KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Prof. Saifur Rahman

Virginia Tech, USA

Prof. Saifur Rahman

Virginia Tech, USA

Professor Saifur Rahman is the founding director of the Advanced Research Institute at Virginia Tech, USA where he is the Joseph R. Loring professor of electrical and computer engineering. He also directs the Center for Energy and the Global Environment. He is a Life Fellow of the IEEE and an IEEE Millennium Medal winner.  He is the 2023 IEEE President & CEO and was the president of the IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES) for 2018 and 2019. He is the founding editor-in-chief of the IEEE Electrification Magazine and the IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy. He has published over 160 journal papers and has made over six hundred conference and invited presentations. He has conducted several energy efficiency, blockchain and sensor integration projects for Duke Energy, Tokyo Electric Power Company, the US National Science Foundation, the US Department of Defense, the US Department of Energy and the State of Virginia. He has a PhD in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech.

Prof. Issa Batarseh

University of Central Florida , USA

Prof. Issa Batarseh

University of Central Florida , USA

Issa Batarseh is currently a Pegasus Professor of electrical engineering in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Central Florida (UCF) and serving as the director of the Florida Power Electronics Center. His research interests focus on power electronics as enabling technology in high-frequency, high-efficiency, and smart grid-tied PV energy conversion systems. His research team has been leading the design, development, and commercialization of smart microinverters and other technologies. He has co-founded three start-up companies. He served as the President of Princess Sumaya Univeristy for Technology in Amman, Jordan. He was co-founder and Board member of the Arab Scientists and Technologists Abroad Network (ASTA) and Board member of the Arab Scientists and Technologists Foundation(ASTF). Currently serving in the steering committee of ConnectJo Network of Jordanians Abroad. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and AAAS, member of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) and has been inducted into the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame. Dr. Batarseh is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Florida.

Prof. George E. Georghiou

University of Cyprus, Cyprus

Prof. George E. Georghiou

University of Cyprus, Cyprus

George E. Georghiou is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Cyprus (UCY). He is the founder of the FOSS Research Centre for Sustainable Energy, and is currently leading the recently established European Centre of Excellence for Research and Innovation in Intelligent, Sustainable and Efficient Energy Solutions, PHAETHON. Having graduated from the University of Cambridge with a BA, MEng, MA (all with distinction) and a PhD, Professor Georghiou continued his work at the University of Cambridge in the capacity of a Research Fellow in the Electricity Utilization Group. Professor Georghiou then served as a Lecturer and the undergraduate course coordinator in Electrical Engineering at the University of Southampton. Professor Georghiou is currently a member of the CENELEC and IEC committees on PV, while also serving as an expert evaluator for EU and national proposals. His team has secured research funding in excess of 25 million Euros from bodies such as the European Union and the National Funding Agency, as well as Industry (for example, Honeywell, Q Cells). Professor Georghiou has published over 500 papers in international journals and conference proceedings and among his scholarly achievements, are five outstanding paper awards for the most significant technical scientific contributions. and an innovation prize. Professor Georghiou is also an avid entrepreneur.

Dr. Abdallah Chehade

University of Michigan-Dearborn, USA

Dr. Abdallah Chehade

University of Michigan-Dearborn, USA

Abdallah Chehade is the Director of the Informatics, Reliability, and Data Analytics (IRDA) Lab at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. He received the BS degree in mechanical engineering from the American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2011 and the MS degree in mechanical engineering, the MS degree in industrial engineering, and the Ph.D. in industrial engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2014, 2014, and 2017, respectively.  His research interests include safe and robust deep learning solutions, explainable AI, data fusion for degradation modeling and prognosis, reliability analytics, and Bayesian statistical modeling. He is a member of INFORMS, IEEE, and IISE. He served as a council member for the Quality, Statistics, and Reliability (QSR) at INFORMS. He is an Associate Professor at the Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering Department, University of Michigan-Dearborn, USA.