Sean Osborne

Vice President - The ITB Group

Mr. Osborne leads vehicle efficiency, thermal and fluid management initiatives at The ITB Group. He has been developing and implementing strategic visions as a executive in several organizations for 25 years. Over the past 35 years he has accumulated extensive experience in automotive development, including experience working in Europe and China as well as the United States. Areas of his automotive specialization are vehicle efficiency, thermal and fluid management, fuel systems, and communications networks. Mr. Osborne holds Master’s degrees in Engineering and Management from MIT and a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from General Motors Institute.

Matt Longsdorf

Manager, Sales/NM Purchasing/Engineering – YUTAKA GIKEN

Mr. Longsdorf is the North American Regional Operation Manager of new model sales, purchasing and engineering at Cardington Yutaka Technologies (CYT).   He has worked at CYT for 22 years in several different areas including engineering process design and improvement, product design and testing, and production management before taking on his current role. Here Mr. Longsdorf has been focused on the automotive exhaust and heat management segment of their business. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Ohio Northern University.

Stefano Zanella

Global Technical Director – Zoppas Industries

Mr. Zanella has been Global Technical Director of Zoppas Industries Heating Element Technologies for over 6 years and leads a technology team with more than 180 engineers.

Zoppas Industries is in the forefront of the heating technologies that are crucial to many sectors: from transportation, to the workplace, to millions of homes. The Group prides itself on being a world class partner-provider to companies in all these areas, with more than 8,000 employees across the planet, all committed to a systemic approach to excellence in quality and innovation. In the automotive sector, this acquired expertise can help achieve fundamental advantages in the marketplace. Electric cars have to overcome unique challenges when it comes to heating. In fact, sub optimal heating systems can reduce an EV’s range by 50%. So, turning that thought on its head, it is not hard to see that being in the front rank on heating is potentially a key to being in the front row of the grid in terms of car sales.

 

Bill Dwyer

Manager Product Portfolio Americas – Röchling Automotive

Mr. Dwyer is the Manager of Product Portfolios for Roechling Automotive in North and South America. His responsibilities include leading the product management team across both continents, as well as managing propulsion and structural lightweight products. Mr. Dwyer joined Roechling Automotive in 2017 and has always maintained a focus on new mobility and electrification. Prior to his current role, he worked for General Motors in various capacities ranging from development to systems engineering. Mr. Dwyer holds one patent for Fuel Cell Hydrogen Contamination Detection and has released several components for production on GM battery-electric vehicles.

Paul Siciliano

Head of Product Line Actuators - Vitesco

Mr. Siciliano has 22 years of automotive experience and currently leads the Actuator Product Line at Vitesco Technologies for North America. He is regionally responsible for the Thermal Management Product Group in North America where he leads the strategy and vision for the region, aligning the Internal Combustion Engine and Battery Electric Vehicle offerings. Prior to this, Mr. Siciliano held positions in powertrain NVH at General Motors and Continental Automotive. Mr. Siciliano holds a Master's degree in Management of Technology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Wayne State University.

Darren Berger

Head of Sensing & Actuation, Fluid Control Systems - Vitesco

Mr. Berger has 36 years of automotive experience and operates as Head of Sensing and Actuation North America. Here he leads the Product Line Application Centers and Central Functions to drive the Sensing and Actuation’s business in the region. He is also responsible for regional sales development and supporting the global strategy and operational results. Mr. Berger joined Vitesco Technologies, at that time VDO Control Systems, in 1998 as Automotive Applications Director. Prior to joining Vitesco Technologies, Darren worked at Robert Bosch Corporation as Engineering Manager for Vehicle Dynamic Control and Brake Actuation Component Applications, and at General Motors as a Service Readiness Manager and Lead Developer of Anti-lock Brake Diagnostics. Mr. Berger holds a Bachelor and Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Wayne State University.

Dr. Issam Mudawar

Professor, Lab Director - Purdue University

Dr. Mudawar presently serves as Betty Ruth and Milton B. Hollander Family Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Purdue University Boiling and Two-Phase Flow Laboratory (PU-BTPFL) and Research Center for Electric Vehicle Charging and Thermal Management (EVeCTherM).  His research is focused on theoretical and experimental investigation of phase change mechanisms and their application in space and defense systems, computer electronics, electric and hybrid vehicles, avionics, nuclear reactors, and intelligent materials processing. He is a Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researcher with over 27,000 Google Scholar citations and he has written over 260 archival journal publications. Dr. Mudawar received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1984. 

Devahdhanush V.S.

Ph.D. candidate – Purdue University

Devahdhanush V.S. is a Ph.D. candidate at Purdue University’s School of Mechanical Engineering, where he works at the Purdue University Boiling and Two-Phase Flow Laboratory. He is recipient of the Bilsland Dissertation Fellowship, and his Ph.D. research has been sponsored by Ford Motor Company – Purdue University Alliance, Center for Integrated Thermal Management for Aerospace Vehicles, and NASA Glenn Research Center. Devahdhanush has contributed 19 articles to international peer-reviewed scientific journals and a patent disclosure.

Dr. Laurent Dubourg

CEO – Stirweld

Dr. Dubourg has spent 24 years of his career in the field of laser and friction stir welding for aluminium. In 2017, he co-founded Stirweld and operates as CEO where he is focused on making friction stir welding accessible by reducing process cost and extending applications. Prior to this, Dr. Dubourg held R&D engineering and business development roles at IREPA Laser, the National Research Center Canada, and the Institute Maupertuis team in Rennes, France. Dr. Dubourg received his Ph.D. in 2002 where his thesis related to the development of aluminium laser surface cladding.

Matt Stieber

Advanced Technology Manager – TI Fluid Systems

Mr. Stieber has worked at TI Fluid Systems for the past 11 years and is currently an Advanced Technology Manager. During this time he has held various roles related to product development and he is currently focused on developing new refrigerant and coolant lines and modules to meet the evolving thermal management needs that are driven by vehicle electrification.  Mr. Stieber received his degree in mechanical engineering from Grand Valley State University and an MBA from Wayne State University.

Ranvir Soni

Business Development Manager - Evonik

Mr. Soni has been working at EVONIK Corporation for the past 7 years and is currently the Business Development Manager – EV for the North American region. Prior to this role, he has held roles of Business Development Manager for automotive and Application Development Engineer at EVONIK, and Thermoplastics  Composites Program Leader at SABIC.  Mr. Soni has a Bachelor’s degree in Polymer Technology from Anna University and a Masters in Plastics Engineering from University of Massachusetts at Lowell.

Doug Thornhill

Application Development Engineer – EMS-GRIVORY

Mr. Thornhill has nearly 30 years of automotive plastics industry experience with a primary focus on injection molding. For the past 4 years, he has been expanding his knowledge base to include extrusion as an expertise. Mr. Thornhill, a graduate of the Ferris State University Plastics Engineering Technology program, has been with EMS-GRIVORY as an Application Development Engineer for the past seven years.

Richard Stanley

Commercial Director, Advanced Materials - Sun Chemical Corporation

Mr. Stanley earned his degree in Industrial Chemistry at Brunel University and an MBA from Warwick University, and he has more than over 30 years’ experience working with thermoset and thermoplastic polymers and compounds. Mr. Stanley has worked for more than 10 years as the Commercial Director of Sun Chemical Advanced Materials division which includes the DIC.PPS engineering polymers and compounds.  Prior to working for Sun Chemical, he worked for Henkel and ICI in both the Americas and Europe.

Greg Poterala

Transportation Marketing Manager – Solvay Materials

Mr. Poterala is a Transportation Marketing Manager with Solvay Materials, moving to this role after joining Solvay in 2012 as a Sales Development Manager. Here he lends marketing support to Solvay’s commercial team on several strategic applications including transmission/electrified drivelines, elastomer sealing, bearing lubrication, fuel, air, exhaust, & thermal management systems. Prior to joining Solvay he worked in a variety of commercial roles with Arkema, Asahi Kasei Plastics, and Teknor Color. Mr. Poterala holds a Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Michigan. 

Chris Durand

Engineering Manager - Grammer

More information coming soon.

Karthik Jayakumar

Project Leader – Grammer

Mr. Jayakumar is the project leader of Grammer Americas where he is responsible for handling innovation projects. He holds an MBA from Gies College of business and a Master’s degree from the Ohio State University.

Desiree Maurer

Business Development Engineer – Arkema

Ms. Maurer joined Arkema in 2019 as the Business Development Engineer for the transportation market in North America. Prior this role, she held positions in injection molding process engineering and technical service for compounded products supporting the automotive and healthcare markets. Ms. Maurer earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Plastics & Polymers Engineering Technology, and later earned a Master’s Degree in Systems Engineering from Penn State University.

Dr. Jason Chang

Executive Director of Intelligent Battery Performance Solution - Gentherm

Dr. Chang is the Executive Director of the Intelligent Battery Performance Solution at Gentherm where he leads the research and development of the advanced battery performance solution for low-voltage and high-voltage vehicle applications. Prior to joining Gentherm, he was a Chief Engineer of the Wireless-base Battery Management System at Visteon. Dr. Chang has more than 15 years of experience in developing battery management systems for various battery chemistries. He has authored 23 patents and more than 20 publications. Dr. Chang received his Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from Tsinghua University, focusing on intelligent control systems.

Bret Trimmer

Applications Engineering Manager – NeoGraf Solutions

Mr. Trimmer holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and an MBA. In his career, he works to make packs smaller, lighter, and safer. He’s spent the past ten years working with leading maritime battery manufacturers to allow their systems to pass stringent European regulatory standards for thermal runaway. For the last several years, he has turned his attention to the EV, Drone, and Electric Airplane industries. Mr. Trimmer joined NeoGraf Solutions in 2010 where he is currently the Applications Engineering Manager.

Andrew Mittermiller

Senior Applications Development Chemist – Zeon Chemicals

Mr. Mittermiller joined Zeon Chemicals in 2012 as an Applications Development Chemist for the Hydrin (ECO) product line where he works to identify new market potential, invent new polymers, and generate compound formulations to meet the demands of specialty rubber applications. Mr. Mittermiller obtained his bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from The Ohio State University in 2010.

Eldad Caspi

Vice President Business Development – Carrar

Mr. Caspi is an entrepreneur by nature and a C-level executive with more than 20 years of experience in leading rapid growth start-up companies and global organizations in automotive, cyber, communications, and fintech. Currently he operates as vice president of business development at Carrar. Previously Mr. Caspi was the CEO of EasyPark and served as director of business development at Mellanox. Mr. Caspi was also co-founder, CEO, and vice president of business development at Lead IP Systems. Mr. Caspi has co-founded and led other startup companies in the automotive and cyber arenas and is a co-author of several patents across various domains.