Physical & Life Sciences

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

Franz Josef Schmitt

Franz Josef Schmitt

Head of the advanced physics laboratory at Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg

Head of the advanced physics laboratory at Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg Show more

Jeanette & Frode Josepha-Hveding

Jeanette & Frode Josepha-Hveding

Sepha Soul was created by Jeanette and Frode Josepha‑Hveding - partners in life, in vision, and in the belief that the future of wellbeing begins with reconnecting to ourselves. Jeanette brings the intuitive, soulful dimension of the project, while Frode brings the technical imagination and engineering mindset. Together, they form the heart and structure of Sepha Soul.

Sepha Soul was created by Jeanette and Frode Josepha‑Hveding - partners in life, in vision, and in the belief that the future of wellbeing begins with reconnecting to ourselves. Jeanette brings the intuitive, soulful dimension of the project, while F... Show more

Stefano Besseghini

Stefano Besseghini

Stefano Besseghini past President of ARERA, Italy’s independent regulatory authority for energy, networks, and environment. A physicist by training, he combines academic rigor with institutional leadership, driving innovation and efficiency in essential public services. With a career spanning research, industry, and public governance recognized as one of Europe’s most authoritative voices on regulation, sustainability, and the future of energy systems.

He is known for making complex energy and sustainability issues clear and engaging, regularly addresses international conferences, institutional events, and corporate forums, bringing authority, clarity, and vision to discussions on the future of energy, innovation, and regulation.

Stefano Besseghini past President of ARERA, Italy’s independent regulatory authority for energy, networks, and environment. A physicist by training, he combines academic rigor with institutional leadership, driving innovation and efficiency in essent... Show more

Gareth Thomas

Gareth Thomas

Gareth Thomas is an electrical engineer (control), community builder, and technology enthusiast with a passion for turning emerging ideas into practical, scalable solutions. Known for his strong coding skills and ability to bring people together, Gareth sits at the intersection of engineering excellence and vibrant tech communities.

He is a driving force behind PyData Eindhoven and played a key role in bringing JuliaCon to Eindhoven, helping position the city as a hub for scientific computing and modern data tooling. As a regular meetup organizer, Gareth has built and nurtured spaces where developers, researchers, and industry practitioners connect, learn, and collaborate.

Professionally, Gareth previously worked at MathWorks, gaining deep experience in technical computing and developer-facing tooling. He later founded his own company, focused on embracing new technologies, modernizing Python ecosystems, Python version migrations, and building robust testing strategies—helping teams move fast without breaking things. Currently he is working at ProRail through CGI, after helping ASML change the world one nanometer at a time.

Beyond code and consulting, Gareth is also the host of his own podcast, where he explores software engineering, open source, community leadership, and the real-world challenges of adopting new technologies.

Whether he’s shipping code, organizing events, or sparking conversations, Gareth is driven by one core belief: great software is built by strong communities, curious minds, and a willingness to evolve.

Gareth Thomas is an electrical engineer (control), community builder, and technology enthusiast with a passion for turning emerging ideas into practical, scalable solutions. Known for his strong coding skills and ability to bring people together, Gar... Show more

Jakub Beránek

Jakub Beránek

I'm a member of the Rust infrastructure and compiler teams and the Leadership Council. I teach Rust at a university and sometimes do Rust trainings. Apart from that I also work as a researcher at an HPC center.

I'm a member of the Rust infrastructure and compiler teams and the Leadership Council. I teach Rust at a university and sometimes do Rust trainings. Apart from that I also work as a researcher at an HPC center. Show more

Fariba Yazdanpanah

Fariba Yazdanpanah

Dr. Fariba Yazdanpanah is a General Preventive Medicine and Public Health resident at the University of Texas at Tyler Health Science Center with more than 15 years of experience in clinical medicine and research. She is also board-certified in Cardiology by Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran. Dr. Yazdanpanah is committed to advancing patient safety and quality of care through the integration of preventive and curative approaches. Her work focuses on developing innovative healthcare strategies and conducting impactful, cutting-edge clinical research within academic and healthcare systems.

Dr. Fariba Yazdanpanah is a General Preventive Medicine and Public Health resident at the University of Texas at Tyler Health Science Center with more than 15 years of experience in clinical medicine and research. She is also board-certified in Cardi... Show more

Frank Simon

Frank Simon

I studied technical chemistry. After that I worked for 3 years at a shipyard, 2 years in dairy research and 3 years in the plastics industry.
The following 32 years I was a scientific employee at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (Germany): 14 years in the process engineering laboratory and 18 years in the ergonomics laboratory. I taught the students how to do the laboratory experiments, always trying out new ideas in order to optimize my teaching style. In the final years I also gave lectures. Since August 2021 I am retired.

I studied technical chemistry. After that I worked for 3 years at a shipyard, 2 years in dairy research and 3 years in the plastics industry. The following 32 years I was a scientific employee at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (Germany):... Show more

Sai Surya Raja Amogha Tenneti

Sai Surya Raja Amogha Tenneti

Sai Surya Raja Amogha Tenneti is a Scientist with over five years of hands-on experience in mammalian cell culture, protein large molecule bioprocessing, and automated bioreactor platforms. She has worked extensively in GMP-aligned environments and is recognized as an AMBR Super User with deep expertise in Sartorius ambr 15 and ambr 250 systems. Her work centers on upstream process development supporting monoclonal antibody and AAV production.
In her current role at Eurofins PSS at Janssen, Amogha independently designs, executes, and analyzes AMBR-based studies to optimize media performance, feeding strategies, and process parameters. She has led qualification and validation activities for AMBR systems and cell culture analyzers, authored and executed protocols, and contributed to automation initiatives that improved operational efficiency and data reliability. She also trains and mentors other scientists, strengthening team capability and technical expertise.
Amogha has a strong foundation in analytical and molecular techniques, including HPLC, LC-MS, ELISA, Western blotting, qPCR, and gas chromatography. Her background includes scale-down modeling, data analysis, troubleshooting, and cross-functional collaboration across upstream, analytical, and process development teams. She holds a Master of Science in Bioinnovation and a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Temple University.

Sai Surya Raja Amogha Tenneti is a Scientist with over five years of hands-on experience in mammalian cell culture, protein large molecule bioprocessing, and automated bioreactor platforms. She has worked extensively in GMP-aligned environments and i... Show more

Almudena Barreiro Carrillo

Almudena Barreiro Carrillo

Almudena Barreiro es cofundadora de Data for Good Madrid, una iniciativa sin ánimo de lucro que ayuda a organizaciones del tercer sector a aprovechar el poder de los datos para generar impacto social. Su trabajo se centra en el uso ético e inclusivo de la inteligencia artificial, con un fuerte compromiso hacia valores como la equidad, la transparencia y la protección de la dignidad humana.

Actualmente es consultora y científica de datos en Next Digital, donde lidera proyectos relacionados con la calidad del dato, analítica predictiva e inteligencia artificial responsable. Combina una sólida formación en matemáticas y estadística con experiencia técnica aplicada y una mirada crítica sobre el impacto de los sistemas algorítmicos en la sociedad.

Además, colabora en Sesgo404, una sección del canal de YouTube Sirviendo Código, donde analiza las implicaciones éticas y sociales de la IA para acercar estos temas complejos a una audiencia más amplia.

Almudena Barreiro es cofundadora de Data for Good Madrid, una iniciativa sin ánimo de lucro que ayuda a organizaciones del tercer sector a aprovechar el poder de los datos para generar impacto social. Su trabajo se centra en el uso ético e inclusivo ... Show more

Gabriel Koo

Gabriel Koo

Senior Lead Engineer at Bowtie Life Insurance
AWS Community Builder (2022-)
AWS User Group Hong Kong Volunteer (2026-)

Senior Lead Engineer at Bowtie Life Insurance AWS Community Builder (2022-) AWS User Group Hong Kong Volunteer (2026-) Show more

Venus Garg

Venus Garg

Venus Garg is a seasoned product and data science leader with over 20 years of experience in building data analytics products and leading high-performing global teams. She currently serves as a Senior Solution Engineer and AI Executive Advisor in Data Science & AI at Anthem Inc., Palo Alto, CA, where she drives enterprise-wide data and analytics strategies, integrates AI-driven initiatives, and manages multidisciplinary teams of data engineers, architects, and analytics professionals. Her leadership has resulted in transformative solutions such as Generative AI-driven initiatives, AI-enabled service quality auditing, and personalized digital healthcare products—earning multiple industry accolades including the 2023 Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Brand Innovation Award and multiple Gold Stevie® Awards for innovation in healthcare technology.

Previously, Venus held key roles at Salesforce as Senior Manager of Data Analytics & Business Intelligence, where she spearheaded AI-powered product analytics solutions that drove significant revenue growth and user adoption. Her tenure at Sears Holdings Corporation as a Business Intelligence Technical Architect focused on designing customer analytics applications for large-scale retail operations. Earlier in her career, she built expertise in data engineering and analytics at organizations such as Valiantica Inc., Nielsen, USAA, and Tata Consultancy Services, where she managed global teams, developed data pipelines, and delivered award-winning analytics products.

Venus holds an MBA from the Questrom School of Business at Boston University and a Bachelor of Technology in Information Technology from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. She has also earned certifications in Product Management from Cornell University and Disruptive Strategy from Harvard Business School, along with multiple credentials in Tableau and Google Big Query. Her technical toolkit spans Generative AI technologies, big data analytics, machine learning, data visualization tools, and open-source frameworks.

Renowned for her integrity, strategic execution, and collaborative leadership style, Venus has a proven track record of delivering innovative data solutions that drive measurable business outcomes, with a passion for solving problems through data.

Venus Garg is a seasoned product and data science leader with over 20 years of experience in building data analytics products and leading high-performing global teams. She currently serves as a Senior Solution Engineer and AI Executive Advisor in Dat... Show more

Aminu Bonifacio

Aminu Bonifacio

Currently associated World Food Forum Chapter Leadership Representative ACUNS Cartography Cryptography Program Futurize Founder Academy returned from Dakar Senegal European Union Landscape Resilience Program Fellowship Africa Rice 2025. Kaizer* Karmah**

Currently associated World Food Forum Chapter Leadership Representative ACUNS Cartography Cryptography Program Futurize Founder Academy returned from Dakar Senegal European Union Landscape Resilience Program Fellowship Africa Rice 2025. Kaizer* Karma... Show more

Fer Berdugo

Fer Berdugo

Fer Berdugo has been a Copilot ROI Advisor and Copilot Champ at Microsoft for the past two years, where he advises corporate accounts across Europe on maximizing the impact, adoption, and return on investment of generative AI through incubation projects.
Before Microsoft, he spent several years as a Senior Customer Success Manager at LinkedIn, driving talent development and digital strategy for enterprise accounts in Italy and Iberia, where he was also an early adopter and internal trainer for Copilot.
His career includes Customer Success roles at Dynatrace—accelerating the adoption of cloud and observability solutions powered by AI across Iberia and Italy—as well as several years at SaaS tech startups in the hospitality and tourism sector across London, Rome, Barcelona, and Madrid.
Without a technical background, Fer has managed to build a career at top tech companies, proving that you don't need to be technical to thrive in this industry.
That's why, in parallel, Fer works as a mentor, public speaker, trainer, and advocate for the practical and sustainable use of artificial intelligence for professionals in Italy and Spain through his Human-OS methodology.

Fer Berdugo has been a Copilot ROI Advisor and Copilot Champ at Microsoft for the past two years, where he advises corporate accounts across Europe on maximizing the impact, adoption, and return on investment of generative AI through incubation proje... Show more

Shrikant Chikhalkar

Shrikant Chikhalkar

Shrikant Chikhalkar is a senior engineering leader with over two decades of experience designing and delivering high-performance software for regulated healthcare, neuromodulation, and medical imaging systems. His work spans safety-critical medical devices, PET/MR reconstruction platforms, and cloud-native, AI-enabled software architectures developed under IEC 62304 and FDA 510(k) regulatory frameworks.
Currently a Senior Staff Software Engineer, Shrikant leads backend and platform initiatives supporting clinician and patient applications, including consent management systems, dynamic configuration platforms, secure telemetry pipelines, and cross-platform MAUI architectures spanning iOS, Android, and Windows. He has played a key role in enabling global neuromodulation therapy launches across 27 European countries while ensuring GDPR, HIPAA, and regional data-sovereignty compliance. His work includes regulated SDLC execution, microservice modernization, DevOps automation, and the application of generative AI to improve engineering productivity and regulatory documentation workflows.
Previously, Shrikant spent a decade at GE Healthcare as a Staff Software Architect, where he led PET/MR reconstruction and acquisition software for clinical imaging systems. He was responsible for productizing advanced MR attenuation correction (MRAC) algorithms, motion-corrected PET/MR reconstruction pipelines, fault-tolerant imaging systems, and GPU-accelerated reconstruction frameworks that achieved up to 200× performance gains. His contributions supported FDA 510(k) submissions and were validated through phantom and clinical image-quality studies.
Earlier in his career, Shrikant held technical leadership and engineering roles at IGATE, Persistent Systems, Accenture, Manchitra, and a computational research lab, working on legacy modernization, distributed graph mining, seismic simulation, GIS rendering engines, and large-scale HPC systems using MPI, OpenMP, and GPU computing.
Shrikant holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Pune and has completed graduate-level coursework in artificial intelligence, deep learning, cloud computing, and algorithm analysis at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. He has earned certifications in Generative AI with Large Language Models, SAFe, and project management, and has submitted intellectual property related to AI-assisted code analysis. He has also presented at international conferences, including ISMRM, and has served as an architecture lead and mentor across global engineering teams.

Shrikant Chikhalkar is a senior engineering leader with over two decades of experience designing and delivering high-performance software for regulated healthcare, neuromodulation, and medical imaging systems. His work spans safety-critical medical d... Show more

Brad Richardson

Brad Richardson

Brad has a long history of software development in a variety of scientific and engineering applications. He has worked as a consultant in the nuclear power industry, as a contract Fortran software developer, and in multiple different HPC centers. He is currently working in the Flight Sciences Lab computing center of NASA's Johnson Space Center. He also serves on the Fortran Standards Committee as one of the lead designers of the upcoming templates feature of the language.

Brad has a long history of software development in a variety of scientific and engineering applications. He has worked as a consultant in the nuclear power industry, as a contract Fortran software developer, and in multiple different HPC centers. He ... Show more

Shivlal Sharma

Shivlal Sharma

DevOps Engineer at OpenXcell and a CNCF Ambassador for the Gujarat region. With over 3 years of hands-on experience, I specialize in building scalable, secure, and cloud-native infrastructure using Kubernetes, Docker, and observability tools like Prometheus and Grafana.

I’m a certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), Security Specialist (KCSA), and also hold certifications in AWS and Azure cloud platforms. I actively contribute to the developer ecosystem as a Docker Captain, and I organize community events under CNCF Ahmedabad, Docker Ahmedabad. Recently, I hosted sessions covering topics like GitOps, runtime security with Falco, and hands-on Docker workshops.

I’m passionate about sharing real-world learnings from my DevOps journey—from automating deployments to securing production workloads—and I love sparking conversations that bring practitioners and learners together.

DevOps Engineer at OpenXcell and a CNCF Ambassador for the Gujarat region. With over 3 years of hands-on experience, I specialize in building scalable, secure, and cloud-native infrastructure using Kubernetes, Docker, and observability tools like Pro... Show more

Letsatsi Lekhooa

Letsatsi Lekhooa

Letsatsi Lekhooa is a Systems Librarian at the National University of Lesotho Library and the Chairperson of the Lesotho Research and Education Network (LesREN). His work focuses on the intersection of artificial intelligence, digital governance, open knowledge infrastructure, and digital rights within public and academic institutions. He has extensive experience supporting research systems, institutional repositories, data governance frameworks, and digital transformation initiatives in higher education.

He is a Research Fellow in AI in Academic Writing and Publishing and serves on editorial and peer review boards for academic journals. His research and professional engagements examine how emerging technologies, particularly AI-driven systems, affect access to information, privacy, accountability, and intellectual freedom in libraries and knowledge institutions. He has contributed to national and regional discussions on digital policy, open science, and technology governance across Africa.

Letsatsi is actively involved in multi-stakeholder initiatives on climate action, data governance, and digital inclusion, and regularly supports capacity building for librarians, researchers, and policymakers. His current interests include rights-based approaches to AI adoption in libraries, responsible data use, and strengthening public trust in digital knowledge systems

Letsatsi Lekhooa is a Systems Librarian at the National University of Lesotho Library and the Chairperson of the Lesotho Research and Education Network (LesREN). His work focuses on the intersection of artificial intelligence, digital governance, ope... Show more

Alexander Kmoch

Alexander Kmoch

Alex is a Distributed Spatial Systems DevOps Tinkerer with many years of experience in geospatial data management and web- and cloud-based geoprocessing with a particular focus on land use, soils, hydrology, and water quality. His interests include open geospatial standards and web-services for location-based data sharing, modelling workflows, machine learning, and interactive geo-visualisation. Alex has been involved with web-based spatial data infrastructures for a long time as a developer, researcher and project leader. He is based at the Chair of Geoinformatics and Cartography at the Department of Geography of the University of Tartu.

Alex is a Distributed Spatial Systems DevOps Tinkerer with many years of experience in geospatial data management and web- and cloud-based geoprocessing with a particular focus on land use, soils, hydrology, and water quality. His interests include o... Show more

Gregory Serdahl

Gregory Serdahl

Gregory Serdahl’s working life has unfolded through consistent effort, practical responsibility, and long-term engagement with people and organizations. His career reflects a measured progression across creative study, nonprofit leadership, and therapeutic wellness, rather than a narrow or accelerated path. By combining leadership roles with hands-on practice, he developed an approach rooted in experience, accountability, and sustained service.

Across multiple decades, Gregory has operated in environments that required both structure and personal involvement. His professional background includes managing nonprofit arts organizations and later founding and operating a national wellness company. These roles placed him in collaboration with professional athletes, institutional clients, and public figures. In each setting, he focused on reliability, ethical conduct, and systems designed to function effectively over time.

Gregory’s academic journey began at the University of California, Irvine, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theater between 1983 and 1986. His studies emphasized collaboration, performance theory, and disciplined preparation. These academic foundations later supported his professional work by strengthening communication skills, observation, and awareness of physical presence. During this period, he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, reflecting his commitment to academic engagement and structured learning.

A formative experience during Gregory’s early development was a year spent abroad at the University of Bergen in Oslo, Norway (1983-84). Living and studying in an international environment exposed him to different cultural perspectives and daily practices. This period encouraged adaptability and independence, qualities that later influenced his leadership style and approach to professional relationships.

After completing his education, Gregory entered the nonprofit arts sector and became artistic director of the Alisal Center for the Fine Arts. The organization served a primarily Hispanic migrant farmworker community by providing access to cultural programs and educational opportunities. From January 1986 to January 1989, he was responsible for daily operations, budgeting, fundraising, and community engagement. This role strengthened his ability to lead mission-driven organizations while remaining responsive to the needs of underserved populations.

Gregory’s transition into wellness followed his participation in massage programs at Michael O'Shea's Sport Training Institute. In 1991, he founded Serdahl Associates, which later became Massage America, Ltd. His goal was to build a massage and wellness organization capable of operating within large institutional environments. Under his leadership, the company managed massage programs for Crunch Fitness, several New York Sports Club locations, and the New York Football Giants during the Dan Reeves era.

Massage America later partnered with Mount Sinai and NYU hospitals, the Printing House Athletic Club, and the Manhattan Athletic Club. Gregory oversaw staffing, operations, and service consistency across these settings. These responsibilities reinforced his understanding of how therapeutic services can be integrated into athletic, medical, and corporate systems while maintaining professional standards.

Alongside his role as a business owner, Gregory continued to work directly with clients. His practice included individuals from politics, professional sports, media, and the arts. On one notable day, his schedule included Ed Koch, Lawrence Taylor, Edgar Bronfman, Katharine Hepburn, and Arthur Ashe. These experiences reflected trust developed through discretion, technical skill, and steady practice.

Gregory’s therapeutic background includes deep tissue massage, Swedish techniques, trigger point therapy, myofascial release, and craniosacral therapy. He also incorporates yoga, Pilates, Yogic Neuromuscular Therapy, as taught by the late Dyal Singh Khalsa, Gyrotonics training, and certification as a Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapist. Having employed more than 500 massage therapists throughout his career, he remains actively engaged in his profession today, continuing his work with a focus on responsibility, long-term service, and honoring the teachings of the late Canadian Poet and Philosopher Kenneth George Mills through his role as President of the Kenneth G. Mills Foundation.

Gregory Serdahl’s working life has unfolded through consistent effort, practical responsibility, and long-term engagement with people and organizations. His career reflects a measured progression across creative study, nonprofit leadership, and thera... Show more

Subhash Gehlot

Subhash Gehlot

professional with strong expertise in Kubernetes platforms, DevSecOps practices, and zero-trust security. With hands-on experience in implementing admission control policies, container security scanning, and secure deployment pipelines, Subhash focuses on bridging the gap between development speed and security compliance. Having worked across full-stack development, SQL architecture, on-call operations, and cloud-native platforms, Subhash brings a practical perspective to container security.

professional with strong expertise in Kubernetes platforms, DevSecOps practices, and zero-trust security. With hands-on experience in implementing admission control policies, container security scanning, and secure deployment pipelines, Subhash focus... Show more

Morgan Littlefield

Morgan Littlefield

Morgan Littlefield is a dynamic leader dedicated to driving organizational growth, fostering strong team culture, and expanding community impact. As the Clinical Operations Leader of The ENT Center of Northwest Alabama, she plays a pivotal role in executing the vision of the practice’s leadership while ensuring operational excellence.

With a strategic focus on business expansion, structural development, and leadership cultivation, Morgan is instrumental in scaling the clinic’s influence and enhancing patient care. She also works closely with Dr. Masterson on philanthropic and investment initiatives, positioning The ENT Center as a cornerstone of both the local community and the broader healthcare industry.

Originally from North Little Rock, Arkansas, Morgan relocated to Florence to pursue her education at the University of North Alabama, where she earned a B.A. in History with a minor in Global Studies. Committed to continuous growth and leadership, she recently completed her M.B.A. at Lipscomb University.

Morgan is passionate about empowering teams, developing sustainable business strategies, and creating meaningful impact through thoughtful leadership.

Morgan Littlefield is a dynamic leader dedicated to driving organizational growth, fostering strong team culture, and expanding community impact. As the Clinical Operations Leader of The ENT Center of Northwest Alabama, she plays a pivotal role in ex... Show more

Giulio Santoli

Giulio Santoli

Head of Digital & Payments Factory at Poste Italiane, coordinating a team of ten people dedicated to the development of digital applications and payment solutions, specialized in microservices architectures running on Kubernetes and operating on Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS, and on-premises datacenters.
Before joining Poste Italiane, he accumulated over 5 years of experience as a Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft and IBM, covering a wide range of Cloud Services, including IaaS, PaaS, Containers, Serverless, and IoT.

Head of Digital & Payments Factory at Poste Italiane, coordinating a team of ten people dedicated to the development of digital applications and payment solutions, specialized in microservices architectures running on Kubernetes and operating on Micr... Show more

Keith Wilson

Keith Wilson

Passionate about driving digital innovation and process optimization within the pharmaceutical industry, Keith is a seasoned professional with over 25 years of diverse experience spanning research, technology, operations, and leadership. His expertise lies at the intersection of SharePoint, Power Platform, and Pharma R&D, where he has successfully spearheaded impactful solutions and transformational projects.

Passionate about driving digital innovation and process optimization within the pharmaceutical industry, Keith is a seasoned professional with over 25 years of diverse experience spanning research, technology, operations, and leadership. His expertis... Show more

Timo Heister

Timo Heister

I am an applied mathematician and computational scientist working on the efficient implementation of massively parallel, adaptive finite element method. I am a Professor in the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at Clemson University and I am probably best known as a developer and maintainer of the finite element library deal.II and the mantle convection code ASPECT.

I am an applied mathematician and computational scientist working on the efficient implementation of massively parallel, adaptive finite element method. I am a Professor in the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at Clemson University and... Show more

Mick Semb Wever

Mick Semb Wever

Principal Architect at DataStax, engineering and product on Cassandra and Open Source.

Beyond technology, crazy about snowboarding, rock climbing, trail running, skiing, surfing, and just anything awesome in nature.

Principal Architect at DataStax, engineering and product on Cassandra and Open Source. Beyond technology, crazy about snowboarding, rock climbing, trail running, skiing, surfing, and just anything awesome in nature. Show more

Karen Isabella Dimitrijeski

Karen Isabella Dimitrijeski

Karen Dimitrijeski is a Digital Quality & Automation Consultant with over 10 years of experience in Quality roles supporting regulated IT across the Medical Device, Pharmaceutical, and Biotechnology industries. She translates complex global regulatory expectations into clear, actionable solutions that position Quality as a strategic partner, not a bottleneck. Her core expertise includes risk-based GxP system validation (CSV/CSA), data integrity, lifecycle management, and audit readiness.

Her background spans Quality System Management, systems administration, and business ownership for global, enterprise-scale regulated applications supporting hundreds of sites and thousands of users. She has partnered closely with infrastructure operations, IT security, data-center qualification teams, ITSM process owners (change, incident, problem, and access management), and SaaS/IaaS suppliers to ensure that enterprise systems remain compliant, resilient, and audit-ready throughout their lifecycle.

Karen builds scalable, system-agnostic automation architectures that modernize regulated software ecosystems, strengthen governance, and accelerate digital transformation—enabling Quality, ITSM, Security, and Infrastructure teams to operate as aligned partners rather than siloed functions.

Karen Dimitrijeski is a Digital Quality & Automation Consultant with over 10 years of experience in Quality roles supporting regulated IT across the Medical Device, Pharmaceutical, and Biotechnology industries. She translates complex global regulator... Show more

Vyacheslav Tykhonov

Vyacheslav Tykhonov

Vyacheslav (Slava) Tykhonov is the head of Artificial Intelligence and Interoperability at CODATA and has a background in information and computer science. Slava has worked for more than 25 years in the area of software development, research and innovation for national, European and international research infrastructures. Most recently, as a Senior R&D Engineer and FAIR data expert, Slava participated in various projects funded by the European Commission. For many years, he has been an active member of the Open-Source community around the Harvard Dataverse platform. As a knowledge engineer and Semantic Web enthusiast, Slava explored and implemented new solutions and data services, from AI and data enrichment to long-term archiving. Slava is co-author of the emerging Croissant for Machine Learning standard.

Vyacheslav (Slava) Tykhonov is the head of Artificial Intelligence and Interoperability at CODATA and has a background in information and computer science. Slava has worked for more than 25 years in the area of software development, research and inno... Show more

Miriah Peterson

Miriah Peterson

Miriah Peterson, a seasoned engineer with 6 years of expertise in Go programming, excels as a Data Reliability Engineer. Her professional journey includes crafting videos, tutorials, and courses, showcasing her mastery in Go and Data Engineering. A dynamic speaker, Miriah has delivered talks on Go, machine learning, and data engineering. As a board member of Forge Foundation Inc. and an organizer of the GoWest Conference, Utah Data Engineering, and Machine Learning Utah meetups, she actively shapes the tech community. Miriah earned her bachelor's degree in physics from Brigham Young University in 2017, laying a strong foundation for her multifaceted contributions to the field.

Miriah Peterson, a seasoned engineer with 6 years of expertise in Go programming, excels as a Data Reliability Engineer. Her professional journey includes crafting videos, tutorials, and courses, showcasing her mastery in Go and Data Engineering. A d... Show more

Fernando Posada

Fernando Posada

Fernando Posada is the group leader of the Systems Acceptance and User Environment group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. During his Ph.D., Fernando developed an interest in High-Performance Computing and completed a Master's degree in the same field from SISSA. He has been involved in various HPC projects, working on designing, deploying, managing, and providing support to users in different HPC resources.

Fernando Posada is the group leader of the Systems Acceptance and User Environment group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. During his Ph.D., Fernando developed an interest in... Show more

Sumaiya Noor

Sumaiya Noor

Sumaiya has 15+ years of experience in diverse leadership roles including AI & Product Strategy, Product Development & Management, Digital Transformation and Talent Management. She has won many accolades throughout her career and has been honored as 40under40. Sumaiya also sits on a BOD of a global company.
She made it to the list of Top 20 global Product Leaders of 2023 and she is recognized as Top 100 most influential women of Canada. She is on Claro Top 100 AI & Tech Leaders list and is bestowed Global Recognition Awards twice. Sumaiya also won Chief Product Officer of the year 2024.

Currently she is Chief Product Officer at a category defining AI and Web3.0 company. Previously she served as Chief Product Strategy Officer and earlier she was VP of HR & Digital Transformation. She has worked with Telenor enabling them with their digital transformation. At IBM, she had 3 global roles and she led Technology M&As across 50+ countries in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa enabling IBM to be an AI & Cloud company. As part of executive team, she has closed millions of dollars of funding for companies.

Sumaiya is a graduate of IBM Leadership Development Program. She is a Startup Advisor, Fulbright scholar with MS/MBA from Purdue University, INSEAD certified Digital Strategy Expert, Certified AI PM and an Engineer with experience of managing cross-functional teams across 6 continents (being based in 4 continents) with Fortune100 multinationals and tech start-ups. She serves on Harvard Business Review (HBR) Advisory Council, World Economic Forum’s AI Council and is on Canadian Web3.0 Committee (Canadian Blockchain Consortium). Sumaiya also collaborates with MIT, University of Toronto and University of Washington for advising portfolio startups across NA and globally specifically in AI, Ethical AI, Product, Technology and Healthcare domains.

As a researcher, keynote speaker, and thought leader, Sumaiya contributes extensively to the global AI and Product community through publications, speaking engagements, media appearances, board and advisory roles. Sumaiya has a strong commitment to mentorship and has mentored 1000s of individuals across the globe. She is also a published author in high-impact peer reviewed journals. Her areas of research are AI based Product Development, Bioinformatics & Biotechnology, Machine Learning/Deep Learning, Neural Networks, Computational Biology and Cybersecurity.

She speaks frequently at multiple forums globally. Sumaiya has spoken at US State Department with delegates from 47 countries including US Congress members. Also gave a talk at Grace Hopper Conference, attended by more than 40K technologists world-wide. Sumaiya has also been a Keynote speaker at University of Toronto and at several industry events including Google DevFest and IEEE. Sumaiya’s work has been featured in national and global media like Al Jazeera, Financial Post, National Post, Telegraph.

Outside work, Sumaiya is a staunch supporter of women and human rights, education and health for underprivileged individuals and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She loves travelling, learning new things especially technology and history, meeting people from diverse backgrounds and experiencing new cultures.

Sumaiya has 15+ years of experience in diverse leadership roles including AI & Product Strategy, Product Development & Management, Digital Transformation and Talent Management. She has won many accolades throughout her career and has been honored as ... Show more

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