Karen Thole
Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering
University of Michigan
Biography: Karen A. Thole is the Evan Pugh Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the National Security Institute at The Pennsylvania State University. She previously served as the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering at the University of Michigan. An expert in heat transfer and the cooling of gas turbine airfoils, Thole’s research has led to new designs now used in industry that improve aerodynamics, extend component life, and increase thermal efficiency. She has also led pioneering efforts in applying metal additive manufacturing to turbine research, enabling rapid evaluation of novel cooling technologies.
Prior to becoming dean, Thole spent 18 years on the faculty at Penn State, where she served as a Distinguished Professor and Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. During her tenure, she founded and directed the Steady Thermal Aero Research Turbine (START) Lab housing a sophisticated research turbine.
A member of the National Academy of Engineering and holding the title of Fellow of ASME, AIAA, and the Royal Aeronautical Society, Thole has been a member of NASA advisory committees and of the U. S. Department of Air Force's Scientific Advisory Board. Her work has been recognized by ASME’s Kate Gleason, R. Tom Sawyer, George Westinghouse, Edwin Church and Heat Transfer Memorial Awards. From AIAA, she has received the Mary Jackson Award, the Air Breathing Propulsion Award and the Thermophysics Award.
Husam Alissa
Senior Director of Systems Technology
Microsoft
Plenary Title: Cooling the Cloud
Biography: Husam Alissa is Senior Director of Systems Technology at Microsoft, where he leads a team advancing next-generation technologies across the full stack — from silicon to data center — to shape the future of cloud and AI infrastructure. His team works across disciplines including cooling, power delivery, networking, sustainability, materials, and automation, driving innovations from early-stage incubation through large-scale production deployment. Husam's work has been recognized with prestigious honors including the DCD Award for Mission Critical Tech Innovation, IEEE Micro Top Picks, IEEE TCPMT Best Paper Award, and the ASME InterPACK Outstanding Paper Award. His recent research on sustainable cooling for cloud and AI infrastructure was published in Nature and personally highlighted by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella — introducing an open-source life cycle assessment (LCA) tool now available to the broader cloud and AI industry.
He is the author of 70+ technical publications, one book, and holds 140+ filed and granted patents.
Yogendra Joshi
Professor and John M. McKenney and Warren D. Shiver Distinguished Chair
G.W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
Keynote Title: Emerging Challenges in Thermal Management of Microsystems
Biography: Dr. Yogendra Joshi joined DARPA in July 2022 as a Program Manager in the Microsystems Technology Office (MTO), and has managed a portfolio of programs on thermal management. He is a professor and the John M. McKenney and Warren D. Shiver Distinguished Chair at Georgia Institute of Technology’s G.W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, with a courtesy appointment in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His research interests are in multi-scale thermal management. Joshi is the author or co-author of more than 475 publications, including more than 230 journal articles. He received his Bachelor of Technology in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (Kanpur) in 1979, Master of Science in mechanical engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1981, and doctorate in mechanical engineering and applied mechanics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1984. He has served as the principal investigator for multiple DARPA programs, and for the Office of Naval Research-led Consortium for Optimally Resource-Secure Outposts. He also previously was Site Director for the National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center on Energy Efficient Electronic Systems. Joshi is an elected fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), IEEE, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and American Society for Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning. He serves as Editor in Chief for the IEEE Transactions on Components, Packaging, and Manufacturing Technology, and Vice President for IEEE Electronics Packaging Society. Joshi has been recognized for his contributions through the Inventor Recognition Award from the Semiconductor Research Corporation (2001), IBM Faculty Award (2008), the IIT Kanpur Distinguished Alumnus Award (2011), ASME Heat Transfer Memorial Award (2013), the AIChE Donald Q. Kern Award (2018), and multiple honors from IEEE.
Robert Wagner
Associate Laboratory Director of the Energy Science and Technology Directorate(ESTD)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Biography: Robert Wagner is the Associate Laboratory Director of the Energy Science and Technology Directorate(ESTD) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). In this role, he leads more than 550 researchers and operations staff focused on developing and deploying advanced technology solutions in manufacturing, buildings, transportation, and electrical grid infrastructure.
He and his team steward four Department of Energy national user facilities including the Building Technologies Research and Integration Center (BTRIC), Carbon Fiber Technology Facility (CFTF), Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF), and the National Transportation Research Center (NTRC). The directorate also stewards the Grid Research Integration and Deployment Center (GRID-C).
A first-generation college graduate, Robert came to ORNL as an undergraduate student in 1992 and advanced through multiple levels of leadership at the laboratory while building a distinguished career as globally recognized transportation and combustion researcher. He earned BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from the Missouri University of Science & Technology. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and was awarded the SAE International Medal of Honor and the ASME George Westinghouse Gold Medal. Robert also graduated from the DOE Oppenheimer Science and Energy Leadership Program and will serve as the chair of the Oppenheimer Leadership Network in 2025.
He is a former Director of the NTRC and was a leader and founding member of the DOE initiative on the Co-Optimization of Fuels and Engines. The initiative brought together the expertise of nine national laboratories, more than 20 universities, and the DOE Vehicle Technologies Office and Bioenergy Technologies Office.