing her PhD, Dr. McKellar worked in environmental consulting, focused on air quality.

• Jovica Riznic

  

  Jovica Riznic works as technical specialist with Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. Within International nuclear regulatory community, Dr Jovica Riznic is best known for his contribution to research and application of effective regulation of nuclear power plants, particularly related to steam generators as one of the key safety significant components.   Active in professional societies, particularly in ASME, Jovica Riznic has served the engineering profession and community with distinction and exceptional dedication; he is current Chair of the ASME Nuclear Engineering Division’s Executive Committee (2022-2023).  One of his the most prominent recent ASME activities have been with the International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE) where he served as a track lead organizer since 1998, and currently is on the Conference Co-Chair for the ICONE-30 to be held in Kyoto, Japan.   

• Meaghan Charest-Finn

  

  Dr. Meaghan Charest-Finn has recently joined (2021) the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science in the Department of Automotive and Mechatronics Engineering at Ontario Tech University. She teaches Mechatronics Design, Machine learning and Artificial Intelligence amongst others.  Her research focuses on developing advanced automation methods to control complex systems effectively.

  She has worked on integrating Model Predictive Controls and Machine learning schemes into the modelling and control of real-world systems such as injection moulding machines, manipulators and off-road electric vehicles. As we push the frontiers of automation, Dr. Charest-Finn is exploring the dynamics of using these technologies to build human intuition into machines and push the boundaries of how humans and machines can interact.  

• Mona Eghanian

  

  Mona Eghanian is the Director of Strategy and Programs at the Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI). Mona leads programming and strategic initiatives with the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN), the Government of Ontario’s flagship initiative on the future of automotive and mobility. Mona received her Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical Engineering) from Western University, and her M.B.A. from the Richard Ivey School of Business. Mona has an extensive background in strategy development, technology transformation and data insights, and prior to working at OCI, she worked in the financial services and industrial manufacturing sectors.

• Shaikh Quader

  

  Shaikh Quader joined IBM in 2006. He is now the ML architect of IBM Db2. He develops database features with ML to improve database operations. Also, he develops database features for ML to help users deploy ML models in the database. His teams developed python frameworks to semi-automate several manual and time-consuming ML tasks. Shaikh manages research collaboration between IBM and two Canadian universities. On ML, he has 11 scientific publications, 2 issued patents, and 8 filed patents. He earned his master’s from the University of Waterloo and is now doing a Ph.D. in machine learning at York. Shaikh blogs at Medium and LinkedIn.

• Shivam Saxena

  

  Shivam Saxena, PhD, P.Eng, is the President of Hero Energy and Engineering, a smart-grid solutions company focused on improving energy sustainability via intelligent control based on internet of things (IoT) technology. Over his 12-year engineering career, Shivam has developed over 30 smart-grid related projects across North America, reducing emissions by over 10 MWh, and deploying first-of-their-kind demonstrations using Internet of Things and blockchain technology. Shivam is also the author of over 10 journal and conference papers within the field of sustainable energy, where his work focuses on intelligent distributed control methods for vehicle to grid and other distributed energy resources.

• Sougata Pahari

  

  Sougata Pahari is the founder and CEO of Korechi Innovations Inc., an Ontario-based company offering robotic solutions in agriculture and golf industries. Sougata has obtained a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from India, followed by a Master's degree in Materials engineering in Italy followed by several years of work experience in the electronics sector in Italy and USA. As a child Sougata grew up on small farms in India and Nigeria and began studying the machinery being used at the vineyards and orchards in Italy. In 2016 Sougata migrated to Canada and founded Korechi at the McMaster Innovation Park in Hamilton, before moving to Oshawa in 2018.

• Stephen Sutherland

  

  Stephen Sutherland is President & CEO of Trellis Transit Technologies, Inc. and CrossWing Robotics.  He is a [member of Ontario Tech's Industry Advisory Panel and a] systems design engineer, technology visionary, inventor, and patent holder with extensive business and global standards leadership expertise. His foundational patents and inventions, often cited by major multinational technology conglomerates, span software and hardware including energy storage, personal service robotics, and hyper-efficient microrail transit systems – all leveraging key AI subsystems.

  The world is on the cusp of a revolutionary change in the way we live, work, and move.  Trellis Transit’s smart-mobility-as-a-service (SMAAS) is poised to be the catalyst that sparks this transformation, by providing a sustainable solution to the climate crisis while also improving our lives via inclusive, congestion-free direct transit for people, goods, and services.  Steve and the Trellis team’s elevated microrail network and autonomous Pod designs benefit from CrossWing’s almost 2-decade engagement with top AI, Computer Vision, and Mechatronics internationally recognised university researchers across Canada including partnerships with Ontario Tech.

• Zeinab El-Sayegh

  

  Zeinab El-Sayegh is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Automotive and Mechatronics Engineering at Ontario Tech University. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Ontario Tech University. She received her Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Concordia, Montreal. Formally, worked at Volvo Group Trucks Technology Gothenburg, Sweden as a vehicle analyst. And, as a combustion analyst in Siemens aero-derivative gas turbines, Montreal. Her research interests are related to transportation, on-road and off-road vehicle design, autonomous and hybrid electric vehicle simulation. She is involved in research related to tire-terrain interaction in cooperation with Volvo Group Truck Technology and NSERC.