IEEE Cleveland Young Professionals Amplified - October 23-24, 2026
IEEE Young Professionals Amplified Cleveland 2026 offers young professionals a unique opportunity to enhance their skills and grow their network through engaging presentations, panels, and relaxed social settings. This dynamic event provides a collaborative platform where young professionals come together to shape the future of technology and leadership.
Event Dates
October 23 – 6:30pm-8pm – Happy Hour at Collision Bend
Collision Bend Brewing Company
1250 Old River Road, Cleveland, OH 44113
October 24 – 9:30am-5pm – YP Amplified Conference – Cleveland State University Ballroom AB (location subject to change)
Cleveland State University Glasscock Ballroom AB
Address: SC 311, 2121 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115
Register today!
Interested in Becoming a Partner?
Please fill out this form to become an official partner: https://forms.gle/ZuDNJ4m4hhqnq5rf8
Becoming an official event partner helps us bring down our overhead costs for running YP Amplified. Your contributions will not only provide visibility for your organization but it will also help us provide our attendees with food, refreshments, and overhead event costs.
Learn More About the IEEE Cleveland Section
Please visit ieeecleveland.org to learn more about the Cleveland Section!
IEEE Cleveland Section is a proud recipient of the Greater Cleveland Partnership Best of Tech 2025 Award!
Media Partners
Date and Time
Location
Hosts
Registration
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- 2121 Euclid Avenue
- Cleveland, Ohio
- United States 44115
- Building: Glasscock Ballroom AB
- Starts 07 August 2026 02:00 PM UTC
- Ends 23 October 2026 04:00 AM UTC
- Admission fee ?
Speakers
Antonio J. Conejo of The Ohio State University
Transmission Expansion Planning
Biography:
Antonio J. Conejo, a professor at The Ohio State University, received his M.S. from MIT and his Ph.D. from the Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. He has published over 270 papers in refereed journals and is the author or coauthor of 14 books published by Springer and other publishers. He has been the principal investigator of many research projects financed by public agencies and the power industry and has supervised 29 Ph.D. theses. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, an IEEE Fellow, an INFORMS Fellow, an AAAS Fellow, and a former Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Power Systems.
Email:
Larry Sears of Case Western Reserve University
IoT Sandbox Breakout: Fireside Chat with Cleveland Legend, Larry Sears, the Inventor of IoT
Biography:
Larry received a BS in Electrical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University in 1969. He founded Hexagram, Inc, (now ACLARA RF Systems) in 1972 as a “design and build” supplier of electronic instruments and controls.
Since focusing on a proprietary product line, ACLARA has become one of the leading providers of telemetry products for automatically reading utility meters. Since 1998, ACLARA has sold millions of its wireless meter-reading products to gas, water, and electric utilities. Aclara is responsible for most of the Unites States' largest installations of fixed-network, automated meter-reading systems for water and gas meters. Larry retired from Aclara in 2006.
In 2006, Sally and Larry established the Undergraduate Design Lab at Case. This modern, glass-walled space features workstations with state-of-the-art test equipment, special-project rooms, and student activity space. The Lab is devoted to nurturing the creative intelligence and entrepreneurial spirit of Case undergraduates.
Mr. Sears holds or co-holds 19 patents relating to a variety of industrial products. He is currently a member of the Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Case Western Reserve University, where he lectures on circuit and product design.
Mr. Sears is a Senior Member of IEEE, and a member of the Board of Trustees of Case Western Reserve University. He lives in Hunting Valley, Ohio with his wife, Sally; they have three children.
From case.edu.
Kartik Srinivasan of Torc AI
AI for Autonomous Vehicles: From Foundation Models to Functional Safety with Kartik Srinivasan
Biography:
Kartik Srinivasan is a Staff Systems Engineer specializing in Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) Verification & Validation (V&V) for autonomous vehicles. With over a decade of experience in automotive and autonomous systems, he has played a pivotal role in developing HIL V&V strategies for Level 4 autonomous trucks at Torc Robotics. His expertise includes designing HIL test environments, system integration, and test automation for safety-critical vehicle systems. Previously, Kartik led HIL validation teams at Motional, contributing to the development of Drive-by-Wire and Perception subsystem testing frameworks. His work at Nexteer Automotive and LG Chemical Power further strengthened his experience in mechatronic test benches, functional safety, and battery management systems. Holding a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Michigan Technological University, Kartik has pioneered innovative HIL testing methodologies. Passionate about AV safety and scalable validation frameworks, he actively contributes to advancing the field of autonomous mobility.
Colin Russell of Nationwide
Welcome to #ieeeYpAmplified
Biography:
Colin Russell is a Computer Engineer from Youngstown, Ohio now based in Cleveland. He is the chair of the Young Professionals Affinity Group within the IEEE Cleveland Section. Additionally, he is the Vice Chair of Events for IEEE Regions 1 and 2 Young Professionals. Colin is a Senior Software Engineer at Nationwide where he specializes in creating APIs and microservices for the financial services industry. Colin is a graduate of Ohio University, where he was an ambassador for the Russ College of Engineering and Technology's Electrical Engineering program and chair of the university's student section of IEEE. While chair of the Ohio University IEEE branch, Colin organized presentations featuring guest speakers from prestigious organizations including NASA, Boeing, the Department of Energy, and Ohio University's own professors. In addition to leading the Ohio University IEEE section, Colin worked with the student ExCom to revitalize the university's Eta Kappa Nu section. To further his education, Colin is currently pursing a Master's of Science in Computer Science from Tufts University.
Rachel Dudukovich of NASA
Soft Skills for Navigating a Successful Career
Biography:
From https://ai-action.org/person/rachel-dudukovich/:
Dr. Rachel Dudukovich is the cognitive networking lead for the NASA Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) Cognitive Communications Project. She received her Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from Case Western Reserve University in 2019. Her research and development efforts are focused on applying machine learning and artificial intelligence to networking technologies for space communications. She is interested in determining and developing the essential building blocks to enable cognitive communications in space, as well as infusing modern networking technologies into the NASA communication networks. She is also the software development lead for the High-rate Delay Tolerant Networking project. Her interests include network emulation, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, delay tolerant networking, and open-source software collaborations.
Karina Dsouza of Cleveland Clinic
The Future of Medical Devices
Email:
Mike Wise of IoT Sandbox
The Pulse of Technology
Biography:
An experienced and highly commercial B2B leader with 30 years of accumulated business acumen in sales, business development, digital marketing, Insurtech, Socialtech, Fintech, and Web3 consulting. Principle focus is Community-building around IoT design, development and manufacturing in Ohio and the wider Midwest. #IoTinOhio
Agenda
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Time |
Activity on October 24 |
Duration |
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9:30am |
Registration |
30 m |
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10:00a-10:10am |
Welcome to #ieeeYpAmplified with Colin Russell – Nationwide |
10 m |
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10:10a-10:20a |
The Pulse of Technology with Mike Wise - IoT Sandbox |
10 m |
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10:20a-11:00a |
Fireside Chat with Cleveland Legend, Larry Sears, the Inventor of IoT – Case Western Reserve University |
40 m |
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11:00a-11:35a |
Soft Skills for Navigating a Successful Career with Dr. Rachel Dudukovich – NASA |
35 m |
||
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11:35a-12:20p |
The Future of Medical Devices with Karina Dsouza – Cleveland Clinic |
45 m |
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|
12:20p-1:20p |
Lunch |
1 hr |
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1:20p-2:00p |
Career Change Readiness with Wright Technical Services |
40 m |
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2:00p-3:00p |
Transmission Expansion Planning with Antonio Conejo - The Ohio State University |
Career Change Readiness – Continued with Wright Technical Services |
60 m |
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3:00-3:10p |
Break |
10 m |
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3:10p-3:30p |
Resume Workshop and Network with Speakers |
20 m |
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3:30p-4:15p |
IoT and Emerging Technologies Breakout with Mike Wise – IoT Sandbox |
Software with Ravit Meda with Sherwin Williams AI for Autonomous Vehicles: From Foundation Models to Functional Safety with Kartik Srinivasan – Torc AI |
45 m |
|
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4:15p-4:45p |
Across the Technology Spectrum Panel Panelists: Karina Dsouza, Ravi Meda, Kartik Srinivasan Moderator: Akshat Shah |
30 m |
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4:45p-5p |
Wrap-up and closing |
15 m |
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