Professor Jean Etourneau, whose energy is still invested in international projects, among other things, has left his mark on the scientific world of Bordeaux. He was only 46 years old when, in 1986, he succeeded Paul Hagenmuller - a huge figure in research - as director of the Solid State Chemistry Laboratory, a then recent discipline, which led to the development of many high-performance materials. Not content with taking on this legacy, Jean Etourneau set about creating from this strong base the ICMCB laboratory (Bordeaux Institute of Condensed Matter Chemistry), which by its size and multidisciplinarity, is one of the CNRS beacons in the region. In addition, a professor at the University of Bordeaux 1 where he worked wonders with his teaching, Jean Etourneau is an outstanding popularizer and an inexhaustible globetrotter, who has established in-depth scientific contacts, particularly in India and Japan. He did not steal his distinction.
Hannes Kirchoff
Hannes Kirchhoff grew up in Germany and the U.S. and has lived in South Africa, Tanzania, and Bangladesh. He is an energy and process engineer by background, holds a master’s degree in renewable energy systems engineering, and pursues a Ph.D. on DC microgrids. As the CTO of SOLshare he is responsible for the provision of prepaid and energy-exchange platforms for energy access technologies.
Hayley Rutherford
Hayley Rutherford is a critical and strategic thinker who designs projects and programs for impact. She has over eight years experience in the social impact sector with a focus on strategic analysis & planning, topic research, client collaboration, event design and editorial management. Hayley’s training in science communication is evident in her ability to effectively and creatively communicate complexity to different audiences. As a facilitator, she has worked with diverse groups to design conversations that build trust, engage participants and uncover insights. Hayley brings curiosity and commitment to all her work.
Julia Wright
Julie took on the role of Director at Partners for Action in December 2020. Previously, she led Waterloo Global Science Initiative (WGSI) through its start-up phase to successfully launching a decade-long Summit series and catalyzing collaborations related to each event. Prior to working at WGSI, she spent ten years in communications and public affairs roles for companies, clients, and campaigns in the tech, cultural and non-profit sectors at the forefront of sector disruption.
Mahesh Pandey
Dr. Mahesh Pandey is a Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Waterloo, as well as a UNENE-NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Risk and Life Cycle Management.
Dr. Pandey has made significant contributions to the area of reliability analysis and probabilistic modelling of engineering systems. The internationally-recognized researcher has received the Governor General of Canada’s Gold Medal and Ontario’s Premiere Research Excellence Award. His research accomplishments include stochastic models for time-dependent reliability analysis and life cycle assessment, the Life-Quality Index framework for societal risk management of technological systems, and the probabilistic assessment of nuclear plant systems, structures and components. Dr. Pandey has led countless exceptional research projects and industrial applications of risk/reliability analysis methods. He has mentored many nuclear professionals who have gone on to make their own substantial contributions in the Canadian nuclear industry.
Hisham Zerriffi
Hisham Zerriffi is an Associate Professor in Forest Resources Management at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He was previously an Assistant Professor and the Ivan Head South/North Research Chair in the Liu Institute for Global Issues at UBC. Dr. Zerriffi’s research is at the intersection of technology, energy and the environment, with a particular focus on rural areas of the developing world. Much of his research focuses on institutional factors impacting the diffusion of new technology, determinants and patterns of household energy choice and welfare implications of rural energy use. Prior to joining the UBC Faculty, Dr. Zerriffi was a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development, Stanford University. Dr. Zerriffi holds a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University in Engineering and Public Policy.
Uche Onuora
Bio
Husband, father, and irrepressible optimist, Uche Onuora lives at the intersection of arts and technology. He’s a serial technology entrepreneur and aspiring poet who believes in the need for interdisciplinary efforts to synthesize education and technology, because of the potentially beneficial impacts on society. Uche has interests in sustainable entrepreneurial impact, especially via social enterprise.
He is a Co-Founder of HITCH – an Educational platform linking applied learning to real opportunities for African students and teachers, by providing access to world-class educational videos aligned with local curriculums.
Uche is a seasoned educational technology entrepreneur and has managed various human capacity development projects including conceptualizing and executing HITCH’s initial customer acquisition, go-to-market strategy, and cultivating its innovation ecosystem of strategic partners.
Rodrigo Palma Behnke
Rodrigo Palma-Behnke (Senior Member, IEEE) was born in Antofagasta, Chile. He received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in electrical engineering from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and the Dr.-Ing. degree from the University of Dortmund, Germany. He is currently a Full Professor with the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Chile, where he is also the Director of the Energy Center, FCFM, and a PI with the Solar Energy Research Center, Chile. His research interests include the planning and operation of electrical systems in competitive power markets, renewable energy, solar energy solutions, smart grids, power system education, and the development of microgrids solutions.
Roberto Cardenas currently works at the Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica, University of Chile. Roberto does research in Electronic Engineering and Electrical Engineering. His current research project is 'Control Systems and Hardware Topologies for Modular Multilevel Converter Applications.'
Guillermo Jiménez
Professor Jiménez is an electrical engineer from the Colombian School of Engineering Julio Garavito (1998), Master of Science (2003) and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Chile (Chile) (2010). His research interests focus on planning and operation of energy systems, renewable energy, distributed generation, microgrids, sustainability and regulatory analysis. He has led different projects related to distributed generation and microgrids, both in Chile and in other Latin American countries (Mexico and Colombia).
Doris Saez Hueichapan
Doris Sáez Hueichapan is the Associate Professor, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Universidad de Chile.
Doris Sáez Hueichapan was born in Panguipulli, Chile. She received her M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, in 1995 and 2000, respectively. She is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Chile.
Doris is an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Fuzzy Systems. She is co-author of Springer-Verlag books: “Hybrid Predictive Control for Dynamic Transport Problems” (2013) and “Optimization of Industrial Processes at Supervisory Level: Application to Control of Thermal Power Plants” (2002).
Her research fields are predictive control, fuzzy control design, fuzzy identification, control of transport systems and control of renewable energy plants.
Emmanuel is currently Professor (Adjunct) at the University of British Columbia, Canada. He earned his PhD in Environment and Resource Management from BTU, Germany. He has about 20 years professional experience in project management, research, teaching and capacity building. He has held duty posts (across 3 continents) in 4 countries namely, in Ghana, Canada, Germany and Denmark.
Arne Remmen
Arne Remmen is Professor in Technology, Environment and Society at Department of Development and Planning, Aalborg University in Denmark and did his Ph.D on Constructive Technology Assessment. He has since 1980 done research in the relations between technological and social change and especially on the innovation dynamics within clean tech.
Sara Lindeman
Sara is deeply dedicated to developing excellence in addressing complex sustainability challenges. She wants to see a rapid, widespread and high-quality societal transformation towards an increased balance between social, economic and ecological systems. Starting her work in academia, she holds a PhD in sustainable market organizing. Later, she initiated and led a large transdisciplinary research and innovation project on how to co-innovate the future’s sustainable solutions for emerging markets. Sara founded Leapfrog Projects to spearhead transition design.
Peter Lund is Professor in Advanced Energy Systems at Aalto University, Finland. He has about 40 years of experience in energy technology, innovations, systems, and policy. Dr. Lund has worked as a visiting professor at Southeast University, Technical University of Dresden (Germany), and Hubei University (Wuhan) (Nanjing). He served as the chair of the European Commission's Energy Advisory Group from 2002 to 2006. He also serves as the chair of the Energy Steering Panel of the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) and is a participant in the Euro-CASE and European University Association energy platforms (European Council of Applied Sciences Technologies and Engineering). Prof. Lund has provided advice to numerous companies and international energy programs, including the International Energy Agency. He is a member of the Swedish Engineering Academy in Finland and the Editor-Europe of the journal Energy Research and Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment. He regularly gives lectures on energy all over the world and has published more than 500 research publications. He has received several awards from around the world, most recently the Jinling Award in 2016.
Jouko Lampinen
Professor Jouko Lampinen, D.Sc. (Tech.), was appointed Dean of the Aalto University School of Science and as a member of the University’s Management Team in 2016.
Lampinen has several years of experience as Head of Department at the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Computational Science and at the Department of Computer Science, which he has been leading since 2015. Lampinen has also served as Vice Dean of the School of Science between 2014 and 2015.
Lampinen has worked as Professor of Computational Engineering at Aalto University and its predecessor Helsinki University of Technology since 1996. He has focused his research on probabilistic modelling of complex phenomena, pattern recognition and data-analysis.
The Dean of the School of Science is responsible for directing the School’s activities in accordance with Aalto University’s strategy and taking part in the long-term development of the University as a member of its Management Team. The Dean is responsible for the overall development and international competitiveness of the School, for allocating its resources within the framework of the University’s overall operating plan and budget, and for recruiting faculty in accordance with Aalto University’s tenure track policies. Dean reports to the Provost.
Joachim Knebel
Prof. Knebel is a mechanical and nuclear engineer who leads KIT's energy research initiatives across a range of disciplines and issues areas. He is Head of Division III 'Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering' at KIT, being responsible for 36 institutes, the two KIT departments ‘Mechanical Engineering’ and ‘Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies’, as well as the three Helmholtz Programmes ‘Storage and Cross-linked Infrastructures’, ‘Nuclear Waste Disposal and Safety’, as well as ‘Nuclear Fusion’. Across scientific disciplines and research programmes, and in close cooperation with colleagues at KIT and Helmholtz, Joachim Knebel shapes and organizes the research and innovation work which is supporting the 'German Energiewende' and the mobility systems of the future.
Prof. Ortwin Renn served as Scientific Director at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS). Until his retirement, Renn also worked as a full-time professor for environment and technology assessment at the University of Stuttgart. Renn is a visiting professor at Beijing Normal University (China) and at the University of Stavanger (Norway). Together with Dr. Rainer Kuhn and Agnes Lampke, he directs the non-profit research institute Dialogik, which researches and implements innovative forms of science communication and participation.
Renn studied economics, sociology, and social psychology and completed his master and Ph.D in social psychology at the University of Cologne. He has worked as a researcher and university lecturer in Germany, the USA and Switzerland. Renn is a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the German Academy of Science and Engineering Acatech (where he also serves on the Board), and the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BBAW), among others. Renn has received many awards, including the Federal Cross of Merit, First Class, an honorary doctorate from ETH Zurich and Mid-Sweden University, and an honorary professorship from the Technical University of Munich. Ortwin Renn's publications include over 30 monographs and edited volumes as well as more than 250 scientific articles.
Ilan is Head of Strategic Science Initiatives and Programs and the KLASICA project (knowledge, learning, and societal change research alliance) at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam Germany. He is also Adjunct Professor in the School of Sustainability of Arizona State University (ASU) at the ASU Washington Barrett and O’Connor Center. He has published 60 peer-reviewed articles in major journals in social and natural science and holds three patents. He serves on international advisory boards on affordable energy for humanity, environmental systems research, social dimensions of creativity and innovation, and integrated risk governance. He was Helmholtz Alliance Energy Trans professor at the University of Stuttgart Institute for Social Science (2012-2014), elected Honorary Member of the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences in 2012, and appointed Hasselblad Professor in sociology and applied IT in Gothenburg and Chalmers Universities, Sweden (2006-2011). He founded the New Curiosity Shop, a workshop in Silicon Valley (1984-2001), where he led design and production of interactive learning exhibitions for more than 230 museums, science centres, and corporations worldwide, including Disney and NASA. He was Associate Director of the Exploratorium Science Museum in San Francisco (1982-83), consulting professor of chemistry at Stanford (1984-88), and led research on non-linear optical spectroscopy at the US National Institutes of Standards and Technology.
Armin Grunwald
Armin Grunwald is a Full professor of Philosophy and Ethics of Technology at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany. He has been the director of the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis at KIT (ITAS) since 1999 and Director of the Office of Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag in Berlin since 2002. In his professional work, Armin Grunwald is member of several advisory commissions and committees in various fields of the technological advance, e.g. of the German Ethics Council and the National Board on Nuclear Waste disposal. He is an author and editor of multiple professional and research publications, among them Technology Assessment in Practice and Theory (Routledge 2019) and The Hermeneutic Side of Responsible Research and Innovation (Wiley 2016).
Davi Ezequiel Francois
Dr Davi Ezequiel Francois is currently the member of the Scientific Staff at Center for Interdisciplinary Risk and Innovation Studies (ZIRIUS) of the University of Stuttgart and also at the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS). His field of work comprises of energy-poverty nexus, social value of energy, socio-context energy scenarios, renewable energies
Dr. Wolfgang Breh is the Managing Director of the KIT Energy Center in Germany.
Jan Korvink holds a Chair for Microsystems Engineering at the University of Freiburg, Germany, where he also directs the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies - FRIAS. He has co-authored more than 160 papers in scientific journals, as well as numerous conference papers, book chapters and a book on semiconductors for engineers. His research interests cover the modeling, simulation and low cost fabrication of MEMS/NEMS, and applications in magnetic resonance. In 2011 he received a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant, the Red Dot Design Concept Award and the University of Freiburg Teaching Award.
Veit Hagenmeyer
Veit Hagenmeyer received the Ph.D. degree from the Laboratoire des Signaux et Systèmes (L2S), C.N.R.S.-Supélec,Université Paris-Sud, Bures-sur-Yvette, France, in 2002. He held a Postdoctoral position with L2S, C.N.R.S.-Supélec, Université Paris-Sud and later was a Research Engineer with the Advanced Process Control Group, BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. From 2007 to 2008, he was the Head of the Advanced Process Control Group, BASF SE. From 2008 to 2009, he was a Senior Consultant for Verbund Simulation of BASF sites in Europe. From 2009 to 2010, he was the Personal Assistant to the European Site Manager Europe (Level 2 of BASF Group). From 2010 to 2014, he was the Power Plant Director of BASF (three power plants and energy grids). In 2014, he became the Director of the Institute of Automation and Applied Informatics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany, where he became a Full Professor of energy informatics with the Faculty of Informatics.
Horst Hahn's research primarily revolves around the utilization and advancement of innovative synthesis and processing techniques, the thorough characterization of nano- and microstructures, and the exploration of the relationships between the nano- and microstructures of materials and their mechanical and functional properties. His fundamental scientific pursuits have focused on the development of cutting-edge materials encompassing metals, ceramics, and composites, as well as nanostructured materials and metallic glasses, with a particular emphasis on investigating their tailored and tunable properties. In addition, his research endeavors have ventured into the realm of materials for energy storage and conversion, as well as printed electronics.
Frank Schilling works for Karlsruhe Institute of Technology as Professor of Technical Petrophysics.
Helmut Ehrenberg
Dr. Helmut Ehrenberg is Professor for Inorganic Chemistry at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Head of the Institute for Applied Materials (IAM). He addresses fundamentals and new materials for novel energy storage systems, development and processing of components for electrochemical energy storage devices and the integration of batteries into applications. He is speaker of the topic “Electrochemical Energy Storage” within the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers (HGF), a spokesperson of the cluster of excellence “energy storage beyond lithium” (POLiS) and the co-director of the Center for Electrochemical Energy Storage (CELEST).
Volker Saile
Dr. Volker Saile is a Distinguished Senior Fellow of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). He was Conference Director of COMS 2005 in Baden-Baden and a member of the MANCEF GAC since 2006. Volker Saile served already previously as MANCEF President from January 2012 to January 2019 and was again elected in this position in September 2021.
Witold-Roger Poganietz
Since 2008, scientist at ITAS (Institut für Technikfolgenabschätzung und Systemanalyse (ITAS)). He is head of research group on "Socio-Technical Energy Futures"
John Jelonnek
Prof. Dr.-Ing. John Jelonnek is the successor of Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Manfred Thumm as Director of the Institute for Pulsed Power and Microwave Technology (IHM) since October 2011. Prof. John Jelonnek is a Professor for High Power Microwave Technology at KIT. The IHM is located at the Campus North (formerly Research Center Karlsruhe). The IHM is collaborating closely with the IHE in teaching and research since more than 25 years, in particular, as the professorship of Prof. Manfred Thumm had been set up at IHE. This collaboration is continuing with the professorship of John Jelonnek. As such all lectures and teaching events of the IHM are organized through IHE to grant students more access and clarity to the research topics of IHM at the Helmholtz association.
Thomas Schulenberg
Thomas Schulenberg is a Professor at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) Institute for Nuclear and Energy Technologies and has done extensive research in Nuclear Science, Nuclear Safety, Nuclear Fission, Reactor Physics and Reactors.
Wilhelm Schabel
Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Schabel (KIT) studied process engineering and is professor for Thin Film Technology at KIT. His doctoral thesis in the field of film drying was awarded with the Carl Freudenberg Prize by University of Karlsruhe in 2005. In 2007 he received the Arnold-Eucken Award (VDI) and in 2008 the Scriven Young Investigator Award from the International Society of Coating Science (ISCST). In 2007 he started in industry at Lonza Foils (LOFO/TAC Bright) in Basel/Taiwan in the R&D department for film casting and coating applications. In 2009 he was appointed to the first professorship for Thin Film Technology at KIT, initially funded by the KIT Elite Future Concept and a consortium of BASF, BAYER, and ROCHE with 3 million euros. Prof. Schabel is an international member of the Board of Directors of the International Society of Coating Science & Technology and the European Coating Society and served as there Vice Presidents in terms. 2015 he refused a full Professorship offer to Excellence University TU Dresden and continued his research career at KIT. In 2021 he was honored by the University of Cambridge as an “EDWARDS FELLOW”. In 2022, the International Drying Symposium (IDS) community honored Schabel with the “EXCELLENCE IN DRYING AWARD” in recognition of his individual achievements in drying research. 2023 he was elected by his European colleagues as the new President of the European Coating Society (ECS) for the next term. Members of the TFT group have been honored for best posters, talks & innovations with more than 37 research awards (until 2024).
Orestis Terzidis
Prof. Dr. Orestis Terzidis heads the Institute for Entrepreneurship, Technology Management and Innovation (EnTechnon) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). After receiving his PhD in physics, he worked at SAP from 1998-2011, first as an application developer, later as assistant to CEO Henning Kagermann and director of the SAP Research Center in Karlsruhe. In October 2011, he joined KIT as a full professor.
Thomas Wetzel
Prof. Dr. Thomas Wetzel graduated in Electrical Engineering in 1996 from the University of Hannover and received his Dr.-Ing. in 2000 with a work on silicon single crystal growth. Before joining KIT in 2009, Prof. Wetzel held several scientific and management positions in leading German semiconductor and automotive industry companies. He is Professor for Heat and Mass Transfer at the Institute of Thermal Process Engineering and Dean of the Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering at KIT. He is the spokesperson of the DFG Research Training Group GRK 2218 SiMET on numerical simulation of coupled mechanical, electric-electrochemical and thermal effects in Lithium-ion-batteries. SiMET has 38 members, started in 2017 and will run through 2026.
Professor Mathias Noe is the Director of ITEP (Institute Of Technical Physics) with a focus on Superconducting Energy Applications.
Professor Dr. Hans- Bauer is the Head of the Institute of Thermal Turbomachinery, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Director Rolls-Royce University Technology Center in Karlsruhe (since 2007). He is also the Program Director - Energy Engineering and Management, Hector School, Karlsruhe (since 2013). Prior to this, he was the Scientific Speaker - KIT Energy Center, President Board of Directors - European Institute for Energy Research (EIfER), Karlsruhe and former Dean of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at KIT
Georg Mueller received the Diploma degree in physics and the Ph.D. degree from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany, in 1990 and 1999, respectively., Since 1990, he has been with the Research Centre Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, where he was involved in different research fields including thin-film deposition by channel spark, plasma and electron beam diagnostics, development of multipoint explosive emission cathodes, transport of large area powerful pulsed electron beams, and surface modification by pulsed electron beams (GESA-process). Since 2006, he has been the Deputy Director and the Head of the Pulsed Power Department, Institute for Pulsed Power and Microwave Technology, KIT. He is responsible and involved in research and development of pulsed power applications in the field of electrodynamic fragmentation of solid dielectric materials, material surface modification by pulsed electron beams, electroporation of biological cell membranes by pulsed electric fields and basic research in BioElectrics. He has authored and co-authored more than 200 publications in peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings. Dr. Mueller is a member of the European Pulse Power Society, the International Advisory Committees of the HLMC-, BEAMS- and EAPPC- conferences, the contact expert group of the European Commission on transmutation, and the OECD/NEA expert group on HLM.
Andreas Class
Andreas Class is the Head of the Framatome Professional School at ITES (Institute for Thermal Energy Technologies and Safety)
Isabelle Südmeyer
Dr. Isabelle Südmeyer studied and received her doctorate at RWTH Aachen and worked there as a research assistant until 2006. The mechanical engineer is a specialist in materials and substances. She has been working at KIT in Karlsruhe since 2006 and is responsible for the "Storage and Cross-linked Infrastructures" program.
Christian Koos
Christian Koos is a professor at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Photonics and Quantum Electronics (IPQ) since 2010. He received the Dipl.-Ing. (M.Tech.) and the Dr.-Ing. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Karlsruhe, in 2002 and 2007, respectively. From 2007 to 2008, he carried out post-doctoral research at the Institute of Photonics and Quantum Electronics, University of Karlsruhe, where he pioneered nanophotonic silicon-organic hybrid (SOH) devices. From 2008 to 2010, he was leading the technology radars "Nanotools and Nanometrology" and “Metrology” within the Corporate Research and Technology department of Carl Zeiss AG, Germany.
Judith Elsner
With over 25 years of professional experience, Judith is an experienced and dedicated manager in the field of engineering and business. As managing director, she lead two non-profit GmbHs that are committed to promoting science, continuing education, and international cooperation. She is also the managing director of the Hector Fellow Academy GmbH, a young science academy that supports outstanding young scientists and offers the winners of the Hector Science Prize a platform for networking and inspiration.
Andreas Wagner
Professor Wagner works at Karlsruhe Institute Of Technology (KIT) - Institute of Building Design and Technology
Franz Nestmann
Franz Nestmann is Managing Director of the Institute of Water and River Basin Management of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and is President of the Association of Water Management of Baden-Wuerttemberg. Franz Nestmann received honorary doctorates from universities in Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod and is a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He received honorary citizenship in Hang Giang region, northern Vietnam in 2019.
Bryce Richards
Bryce studied physics at the Victoria Univ. of Wellington (New Zealand) before completing a Masters and PhD in electrical engineering at Univ. of New South Wales (Australia), in 1998 and 2002, respectively. He worked at both UNSW and the Australian National University. In 2006, he joined Heriot-Watt University (Edinburgh, U.K.) as a lecturer, being promoted to full professor in 2008. Since 2014 he is co-director of the Institute for Microstructure Technology (IMT) and Light Technology Institute (LTI) within the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany). His primary research areas lie in third generation photovoltaics, spectral conversion for solar energy harvesting (up- and down-conversion, luminescent down-shifting and luminescent solar concentrators), luminescent materials for plastic recycling and anti-counterfeiting, multi-function coatings (light management, anti-soiling), as well as solar-powered water treatment systems (PV-driven membrane filtration systems as well as photocatalysis).
Professor Marc Weber is the Head of the KIT-Division Mathematics and Physics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
Dr Thomas Blank is the head of the Electronic Packaging Laboratory at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) - Institute for Data Processing and Electronics (IPE)
Hartmut Schmeck
Since 2011, Prof. Dr. Hartmut Schmeck has been working as a FZI Scientific Director on the design of reliable and at the same time self-organizing, adaptive systems with applications in energy and transport systems. As a key member of several projects in various funding programs, he is driving the development of intelligent systems in future energy grids and for electromobility and is helping to shape the new discipline of energy informatics.
Thomas Leibfried (Senior Member, IEEE) was born in Neckarsulm, Germany, in 1964. He received the Dipl.-Ing. and Dr.-Ing. degrees from the University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany, in 1990 and 1996, respectively. From 1996 to 2002, he was with Siemens AG, Nuremberg, Germany. In 2002, he joined the University of Karlsruhe (now KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany, and the Head of the Institute of Electric Energy Systems and High-Voltage Technology. He is currently with the power transformer business in various technical and management positions. He is a member of VDE and CIGRE.
Martina Schäfer is the Scientific Director, Center for Technology and Society, Technische Universität Berlin. She studied biology at the University Stuttgart-Hohenheim and has completed PhDs in environmental technology and sociology at TU Berlin. Since 2010 she has been working as Scientific Director of the ZTG at the TU Berlin. She began her career at the ZTG in 1996 and has been carrying out and coordinating numerous inter- and transdisciplinary research projects in the area of sustainability research from that point up to the present. Her research interests are Sustainable Consumption, Sustainable Regional Development, Sustainable Land Use and methods of inter- and transdisciplinary cooperation.
Toby Couture is Founder and Director of E3 Analytics, an independent renewable energy consultancy based in Berlin, Germany. He works on a wide range of topics in renewable energy, including policy, finance, regulatory design, rural electrification, new business models, as well as economic and financial analysis. Prior to founding E3 Analytics in 2009, he worked as Energy and Financial Markets Analyst at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado, where he was responsible for the lab's global work on renewable energy policy. While at NREL, he published several influential reports on renewable energy policy and advised regulators and lawmakers across the United States on market design and policy implementation issues. Couture speaks English, French, German and Spanish and has varying levels of fluency in Greek and Swahili. He is a previous recipient of the Fulbright Scholarship, has studied renewable energy finance in France and has a Master's degree in Environmental Policy from the University of Moncton in Canada, as well as an MSc. in Financial and Commercial Regulation from the London School of Economics in the UK. He lives in Berlin.
Kerstin Fritzsche
Kerstin Fritzsche has headed the research area of digitalization at the Institute for Futures Studies and Technology Assessment (IZT) in Berlin since June 2020. In this role, she coordinates the joint project "CO:DINA - Transformation Roadmap Digitalization and Sustainability". She researches the opportunities and challenges of digitalization for socio-ecological transformation processes and deals with questions of the design and governance of sustainable digitalization. Kerstin Fritzsche studied political science, Arabic studies and journalism at the University of Leipzig and the University of Stockholm.
Rainer Quitzow leads a research group on the Geopolitics of Transtions in Energy and Industry at the Research Institute for Sustainability, Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, and he is Professor of Sustainability and Innovation at Technische Universität Berlin. His research focuses on sustainable innovation and industrial policy and geopolitics of transitions in energy and industry. In particular, he analyses geoeconomic competition in emerging climate-friendly industries and the role of foreign and industrial policy strategies in this context. Before his career as a researcher, Rainer Quitzow worked in the field of international development with a focus on governance and environmental and trade policy. At the World Bank in Washington, D.C., he conducted governance and policy impact analyses for development programmes in Latin America and Africa.
Patricia Oviedo
PhD Candidate and researcher in the field of the Water-Energy-Food-Poverty Nexus (circular economy) at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology - Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (KIT-ITAS)
Christian Pirzer
Christian Pirzer is a managing director of Endeva and an expert in facilitating market transformation processes with partners from the private and public sector. Between 2017 and 2018, Christian worked at UNDP’s Regional Service Centre for Africa in Ethiopia. Before joining Endeva, Christian worked for the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Brazil, where he focused on community-based adaptation to climate change and disaster risk-reduction. He has a background in political science and graduated from the Centre for Rural Development (SLE), a postgraduate program on international development.
Arun Sharma
Arun Sharma, based in Berlin is currently a Founder and Managing Director at Infinite Potentials Consulting. Arun Sharma brings experience from previous roles at 10 Academy, Next Einstein Forum and Aims - Next Einstein Initiative. Arun Sharma holds a MPhil in Sustainable Development @ University of Cambridge. With a robust skill set that includes Program Management, Management, Start-ups, Strategic Planning, Project Planning and more.
Philipp Blechinger
Philipp is an international expert in island energy supply and rural electrification. He holds a PhD in engineering from the TU Berlin and studied previously business and engineering at the same University. In 2011, he joined the Reiner Lemoine Institut and he focused on the analysis of island energy systems by conducting his PhD project "barriers for implementing renewable energies on Caribbean islands". Additionally, he started to develop the Off-Grid Systems research field which he is currently representing as team leader. Within the Off-Grid Systems team he leads projects on island energy supply and rural electrification. Apart from that he continuously publishes and shares research results on conferences and in scientific journals acting as reviewer and co-editor as well.
Thomas Gottschalk, based in Berlin is currently a Managing Director at A2EI. Thomas Gottschalk brings experience from previous roles at Mobisol, Al Shorouq and Solartaxi.com. Thomas Gottschalk holds a Dipl. Ing. (FH) in Renewable Energies @ Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin. With a robust skill set that includes Sustainable Development, Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, Energy, Sustainability and more.
Markus Lau
Markus Lau, based in Germany, is currently a Founder, Operations and Finances at Ventecon. Markus Lau brings experience from previous roles at Ventecon, Hector School of Engineering & Management, Kit and Institute for Entrepreneurship Technology-Management and Innovation at Kit. Markus Lau holds a 2013 - 2015 Master Of Science in Industrial Engineering, Management @ University of Karlsruhe.
Fred McBagonluri
Fred McBagonluri is a Ghanaian engineer, inventor, novelist, educator and thought leader, who is currently Provost and President at Academic City College.
Susana Arrechea
Susana Arrechea works at New Sun Road, a Californian start-up incubated at the University of California at Berkeley (UCB), where she develops solar electrification and connectivity projects for rural Guatemala.
Rachel worked as Country Director and Executive Director from 2012 to 2019. With vast experience in project management in Haiti and fluent Haitian Creole skills, she oversaw the expansion of the Enèji Pwòp brand nationally and streamlined business practices and operational oversight. She has a background in gender, conflict and international development and earned her BA (Hons) in International Studies and MSc in International Conflict from Kingston University
Iskandar Budisaroso Kuntoadji
Mr Iskandar Kuntoadji is the founder of IBEKA (People Centered Economic and Business Institute). He has previously held the position of Director of the People Centered Economic and Business Institute from its foundation in 1992 to 2003. Iskandar holds qualifications in Development Studies, and Geological Engineering, Carbonate Deposition Environment from Bandung Institute of Technology.
Tri Mumpuni (Puni) was born in Java, Indonesia, trained as an agricultural engineer, and earned a degree in Social Economics. She has been engaged in rural development work for more than three decades, and her husband co-founded a non-governmental organization to utilize hydropower for rural development in the 1980's. In 1992, IBEKA was founded as a continuation of her husband's previous endeavour. When Puni joined IBEKA in 1994, she expanded the scope of IBEKA's activities to address the many challenges posed by working in Indonesia, including government restrictions and complicated financial regulations. The company’s success comes largely from Puni's ability to navigate all levels of project engagement, from collaborating with villagers at the grassroots level, to lobbying authorities at the highest levels of government.
Adedoyin Adeleke
Adedoyin Adeleke, PhD is a renowned expert in public policy on green growth and is the founder / Executive Director at Green Growth Africa Sustainability Network. In recognition of his pioneering work to promote green growth, sustainable development, renewable energy and environmental education, Adedoyin has received numerous awards and grants including Pratt and Whitney E-STEM Award (2022), Okayama ESD award (2022), Environmental Education Changemaker Small Grant (2020) by North American Association for Environmental Education, USA. In 2018, he was named among the Top 100 Shakers and Movers in e-learning in Africa as rated by Bob Little Press and Public Relations, United Kingdom. Notably, Adedoyin was the first African to receive the 30 Under 30 Changemakers award in Environmental Education by the North American Association for Environmental Education in 2018. He was also awarded the 40 Under 40 Solar List of the US-based Pennwell Corporation’s Renewable Energy World in recognition of his unparalleled accomplishments within the solar industry.
Samson Ondiek
Samson is an energy economist with over 12 years in research, policy and strategy formulation around both grid and off-grid electrification. He has been instrumental in the development of the Kenya National Electrification Strategy, Rural Electrification Master Plan and various policies such as the “last mile connectivity” that have supported the accelerated electricity access in Kenya.
Dr. Philip Manyi Omenge is a Senior Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Practitioner in Kenya with over fifteen years of experience. He is a Lead Practicing Member of the Environmental Institute of Kenya (EIK) and a registered and licensed Lead Expert with the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) Kenya. Besides undertaking environmental and social assessments and audit for World Bank and JICA funded projects such as Kenya Coastal Development Project (KCDP), Judicial Performance Improvement Project (JPIP), Mombasa Port Development Project (MPDP), Mr. Omenge has handled various Impact Assessments for renewable energy projects including East Africa’s first, industrial solar farm installed at Krystalline Salt Limited, Gongoni, Kenya, 36 megawatts wind farm for Mombasa Cement and industrial solar farm for Standard Rolling Mills.
Makena Ireri
Makena Ireri is an energy generalist with over a decade of experience in energy, energy access, and international development. With a strong foundation in engineering, Makena has dedicated her career to addressing energy challenges in both developed and developing contexts. Makena’s diverse work history includes four years in the UK Civil Nuclear Industry as a project engineer, focusing on energy supply. She later transitioned to the international development sector, where she has spent over six years working on energy access projects funded by organizations such as DFID, the World Bank, and IFC. As an expert in clean energy access, Makena has also supported social enterprises in Africa to develop growth strategies, refine business models, and become investor-ready.
Ifeoma Malo
Ifeoma Malo is an organizational management expert with over 23 years’ experience, building and directing organizational policy and strategy in energy and large scale utility markets, public health, bio technology, leadership, change management and
infrastructure finance. She is the Co-Founder/ CEO, Clean Technology Hub Nigeria.
Xavier Vallvé is co-founder (1986) and director of the consultancy firm Trama TecnoAmbiental (TTA) in Barcelona, Spain. He has been active as a practitioner and researcher for more than 25 years in renewable energy rural electrification and distributed generation projects, autonomous as well as grid tied, RE hybrid technology and micro grids for islands and isolated villages. This involves interdisciplinary activities in economic, social and management aspects as well as engineering in RE generation and storage. He has been involved in feasibility studies, engineering and project management of many PV rural micro grids in isolated villages in Africa, Asia and South America for private and government clients and also for UNDP, UNIDO, UNEP, AECID, IDB, WB, EC, IRENA and other agencies. He is also an active member in international codes and standards committees and teaching activities on this subject.
Stefan Hirschberg
Since May 2017, following his retirement and tenure as head of the Laboratory for Energy Systems Analysis, Stefan Hirschberg serves as a Senior Advisor and contributes to the activities at PSI (Paul Scherrer Institute) on energy technology assessment and energy systems analysis, covering environmental, risk-related, and economic aspects. As a part of these activities he manages a number of projects for the Swiss energy and environmental authorities, and for the Swiss and foreign utilities as well as other industries. He is also responsible for a variety of PSI’s contributions to international programs addressing the environmental, risk and economic implications of energy systems.
Soma Dutta is a Consultant on energy, poverty and gender. She is a socio-economist working on development issues surrounding energy access, poverty and gender. She has been supporting policy makers, utilities, programme practitioners, governments, NGOs and international organizations in Asia and Africa. Her areas of work include project design, M&E, research, analysis and capacity building. She has led and supported initiatives on women’s entrepreneurship in energy sector and in mainstreaming gender and social inclusion into energy projects, policies and programs.
Richard McMahon
Professor Richard McMahon is an astronomer (University of Cambridge) who peers into the distant Universe, studying objects formed around a few hundred million years after the Big Bang before the Sun and Solar System formed. He hunts for giant black holes in the hearts of bright "quasars" and young galaxies. By understanding how these giant black holes grow, he hopes to unravel the mysteries of their formation and how they shaped the Universe as we know it. He also played a key role in a groundbreaking unexpected discovery - measuring the accelerating expansion of the Universe, showing that galaxies are rushing apart faster and faster. Before this discovery, astronomers expected that the expansion rate to be slowing down due to the gravity of all the material in the Universe.
Robert Doubleday
Rob Doubleday has been Executive Director of CSaP (Centre for Science and Policy - University Of Cambridge) since September 2012. Previously Rob established CSaP's research programme. His research interests include the role of science, evidence and expertise in contemporary societies, in particular the relationship between scientific advice, public policy and democracy. His research develops collaborative methods of working with scientists and engineers on the public policy dimensions of their research.
Subhes Bhattacharyya
Professor Subhes Bhattacharyya is an internationally renowned energy specialist working on global energy-environment issues with more than 25 years of experience. Subhes specialises in energy, regulatory and environmental studies from a multi-disciplinary perspective taking techno-economic, governance, and management and policy aspects into consideration. He has more than 25 years of involvement with the energy sector in various capacities: graduate-level teaching in energy, research and industry experience. Subhes mainly focuses on applied, interdisciplinary research on developing economies, with a special emphasis on energy and environmental issues in South and South East Asia (particularly on India, Thailand, and Vietnam).
Eli Mitchell-Larson
Eli is the Chief Science & Advocacy Officer and co-founder of Carbon Gap. He is driven by a vision of a world in which we remove more carbon from the atmosphere than we emit, where we act as stewards, not extractors, of the lands and oceans that absorb and store carbon, and in which all life on Earth can thrive and prosper. He believes that Carbon Gap can close the knowledge, policy, and ambition gaps between where we are and what science tells us is necessary to deliver a healthy climate. Eli holds a B.S. in Geology & Geophysics and Environmental Studies from Yale University and a combined MSc & MBA in Environmental Change and Management from the University of Oxford.”
AbuBakr Bahaj
Professor AbuBakr S Bahaj leads the 55-strong Energy & Climate Change Division and the Sustainable Energy Research Group (ECCD) at the University of Southampton, where he completed his PhD, progressing from a researcher to a Personal Chair in Sustainable Energy. For more than 30 years, Professor Bahaj has pioneered sustainable energy research and established the energy theme within the University. His major research programmes include Renewable Energy, Energy Access, Cities & Infrastructure, Buildings & Communities, and Behaviour & Modelling.
John Holmes is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford where his research is concerned with making better links between science and policy making. He is also Secretary to the Energy Programme of the European Academies Science Advisory Council in which role he manages a programme of energy studies to inform European policy makers. He has a first degree in natural sciences from Cambridge University, a PhD in engineering from Imperial College, and an MBA from Henley Management College.
Ioannis Lestas
Ioannis Lestas is a Professor at the University of Cambridge, Department of Engineering and a Fellow of Clare College. He graduated with a BA (Starred First) and an MEng (Distinction) in Electrical Engineering and Information Sciences from the University of Cambridge. He has a PhD from Cambridge in Control Engineering, which he completed as a Gates Scholar and Trinity College Research Scholar. He was elected to a Junior Research Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge and was awarded a five year Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowship. He is also the recipient of a five year ERC starting grant (1.5 million EUR award) and an ERC Proof of Concept grant. His work has been published in the leading journals in control theory, power systems and smart grids, and in high impact factor journals like Nature. He is currently serving as Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, The IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control and the IEEE Transactions on Control of Network Systems.
Astrid Walker Bourne
Astrid leads Practical Action’s Policy & Practice team which focuses on the organisation’s goal areas of Energy, Agriculture, Urban Services (WASH), Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate Change and Markets. Astrid is passionate about positioning technology on the development agenda, providing evidence and learning of the role technology can play in transforming poor people’s lives
Malcolm McCulloch
Malcolm McCulloch is Professor of Energy Systems and Group Leader of the Energy and Power Group at the University of Oxford. His interests are in the area related to the domestic energy sector, development of user centric demand side management technologies, useful information to enable behaviour change. Malcolm was Co-Director of the Institute for Carbon and Energy Reduction in Transport, a member of the Oxford Martin School, from 2008-2013.
Chris Kanani
Chris Kanani, based in London, UK, is currently a Head of Development at Solarcentury Africa. Chris Kanani brings experience from previous roles at Solarcentury Africa, Winch Energy Ltd and Energy for Development. Chris Kanani holds a 2017 - 2022 MSc Sustainable Development (part time) in Climate change and development @ SOAS University of London
David Mozersky
David Mozersky is the President and Co-Founder of Energy Peace Partners. He has been involved in international conflict prevention and resolution efforts since 2001, with a focus on the Horn of Africa. Dave spent six years with the International Crisis Group, before moving to Humanity United to launch and run a track-2 initiative focused on South Sudan’s looming independence referendum. He then served as an advisor to African Union High-Level Panel on the Sudans (AUHIP) during the negotiations around state separation. In 2016 he founded the Program on Conflict, Climate Change and Green Development at UC Berkely’s Renewable Energy Lab (RAEL), which led to the launch of Energy Peace Partners in 2017.
Daniel Kammen
Dr. Daniel Kammen is the James and Katherine Lau Distinguished Professor of Sustainability at the University of California, Berkeley, with parallel appointments in the Energy and Resources Group (where he serves as Chair), the Goldman School of Public Policy (where he directs the Environmental Policy Center), and the department of Nuclear Engineering. He was appointed the first Environment and Climate Partnership for the Americas (ECPA) Fellow by Secretary of State Hilary R. Clinton in April 2010.
Michael Aziz
Michael J. Aziz earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Physics from the California Institute of Technology and a Master of Science degree from Harvard University. For his Ph.D. in Applied Physics at Harvard he studied studying crystal growth kinetics under the guidance of David Turnbull. He spent two years at Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a Eugene P. Wigner Postdoctoral Fellow, where he studied materials processing with ion and laser beams. Aziz has been on the faculty at what is now the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences since 1986, and is now the Gene and Tracy Sykes Professor of Materials and Energy Technologies and the Area Chair for Materials Science and Mechanical Engineering.
Jose Lara
Jose Lara is an energy scientist from Costa Rica with a passion for electric power systems. His work focuses on energy systems simulation, microgrid design, optimization under uncertainty, and quantitative energy policy. Currently he works for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) as a researcher working at the Grid Planning and Analysis Center (GPAC) as an optimization research engineer.
Taha Selim Ustun
Taha Selim Ustun received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. He is currently a senior researcher with the Fukushima Renewable Energy Institute (FREA), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), where he leads the Smart Grid Cybersecurity Laboratory. Before that, he was a faculty member with the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. He has been invited to run specialist courses in Africa, India, and China. His research has attracted funding from prestigious programs in Japan, Australia, Europe, and North America. His current research interests include power systems protection, communication in power networks, distributed generation, microgrids, electric vehicle integration, and cybersecurity in smart grids.
Rob is a senior scientist at SEI US, based in Somerville. His research focuses on the relationships between energy, social welfare, and environmental change in developing countries. Rob has a B.S. in physics from Pennsylvania State University, an M.S. from Northwestern University, and a Ph.D. in energy and resources from the University of California, Berkeley.
Steve Katsaros
Steve Katsaros's life has been filled with innovation from a young age. Steve began his career in his late teens with the invention of several commercial products for the ski industry. His first brush with "impact inventing" came in 2002 with RevoPower, a motorized wheel for bicycles. In early 2010, he came up with another bright idea – a simple, portable solar light bulb with the potential to revolutionize life for the 1.4 billion people in the world who live without access to electricity. Five months after his first sketch, Steve launched Nokero and has been on a solar lighting mission ever since.
Steve has a BS in Mechanical Engineering (BSME) from Purdue University, is a patent agent registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office, and was a non-degree seeking student at the Bard Center of Entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado from 1998-1999. He received the B.F. Goodrich Collegiate Inventors Award in 1995 and was awarded the 2012 Outstanding Mechanical Engineer Award.
Iana Aranda
Iana Aranda is a Senior Program Manager in the Engineering for Global Development sector at ASME, a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society. Her primary focus at ASME is on the design and deployment of a portfolio of products and programs in emerging markets, social innovation and sustainable design. Iana also serves as the Senior Program Manager for Engineering for Change, LLC (E4C) – a global alliance of organizations and individuals dedicated to promoting sustainable and accessible technology-based solutions for underserved communities. In this role, she has guided the development of E4C’s business strategy, digital platform, content and partnerships with organizations involved in implementing essential technologies. Additionally, Iana has served as the President of the Engineers Without Borders (EWB-USA) New York Professional Chapter where she administered projects in Kenya, Cambodia, Peru, El Salvador and Uganda and led strategic development, partnerships, volunteer leadership and operations. Iana earned her B.As degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toronto.
Rebekah Shirley
Dr. Rebekah Shirley is the Deputy Director for Africa, at the World Resources Institute, where she works to create widespread public access to high-quality data and insights for mobilizing sustainable development solutions. Rebekah earned her PhD and MSc from the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley, where as a University Chancellor’s Fellow she designed innovative tools for power system planning in emerging markets. She has over fifteen years of experience leading energy and environmental research across Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean.
Eric Verploegen
Eric Verploegen has a background in materials science, received his Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Technology from MIT in 2008, and worked in the energy sector for over 10 years. He joined D-Lab as a staff member in 2014 to expand D-Lab's research efforts in the areas of food, water, and energy. While a staff member at MIT D-Lab, the majority of his work focused on evaporative cooling for vegetable preservation with projects in Mali, Kenya, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, and Gujarat, India. Eric currently works full-time at CoolVeg, which he founded in 2022 to improve fruit and vegetable storage in low-income arid regions through the dissemination of the evaporative cooling based technologies and training programs that he developed while at D-Lab.
Khanjan Mehta
Khanjan Mehta is the inaugural Vice Provost for Creative Inquiry and Director of the Mountaintop Initiative at Lehigh University. In a previous avatar, Mehta was the Founding Director of the Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship (HESE) Program at Penn State. Mehta serves as an Associate Editor for the IEEE Technology and Society Magazine and Contributing Editor for the Engineering 4 Change portal.
Robert Stoner
Robert Stoner is the founding director of the MIT Tata Center for Technology and Design. He was previously MITEI’s deputy director for science and technology. Stoner is currently a member of the MIT Energy Council. He also serves on the Board of Directors of, and the Science and Technology Committee of, the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, which oversees the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and as a member and secretary of the Global Commission to End Energy Poverty
Aneri Pradhan
Aneri is an award-winning climate and clean energy ecosystem builder, with extensive experience in driving transformative solutions across North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. As the founder of ENVenture, Africa's largest energy access accelerator, she spearheaded innovative efforts that brought clean energy to over 150,000 people in rural communities by strengthening community-based distribution models. ENVenture was acquired by New Energy Nexus (NEX), where she served as a Board member and later as Chief Operating Officer, overseeing global programs, strategic planning, and organizational culture.
Marc Hiller graduated in electrical engineering at TU Darmstadt and then obtained his PhD in electrical engineering at the University of the Federal Armed Forces München. He was in charge for the development of converters at Siemens AG and in 2015 he joined KIT. His research work focuses on power converters, the modelling of electrical machines and grids, as well as the integration of energy storage solutions in future energy applications.
Dr. Lara Allen is the Director of the Centre for Global Equality, a Cambridge-based civil society organisation that evolves innovative solutions to global challenges. Following an academic career in South Africa and the UK, Lara has held senior positions in the international development sector.
Saurabh Biswas
Saurabh Biswas is a sustainability scientist and energy systems engineer studying societal transformations and sustainable development linked to energy transitions. His research explores the energy-poverty nexus among marginalized and vulnerable groups of people.
Aaron Leopold
Aaron is a thought and action leader in the integrated and decentralized renewable energy business, policy and finance spaces. He is CEO of EnerGrow, which has the ambitious but realistic objective of using microfinance to re-write the economics of rural electrification in Africa. Aaron has nearly 15 years progressive leadership experience in the renewable energy space with a focus on energy for climate and economic development. He has co-founded four different organizations and companies, been CEO of two, and has served as a member of multiple strategic advisory bodies on climate change, rural electrification and development finance in various global institutions.
Dr. Clark Miller is a Professor at the School for the Future of Innovation in Society at Arizona State University and serves as the Director of the Center for Energy & Society; the Associate Director of the Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes; Senior Sustainability Scientist in the Global Institute of Sustainability; Lincoln Fellow in the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics; the Energy and Society co-lead and member of the leadership team at LightWorks; Director of Sustainability at the Quantum Energy and Sustainable Solar Technologies Engineering Research Center; Senior Fellow at the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems; the founding co-organizer and member of the Steering Committee of the Science and Democracy Network; and the Founder and co-organizer or Solar Tomorrows.
Marvin Tumusiime
Marvin is a dynamic program manager in the innovation ecosystem with over 7 years of experience at New Energy Nexus and in clean energy accelerators, managing programs that support clean energy tech adoption. Having lived in Africa, Scotland, Malaysia and now Germany, his career has taken him across 12 countries, enabling him to build out impactful accelerator programs and support a portfolio of 1,500 Startups through his all-round industry expertise in managing operations, impact measurement, digital communications, and a €6.5M fundraising portfolio.
Kristy Dixon
Kristy Dixon is a highly accomplished professional with a rich educational background and extensive experience in various organizations. She holds a Master's Degree from the University of Adelaide, a Bachelor's Degree from the University of South Australia, and has also completed a Certificate IV in Frontline Management at Leadership Management Australia. Kristy has held significant roles in top companies, currently serving as the Director of Product and Marketing at Synauta. Her previous positions include Marketing and Communications Manager at Pollinate Group, Board Member at IABC/Calgary, Director Marketing Communications at VEERUM, and Communications Specialist at WaterSMART Solutions Ltd.
Raffy Concepcion
An ECE major from Ateneo with a Masters degree in Technology Management at UP. An IT professional by day with expertise in UX, data, and software development. General Manager and runs the communications and marketing efforts of SolarSolutions
Balachandra Patil
Dr. Balachandra Patil is currently Chief Research Scientist in the Department of Management Studies and Associate Faculty at Centre for Sustainable Technologies and Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. He is a PhD from IISc, is an energy, environment, and sustainability expert, and ranked among top 10 management researchers in India. He is also ranked among top 2% of the Energy Scientists in the World. He has about 35 years of experience as a faculty at IISc, and as a visiting expert at Harvard University-USA, UNDP-Bangkok, AIT-Bangkok. and IGIDR-Mumbai. Dr. Patil’s Research Interests lie in the fields of energy & environmental economics and policy, energy system planning and modelling, sustainability transition, sustainable energy access, technology management and urban planning and sustainable mobility.
Grace Mbungu is a Senior Fellow and Head of Climate Change Program at APRI. She holds a BA in Political Science and Gender Studies as well as a Master's in Public Administration (MPA) with a focus on human rights and international development from Bowling Green State University, Ohio, USA. She holds a PhD from the University of Stuttgart, Germany.
Marie-Flore Leclercq
Marie-Flore, an engineer who graduated from Centrale Supélec in 2016, started at ENGIE where she led transformation and innovation projects. In 2019, she joined ENGIE Energy Access, structuring a team of 40 people to provide clean and affordable energy to rural communities in Africa. In 2024, she became CEO of Entourage, continuing her mission of creating social bonds and fighting exclusion by addressing all forms of precariousness
Michel Normand-Marleau
Michel Marleau is a manager specializing in environment and international development, with over 18 years of experience in complex project management. A biologist, he holds a master's degree in environment from the Université de Sherbrooke and a master's degree in international development from the University of Ottawa. At Global Affairs Canada, he oversees major initiatives, including climate finance projects in sub-Saharan Africa, aligned with Canada's international priorities on climate change adaptation and biodiversity. His duties lead him to develop innovative programmatic approaches and collaborate with local and international partners to maximize the impact of Canadian investments. His practical experience includes several years in Latin America, where he coordinated international cooperation projects focused on eco-responsible development in Argentina and Paraguay within civil society organizations.
Mary Jane Parmentier
Mary Jane was working as a Peace Corps volunteer in a rural village not too far from the city of Marrakesh, Morocco, when she first began to contemplate socioeconomic development. At the same time, her interest in political development and change continued in the context of the Kingdom of Morocco and the role of religion in the political system. After receiving her Ph.D. in International Studies in 1999 from the Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, with concentrations in International Development and International Politics, Mary Jane found herself at Arizona State University in the College of Technology and Applied Sciences, where she was given the opportunity to develop a graduate program, based in the social sciences, which examined the role of technology in development, which would become in 2001 the Global Technology and Development program.
Avishek Malla
With over 16 years of experience, Avishek Malla is a seasoned leader in international development, adept at steering complex multi-million-dollar programs in field of Renewable energy. Avishek has held leadership roles in governmental and inter-governmental agencies, the private sector, and academia across diverse countries. He has authored several papers and publications and has been a key team member in formulating the Government of Nepal’s renewable energy subsidy policy and technical standards. He joined ICIMOD in August 2021. Avishek holds an MSc in Renewable Energy and a Postgraduate Diploma in Energy and Environment from Murdoch University, Australia, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Diploma in Management from Kathmandu University. He received a gold medal for graduating as the national topper in his bachelor’s degree program and is a recipient of the Australian Awards’ Endeavour Ambassador title.
Sebastian Manchester
Sebastian Manchester is the Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer at Jaza Energy based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Previously, Sebastian was the Energy Storage Project Engineer at Unify Energy and also held positions at Community Forests International, Dalhousie University, LightSail Energy, JASCO Applied Sciences. Sebastian received a Bachelor degree from Dalhousie University and a Master of Applied Science from Dalhousie University.
María Yetano Roche currently works at Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy.