Monday, July 10, 2023, 8:05 a.m. – 8:50 a.m. (CEC)

Amanda Simpson | Airbus Americas

Amanda Simpson, Vice President, Research and Technology (R&T) at Airbus Americas, is responsible for establishing the strategic direction and funding opportunities for partnerships with scientific and research communities in North America.

Ms. Simpson brings more than 40 years of aerospace industry experience in the public and private sectors, including leadership positions at the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Commerce, Douglas Aircraft Company, Hughes Aircraft Company, Hughes Helicopters, Inc. and the Raytheon Company.

Earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Harvey Mudd College, Ms. Simpson also holds a Master of Science degree in Engineering from California State University, Northridge and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Arizona. She is a Fellow of both the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS).

Ms. Simpson holds both an Airline Transport Pilot certificate and a Certified Flight Instructor license, and has logged nearly 3,000 hours of flying in more than 60 different types of aircraft including floatplanes, flying boats, unmanned drones, and multi-engine jets.

Presentation Topic: “Airbus: A Discussion About the Use of Cryogenic Hydrogen for Aviation Propulsion”

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Tuesday, July 11, 2023, 8:00 a.m. – 8:45 a.m. (ICMC)
 

Paul C. W. Chu | Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston

Dr. Paul C. W. Chu is currently serving as Professor of Physics, T. L. L. Temple Chair of Science, and Founding Director and Chief Scientist, Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston. He is President Emeritus and University Professor Emeritus, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Honorary Chancellor, Taiwan Comprehensive University System. He has been an undisputed world-leader in high temperature superconductivity research since his breakthrough in achieving superconductivity above the liquid nitrogen boiling point, and he remains the high-temperature record holder in non-hydrides. He has received numerous awards, including the National Medal of Science from President Reagan, and has been elected to prestigious national academies of the US and other countries.

Presentation topic: “From High-temperature Superconductivity to Room-temperature Superconductivity: From Ambient Pressure to Very High Pressure”

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Wednesday, July 12, 2023, 8:00 a.m. – 8:45 a.m. (CEC)
 

Suhas Bhandharkar | Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 

Suhas Bhandarkar has been at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) since 2006 and is currently the leader of LLNL’s Target Fabrication Science and Technology group which works on developing new materials, processes, and characterization technologies for the diverse set of experimental ‘targets’ required for the Department of Energy’s High Energy Density and Inertial Confinement Fusion physics programs. These long-ranging, multidisciplinary, big-science programs investigate the unique plasma physics that occurs at extreme temperatures and pressures, which enabled the breakthrough demonstration of sustained and controlled nuclear fusion that led to an energy gain of >1 in December of 2022. He is also a group leader in the Physical and Life Sciences Directorate.

He received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Rhode Island and has worked at few different industrial and academic organizations prior to joining LLNL: Bell Labs as a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff, Director of R&D at Redfern Photonics, Sydney Australia, an Associate Professor of Materials Science at Alfred University, and a Principal Scientist at Cabot Corporation before joining LLNL.

Presentation topic: “Overview of the Fabrication of Cryogenic Hydrogen Fuel Ice Layer for Nuclear Fusion Ignition Experiments”

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Thursday, July 13, 2023, 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. (ICMC & Joint CEC & ICMC)

Rod Badcock | Robinson Research Institute — 8:00 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.

Professor Rodney A. Badcock has 32 years research experience in applied R&D covering manufacturing process monitoring and control, materials sensing, and superconducting systems. Since 2006, he has concentrated on superconducting machines development, production, and excitation and control at the Paihau-Robinson Research Institute, Victoria University of Wellington, Lower Hutt, New Zealand. He is currently the Institute Deputy Director, Chief Engineer, Professor and specializes in the management of complex engineering projects, including customer-focused multidisciplinary programmes. He is particularly known for the development of the superconducting dynamos for electric machines and the NZ MBIE programme developing aircraft superconducting electric propulsion technology. Rod is recognized as one of the leading experts in the application of superconducting dynamos, cables and protection to electric machines and translating high temperature superconductivity into commercial practice that has included General Cable Superconductors, Siemens, HTS-110, and several of the compact fusion programmes. Committed to the next generation, his PhD students have gone on to achieve significant commercial success in their own right.

Professor Badcock was awarded the 2022 Royal Society Te Aparangi Pickering Medal for developing superconducting technologies that are enabling electrical machines at the leading edge of current engineering practice. He was a key member of the team awarded the Royal Society of New Zealand Cooper Medal in 2008 for the development of high-temperature superconducting cables for power system applications including 1 MVA transformer, 60 MW hydro generator, and 150 MW utility generator.

Presentation topic: “Electric Aircraft: Solving the Key Materials and Engineering Challenges to Manufacture a Complete Electrical Propulsion System”

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Nicholas Masluk | IBM — 8:45 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.

Nick Masluk is a Research Staff Member at IBM Research and was the system engineer for the 433 qubit Osprey system within IBM Quantum. He managed the group developing cryogenic components and infrastructure required for scaling from 433 qubits and beyond. Nick joined IBM in 2013 upon receiving his Ph.D. in Physics from Yale University.

Presentation topic: “Cryogenic Infrastructure for 400 Qubits and Beyond”

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