Dr. Melton is the Distribution Systems Group Leader at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). He is the administrator of the GridWise® Architecture Council and the Principal Investigator for the DOE Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium project for an ADMS Open Source Platform. He was Project Director of the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration that concluded in June 2015. He has 10 years of experience in cyber security for critical infrastructure systems and over 30 years of experience applying computer technology to a variety of engineering and scientific problems. Dr. Melton is a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and a Senior Member of the Association for Computing Machinery. Dr. Melton received his BSEE from University of Washington and his MS and PhD in Engineering Science from the California Institute of Technology.

Dr. Ahad Esmaeilian is Director of Business Development at Avangrid. He leads Avangrid’s business development team across Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) region. In this role, he works across the industry sector with technology providers, developers, local and regional regulatory agencies to advance Clean Energy through interconnection of offshore/onshore Wind, Solar and other utility-scale renewable energy resources.

Ahad joined Avangrid in 2019, as the Manager of Smart Grid Innovation. Before Avangrid, Ahad was leading New York Power Authorities Smart Grid projects for 2 years. Prior to that, he was a lead scientist at Smart Grid Center at Texas A&M Engineering Lab for 5 years and has an additional 5 years of experiences in various roles including Transmission Planning, Substation & Transmission EPC and Project Management during the time working in his home country, Iran.

Ahad holds B.Sc. & M.Sc. degrees in Electrical Engineering from University of Tehran, Iran. He earned his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University, in 2017, and recently graduated with an MBA degree from Clackson University, NY. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE.

Farrokh Rahimi holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), along with over 40 years of experience in the electric power industry. In his current role as Senior Vice President, Market Design and Consulting at Open Access Technology International, Inc. (OATI), Dr. Rahimi oversees development of market design and consulting activities, and is also a key contributor to OATI’s Smart Grid and Grid Modernization activities.

Dr. Rahimi is Life Member of IEEE and a member of a number of Smart Grid and Grid Modernization task forces and committees collaborating with IEEE, NERC, NIST, NAESB, WECC, IRC, and GWAC among others.

Dr. Seemita Pal is the Team Leader for the Architecture Team in the Distributed Systems Group at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). She completed her Ph.D. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2016 and 2013 respectively. Some of her research interests include grid cybersecurity, grid architecture, verification and validation, and synchrophasor technologies. She has authored several peer-reviewed publications and technical reports.

Dr. Pal is currently the Secretary of the IEEE ISGT NA conference, and a program committee member of IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE) International Leadership Conference (ILC). She was one of the committee members of WIE ILC 2020 and ISGT NA 2020, and chaired the 2019 IEEE WIE International Leadership Summit which was hosted in Richland, WA. She has held the positions of Secretary and Vice Chair of the IEEE WIE Richland Section between 2017 – 2019. She was recognized with the IEEE Member and Geographic Activities (MGA) Achievement Award in 2019. As one of PNNL’s STEM Ambassador Fellows she frequently communicates her work to students and general audiences, and in 2019 she was recognized as PNNL Shining Star. Her profile has been featured in the DOE Women @ Energy : STEM Rising series (https://www.energy.gov/articles/women-energy-dr-seemita-pal ).

Dr. Masood Parvania is the Director of Utah Smart Energy Laboratory, and Associate Professor and Associate Chair for Research and Advancement of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, at the University of Utah. His research interests include the operation, economics and resilience of power and energy systems, and modeling and operation of interdependent critical infrastructures. Dr. Parvania serves as an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, the IEEE Power Engineering Letters, and the IET Renewable Power Generation. He is the Chair of IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES) Utah Chapter, the Chair of IEEE PES Bulk Power Systems Operation Subcommittee, and the Vice-Chair of IEEE PES Risk, Reliability, and Probability Applications Subcommittee.

Veronika Rabl is a consultant in the Washington, DC, area, specializing in energy technology and policy. She has advised electric energy companies and governments around the world and has been an invited speaker at many events in the U.S. and abroad. She is an author, coauthor, and editor of numerous publications.

Until 2001 Dr. Rabl served as General Manager and Director at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). She established EPRI’s demand response research program and technology portfolio, including energy storage, energy management, and distributed load control systems.
Veronika’s work includes policy papers on energy efficiency, electric transportation, clean power supply, and electric grid modernization, as well as energy and environmental life cycle assessments. Most recently she has been a team lead and coauthor of the IEEE PES (Power and Energy Society) Energy Storage Primer. She helped launch the Engineering Founder Societies’ Technology for Carbon Management Grand Challenge Initiative; assessed EPA Clean Power Plan implementation options; reviewed ISO/RTO market rules and processes; served as co-chair of IEEE Joint Task Force on the DOE Quadrennial Energy Review (QER); co-chaired development of report on demand management alternatives for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Dr. Rabl is a Senior Member of IEEE, past Chair of IEEE-USA Energy Policy Committee, and member of the IEEE PES Industry Technical Support Leadership Committee. Veronika is a recipient of the IEEE-USA Professional Achievement Award for Individuals. Veronika holds a Ph.D. from the Ohio State University and an M.S. from the Weizmann Institute, Israel.

Dr. Ebrahim Vaahedi is an Associate Vice President at OATI where he leads Smart Grid solution development. He has over 30 years of experience in different segments of Energy Industry specializing in the development and execution of technology strategies for utility industry. Dr. Vaahedi joined OATI following his prior position with a major Canadian utility as Chief Technology Officer where he was accountable for developing and executing a consolidated technology plan. Dr. Vaahedi is a Fellow of IEEE, has authored many publications including a recent book in modern power system operation entitled “Practical Power System Operation”. Presently he chairs IEEE Bulk Power System Operations Committee and IEEE Smart Grid Publications Committee

Shishir holds a Master’s Degree in Business Management from Harvard University, USA and a Master’s Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Northeastern University, USA. Shishir was a visiting Research Associate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) USA, where his research focus was Smart Grids and Artificial Intelligence applications. Shishir holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from SRM University, India and was awarded Notable Alumni of SRM University India in 2019. Shishir Shekhar leads the Worldwide Utilities & Energy Industry Segment at MathWorks Inc and is responsible for the development of Industry Solutions and Market Development of MathWorks products/solutions for key applications in areas of E-Mobility, Predictive Maintenance, Smart Grids, Smart Cities and Grid Analytics. Shishir works with leading companies worldwide such as RWE, Innogy, Vattenfall, ENEL, Adani, TATA Power, ENGIE, and other on improving their engineering workflows and advises them on technology adoption and strategy; for their Digital Transformation initiatives.

Before joining MathWorks Inc, Shishir led various large, multimillion-dollar projects such as Integration of Wind, Solar and Energy Storage technologies on Electric T&D systems and key business initiatives in the areas of Grid Modernization and Electric Vehicles Charging infrastructure at National Grid USA. Shishir is a Senior Member of IEEE and is involved in multiple technical committees at the IEEE Power & Energy Society, IAS Society and CIGRE.

Sal Gill
ISGT 2022 Conference Sponsorship & Marketing Chair
Head of Digital Strategy and Market Innovation, SAS

Sal Gill is the Head of Digital Strategy and Market Innovation for SAS’s Energy & Utilities division, advising companies globally on how to accelerate their digital transformation journey. Through providing holistic advisory services, Sal has developed strategies to help executives optimize capital investment plans and decision-making frameworks, targeting the digitalization, decarbonization, and decentralization domains of the industry. Prior to joining SAS, Sal has held technical and senior global management roles at ABB, S&C Electric, Hubbell Inc., and Eaton. Sal received his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from Marquette University, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and has an MBA in Strategy & Finance from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, in Durham, North Carolina. Sal is also a licensed professional engineer with Professional Engineers Ontario in Canada.

Tamara Becejac
ISGT 2022 Conference Treasurer
Research Engineer, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Dr. Tamara Becejac is a research engineer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Tamara completed her Ph.D. in 2019, at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas under the supervision of Prof. Thomas Overbye.  Her dissertation research was conducted on the development of a framework for multilevel assessment and data quality improvement of synchrophasor measurements for enhanced system reliability.  Her research interests include synchrophasor technology and algorithms for Phasor Measurement Units (PMU), application of synchrophasor system on power system control and protection, smart electricity grids and technologies, blackstart procedures, and cyber-physical testbed.

Tamara held multiple positions within the IEEE, including chair of the IEEE PES-IAS-PELS Joint Student Chapter, and  Financial Chair and Direction of Texas Power and Energy Conference (TPEC 2017-2018). Currently she is a chair of the IEEE Woman in Engineering (WIE) Richland Section.

Arturo Bretas
ISGT 2022 Conference Secretary
Professor, University of Florida

Arturo Bretas is a Full Professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Florida and the director of the Power Systems Laboratory. His research interests include Power Systems Operation, Protection, and Control. He has held visiting positions at universities all over the world, including the Grenoble Institute of Technology, Grenoble France during 2003-2004 where he was a CNRS Scholar. Since 2002, he has been involved as a PI/CPI on more than 18 industrial projects. These projects concern, for example, CPS security, new technologies to enhance power system stability and real-time monitoring, distribution systems reliability optimization and planning under deregulation. Dr. Bretas has published up to date 304 papers on peer-reviewed conferences and journals, as well as a book on Cyber-Physical Power Systems State Estimation.

Arnie de Castro is a Principal Product Manager in the IoT Division at SAS in Cary, North Carolina. He is responsible for the SAS Energy Forecasting solution. He has over 35 years of experience in building commercial software and in teaching, research and consulting in the electric utility industry. Prior to working with SAS, Arnie managed the development of software applications for electric power system optimization, electricity price forecasting and energy transaction risk analysis. He developed and maintained long-term capacity planning, mid-term resource optimization and short-term unit commitment and economic dispatch software that are still in use in the industry today. Arnie has a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech, and is an adjunct faculty member at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte and at North Carolina State University.

Mr. Hanley is Senior Manager of the Grid Modernization and Resilient Infrastructures Group at Sandia National Laboratories. His group conducts research on enhancing the resilience of our critical energy infrastructures, including grid-scale optimization, controls, and microgrids; energy storage technologies; renewable energy integration; power electronics; cyber security; and advanced analytics for complex systems. He joined Sandia in 1988 and has been working in Sandia’s renewable energy and electric grid programs since 1994. From 2005 through 2014, Charlie managed Sandia’s Photovoltaics and Distributed Systems Integration Program. Prior to that, he managed Sandia’s international renewable energy programs, through which he oversaw the implementation of more than 400 photovoltaic and wind energy systems in Latin America. He received his B.S. in Engineering Science from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, and his M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in Troy, New York.

Gerald “Jerry” FitzPatrick is the leader of the Applied Electrical Metrology (AEM) Group and the Wide Area Monitoring and Control and Smart Meters (WAMCSM) Project at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The WAMCSM project conducts research and development in measurements to support performance characterization and promote the interoperability of smart grid devices and systems such as Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs), Merging Units (MUs), smart sensors, and smart meters. The project develops improved measurement systems, tests, and calibrations for intelligent grid equipment to ensure the measurement accuracy as well as interoperability necessary to enable and accelerate the smart grid. The project also has played a major role in the development and harmonization of smart grid standards in both IEEE and IEC. These advancements are achieved through hardware-in-the-loop simulations of real-world applications and R&D performed in the NIST Smart Grid Testbed laboratories. The AEM Group maintains and improves the U.S. national standards for voltage, current, power, and energy that are the foundation of part of the U.S. measurement system. The measurements of these basic standards, which are based on quantum effects and fundamental constants for the highest accuracy and stability, are disseminated through a chain of measurements of transfer standards to end-user equipment such as handheld multimeters and residential smart meters.

Jerry began his career at NIST as a researcher in high voltage insulation and measurements in 1988 after receiving his PhD. in Electrical Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He received his M.S.E.E. from the New Jersey Institute of Technology in 1984, and his B.S. in Physics from Rutgers University in 1979. Prior to joining NIST, Jerry had been a researcher in high voltage insulation testing and development at Exxon Research and Engineering Company in Annandale, N.J., where he worked on projects to determine the mechanisms of insulation behavior and failure.

Dr. Julio Romero Agüero is Vice President, Strategy and Business Innovation at Quanta Technology. He provides leadership to Quanta Technology in the areas of technology and business strategy, innovation, grid modernization, distribution systems analysis, planning and engineering, and integration of distributed energy resources and emerging technologies. He has developed solutions in these areas for electric utilities and regulatory boards in the USA, Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and has served as Chair of the IEEE Distribution Subcommittee, Chair of the IEEE Working Group on Distributed Resources Integration, Editor of IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, and Editor of IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid

IEEE PES Staff

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Kathy Heilman
Maria Proetto
Michelle Measel