MEET OUR keynote speakers

Virginie Maillard has headed the global research activities Simulation and Digital Twin of Corporate Technology since June 2018. She works at the Corporate Technology office of Princeton, NJ, and leads teams in Germany, India and China. In 2019, she was appointed Head of Corporate Technology for the US. Maillard earned her engineer and MSc degrees in mechanical engineering from the National Institute of Applied Sciences of Lyon (INSA Lyon).

Dr. Tesfaye Biftu is a renowned medicinal scientist with extensive experience in small and big pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Biftu has led several projects and identified over 12 clinical candidates in diverse disease areas. In addition, he is a member of Expert Scientific Advisory Committee, Medicine for Malaria Venture (MMV).

Jaya Prabhakaran received her PhD degree in Organic chemistry under the supervision of Dr. Vijay Nair from the National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Kerala, India. Her PhD program was sponsored by the Center for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) of Government of India. Subsequently, she conducted research as a Postdoctoral Fellow as well as a Research Associate in several prestigious laboratories abroad. 

Dr. Saritha Unnikrishnan is a lecturer in the department of Computing & Electronics, and principal investigator in the Precision Engineering Materials and Manufacturing Research group (PEM), Institute of Technology Sligo, Ireland. She joined the PEM centre in 2015 as a Ph.D. researcher in computer vision and machine learning with a focus on pharmaceutical manufacturing applications. She has worked as a Software Engineer in various multinational companies in India and Ireland before joining IT Sligo. She is also an elected executive member of Women in Technology and Science (WITS) Ireland.

As the Chief Commercial Officer for Solar Landscapes, Kevin is involved in many facets of Solar Landscape's community engagement, development, marketing and public affairs efforts. Kevin thrives on building relationships with community organizations, our customers, trade organization leaders and our employees. He combines his experience as an educator and business acumen to help our customers and partners understand the benefits of commercial and community solar development. Kevin grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Monmouth University. He is passionate about helping local communities reduce toxic carbon emissions and save on energy costs through solar.

Dr. Modak is a professor at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in the Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Genetics. As for his education, he received his Ph.D from Haffkine Institute in Bombay and did his postdoctoral training at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He also interviews students for admission into medical school and graduate school including the 7 year medical program. On top of this, he has received the research career award and many research grants from the National Institute of Health.