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Cutting-Edge Research & Innovative Industry Solutions


  • Big Data

    Expert Speakers

    Arie E. Kaufman, Distinguished Professor, Department of Computer Science; Chief Scientist, CEWIT, Stony Brook University

    Arie E. Kaufman, Distinguished Professor, Department of Computer Science; Chief Scientist, CEWIT, Stony Brook University

    Arie Kaufman is a Distinguished Professor of the Computer Science, Director of the Center of Visual Computing (CVC), Chief Scientist of the Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology (CEWIT), and Site Director of the NSF IUCRC CVDI (Center for Visual and Decision Informatics) at Stony Brook University. He served as Chairman of the Computer Science Department 1999-2017.He has conducted research for 40 years in visualization, computer graphics, virtual-reality, medical imaging and their applications, has published more than 300 refereed papers, books, and chapters, has delivered more than 20 invited keynote/plenary talks, has been awarded/filed more than 40 patents, and has been a principal/co-principal investigator on more than 100 research grants. He is a Fellow of IEEE, a Fellow of ACM, was elected to the European Academy of Sciences, the recipient of the IEEE Visualization Career Award (2005), and was inducted into the Long Island Technology Hall of Fame (2013), as well as the recipient of numerous other awards. He was the founding Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transaction on Visualization and Computer Graphics (TVCG), 1995-1998. He has been the co-founder/papers co-chair of IEEE Visualization Conferences; Volume Graphics Workshops, Eurographics/SIGGRAPH Graphics Hardware Workshops, and ACM Volume Visualization Symposia. He previously chaired and is currently a director of IEEE CS Technical Committee on Visualization and Graphics. He received a PhD in Computer Science from the Ben-Gurion University, Israel, in 1977.

    CVDI Visual Exploration of Big Data

    Yuan An, Associate Professor, College of Computing and Informatics (CCI), Drexel University

    Yuan An, Associate Professor, College of Computing and Informatics (CCI), Drexel University

    Dr. Yuan An is an associate professor in the College of Computing and Informatics (CCI at Drexel). He earned a PhD degree in Computer Science from the University of Toronto, Canada, in 2007. He joined the College of Information Science and Technology (former iSchool at Drexel) in the same year. His research focus is on developing and evaluating data integration and data mining methods and algorithms in business, scientific, biomedical, and healthcare domains. Dr. An has led projects on semantic driven information extraction and integration funded by the NSF I/UCRC Center for Visual and Decision Informatics (CVDI). Dr. An has experience in developing and evaluating in healthcare information systems. He has conducted research on understanding and analyzing the workflow and clinicians' requirements when using IT to manage chronic diseases. Collaborating with clinicians and healthcare researchers, Dr. An developed a flexible EHR using custom data collection templates and has a strong research record in HIT research.

    Semantic Information Integration and Applications in Biomedical and Healthcare Domains

    Peter A. Beling, Professor of Systems and Information Engineering, University of Virginia

    Peter A. Beling, Professor of Systems and Information Engineering, University of Virginia

    Peter A. Beling is Professor and Interim Chair of Systems and Information Engineering at the University of Virginia. Dr. Beling’s research interests are in machine learning and decision-making, with emphasis on applications to decision making in prognostics and health management and cyber-physical systems. He directs the UVA site of the Center for Visual and Decision Informatics, a National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center, and the Adaptive Decision Systems Laboratory, which focuses on data analytics and decision support in cyber-physical systems. He is a member of UVA’s Data Science Institute and its Link Lab for Cyber-Physical Systems. Dr. Beling is General Co-Chair of the 2017 Annual Conference of the Prognostics and Health Management Society and the 2018 Conference on Systems Engineering Research.

    Reinforcement Learning Based Decision Informatics in CVDI

    Moncef Gabbouj, Director, NSF IUCRC Center for Visual and Decision Informatics, TUT-Site, Department of Signal Processing, Tampere University of Technology

    Moncef Gabbouj, Director, NSF IUCRC Center for Visual and Decision Informatics, TUT-Site, Department of Signal Processing, Tampere University of Technology

    Moncef Gabbouj received his BS degree in electrical engineering in 1985 from Oklahoma State University, and his MS and PhD degrees in electrical engineering from Purdue University, in 1986 and 1989, respectively. Dr. Gabbouj is a Professor of Signal Processing at the Department of Signal Processing, Tampere University of Technology, Tampere, Finland. He was Academy of Finland Professor during 2011-2015. His research interests include Big Data analytics, multimedia content-based analysis, indexing and retrieval, artificial intelligence, machine learning, pattern recognition, nonlinear signal and image processing and analysis, voice conversion, and video processing and coding. Dr. Gabbouj is a Fellow of the IEEE and member of the Academia Europaea and the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters. He is the past Chairman of the IEEE CAS TC on DSP and committee member of the IEEE Fourier Award for Signal Processing. He served as associate editor and guest editor of many IEEE, and international journals and Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEE CASS. He organized several tutorials and special sessions for major IEEE conferences and EUSIPCO. Dr. Gabbouj guided 45 PhD and 58 Masters students and published 700 papers.

    Crossroads Between Signal Processing and Machine Learning – CVDI Approach

    Raju Gottumukkala, Ph.D., Director of Research, Informatics Research Institute, University of Louisiana Lafayette

    Raju Gottumukkala, Ph.D., Director of Research, Informatics Research Institute, University of Louisiana Lafayette

    Dr. Raju Gottumukkala is the LEQSF Regents Assistant Professor with the College of Engineering and the Director of Research for Informatics Research Institute. His research interests are in addressing real-world sensing, communication and information processing related challenges in building networked cyber-physical systems. Specific topics of interest include quality of service of data streams, big data platforms, data mining, linear optimization, software defined networks, visual analytics, formal methods, reliability engineering, and time evolving graphs. He is also the PI for Visual Analytics Sandbox - a big data platform (http://visualanalyticscloud.org) funded by NSF for processing high-volume, high-velocity data streams. His has generated over $7M in research funding over several years sponsored by various state and federal agencies including NSF, NIHS/DHS S&T, DOE, and industry. He has over 14 peer-reviewed conference/journal publications, and 2 U.S. Patents. He is also one of the 37 recipients of the 2017 Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award from Oak Ridge Associated Universities. The homeland security community adopted several of his research projects including the Fuel Demand Estimation Model for Regional Evacuation, the Louisiana Hazard and Risk Information Portal, the Intelligent Levee Surveillance System (iLevee) and Louisiana Business Emergency Operations Center (LA BEOC).

    Data Management for Visual Analytics on Data Streams

  • Business

    Session Experts

    Adam Bazih, Executive-in-Residence, Kairos Ventures

    Adam Bazih, Executive-in-Residence, Kairos Ventures

    Dr. Adam Bazih provides management, marketing, financial, and commercialization expertise to Kairos portfolio companies, enabling them to grow, stabilize, and meet critical milestones. Success ultimately begins and ends with focus. Adam works hand-in-hand with company founders and teams, helping them develop and execute upon a strategy, conduct quantitative market analysis, articulate and meet crucial milestones, financial modeling/fundraising, and business development

    Dr. Bazih is a seasoned executive with nearly a decade of entrepreneurship and investment experience. Adam has both founded, led, and invested in multiple high-tech startups, taking them from inception to large successful exits. Adam’s entrepreneurship abilities were featured in Medgadget and multiple other scientific journals and publications. Additionally, Adam has consulted to numerous Fortune 100 companies on multi-million dollar projects and understands the intricacies of combining IP, technical knowhow with strategy and tacit knowledge to create long-term value.

    Dr. Bazih received his undergraduate degrees in microbiology and chemistry from the University of Oklahoma Honors College. Adam completed graduate studies in medicine at UCLA, business management/entrepreneurship at Stanford University GSB, and received his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

    Venture Capital Panelist

    Thomas Thornton, Senior Vice President and Executive Director, Northwell Ventures

    Thomas Thornton, Senior Vice President and Executive Director, Northwell Ventures

    Tom is responsible for identifying and fostering innovative ideas that enhance the growth of Northwell Health clinical and non-clinical enterprises, working with senior leadership to develop and advance ideas in these areas, bringing these ideas into practice and the market, as well as building strategic partnerships and relationships within the broader regional ecosystem and beyond.  In this role, he manages all the Northwell Health’s Innovation programs; including technology commercialization, enterprise growth and investment management.

    Prior to joining Northwell Health, Tom led the Healthcare Innovation Alliance at Cleveland Clinic Innovations; a program aimed at forming multi-institutional collaborations to foster and accelerate the commercialization of medical innovations.

    Venture Capital Panelist

    Brian Keil, Managing Director, New York Ventures, Empire State Development

    Brian Keil, Managing Director, New York Ventures, Empire State Development

    Brian Keil is the Managing Director for New York Ventures, the venture capital arm of the State of New York.  New York Ventures manages all of the State’s venture investment activities and is focused on generating economic growth across NY State through its investments in innovative, technology-based companies.  Prior to joining New York Ventures, Brian was VP of Strategy & Corporate Development at Arbitron (now Nielsen Audio) and a Managing Director at the Peacock Fund, the venture capital arm of NBC Universal.  Before joining the Peacock Fund, Brian worked at GE Capital and Bain & Co. Brian holds an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School and a BS in Industrial Engineering from The University of Southern California.  Brian is a Chartered Financial Analyst. 

    Venture Capital Panelist

    Neil Kaufman, Chairman, Long Island Capital Alliance and Corporate Attorney

    Neil Kaufman, Chairman, Long Island Capital Alliance and Corporate Attorney

    Neil Kaufman represents emerging growth, middle market and public companies and investment firms in their corporate, securities, financing, borrowing, merger & acquisition and other legal matters. He is particularly well known for advising clients with respect to SEC regulation, public offerings, private placements and mergers & acquisitions, as well as all types of commercial contracts. Mr. Kaufman additionally serves as the chairman of the Long Island Capital Alliance, a not-for-profit organization devoted to assisting emerging growth companies.

    Open Pitch Challenge Guest Judge

    Sylvan Schefler, Vice Chairman,Tigress Financial Partners

    Sylvan Schefler, Vice Chairman,Tigress Financial Partners

    Sylvan Schefler is a Vice Chairman and an Investment Banker focusing on providing growth capital and M&A advisory services to public and private middle market companies. Mr. Schefler has over forty years’ experience in all aspects of investment banking. Prior to joining Tigress Financial Partners, Mr. Schefler was a Managing Director, Investment Banking, at Burnham Securities. Mr. Schefler began his career at Drexel Burnham Lambert in 1959. He became a partner of the firm in 1968 and a member of The Board of Directors and The Executive Committee in 1971. He joined the High Yield group in 1983 where he was involved in billions of dollars of financings and corporate finance activity. He was Chairman of his own firm Maxima Group LLC and then rejoined Burnham Securities where he was responsible for Investment Banking. Mr. Schefler has served on the Board of Directors of many public and private companies. He also served on many charitable boards including The Simon Wiesenthal Center. Mr. Schefler received a BA from Cornell University then served as a Lieutenant in the US Army. Mr. Schefler holds FINRA Series 7, 24, and 63 licenses.

    Open Pitch Challenge Guest Judge

    Lori Hoberman, Founder, Hoberman Law Group

    Lori Hoberman, Founder, Hoberman Law Group

    Lori S. Hoberman is a well-known force in the in the New York City venture community. As a lawyer and mentor, she advises entrepreneurs and their investors on how to build successful businesses and strategically guides them through the emerging, later stages and exits of their companies. Lori works with client companies in a range of technology industries, while counseling angel and institutional investors in their investments and in the formation of investment funds. After years of leading startup company practices at large firms such as Fish & Richardson and Chadbourne & Parke, Lori decided to become an entrepreneur. Lori sustains Mentorship of 37 Angels and chairs the NYC Chapter of the MIT Enterprise Forum. A co-founder of several companies, all of her clients followed her to the new, Hoberman Law Group. Forbes has commented that Hoberman differs from other lawyers in that -- “She not only knows people, she connects the dots between the entrepreneur and the resources needed."

    Entrepreneur's Toolkit Talk: Positioning your Company for Fundability

    David Calone, President and CEO, Jove Equity Partners

    David Calone, President and CEO, Jove Equity Partners

    David L. Calone is the CEO of Jove Equity Partners LLC, a venture capital firm that helps build technology companies in the internet, software, digital media, energy, real estate, transportation and healthcare industries. He serves as a director of eight privately-held companies located throughout the country and is a co-inventor on fifteen issued U.S. patents. He helped organize the recently formed bipartisan Congressional Caucus on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the U.S. House of Representatives through which he has been a leading advocate for federal policies that promote the creation and development of start-ups and other small businesses. He is the co-founder of the newly launched Long Island Emerging Technologies Fund which creates and provides seed funding for early stage technology companies on Long Island. Since 2008, Mr. Calone has served as the Chairman of the Suffolk County Planning Commission where his efforts were recognized with a National Association of Counties’ 2012 National Achievement Award. He is also on the board of directors of Accelerate Long Island, the Long Island Angel Network, United Way of Long Island and the Community Development Corporation of Long Island. Previously, Mr. Calone served as a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice where he received the national “Attorney General’s Award”for prosecuting terrorism and international crime, and as a Special Assistant Attorney General in the NY State Attorney General’s Office where he prosecuted health care fraud and helped negotiate the largest Medicaid settlement in state history. He is an honors graduate of Harvard Law School and has an economics degree from Princeton University where he was named a USA Today College Academic All-American.

    Entrepreneur's Toolkit Talk: How to Assemble a Board of Advisors

    George Likourezos, Partner, Carter, Deluca, Farrell & Schmidt, LLP

    George Likourezos, Partner, Carter, Deluca, Farrell & Schmidt, LLP

    Mr. George Likourezos is a law partner at the intellectual property law firm of Carter, DeLuca, Farrell & Schmidt, LLP in Melville, NY.  He specializes in patent law and is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.  He has particular expertise in fields of technology including digital electronics, computer architecture, communication systems, electrical circuits and components, optical scanning and imaging, semiconductor devices, semiconductor manufacturing and related electromechanical arts. Mr. Likourezos also has expertise in analyzing patents and IP portfolios in connection with litigation, mergers and acquisitions, product clearance investigations, patentability studies, and for advising R&D teams.  He has a B.S. in electrical engineering and an M.S. in Operations Management from Polytechnic University (now NYU Tandon School of Engineering).  He earned his J.D. at Touro Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center. Mr. Likourezos serves on the advisory board of several technology companies, and is a Board member of the Long Island Capital Alliance and ADDAPT.

    Entrepreneur's Toolkit Talk: What is Patentable?

    Karen O'Connor, Tax Director, Marcum, LLP

    Karen O'Connor, Tax Director, Marcum, LLP

    Karen L. O’Connor is a Tax Director at Marcum LLP, working closely with start-up companies, family-owned businesses and large, multi-state companies.  Ms. O’Connor provides tax consulting, planning, financial statement disclosure and ongoing compliance services to both public and private entities. With nineteen years of professional experience she has served companies in a variety of industries.

    Entrepreneur's Toolkit Talk: Tax Matters for Technology Ventures

    Valeri Lantz-Gefroh, Improvisation Program Director, Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, Stony Brook University

    Valeri Lantz-Gefroh, Improvisation Program Director, Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, Stony Brook University

    Valeri Lantz-Gefroh is a Lecturer in the School of Journalism where she serves as the Improvisation Program Director in the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science. She teaches workshops and graduate courses at Stony Brook University and School of Medicine, and travels around the country teaching improvisation at other universities, medical schools, hospitals, conferences and labs. Val was the creator of Science on Tap, an award winning live event and web show. She created Science Unplugged, an outreach program, where she mentors and coaches students from the Alda Center to give science talks in high schools and public libraries.

    Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science

    Dan Conley, Shirt Sleeve Angel

    Dan Conley, Shirt Sleeve Angel

    Angels + Life.Sci Investors are organized by Dan Conley who leads DealScreening, DealScrubbing, Due Diligence and Investments for over a dozen earlystage life sciences companies. Dan backs “Best of the Best CEOs” who lead Fundable Teams - across the USA, and in a variety of Life Science niches. Dan has created outsized returns for his Conley Family Office and co-investors. Robotics and automation, A. I. machine learning, Big Data and Analytics are portfolio focus now that robots are growing Stem Cells and other Tissues to reduce genetic drift & create repeatable experiments.

    Venture Capital Panelist

    Marcene Sonneborn, SBIR & Innovation Specialist, Central New York Technology Development Organization (TDO)

    Marcene Sonneborn, SBIR & Innovation Specialist, Central New York Technology Development Organization (TDO)

    Marcene S. Sonneborn is a Regional Innovation and SBIR Specialist for the Central New York Technology Development Organization (TDO). The TDO's SBIR/STTR program has supported small companies for over 20 years in a multi-region area to generate over $200 million in R&D awards. In this capacity, Marcie conducts workshops around New York State for companies interested in federal technology programs including SBIR, Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR), NIST Programs, and others. She also provides one-on-one assistance to companies and entrepreneurs to help them to coordinate the proposal preparation process. She reviews proposals for her clients prior to submission and assists them when they are preparing their SBIR/STTR project budgets. She also uses the NYS Empire State Development network of resources to provide expertise to clients from across New York if capabilities are not available within the client's region.



    Marcie's specialty is marketing and strategic planning for technology-based and emerging growth companies. She has her MBA from the Syracuse University Whitman School of Management and received her degree in the Innovation Management Program, with emphasis in marketing and finance. Marcie is a Professor of Practice in Entrepreneurship at the SU School of Information Studies. She was formerly an adjunct faculty for the Whitman School of Management Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises Program, teaching courses in entrepreneurship, innovation, and creativity. Marcie is a recipient of the Tibbetts Award from the U.S. Small Business Administration. This award is given for economic impact of technological innovation, business achievement, and effective collaborations, and effective state and regional impact and support.

    How to Identify and Win SBIR Contracts

  • Cybersecurity

    Expert Speakers

    Justin Cappos, Associate Professor, Department of Systems and Security, New York University

    Justin Cappos, Associate Professor, Department of Systems and Security, New York University

    Justin Cappos is an associate professor in the Computer Science and Engineering department at New York University. Justin's research philosophy focuses on improving real world systems, often by addressing issues that arise in practical deployments. His research advances are deployed in widely used software including Python, VMware, DigitalOcean, Docker, git, and most Linux distributions.  Due to the practical impact of his research, Justin has received several awards including being named to Popular Science's Brilliant 10 list in 2013.

    Securing Software Updates In IoT: Does One Size Fit All?

    Steve Cento, Sector Engineering Fellow, Aerospace Systems (NGAS) Sector, Northrop Grumman Corporation

    Steve Cento, Sector Engineering Fellow, Aerospace Systems (NGAS) Sector, Northrop Grumman Corporation

    Steve Cento is a Sector Engineering Fellow for Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems (NGAS) Sector in Bethpage NY.



    During his 31 year professional career at Northrop Grumman Corporation, Steve has served as lead engineer and program/engineering manager on numerous Government contract and internal R&D program efforts, specializing in development and transition of cutting-edge advanced Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) and multi-source information integration technologies, and associated software capabilities/products.



    Prior to that time, Steve worked for eight years as a Data Scientist in the biomedical community, including managing the Biostatistics Laboratory Computing Facility at Sloan-Kettering Institute (SKI) in NYC.



    Mr. Cento has a B.S. dual degree in Mathematics and Computer and Information Science from Brooklyn College of C.U.N.Y., and has done graduate work in Computer Science at New York University (NYU) Courant Institute, and in Biostatistics at Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences.

    Challenge Cases for Collaboration with Industry and Academia in Anomaly Detection Algorithm Research

    Bruce Willins, Engineering Fellow, Zebra Technologies

    Bruce Willins, Engineering Fellow, Zebra Technologies

    Bruce Willins is an Engineering Fellow at Zebra Technologies. Mr Willins has over 30 years of experience in marketing and development of high technology products. He has served in numerous senior level positions, including; VP of Engineering For Hauppauge Computer; VP of R&D at Symbol Technologies, VP of Engineering / GM Strategic Business at SMC Networks, and President/Founder of Netways Inc. Mr Willins is a a past member of the Motorola Science Advisory Board (SABA) and a Symbol Technologies Fellow. He is the recipient of the IEEE Charles Hirsch award, has numerous patents, and is a frequent lecturer.

    Android Security and Lifecycle Management

    Domenick Gandolfo, Co-Founder & Chief Security Strategist, Cybersafe Solutions

    Domenick Gandolfo, Co-Founder & Chief Security Strategist, Cybersafe Solutions

    Domenick Gandolfo is Co-Founder and Chief Security Strategist of Cybersafe Solutions and is a seasoned cybersecurity veteran with over 19 years of hands-on experience in data security and data compliance. Prior to founding Cybersafe Solutions, Domenick was Chief Security Officer at the country’s largest urology practice and was tasked with developing a comprehensive technology and security roadmap. During his tenure, he drove a complete redesign of server and network infrastructures while supporting 1,000 employees across 62 locations. His career has also included IT management and consulting positions in Education and the private sector, and he has worked with Fortune 500 companies including Cisco, EMC, Hitachi, Avaya and Dell. Domenick holds the prestigious and globally recognized Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) designation. He also holds the GIAC Certified Incident Handler (GCIH), GIAC Penetration Tester (GPEN) and GIAC Certified Forensic Analyst (GCFA) information security certifications. Domenick has also held previous certifications as a Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP), Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) and a Citrix Certified Administrator (CCA).

    Inside Cybersecurity – Why Security is Failing?

    Babak Beheshti, Associate Dean, School of Engineering and Computing Sciences, New York Institute of Technology

    Babak Beheshti, Associate Dean, School of Engineering and Computing Sciences, New York Institute of Technology

    Babak D. Beheshti is the Associate Dean and Professor of the School of Engineering, New York Institute of Technology; where he has served since 1987. Babak's areas of interest include wireless sensor networks, embedded real time systems, wireless and cellular systems, and digital signal processing. Babak has over 20 years of experience in R&D for embedded systems and wireless technology industry, where he has successfully managed joint R&D programs with many Asian, European and US companies including Siemens Mobile, Nokia, Samsung, KDDI and LG.



    Babak has been an active member of IEEE since 1991 having held positions at section, region and major board levels. He is currently member of Publication Services & Products Board of IEEE, as well as Region 1 Student Activities Chair.



    Babak is the recipient of the 2014 IEEE, MGA Leadership Award: For dedicated leadership in serving IEEE members at the Section, Region, USA, and global levels, and for contributing significantly towards achieving the goals of the IEEE Member and Geographic Activities Board; the IEEE Millennium Medal; the IEEE Long Island Section Athanasios Papoulis Outstanding Educator Award; and three IEEE Region 1 Awards, including 2008 IEEE Northeastern Region Technical Innovation Award “For Providing Technical Leadership in the Development of State-of-the Art Reconfigurable Wireless Technologies”.

    IPv6 Based WSN Performance Analysis

    Rick Boivie, Manager, Advanced Internet and Security Technologies, IBM Research

    Rick Boivie, Manager, Advanced Internet and Security Technologies, IBM Research

    Dr. Rick Boivie, a member of the IBM Academy of Technology at IBM's T. J. Watson Research Center, has a long history of innovation in the areas of computer architecture, operating systems, networking and security -- as an individual researcher, first-line manager, second-line manager and technical executive. He had leadership roles going back to IBM's first Unix systems and first TCP/IP systems (and wrote IBM's first ethernet driver).

    He was technical lead and then manager of the group in Milford, Connecticut that developed the hardware and software for the "New NSFNET". The "New NSFNET" was the principal backbone of the Internet from 1988 to 1995 and increased the capacity of the links in the Internet backbone from 56 Kbits/second to 1.5 Mbits/second and then to 45 Mbits/second. This was the spark that ignited the worldwide Internet revolution of the 1990's. (In late 1987 or early 1988, he and a colleague also built what may have been the world's first Internet firewall.)



    More recently, he led a project to develop a highly secure CPU chip (SecureBlue) that has been used in 10's of millions of systems to protect these systems from physical attack and physical tampering.

    Even more recently, he invented and developed an initial prototype of SecureBlue++, an innovative CPU architecture that builds upon SecureBlue and provides "fine-grained" SecureBlue-like protection to protect the confidentiality and integrity of an application's information from the other software on a system including privileged software, like the operating system, device drivers and application's that run with root privileges -- and malware that obtains root privileges by exploiting a bug in privileged software.

    He has been named an IBM Master Inventor and an IBM Distinguished Engineer and has received a number of "Outstanding Innovation", "Outstanding Technical Achievement" and Corporate awards.

    A Cloud Computing Service that Protects Client Devices and Enterprises from Malware in Email Attachments and Web Sites

    Warren Axelrod, Research Director, U.S. Cyber Consequences Uni

    Warren Axelrod, Research Director, U.S. Cyber Consequences Uni

    C. Warren Axelrod is the Research Director for Financial Services with the US Cyber Consequences Unit. Previously, he was the Business Information Security Officer and Chief Privacy Officer for US Trust. He was a founding member of the FS/ISAC and represented financial services cybersecurity interests in the National Information Center in Washington, DC during the Y2K date rollover. He testified before Congress on cyber security in 2001.



    Warren was honored with the Information Security Executive Luminary Leadership Award in 2007, and received Computerworld Premier 100 award in 2003. He won the 2009 Michael P. Cangemi Best Book/Best Article Award for his article on security metrics in the ISACA Journal. Warren’s recent books include Engineering Safe and Secure Software Systems (2012), Outsourcing Information Security (2004), and Enterprise Information Security and Privacy (2009), for which he was coordinating editor. He has published over a hundred professional articles. Warren received his Ph.D. in managerial economics from Cornell University, and both a B.Sc. inelectrical engineering and an M.A. in economics and statistics, with honors, from Glasgow University. He certified as a CISSP and CISM. He is a member of IEEE, ACM, (ISC) 2 and ISACA.

    Cybersecurity Challenges of Systems-of-Systems for Fully-Autonomous Road Vehicles

  • Health Technologies

    Expert Speakers

    Eugene Sayan, CEO, Softheon, Inc.

    Eugene Sayan, CEO, Softheon, Inc.

    Eugene Sayan leads Softheon in its mission to develop innovative solutions for healthcare payers, providers, and government agencies. Since 2000, he has been responsible for the corporate strategic vision and direction. Prior to Softheon, he led big data and process management initiatives for Fortune 1000 companies and completed a tenure at IBM. He received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering & telecommunication from Istanbul Technical University and a Masters in Computer Science from the New York Institute of Technology.

    Social Determinants with Big Data & Machine Learning to Disrupt $3T US Healthcare Market

    Robert J. Beckman, Managing Partner, The Channel Group, LLC

    Robert J. Beckman, Managing Partner, The Channel Group, LLC

    Robert Beckman is the founder and Managing Partner of The Channel Group (TCG), a strategic advisory company focused on venture development and strategic transactions in healthcare. Each of the TCG partners have advanced degrees in science/medicine and most have been leaders in large and entrepreneurial companies. Formed in 2002, TCG works with clients around the globe in biotechnology, medical technology, clinical diagnostics, imaging and research tools. TCG has alliance partners in investment banking and, European and Israel based clinical /regulatory and commercial development.



    Beckman has served in the executive leadership of healthcare companies in both Fortune 500 companies and entrepreneurial startups. He was one of the founders and served in Board leadership at BIO and the New York Biotechnology Association (now NYBIO). He has a long history and continues to be engaged globally in supporting the development healthcare innovation.



    Mr. Beckman studied in undergraduate and graduate programs in Pharmaceuticals at Columbia University. He spent his early career in strategic planning for large healthcare companies in pharmaceuticals, clinical diagnostics and medical technology. He joined Revlon Healthcare as Vice President, Marketing Services and advanced to the position of General Manager of the Biochemical and Diagnostic Division of companies there. After Revlon’s pharmaceutical businesses were acquired by Rorer Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Beckman led a management buyout of a division of Armour Pharmaceuticals, which became the foundation of Intergen Company. As Founder and CEO of Intergen Mr. Beckman executed a successful acquisition campaign and built a profitable manufacturing-based life science company with facilities globally. Intergen was sold in 2002 and The Channel Group was formed soon after.

    Taking the Big Leap from a Great Scientific Concept to Commercial Viability

    S. Mason Dambrot, Research Fellow, Brain-Machine Interface Consortium, Artificial General Intelligence Society

    S. Mason Dambrot, Research Fellow, Brain-Machine Interface Consortium, Artificial General Intelligence Society

    S. Mason Dambrot is a Transdisciplinary Researcher | Theorist, Research Fellow at Artificial General Intelligence Society, and Research Fellow at Brain Machine Interface Consortium. He is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society; IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society; IEEE Brain Community; IEEE Life Sciences Community; IEEE Nanotechnology Council; IEEE Sensors Council; Humanity+ (previous Board Member); and Lifeboat Foundation (Advisory Board). His recent publications include Exocortical Cognition: Heads in the Cloud—A transdisciplinary framework for augmenting human high-level cognitive processes (IEEE Xplore, 2017); The Zeitgeist of Change: The evolutionary neurobiology of political behavior and Of Mind and Money: Post-scarcity economics and human nature (Transpolitica.org and Kindle, 2015); and has authored Neuroprosthetics: Past, Present, and Future, a chapter in Brain Computer Interfaces Handbook: Technological and Theoretical Advances (Taylor & Francis Group, in press).

    Enplants: A Theoretical Transdisciplinary Cognitive Augmentation Technology Illustrating the Critical Role of Imagination in Envisioning Future Science Scenarios

    Nicholas Polosky, Associate Computer Scientist/Engineer I, ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC

    Nicholas Polosky, Associate Computer Scientist/Engineer I, ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC

    Mr. Nicholas Polosky is an associate scientist/engineer at ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC. He is responsible for the implementation and verification of algorithms that enhance dynamic spectrum access and support signal intelligence on a defense contract for future airborne networks. He focuses on an application of artificial neural networks to modulation classification problem. Mr. Polosky has developed an approach that demonstrated adequate to superior classification performance in relevant wireless communication scenarios. He is also performing feasibility study on a multi-disciplinary team using electroencephalogram (EEG) measurements for brain computer interface applications to enable users through EEG feedback to communicate and physically interact with their environment. In this arena Mr. Polosky has implemented long-short-term-memory networks for EEG classification and is interacting with ANDRO senior scientists, educators and collaborators from medical research institutions.



    He received his BS in Computer Science from Cornell University in the spring of 2017. He has co-authored IEEE conference papers proposing novel solutions to automatic modulation classification on an expanded signal modulation dictionary with linear and non-linear modulations of digital communication signals. Mr. Polosky's areas of expertise and research interests include artificial intelligence, machine learning, brain computer interfaces, cognitive radio, and wireless communication. He is an aspiring ADK 46er.

    Artificial Neural Network with Electroencephalogram Sensors for Brainwave Interpretation: Brain-Observer-Indicator Development Challenges

    Gil Bashe, Managing Partner, Crisis Communication Health, Finn Partners

    Gil Bashe, Managing Partner, Crisis Communication Health, Finn Partners

    Gil Bashe’s healthcare career spans patient, physician, provider, payer, and policy sectors. At the center of Gil’s life and work is the belief that communication influences quality patient care. Prior to joining Finn Partners, Gil was Executive VP and Health Practice Director at Makovsky for more than 12 years. During his tenure, Gil was named by PR News as one of the nation’s “Top Crisis Communicators” and inducted into its Hall of Fame.

    Gil is among the few communications executives with private-equity background. In 1999, he was tapped by GTCR Golder Rauner, one of the nation’s largest venture funds, as CEO of Health!Quest Communications.  An integrated marketer, he led CommonHealth, the global WPP Group health-marketing network and at its sister-company Hill & Knowlton, he was the first global Practice Director for its Health and Pharmaceutical Practice. Before this, Gil led the specialist healthcare firm, Medicus PR, recognized in 1994 by the influential industry publication Inside PR as “Hottest Healthcare Agency.” That same year, he was named by Inside PR as “Health and Medical All-Star.”

    Winner of numerous awards for creativity and industry leadership, including the PharmaVOICE 100 in 2016, he was listed among “The Top Brains in the New World of Work” by Fast Company magazine.  Gil is immediate-past chair of the American Heart Association (AHA) Founder’s Affiliate and an advisory board member of the Galien Foundation.

    Cost, Convenience and Chaos Guide the Consumer Health Journey – Now What?!
     

    Wei Lin, Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University

    Wei Lin, Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University

    Wei Lin received B.Ss degree in Biomedical Engineering in 1986 and M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1989 from Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China. He received Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stony Brook University in 2001, Stony Brook, NY, U.S.



    Dr. Lin joined the Department of Applied Mechanics in Fudan University, Shanghai, China as the assistant professor in 1989 and lecturer in 1993. He joined the Department of Biomedical Engineering as the assistant professor in 2004 and associate professor in 2013. His current research interests include medical instrumentation, wearable medical devices and high performance computing in embedded systems. Dr. Lin is a member in IEEE and Biomedical Engineering Society.

    An Authentication Protocol for Wearable Medical Devices

    Klaus Mueller, Professor, Department of Computer Science, Stony Brook University

    Klaus Mueller, Professor, Department of Computer Science, Stony Brook University

    Klaus Mueller received a PhD in computer science from the Ohio State University. He is currently a professor in the Computer Science Department at Stony Brook University and is also a senior adjunct scientist in the Computational Science Initiative at Brookhaven National Labs. His current research interests are visualization, visual analytics, data science, medical imaging, and high-performance computing, He won the US National Science Foundation CAREER award in 2001, the SUNY Chancellor Award in 2011, and the IEEE Meritorious Service Award in 2016. Mueller has authored more than 170 peer- reviewed journal and conference papers, which have been cited more than 7,500 times. He served as paper chair for IEEE SciVis in 2011 and 2012, and is currently an Associate Editor-in- Chief of IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. He was until recently the chair of the IEEE Technical Committee on Visualization and Computer Graphics and is a senior member of the IEEE.

    A Virtual Reality Grocery Shopping Game to Improve Heath Awareness in Young Adults

    Christos G. Morris, CEO, eVero Corporation

    Christos G. Morris, CEO, eVero Corporation

    As CEO of the eVero Corporation, Mr. Morris possesses an in-depth knowledge of the regulatory mandates and work-flow requirements inherent to serving the I/DD community.  This includes the key influencing business and technical drivers that critically effect client-specific operational efficiencies.  Christos’ vision was to structure eVero as a one stop solution company which provides its clients with subject matter expertise in case management software, technical infrastructure and data integration including bi-directional data feeds to core client internal databases; billing, human resources and case management systems.

    Under Christos’ leadership eVero has steadily expanded its client base that now includes government agencies, health care institutions, and large health service organizations. Christos also helped found eVero Corporation’s unique Outreach Program where select Individuals with disabilities enrolled in a Supported Employment Program (SEMP) are hired and trained by eVero to become Computer Instructors. These employees are now, in turn, teaching other Individuals in the SEMP Program basic computer skills to further their personal growth.  Over the last several years, this Program has more than tripled in size and now includes “courses” that emphasize interviewing skills.

    Christos is an active participant on a number of boards and committees representing organizations that serve the community and is often a presenter on the role of technology in the Health Services Industry. 

    How Technology is Shaping the Future of People with Developmental Disabilities 

    James Powell, Clinical Instructor, Department of Medicine; Medical Director of Developmental Disabilities Institute/Opti-Healthcare Hospital, Stony Brook University Medicine

    James Powell, Clinical Instructor, Department of Medicine; Medical Director of Developmental Disabilities Institute/Opti-Healthcare Hospital, Stony Brook University Medicine

    Dr. James R. Powell, Jr. is the Chief Medical Officer for Long Island Select Healthcare Inc. (LISH), a federally qualified health center with eight locations in Suffolk County.  LISH was created in August 2016 with the merger of the United Cerebral Palsy of Suffolk County (UCP), Developmental Disabilities Institute (DDI), and Family Residences and Essential Enterprises (FREE) health centers.  Dr. Powell is a board-certified Internist as well as the Medical Director of both DDI and UCP. He has been a member of the voluntary faculty at Stony Brook University as well as the Options for Community Living Incident Review Committee. He is currently on staff at Mather Memorial, St. Charles and Peconic Bay Medical Center.  A former board member of the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry, Dr. Powell has presented lectures nationally regarding primary care and telemedicine. He recently completed New York State Department of Health grant which brought telemedicine to individuals homes.

    Dr. Powell was born and raised on Long Island and returned to the area to settle down after attending Binghamton University, Ross University School of Medicine and the University of Connecticut School of Medicine.

    Telemedicine And Vulnerable Populations: Improving Access And Care For Those Who Need It Most

    Elinor Schoenfeld, Research Professor of Family, Population & Preventive Medicine, Deputy Division Head, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistic; Research Professor, Department of Biomedical Informatics, Stony Brook University Medicine

    Elinor Schoenfeld, Research Professor of Family, Population & Preventive Medicine, Deputy Division Head, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistic; Research Professor, Department of Biomedical Informatics, Stony Brook University Medicine

    Dr. Schoenfeld is Research Professor of Family, Population & Preventive Medicine, Deputy Division Head, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and Research Professor, Department of Biomedical Informatics, School of Medicine, Stony Brook University. She serves as co-chair of the Research Committee, Center for Aging in Place in Suburbia. Dr. Schoenfeld received her MS and PhD in Epidemiology from the University at Buffalo. Since joining the faculty at Stony Brook University, she has developed a research program focused on community engaged research and technology. She has served as PI, Co-PI, or Co-I on close to 40 NIH, HRSA, state and private foundation funded research. She has led development of innovative software for health and research data management and has served as the lead developer of EasyHealthHX (© Research Foundation of SUNY) a consumer eHealth application to help individuals create their medical history. She serves as research mentor for students and junior faculty with an interest in clinical and translational research. Dr. Schoenfeld serves on the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute’s (PCORI) Advisory Board on Addressing Disparities and holds voluntary appointments in the School of Nursing, Program in Public Health, and the School of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology at Stony Brook University.

    Aging in Place

    Erich Bremer, Director for Cyberinfrastructure, Health Sciences Division of Applied Informatics, School of Medicine, Stony Brook University

    Erich Bremer, Director for Cyberinfrastructure, Health Sciences Division of Applied Informatics, School of Medicine, Stony Brook University

    Erich Bremer is the Director for Applied Informatics, Department of Biomedical Informatics (BMI), supervising a team of software developers for multiple projects within BMI. He has served as the Advisory Council representative for Stony Brook University to the World Web Consortium (W3C) for several years participating in the development of WebID, a de-centralized authentication and identity system for the Web. Prior to this, he served as the Associate Director for Medical Informatics, and lead engineer and director for the Academic Research Computing and Networking (ARCAN) for Stony Brook Medicine. He has varied background in computers with expertise in networking, systems, databases, and software development but currently is focused of W3C Semantic Web Technologies including RDF, SPARQL, and OWL-based ontologies for various areas like Pathomics and collaborative imaging systems using W3C-based technologies. He received his MSc and BS in Computer and Systems Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of Technology in 1991 and 1990, respectively, and is currently a part-time PhD student in Computer Science at Stony Brook University.

    Qualitative Imaging Pathology (QuIP): Towards Generation, Management, and Exploration of Combined Radiomics and Pathomics Datasets for Cancer Research

  • Internet of Things

    Expert Speakers

    Bob DiFazio, Vice President, InterDigital Labs, InterDigital Communications, Inc.

    Bob DiFazio, Vice President, InterDigital Labs, InterDigital Communications, Inc.

    Dr. Robert A. DiFazio is the Vice President of InterDigital Labs in the company’s Wireless Business Unit. He manages and actively participates in numerous research and development projects addressing 5G cellular technology, next generation Wi-Fi, millimeter wave radio systems, small cell and heterogeneous wireless networks, machine-to-machine communications, and advanced systems for efficient use and sharing of spectrum to meet the ever-increasing demand for wireless data. He contributes to technology planning at InterDigital and the company’s collaboration with many universities. Dr. DiFazio has almost forty years of experience in research, design, implementation, and testing of new technologies for commercial and military wireless systems. Prior to InterDigital, he spent more than twenty years at BAE Systems working on software defined radios, smart antenna systems, jam resistant modems, and low probability of intercept communication and navigation systems. He has a Ph.D. from the NYU Tandon School of Engineering (formerly, Brooklyn Poly). He serves on the Industry Advisory Committee for the NYU-Poly Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and on the Industry Advisory Board for New York Institute of Technology. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and holds over forty issued and numerous pending US patents.

    5G Wireless - Way More Than Higher Data Rates

    Yang Qin, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science, Professor Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen Graduate School, China

    Yang Qin, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science, Professor Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen Graduate School, China

    Yang Qin is an associate professor of Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen Graduate School October 2008. She has been an IEEE Senior Member since June 2006 and was awarded the Shenzhen Region Talent recognition = in May 2010. Her research interests include Wireless and Mobile Networks, Cross-layer design on QoS routing and scheduling, protection and restoration, Opportunistic Routing, and Network Coding.She has published over 100 papers internationally, including IEEE Networks, IEEE/OSA Journal of Lightwave Technology (JLT) IEEE Communications Magazine, Optical Express, IEEE Globecom. 

    Joint Resouce Allocation and Routing in Wireless Cognitive Radio Networks

    Songtao Guo, Department of Computer Science, Southwest University, China

    Songtao Guo, Department of Computer Science, Southwest University, China

    Songtao Guo received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Software and Theory from Chongqing University, Chongqing, China, in 1999, 2003 and 2008, respectively. He was a professor from 2011 to 2012 at Chongqing University. At present, he is a full professor at Southwest University, China. He was a senior research associate at the City University of Hong Kong from 2010 to 2011, and a visiting scholar at Stony Brook University, New York, USA, from May 2011 to May 2012. His research interests include wireless sensor networks, wireless ad hoc networks and parallel and distributed computing. He has published more than 70 scientific papers in leading refereed journals such as IEEE TC, TCOM, TMC, JPDC, etc, and international conferences such as IEEE INFOCOM, ACM IQWOS, IEEE SECON, ICPADS, GLOBECOM, ICC, etc, in which more than 30 papers are published as the first author. He has received many research grants as a Principal Investigator from the National Science Foundation of China and Chongqing and the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China.

    Robust Computation Offloading and Resource Scheduling in Mobile Edge Computing

    Grace Wang, Professor, Department of Computer Science, New Jersey Institute of Technology

    Grace Wang, Professor, Department of Computer Science, New Jersey Institute of Technology

    Grace Guiling Wang, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science at New Jersey Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on wireless sensor networks, vehicular networks, network security and mobile computing. Wang's past work on mobile sensor networks has been internationally recognized and widely cited by peer researchers. Now she pioneers in solving the energy problem in sensor networks by utilizing the wireless recharging technology and sensor replacement and reclamation strategy. She also works on another project studying the symbiosis of sensor networks and vehicular networks to provide a more effective and reliable solution to improve driving safety. These projects are supported by the National Science Foundation.



    Wang has published papers in highly competitive top-tier conferences such as INFOCOM, ICNP, ICDCS and PerCom, and prestigious journals such as IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, ACM Transactions on Sensor Networks, and IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology. Her papers have also been widely cited by other conference and journal papers. She received her PhD degree in computer science and a minor degree in statistics from The Pennsylvania State University and her BS degree in software from Nankai University, China.

    A Convolutional Neural Network for Transit Mode Detection Based on Smartphone Platform

    Sayed Chhattan Shah, Assistant Professor, Department of Information Communication Engineering, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, South Korea

    Sayed Chhattan Shah, Assistant Professor, Department of Information Communication Engineering, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, South Korea

    Sayed Chhattan Shah is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science in the Department of Information Communication Engineering at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Korea. He is also Director of Mobile Grid and Cloud Computing Laboratory. His research interests lie in the fields of parallel and distributed computing systems, mobile computational clouds and ad hoc networks. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Korea University in 2012 and his M.S. in Computer Science from National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences in 2008. Prior to joining HUFS, he was a Senior Researcher at the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute South Korea and Engineer at the National Engineering and Scientific Commission Pakistan. He also held faculty positions at Seoul National University of Science and Technology,Korea University, Dongguk University, Hamdard University and Isra University.



    Shah is an Editor of IEEE Internet Initiative and Associate Editor of Information Processing Systems. He has served as the Conference Chair and on program committees of various international conferences. He is a senior member of IEEE, and a member of IEEE Communications Society, International Telecommunication Union, Korean GNSS Society, and International Association of Engineers.

    Mobile Edge Cloud Architecture

    Emre Salman, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Stony Brook University

    Emre Salman, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Stony Brook University

    Emre Salman is an associate professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Stony Brook University (SUNY), where he directs the Nanoscale Circuits and Systems (NanoCAS) Laboratory. He received the PhD degree from the University of Rochester in 2009 and the BSc degree from Sabanci University, Turkey in 2004. His broad research interests include energy efficient integrated circuits (ICs) for emerging applications such as Internet-of- things and bioelectronics. Emre received NSF CAREER Award in 2013, Outstanding Young Engineer Award from IEEE Long Island in 2014, and multiple Outreach Initiative Awards from IEEE Circuits and Systems Society. He is a Stony Brook University Discovery Prize finalist and recipient of a best paper award from Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) TECHCON in 2016. Emre has authored and co-authored one tutorial book, three book chapters, more than 60 papers in refereed IEEE/ACM journals and conferences, and holds two issued, two pending US patents.  He is a senior member of IEEE.

    Can AC Computing be an Alternative for Wirelessly Powered IoT Devices?

  • Smart Manufacturing

    Expert Speakers

    William Murray, Business Development, Digital & Additive Manufacturing, New York State Division of Science, Technology & Innovation (NYSTAR)

    William Murray, Business Development, Digital & Additive Manufacturing, New York State Division of Science, Technology & Innovation (NYSTAR)

    Bill Murray is one of four New York Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NY MEP) representatives embedded in the Manufacturing  USA innovation institutes, under a grant from NIST-MEP administered by Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology & Innovation. Bill is supporting two Manufacturing USA Federal manufacturing Institutes: America Makes (Additive Manufacturing) and DMDII (Digital Manufacturing). Both Institutes are represented in New York State through RIT, located in Rochester NY. Bill’s role is to promote these two institutes to small and medium-sized manufacturers across New York State to strengthen their competitiveness. Prior to joining ESD Bill was a volunteer doing humanitarian work for the North Country Mission of Hope in Nicaragua for one year. Before that he was the Executive Director for CITEC, the MEP Center serving the North Country region of New York State.

    Session Moderator

    Cindy Chang, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stony Brook University

    Cindy Chang, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stony Brook University

    Professor Qing (Cindy) Chang’s research interest includes manufacturing dynamic system modeling and simulation, real-time energy management of manufacturing systems, real-time production control, intelligent maintenance of manufacturing systems and battery manufacturing and re-manufacturing. Dr. Chang received a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2014. Before joining Stony Brook in 2011, she worked in General Motors Research & Development Center, where she won General Motors Boss Kettering Awards and The Charles L. McCuen Special Achievement Awards. She has published 70+ refereed journal articles and conference papers and holds 3 United States patents. Dr. Chang has served on numerous international/domestic conference/symposium organizing committees and chairmanships of technical sessions for IEEE, ASME, SAE, and SME etc. Dr. Chang obtained M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from University of Wisconsin – Madison and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from University of Michigan – Ann Arbor.

    Energy-Aware Operations in Manufacturing Systems

    John Wen, Ph.D., Head, Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

    John Wen, Ph.D., Head, Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

    John T. Wen received B.Eng. from McGill University, M.S. from University of Illinois, and Ph.D. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, all in Electrical Engineering. He was a system engineer at Fisher Controls, and a member of technical staff at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Since 1988, he has been with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he is currently the Head of Industrial and Systems Engineering and a Professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering. From 2005-2013, he served as the Director of the Center for Automation Technologies and Systems (CATS), a New York State designated Center for Advanced Technology. He co-leads the New York State participation in the recently awarded DOD Manufacturing USA Institute, Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM). He was awarded the 2013 IEEE Control Systems Society Transition to Practice Award base in part on his co-invention of the Adaptive Scanning Optical Microscope (ASOM). Dr. Wen's research interest lies in the modeling and control of dynamical systems with applications to precision motion, robotic manipulation, distributed systems, thermal management, and materials processing. Dr. Wen is a Fellow of IEEE.

    Smart Robots for Smart Manufacturing

    Randall Sandone, Executive Director, Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

    Randall Sandone, Executive Director, Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

    Randall J. Sandone is the Executive Director of CIRI. Mr. Sandone has had a comprehensive career guiding research and technology projects in settings ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies. His strengths lie in relationship building and project management.



    His professional experience is in the software development sector. Mr. Sandone was the founder and CEO of a high- assurance software company that became the global leader in its market. The company grew to a staff of 120 with offices throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Pacific Rim. He established strategic marketing and distribution alliances with “Big Iron” computer manufacturers such as Sun Microsystems, IBM, and Fujitsu-Siemens. Mr. Sandone has secured significant customer relationships with a wide range of organizations in the defense, intelligence, and law enforcement communities as well as commercial customers including Credit Suisse, UBS, Chase Bank, the Federal Reserve, Volkswagen AG, and Major League Baseball. In this and in other executive leadership positions for a number of globally-oriented companies he was responsible for technology transition and licensing, commercialization, product development, and financial management.



    Mr. Sandone is a former member of the University of Illinois College of Engineering Advisory Board and was a finalist for Ernst & Young’s “Entrepreneur of the Year for Illinois and Northern Indiana” and finalist for KPMG’s “Illinois Technology Award.” Mr. Sandone is also a member of the Strategic Advisory Board of the Maritime and Port Security Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (MPS-ISAO).

    Cybersecurity Standards and Compliance Mandates

    Michael Thurston, Research Professor and Director, Center of Excellence in Advanced & Sustainable Manufacturing, Rochester Institute of Technology

    Michael Thurston, Research Professor and Director, Center of Excellence in Advanced & Sustainable Manufacturing, Rochester Institute of Technology

    Dr. Michael Thurston is the Technical Director of the Golisano Institute for Sustainability at Rochester Institute of Technology. He is also Director of the NY State Center of Excellence in Advanced and Sustainable Manufacturing located at RIT. Dr. Thurston has Mechanical Engineering degrees from RIT and completed his PhD at the University of Buffalo. He has been working at RIT in the area of sustainable production since 2001. Prior to that he worked at General Motors and Delphi in new product development.



    Dr. Thurston is involved with several Manufacturing USA Institutes. He currently serves on the Technical Advisory and Executive Committees of the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDII), a Department of Defense sponsored Institute, and is leading several research projects in this area. Dr. Thurston is also the Remanufacturing technology lead for the newly awarded Department of Energy REMADE Institute which will be headquartered in Rochester.

    Digital Manufacturing Research and Applications

    Michael Fornasiero, Program Manager, Workforce Development and SMM Engagement, UI Labs

    Michael Fornasiero, Program Manager, Workforce Development and SMM Engagement, UI Labs

    Michael Fornasiero is the Program Manager of Workforce Development and SMM Engagement at UI LABS. In his role, Michael is responsible for the development of strategy and programs focused on workforce development, and advancing the adoption of new technologies by small to midsized manufacturers. UI LABS’ workforce development programs focus on building both awareness and capabilities in students and workers that engage with digital manufacturing and design technologies, along with helping industry and academic leaders understand how emerging technologies are impacting jobs and their organizations. Prior to joining UI LABS in 2016 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Advanced Manufacturing Fellow, Michael was a Mechanical Engineer at GE Global Research in the Manufacturing Processes Lab where he worked on challenges in Additive Manufacturing, Non-traditional Machining, Automation, and Simulation. He has a master’s in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic (NSF GK-12 Fellow) and a bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University.

    Manufacturing USA and the Digital Manufacturing & Design Innovation Institute: Advancing Manufacturing Technologies Across the USA

  • Smart Urban Systems

    Expert Speakers

    Yi Zhong, Professor, School of Information Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, ChinaDexter Bailey

    Yi Zhong, Professor, School of Information Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, ChinaDexter Bailey

    Yi Zhong has engaged in the field of digital signal processing, embedded system design and intelligent control theory for over 15 years and came to Stony Brook University for visiting exchange and research in 2012 and 2014.Yi is a tenured faculty member in the School of Information Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wu Han, P.R.China where he has served since 2002, and currently serves as the Dean of Electronic Science and Technology Department . Yi has also been an active consultant and has held positions of increasing responsibility in technical management in the areas of AC Intelligent control systems , Medical robot equipments as well embedded microprocessor based systems, having worked directly with the world’s most widely known handset manufacturers such as Songz Automobile Air Conditioning CO.LTD in China. Yi received his BEEE and MSEE both in the School of Information Engineering from Wuhan University of Technology, in 1999 and 2002, respectively and received Ph.D. of Information and Communication Engineering in 2007. Yi is author of numerous articles and papers, and has presented in many conferences on topics ranging from Embedded Control Systems to System Fault Diagnosis.



    In recent years, Yi has presided and mainly involved 5 National Natural Science Funds in China, and published more than 15 papers in domestic and foreign academic journals and international conferences. Yi is currently one of communication review experts of the National Natural Science Foundation in China and is peer reviewer of several famous international journals.

    Research and Modeling for Intelligent Fault Diagnosis of Air Conditioning System in Electric Bus

    Daniel Minoli, Principal Consultant, DVI Communications

    Daniel Minoli, Principal Consultant, DVI Communications

    Daniel Minoli, Principal Consultant, DVI Communications, has published 60 well-received technical books, 300 papers, 5 market research reports, and made 85 conference presentations. He has many years of technical-hands- on and managerial experience in planning, designing, deploying, and operating secure IP/IPv6-, VoIP, telecom-, wireless-, satellite- and video networks for global Best-In- Class carriers and financial companies. Over the years Mr. Minoli has published and lectured extensively in the area of M2M/Internet Of Things (IoT), network security, satellite systems, wireless networks, IP/IPv6/Metro Ethernet, video/IPTV/multimedia, VoIP, IT/Enterprise Architecture, and network/Internet architecture and services. Mr. Minoli has taught IT and Telecommunications courses at NYU, Stevens Institute of Technology, and Rutgers University. He has acted as Expert Witness and/or IP Technical Consultant in over a dozen legal cases encompassing patent infringement, and other legal matters.

    Mobile IPv6 Protocols and High Efficiency Video Coding For Smart City IoT Applications

    Mark Yedlin, Director of Simulation Modeling Services, Greenman-Pedersen, Inc.

    Mark Yedlin, Director of Simulation Modeling Services, Greenman-Pedersen, Inc.

    Mark Yedlin has over 40 years of experience as a transportation professional specializing in the development and application of traffic simulation models to evaluate proposed improvements to traffic operations. He has held corporate executive and project management positions overseeing numerous transportation studies including simulation analyses of construction staging and work zones, traffic and transit improvements, ITS, traffic safety and air quality. Mr. Yedlin was one of the original developers of FHWA’s popular traffic simulation software, now known as CORSIM. Mr. Yedlin serves on the Transportation Research Board Visualization in Transportation Committee and Nassau County Traffic Safety Board and was a founding member of the Intelligent Transportation Society of New York. Since joining GPI 6 years ago, he’s been responsible for developing simulation models to evaluate traffic mitigation plans for construction projects as well as models to evaluate the effectiveness of Transit Signal Priority. This work was featured in Thinking Highways magazine and merited a 2014 diamond award from the New York Chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies. He holds a B.S. Degree in Physics from Fordham University, a B.S. Degree in Civil Engineering from Columbia University and an M.S. in Transportation Engineering from Polytechnic Institute of NY now the NYU Tandon School of Engineering.

    Forewarned is Forearmed – Predicting Construction Related Traffic Conditions

    Danilo de Freitas Melo, Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Federal Center for Technological Education of Minas Gerais (CEFET-MG), Brazil

    Danilo de Freitas Melo, Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Federal Center for Technological Education of Minas Gerais (CEFET-MG), Brazil

    Danilo Melo received the B.S.in Electrical Engineering from the Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica de Minas Gerais (CEFET-MG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in 1994, and the M.S. and degree in electrical engineering from the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, in 1997. Since 1994, he has been a Faculty Member with CEFET-MG. His current research interests include Smart Cities, Internet of Things, cloud computing, datacenters, parallel and distributed computing.

    Improving the Consumption and Water Heating Efficiency in Smart Buildings

    Dan Turissini, Chief Technology Officer, SPYRUS, Inc.

    Dan Turissini, Chief Technology Officer, SPYRUS, Inc.

     Dan joined SPYRUS in June as Chief Technology Officer responsible for the enhancement and broader adoption of the company’s products and services. A founder of Operational Research Consultants, Inc. in 1991, he led as Chief Executive to become a thought leader in identity verification and trusted authentication. He negotiated its merger with WidePoint where he piloted a seamless transition to a well-funded $120M market cap prior to his 2015 exit.



    Since, he’s provided expert consulting in identity and access control, cryptographic, biometric, and Public Key Infrastructures. Efforts resulted in patents granted in the USA and six other nations. A systems engineering/ integration innovator and leading expert in trusted managed services, he has achieved Trusted Authority certifications for Public and Private enterprises, pivotal in achieving the vision of implementing the next generation of Cyber Security for his clients.



    Vice Chair, AFCEA Homeland Security Committee, he actively evangelizes for the protection of Critical Infrastructure and Citizen privacy. On AFCEA’s Educational Foundation Board he is dedicated to providing educational incentives, opportunities and assistance in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. He holds a BS degree from the US Merchant Marine Academy (Alumni’s Outstanding Professional Achievement Award) and a Masters from the George Washington University.

    Smart Buildings and Smart Cities and Everything Around Them

    Mahmoud Alahmad, Associate Professor, College of Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

    Mahmoud Alahmad, Associate Professor, College of Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

    Mahmoud A. Alahmad has been an IEEE member for over 10 years and active in IEEE volunteer activities at the institute wide levels. Mahmoud is a tenured faculty member in the Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Omaha, Nebraska, where he has served since 2006. Mahmoud received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA, in 1989, 1991, and 2005, respectively, all in electrical engineering. Mahmoud is author of numerous articles and papers, and has presented in many conferences on topics ranging from Smart Grid, real-time remote energy monitoring, battery power management and power electronics, and renewable energy alternatives. Mahmoud is a registered Professional Engineer (PE) with over 10 years of industry experience in the design of electrical power systems for the built environment. He is currently investigating the economic and environmental impact of electrified transportation and modeling and design of charging infrastructure for battery electric vehicles.

    Determining Optimal Locations of Electrified Transportation Infrastructure on Interstate/ US-Highways

    Oliver Akinrele, Deputy Director, Panasonic Innovation Center

    Oliver Akinrele, Deputy Director, Panasonic Innovation Center

    Senior level leader in global information technology management processes, product management, research and development, support management, customer advocacy, business unit operations and product engineering with a strong track record of identifying and translating technical logistics into operational gains which help drive profitability. Dynamic contributor in the information technology with 25+ years of experience in delivering strategic, impactful IT development and support solutions to support mid-market and Fortune 500 organizations.

    Panasonic LinkRay Solution: Information at the Speed of Light