Speakers

Dean Nelson

CEO of Cato Digital, Founder and Chairman of Infrastructure Masons, and Founder and CEO of Dean Nelson Inc.

Dean Nelson is a seasoned technology executive with 32 years of experience deploying $10 billion of digital infrastructure projects across three continents. He holds four U.S. patents and is a leader at three organizations: Cato Digital—a software platform that unlocks stranded power in data centers; Infrastructure Masons—a professional association of industry executives and technology professionals uniting the builders of the digital age; and Dean Nelson Inc.—a strategic advisory and consulting company serving startups, Fortune 500 companies, and investment firms.

Previously, Nelson led Uber's Metal as a Service function, supporting its ridesharing business and delivering over 100 million trips a week in more than 600 cities spanning six continents. This included other company ventures such as UberEats, UberFreight, UberHealth, and UberForBusiness, and Autonomous Vehicles and UberAir development.

Prior to Uber, Nelson was vice president of Global Foundation Services at eBay Inc., where his team served over 300 million active users enabling over $250 billion of commerce volume annually. At the end of his tenure, his team successfully integrated and split eBay and PayPal infrastructures into two independent internet companies. He also worked at Sun Microsystems in various technical, management, and executive leadership roles.

Hector Andrade

CEO and Co-Founder, Lucidean

Hector Andrade is the CEO and co-founder of Lucidean, which builds optical communications hardware for next-generation data centers to enable higher-performance artificial intelligence (AI) networks with improved energy efficiency. He earned his doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where his research focused on electronic and photonic integrated circuits for coherent optical links in intra-data center applications.

Marc Aveni

Assistant Director, Loudoun County, Virginia, Department of General Services

Marc Aveni oversees a variety of environment, energy, and public works programs for Loudoun County, Virginia—home to the world's densest population of data centers (aka Data Center Alley). He is responsible for the development and implementation of the Board of Supervisors-approved Loudoun County Energy Strategy and supports the county's Environmental Commission and first-ever County Natural Resource Strategy.

Aveni earned both his bachelor's degree in horticulture and master's degree in public administration from Virginia Tech.

Clayton Barrows

Senior Researcher and Manager, Grid Operations Planning Group, NREL

Clayton Barrows' research focuses on improving the technical and economic efficiency of energy systems through advanced computation and analysis. He leads an NREL team in developing and utilizing energy and infrastructure systems models to gain new insights into pathways toward system modernization. Barrows also leads the development of the Sienna modeling framework. In his research, Barrows draws upon deep experience in applying the tools of network science and optimization to improve the fidelity and scalability of infrastructure systems models. He has applied these techniques to inform policy in studies and applications around the world. Barrows earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wyoming and his doctorate in energy and mineral engineering from The Pennsylvania State University.

Carsten Baumann

Director of Strategic Initiatives and Solution Architect, Schneider Electric

Carsten Baumann joined Schneider Electric in 2012, bringing over three decades of experience in the data center, broadcast, telecommunications, audiovisual, and information technology industries. In his role as a solution architect, he assists clients in the commercial, industrial, and data center markets with energy security initiatives aimed at enhancing resiliency, achieving efficiencies and sustainability objectives, and creating economic benefits. Previously at Schneider Electric, he advised the consulting and engineering community on resource-optimized energy management solutions in the data center sector.

Baumann's work has been published in peer-reviewed journals, and he is a frequent speaker at national and international venues. He is a member of Infrastructure Masons and a past contributor to the Green G working group. Until 2018, he served as treasurer and president on the board of Association for Computer Operations Management Southern California and was chairman for The Global Society for Asset Management. He is a guest lecturer at the University of Southern California and completed a program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in smart manufacturing. Baumann holds an electrical engineering degree from the Theodor-Litt-Schule in Giessen, Germany.

Larry Bekkedahl

Senior Vice President, Advanced Energy Delivery, Portland General Electric

Larry Bekkedahl advances Portland General Electric's (PGE's) strategy to build the grid of the future—one that is resilient, smart, and delivers a clean energy future.

He oversees PGE's strategic system architecture and system upgrades, which will serve as the foundation for the smart grid of the future. This includes initiatives related to system integration and operations, smart cities, distributed energy resources, energy storage, dispatchable standby generation, transmission system performance and development, market interfaces, innovation, and R&D.

Bekkedahl joined PGE in 2014 as vice president of transmission and distribution. His more than 40 years of leadership experience in the energy industry includes serving as senior vice president for transmission services at the Bonneville Power Administration and holding leadership positions at Clark Public Utilities, PacifiCorp, and Montana Power Co.

He has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Montana State University. Bekkedahl serves on the Electric Power Research Institute Research Advisory Committee, the Stanford University Bits and Watts Advisory Council, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Electricity Advisory Committee, the GridWise Alliance Board, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Advisory Board, and the All Hands Raised Educational Council.

Dan Bilello

Director, Strategic Energy Analysis Center, NREL

Dan Bilello has 25 years of experience in line and program management roles at NREL. His expertise spans energy policy, economic analysis, and strategic planning, with previous assignments at DOE and the U.S. Department of State.

Bilello is a fellow in the Oppenheimer Science and Energy Leadership Program, overseen by the National Laboratory Directors' Council. Before joining NREL, he worked in the donor community, in the private sector, at the U.S. Department of State, and at the National Economic Council. He holds a master's degree in U.S. foreign policy and international economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Enrique Bosch

Director of Innovation, Avangrid

Enrique Bosch is director of innovation of Avangrid, an energy company with operations in 24 states, over 8,500 employees serving more than 3.5 customers, and assets exceeding $40 billion. With more than 20 years of international experience in the energy sector, he has worked with power generators, chemical companies, and environmental organizations. Bosch oversees key companywide innovation initiatives, such as hydrogen, energy storage, smart grids and industrial decarbonization. He serves on Connecticut's Hydrogen Task Force, advises the board of the University of Massachusetts Amherst's Offshore Wind Center, and coordinates Avangrid's partnerships with leading U.S. universities.

He holds a doctorate in chemical and environmental engineering from the University of Seville and an MBA from the University of Deusto. He is co-author of more than 15 scientific papers and co-inventor of two patents related to environmental technologies.

Trish Cozart

Director, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center, NREL

Trish Cozart leads a dynamic, externally facing group of program builders, analysts, operations experts, and connectors who collaborate with the NREL Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center's network of investors, universities, incubators, and industry. Previously, she spent 9 years at NREL leading projects for an application development and analysis team, primarily supporting DOE's deployment efforts for alternative fuels and advanced vehicles.

Before joining NREL in 2009, Cozart co-founded a digital publishing company specializing in audio production and new media for World Heritage Sites. Her basement in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, has served as the birthplace of two startup companies over the past 15 years.

Gordon Dolven

Director of Americas Data Center Research, CBRE

Gordon Dolven leads the development of CBRE's data center research and thought leadership across the region, supporting data center professionals in their business development efforts. He also collaborates with research colleagues in Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific on global data center initiatives.

An expert on digital infrastructure, Dolven is particularly interested in how the fundamental shifts toward sustainability are reshaping the ecosystem of connectivity. As a public speaker, he provides critical context for massive and subtle shifts in the commercial real estate market, and his analysis has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, World Property Journal, and more.

Dolven joined CBRE from IX Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, created to acquire and partner with a global tech or tech infrastructure business. There, he analyzed and evaluated hundreds of private digital infrastructure companies and published a weekly newsletter on telecommunications and macroeconomic trends. Previously, he was an associate at TowerPoint Capital, a digital infrastructure and real estate investment company, where he specialized in analyzing cell tower sites. Earlier in his career he served in investment positions at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Janus Capital Group and held Series 6, 7, 63, and 65 financial securities licenses. Dolven earned a bachelor's degree from Indiana University.

Jamil Gafur

Research Software Engineer, University of Iowa

Jamil Gafur specializes in explainable AI, heuristic optimization, and domain-specific machine learning. His research focuses on developing resource-efficient and interpretable AI models, with applications in bioinformatics, genomics, and renewable energy systems. Gafur has contributed to projects at Los Alamos National Laboratory and NREL, including the development of a cell-type invariant enhancer prediction platform using epigenomic datasets, optimization of high-performance computing code for polymer physics, and machine learning validation for modular energy networks.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in computer science from The City University of New York's Lehman College and is completing his doctorate at the University of Iowa, where his work is supported through collaborations with NREL, Cornell University, and academic partners across the country.

Richard Hartman

Chief Innovation Officer, U.S. Air Force Office of Energy Assurance

Richard Hartman is responsible for energy security initiatives for the U.S. Air and Space Force. As chief innovation officer, he identifies and develops strategies to deploy innovative solutions to enhance energy resilience worldwide with global partners in academia, industry, and government(s) through partnerships to get energy resilience projects approved, solicited, and/or built.

He holds a doctorate in policy and management and has held adjunct faculty positions at George Washington University and Georgetown University and has served on the boards of various public and private-sector boards where he advises startups as well as established companies.

Sean James

Senior Director of Datacenter Research, Microsoft

Sean James runs Microsoft's Datacenter Research and Development program, housed within its Cloud Operations and Innovation team. He drives new data center technology for Microsoft's next-generation data centers, including evaluation, development, and testing.

James joined Microsoft in 2006 to manage operations at one of its data centers and later joined the construction team to oversee new data center design and assembly. James started his career in the U.S. Navy submarine fleet as an electrician. He then worked in data center management, overseeing day-to-day maintenance and repair operations for information technology hardware and critical infrastructure, such as electrical infrastructure and cooling equipment.

James earned an information technologies degree from the University of Phoenix. He holds many patents related to data centers and energy.

Prasanna V. Joshi

Vice President, Low Carbon Solutions Technology, Exxon Mobil Corp.

Prasanna Joshi leads a team of scientists and engineers focused on technology delivery in carbon capture, carbon storage and transport, hydrogen, low-emissions fuels, lithium, and carbon offsets. His mission is to deliver the technology solutions critical to ExxonMobil leading the energy transition.

Joshi joined ExxonMobil in 1998 and has held a variety of roles, including research engineer at its development labs in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and leadership roles in process and modeling research, planning for research and engineering, supply and transportation, and global marketing and sales. In 2018, he was named global sales director for ExxonMobil's specialty elastomer business based in Shanghai, China, and in 2020 became the corporate strategic research director.

Joshi serves on the management board for the Singapore Energy Consortium. He previously served on advisory boards for United Way of Hunterdon County, New Jersey, the Chemical Reaction Engineering Division of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the University of Delaware's Catalysis Center for Energy Innovation.

Joshi earned his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Mumbai, his MBA from Tulane University, and his doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware. He lives with his wife and two children in the Houston area, where he is active in the local Indian community.

Lynne Kiesling

Director, Northwestern University's Institute for Regulatory Law and Economics in the Center on Law, Business, and Economics

Lynne Kiesling is an economist focused on regulation, market design, and the economics of digitization and innovation in the electricity industry. She leads the Institute for Regulatory Law and Economics within the Center on Law, Business, and Economics.

Kiesling's academic positions include faculty fellow in the Paula M. Trienens Institute for Energy and Sustainability at Northwestern University; adjunct professor in Northwestern's Master of Science in Energy and Sustainability program; research professor at the University of Colorado Denver; external faculty member of the Santa Fe Institute; and a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. She also provides advisory and analytical services as the president of Knowledge Problem LLC. She is a member of DOE's Electricity Advisory Committee, has served as a member of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Smart Grid Advisory Committee, and is an emerita member of the GridWise Architecture Council.

She earned her bachelor's degree in economics from Miami University (Ohio) and a doctorate in economics from Northwestern University.

Patrick Lamers

Group Manager, Strategic Energy Analysis Center, NREL

Patrick Lamers oversees the non-DOE portfolio for NREL's Strategic Energy Analysis Center and leads cross-cutting collaboration across eight laboratory research groups. His technical research focuses on prospective energy system and technology analyses, applying techno-economic, life cycle, and integrated assessment modeling. Lamers has an expansive list of peer-reviewed publications and is an internationally recognized thought leader in the field of energy systems modeling

Jessica Lau

Founder, Artful Pathways, and Grid Strategy Consultant and Stakeholder Engagement Expert

Jessica Lau has over 17 years of experience in the energy industry, including expertise in grid-modernization strategies, transmission-and-distribution planning, smart grid technology, wholesale energy markets, and resilience projects. At Artful Pathways, she integrates technical expertise with human-centered strategies to power the future grid with a focus on holistic and collaborative approaches that break down silos and improve organizational efficiency.

Lau has led multiyear initiatives for Fortune 500 companies and DOE, establishing vital partnerships with local communities and technology developers. She has held previous roles at ISO New England, NREL, Xcel Energy, and Con Edison. She is chair of Women in Energy at the International Council on Large Electric Systems United States National Committee and co-founder of the United States National Committee's Next Generation Network, where she launched its first paper competition to support emerging leaders. Lau holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and mathematics and a master's degree in power systems management.

Bill Livingood

Partnership Development Manager, Power Sector, NREL

Bill Livingood works to expand and develop relationships with a variety of power partners on power generation, innovations in electricity transmission and distribution, energy load management, and energy storage technologies. Since joining NREL in 2009, he has established himself as an expert in building energy analysis, computational thermal analysis, and data acquisition, and has been an inventor on three patents for power-generation technologies. Previously, Livingood was the commercial buildings subprogram lead and group manager for controls and analytics. His work included overseeing the development of next-generation simulation and analytics capabilities, including EnergyPlus, OpenStudio, URBANopt, ComStock, Alfalfa, BuildingMOTIF, and SEED. He has earned an NREL Chairperson's Award, Technology Transfer Excellence award, and Staff Award for Outstanding Performance. Most recently, he and his teammates won an R&D 100 Award. Before NREL, he held research roles at GE Global Research and FuelCell Energy.

Bill Mannel

Director, Chief Technology Office and Higher Education Sales, High Performance Computing and Artificial Intelligence, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (North America)

Bill Mannel is a seasoned veteran of the servers and high-performance computing (HPC) industry. In his current role, he leads Hewlett Packard Enterprise's (HPE's) HPC team in crafting ideal solutions for customers' problems—with a focus on science, technology, and speed.

He joined HPE in 2014 as general manager of HPC, overseeing significant expansion, including its Apollo line of servers reaching $1 billion in revenue and HPE's acquisition of the HPC companies Cray and SGI. In recognition of his leadership, he was named an HPCwire Person to Watch in 2016. Before HPE, Mannel served as vice president and general manager for Compute and Storage Products at SGI. Previously, he worked as a structures flight test engineer and flight control systems engineer at NASA and the U.S. Air Force, contributing to programs such as the X-29, F-16, B-1B, and AFTI-111.

Mannel holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and materials science from Duke University and an MBA from San Jose State University, both with honors.

Steven Marshall

President and Chairman, Port Colorado

Steven Marshall leads and provides strategic direction for Port Colorado, the only mixed-use, multimodal inland port in the Western United States. He has positioned the project as the next great economic engine for the Metro Denver area and the region and oversees contract negotiations while managing a vast team of consultants through the development and entitlement process—including design, civil engineering, water, rail, and energy.

Marshall's career has been dedicated to acquiring land and mineral interests, with a commitment to maturing assets for development and appreciation. His experience includes 25 years in domestic and international exploration and production of natural resources, including founding two privately held oil and gas exploration and production companies focused on development of high-impact plays across North America and Africa.

Marshall studied at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Bob Mazer

Co-Founder and President, Flexnode

Bob Mazer leads Flexnode, a digital infrastructure company delivering the next generation of modular, AI data centers with scalable, high-performance solutions. He collaborates with industry-leading experts and strategic partners to design, deploy, and operate high-density, liquid-cooled, configurable, and prefabricated data centers, built to meet the accelerating global demand for speed, scalability, and energy efficiency in core and edge environments.

Anand Ramesh

Chief Technology Officer, Verrus

Anand Ramesh has infrastructure experience across data center engineering, energy, and software product management.

Prior to joining Verrus, he was senior vice president of advanced technology for EdgeConneX, a global data center provider. Ramesh worked for Google for 14 years, including serving as the technical lead for advanced technology and innovation for its data center division, overseeing Google's data center architecture and technology roadmap.

He earned his bachelor's degree in engineering from Government College of Engineering, Pune, his master's degree in materials engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park, and his doctorate in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Michael Solomentsev

Founder and CEO, Palanquin Power

Michael Solomentsev is the CEO and founder of Palanquin Power, an early-stage startup developing novel, ultra-efficient architectures for data center, rack-level power conversion. He completed his doctorate in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. He is an innovator within West Gate—a DOE Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program housed at NREL—and a recent Colorado transplant.

Sherry Stout

Laboratory Program Manager, State, Local, and Tribal Activities, NREL

Sherry Stout supports initiatives across DOE, primarily focusing on its Office of State and Community Energy Programs, Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs, Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, and Integrated Strategy Office, within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Stout has developed and led multiple technical assistance programs at NREL, working with a diverse range of stakeholders, including American Indian Tribes, Alaska Native villages, state governments, and federal agencies. She is keenly interested in finding ways to better enable partner governments and stakeholders to achieve their energy goals through delivery of technical expertise. She holds a master's degree in environmental and sustainability engineering from the University of Colorado Denver and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from New Mexico State University.

Patrick Sullivan

Co-Founder and CEO, Flux XII

Patrick Sullivan is the co-founder and CEO of Flux XII, a company transforming intermittent energy into reliable baseload power through affordable, long-duration energy storage. His team is commercializing technology he invented during his chemistry doctorate at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he also completed an energy analysis and policy certificate. Supported by the Activate fellowship, Third Derivative, and venture investors, he is scaling Flux XII's flow battery kilowatt modules, which are one-tenth the cost of vanadium-based technology.