Physical & Life Sciences

Scholars dedicating their careers to the study of living organisms and non-living systems

Cheolkyu Kim

Cheolkyu Kim

Cheolkyu Kim is the Sr. Director of Product Marketing at Onto Innovation. Throughout his professional career, he has specialized primarily in application development for metrology and inspection. Kim earned his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Rhode Island.

Cheolkyu Kim is the Sr. Director of Product Marketing at Onto Innovation. Throughout his professional career, he has specialized primarily in application development for metrology and inspection. Kim earned his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of... Show more

Torbjørn G. Krøvel

Torbjørn G. Krøvel

Torbjørn Krøvel ist CEO von Tenix und treibt die Elektrifizierung von Fahrzeugflotten in Europa strategisch voran. Sein Ziel ist es, Betreibern den Umstieg auf elektrische Flotten mit Lösungen zu ermöglichen, die technisch zuverlässig, operativ umsetzbar und wirtschaftlich tragfähig sind.

Er verfügt über mehr als 20 Jahre internationale Führungserfahrung in der IT- und Telekommunikationsbranche, unter anderem als CTIO und COO in Technologieunternehmen mit über 400 Millionen Euro Jahresumsatz.

Mit einem MSc und einem MBA verbindet er technisches Fachwissen mit betriebswirtschaftlicher Kompetenz. Bei Tenix bringt er beides zusammen, um Elektromobilität skalierbar und wirtschaftlich nachhaltig in den Flottenbetrieb zu integrieren.

Torbjørn Krøvel ist CEO von Tenix und treibt die Elektrifizierung von Fahrzeugflotten in Europa strategisch voran. Sein Ziel ist es, Betreibern den Umstieg auf elektrische Flotten mit Lösungen zu ermöglichen, die technisch zuverlässig, operativ umset... Show more

Vadim Deylgat

Vadim Deylgat

Vadim discovered his passion for business analysis at the intersection of his training as psychologist and his deep interest in information technology. With years of business and IT experience in his backpack, he now focusses on training & coaching best practices to the analysts at Colruyt Group IT, and on building a thriving BA community where knowledge sharing is second nature.

Vadim discovered his passion for business analysis at the intersection of his training as psychologist and his deep interest in information technology. With years of business and IT experience in his backpack, he now focusses on training & coaching b... Show more

Nahush Mohan Rao

Nahush Mohan Rao

Nahush Rao is a seasoned People’s Manager and Solution Architect with over 16 years of global experience driving digital transformation, enterprise-scale SAP implementations, and cross-functional leadership across diverse industries including manufacturing, life sciences, energy, consumer goods, and technology services.
Currently serving as Leader, PMO & Functional Integration Architect at First Quality Enterprises, Nahush spearheads SAP S/4HANA transformation initiatives, leading end-to-end project lifecycles and enabling Industry 4.0 innovations such as predictive maintenance, real-time analytics, and process automation.
Previously, at Deloitte Consulting, Nahush partnered with marquee clients such as 3M HealthCare (Solventum), Westrock, Google, and Disney, delivering complex SAP-driven transformations and integrations. His contributions included implementing SAP DRC e-invoicing in Europe, managing large-scale data migrations with BODS, leading OTC/ITO functional integration, and designing innovative solutions like SAP Fiori apps and SAP Event Mesh. He also played a pivotal role in pre-sales activities, helping Deloitte secure $12M in new consulting engagements.
Earlier in his career, Nahush held senior roles at Capgemini, Colgate, Ostindo International, Bristlecone, and Connex Metals, where he built a strong foundation in SAP ABAP development, techno-functional leadership, and data integration. His expertise spans SAP modules including OTC, ACM, FICO, MM, SD, PM, PP, RAR, and EWM, alongside deep technical knowledge of BODS, IDOCs, APIs, ODATA, Fiori, and BRF+.
A results-driven leader, Nahush is recognized for his ability to influence decision-making, drive change management, mentor teams, and align technical solutions with business goals. His work consistently delivers operational excellence, scalability, and measurable business value for Fortune 500 clients.
Nahush holds a Bachelor’s in Information Technology Engineering from the University of Mumbai and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (Operations Management) from Symbiosis Center for Distance Learning.

Nahush Rao is a seasoned People’s Manager and Solution Architect with over 16 years of global experience driving digital transformation, enterprise-scale SAP implementations, and cross-functional leadership across diverse industries including manufac... Show more

Greg Beaumont

Greg Beaumont

Greg Beaumont is a data architect at Microsoft, where he enjoys identifying and solving complex problems backed by his experience in data architecture and a passion for innovation. Focusing on the healthcare industry, Greg works closely with customers to plan enterprise analytics strategies, evaluate new tools and products, conduct training sessions and hackathons, and architect solutions that improve the quality of care and reduce costs. He strives to be a trusted advisor to his customers and is always seeking new ways to drive progress and help organizations thrive. Based in Minnesota, he is a veteran of the Microsoft data speaker network and has worked with hundreds of customers on their data management and analytics strategies.

Greg Beaumont is a data architect at Microsoft, where he enjoys identifying and solving complex problems backed by his experience in data architecture and a passion for innovation. Focusing on the healthcare industry, Greg works closely with customer... Show more

Sayantika Banik

Sayantika Banik

Driven by a Big-Picture mindset, I bridge design-first thinking with open-source and AI innovation. Specialising in building human-centred systems that empower communities, startups, and independent professionals to scale with clarity and confidence.

Driven by a Big-Picture mindset, I bridge design-first thinking with open-source and AI innovation. Specialising in building human-centred systems that empower communities, startups, and independent professionals to scale with clarity and confidence. Show more

Dyhia Zatout

Dyhia Zatout

Dyhia Zatout is a 26 year old female electrical engineer specialising in telecommunications with a Bachelor of Science from Qatar and a Master of Science in Advanced Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Sussex, UK. She has worked in leading organisations including Petrotech, Oxygen Company Qatar, and TotalEnergies.

At the University of Doha for Science and Technology, Dyhia led cross-disciplinary projects in IoT-based wearable technologies and renewable energy systems, including solar and wind turbine technologies, applying smart engineering solutions to enhance sustainability, performance, and industrial applications. At the university of Sussex , She also led projects in robotics, image processing for car detection, and AI/machine learning applications for corrosion detection using cutting-edge TENG technology, all of which required strong leadership, project management, and strategic planning skills, making her highly aware of the steps and practices critical for successful engineering projects.

Through her participation in the TotalEnergies seminar, Dyhia further expanded her knowledge and practical understanding of renewable energy integration, gaining insights into large-scale energy transition strategies.

Dyhia’s professional journey bridges deep technical expertise with a passion for engineering leadership and culture. She advocates for engineering environments that promote collaboration, innovation, and ethical responsibility, inspiring engineers to lead with precision, purpose, and strategic vision, shaping technology-driven solutions that benefit both people and the planet.

Dyhia Zatout is a 26 year old female electrical engineer specialising in telecommunications with a Bachelor of Science from Qatar and a Master of Science in Advanced Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Sussex, UK. She has wo... Show more

Daniel Connor

Daniel Connor

Daniel Connor is the founder of AI R&D company Autopoetic and the creator of Minary, a primitive for subjective computing. https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.04501

Autopoetic is focused on building alternative models to Transformers based on the thesis that subjective computation is both fundamentally more efficient and also more aligned with how living organisms adapt to their environments.

Daniel's work focuses on two fronts: foundational qualia-based language models (LSMs) and subjective belief mixture-of-perspectives (MoPs). Both are under active development.

Daniel Connor is the founder of AI R&D company Autopoetic and the creator of Minary, a primitive for subjective computing. https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.04501 Autopoetic is focused on building alternative models to Transformers based on the thesis th... Show more

Sairohith Thummarakoti

Sairohith Thummarakoti

Sairohith Thummarakoti is a technology leader, researcher, and author specializing in AI, cloud computing, and healthcare IT. He is a Certified Pega Lead System Architect (CLSA) and serves as Chair of the IEEE Computer Society Columbia Section and as an Industry Advisory Board member for multiple universities. He has authored and edited several books on AI, agentic systems, and software engineering, and is an active speaker and organizer at international conferences. His work focuses on building scalable, ethical, and high-impact digital systems at the intersection of research, industry, and real-world impact.

Sairohith Thummarakoti is a technology leader, researcher, and author specializing in AI, cloud computing, and healthcare IT. He is a Certified Pega Lead System Architect (CLSA) and serves as Chair of the IEEE Computer Society Columbia Section and as... Show more

Denise Bronner

Denise Bronner

Denise N Bronner, Ph.D. has roughly 15 years of organizational thought leadership experience within the global healthcare space and has held various roles in academia, consulting, pharma, and venture capital. During her career, she has specialized in health equity, data-driven global therapy program strategy development, pitch and storytelling refinement, and identifying business opportunities within pharma. Beyond her professional endeavors, she's passionate about enhancing diversity in STEM fields, serving on advisory boards, participating as a judge in pitch/business competitions, and mentoring young professionals. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from Wayne State University, a Ph.D. in Microbiology & Immunology from the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, and certification from the Venture Capital Executive Program from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. She is the founder of Empactful Ventures which currently consults healthcare-focused startups and venture funds, she is a member of the Clinical Leader editorial board, a Board Director for healthtech startup Naviday Health, and a Board Director for the patient advocacy group We Are ILL.

Denise N Bronner, Ph.D. has roughly 15 years of organizational thought leadership experience within the global healthcare space and has held various roles in academia, consulting, pharma, and venture capital. During her career, she has specialized in... Show more

Emily Hemingway

Emily Hemingway

Emily Hemingway is the Founding Executive Director of TechSTL and the Wedge Innovation Center. A 20-year veteran in building innovation ecosystems around the country, Emily is driving economic growth across the St. Louis metro by catalyzing tech jobs, tech startups, and tech innovation. She is the lead organizer for STL TechWeek.

Emily Hemingway is the Founding Executive Director of TechSTL and the Wedge Innovation Center. A 20-year veteran in building innovation ecosystems around the country, Emily is driving economic growth across the St. Louis metro by catalyzing tech jobs... Show more

Will Martin

Will Martin

Will Martin is the EMEA Evangelist at Dremio with experience as a data engineer, academic, solutions architect, and software developer. He has spent 15+ years collaborating with companies and organisations across EMEA and APAC, including roles at CERN, BMT, Deloitte, and Tamr. Beginning with a background of statistical analysis in particle physics, his professional journey has spanned multiple industries, including banking, shipping logistics, entertainment, healthcare, defence, and customer 360.

Will Martin is the EMEA Evangelist at Dremio with experience as a data engineer, academic, solutions architect, and software developer. He has spent 15+ years collaborating with companies and organisations across EMEA and APAC, including roles at CER... Show more

Juanita Gomez

Juanita Gomez

Juanita Gomez is a Ph.D. candidate in Computer Science at UC Santa Cruz, where her research focuses on improving the security of scientific open-source software in collaboration with the Open Source Program Office (OSPO) at UCSC. She is a passionate programmer, mathematician, and open-source advocate, former developer of Spyder IDE at Quansight and current community leader for the Scientific Python project, a community effort to better coordinate and support scientific Python libraries. She also serves on the organizing committee of the SciPy Conference and is a co-chair of the Security Track at PyCon US.

Juanita Gomez is a Ph.D. candidate in Computer Science at UC Santa Cruz, where her research focuses on improving the security of scientific open-source software in collaboration with the Open Source Program Office (OSPO) at UCSC. She is a passionate ... Show more

Eric Jacobson

Eric Jacobson

Eric is a software and firmware engineer with over 30 years of experience in C and C++–based systems development, spanning embedded firmware, low-level infrastructure, and hardware–software interfaces. His work emphasizes stable abstractions, precise interface contracts, and long-term maintainability across implementations.

He has served as a technical contributor to the LXI Consortium and was a member of the working group for the LXI 1.6 specification, collaborating with multi-vendor teams to define interoperable, standards-based instrumentation interfaces. Eric brings a pragmatic, implementation-driven perspective to standards development, balancing technical rigor with deployability and backward compatibility.

Eric is a software and firmware engineer with over 30 years of experience in C and C++–based systems development, spanning embedded firmware, low-level infrastructure, and hardware–software interfaces. His work emphasizes stable abstractions, precise... Show more

Egor Tarasenko

Egor Tarasenko

I'm an experienced Data & AI Engineer with over five years of industry experience. Currently, I work at Ponder, where I help deliver data and AI services tailored for educational institutions. My passion lies in building practical, impactful solutions that make data more accessible and valuable.

I’m also deeply engaged in the open source community through our work at Ponder. This includes developing AI and data libraries, creating plugins and integrations for tools such as Superset, Airflow, dbt, and others, as well as building innovative solutions for technologies like Trino and Apache Iceberg.

I'm an experienced Data & AI Engineer with over five years of industry experience. Currently, I work at Ponder, where I help deliver data and AI services tailored for educational institutions. My passion lies in building practical, impactful solution... Show more

Daan van Berkel

Daan van Berkel

Daan van Berkel is a enthusiastic software tinkerer with a knack for presenting technical details in a clear and concise manner.

Daan van Berkel is a enthusiastic software tinkerer with a knack for presenting technical details in a clear and concise manner. Show more

Robert Barron

Robert Barron

Robert works for IBM, helping clients improve their IT Operations. He is an SRE and AIOps evangelist who enjoys helping others solve problems even more than he enjoys solving them himself. Robert has over 20 years of experience in IT development & operations and is happiest when learning something new. He lives in Israel with his wonderful wife and two children. His hobbies include history, space exploration, and bird photography.

Robert works for IBM, helping clients improve their IT Operations. He is an SRE and AIOps evangelist who enjoys helping others solve problems even more than he enjoys solving them himself. Robert has over 20 years of experience in IT development & op... Show more

Clayton Ramsey

Clayton Ramsey

Clayton is a doctoral student at Rice University, researching parallelism and hardware acceleration for robot planning in dynamic environments.

Clayton is a doctoral student at Rice University, researching parallelism and hardware acceleration for robot planning in dynamic environments. Show more

Andres Morey

Andres Morey

Andres is currently the lead developer of Kubetail. Previously he co-founded Octopart Inc. (YC W07) which grew out of frustrations he had building electronic hardware as a physics graduate student at UC Berkeley. He is a father of three, raising his family in his wife's native country of Turkey.

Andres is currently the lead developer of Kubetail. Previously he co-founded Octopart Inc. (YC W07) which grew out of frustrations he had building electronic hardware as a physics graduate student at UC Berkeley. He is a father of three, raising his ... Show more

Payal Godhani

Payal Godhani

Payal Godhani is a Principal Member and Architect of the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure DevOps Deployment Service, specializing in Kubernetes, Helm, Terraform, and cloud-native technologies. She is also a founding member of Women in Tech Network. Her focus is on architecting efficient DevOps deployment services for distributed systems, optimizing Kubernetes environments, and ensuring reliable CI/CD automation. She leads teams in designing scalable, innovative solutions that enhance the deployment and management of cloud-native applications.
She is speaker of KCD Events Texas , KCD Washington, Conf42, and upcoming STARWest 2025, Kubecon NorthAmerica 2025 .

Payal Godhani is a Principal Member and Architect of the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure DevOps Deployment Service, specializing in Kubernetes, Helm, Terraform, and cloud-native technologies. She is also a founding member of Women in Tech Network. Her fo... Show more

Yusheng Zheng

Yusheng Zheng

Yusheng Zheng is an open-source maintainer and researcher focused on improving complex systems through comprehensive understanding and strategic, small-scale modifications. As the co-founder of the eunomia-bpf open-source community and a PhD student, Yusheng is at the forefront of integrating eBPF and AI technologies to enhance large-scale systems like the Linux kernel. Her work also extends the flexibility and power of eBPF into userspace. Yusheng is a frequent speaker at leading industry conferences, including KubeCon, Linux Plumbers, and OSS Summit, where she shares insights on the evolving roles of eBPF and AI in modern systems.

Yusheng Zheng is an open-source maintainer and researcher focused on improving complex systems through comprehensive understanding and strategic, small-scale modifications. As the co-founder of the eunomia-bpf open-source community and a PhD student,... Show more

Gilberto Hernandez

Gilberto Hernandez

With over a decade of experience as a technical developer educator, Gilberto has made complex concepts accessible to over 100,000 students and engineers through both online learning platforms and in-person experiences.

He authored and launched several of Codecademy's foundational programming courses in 2015. Since then, he's worn multiple hats as both product manager and developer educator at developer-loved tech companies, including MongoDB, Domino Data Lab, Plaid, and Snowflake. Prior to tech, Gilberto was a 7th grade math teacher and a transmission protection engineer.

Gilberto is passionate about crafting exceptional developer experiences and educational resources. He frequently writes about data engineering, AI, and application development.

Connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilberto-hernandez/

With over a decade of experience as a technical developer educator, Gilberto has made complex concepts accessible to over 100,000 students and engineers through both online learning platforms and in-person experiences. He authored and launched sev... Show more

Markus Schmotz

Markus Schmotz

From Physics to People

Forget the stereotype of the physicist in corduroys; I thrive on working with people. Physics taught me systems thinking, and humans are the most complex systems of all.

Fifteen years ago in Japan, my mentor taught me the concept of "Paying Forward"—passing value to the next person rather than paying it back. After a career spanning global leadership roles, deep dives into Agile and Lean, and managing the transformation of 30+ production sites, it is time to pay it forward.

I see a disconnect: firms stuck in Agile/Lean transformations because production lacks flexibility, or efficient factories slowed down by sluggish R&D. Above all, I see leaders struggling with growing complexity.

My expertise sits in the "magic triangle" of Agile, Lean, and Leadership. Trusted by industry leaders like SBB or SAP, I help leaders and organizations navigate their specific growth journeys.

Offline: I’m a tennis club chairman, athlete, Heavy Metal enthusiast, father and reader of epic fantasy.

From Physics to People Forget the stereotype of the physicist in corduroys; I thrive on working with people. Physics taught me systems thinking, and humans are the most complex systems of all. Fifteen years ago in Japan, my mentor taught me the... Show more

Precious Akpan

Precious Akpan

Precious Akpan is an early-career seasoned geoscientist with a background in Applied Geophysics and a marine scientist with over three years of interdisciplinary experience in geoscience data modeling, seismic interpretation, and field development planning for oil and gas projects. During his years at Crestgate, a mining and geophysical sector, He has ventured into mining of solid mineral production like Lithium (Ambygonite), Tourmaline, Tin and other important minerals and gem stones spanning areas such as Ishaghu Ebonyi state, Kafanchan, Cross River, Jos, and Nassarawa.

His professional expertise spans computational seismology, seismic tomography, and passive seismic methods, with a focus on integrating machine learning and data science techniques using Python and Linux for subsurface imaging, event detection, and hazard assessment.

Precious has participated in international research initiatives, contributing to field data acquisition, project documentation, and technical reporting. His current research interests include Petroleum Geophysics, geothermal and volcanic system investigations, sustainable energy development, and environmental monitoring through advanced geoscience data modeling and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Precious Akpan is an early-career seasoned geoscientist with a background in Applied Geophysics and a marine scientist with over three years of interdisciplinary experience in geoscience data modeling, seismic interpretation, and field development pl... Show more

Vlad Iliushin

Vlad Iliushin

Vlad is the co-founder of ELLIO, a research lab turning mass exploitation and network reconnaissance data into actionable threat intelligence and real-world defense techniques. A lifelong cybersecurity enthusiast, he's especially passionate about network security, IoT, and cyber deception.
Before starting ELLIO, Vlad founded and led the Avast IoT Lab (now part of Gen Digital), where he worked on security tools and explored new IoT threats.
He has spoken at many community events like BSides and HackTheBay, as well as large conferences like Web Summit and SXSW where he showed how smart homes and connected devices can be vulnerable, even to non-cybersec audiences.

Vlad is the co-founder of ELLIO, a research lab turning mass exploitation and network reconnaissance data into actionable threat intelligence and real-world defense techniques. A lifelong cybersecurity enthusiast, he's especially passionate about net... Show more

Alvaro Rollín Guerro

Alvaro Rollín Guerro

Toledano, de un pequeño pueblo llamado 'Arcicóllar'. Me declaro fan de los perros, el fútbol y viajar. Siempre que puedo, me cojo un avión a cualquier parte del mundo. Otra de mis pasiones es la música y estoy haciendo mis pinitos como Dj.

Mi interés por el mundo de la tecnología empezó de la mano de los videojuegos. Llevo más de 8 años dándole a la tecla como programador y, actualmente, soy .NET & Cloud Developer en Tokiota. Estoy especializado en C# y .NET, y hago mis 'mezclas' con Azure DevOps, Entity Framework, Dapper, Angular, entre muchas otras.

Recientemente, he desarrollado mi faceta de presentador encargándome del canal de Twitch de Tokiota.

Toledano, de un pequeño pueblo llamado 'Arcicóllar'. Me declaro fan de los perros, el fútbol y viajar. Siempre que puedo, me cojo un avión a cualquier parte del mundo. Otra de mis pasiones es la música y estoy haciendo mis pinitos como Dj. Mi inte... Show more

Richard Pestell

Richard Pestell

Richard Pestell earned his M.B., B.S. at the University of Western Australia, graduating at the top of his class, guided by a commitment to medical discovery. His medical training continued as a physician in training at the Royal Perth Hospital and St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney. During these early years, he gained broad experience in Internal Medicine and residency, including oncology, endocrinology, hematology, cardiology, and transplant medicine.

He pursued his interest in cancer biology through advanced research. He completed a Ph.D. at the University of Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute, specializing in oncogene regulation of gene transcription, driven by a mindset focused on disease mechanisms. National scholarships and multiple competitive fellowships, including a Winthrop Fellowship and an NHMRC postgraduate award, supported his academic achievements. These efforts led him to Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, where he trained further as a clinical and research fellow.

Richard continued his academic career at Northwestern University and then at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He became a Professor, Chair of the Division of Endocrine-Dependent Tumor Biology, and Co-Director of major cancer research programs. He also held positions at multiple hospitals in New York, helping him remain engaged in patient care and medical education while supporting research programs focused on cancer biology and therapeutics through translational impact.

Richard Pestell’s research contributed to the knowledge base supporting cancer therapeutics. His research on cyclin D1 was cited in the seminal publications underpinning CDK inhibitor clinical trials and their adoption as a standard therapy for breast cancer globally. His work on CCR5 provided the scientific framework for current oncology clinical trials with CCR5 inhibitors. His scholarly record includes over 700 publications, more than 110,000 citations, an h-index of 162, and extensive invitations to give invited lectures around the world.

In 2002, he became the Director of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University. He also served as Chair of the Department of Oncology and Associate Vice President at Georgetown University Medical Center. In this capacity, he was responsible for research, clinical operations, and faculty development, and he participated in institutional restructuring and growth. He built community partnerships, enhanced research programs, and expanded clinical services across Georgetown and MedStar systems.

Richard took on additional leadership roles in 2005 as the Director of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Chair of the Department of Cancer Biology, and head of the Oncology Service Line at Thomas Jefferson University. He later became the Executive Vice President, charged with enterprise-wide strategic decisions across a system of 30,000 employees. At Jefferson, he directed an overall cancer enterprise with an annual budget of> $350 m and led efforts in clinical care, research infrastructure, regional expansion, and team building. During his tenure, the cancer center rose from 64th to 17th.

Richard Pestell held leadership roles in academia outside of the US and contributed to research, education, and outreach initiatives. He was a founding Director of the Delaware Valley Institute for Clinical and Translational Science, helped develop new education pathways for historically black colleges, and led global cancer outreach at the International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research. He also served on faculty or advisory boards with the University of Melbourne, the University of Western Australia, Nanyang Technological University, Xavier University School of Medicine, Kazan Federal University, and several European institutions.

He has served with prominent scientific bodies, including the Academia Europaea, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the Royal Society of Biology, among others. His awards included the RD Wright Medallion, the Eric Susman Prize in Medicine, and his appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2019. He is also the founder of six biotechnology companies: LightSeed, ProstaGene (acquired in 2018), EcoGenome, StromaGenesis, ioROC, and Shenandoah Pharmaceuticals. Along with these ventures, he has raised nearly 50 million dollars from investors, plus more than 80 million dollars as a principal investigator on NIH research grants.

Richard Pestell has remained committed to philanthropy, community service, and cultural engagement. At Georgetown and at Jefferson, he led philanthropic efforts that produced transformational gifts and created new ways to sustain ongoing fundraising in support of cancer care, wellness centers, and community outreach initiatives. He has served on boards including the National Museum of American Jewish History, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, the Historic St. Peter’s Church Preservation Corporation, the American Cancer Society committees, and several university societies. He supported the Olivia Newton-John Wellness Center through a fundraising trek on The Great Wall. He now serves as President of the Pennsylvania Cancer and Regenerative Medicine Center, as the Blumberg Distinguished Professor of Translational Medical Research at the Baruch Blumberg Institute, and as a member of the Wistar Institute Cancer Center, continuing to support global cancer programs, mentor scientific leaders, and develop technologies for improved diagnostics and treatment.

“Share hope. Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible—every day.”

Richard Pestell earned his M.B., B.S. at the University of Western Australia, graduating at the top of his class, guided by a commitment to medical discovery. His medical training continued as a physician in training at the Royal Perth Hospital and S... Show more

Dr. Parag Ravikant Kaveri

Dr. Parag Ravikant Kaveri

Dr. Parag Ravikant Kaveri is a visionary academic leader, strategic administrator, and prolific researcher with over 15 years of experience in higher education, currently serving as Deputy Director at the Symbiosis Institute of Computer Studies and Research (SICSR), a constituent of Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune. He is also a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Lincoln University College, Malaysia, where his work focuses on advanced cloud computing paradigms and AI-driven optimization.

Dr. Kaveri holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University, with a specialization in cloud computing and security. His research contributions span over 60 publications in Scopus, SCI, and IEEE-indexed journals, including high-impact Q1 and Q2 articles on reinforcement learning, bio-inspired algorithms, and privacy-preserving AI in cloud environments. He has authored a book chapter on Industry 4.0 and AI transformation and submitted two patents under SIU.

As a research supervisor, he has mentored both national and international Ph.D. scholars in domains such as cloud security, policy frameworks, and the integration of large language models (LLMs) with cybersecurity. His citation metrics (h-index: 8, i10-index: 5) reflect his growing influence in the field of intelligent cloud systems.

Dr. Kaveri is a Senior Member of IEEE and holds memberships in ACM, IAENG, ISAC, and CSTA. He serves on editorial and review boards for prestigious journals including IEEE Access, Elsevier’s Ad Hoc Networks, and Expert Systems with Applications. He has reviewed for Springer conferences and contributed to the academic community through keynote addresses, guest lectures, and panel discussions across India.

His technical expertise includes simulation tools such as CloudSim, CloudReports, CloudMIGXpress, and MATLAB, with certifications from Amazon Web Services and Microsoft. He has delivered lectures on cloud computing, ICT in education, and digital transformation at institutions including Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University, JDIT Engineering College, and Sree Vidyanikethan Institute of Management.

Dr. Kaveri’s institutional contributions are equally noteworthy. He has led strategic initiatives in curriculum design, quality assurance, and academic compliance. He has served on over a dozen institutional committees, including the Research Committee, IPR Cell, Innovation Cell, and International Student Cell. His leadership has been recognized with the Excellence in Teaching Award (2025) from SIU and multiple Best Paper Awards at national and international conferences.

Beyond academia, Dr. Kaveri has contributed to national initiatives as a reviewer and expert for NIELIT (Govt. of India) and CSTT. His interests span cloud security, AI ethics, academic governance, and digital policy frameworks. He is also an avid collector of currencies and a passionate reader of technical literature.

With a rare blend of scholarly depth, administrative acumen, and technological foresight, Dr. Parag Kaveri continues to shape the future of higher education and intelligent cloud ecosystems—mentoring minds, modeling systems, and driving institutional excellence.

Dr. Parag Ravikant Kaveri is a visionary academic leader, strategic administrator, and prolific researcher with over 15 years of experience in higher education, currently serving as Deputy Director at the Symbiosis Institute of Computer Studies and R... Show more

Armando Herra

Armando Herra

Armando Herra is a Systems Architect with vast experience in Cloud, Kubernetes, and DevOps Technologies.

Passionate about the Cloud-Native Ecosystem, he's constantly learning and experimenting with new tools and technologies to stay informed about the industry's latest advances and share his knowledge via tech talks.

Armando Herra is a Systems Architect with vast experience in Cloud, Kubernetes, and DevOps Technologies. Passionate about the Cloud-Native Ecosystem, he's constantly learning and experimenting with new tools and technologies to stay informed about... Show more

Alexander Ryan

Alexander Ryan

Alexander Ryan is the CEO of Ryshe and serves on the AI Board of Advisors for a major university. With a deep background in cloud computing and software engineering, he focuses on cutting through the noise to help businesses understand how artificial intelligence can actually work for them.

Alexander specializes in bridging the gap between complex technical strategy and practical, on the ground execution. When he isn't leading Ryshe or advising on AI curriculum, you can find him exploring the Michigan food scene or testing the limits of home automation.

Alexander Ryan is the CEO of Ryshe and serves on the AI Board of Advisors for a major university. With a deep background in cloud computing and software engineering, he focuses on cutting through the noise to help businesses understand how artificial... Show more

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