AMPED Annual Industry Meeting
August 19th, 2026 - Energy Innovation Center, Pittsburgh PA (all times listed Eastern Standard Time)
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Agenda as of 06/17/2026

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM (EST)


August 19th, 2026

  • 8:00 AM       Registration and Networking – Main Lobby

  • 9:00 AM       WELCOME, MORNING KEYNOTE SESSION, and STUDENT PANEL SESSION

  • 9:00 AM       Welcome and Overview of AMPED Consortium Status

  • 9:30 AM       Keynote #1:
    Dr. Elif Balkas  LinkedIn , Chief Technology Officer, Wolfspeed

  • 10:15 AM       Break (15 min)

  • 10:30 AM       AMPED Industry Membership Theme #1 Discussions: SSTs and Enabling Technologies
    Moderator: Dr. Subhashish Bhattacharya  LinkedIn , North Carolina State University
    Presentations from graduate student researchers in materials science and electrical engineering providing overviews of research activities based on AMPED membership funding in solid state transformer technology enabled by next generation WBG applications.

  • 11:30 AM – LUNCH, INDUSTRY PANEL SESSION, AND NETWORKING

  • 11:30 AM       Lunch Served

  • 12:00 PM       Alumni Industry Panel: Perspectives of AMPED Graduates in the Workforce
    Moderator: Dr. Paul Richard Ohodnicki  LinkedIn , University of Pittsburgh
          Confirmed Panelists to Date:
          Sneha Narasimhan  LinkedIn , ABB
          Joshua Lubin  LinkedIn , Innomotics
          Mark Nations  LinkedIn , CorePower Magnetics
          Kyle Schneider  LinkedIn , CorePower Magnetics

  • 1:00 PM       Networking

  • 1:30 PM       AFTERNOON KEYNOTE SESSION, STUDENT PANEL SESSIONS, AND WRAP-UP

  • 1:30 PM       Special Session: To Be Announced

  • 2:15 PM       AMPED Industry Membership Theme #2 Discussions: Ultrahigh Frequency Magnetics for UWBG
    Moderator: Dr. Paul Ohodnicki  LinkedIn , University of Pittsburgh
    Presentations from graduate student researchers in materials science and electrical engineering providing overviews of research activities based on AMPED membership funding in ultrahigh frequency magnetics targeted towards next generation UWBG applications.

  • 3:00 PM       Break(15mins)

  • 3:15 PM       Keynote Address #2:
    Dr. Troy Beechner  LinkedIn , Mission Leader - Electrification, GE Vernova

  • 4:00 PM       AMPED Industry Membership Theme #3 Discussions: Alloy and Component Design for Next Generation Transformers and Electric Motors
    Moderator: Dr. Brandon Grainger LinkedIn , University of Pittsburgh
    Presentations from graduate student researchers in materials science and electrical engineering providing overviews of research activities based on AMPED membership funding in advanced alloys and component designs for next generation distribution transformer and motor applications.

  • 5:00 PM       AMPED Program Feedback, Discussion of Path Forward, and Next Steps
    Initial discussion and presentation by faculty about next steps will be followed by a close door session with university representatives (faculty and students) out of the Duquesne Light room. Feedback will be sought by all participants through a simple survey and a close door session and discussion.

  • 5:30 PM       Afternoon-to-Evening Social Hour Including Poster Session with Graduate Students
    Opportunity to network, consume hor d'oeuvres and explore the laboratory spaces at the Energy Innovation Center including the AMPED and Electric Power Technologies Laboratory. Posters will also be on display for graduate students involved with the AMPED consortium.