AMPED Annual Industry Meeting
August 19th, 2026 - Energy Innovation Center, Pittsburgh PA (all times listed Eastern Standard Time)
Register Here

Agenda as of 08/12/2026

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. Adam Barkley  LinkedIn , 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.
          Todd Marzec  LinkedIn , University of Pittsburgh
          Hauwa Adedo  LinkedIn , University of Pittsburgh
          Shubham Dhiman  LinkedIn , NCSU

  • 11:15 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. Richard Beddingfield  LinkedIn , North Carolina State University
          Sneha Narasimhan  LinkedIn , ABB
          Joshua Lubin  LinkedIn , Innomotics
          Mark Nations  LinkedIn , CorePower Magnetics
          Kyle Schneider  LinkedIn , CorePower Magnetics
          Maurice Sturdivant  LinkedIn , Eaton

  • 1:00 PM       AFTERNOON KEYNOTE SESSION, STUDENT PANEL SESSIONS, AND WRAP-UP

  • 1:00 PM       Special Session: Solid State Transformers - Industrial Perspective on Research and Workforce Gaps
          Reynaldo Presbiterio, Senior Fellow and Ethics Advisor, L3Harris Maritime Power and Energy Systems (L3Harris MPES)
          Barry Mather  LinkedIn , National Laboratory of the Rockies
          Natan Aronhime  LinkedIn , CorePower Magnetics
          Capt. LJ Petersen  LinkedIn , Office of Naval Research
          Hadi Haghighat  LinkedIn , Sr. Specialist, Eaton Corporation

  • 2:00 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.
          Zisong Wang  LinkedIn , University of Pittsburgh
          Bishal Bhandari  LinkedIn , University of Pittsburgh
          Azhagu Dhanapal  LinkedIn , University of Pittsburgh
          Joaquin Tristan  LinkedIn , University of Pittsburgh

  • 3:00 PM       Break(15mins)

  • 3:15 PM       Keynote #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.
          Lauren Wewer  LinkedIn , University of Pittsburgh
          Souvik Das  LinkedIn , University of Pittsburgh
          Trinh Truong  LinkedIn , University of Pittsburgh
          Yuankang Wang  LinkedIn , University of Pittsburgh


  • 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.