Stephen Forrest, Ph.D. – Keynote Speaker
University of Michigan’s Vice President for Research, Collegiate
Professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science,
Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Professor of
Physics, and head of the Optoelectronics Components and
Materials Group
University of Michigan’s Vice President for Research, Collegiate Professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Professor of Physics, and head of the Optoelectronics
Components and Materials Group. Prior to joining the University of Michigan in 2006, Forrest worked at Bell Labs, the Electrical Engineering and Materials Science Departments at the University of Southern California and at Princeton University. His positions at Princeton included: Distinguished University
Professor of Electrical Engineering, director of the National Center for Integrated Photonic Technology, director of Princeton's Center for Photonics and
Optoelectronic Materials, and chair of the Electrical Engineering Department. Forrest is a Fellow of the IEEE and OSA and a member of the National
Academy of Engineering. In 1998, he received the Thomas Alva Edison Award for innovations in organic LEDs and was co-recipient of the IPO National Distinguished Inventor Award. In 1999, he received the MRS Medal for work on organic thin films.
In 2001, he was awarded the IEEE/LEOS William Streifer Scientific Achievement Award for advances made on photodetectors for optical
communications systems. In 2007, he was named one of three co-recipients of IEEE’s Daniel E. Noble Award, recognizing their pioneering contributions to the development of organic light-emitting diodes.
Forrest authored approximately 450 refereed papers and has 190 patents. He is co-founder or founding participant in several companies including Sensors Unlimited, Epitaxx, Inc., Global Photonic Energy Corporation, Universal Display Corporation and Apogee Photonics, Inc.
Steven E. Kurmas – Session 1 Moderator
President and Chief Operating Officer, Detroit Edison
Steven Kurmas is responsible for power generation, fuel supply, electric distribution, customer service, marketing activities, and assorted support
functions for Detroit Edison, one of three major business units of DTE Energy, a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Kurmas previously served as executive vice president of fossil generation at Detroit Edison, responsible for the operation of the company’s fossil-fueled electric power plants. He serves on the board of directors of the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, Michigan State Chamber of Commerce, and YMCA Southeast Michigan. He is also treasurer and past president of the board of directors of the Engineering Society of Detroit.
Anjan Bose, Ph.D. – Session 1 Panelist
Site Director at the Power Engineering Research Center,
Distinguished Professor of Electric Power Engineering at
Washington State University, and a member of the U.S. National
Academy of Engineering
Anjan Bose is a leading researcher on the operation and control of the electric power grid. He has worked in the electric power industry and in academe for more than 35 years. Bose was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Energy to the committee to study the 1999 and 2003 power blackouts. He has served on several committees of the U.S. National Academies, including those for Engineering Education, Cybersecurity Research, Power Grid Security, and America’s Energy Future. He has consulted for many electric power companies and related government agencies throughout the world.
Clark W. Gellings – Session 1 Panelist
Vice President of Technology at the Electric Power Research
Institute (EPRI)
Clark Gellings is responsible for technology strategy in areas concerning energy efficiency, demand response, renewable energy resources, and other clean technologies. He joined EPRI in 1982, progressing through a series of technical management and executive positions, including six previous vice presidential positions. He was also chief executive officer of several EPRI subsidiaries. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences committee studying the
robustness and resilience of the power delivery system. Gellings is a registered professional engineer, a Fellow in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, a Fellow in the Illuminating Engineering Society, and a Distinguished Member and president of the U.S. National Committee of CIGRE.
Robert G. Watts, Ph.D. – Session 1 Panelist
Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering, Tulane University
Robert Watts is the former director of the South Central Region of the National Institute for Global Environmental Change. He has done research in global warming for more than thirty years and has given many presentations on global warming to professional as well as to lay audiences. Watts is the editor of two books on global warming and engineering solutions: Engineering Response to Global Climate Change, published by CRC Press LLC (1997), and Innovative Energy Strategies for CO2 Stabilization, published by Cambridge University Press (2002). He is an expert in both global warming and energy systems. His latest book is Global Warming and the Future of the Earth, published by Morgan and Claypool.Grace M. Bochenek, Ph.D. – Session 2 Moderator
Director of U.S. Army TARDEC and member of the Senior Executive
Service, Army Acquisition Corp, and NATO Research and
Technology Organization
TARDEC is recognized as the Department of Defense’s (DOD) ground systems integrator and premier laboratory for advanced military automotive technology for ground vehicle systems and logistics support equipment. Grace Bochenek creates and leads all research, development, and engineering strategies for DOD ground vehicle systems, manned and unmanned. She manages a workforce of more than 1,200 civilian, military, and contractor employees and sets strategic direction for a full range of investments affecting more than 270 Army systems. Bochenek brings more than 23 years’ scientific, technical, and managerial experience to TARDEC. She is a 2008 Meritorious Executive Presidential Rank Award recipient.
Dennis Assanis, Ph.D. – Session 2 Panelist
Professor of Engineering at the University of Michigan and Director
of the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute
Dennis Assanis directs the U-M Research Center, the Walter E. Lay Automotive Laboratory, and the Multi-University Consortium on Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition Engine Research. He co-directs the General Motors Collaborative Research Laboratory on Engine Systems. His work focuses on developing new transportation technologies that minimize use of fossil fuels and generate reduced greenhouse gases and pollution. Assanis leads the Phoenix Energy Institute to develop, coordinate, and promote multidisciplinary energy research, policy, and education at the University of Michigan. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and a Fellow of the Society of Automotive Engineers and American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Subhendu Guha, Ph.D. – Session 2 Panelist
Executive Vice President, Photovoltaic Technology of ECD and
Chairman of its wholly owned subsidiary, United Solar Ovonic
Subhenda Guha joined ECD in 1982 and was United Solar’s president and COO before becoming chairman. A world-renowned authority in photovoltaic technology, with many years of experience in the development and manufacture of solar panels, he serves on many national and international photovoltaic committees, including the Advisory Board of National Center for Photovoltaics– the body responsible for directing and implementing the Department of Energy's photovoltaic strategy. His work received recognition from Department of Energy, Bright Lights Award, and Discovery Magazine–Environment Category. He has over 150 technical publications in the field of semiconductors and is the inventor/co-inventor of over 30 U.S. patents.Dan Radomski – Session 2 Panelist
Vice President of Industry Services, NextEnergy
NextEnergy is a non-profit corporation that enables commercialization of energy technologies that contribute to economic competitiveness, energy security, and the environment. Dan Radomski’s responsibilities include business strategy and market development for alternative energy companies and technology working groups. Dan is a board and committee member for Great Lakes Entrepreneurs Quest, American Wind Energy Association’s R&D and Manufacturing Supply Chain Committees, and the Great Lakes Wind Council. He serves as the lead for venture development and facilitator of consortiums including Michigan Wind Energy Manufacturing Working Group. Radomski led diversification efforts
among Michigan suppliers, primarily in the wind industry―resulting in over $670
million in new business awarded to Michigan suppliers in alternative energy markets since 2006.
Chris Mi, Ph.D. – Session 3 Moderator
Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and
Director of the DTE Power Electronics Laboratory at the University
of Michigan-Dearborn and Chief Technical Officer of 1Power
Solutions, Inc.
Chris Mi is a leading expert in electric and hybrid vehicles and has taught tutorials and seminars on the subject of HEV/PHEV for the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), IEEE, NSF, and the National Society of Professional Engineers. He has delivered the HEV course to employees of major automotive OEMs and suppliers, including General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, and Delphi. He has offered the tutorial in six countries. Mi has conducted extensive research in EV/HEV and has published more than 100 articles, delivered 30 invited talks and keynote speeches, and served as panelist.
Nancy Lee Gioia – Session 3 Panelist
Director of Global Electrification, Ford Motor Company.
Nancy Gioia was appointed to the position of director of Global Electrification in October 2009. In her new position, she directs strategy and planning for the next generation of Ford’s global electric vehicle portfolio, touching all aspects of electrified transportation, including product planning, supplier partnerships, and collaboration with the energy industry and government. Prior to October 2009, Gioia was Ford’s director of Sustainable Mobility Technology and Hybrid Vehicle Programs for North America, overseeing research, development, and ultimately the deployment of other sustainable mobility technologies such as hydrogen internal combustion engines and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. In 2005 she was named as one of the Automotive News “100 Leading Women in the Auto Industry.”
Larry T. Nitz – Session 3 Panelist
Executive Director of Hybrid and Electric Powertrain Engineering,
General Motors Corporation
Larry Nitz leads GM’s global hybrid and electric powertrain engineering, having assumed that position in 2003. In that position he oversees the development teams that produce all of GM's hybrid and extended-range electric drive systems. Nitz has been with GM for 33 years, spending most of his career in powertrain engineering, working with gasoline engines, manual and automatic transmissions, powertrain and vehicle controls, and hybrid and electric systems. He was also an executive in the German-American consortium of BMW,
DaimlerChrysler, and General Motors that was founded to develop a distinctly different type of hybrid powertrain. Nitz holds 40 U.S. patents and four GM Boss Kettering Awards for Engineering Innovation.
Lou Rhodes – Session 3 Panelist
Vehicle Line Executive for Electrified Vehicles and External
Technical Development, Chrysler LLC
Lou Rhodes was appointed vehicle line executive of Electrified Vehicles and External Technical Development in October, 2009. He is responsible for all electrified vehicle programs while working closely with powertrain units responsible for electrified propulsion systems. He leads external technical development activities on electrified vehicles, including interface with outside organizations related to business, infrastructure, dealer/fleet, and
government funding development. Rhodes reports to the senior vice president of engineering. Prior to this assignment, Rhodes was vice president for
Advance Vehicle Engineering and president of ENVI, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chrysler LLC. Joining Chrysler in 1983, Rhodes is responsible for 10 U.S. patents, including the Stow-n-Go seating and storage system.
Justin Ward – Session 3 Panelist
Advanced Powertrain Program Manager, Toyota Technical Center
(TTC)
Justin Ward has been advanced powertrain program manager with TTC’s Advanced Technology Vehicles department in Gardena, California, since 2008. His responsibilities include suitability testing of advanced powertrain
configurations in North America, coordinating development of new or improved software logic for fuel cell and hybrid vehicle (FC&HV) control systems,
managing Toyota’s contributions to North American FC&HV Codes & Standards activities, and supporting technical outreach related to advanced powertrains. Ward began his career at TTC in 2001 in fuel cell vehicle development at the California Fuel Cell Partnership in West Sacramento, California. He earned a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California Davis in 1999.
Subrata Sengupta, Ph.D. - Conference Chair
Dean, College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS) at the
University of Michigan-Dearborn since 1990
Subrata Sengupta created the Henry W. Patton Center for Engineering Education and Practice to integrate engineering teaching, practice, and
research and established the Institute for Advanced Vehicle Systems to support innovations in vehicle development. Prior to becoming the dean of CECS, he was University of Miami’s chair of mechanical engineering and associate director of Florida’s State Center for Solid and Hazardous Wastes. Sengupta received a NASA Certificate of Recognition in 1981 and the Governor’s Outstanding Contributions to Science and Technology in Florida Award in 1990. He was named ASME fellow in 1987. He has authored, co-authored, or edited 170 publications and 10 books and has received over 80 grants supporting his work, including research in fluid thermal sciences.
Daniel Little, Ph.D.
Chancellor of the University of Michigan-Dearborn and Professor of
Philosophy
Daniel Little received his undergraduate degrees from the University of Illinois in 1971 and his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Harvard University in 1977. He is an active scholar and has written and lectured extensively on the foundations of the social sciences. His most recent book is The Paradox of Wealth and Poverty, a discussion of the ethical issues raised by economic development in the third world. He is actively involved in the metropolitan Detroit community and serves on several boards in Michigan concerned with civil rights, race relations, and improving inter-group understanding. He currently serves as chair of the City Year Detroit board.
