IEEE Online Forum on Climate Change Technologies (OFCCT)

Keynotes

Bruno Meyer has over 38 years’ experience in industry in the field of energy.

He joined EDF (Electricité de France) in 1985 where he held several senior management positions during his career. Amongst others, he was VP for R&D Transmission & Distribution for EDF after being Director of R&D on Power Systems and Electrical Equipment.

In 2009 he joined at Transmission Operator, RTE, as Senior Executive.

From 2011 to 2016 he was CEO of ARTERIA, RTE subsidiary in telecommunications.

Recognized as an international expert, his fields of expertise include electricity economics and regulation, power system dynamics and planning and power grids electrical equipment.

He has published over 80 papers or conference papers in the field of energy, including a book on Power Systems simulation.

Meyer has a Ph.D, from Edinburgh University, an M.Sc. from Sao Paulo University and a B.Sc. from Unicamp (Brazi).
He was elevated to the grade of IEEE Fellow in 2008.
He was 2022 IEEE Vice President Technical Activities (TAB). He was member of the Board of Directors of the IEEE in 2018, 2019 and 2022. At IEEE he launched a program on Climate Change.

Since 2021, Bruno Meyer is Secretary General of GO15, a global association of Very Large Power Grid Operators (www.go15.org).

He is president of consulting firm ConsultBKM (www.consultbkm.fr)

Talk Title: What IEEE Is Doing to Support Climate Change Technologies

Thomas M. Brown investigated polymer OLEDs for his PhD at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge. From 2001–2005 he developed OTFTs and E-Paper as Senior Engineer with Plastic Logic Ltd. In 2005 he was recipient of a ‘‘Re-entry’’ Fellowship awarded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research and is Associate Professor at Tor Vergata University of Rome. Founder (2006) and Director (2021-2023) of the Centre for Hybrid and Organic Solar Energy (CHOSE), and Associate Editor of Solar Energy, his current research focuses on perovskite solar cells for light harvesting indoors, on flexible substrates, and on bio-hybrid devices.

Talk Title: Photovoltaics for Indoor Energy Harvesting

Dr. Varunkumar Sivakumar is Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), India. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology Trichy, India (2007) and PhD in Engineering (Aerospace Propulsion) from the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, India (2012). After a brief stint as Assistant Professor at Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, he joined IITM as Assistant Professor in 2013 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2021. His research group works on fundamental studies and technology development for value addition to agricultural residues and other biomass and coal. The susstains process for synthesis of biochar, activated-carbon and hydrogen from biomass is a noteworthy contribution from the lab. The group is also attempting commercialization of these technologies through startups.

Talk Title: Biomass – A Bit of Science, Technology and Policy

A.-H. “Alissa” Park is the Ronald and Valerie Sugar Dean of UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and a Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles. Before joining UCLA in 2023, she was the Lenfest Earth Institute Professor of Climate Change at Columbia University, where she also served as the Director of the Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy. Her research focuses on sustainable energy and materials conversion pathways with an emphasis on integrated Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) technologies. Park received a number of professional awards and honors, including the Shell Thomas Baron Award in Fluid-Particle Systems and PSRI Lectureship Award from AIChE PTF, U.S. C3E Research Award, and NSF CAREER Award. She also led key global and national discussions on CCUS, including the Mission Innovation Workshop in 2017. Park is a Fellow of AIChE, ACS, RSC and AAAS.

Talk Title: Creating a New Circular Carbon Economy via Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage

Dr. Roberto La Rosa is an esteemed electrical engineer with a Master’s degree from the University of Palermo and a Ph.D. from the Ecole Polytechnique F ́ed ́erale de Lausanne. His doctoral thesis, which merited the prestigious Thomas Gessner Award in 2023, concentrated on pioneering strategies and techniques for the autonomous operation of wireless sensor nodes via energy harvesting and wireless power transfer.

Since his tenure beginning in 1997 at STMicroelectronics, Dr. La Rosa has been instrumental in various capacities. His expertise has been integral in the design of high-frequency Phase-Locked Loops (PLLs) for clock generation and signal recovery, fiber-optic transceiver systems, power management integrated circuits, and the development of analog, digital, and mixed-signal bipolar and CMOS circuits. His proficiency in IC mixed-signal design and ultra-low power applications has been pivotal in advancing these technological areas.

Currently, as a Research Senior Staff Member at STMicroelectronics Catania, Dr. La Rosa’s re-search is focused on Ultra-Low Power applications, Wireless Power Transfer, Energy Harvesting, and high-frequency power conversion. He has authored several influential papers and holds multiple patents in these fields, underscoring his leadership in energy autonomy for wireless sensor networks.
In addition to his research activities, Dr. La Rosa is an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Agrifood Electronics, where he lends his expertise to the advancement of electrical engineering, contributing significantly to the growth of this vital area of study.

Talk Title: Strategies, Techniques and System for Powering Low-maintenance and Maintenance-free Wireless Sensor Nodes

Dr. Marios Sophocleous, an esteemed researcher and expert in Agrifood Electronics and sensor technology, holds a PhD in Engineering with a focus on Thick Film Underground Sensors, complemented by a Master of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering (Mechatronics) from the University of Southampton, UK. His academic journey commenced with roles as a Research Scholar and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Cyprus, where he concentrated on soil quality monitoring technologies for the Agrifood sector. Currently, he assumes the position of Senior Project Manager and Head of Electronics & Beyond 5G Testbed at eBOS Technologies Ltd, Cyprus. In this capacity, he supervises the progress of over 10 EU projects, manages hardware acquisitions, and leads both the Electronics team and the B5G testbed, actively contributing to novel EU proposals. Additionally, Dr. Sophocleous enriches his research endeavors as a visiting researcher at Tel Aviv University, engaging in collaborative efforts focused on plant monitoring technologies. Dr. Sophocleous’s commitment to advancing Agrifood Electronics and sensor technology resonates through his prolific scientific contributions. He has authored numerous publications, including papers on sensor technology and precision agriculture, featured in esteemed journals like IEEE Sensors Journal and Biosensors & Bioelectronics. His influence extends to the IEEE Transactions on AgriFood Electronics Journal being a founding member, member of the steering committee and an Associated Editor and the IEEE Conference on AgriFood Electronics being a member of the Organizing Committee in 2023 and a General Co-Chair in 2024, where he actively shapes the technological landscape of agriculture and food production. Furthermore, he has edited books, penned book chapters, and authored magazine articles on subjects such as IoT and Thick-Film Technology for agriculture. His exceptional contributions have garnered recognition, including the Fulbright Schuman Award and finalist status for the Cyprus Young Scientist Award.

Talk Title: In-situ Soil Quality Monitoring Systems

Luisa Petti received her M.Sc. in Electronic Engineering from Politecnico di Milano (Italy) in 2011. She obtained her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from ETH Zurich (Switzerland) in 2016 with a thesis entitled “Metal oxide semiconductor thin-film transistors for flexible electronics”, for which she won the ETH medal. After a short post-doc at ETH Zurich, she joined first Cambridge Display Technology Ltd in October 2016 and then FlexEnable Ltd in December 2017 in Cambridge, UK as a Scientist. In 2018 she joined the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, where she is Associate Professor in Electronics since March 2021. Luisa’s current research includes the design, fabrication and characterization of flexible and printable sensors, energy harvesters, and thin-film devices and circuits, with a focus on sustainable and low-cost materials and manufacturing processes. Luisa serves as member of the IEEE-EDS board of governors, general co-chair of the IEEE International Flexible Electronics Technology Conference 2024, Associate Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Journal on Flexible Electronics and as Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Agrifood Electronics.

Talk Title: Beyond Conventional Electronics: Smart Sensing for a Sustainable Future

Ronnie Siegel received a B.A from Colgate University and an M.LA. from the University of Pennsylvania. She founded the firm Swire Siegel Landscape Architects in 1984, and has promoted sustainability with the use of native plants, conservation of water, and storm water recharge in her work in Southern California for 40 years. Most of her projects also focused on the design of nature-based play and learning environments for children in urban areas. She has promoted the benefits of open space design for children and was a guest lecturer for the World Forum on Nature Education in Nebraska and for similar conferences around the world. In addition, Ronnie created a Global Interactive Art Project called Carry the EARTH, which inspired action and collected environmental action stories from around the world from 2018-2023. She has written and illustrated an award winning fictional children’s book DISPLACED: A Story About Climate Change and How Displaced Animals Ring the Alarm.

Ronnie is a member of the Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee of the ASLA working to help prepare resources for its members to facilitate action.

She is currently working with the US Green Building Council California to facilitate a collaboration with the ASLA on climate action by helping to organize a full day of nature-based solutions sessions at their annual conference in 2025.

Talk Title: Cross-disciplinary Collaboration Using Nature-based Solutions to Address Climate Change

Sydney Chamberlin is the Project Director for Climate & Nature-based Solutions at The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in California. Her work focuses on exploring policy and economic pathways to expand and accelerate the use of nature-based climate solutions, with an emphasis on Deltaic wetland restoration. She has also worked to explore insurance-based strategies to scale nature-based solutions in California. Prior to her role at TNC, Sydney worked as a postdoctoral scholar in physics at Penn State University. She transitioned to the climate sector after completing a year of public service as a Science & Technology Policy Fellow for California’s Senate Committee on Natural Resources & Water. Sydney holds BS degrees in physics and mathematics from Utah State University, a PhD in physics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and a Project Management Certificate from Cornell University.

Talk Title: Cross-disciplinary Collaboration Using Nature-based Solutions to Address Climate Change

Charlie Jackson has been active in a broad range of microwave and millimeter-wave technologies. After receiving his doctorate at UCLA, he worked at Hughes, TRW, Ditrans, Raytheon, and Northrop. He has retired and is the chair of the IEEE Conference Committee.

Moderator: IEEE@COP 2024 Panel

Teppo Rantanen, Director for competitiveness and innovation at the City of Tampere, is responsible for several city-wide development programs, with a particular focus on smart city themes [such as the Data-Driven City for Citizens initiative], that shape the strategic economic policy of the city. He leads Tampere through collaboration in extensive international networks toward a metaverse city with a human-centric perspective. From 2002 to 2014 Teppo served as Deloitte Finland’s Chief Executive Officer and from 2014 to 2016 in London as a member of Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications Leadership Team. He is currently sitting on the board of Business Finland which is helping Finnish companies to grow and succeed globally.

Teppo and his team from the City of Tampere were receiving the World Smart City Award in the Enabling Technologies category at Smart City Expo World Congress taking place in Barcelona in 2023.

Talk Title: Building Sustainable Citiverse with AI, Immersive Tech, and Data

Ashwin Bharadwaj is the Product Technology Leader for Chelants in Dow Industrial Solutions(DIS) Product R&D group. He leads DIS’s Chelants technology platform responsible for project execution and strategy. Ashwin has experience across multiple markets which DIS including process and product knowledge in lubricants, pulp and paper, and pharma. In addition, he is a key contributor to advancing digital platforms across Dow and utilization of those tool towards innovation. He is champion to further develop sustainable innovation and passionate about process implementation towards those goals. Ashwin joined Dow in 2005. Ashwin earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from University of Florida in organic chemistry and completed postdoctoral research at Northwestern University.

Talk Title: Developing Safer Materials Using Dow’s Smart Search, Powered by CAS

Dr. Maria Smolander is a research team leader of the “Flexible sensors and devices” research team at VTT, Technical Research Centre of Finland. Her expertise areas include e.g. sustainable solutions in printed and hybrid electronics and photonics, development and testing of printed indicator and sensor concepts as well as printable power sources. Maria Smolander gained her PhD from the Helsinki University of Technology in 1995 and she has been involved as project manager or WP leader in several EU and national projects dealing with functional solutions and power sources for different applications. Recently she has e.g. lead VTT funded activity on sustainable printed and hybrid electronics and acted as the member of the Executive Board and Work Package leader of Flexible Electronics in Graphene Flagship, the biggest research initiative in Europe.

Talk Title: Sustainability of Flexible Electronics

Professor Colin Fitzpatrick is the Head of the Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering at the University of Limerick. He is a leading expert in the fields of sustainability, circular economy, and electronic waste (e-waste) management. His research focuses on advancing the environmental, economic, and social sustainability of technology, with over 60 peer-reviewed journal articles and numerous international conference papers. Professor Fitzpatrick has been awarded over €5 million in research funding and is a frequent collaborator with national and EU-level policymakers. He has held visiting research positions at MIT and Fraunhofer IZM in Berlin. His contributions to sustainability in academia have earned him recognition, including UL’s award for excellence in community service. As a thought leader on the circular economy, Professor Fitzpatrick regularly shares his expertise at international conferences, addressing pressing global challenges related to resource management and electronic waste.

Talk Title: Sustainable Electronics Will Require an Integration of Both Business Models and Technology Enablers