Home
New This Year
COMMITTEE
PLENARY SPEAKERS
CONTACT US

Home
New This Year
COMMITTEE
PLENARY SPEAKERS
CONTACT US

CNS DIET CONFERECE

Plenary Speakers

6 ~ 8 November 2023, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Live out your life.

Welcome to DIET 2023, Innovation Unleashed

Learn More

Production Schedule and Location

Location: George Brown Waterfront campus, located 51 Dockside Dr, Toronto, ON M5A 0B6

Program schedule

Day 1 Speakers

Plenary 1: AI in the Wild

Jenell Hogg

MODERATOR, TECHNICAL OFFICER

Jenell Hogg

MODERATOR, TECHNICAL OFFICER

Jenell is a software engineer at Ontario Power Generation. Her 6 years working in the nuclear industry have been spent working on the real-time, safety critical computer systems at the Darlington Nuclear Power Plant. In addition to her tenure as a software developer, Jenell is an executive member of the North American Young Generation in Nuclear Durham Chapter, where she organizes and hosts events for the professional development committee.

Moe Fadaee

Conference Co-Chair

Moe Fadaee

Conference Co-Chair

Kinectrics AI team Lead | GBC AI program coordinator | CNS DIET division co-founder and co-chair | Moe is a licensed engineer and has published several research papers in nonlinear dynamics, mechanical vibration and CFD. Moe is a leader in Machine Learning at Kinectrics and has successfully implemented machine learning algorithms in several projects in the nuclear industry. He has several years of experience in High Performance Computing and Parallel Programming, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. He developed a few Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence programs and has been teaching them since. Moe holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering as well as a M.Sc. in Project Management and Operational Development.

Mishca De Costa

Senior Manager|Digital Innovation and Strategy atOPG

Mishca De Costa

Senior Manager|Digital Innovation and Strategy atOPG

As an experienced engineer and AI enthusiast, Mishca has made significant contributions to OPG's growth and rapid advancement in the field of AI. He played a pivotal role in establishing OPG's AI Center of Excellence and was the co-author of its inaugural AI Strategy. Currently, Mishca holds the position of Senior Manager for Digital Innovation and Strategy, where he drives accelerated innovation in IT at OPG, creating substantial business value. Among his notable accomplishments is leading the development of ChatOPG, which was brought to pilot stage at OPG in an impressively short timeframe, demonstrating the effectiveness of swift deployment while maintaining robust safeguards, as delineated by OPG’s AI Strategy

Byron House

Senior Leader at Bruce Power

Byron House

Senior Leader at Bruce Power

Byron House, P.Eng is a Chemical Engineer graduate from the University of New Brunswick with over 25 years of experience in the nuclear industry. Byron has held senior leader positions at Bruce Power in the areas Operations Management, Maintenance Management, Project Management, and Training. Most recently he has joined the Bruce Power Major Reactor Component Replacement team as Senior Director of Tooling and Innovation tasked with the life extension of the nuclear reactors on the Bruce site with the mandate to shorten the project durations through innovative reactor tooling performance improvement and other construction innovation.

Vik Pant

PwC

Plenary 2: Women in Leadership

Nazgol Shahbandi

Moderator, Vendor Discussions Chair

Nazgol Shahbandi

Moderator, Vendor Discussions Chair

Nazgol Shahbandi is the Integration Strategy lead advisor on Renewable Generation Preventive Maintenance Program in Ontario Power Generation. Naz has over 10 years of experience in implementing AI and ML strategies in Online Continuous Monitoring, Plant Health, Condition Based and Value Based Maintenance programs, Equipment Diagnostic and Prognostic modeling and Optimization. Prior to her current role, she led the OPG Monitoring and Diagnostic Centre Renewable Generation Continuous Online Modeling and Monitoring for 5 years. Naz was honored with the 2022 Canadian Nuclear Society’s (CNS) Innovation Achievement Award for efforts and achievements in improving equipment reliability for OPG Nuclear assets. Naz is very passionate about equity with a focus on gender diversity, women in leadership and STEM. She has been co-chairing the OPG Women Employee Resource Group since Nov 2022 and is a recognized mentor in multiple global and national women empowerment programs.

Stephanie Smith

Senior Vice-President of Engineering at SNC-Lavalin

Stephanie Smith

Senior Vice-President of Engineering at SNC-Lavalin

Stephanie joined SNC-Lavalin’s Canadian nuclear business unit (Candu Energy Inc.) in 2022, as Senior Vice-President of Engineering. In this capacity, she also serves as SNC-Lavalin’s Chief Nuclear Engineer. Overseeing the Engineering group of 800 personnel, she’s responsible for driving SNC-Lavalin’s Canadian nuclear business toward its strategic objectives across profitability, technical excellence, and innovation, with a focused approach to performance management. Stephanie’s broader oversight of the Engineering group spans the design and delivery of CANDU® reactor technology (of which SNC-Lavalin is the steward and original equipment manufacturer), technical support for the existing fleet of 31 CANDU reactors around the world, the development of advanced fuel technologies for implementation in international markets, and support for the development and commercialization of small modular reactors (SMRs) in the global marketplace. Stephanie was previously President and CEO at CANDU Owners Group— an organization of utilities worldwide operating the CANDU reactors found on four continents. She also has extensive experience at Ontario Power Generation (OPG) – operator of the Darlington and Pickering Nuclear Generating Stations in Ontario, Canada. Beginning at OPG as an entry-level systems engineer, she was promoted to progressively more senior roles across operations, maintenance and engineering. Most recently at OPG, she was Deputy Site Vice-President of Darlington station, and also completed a secondment to the World Association of Nuclear Operations. In 2020, she was awarded the 2020 Leader of the Year by Electricity Human Resources Canada. Stephanie has also made history as a female nuclear engineer. At the Pickering Nuclear Station, she became the first female licensed shift manager, and later the first female nuclear plant manager in Canada. She is also a Vice President at the non-profit organization Women in Nuclear (WiN) Canada, an organization SNC-Lavalin proudly supports. Stephanie graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering, and holds the Professional Engineer designation.

Leslie McWilliams

Vice President of Advanced Inspection & Maintenance

Leslie McWilliams

Vice President of Advanced Inspection & Maintenance

Leslie McWilliams is Vice President, Advanced Inspection & Maintenance (AIM) at Ontario Power Generation. She is accountable for specialized inspection and maintenance across all major components on OPG’s Nuclear and Renewable Generation stations. Leslie started her career with OPG 24 years ago and has held roles within Engineering, Project Management and Station Leadership at Pickering, Darlington, Nuclear Refurbishment and Corporate. Leslie graduated from the University of Waterloo with a B.A.Sc in Chemical Engineering and option in Environmental Engineering. She has been a member of the Professional Engineers Ontario since 2003. Leslie is a Board Member for the CANDU Owners Group. Outside of work, Leslie is married with two daughters and is actively involved in her community as a soccer coach and Girl Guide Leader promoting STEM and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. She is also an avid runner.

Eileen De Courcy

Vice President at George Brown College

Eileen De Courcy

Vice President at George Brown College

Dr. Eileen De Courcy Dr. Eileen De Courcy is a senior academic leader with experience in both the private and public sector. Her experience includes teaching and administrative roles in all levels of the educational system: secondary school, university, executive education and the college system. Eileen has been the Vice President, Academic at George Brown College (GBC) since 2022. In this role, she provides leadership and oversight to the academic departments, and schools. Prior to joining GBC, Eileen held progressive leadership positions since joining the college system in 2009. Previously, Eileen served as the Senior Vice President Academic at St. Lawrence College, and the Associate Vice President, Academic Teaching and Learning at Humber. Eileen is passionately dedicated to education, lifelong learning, academic excellence and student success. She is committed to creating learning environments that reflect the best elements of faculty expertise, industry/community partnerships, and the use of emerging technologies to position GBC as a preeminent teaching and learning institute. Eileen holds a PhD in Curriculum and Pedagogy, a Master’s of Arts in Education, Bachelor of Education, and a Bachelor of Arts. Her research focus is on contextual factors as affordances or constraints to innovation in teaching and learning, curriculum theory and practice, teaching in socio-technical institutions, the student experience and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

Cindy Vestergard

Vice President, Special Projects at RKVST

Cindy Vestergard

Vice President, Special Projects at RKVST

Cindy Vestergaard is a Nonresident Fellow with the Nuclear Safeguards and Blockchain in Practice Programs, previously serving as Director and Senior Fellow. She currently is Vice President, Special Projects and External Relations at RKVST. Before joining Stimson in 2016, Vestergaard was previously a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) in Copenhagen, Denmark. Prior to DIIS, she worked on non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament policy and programming at Canada’s foreign ministry. Positions among others included Senior Policy Advisor, Global Partnership Program; Senior Policy Advisor, Foreign Intelligence Division; and Political Officer at Canada’s Mission to Hungary and Slovenia. Vestergaard has been an external lecturer at the University of Copenhagen, a regular contributor to media outlets and presents nationally and internationally on weapons of mass destruction, proliferation and disarmament issues. She has a B.A. in International Relations from the University of British Columbia, M.A. in International Relations and European Studies from Central European University (Budapest, Hungary) and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Copenhagen.

Plenary 3: Digital Twins

Gabriel Aversano

Moderator, Technical and Plenary Committee

Gabriel Aversano

Moderator, Technical and Plenary Committee

Gabriel has 10 years of experience in the nuclear industry within research, safety analysis, engineering, innovation and project management. Gabriel is a Senior Scientific Engineering Associate at Berkeley National Laboratory where he is using AI to enhance radiation detection capabilities. Prior, Gabriel led Design Engineering Innovation initiatives at Kinectrics as a developer and Product Manager of computer vision software products along with other innovation initiatives including laser scanning/BIM/Digital Twins, VR/AR and machine learning leveraging over a decade of experience in automation and software development. With a degree in Nuclear Engineering and an MBA, Gabriel brings together technical and business perspectives ensuring alignment with various stakeholders throughout the organization.

Jennifer Wong

Director at PwC

Jennifer Wong

Director at PwC

Jennifer Wong has over 18 years of experience in the nuclear industry, specializing in Digital Strategy and Capital Projects. She is currently a Director in PwC Canada's energy and utilities consulting practice, and is advising clients globally on digital operations. She supports EPRI's Program on Technology Innovation as an Industry Expert on their Digital Twin Taskforce. She contributed to the development of EPRI’s technical report on digital twin applications, focusing on the development of Digital Twin use cases for greenfield infrastructure projects and plant operations and maintenance. She was recently the Head of Digital Strategy at Ontario Power Generation, with accountability for developing the Project and Operational Digital Twin strategy for OPG’s future Small Modular Reactor facility. Prior to this role, she was head of OPG's enterprise Cyber Security program, covering operations, governance, forensics, and incident response and recovery for OPG's nuclear, renewable generation, and corporate assets. She is a registered Professional Engineer in the province of Ontario, and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering.

Chris Dixon

Facility Operations Director at Global First Power

Chris Dixon

Facility Operations Director at Global First Power

In his role as Facility Operations Director, Chris Dixon brings over 28 years of nuclear operations experience to Global First Power. As a licensed Shift Manager, he led shift and outage operations for 11 years at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, station operations as an Assistant Operations Manager for Pickering and Darlington Nuclear Generating Stations, and station management oversight as Duty Manager at Pickering. A diverse and inclusive teamwork focused leader, Chris is dedicated to integration of new technological innovations that will enable Small Modular Reactors to be an inherently safe, carbon free and cost-effective community electrical generation technology supporting positive climate change action. Chris is currently leading the development of a Micro Modular Reactor facility operations strategy that focuses on a digital strategy for ERP/EAM/APM integration, remote monitoring, and predictive analytics with a long-term vision for autonomous operation.

Patrick Desbiens

Program Manager at Bruce Power

Patrick Desbiens

Program Manager at Bruce Power

Patrick Desbiens is Program Manager, Digital Engineering, at Bruce Power. Bruce Power is North America’s largest nuclear generating facility and generates up to 6,550MW from 8 CANDU units, while being Canada’s largest public-private partnership. Patrick has 12 years of experience working in Design Engineering, Station Engineering and Engineering Project Controls. Patrick is now leading a key pillar in Bruce Power’s digital transformation journey to deploy modern Engineering tools and establishing the framework for a digital twin. His formal education includes a Bachelor of Engineering in Nuclear Engineering from Ontario Tech University. He is a licensed professional engineer with the province of Ontario.

Bharath Nangia

CEO of NPX

Bharath Nangia

CEO of NPX

Bharath is the CEO of NPX, a nuclear innovation company, headquartered in Kincardine, ON. He has a Master’s degree in Nuclear Engineering. NPX’s mission is to make nuclear power even more sustainable and cost effective, so that it continues to be a leading tool in fighting the climate crisis. We do so by incorporating innovations into nuclear projects and operation.

Day 2 Speakers

Plenary 1: Powering the Future, Innovations for Advanced Energy Technologies

Jeff Griffin

Moderator, Vice-President of Science & Technology at CNL

Jeff Griffin

Moderator, Vice-President of Science & Technology at CNL

Jeff is an accomplished senior executive with more than 28 years of experience leading multi-million dollar research and development programs, technology development initiatives, and operations support in a national laboratory environment. Prior to CNL, Dr. Griffin led field operations for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) as Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, where he provided strategic direction and policy leadership for the DOE-EM’s 16 field sites, a $7.2 billion annual program that encompassed over 26,000 federal and contract employees. In this position, Dr. Griffin had overriding responsibility to support field sites working across the United States to cleanup and safely disposition large volumes of nuclear waste, safeguard nuclear materials, deactivate and decommission several thousand contaminated facilitates and remediate extensive surface and groundwater contamination.

Ed Bradley

Team Leader IAEA

Ed Bradley

Team Leader IAEA

Ed’s diverse experience includes management, oversight and technical support of both nuclear power and research reactor facilities. Ed has been at the IAEA since 2005 and is currently the Team Leader, NPP Operation & Engineering Support in the IAEA Division of Nuclear Power. Prior to the IAEA, he worked as a design engineer and project manager for ANSTO, a national, nuclear laboratory in Australia. Before ANSTO, he worked in the US commercial nuclear power industry as a reactor engineer at the Oyster Creek, a Boiling Water Reactor and as a shift- and then a system-engineer at the Three Mile Island Unit-1 Pressurized Water Reactor. Ed also worked as a Senior Reactor Operator at the 3,000 MW DOE Savannah River Site L-reactor. Ed received a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 1989 and numerous technical certifications and qualifications throughout his career.

Tyler Ellis

Founder of Black Hills Partners

Tyler Ellis

Founder of Black Hills Partners

Tyler Ellis Commonwealth Fusion Systems and Black Hills Partners Tyler Ellis, Ph.D., M.B.A., is an investor, policy advisor and expert on energy and climate technology. He is the founder of Black Hills Partners, an investment and advisory firm focused on companies making immense global impact in the way we create and consume energy. He is an investor and full-time advisor to Commonwealth Fusion Systems where he has worked with the CEO since before inception of the company on business development, strategy and government affairs. Tyler advises several groups at the International Atomic Energy Agency, sits on the scientific advisory board for Tekcapital and is a Visiting Scientist at the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center. Tyler began his career co-founding TerraPower, a Bill Gates-backed nuclear energy company. He holds a Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. in Nuclear Science and Engineering from MIT and a MBA from Harvard Business School.

William Smith

Senior Vice President at OPG

William Smith

Senior Vice President at OPG

William Smith SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, OPERATIONS AND ENGINEERING William Smith has 35 years of experience in the energy business, including over 20 years in the nuclear industry at Ontario Hydro and Ontario Power Generation between 1981 and 2002. He worked as a Resident Project Engineer at Bruce and Darlington during the construction and commissioning phases, and subsequently advanced to a senior leadership role as the Vice President of Supply Chain where his responsibilities included all nuclear procurement, materials management and source surveillance activities. In 2002, Mr. Smith joined Siemens Canada rising to become the Senior Vice President of Siemens’ energy business in Canada, which included power generation and transmission, oil and gas and smart technologies across the energy sector. He was responsible for all sales and marketing, manufacturing, service delivery and project management and successfully built the business into a billion-dollar enterprise. During Mr. Smith’s tenure in both the private and public sector, he has developed deep experience and capability in major project execution, building team capability and managing external interfaces with clients, suppliers and regulators. Mr. Smith holds a B. Eng (with Distinction) from Carleton University and an MBA from the Schulich School at York University. He is a P. Eng registered with the Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO) and with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA).

Amy Gottschling

Vice President of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited

Plenary 2: Unleashing Synerg, Frontiers in Nuclear & Beyond

Rob Jamieson

Moderator, Director of Digital Innovation at AtkinRealis

Rob Jamieson

Moderator, Director of Digital Innovation at AtkinRealis

Name: Rob Jamieson Current Place of Work: AtkinsRéalis My Bio: Rob Jamieson is the Director of Digital Innovation at AtkinsRéalis Nuclear Canada. He has over 20 years of experience in the nuclear industry and has led the development of many innovations including new concepts in reactor refurbishment tooling and robotics, advanced reactor inspection systems, and other digital tools for enhancing quality and productivity of workers in the field. In his current role he is focused on leveraging recent advances in digital technologies such as digital twins, real-time 3D visualization, machine learning and AI to develop modern solutions to maximize work efficiency, improve worker safety, enhance product quality, and speed up project delivery.

Devan Wagner

Systems Designer at MDA

Devan Wagner

Systems Designer at MDA

Devan is a systems designer at MDA, working primarily on Canadarm3 and new business opportunities. Currently, he is the lead designer of a Lunar reactor concept for the Canadian Space Agency's Lunar Surface Exploration Initiative and continues to investigate new space technologies that will bring benefits back to Earth. Mr. Wagner is an alumnus of McMaster University, where he researched nuclear batteries and was student lead of the University's first satellite mission -- McMaster NEUDOSE -- that is currently collecting radiation data in Low Earth Orbit. Whether he is applying his systems engineering experience to space or nuclear engineering (sometimes separate, sometimes at the same time), Devan aims to help the planet and all those that inhabit it. When not designing things, Devan enjoys camping, gardening, the occasional birding, and playing dungeons and dragons with his pals.

Subo Chatterjee

Subo is a Partner on the PwC Consulting team based out of Toronto, Canada and leads their Industry 4.0 and Digital Operations team, with a focus on Utilities sector driving Operational Digitization and Automation. He brings over 23 years industry and consulting experience across various multinationals during which he focused on operational transformations, supply chain and other automation initiatives.

Hany Abdel-Khalik

David Tucker

Day 3 Speakers

Plenary 1: International Regulatory Perspective

Juliana Rapper

Moderator, ORGANIZING COMMITTEE/TREASURER

Juliana Rapper

Moderator, ORGANIZING COMMITTEE/TREASURER

Juliana Rapper is an Emergency Management Officer at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL). She has previously worked in the Regulatory Frameworks Division at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), and the Nuclear Security Division at Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). Juliana holds a Master’s degree from Queen’s University in Global Development, and a Master’s degree from Carleton University in Infrastructure Protection and International Security.

Kevin Lee

Senior Regulatory Policy Officer at CNSC

Kevin Lee

Senior Regulatory Policy Officer at CNSC

Kevin Lee is currently the Senior Regulatory Policy Officer at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), while also leading the CNSC’s Disruptive, Innovative and Emerging Technology (DIET) Working Group. This team aims to ready the CNSC to evaluate and regulate DIET in the nuclear industry. He is also actively engaged in work readying the CNSC’s regulatory framework for the regulation of Advanced Reactor Technology (ART) and Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) as well as active on numerous other policy and regulatory files at the CNSC across the broad spectrum of the Canadian nuclear sector, including fusion technologies. Serves on the following International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) groups: International Network on Innovation to Support Operating Power Plants, Deployment of Artificial Intelligence Applications for the Nuclear Power Industry, and the TECDOC writing team on Experiences on Design Safety and Safety Assessment for Fusion Facilities. He is currently a Co-Chair on the CNS Annual DIET Conference, and is on the organizing committees for the CNS Annual Conference and the G4-SR Conference.

Luis Betancourt

Chief of the Accident Analysis Branch at NRC

Luis Betancourt

Chief of the Accident Analysis Branch at NRC

Luis Betancourt is a dedicated public servant with over 15 years of experience regulating the safe use of commercial nuclear power at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Currently serving as Chief of the Accident Analysis Branch, he leads a diverse research portfolio supporting regulatory decision-making in artificial intelligence, space nuclear, and consequence analysis. In this role, he and his team spearheaded the first NRC Artificial Intelligence Strategic Plan, opening the pathway for the safe use of new technologies. Previously, Mr. Betancourt served as a technical advisor to the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, advising the Executive Team on various licensing and oversight activities of the nation's 93 commercial nuclear power plants and 31 research and test reactors. He has also served as a technical assistant, technical reviewer, a new reactors project manager and has provided strategic advice and guidance to senior executives. Mr. Betancourt holds an electrical engineering degree from the University of Puerto Rico and an AI leadership certificate from MIT; he's a registered Professional Engineer in Maryland and a 2021 NRC Meritorious Service Award recipient.

Nelly Ngoy Kubelwa

Nuclear Power Engineer at IAEA

Nelly Ngoy Kubelwa

Nuclear Power Engineer at IAEA

“Nelly is a Nuclear Power Engineer responsible for I&C and AI activities at IAEA Nuclear Power Engineering Section in Division of Nuclear Power of Department of Nuclear Energy. The section supports countries operating nuclear power plants or expanding their existing programmes to improve engineering, performance, management systems, human resource management, stakeholder involvement and technical infrastructure. It shares best engineering practices and innovations consistent with the global objectives of nuclear safety, security and non-proliferation. Nelly joined the agency in January 2022 bringing in 14 years of experience in I&C from Belgium where she worked with Tractebel engineering (ENGIE group). In her previous position, she was the single point of contact for I&C design assessment and compliance analysis projects of new designs for international clients. She was also involved in European Utility Requirements (E.U.R.) performing or reviewing the detailed assessment of designs against the EUR Chapter 2.10. She contributed in the obsolescence management and maintenance programme of some Belgian units and implemented refurbishment, Long Term Operation, hardware and software qualification projects.”

Andrew White

Head of E, C&I Specialism at ONR

Andrew White

Head of E, C&I Specialism at ONR

Dr Andrew White is Superintending Inspector of Nuclear Safety with the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), and the head of the Electrical, Control and Instrumentation (E, C&I) specialism. Andy has been a C&I regulator for over 20 years, 12 of these in ONR, making nuclear regulatory decisions on the UK operating reactor fleet, assessing new reactor designs, and working on nuclear waste projects. Andy works closely with other specialist inspectors in a wide range of topic areas including fault studies, mechanical engineering, internal and external hazards, and human factors. ONR’s objective is to ensure systems that could have an impact on both conventional and nuclear safety are substantiated by a suitable safety case, with adequate evidence that risks are reduced so far as is reasonably practicable. Andy was previously an inspector for the Health and Safety Executive, regulating a wide range of activity areas including high hazard sites. With specialist inspectors from other topic areas, he has investigated the causes of many accidents, and has a strong interest in the technical, human, and organizational causes of these. Andy is leading for ONR on the use of artificial intelligence in safety applications.

Plenary 2: OCNI, Advanced Manufacturing

Ron Oberth

Moderator, Founder and President of RonOberth Consulting Inc.

Ron Oberth

Moderator, Founder and President of RonOberth Consulting Inc.

Dr. Ron Oberth is the founder and President of RonOberth Consulting Inc. a consultancy that specializes in nuclear business development and related services. He was also President and CEO of the Organization of Canadian Nuclear Industries (OCNI) for 11 years until June 2022. OCNI is an industry association that represents 240 private sector companies that supply equipment and services to the Canadian and offshore nuclear industries. Prior to joining OCNI Ron served in various technical, project management, business development, and leadership roles for more than 30 years with Ontario Hydro, Ontario Hydro International, Ontario Power Generation, and the AECL Reactor Division. Dr. Oberth is a graduate of the University of Manitoba, the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Business, received his PhD in aerospace propulsion from Princeton University, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Technical University of Munich. Ron completed the ICD/Rotman Directors Education Program in March 2020 and in January 2021 was invited to serve on the IBB National Pension Fund’s Clean Energy Strategy Advisory Committee. Dr. Oberth also serves on the Board of Helmets to Hardhats Canada. In June 2022 Dr. Oberth received the Ian McRae Award from the Canadian Nuclear Society and Canadian Nuclear Association for substantive contributions to the advancement of nuclear energy in Canada.

Stephen Veldhuis

Chair of the Canadian Advanced Manufacturing in Nuclear Alliance

Stephen Veldhuis

Chair of the Canadian Advanced Manufacturing in Nuclear Alliance

Stephen C. Veldhuis Ph.D., P.Eng. Professor, Mechanical Engineering Director, McMaster Manufacturing Research Institute (MMRI) Braley-Orlick Chair in Advanced Manufacturing Engineering and Chair of the Canadian Advanced Manufacturing in Nuclear Alliance (CAMiNA) Dr. Stephen Veldhuis is a Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at McMaster University, Director of the McMaster Manufacturing Research Institute (MMRI), holds the Braley-Orlick Chair in Advanced Manufacturing Engineering and is the Chair of the Canadian Advanced Manufacturing in Nuclear Alliance (CAMiNA). Through his involvement in the MMRI, Dr. Veldhuis has worked with many researchers and industrial partners on leading edge manufacturing processes and technologies to realize high performing products made from difficult to process materials, with complex geometries, tight tolerances, and exceptional surface quality. His areas of interest in high-performance machining include continuous improvement through lean initiatives targeting tooling improvements, process development/optimization, condition-based monitoring and process performance assessment strategies. Research leverages material characterization and property assessment tools, Industry 4.0 technologies such as sensor integration involving industrial Internet of Things (iIOT) and 5G communications, data collection and storage, data processing and advanced analytics involving Artificial Intelligence (AI) / Machine Learning (ML). These technologies are applied to realize higher levels of digitization on the shop floor to drive better decision making specifically targeting productivity, quality and cost while facilitating innovation.

Gaëlle Leopold Jean-Marie

NUCOBAM

Gaëlle Leopold Jean-Marie

NUCOBAM

I'm a research Engineer for EDF since almost 12 years after my PhD. I'm working on understanding of mechanical behavior (static, fracture, fatigue) of metallic materials, and today specifically on additively manufactured ones.

David Martilla

Senior Director of Nuclear Equipment Solutions at Kinectrics

David Martilla

Senior Director of Nuclear Equipment Solutions at Kinectrics

I am currently the Senior Director of Nuclear Equipment Solutions at Kinectrics. I have been with Kinectrics for over 17 years holding a variety of roles including Project Manager, Project Engineer, Service Line Lead, and Director. Within the Nuclear Equipment Solutions Group. Prior to Kinectrics I was in the Engineering Group at Canada Post. I have a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and Management degree from McMaster University, and am a registered Professional Engineer within the Province of Ontario.

Kasia Izdebska

OPG

Javier Arreguin Zavala

GE Additive