Keynote Speakers
Prof. Akshay Kumar Rathore

IEEE Fellow, Professor, Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), Singapore

Akshay Kumar Rathore is an IEEE Fellow and expert in power electronics and control of electrical motor drives. He is currently a Professor and Program leader of Electrical Power Engineering Degree Program jointly offered with Newcastle University, UK. He received the Gold Medal for securing the highest academic standing in his Master’s degree among all electrical engineering specializations at IIT (BHU) Varanasi, India. He received his PhD degree in Power Electronics from University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada in 2008. He had two subsequent postdoctoral research appointments with the University of Wuppertal, Germany, and the University of Illinois at Chicago, USA. From 2011-2015, he served as an Assistant Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore. From 2016-2021, he served as an Associate Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada where he was listed in the Provost Circle of Distinction in 2021. He served as Graduate Program Director and Chair of Graduate Awards during 2020-21.
Prof. Rathore is a recipient of the 2013 IEEE IAS Andrew W. Smith Outstanding Young Member Achievement Award, 2014 Isao Takahashi Power Electronics Award, 2017 IEEE IES David Irwin Early Career Award, 2019 IES Publications Service Recognition Award, 2020 IEEE Bimal Bose Award for Industrial Electronics Applications in Energy Systems, 2021 Nagamori Award, and 2023 Distinguished Alumna Award (Young Achiever Category -IIT BHU Varanasi). He published about 300 research papers in international journals and conferences, including 105 IEEE TRANSACTIONS.
Prof. Rathore is currently serving as the co-Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics and IEEE Fellow Evaluation Committee member of Industrial Electronics Society and member of the IEEE Nikola Tesla Award Committee.

Prof. Vinod Khadkikar

Professor, EECS Department at Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Prof. Khadkikar is an IEEE Fellow and a Professor in the EECS Department at Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, UAE. He is a Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Industry Applications Society.
He received his M. Tech. degree in Power Electronics, Electrical Machines and Drives from the Indian Institute of Technology (IITD), New Delhi, India, in 2002 and PhD in Electrical Engineering from the École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS), Montréal, Canada, in 2008. From April 2010 to December 2010, he was a Visiting Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, USA. From December 2008 to March 2010, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow with the University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.He has contributed around 75 IEEE Transactions papers, and has been instrumental in attracting several external and internal research funds/grants as PI/Co-PI with a total amount of 28 million US$. He was ranked 142 among more than 100,000 researchers in Electrical and Electronic Engineering in the list of world’s top 2% of career-long scientists as of September 2022 released by Stanford University.
He is Co-EiC of the IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics and an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications and IET Power Electronics Journal. He was an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics from 2015 to 2023.
Prof. Khadkikar’s research interests include applications of Power Electronics in Distribution Systems and Renewable Energy Resources, Power Quality Enhancement, Active Power Filters, Solid State Transformers, Microgrids, CubeSats and Electric Vehicles.

Prof. Biplab Sikdar

Professor, Head of Department Area Director (Communications & Networks),
National University of Singapore

Biplab Sikdar is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National University of Singapore. He currently serves as the Head of Department for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and leads the $54 million Cisco-NUS corporate research laboratory. He received the B. Tech. degree in electronics and communication engineering from NERIST, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong, India, in 1996, the M.Tech. degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India, in 1998, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA, in 2001. He was an Assistant Professor from 2001-2007 and Associate Professor from 2007-2013 in the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute from 2001 to 2013. He is a recipient of the NSF CAREER award, the Tan Chin Tuan fellowship from NTU Singapore, the Japan Society for Promotion of Science fellowship, and the Leiv Eiriksson fellowship from the Research Council of Norway. His research interests include IoT and cyber-physical system security, network security, and network performance evaluation. Prof. Sikdar is a member of Eta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pi, and IEEE Distinguished Lecturer and ACM Distinguished Speaker. He has served as an Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Communications, IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, IEEE Internet of Things Journal, and IEEE Open Journal of Vehicular Technology.

Prof. Sukumar Mishra

Director, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad

Prof. Sukumar Mishra (Senior Member, IEEE), currently serving as Director, Indian Institute of Technology (ISM-Dhanbad), is a Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and has been its part for the past 21 years. He has served as Dean, Research and External Engagement, IIT Delhi- Abu Dhabi, Campus. Also, he functioned as Associate Dean R&D at IIT Delhi.
Prof. Mishra has won many accolades such as Young Scientist award (1999) by Orissa Bigyan Academy, INSA medal for young scientist (2002), INAE young engineer award (2002), INAE silver jubilee young engineer award (2012), The Samanta Chandra Shekhar award (2016), Bimal Bose award (2019) and NASI-Reliance Platinum Jubilee award (2019), National Mission Innovation Championship award (2019), INAE Outstanding Teachers award (2021), Innovation leadership award (2023), Prof. K.L. Chopra applied research award (2023), and Award for Excellence in Solar Photovoltaic Systems (Hingorani award, 2024).
He has been granted fellowships such as INAE-SERB DST Abdul Kalam Technology Innovation National Fellowship NASI (India), INAE (India) and professional societies like IET (U.K.), IETE (India), IE (India). He has also been recognized as the INAE Industry Academic Distinguish Professor. Prof. Mishra is currently acting as ABB Chair professor and has previously delegated as the NTPC, INAE and Power Grid Chair professor. He has also served as an Independent Director of the Cross Border Power Transmission Company Ltd. and the River Engineering Pvt. Ltd. Prof. Mishra has also carried out many important industrial consultations with TATA Power, Microtek and others. He is the founder of SILOV SOLUTIONS PRIVATE LIMITED under the Companies Act, 2013.
Prof. Mishra’s research expertise lies in the field of Power Systems, Power Quality Studies, Renewable Energy and Smart Grid. He has so far authored more than 100 IEEE Transactions/Journals, 32 IET Journals and 32 other reputed international journal papers. He has supervised 35 Phd students, 40 Masters students and 8 Post Doctorate Fellows (3 ongoing). He has also authored 9 book chapters so far and has 20 patents to his credit. Prof. Mishra has been working in close association with IEEE Delhi Section Executive Committee for past few years. He has served as an Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, and IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy and was an Area Editor for the IET Generation, Transmission & Distribution journal.

Prof. Narayana Prasad Padhy

Chairperson (I/C), Board of Governors MNIT Jaipur; Director, MNIT Jaipur and Director, IIIT Kota; Chair Professor IIT Palakkad Technology IHub Foundation (IPTIF)

Prof. Narayana Prasad Padhy, Director, MNIT Jaipur and Director, IIIT Kota; Chair Professor IIT Palakkad Technology IHub Foundation (IPTIF), is a Professor (HAG) of Electrical Engineering and has served as Dean of Academic Affairs, IIT Roorkee, Founder Head Mehta Family School of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, Professor-in-charge Training and Placement, NEEPCO, and Institute Chair Professor at IIT Roorkee.
Prof. Padhy researches in the area of Power Systems Engineering and Smart Grid. He has successfully supervised 23 research scholars and has authored over 220 papers and articles in international journals. He has also authored six textbooks and three successfully granted patents.
He is a Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineers, The Institution of Engineering and Technology, UK, Institution of Engineers, India (FIE), Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers, India. He has served as Vice-Chair, CIGRE National Study Committee on C4: Power System Technical Performance. He is actively involved in the Mission Innovation (MI) 2.0 - Green Powered Future Mission, engaging with about two dozen countries on the international platform.
Prof. Padhy has served as a Visiting Professor/Fellow at Canadian and UK universities. His research engagements supported institutional tie-ups with eminent US universities (MIT, Texas A&M, and WSU), UK universities (Bath, Cardiff, Edinburgh, and Durham), DTU Denmark, and industry partners like TERI, BSES Delhi, Tata Power and ABB. He has successfully executed 13 international/national research projects and is currently leading 6 international research projects, with a funding of over INR 200 million.
Prof. Padhy has been conferred various national and international awards and honours. These include IEEE IAS GlobConHT (2023) Global Lifetime Achievement Award, IEEE Smart City Jury Award (2022), Samanta Chandra Sekhar Award (2021), IEEE PES Chapter Outstanding Engineer Award (2018), Alexander von Humboldt Experienced Research German Fellowship (2009), and BOYSCAST Research Fellow Award (2005).

Prof. Suresh Chandra Srivastava

Ex Director, IIT Kanpur-La Trobe University Research Academy and Distinguished Visiting Professor Retired Professor, IIT Kanpur, India

Prof. Suresh Chandra Srivastava, Ph.D. from IIT Delhi India, worked at Engineers India Limited New Delhi, a consultancy organization, for 12 years before joining Department of Electrical Engineering at IIT Kanpur in November 1988, where he became ‘Professor’ in December 1995. He also served as Head of Electrical Engineering Department, Dean R&D, and Deputy Director at IIT Kanpur. During 2008-2009, he was a ‘Visiting Research Professor’ at Mississippi State University, USA, and Faculty member at AIT Bangkok during 1996-97. He held ‘P.K. Kelkar’ and ‘Ministry of Labor and Employment’ Chair Professor positions at IIT Kanpur. After superannuation, he served as Director, IIT Kanpur-La Trobe University Research Academy and Distinguished Visiting Professor at IIT Kanpur from January 2021 till November 2023, and, thereafter till June 2024, as Program Director of Startup Incubation & Innovation Centre of IIT Kanpur NOIDA campus.
His research interests include Power System Security, Synchrophasor Applications, Electricity Market, Microgrids and Smart Grid. He has supervised theses of 31 Ph D and 65 Masters students and published more than 300 research papers. He has been PI/Co-PI to about 24 sponsored research and consultancy projects including India Lead to an Indo US project ‘UI- ASSIST’ on Smart Grid and Storage. He has served in the governing council and expert committee of several government organizations and utilities in India. He is Life Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), Institution of Engineers (India), Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE), and Indian Academy of Mathematical Modelling and Simulation.

Dr Shankar Venugopal

Vice President at Mahindra & Mahindra

Dr Shankar leads technology innovation for the Automotive & Farm services business (AFS). He heads the intellectual property (Patents) and knowledge management functions. He is also the Dean of the Mahindra Technical Academy.
Shankar is passionate about developing sustainable urban mobility solutions and his current interests span across electric vehicles, connected vehicles, autonomous vehicles and precision farming.
Prior to joining Mahindra & Mahindra, Shankar has held technology innovation leadership roles at GE, Dow, Honeywell and Cummins. He holds ten international patents and numerous new product innovation awards. He was awarded GE”s Edison Inventor Medal early in his career. He has developed a proprietary innovation methodology – Innovation FLOW – and trained 1000 + inventors and innovators.
Shankar obtained a Ph.D in Materials Science and a gold medal for the best doctoral thesis from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He completed his executive management program from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.
Shankar is an avid reader and is interested in physics, philosophy and psychology. He teaches technology innovation management at premier engineering & management institutes in India & abroad.
Shankar was recognized as one of the 50 Innovative leaders at the World Innovation Congress 2020. He is also a TEDx speaker.
Dr Shankar leads the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII)’s Technology, Innovation, Intellectual Property and Thought Leadership initiatives. He is a management committee member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and he chairs the committee for Branding and Communication (B&C).

Dr. Tapan Sahoo

Executive Director (Engineering) at Maruti Suzuki India Limited

Dr. Tapan Sahoo is the Head of Digital Enterprise and has served as the Executive Director (Engineering) at Maruti Suzuki India Limited and has over 32 years of experience in product design & development, supplier development, technology, cost and program management functions. An Eminent Alumnus and graduate in Electrical Engineering from UCE – Burla, Dr. Sahoo continued his academic pursuit along with his professional work and completed his MBA and Ph.D. from Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi. Dr. Sahoo has played a key role in upgrading the R&D capability of MSIL in the Electrical & Electronics, xEV, Powertrain, Vehicle Engineering, Cost, Prototype, Design and Planning functions. He played an instrumental role in developing the design capability of auto component suppliers in India as well. Dr Sahoo participates and contributes in various Industry, Academia, Professional and Government bodies. Some of the key roles are: Co-Chairman, Technical Council of SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) encompassing Electric Mobility, Sustainable Mobility, Connected vehicles, Styling & Design, Frontier Technology & Innovation, Manufacturing & Industry 4.0. Past Chairman, International Harmonization Group of SIAM – engaged in understanding, alignment, and adaptability of international regulations for India Past Chairman, Frontier Technology Group of SIAM; the group engaged in policy formulation for Hybrid and Electric vehicles in India along with Govt of India. Chairman, India GRE group, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (Govt. of India) Chairman, SAEINDIA Northern Section, a non-profit society of automotive engineers, aiming to promote the cause of mobility Member, CII National Committee on Future Mobility • Member, Board of Academics, MNNIT (Allahabad) Member, OICA-GEE Panel (International Auto Manufacturer’s Association – Lighting & Light Signaling Group) Dr Sahoo holds multiple granted patents. His research papers in the areas of strategic technology management, xEV technologies and automotive product development & policy matters have been published in national and international journals of repute. For his contribution in the field of engineering and technology management, Dr. Sahoo has been conferred “Fellow” status by Society for Technology Management and Indian National Academy of Engineering