Keynotes

SusTech 2023 Keynotes and Plenary Speakers

PRELIMINARY – SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Thursday, April 20, 2023

K1	8:00 am	Karen Baker, BOEM, US Dept. of the Interior
K2	1:00 pm	Electric Island

Friday, April 21, 2023

K3	8:00 am	Engineers + AI: The New Environmental Stewards
K4	1:00 pm	Energy Equity or Energy Divide
K5	3:30 pm	Everything that moves is going electric

Saturday, April 22, 2023
Sustainability Forum

SFK1	8:00 am	Eric Olson, NEEA
SFK2	9:00 am	Electronics materials and components enabling sustainability
SFSS	11:45 am	IEEE-USA’s policy efforts to support sustainable technology
SFK3	1:15 pm	Distributed Power Generation and Storage for a Renewable Energy Dominant Future
SFK4	2:15 pm	ESS, TBA
SFK5	3:15 pm	TBA

Karen Baker, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Office of Renewable Energy Programs, US Dept. of the Interior

Thursday, April 20, 2023 @8:00 am

Karen J. Baker is the Chief of BOEM’s Office of Renewable Energy Programs (OREP). She oversees the responsible development of renewable energy resources on the Outer Continental Shelf through conscientious planning, stakeholder engagement, comprehensive environmental analysis, and sound technical review.

With more than 25 years combined private industry and federal government experience, Karen has served in a variety of leadership positions in strategic planning, energy and environmental policy, and public affairs.

This is Ms. Baker’s third senior executive position with the federal government. Most recently, she served as the Regional Programs Director for the North Atlantic Division (NAD), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) from 2019 to 2022 where she was responsible for the development and execution of all military, civil works, environmental, interagency, and international programs for New England and mid-Atlantic states east of the Appalachian Mountains, Europe and Africa. From 2015-2019, she was USACE’s Chief of Environmental Programs, overseeing the nationwide delivery of environmental services for the military and federal partners, and serving as the leader of Environmental Community of Practice, whose activities focus on professional development and technical competency for the 4,000 environmental specialists across USACE.

She earned a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of Maryland (1990), a Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and Policy from Johns Hopkins University (2003), and a Master of Science in National Security Strategy from the National War College (2010).

Electric Island – An innovation site for heavy duty electric vehicle charging infrastructure located in North Portland

Thursday, April 20, 2023 @1:00 pm

Ian Beil, Manager, Transmission Planning, Portland General Electric

Ian Beil is an electrical power system engineer, researcher, and instructor. Ian leads the Transmission Planning team at Portland General Electric, which studies a host of long-term transmission system phenomena. He has held previous industry positions involving transportation electrification and energy storage projects, renewable energy integration studies, and electromagnetic transient analysis. He also serves as an adjunct faculty member at PSU’s Maseeh College of Engineering.

Beil holds a BS in electrical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis and an MS and PhD in electric engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His doctoral dissertation focused on control algorithms to optimize electric vehicle fleet charging in a capacity-constrained distribution system environment.

He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Illinois, a member of the the IEEE Power & Energy Society, and a sub-group lead for the NERC System Planning Impacts from Distributed Energy Resources working group.

Engineers + AI: The New Environmental Stewards

Friday, April 21, 2023 @8:00 am

Jen M. Huffstetler, Chief Product Sustainability Officer,
VP & GM, Intel Future Platforms and Sustainability Group

Abstract:

Engineers harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence is the key to a sustainable compute future. A future of data centers connecting energy-optimized devices, powered by 100% renewable energy, and intelligently controlled by AI to save electricity and water. As the engineers responsible for making this future a reality, join us for this talk of industry progress to date and steps needed to reach a sustainable compute future.

Jen M. Huffstetler is Chief Product Sustainability Officer, VP & GM, Intel Future Platforms and Sustainability Group. In this role she is responsible for driving the Xeon PnL strategy building, integration & execution across corporate-wide across Intel’s Data Platform technologies & business strategies to drive future growth, incubating Data Center services, and driving corporate level strategy and action for Sustainability.

Previously, she led Data Center product management and storage; where she was responsible for the delivery to market of all data center processor products, GPUs and Intel DIMMs, driving overall data center revenue, as well as storage processor segment PnL.

Huffstetler joined Intel in 1996 as a fab process engineer and has spent the majority of her career applying her extensive technical and marketing experience to lead product management and product marketing efforts for a number of core Intel businesses, spanning the mobile (including Intel® Centrino Mobile Technology), desktop and Intel Server boards and systems.

Huffstetler holds a Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from MIT, and an MBA from Babson College, F.W. Olin Graduate School in Corporate Entrepreneurship. She is also a certified Executive Leadership Coach from Hudson Institute, Korn-Ferry Interpreter, and Birkman Certified.

Energy Equity or Energy Divide: IEEE Electron Device Society Brings Energy Equity to Native Hawaiian Homesteaders on Molokai Living Without Access to Grid Electricity

Friday, April 21, 2023 @ 1:00 pm

John O. Borland, J.O.B. Technologies

The IEEE Electron Device Society (EDS) approved funding a humanitarian project to bring Energy Equity to Native Hawaiian Homesteaders on Molokai living without access to electricity from the Grid. Molokai is an island community of ~7,300 residents (>62% Native Hawaiians) relying on tourism and government subsidies. Approximately 514 residents (129 families) live off-grid on Hawaiian Homestead Lands using imported fossil fuel for heating and to power electric generators. A family monthly expense for off-grid living averages ~$750 and varies depending on the costs of imported fossil fuel that is shipped by barge from Honolulu (gasoline ~$6/gallon and propane is $7.60).

Three homestead sites with 2 to 6 multi-generational family dwellings have been selected. Everyday life on Molokai involves using portable propane tanks for heating hot water and cooking. Gasoline stored in 5-gallon containers is used to power electric generators for electricity used for internet, computer, cell phone charging, TV/entertainment and lights. One homestead uses ice chests/boxes to chill medicine and food, while another uses wood and charcoal for cooking. Homesteaders live off the land, but end up polluting the air from all the fossil fuel they use.

To truly be self-sustaining/sufficient, we will replace all fossil fuel use with Solar + Storage + Wind for 100% clean energy from the Sun (light & heat) to create a healthier clean environment and reduce Energy Burden for Energy Equity, improving Quality of Life and never having to take a cold shower again. Each Island Nano-Grid system will provide energy sharing between each family and will be equipped with energy efficient household appliances, LED lighting and heat pumps.

The expected >$500/month (>$6,000/year) savings, “dollar saved is a dollar earned” will reduce the need for Molokai to generate cash inflow of $774K/year thereby creating a new source of cash inflow for Molokai from Passive Renewable Energy reducing tourism and government subsidies needs. This will end sending money off island to big oil companies.

John Ogawa Borland was raised in Honolulu, Hawaii and received his BS and MS degrees in Material Science and Engineering from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). BS thesis on InP Liquid Phase Epitaxy at Hughes Malibu Research Labs and MS thesis on InGaAsP Molecular Beam Epitaxy at Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Musashino Labs in Japan. He has published 168 technical and invited papers in the areas of advanced semiconductor device manufacturing, high efficiency c-Si solar cells and residential Solar + Storage energy cost savings. He has also been awarded 7 patents. In June 2020, he published a book chapter on residential Island Nano-Grid using 100% Energy from the Sun.

He started his career in Silicon Valley working for National Semiconductor on 1.25um CMOS latch-up immunity and intrinsic gettering, then moved to Applied Materials developing advanced CMOS Si-deposition techniques (Epi, Selective Epi & Poly with interface control). At Genus he was Director of Process Development & Marketing, then VP of Strategic Technology developing W-CVD technology and high energy implantation for CMOS Twin and Triple Well technology which moved him back to the Boston area. Varian (VSEA) acquired Genus, he was Director of Advanced Business Development developing Ultra-Shallow Junction technologies for CMOS scaling.

In 2003 he founded J.O.B. Technologies, a strategic technical marketing consulting company providing services to the semiconductor industry in the area of advanced CMOS process technology now focused on the 3nm node CMOS technology. He was Director of Operations at Advanced Integrated Photonics’ Hawaii 150mm silicon photonics development Fab in 2013 and 2014. Interesting note is his patent on Triple Well CMOS technology was used to successfully counter a lawsuit against Samsung DRAM and Flash Memory manufacturing in 2020.

For the solar industry he developed high efficiency c-Si solar cells using ion implantation and laser melt annealing for selective emitter technology. Currently he is focused on residential Solar + Storage to Fight Climate Change by bringing Energy Equity to the underserved communities. This involves home energy usage audit to ID options to reduce energy burden and maximize energy cost savings.

The IEEE Molokai humanitarian project is the pilot demonstration for this. He is a senior member of IEEE, the IEEE Region 6 Central Area chair, past-chair of the IEEE Hawaii section, IEEE Electron Device Society/Solid-State Circuits Society Hawaii chapter chair and IEEE Power and Energy Society Hawaii chapter chair. He is also a member of the Electrochemical Society and Materials Research Society.

Everything that moves is going electric

Friday, April 21, 2023 @ 3:30 pm

Jeff Allen, Executive Director, Forth

Ten years ago, electric vehicles were just beginning to enter the US market. In 2022, 18.8% of all new cars sold in California (and 5.8% nationwide) were electric. Dozens of countries, states, and major automakers have set definite and legally binding deadlines to end the sale of new internal combustion vehicles altogether. Meanwhile, we are seeing the rapid deployment of electric buses, trucks, tractors and more. Electric transportation will play a pivotal role in meeting our climate targets. What is the state of the industry today? What is coming next? And what are the technologies and policies that are needed to sustain this momentum?

Forth is a nonprofit organization with over 40 staff based in Portland and working nationwide to electrify transportation. The Forth Roadmap Conference is the nation’s premier electric transportation gathering, and will attract well over 1,000 people to Portland May 15-17, 2023.

Jeff Allen has served as Executive Director of Forth since its founding in 2011. Forth is a nonprofit organization with over 40 staff based in Portland and working nationwide To electrify transportation by bringing diverse stakeholders together to eliminate pollution and barriers to access. Mr. Allen previously served as Executive Director or organizational development consultant to several nonprofit organizations, including the Oregon Environmental Council, where he served as Executive Director from 1996-2006. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Michigan.

See www.forthmobility.org.

Eric Olson, Manager of Emerging Technology and Product Management at the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA)

Saturday, April 22, 2023 @ 8:00 am

Eric Olson is the Manager of Emerging Technology and Product Management at the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA). He leads a team of product managers that collaborate with efficiency organizations, utilities, and national laboratories to identify, test, and vet products, technologies, and practices that help NEEA’s 140 utility stakeholders achieve their energy efficiency goals.

Olson has launched multiple innovative products throughout his nearly 25-year career, with more than ten years in environmentally focused products and industries. He focuses on discovering opportunities for product development that drive market adoption. Before joining NEEA, he was the manager of product management and product marketing for the largest and most experienced solar cell and solar panel manufacturer in the western hemisphere, launching pioneering photovoltaic products and dealer programs; developing long-term field testing with Sandia National Labs and NREL to measure the performance and durability of solar panels across various climates; and contributed to UL and IEC standards for photovoltaics. Olson also has deep experience developing and bringing consumer, commercial, and industrial engine and motor-powered equipment to market.

Olson holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and an MBA.

Electronics materials and components enabling sustainability

Saturday, April 22, 2023 @ 9:00 am

Dan Donahoe, 1000 Kilometers LLC

Abstract:

Clayton Christensen’s 1997 book The Inventor’s Dilemma popularized the word “disruption” explaining innovation by depicting technology against time as an “S-Curve”. The “S” is formed by phases of slow growth followed by rapid growth and finally by slowing growth constrained by “carrying capacity”. A series of incremental improvements of said technology, each with its own “s-curve”, agglomerates into a class forms a logarithmic curve such as the familiar Moore’s Law. Specifically, this presentation reflects on advances in materials that enabled these technology leaps with an eye to how technology impacts sustainability. Behind each of these advances are marvelous stories about people and how their work continues to enable mankind to grow population far beyond the planet’s natural carrying capacity for humans in their historical role of hunter-gatherers.

Dan Donahoe has worked around electronics for over 4 decades. He has worked for defense companies and for the Air Force, worked for computer companies, and worked as a consultant. Dan’s business is named 1000 kilometers. Dan is a Life Senior Member of IEEE and has served as a Section Chair, as an Associate Editor, as a Member at Large on both the IEEE-USA Board and the Electronics Packaging Society (EPS) Boards, as an ad hoc committee chair for IEEE TAB, and as General Chair for SusTech 2015 and Program Chair for SusTech 2023. In 2022, Dan was awarded the inaugural IEEE EPS Distinguished Achievement Certificate for Professional Engagement and Service and the Utah Engineers Council’s Engineer of the Year 2022. In 2021 he was honored by the Air Force Meritorious Civilian Service Award. He has a BS & MS from the University of Illinois, MBA from Santa Clara and PhD from the University of Maryland. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in several states.

IEEE-USA’s policy efforts to support sustainable technology

Saturday, April 22, 2023 @ 11:45 am

Aline McNaull, IEEE-USA

Abstract:

IEEE-USA government relations addresses sustainability in a variety of ways. In energy policy, electric grid issues have been a longstanding focus.

How can the US ensure strong physical and cybersecurity of the grid so that when natural disasters strike, Americans regardless of geographic location can have access to electricity? This talk will address grid policy issues in both rural as well as urban areas and will also address the current issues in all aspects of grid security, including cybersecurity.
Sustainability in space policy is another area where IEEE-USA is looking to build better federal policy. Remote sensing is critical to mitigating and recovering from natural disaster. Satellite protection, including physical and cybersecurity is vital to space sustainability.
IEEE-USA has been a leader in advocating for support for the basic research programs at the National Institute of Standards and Technology as well as the National Science Foundation. Many of these programs have implications for environmental sustainability and the development of technology used in sustainability practices. This talk will provide an overview of IEEE-USA’s advocacy efforts for these agencies.
Lastly, this talk will cover how IEEE-USA staff are working on sustainable artificial intelligence policy.

Aline McNaull is a senior legislative representative in the IEEE-USA Washington Office. In her role, she works on energy, space, defense, and research and development policy. She staffs four IEEE-USA policy committees including the Space Ad Hoc Committee, Energy Policy Committee, Committee on Aerospace and Transportation, and the Research and Development Policy Committee.

She represents IEEE-USA in the broader STEM coalitions in Washington including the Coalition for National Security Research, Energy Sciences Coalition, Coalition for National Science Funding, and the Task Force on American Innovation.

Prior to joining IEEE-USA, Aline worked in policy at the American Institute of Physics and prior to transitioning to policy, she was a multi-disciplinary engineer for Raytheon and a patent examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. She holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from Bryn Mawr College.

Distributed Power Generation and Storage for a Renewable Energy Dominant Future

Saturday, April 22, 2023 @ 1:15 pm

Mahima Gupta, Portland State University

Mahima Gupta received her Ph.D. and M.S. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, in 2019 and 2015 respectively. At UW-Madison, she was affiliated with the Wisconsin Electric Machine and Power Electronics Consortium (WEMPEC). She received her B.E. degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, India. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor at Portland State University, Portland, OR.

Her research interests include power electronic conversion & control, modular multilevel power converters, motor drive systems, and electromagnetic interference issues due to power electronics. Prior to joining PSU in 2020, she was a part of the Research and Advanced Engineering group with Ford Motor Company at Dearborn, MI where she worked on next-generation electrified powertrains.

Dr. Gupta, in recognition of her teaching and research excellence, was the recipient of the 2018 Gerald Holdridge Teaching Award, and the 2016 Edward R. Felber Power Fellowship. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation.