Shri Narayanan of University of Southern California (USC)

Diagnosing and treating mental health conditions often involves interacting with patients using speech and language. In psychotherapy, for example, a mental health professional talks with the patient to identify troubling thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and to help address them.

Psychotherapy research and clinical practice tend to use manual methods to collect and evaluate performance and efficacy data, Narayanan says, but that is not scalable and can lead to inaccuracy. The answers might not actually reflect how the patient feels, he says.

Narayanan and his colleagues invented a way to collect data through speech and language-based biomarkers to characterize therapy quality and outcomes. They also designed objective measures to detect and monitor a person’s speech patterns for signs of depression and anxiety.

He currently is working with the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to identify biomarkers for people with suicidal ideation.

Narayanan holds 19 U.S. patents and has helped to found several startups to commercialize his technologies.

Biography:

Shrikanth (Shri) Narayanan is USC University Professor and Niki & C. L. Max Niki as Chair in Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC), where he holds appointments as Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Linguistics, Psychology, Neuroscience, Pediatrics, and Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery and Research Director of the Information Sciences Institute. Before USC, he was with AT&T Bell Labs and AT&T Research. His interdisciplinary research focuses on developing engineering and computing approaches to understand the human condition and in creating human-centered technologies to support and enhance human experiences, across applications with direct societal relevance including in defense/intelligence, health, education, and the media arts. He is a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America, IEEE, the International Speech Communication Association (ISCA), the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Association for Psychological Science, the Association for the Advancement of Affective Computing, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and the National Academy of Inventors. He is a Guggenheim Fellow and member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, and a recipient of many awards for research and education including the 2023 ISCA Medal for Scientific Achievement and the 2023 Richard Deswarte Prize in Digital History. He has published widely (over 1000 papers) and his inventions/patents have led to technology commercialization including through startups he co-founded: Behavioral Signals Technologies focused on AI-based conversational assistance and Lyssn focused on mental health care and quality assurance.

Address:United States

Earl Moore of Burns & McDonnell

Burns & McDonnell is at the forefront of designing and building the next generation of data centers specifically engineered to support the immense computational demands of artificial intelligence (AI). The company leverages its extensive engineering, construction, and design-build expertise to create resilient, scalable, and highly efficient facilities for hyperscale, colocation, and enterprise clients.

The AI revolution is driving exponential growth in power consumption and heat density within data centers. In response, Burns & McDonnell has adapted its approach to tackle these new challenges. One of the most significant shifts is the widespread adoption of advanced thermal management systems, particularly liquid cooling. Recognizing that traditional air-cooled systems are no longer sufficient for high-density AI racks, the firm is implementing and commissioning complex liquid-cooled environments, including piping networks, chillers, and cooling distribution units. This requires adapting infrastructure design, from building makeup and equipment layout to the specialized training of on-site staff for operations and maintenance.

Beyond the walls of the data center, Burns & McDonnell is focused on the critical issue of power delivery. The AI-fueled data center boom is straining electrical grids, and timely access to reliable, cost-effective power has become a major bottleneck. To address this, the company offers holistic power solutions, from transmission and substation expansions to fast-track innovations that accelerate project delivery. For example, they’ve introduced frameworks like “EmPower AI” to optimize energy usage within commercial buildings and prioritize power for high-demand applications like AI data centers.

Sustainability is another key focus. For example, in partnership with data center company Edged, Burns & McDonnell delivered an ultra-efficient facility in Kansas City, built for high-density AI workloads, that uses zero water for cooling and significantly less energy than conventional designs. The integrated delivery model, which brings together a multi-disciplinary team of engineers, architects, and construction professionals, is key to streamlining the process from design to completion. The firm is not only building for today’s needs but also leveraging AI itself in its construction processes, including using generative AI to optimize design specifications, enhance energy efficiency, and improve safety and resource allocation on job sit

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Joel Earwicker

Using a small radio dish and software-defined radio, students receive and decode real signals from geostationary weather satellites into live images of Earth from space. This hands-on experience introduces how geostationary orbits work, how signals are captured and processed, and how raw transmissions are turned into data we can interpret. With their own Earth images in hand, students investigate how we can detect the presence of life and technology on our own planet, connecting these ideas to the broader search for biosignatures and technosignatures on other worlds. This lab builds practical skills in radio communication, remote sensing, and data analysis. All required equipment can be provided free of charge to all participating institutions to ensure broad classroom accessibility.

Biography:

Joel Earwicker is a researcher at the SETI Institute and a driving force in making radio astronomy accessible to a broader audience. Holding a Bachelor of Science in Astrophysics from the University of California, Santa Cruz, Earwicker is the lead research assistant for the ARISE (Astronomical Radio Investigation for Students and Educators) project. His work centers on creating educational materials and software tools that engage students, particularly at the community college level, in the real-world search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

Earwicker’s educational focus is on bridging the gap between cutting-edge scientific research and classroom learning. He develops hands-on lab activities that use live data from the Allen Telescope Array (ATA), allowing students to gain experience with professional tools used in both astronomy and related tech industries. Through these labs, students learn to analyze signals from objects like pulsars and even from Mars orbiters, which serve as an analog for detecting artificial signals.

Committed to overcoming barriers in science education, Earwicker is dedicated to making astronomy feel real, relevant, and achievable for everyone. His efforts with the ARISE project and his passion for empowering instructors help cultivate the next generation of scientific explorers.

The Digital Twin Consortium (DTC) is a global organization that serves as the authority on digital twin technology, uniting industry, government, and academia to accelerate its development and adoption. As a program of the Object Management Group (OMG), its mission is to foster a cohesive digital engineering ecosystem and drive consistency in vocabulary, architecture, security, and interoperability.

Through working groups and innovation hubs, DTC members collaborate to influence policies, define standard requirements, and develop best practices for digital twin implementations across a wide range of industries. The consortium provides tangible work products, including testbeds for piloting digital twin technologies, reference architectures, open-source code, and guidance to help organizations mitigate risk and maximize benefits. This collaboration empowers companies to leverage digital twin technology for real-world business value, such as increasing productivity, reducing waste, and improving decision-making.

As digital twins evolve to incorporate generative AI and multi-agent systems, the DTC is expanding its scope to lead advancements in these areas. By driving innovation, the consortium aims to make digital twin solutions more accessible, sustainable, and scalable, ultimately fostering a better, smarter world.

Biography:

Dan Isaacs is General Manager Chief Technology Officer of Digital Twin Consortium® (DTC™), where he is responsible for setting the technical direction for the Member Consortium, liaison partnerships and business development support for new memberships. Dan is also the Chief Strategy Officer for Object Management Group® (OMG®), where he develops and implements a comprehensive strategy to unify OMG consortia (AREA, CISQ, DTC, OMG Standards Development Organization, and Responsible Computing).

Previously, Dan was Director of Strategic Marketing and Business Development at Xilinx where he was responsible for emerging technologies including AI/Machine Learning, including defining and executing the ecosystem strategy for the Industrial IoT. Prior to joining the Digital Twin Consortium, Dan was responsible for Automotive Business Development focused on Automated Driving and ADAS systems.

Dan represented Xilinx to the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC). He has more than 25 years of experience working in automotive, Mil/Aerospace and consumer-based companies including Ford, NEC, LSI Logic and Hughes Aircraft.

An accomplished speaker, Dan has delivered keynotes, presentations and served as panellist and moderator for IIC World Forums, Industrial IOT Global conferences, Embedded World, Embedded Systems, and FPGA Conferences. He is a member of international advisory boards and holds degrees in Computer Engineering: EE from Cal State University, B.S. Geophysics from ASU.