panels & bios
October 5-6, 2026 | Hall of Champions | College Station, Texas
AI FOR NUCLEAR ENERGY
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Dr. Ayman Hawari
Department Head, Nuclear Engineering, Sallie and Don Davis ’61 Professor, Texas A&M University
Moderator
Dr. Ayman Hawari is head of nuclear engineering and the Sallie and Don Davis ’61 Professor at Texas A&M University. Formerly a distinguished professor and nuclear reactor program director at North Carolina State University, he earned his doctorate in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan. His three decades of expertise span neutron thermalization, reactor physics, radiation measurements, research reactors, atomistic simulation, nuclear data, radiation transport and spectrometry. His work supports physics-grounded AI for reactor analysis and monitoring. Hawari has led international reactor projects, contributed to ENDF/B libraries, served major nuclear organizations and committees, and is a fellow of ANS and AAAS.
Dr. Shuiwang Ji
Professor in Computer Science and Engineering, Truchard Family Endowed Chair, Texas A&M University
Dr. Shuiwang Ji is a professor and Truchard Family Endowed Chair in Computer Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University, where he directs the DIVE Lab. His research connects foundational AI with scientific and engineering applications, including physicsinformed machine learning, geometric deep learning, large language models, autonomous agents, quantum chemistry, materials, biology and fluid dynamics. He leads the RAISE Initiative to promote collaboration across AI, science and engineering. Ji received the NSF CAREER Award, serves the ICLR, ICML and NeurIPS communities, and earned his doctorate in computer science from Arizona State University. He is a fellow of IEEE and AIMBE and a distinguished member of ACM.
Adam Lenarz
Vice President of Development, Last Energy
Adam Lenarz is vice president of development at Last Energy, where he oversees all project activities, including site selection, stakeholder engagement, licensing, permitting and contracting. Last Energy’s major projects include the Texas A&M-RELLIS test reactor, along with commercial projects in Haskell, Texas; South Wales; and the London Gateway port. Before Last Energy, Lenarz led large-scale energy and infrastructure projects across North America, Australia, Africa and Europe.
Dr. Jean Ragusa
Professor of Nuclear Engineering; Associate Director, Institute for Scientific Computation, Texas A&M University
Dr. Jean Ragusa is professor of nuclear engineering and associate director of the Institute for Scientific Computation at Texas A&M University. His research advances computational methods for radiation transport and reactor multiphysics, with emphasis on high-performance computing, uncertainty quantification, reduced-order modeling, data assimilation and scientific machine learning. He helps lead OpenSn, a massively parallel radiation transport code, and explores AI-enabled simulations for nuclear energy and national security. Ragusa is a fellow of the American Nuclear Society, a guest scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory and jointly appointed with Idaho National Laboratory. He earned his doctorate in nuclear engineering from Grenoble Polytechnic Institute.
Matthew Sunseri
U.S. NRC’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) Member, Independent Nuclear Industry Consultant
Matthew Sunseri is a member of the U.S. NRC’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) and an independent nuclear industry consultant with more than 35 years of experience in commercial reactor safety and operations. He previously served as president and CEO of Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corp. and has extensive experience in plant operations, maintenance, engineering, oversight, security, construction, licensing and startup. A longtime American Nuclear Society member, he holds a Bachelor of Science in nuclear engineering from Texas A&M University, completed executive programs at Northwestern and Emory, and is a registered professional engineer in Texas.
AI INNOVATION: FROM LABORATORY TO MARKETPLACE
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Dr. Mark E. Benden
Regents Professor; Executive Director, Center for Worker Health, Texas A&M University School of Public Health; Joint/Courtesy Appointment: Industrial & Systems Engineering
Dr. Mark Benden’s work experience includes Class A machinist, U.S. Army Reserve as an enlisted combat medic, and as a combat engineer officer. He has also worked as a rehabilitation engineer, ergonomics consultant, plant and corporate ergonomics engineer and executive vice president, CEO and CTO. At the age of 32 he was an officer of a NASDAQ traded company, NTRL. He currently serves as executive director of the Texas A&M University Center for Worker Health and is a Regents Professor for the Environmental and Occupational Health Department within the School of Public Health. He holds a courtesy appointment in the Texas A&M Wm Michael Barnes ’64 Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and is the CTO for the Texas A&M spinout company www. Humanate.ai. He is the author of many articles, books and book chapters and has spoken to multiple professional groups around the world. He has spent the past 35 years in various positions of responsibility in industry from occupational safety and health management through corporate safety and health and now as a leading academic and startup founder. As an inventor, he has 25 U.S. patents and multiple patents pending, he has consistently been involved in designing and developing innovative products for safety, wellness and AI in healthcare. In 2018, he won The Texas A&M University System Innovator Award and his startup Stand2Learn was No. 5 on the Aggie 100. In 2023, he was selected as a fellow in the National Academy of Inventors. He has been married to his wife, Teresa, for 38 years and has three sons, three daughters-in-love and nine grandchildren who all reside in College Station.
Dr. Samuel Kim
Chief Innovation Officer & Associate Vice Chancellor, The Texas A&M University System
Moderator
Dr. Samuel Kim serves as chief innovation officer and associate vice chancellor for The Texas A&M University System. In these roles, he leads the A&M System’s innovation agenda, advancing research commercialization, startup creation and strategic partnerships with corporate, venture and government stakeholders to translate university discoveries into real-world impact. Kim brings more than two decades of experience in deep-technology commercialization, spanning the full innovation lifecycle — from inventor and published researcher to entrepreneur, startup operator and venture capital fund manager. He founded and led early-stage venture funds that developed extensive syndicates of Fortune 500 corporate co-investors to commercialize university spinouts in advanced materials, semiconductors, photonics and nanotechnology. Throughout his career, Kim has held senior technology and business leadership roles in startups, guided companies from laboratory proof of concept through production scale-up and acquisition and served on multiple boards and advisory councils advancing university-based innovation and entrepreneurship. Kim holds dual doctorate degrees in electrical engineering and nanotechnology from the University of Washington, as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. He is a named inventor on multiple patents and has received best paper awards at international conferences.
Dr. Shreyas Kumar
Professor of Practice & Faculty Fellow Department of Computer Science & Engineering; Faculty Fellow, Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives, Texas A&M University
Dr. Shreyas Kumar is a professor of practice in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University and a faculty fellow with the Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives (NSSPI). He earned his bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee, followed by a master’s degree in computer science, a Master of Legal Studies (MLS) in cybersecurity law, and a doctorate in computer science from Texas A&M University. His academic and applied research focuses on cybersecurity, AI and cybersecurity intersectionality, cyber warfare, international security standards and cyber insurance. Kumar holds leading industry credentials, including Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and Healthcare Information Security and Privacy Practitioner (HCISPP). He serves on the U.S. National Committee Technical Advisory Group for the IEC/ISO Joint Technical Committee on Quantum Technologies and is a member of the board of directors for ACT for Mental Health. His honors include the 2026 Undergraduate Faculty Teaching Excellence Award in Computer Science and Engineering, selection as an Honors Aggie Core Values Faculty Fellow (2026), and previous recognition as an Academy of Future Faculty Fellow.
Dr. Ali Mostafavi
Zachry Endowed Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering; Joint Faculty, Computer Science & Engineering; Director, UrbanResilience.AI Lab and Disaster AI, Institute for a Disaster Resilient Texas (IDRT), Texas A&M University
Ali Mostafavi is a Zachry Endowed Professor in the Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Texas A&M University, with a joint appointment in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. He directs the UrbanResilience.AI Lab and serves as director of disaster AI at the Institute for a Disaster Resilient Texas (IDRT). Mostafavi is also a fellow of the Institute for Science, Technology, and Public Policy and the Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center. His research operates at the leading edge of disaster AI, developing foundational models, large language models (LLMs), vision-language models and agentic AI systems designed to enhance how communities anticipate, respond to and recover from disasters. His lab has pioneered published breakthroughs in disaster-focused question answering and benchmarking, AI-enabled flood and damage assessment, and intelligent decision-support systems for emergency management. Mostafavi earned his doctorate in civil engineering from Purdue University (2013). His work has been recognized with the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, the ASCE Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize, the ASCE Daniel W. Halpin Award for Scholarship in Construction, and an early-career research fellowship from the National Academies’ Gulf Research Program. He serves on the editorial board of the ASCE Journal of Management in Engineering and is an active member of the ASCE Infrastructure Resilience Division.
Dr. Krishna Narayanan
Edgar and Yolanda Sanchez Endowed Chair & Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering; Associate Head for AI, Texas A&M University
Krishna Narayanan is the Edgar and Yolanda Sanchez Endowed Chair Professor and associate head for AI in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Coimbatore Institute of Technology (1992), a master’s degree from Iowa State University (1994), and a doctorate from the Georgia Institute of Technology (1998), all in electrical engineering. Narayanan’s research centers on AI-native wireless communications, large language models and transformers, massive multiple access, integrated sensing and communications, semantic communications, coding and information theory, and big data signal processing algorithms. An elected fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Narayanan received the IEEE Communications Society and Information Theory Society Joint Best Paper Award in 2022. His academic recognition includes the Texas A&M University Association of Former Students University-Level Teaching Award (2018), appointment as the Eric D. Rubin ’06 Professor (2016), and the Iowa State University Professional Progress in Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award (2015).
AI NATIONAL LANDSCAPE
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Dustin Bryant ’94
Deputy Vice Chancellor for Federal Relations, The Texas A&M University System
Moderator
Dustin Bryant serves as deputy vice chancellor for federal relations for The Texas A&M University System and is based in Washington. He leads the Office of Federal Relations, which represents the priorities of the A&M System’s universities and state agencies before Congress, the executive branch, federal agencies and other key stakeholders in the nation’s capital. Before joining the A&M System in his current role, Bryant served as director of federal relations for the University of Alaska System from 2018 to 2022, where he established and led the system’s Washington office and advanced its federal legislative, regulatory and funding priorities. Earlier in his career, he served as assistant director of federal relations for The Texas A&M University System and worked for a member of Congress representing Texas. Bryant currently serves on the board of directors of the Texas State Society. He previously served on the board of directors of the DC Aggies and is active with the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities Council on Governmental Affairs through various roles. A native Texan, Bryant earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M University and was first introduced to Washington through the Texas A&M Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Internship Program. He resides in Northern Virginia with his wife and three children.
Korry Castillo
Chief Strategy Officer, The Texas A&M University System
Korry Castillo provides strategic leadership, guidance and support to the chancellor, the Board of Regents and other top system officials. She focuses on developing and implementing the overall strategic plan for the system and providing data-driven assessment tools for new and existing programs to A&M System offices, agencies and universities. She manages the A&M System Office of Information Technology to ensure there are optimal IT support systems for monitoring operations and strategic initiatives.
Caitlyn Miller Fife
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research Strategy, The Texas A&M University System
Caitlyn Miller Fife serves as the assistant vice chancellor for research strategy in The Texas A&M University System Office of Federal Relations where she works to advance the university’s research priorities and strengthen strategic partnerships with federal agencies and other research stakeholders. In this role, she brings extensive experience navigating federal research policy, funding priorities and resource strategy to position the A&M System for greater research impact and competitiveness. Before joining the Office of Federal Relations in August, Fife spent 20 years in federal service at the National Science Foundation, Department of Health and Human Services and Office of Management and Budget. She was a member of the Senior Executive Service for more than 10 years where she led strategic budget, financial management, organizational transformation and resource alignment. Throughout her career, Fife has operated at the intersection of federal research and development policy and resource strategy, working with leaders to foster innovation through legislation like the CHIPS and Science Act and respond to complex problems like the opioid epidemic and public health emergencies. Fife joined federal service as a Presidential Management Fellow in 2006 upon her graduation from The Bush School of Government and Public Service, where she earned a master’s degree in public service administration. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at Mercyhurst University, where she studied political science and history, with a concentration in intelligence studies. Fife grew up outside of Pittsburgh and now lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with her husband and two young children.
Leslee Gilbert
Vice President, Van Scoyoc Associates
Leslee Gilbert is a vice president at Van Scoyoc Associates (VSA) with an extensive background in higher education, research, technology development and politics. She has more than 20 years of handson experience in the Washington policymaking process and more than 25 years of experience working in and with institutions of higher education. At VSA, Gilbert has developed a practice that focuses on research, development and competitiveness in fields such as aerospace, defense, cybersecurity, information technology, basic and applied science, environmental policy and energy. Before joining VSA, she was majority staff director and counsel of the House of Representatives’ Science, Space and Technology Committee, the primary committee for overseeing research and development in agencies such as NSF, NASA, NIST, NOAA, EPA and the Departments of Energy, Homeland Security and Transportation. She played a central role in developing and implementing federal science, technology and civil space policy, including NASA reauthorization bills, the Energy Independence and Security Act and America COMPETES. Before coming to Washington, Gilbert was an assistant professor at St. Mary’s University in Minnesota, where she also served as a faculty officer. She has published a variety of articles for academic and general audiences. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas A&M University, a Master of Arts degree and doctorate from the University of Kentucky, and a law degree from the Washington College of Law at American University. She is a member of the Maryland Bar.
Sharmila Pathikonda, Ph.D.
Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, The Texas A&M University System
Dr. Sharmila Pathikonda serves as associate vice chancellor and director of research development at The Texas A&M University System providing leadership and coordination for research strategy across 12 universities and eight state agencies. In this role, she advances initiatives that strengthen the system’s research enterprise, support collaboration among member institutions and expand Texas A&M’s impact through partnerships and service. With more than 14 years of service within the A&M System, Pathikonda has played a key role in developing and supporting large-scale, multidisciplinary proposals — totaling more than $5.39 billion in competitive submissions — to federal and state agencies. She works closely with researchers, deans and administrators to align institutional priorities, build capacity and facilitate partnerships that enhance the system’s collective competitiveness. Her scientific and administrative experience spans research development, compliance and education. As acting chief research compliance officer, she provided interim leadership that ensured continuity of oversight and upheld the A&M System’s standards for research integrity and coordination across all member institutions. She has also contributed to education and outreach initiatives such as Project LISTO, which advances literacy-infused science instruction and teacher development in rural and non-rural school districts across Texas. Additionally, she led the implementation of the inaugural Rural Resilience Summit, hosted by the A&M System, which brought together educators, researchers and community leaders to strengthen partnerships that support rural communities across Texas. Deeply committed to the mission and values of the A&M System, Pathikonda is passionate about serving the system in any capacity where she can strengthen research, foster collaboration and enhance opportunities for all members of the A&M System. Pathikonda holds a doctorate in environmental biology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and a master’s degree in biochemistry, as well as a bachelor’s degree in botany, microbiology and chemistry from Bangalore University. Her academic and administrative background provides a strong foundation for developing strategic, data-informed programs that strengthen research across disciplines and regions. Committed to the A&M System’s land-grant mission, Pathikonda focuses on enabling research excellence, fostering collaboration among A&M institutions and ensuring that the benefits of discovery extend across Texas and beyond.
AI INFRASTRUCTURE
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Dr. Kapil Bakshi
Chief Technology Officer & Distinguished Systems Engineer, Cisco Systems, Inc.
Dr. Kapil Bakshi is a chief technology officer and distinguished systems engineer at Cisco Systems, Inc. He is responsible for leading and driving technology and business strategies, thought leadership, customer leadership engagements and publishing activities in the CTO office. His technology vertical areas include data center, cloud computing, analytics and artificial intelligence strategy and initiatives. He has extensive experience in strategizing, architecting, managing and delivering complex technology solutions. During his career, Bakshi has held several architectural, consulting and managerial positions within the industry. Before Cisco, he worked for Oracle/Sun Microsystems, where he spent a decade working with U.S. government, enterprise and service provider customers. Before Sun Microsystems, he worked for Hewlett-Packard and several government system integrators in consulting and product development roles. He chairs and leads several industry forums, including tracks in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Cisco Distinguished Engineer (DE)/Fellow community. He also holds U.S. patents for data center and related solution sets. Bakshi is a native of Washington and holds both a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1995, as well as a master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 1997 and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Maryland, College Park
Casey Bryan
Chief Information Officer, Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station
Casey Bryan serves as the chief information officer for the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, where he has developed a keen understanding of the agency’s research mission and translates that understanding into a strategic road map for IT. As a member of the agency’s executive team, Bryan works closely with colleagues and partners at Texas A&M University Technology Services to implement next-generation technical solutions, instill discipline around project management, create an accountable, customer-focused environment and provide cutting-edge technology. Although Bryan is relatively new to engineering, he has spent more than 25 years working in various roles within information technology, including software development, system administration and strategic leadership. Bryan also serves on the governance board of the Trans-Texas Digital Network, whose mission is to foster advanced research, high-quality education and collaboration through high-speed network connectivity across The Texas A&M University System. He earned a bachelor’s degree in management information systems from Texas Tech University in 2006 and a master’s degree in management information systems from Texas A&M University in 2026. Bryan holds an ITIL Foundation Certification in IT Service Management (v4) and a Project Management Professional certification and has completed the Executive Leadership for Information Technology Excellence program.
Dr. Jennifer Fowler
Chief Technology and Innovation Strategist for Higher Education and the Public Sector, Dell Technologies
Dr. Jennifer Fowler is chief technology and innovation strategist for higher education and the public sector at Dell Technologies, where she focuses on academic research computing and helps institutions use advanced technology to strengthen research, education and innovation. She brings more than 13 years of public-sector experience and a multidisciplinary background spanning bioinformatics, artificial intelligence literacy, data science and research technology strategy. Fowler earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Arkansas in 2011 and her doctorate in molecular biosciences with a concentration in bioinformatics from Arkansas State University in 2025. An advocate for accessible and responsible technology adoption, she works to connect computing capabilities with the needs of researchers and higher education communities.
Marques Holmes
Director, SLED (State, Local & Education), Equinix
Marques Holmes is director of state, local and education (SLED) sales at Equinix, where he leads a team that helps government and education organizations advance their digital transformation initiatives. With more than 20 years of experience in technology, telecommunications, intelligence and enterprise sales, he is recognized for building collaborative relationships, developing high-performing teams and delivering solutions that support customer missions and organizational growth. Holmes earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and has completed leadership and professional development programs in coaching, facilitation and execution. In addition to his corporate leadership, he serves on the Humble Independent School District Board of Trustees and the Texas Association of School Boards Board of Directors, and he is committed to mentoring young people in their career development.
Dr. Vince Kellen
Chief Information Officer, The Texas A&M University System
Moderator
Dr. Vince Kellen serves as chief information officer for The Texas A&M University System. In this role, Kellen leads the Office of IT and oversees the A&M System’s information technology strategy, infrastructure, enterprise systems and data operations. His priorities include advancing digital tools that strengthen research, enhance student success and improve efficiency across the A&M System’s 12 universities, health science center and state agencies. Kellen brings more than 25 years of leadership experience in higher education and enterprise IT. He has a strong record of success in AI, supercomputing and digital transformation. Most recently, he served as chief information officer at the University of California San Diego where he led major advances in high-performance computing, data analytics and research support. He previously held senior IT leadership positions at the University of Kentucky and DePaul University. Kellen holds a doctorate in computer science with a focus on human-computer interaction, as well as a master’s degree in e-commerce and a bachelor’s degree in communications, all from DePaul University. He is a fellow of the Cutter Consortium, a member of Arthur D. Little’s AMP Network and a CIO Hall of Fame inductee.
Dr. E Brendan Roark
Associate Vice President for Research, Centers and Institutes; Professor, Department of Geography, Texas A&M University
Dr. E. Brendan Roark is associate vice president for research, centers and institutes and professor of geography at Texas A&M University. A paleoceanographer and geochemist, he studies natural and human-driven climate variability over the past 50,000 years, with an emphasis on biogeochemical cycling and the reconstruction of ocean and estuarine conditions. His research combines stable isotope and trace-element analyses with radiocarbon, uranium-thorium and skeletal dating methods, supported by field programs ranging from coral drilling to oceanographic expeditions using remotely operated vehicles, submersibles and autonomous underwater vehicles. Roark teaches courses in Earth system science, global change, geochemistry and paleoclimatology, and he emphasizes experiential learning in field and laboratory settings. He joined Texas A&M in 2008 after completing postdoctoral training at Stanford University from 2005 to 2008. He earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental conservation from the University of Colorado Boulder in 1992 and a master’s degree in 2001 and a doctorate in 2005 in geography from the University of California, Berkeley.
AI FOR SCIENTIFIC REASONING & DISCOVERY
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Dr. Giri Athrey
Associate Department Head for Undergraduate Education and Graduate Programs; Associate Professor, Poultry Science Avian Genetics and Functional Genomics, Texas A&M University
Dr. Giri Athrey is the Associate Department Head for Undergraduate Education and Graduate Programs in the Poultry Science Department within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He received his Ph.D. in Evolutionary & Environmental Biology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Dr. Athrey’s Avian Genetics & Functional Genomics lab in the Department of Poultry Science addresses fundamental questions relevant to genetics, evolution and conservation of both domesticated and wild bird species. Research projects in his lab utilize field and experimental studies coupled with genomic and computational tools to illuminate aspects of response to infectious disease, innate immunity and complex trait evolution in avian and other models. The broader implication of his research includes the generation of knowledge and innovative tools for improving animal, human and environmental health.
Dr. Jean-Francois Chamberland
Associate Dean for Faculty Success, College of Engineering, Texas A&M University
Dr. Jean-Francois Chamberland serves as the Associate Dean for Faculty Success for the College of Engineering and Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He completed a Bachelor of Engineering degree at McGill University and a Master of Science degree at Cornell University. He received a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Electrical Engineering. His research interests are in the areas of information theory and communication, computer systems and networks, statistical inference, decision and control, and learning. Recently, he has been studying the efficient design and fundamental limits of wireless communication networks. Applications for his work range from autonomous and connected vehicles to precision agriculture and smart infrastructures. His academic work has appeared in a variety of outlets, including the IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, the IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, the IEEE Journal of Selected Areas in Communications, and the IEEE Transactions on Communications. JF Chamberland’s contributions to distributed detection have been recognized through an IEEE Young Author Best Paper Award from the IEEE Signal Processing Society. More recently, he received an IEEE Communications Society & Information Theory Society Joint Paper Award for algorithmic development related to unsourced multiple access. He was the recipient of a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation. He was invited to present educational innovations at the Frontiers of Engineering Education Symposium, a workshop organized by the National Academy of Engineering. He served as an Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, 2017–2020; and he is currently a Senior Associate Editor for the IEEE Open Journal of Signal Processing. He holds an administrative portfolio as Associate Dean for Faculty Success in the College of Engineering.
Dr. Narasimha Reddy
Department Head and Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Texas A&M University
Moderator
Narasimha Reddy received a B.Tech. degree in Electronics and Electrical Communications Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India in August 1985, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 1987 and August 1990, respectively. Reddy’s research interests are in Computer Networks, Storage Systems, Multimedia Systems, and Computer Architecture. During 1990-1995, he was a Research Staff Member at IBM Almaden Research Center in San Jose. Reddy served as an Associate Dean for Research in the College of Engineering and an Associate Agency Director for Strategic Initiatives in TEES during 2016-21. Reddy holds five patents and was awarded a technical accomplishment award while at IBM. He received an NSF Career Award in 1996. He was a Faculty Fellow of the College of Engineering at Texas A&M during 1999-2000. His honors include an Outstanding Professor award by the IEEE student branch at Texas A&M during 1997-1998, an Outstanding Faculty award by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering during 2003-2004, a Distinguished Achievement award for teaching from the Former Students Association of Texas A&M University, and a citation “for one of the most influential papers from the 1st ACM Multimedia Conference”. Reddy is a Fellow of IEEE Computer Society and is a member of ACM.
Dr. Zhe (Sarina) Zhang
Associate Professor, Department of Geography, Texas A&M University
Dr. Zhe (Sarina) Zhang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at Texas A&M University, with joint appointments in Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center. She is also a voting member of the Gulf of America Coastal Ocean Observing System. Dr. Zhang has served as Chair of the AAG Cyberinfrastructure Specialty Group, was elected to the Board of Directors of the Cartography and Geographic Information Society, and serves as Chair of the UCGIS Research Committee. Her research focuses on participatory GIS, spatial decision support, Human–AI interaction, and trustworthy GeoAI. Building on her early work integrating human judgment, uncertainty, and local knowledge into geographic analysis, she has advanced methods in explainable, causal, and human-in-the-loop GeoAI to make spatiotemporal models more interpretable and useful for spatial decision-making. A complementary research direction examines cyberinfrastructure and high-performance GeoAI, including scalable computing and geospatial data infrastructures for large and complex spatial datasets. Her interdisciplinary work spans GIScience, disaster science, decision science, and cognitive science and has been supported by NSF, NASA, USDOT, NOAA, and the National Geographic Society. She is Co-PI of the NSF-funded Texas A&M FASTER supercomputer (over 3 million) and Co-Investigator of the ACES supercomputer (over 12 million) and has served as PI on eight externally funded grants totaling more than $3 million. Dr. Zhang has published in leading journals including IJGIS, Annals of the AAG, Transactions in GIS, CaGIS, and International Journal of Digital Earth. She serves as an Associate Editor of Computational Urban Science and on the editorial boards of ISPRS IJGI and CaGIS. Her honors include the NSF CAREER Award, the Texas A&M Pathways Award, and the 2026 Women in GIS Distinguished Contributions Award.
AI FOR AGRICULTURE & LIFE SCIENCES
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Dr. Michael Buser
Professor, Endowed Chair of Cotton Engineering, Ginning, and Mechanization, Texas A&M University
Dr. Michael Buser is professor and Endowed Chair of Cotton Engineering, Ginning and Mechanization at Texas A&M University, with more than 30 years of experience in agricultural engineering research, education and leadership. Prior to joining Texas A&M, he served as national program leader for engineering with the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS), acting division director with the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), professor at Oklahoma State University, and research engineer within USDA-ARS laboratories. Buser has contributed to numerous national science and technology initiatives, including the FCC Precision Agriculture Task Force, the National Science and Technology Council and the USDA Blockchain Task Force. He leads the Texas A&M Cotton Crew research team, which conducts interdisciplinary research in artificial intelligence, data management, GIS, software development, mechanical design, control systems, air quality, agricultural logistics, agrivoltaics, irrigation technologies and embedded electronics. He also teaches the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Capstone Design courses, where students partner with industry and government agencies to solve real-world engineering challenges. His work has received national and international recognition for innovation and impact in agriculture.
Athanasios (Thanos) Gentimis
Assistant Professor, Soil & Crop Sciences; Research Coordination Fellow, Texas A&M Institute of Data Science (TAMIDS), Texas A&M University
Dr. Athanasios (Thanos) Gentimis is an assistant professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Texas A&M University and a research coordination fellow at the Texas A&M Institute of Data Science. An applied mathematician and AI expert, Gentimis works at the intersection of data science and agriculture, specializing in machine learning, high-throughput field phenomics and geospatial AI. His research focuses on leveraging computer vision, remote sensing via drones and deep learning architectures to optimize yield predictions, crop management and plant breeding efficiency. Gentimis has authored or co-authored more than 30 peer-reviewed journal articles, two patents and a CAST report on AI in agriculture. He previously served as chair for the S1090 Multistate AI in Agroecosystems project and co-chair of the Digital and Precision Agriculture Initiative at LSU. Dedicated to interdisciplinary education, he teaches digital agriculture courses, leads data science workshops and has chaired or co-chaired 13 graduate committees. He holds a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Florida and completed postdoctoral training at North Carolina State University.
Dr. G. Cliff Lamb
Director, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Texas A&M University
Moderator
Dr. G. Cliff Lamb currently serves as the director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Texas’ premier research agency in agriculture, natural resources and life sciences featuring 13 centers and faculty in 20 academic departments and six institutes, a portfolio of more than 600 faculty programs. He has led AgriLife Research through record acquisitions of grants and contracts ranging from $155 million to $240 million annually from fiscal 2023 to fiscal 2026 and increased research expenditures by 53% in four years, exceeding $345 million in fiscal 2025. He received his bachelor’s degree (1992) and master’s degree (1996) from Middle Tennessee State University, and his doctorate (1998) from Kansas State University. He has served in faculty and administrative roles at the University of Minnesota (1998-2007) and the University of Florida (2008-2017). In 2017, Lamb was appointed as department head of animal science at Texas A&M University, where he served until his current appointment in 2022. Lamb maintains an active research program focused on applied reproductive physiology to enhance production efficiency of beef cattle operations. In 2021, Lamb was selected as a Fellow for Research in the American Society of Animal Science. He also received the Texas A&M University College of Agriculture and Life Science’s Dean’s Outstanding Administrator Award in 2020 and the Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence for Administration in 2022.
Dr. Seth C. Murray
Interim Department Head, Professor, Eugene Butler Endowed Chair, Soil & Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University
Dr. Seth C. Murray is a professor, the Eugene Butler Endowed Chair and the interim department head in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Texas A&M University. Murray is a plant breeder and recognized innovator and leader in phenotyping and phenomics. His research focuses on high throughput field phenotyping using drones, quantitative genetic discovery, gene-tophene data analytics and applied maize (corn) breeding in Texas. He has released nine maize lines, some licensed and being grown by Texas farmers, including for whiskey. A major focus of his program is graduate student training, chairing 37 committees and serving on another 46 committees. He has served in leadership roles for multiple scientific societies including the 2023 president of Crop Science Society of America (CSSA). He received CSSA and National Association of Plant Breeders early career research awards, is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a fellow of CSSA, and was twice named a Blavatnik Young Life Sciences Finalist. In 2016-2017, he served as the senior adviser of agricultural systems in the Office of the Chief Scientist at USDA. He received his doctorate from Cornell University and a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University.
Dr. Robert L. Strong
Professor, Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications, Texas A&M University
Robert Strong is a professor in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications at Texas A&M University. Strong serves as Texas A&M AgriLife’s station chief for USDA NIFA’s S1090 multistate research initiative, leads the producer outreach team of the Research and Extension Center at Corpus Christi’s Data Center, is on USDA’s leadership team of the AI in Agroecosystems: Big Data and Smart Technology-Driven Sustainable Production National Research Initiative, co-leader of four U.S. and industry supported AI in Agriculture conferences, and on the global AgML team based at Wageningen University and Research. Strong’s AI in Agriculture initiatives focus on the behavioral drivers of adoption, ensuring that high-tech advancements actually reach and benefit food system stakeholders. Rather than just developing the “math,” his work emphasizes the translational science needed to integrate AI into real-world farming and extension systems ensuring that advanced innovations are practically usable, trusted and adopted by ranchers, farmers and communities. His translational science directly reinforces Texas A&M University’s standing as a world-class institution by transforming theoretical high-tech research into measurable, applied community impact. Strong’s science ensures that the university is not just a leader in engineering software, but a global authority on how technology is successfully integrated into the human systems that feed the world.
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Dr. Avra Sankar Bandyopadhyay
Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Prairie View A&M University
Dr. Avra Sankar Bandyopadhyay is an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Prairie View A&M University where he leads research in advanced semiconductor materials, emerging electronic and optoelectronic devices, semiconductor reliability and process integration. He also is contributing to the development of PVAMU’s semiconductor cleanroom and advanced microelectronics research infrastructure. Before joining academia, Bandyopadhyay worked as a logic technology development engineer at Intel Corp., where he supported advanced semiconductor process technology development, including front-end metal-gate and contact processes, process integration, yield and performance analysis, statistical process control and CMP module development. His experience spans the semiconductor technology spectrum from fundamental materials and nanoscale devices to manufacturing, reliability and data-driven process optimization. His current research includes two-dimensional semiconductors such as WSe2 and MoS2, nanoelectronic and optoelectronic devices, semiconductor device reliability, advanced characterization and emerging materials for extreme environments. He received his doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of North Texas and previously conducted research at Purdue University’s Birck Nanotechnology Center and the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. Bandyopadhyay’s perspective bridges emerging semiconductor devices, advanced manufacturing, reliability and data-driven semiconductor technology development, providing a foundation for exploring how artificial intelligence can accelerate semiconductor design, manufacturing, process optimization and next-generation microelectronics.
David McAfee
Corporate VP and General Manager, Client Channel Business, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
David McAfee is the vice president and general manager of the Ryzen desktop and Radeon graphics business at AMD, an industry leader in high-performance and adaptive computing technology. In his role, McAfee leads a global team that defines the business strategy, manages end-to-end execution of the business and shapes the product, technology and software roadmap for the future. Throughout nearly 20 years with AMD, he has held roles across business, product planning and ecosystem partnership development. During that time, McAfee has worked with the world’s leading semiconductor fabs and electronics manufacturers to build a leadership portfolio of mobile, desktop, workstation and graphics products. Core to that portfolio is leveraging advanced technology, like chiplet construction and extensive use of stacked 3D SRAM, to outpace the industry in performance and capability gains. Before joining AMD, he spent 12 years at HP, where he led product development in server and storage, highperformance desktop, printing and imaging, and handheld devices. McAfee holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University.
Dr. Viraj Modak
Senior Solutions Architect, NVIDIA
Dr. Viraj Modak has a doctorate in chemical engineering and has been in the semiconductor domain for more than 10 years. He started his career at Intel’s Technology & Manufacturing Group in process development and later moved to inline yield optimization, working on Intel’s latest process and technology nodes. Following his time at Intel, he moved to Accenture’s Data & AI practice, where he helped clients scope and build strategic AI solutions in high-tech and semiconductor manufacturing. He is currently a senior solutions architect at NVIDIA, closely aligned with the semiconductor vertical. He supports NVIDIA partners and end customers across the value chain, including EDA, design, manufacturing and test and measurement.
David A. Staack, Ph.D.
Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research, The Texas A&M University System
Moderator
Dr. David Staack is deputy vice chancellor for research at The Texas A&M University System, a system of 12 universities and eight state agencies with externally funded research expenditures of $1.5 billion annually. In his administrative role, Staack supports multi-university and multi-agency research initiatives, intellectual property and commercialization, institutional infrastructure projects, research compliance and business practices, economic development and industry partnerships across the A&M System. Staack leads commercial energy and nuclear collaborations for the A&M System. Before this role, Staack served as associate vice chancellor for research and interim director of the Texas A&M Semiconductor Institute. In that capacity, he led the establishment of the institute, including the planning of new facilities, research programs and workforce development initiatives, all made possible by the appropriation of $226 million to the institute through the Texas CHIPS Act. Previously, in other administrative roles, Staack served for five years as the College of Engineering director of undergraduate laboratory instruction, where he led the design and implementation of 135,000 square feet of new common laboratory and makerspace infrastructure, benefiting more than 12,000 students in the Zachry Engineering Education Complex. He also has served on the Faculty Senate and as chair of the Faculty Senate Research Committee. Staack also is currently an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Texas A&M University. He teaches courses in fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, heat transfer, plasma engineering and experimental design. Staack leads an active research program as the principal investigator at the Plasma Engineering and Non-Equilibrium Processing Research Laboratory, where his group investigates various plasma discharge and electron beam phenomena and their applications. His research spans diverse fields, including energy transition technologies, medical device and sensor development, hypersonic and spacecraft propulsion, environmental remediation, oil and gas reforming, carbon nanomaterials, biofuels, drilling technologies, semiconductor processing, advanced manufacturing, and high-speed optical, laser and X-ray sources and diagnostics. His work includes both fundamental research and industry translation, with more than 100 archival publications and more than 70 patent publications. Staack has been a faculty member at Texas A&M since 2009. He joined Texas A&M after receiving his doctorate in mechanical engineering from Drexel University, working for four years at Princeton University’s Department of Energy Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and completing his master’s and bachelor’s degrees in aerospace engineering at the University of Virginia in 2000.
Su-in Yi
Raghavendra K. Pandey Faculty Fellow Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University
Dr. Su-in Yi received a master’s degree from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Daejeon, South Korea, in 2012, and a doctorate from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, in 2017. Before joining the faculty, he was a staff engineer with the Semiconductor Research and Development Center at Samsung Electronics for four years and a research engineer with Hyundai WIA for one year. He is currently an assistant professor and Raghavendra K. Pandey Faculty Fellow with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University. His research interests include neuromorphic computing devices and computer architectures, non-volatile memory reliability and security, and hardware-compatible AI learning algorithms. He received the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Program Award in 2025.
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Darran Anderson
Senior Director of Strategy and Innovation, Texas Department of Transportation
Darran Anderson is the senior director of strategy and innovation for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). He is responsible for TxDOT’s strategic innovation, emerging technology and research initiatives; and performance analytics and enterprise initiatives. He oversees the Strategic Initiatives and Innovation, and Research and Technology Implementation divisions. He also serves on numerous committees, advisory groups and communities of practice in national organizations covering intelligent transportation systems, cooperative and automated transportation, and other emerging technologies. He has served in his current role at TxDOT for 12 years. Before joining TxDOT, Anderson served 21 years as a U.S. Army officer, first in the field artillery and later as a simulations operations officer. He continued in the private sector another five years focused on development, testing, experimentation and training using simulations, sensors and command and control systems. Overall, he has 38 years’ experience as a U.S. Army officer, consultant, portfolio and program manager, and senior executive. His experience extends across the areas of leadership, strategic planning, operations, portfolio and program management, emerging military and transportation technology programs, training, tests, experimentation, modeling and simulation, sensors, and command and control systems.
Dr. Ellis R. Giles
AI Innovation Research Director, Texas A&M Transportation Institute
Dr. Ellis R. Giles is AI innovation research director at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, where he advances applied artificial intelligence for transportation research and guides crossdisciplinary initiatives in computer vision, image analysis, optimization, model improvement and text analytics. He brings more than 25 years of leadership in AI, highperformance computing, enterprise architecture, cloud platforms, advanced memory systems and missioncritical software. His prior roles include chief technologist at Coda Solutions and senior technology leadership at Hewlett Packard Enterprise. He also led enterprise, cloud, AI and HPC initiatives supporting NASA programs including the International Space Station Program. Giles has authored more than 40 technical papers and holds more than a dozen U.S. patents spanning AI and HPC. His honors include the MemSys 2025 Best Paper Award, IEEE Computer Society Distinguished Contributor award, IEEE Computer Architecture Letters Best Paper Award and multiple NASA innovation awards. He is an Eagle Scout and a Rice University graduate with degrees in electrical and computer engineering and computer science. Giles’ hobbies include scuba diving, running and working on classic cars.
Della Khakzad
Software Engineer, Texas A&M Transportation Institute
Della Khakzad is a software engineer in the Data Science and Visualization Division at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, where she builds large-scale data pipelines and AI-enabled workflows to support transportation research, planning and decision-making. Her work spans processing and analyzing large transportation datasets including connected vehicle, trajectory and trip, freight, and border-crossing data using Databricks, Azure cloud infrastructure, PySpark, Python and SQL. Khakzad has applied AI and large language models to transportation analytics, including Azure OpenAI-based automation for reporting and data processing, and using RAG and text-to-SQL agents for data exploration and knowledge discovery. Her expertise includes processing large-scale vehicle and fleet data, including connected vehicle data, on Texas A&M University’s High Performance Research Computing cluster, leveraging distributed and parallel computing to power tools such as the Assessment of Congested Road Segments tool. She has also contributed to technical planning and proposal development for AIenabled transportation analytics workflows. Khakzad holds a master’s and bachelor’s degree in computer science from Texas A&M University. Khakzad is particularly interested in how AI and modern software engineering practices can make complex transportation data more usable, searchable and actionable, and is also interested in expanding the role of AI across transportation research, planning and operations.
Chris Klaus
Senior Program Manager, North Central Texas Council of Governments
Chris Klaus has been on staff in the transportation department of the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the metropolitan planning organization for the Dallas-Fort Worth area, since July 1994. He is a senior program manager managing the department’s air quality management activities. He also currently serves as treasurer for the agency’s artificial intelligence committee and chair for the department’s artificial intelligence Committee. Klaus received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1994 and his master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2003.
Dr. Josias (Joe) Zietsman
Deputy Agency Director & Chief Research Officer, Texas A&M Transportation Institute
Moderator
Dr. Joe Zietsman is the Deputy Agency Director and Chief Research Officer (CRO) of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), where he oversees TTI’s $140 million annual research portfolio. During his 27 years at TTI, he has served as principal investigator on research grants and contracts totaling more than $55 million for national and international sponsors across the public and private sectors. His expertise includes sustainable transportation, strategic management of transportation systems, and the intersection of health and transportation. Dr. Zietsman has authored numerous journal articles, technical reports, and books. He served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Council of University Transportation Centers, where he chaired a task force on workforce development. He previously chaired the Transportation Research Board Committee on Sustainable Transportation. He also serves on the Coordinating Research Council’s Atmospheric Impacts Working Group. Since 2016, Dr. Zietsman has successfully led a U.S. Department of Transportation–funded University Transportation Center, providing leadership and strategic direction for its research, education, and outreach programs. Dr. Zietsman is a member of the graduate faculty at Texas A&M University. He holds a Ph.D. in civil engineering with a focus on transportation engineering from Texas A&M University and is a registered professional engineer in Texas.
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Mohsen Taheri Andani, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University
Dr. Mohsen Taheri Andani is an assistant professor in the J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University, with a courtesy appointment in materials science and engineering. He directs the Multiscale Manufacturing and Mechanics of Materials (M4) Laboratory, where his research combines metal additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence, in-situ monitoring and qualification science to enable reliable, high-performance materials and components for aerospace, defense, energy and nuclear applications. His group develops AI-enabled sensing and digital-twin approaches that connect process signals, defects, microstructure and fatigue performance, helping move additive manufacturing toward closed-loop, data-driven qualification. His research has been supported by DARPA, ONR, DOE-NNSA, AFOSR, AFRL, NSF, the U.S. Army and America Makes. Andani earned his doctorate in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in materials science and engineering from the University of Michigan and joined Texas A&M in 2023 after postdoctoral training at Michigan.
Satish Bukkapatnam
Regents Professor, Sugar and Mike Barnes Department Head Chair of the Wm Michael Barnes ‘64 Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering, Texas A&M University
Dr. Satish Bukkapatnam is a Regents professor and the Sugar and Mike Barnes Department Head Chair of the Wm Michael Barnes ’64 Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Texas A&M University. He previously served as a program director in the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Manufacturing Program. His research broadly spans smart and precision manufacturing, with a current focus on sensor-fusion and interpretable AI methods that link process signatures to quality and microstructure. Ongoing efforts include the development of functionally graded lattice structures using hybrid directed energy deposition (DED) processes, ultra-precision finishing of fuel-capsule shells for inertial confinement fusion experiments, and approaches for imparting cyber-resilience to smart manufacturing systems. He received his doctorate in industrial and manufacturing engineering from Pennsylvania State University. He is a fellow of IISE and SME, an associate member of CIRP and a former Fulbright-Tocqueville Distinguished Chair.
Dr. Alaa Elwany
Industrial & Systems Engineering Professor, Texas A&M University
Moderator
Dr. Alaa Elwany is a Professor in the Wm Michael Barnes ’64 Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Chancellor EDGES Fellow, and holder of the University Professorship in Undergraduate Teaching Excellence. He earned his Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Georgia Tech in 2009 and previously served as a Research Scientist at General Motors R&D. He has also held national service roles as Assistant Director for Technology at the National Institute of Standards and Technology Office of Advanced Manufacturing (2021–2022) and as an AAAS Fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (2022–2023). Dr. Elwany’s research focuses on modeling, optimization, and control of advanced manufacturing processes and systems, particularly additive and smart manufacturing. He has published more than 100 journal and peer-reviewed conference papers. His recognitions include Outstanding Manufacturing Engineer Awards from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), Fellow of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE), and the U.S. Department of Energy Outstanding Achievement Award from the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency.
Dr. Shuiwang Ji
Professor in Computer Science and Engineering, Truchard Family Endowed Chair, Texas A&M University
Dr. Shuiwang Ji is a professor and holder of the Truchard Family Endowed Chair in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University. His research seeks to bridge foundational advances in artificial intelligence with use-inspired research in physics and chemistry, spanning quantum mechanics to fluid flow. Ji received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2014 and is a fellow of IEEE and AIMBE.
Dr. Xiaofeng Qian
Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, affiliated with the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University
Dr. Xiaofeng Qian is an associate professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and is affiliated with the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University. He received his doctorate from MIT and joined Texas A&M in 2015. He has published about 100 peer-reviewed papers and received several recognitions, including the NSF CAREER Award, Materials Today Rising Star Award, TEES Young Faculty Fellow, AZZ Inc. Fellow and Dean of Engineering Excellence Award. His research interests include electronic structure theory, quantum materials, two-dimensional materials and neuromorphic materials, as well as the development and application of AI to physics, chemistry and materials science.
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Dr. James Cai
Professor of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences and Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University; Faculty member, Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering
Dr. James Cai is a professor of veterinary integrative biosciences and electrical and computer engineering at Texas A&M University and a faculty member of the Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering. His lab builds machine learning and quantum computing methods that use single-cell genomics data to study how genes and cells behave. His group introduced quantum gene regulatory networks (npj Quantum Information, 2023), which use qubit entanglement to model gene-gene interactions. Since then, the group has used quantum annealing to select features in single-cell data (Quantum Machine Intelligence, 2025) and built quantum generative models that simulate cell-cell communications (APL Quantum, 2026). He has developed widely used open-source tools, including a Matlab toolbox for single-cell data analysis, the scTenifold suite and QuantumGRN. Cai directs the Single-Cell Data Science Core of the Texas A&M CPRIT Regional Center of Excellence in Cancer Research, is an academic editor for PLOS Genetics and is faculty adviser to QuantA&M, Texas A&M’s student quantum computing organization. He received his doctorate from the University of Hong Kong and did his postdoctoral training at Stanford University.
Dr. Dilma Da Silva
Regents Professor, Ford Design Professorship II Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University
Dr. Dilma Da Silva is a Regents Professor and holder of the Ford Design Professorship II in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University. From July 2022 to June 2026, she served in several leadership positions at the U.S. National Science Foundation. Her roles at Texas A&M include department head (2014-2019) and associate dean (2019-2020). Her primary research interests are high-performance computing, computer science education and quantum computing. Before joining TAMU, she worked at Qualcomm Research (2012-2014) and IBM Research (2000- 2012). Da Silva is an ACM Distinguished Scientist. She received her doctorate from Georgia Tech in 1997.
Dr. Grigory Rogachev
Physics and Astronomy Professor and Department Head, Texas A&M University
Dr. Grigory Rogachev is a professor and head of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Texas A&M University and a member of the Cyclotron Institute. An experimental nuclear physicist working on the structure of exotic nuclei and stellar nucleosynthesis, he now focuses much of his work on applying AI and quantum computing to nuclear physics and on developing a quantum-proficient workforce. He holds a doctorate from the Kurchatov Institute in Moscow and previously held faculty positions at Florida State University and the University of Notre Dame.
Tim Rogers
Director of Technology Alliances, IonQ
Tim Rogers is the director of technology alliances at IonQ, where he focuses on building partnerships and advancing trapped-ion quantum computing. Previously, he worked as a quantum solutions engineer and a senior product manager at IonQ, at the forefront of advancing quantum technologies, bridging the gap between cutting-edge research and real-world commercial applications. Rogers began his career optimizing fuel cycle operations in the utility sector, applying computational methods to enhance efficiency and performance. His interest in innovation led him to product management, where he played a key role in developing technology solutions for the financial services industry. With a strong foundation in complex systems and computational modeling, he transitioned into the quantum computing space, where he focuses on shaping the next generation of quantum solutions that drive competitive advantage for early adopters. With a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from Texas A&M University, Rogers is committed to pushing the boundaries of quantum computing, ensuring its evolution from theoretical promise to practical, value-generating technology.
Dr. Angela K. Wilson
Vice President for Research, VPR University Research Chair, Professor of Chemistry, Texas A&M University
Moderator
Dr. Angela K. Wilson is the vice president for research (VPR), VPR university research chair and professor of chemistry at Texas A&M University. Before joining Texas A&M in April 2026, she was the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor and University Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University (MSU). Among her roles there, she also was the director of the MSU Center for Quantum Computing, Science, and Engineering. In Michigan, she started the Midwest Quantum Collaboratory, a coalition of universities engaged in quantum research, partnering MSU, the University of Michigan, Purdue University, Washington University, Indiana University, Northwestern University, Ohio State University and Illinois State University. Recently, she created the Texas Quantum Collaboratory to begin to engage and more deeply partner universities with highly engaged quantum researchers. She is a founder and on the board of QuSTEAM, a nonprofit stemming from an NSF Convergence Accelerator on quantum education, and on the board of advisers for EeroQ, a quantum hardware company. Her research team works in theoretical and computational areas including quantum electron dynamics and mechanics related to quantum computing and sensing.