August 13 - 14, 2025 | Des Plaines, Illinois
Speaker Information
Keynote Speakers
Eric Gakstatter is Principal GNSS Consultant, Discovery Management Group and has been involved in the high-accuracy GNSS industry for 35 years. He has helped hundreds of organizations implement high-accuracy GNSS receivers and workflows. For more than ten years, Eric was a contributing editor to GPS World magazine.
Dr. Steven Liang is a researcher, teacher and entrepreneur. He currently holds the Rogers Internet of Things Research Chair Professor at the University of Calgary and is the founder and CTO of SensorUp. He is a global influencer on the Internet of Things and the author of several international sensor web standards for the United Nations' ITU-T and the Open Geospatial Consortium. In 2014, Dr. Liang founded SensorUp with the goal to interconnect the world's disparate sensing systems into a coherent sensor web for the betterment of humanity. Over the years, SensorUp works with the US Department of Homeland Security to protect first responders, with rail companies to improve logistics efficiency, with construction companies to improve field worker safety, and now SensorUp is focusing on combating global warming by minimizing methane emissions with sensor web. Dr. Liang serves as an expert panelist on numerous esteemed panels for the Council of Canadian Academies, the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and more. Steve received numerous awards, including Calgary's Top 40 Under 40, Open Geospatial Consortium's Gardels Award, UCalgary's Peak Scholar, and more.
Monique Roberts, Executive Director of the PODS Association, brings almost 20 years of expertise in energy operations, integrity management, regulatory compliance, and pipeline maintenance. Her career is dedicated to pipeline safety via asset knowledge and technology, focusing on integrity, compliance, data management, and GIS. Under her leadership, PODS membership has doubled since January 2022, with 200+ pipeline operators and service companies across 39 countries, with more than 3 million miles of pipeline and energy systems housed in the PODS Data Standard. Monique advocates for pipeline infrastructure and the digital twin as a foundation for a clean energy future and has been a leader in multiple non-profit and trade organizations. She holds a Bachelor's in Public Relations and an MBA from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Monique is a fourth generation pipeliner from Lafayette, LA and resides in Houston, TX, with her husband Michael and their dog Lucky.
Speakers
Jeff Allen is the Global Pipeline Practice Lead at Esri Inc. and for the past 31 years, he has been helping operators in the pipeline industry utilize location enablement technology to manage the overall life cycle of their assets. In his role, Jeff helps shape the vision for pipeline solutions globally for the Natural Resources sector and offer strategic guidance to pipeline companies to help them leverage Esri core technology to streamline asset management workflows and increase operational efficiencies.
Benjamin Alpert is a Data Scientist at GTI Energy focused on delivering actionable, strategic insights to clients in the gas and utilities sectors. He has a background in AI, geospatial analysis, data modelling, machine learning applications, and computer vision.
Lamathrick Bynum currently serves as the Manager of Operations Data Reporting at Atmos Energy, where his team leverages data to support enterprise Operations strategies. He is a licensed Professional Engineer with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and has served for over 12 years. Prior to this role, he led the Texas-based Engineering team overseeing the Asset Integrity Risk Program as well as previous work in distribution/transmission technical services roles, bringing a strong foundation in both data and field operations.
With a PhD in statistical astrophysics, David Corliss is a Senior Data Scientist at DTE Energy where he develops machine learning and AI applications to drive business value. He is active in the American Statistical Association, serving on their board as the representative for local chapters in the Midwest region. His research focuses on industry applications in time series analysis and physics-informed AI, building bridges between academic and industry, and ethical best practices in data and statistical practice. Dr. Corliss is the founder of Peace-Work, a volunteer cooperative of statisticians, data scientists and other researchers applying analytics in issue-driven advocacy.
Alicia Farag is the co-founder and CEO of LocusView Solutions where she leads the development and deployment of digital construction technologies for the energy and pipeline industries. Prior to this, she was an engineer and program manager at GTI where she led the development of several commercially successful technologies. She has a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois and an MBA in global energy.
Dr. Bailey Fosdick is an Institute Data Scientist and Senior Manager at GTI Energy, where she leads cross-functional initiatives that apply statistical modeling, data science, and AI to complex challenges in the energy sector. She plays a central role in GTI’s Digital Innovation team, contributing to strategic planning across methane emissions research, low-carbon transportation solutions, and efforts to improve the efficiency and safety of local distribution company operations. With a PhD in statistics and over 50 peer-reviewed publications, Bailey transforms high-stakes challenges into rigorous, actionable solutions.
Kris Hajny is a Senior Scientist at GTI Energy, where he is using his analytical data science background to address complex problems concerning methane emissions in the energy sector. He has experience in geospatial processing and analysis, programming, and airborne field measurements that he has used previously to better understand urban, point source, and oil and gas production emissions. Kris holds a PhD in Analytical Chemistry from Purdue University.
Todd Jaroch is a GIS Analyst at GTI Energy with over 20 years of experience in GIS as applied to pipeline data management and integrity management programs. In his current role with GTI Energy, Todd provides GIS expertise on a wide range of projects aimed at improving operations and data management for the natural gas industry.
Shannon Katcher is the Vice President of Digital Innovation at GTI Energy, where she leads GTI’s overall digital strategy. She oversees research, product development, modeling, and investment initiatives in data services and analytics for energy systems. Shannon has built and grown the Digital Innovation team, managing complex data and systems to drive technical advancements in the energy sector. She is responsible for integrating AI solutions to enhance research initiatives, operational efficiency, and innovation.
Parisa Masnadi Khiabani is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Oklahoma, whose research lies at the intersection of data science, environmental monitoring, and scientific visualization. She is cooperating in the development of an integrated, multi-scale platform to enhance methane emission detection and quantification by combining satellite, airborne, and ground-based sensing data. Her work involves spatial analytics and interactive visualization tools to support real-time decision-making and accelerate methane mitigation efforts. Parisa is passionate about using data-driven insights and visual storytelling to translate complex environmental data into actionable solutions.
Ellie Martinez is an Associate Data Scientist at GTI Energy, where she applies her knowledge of statistics and data science to drive innovation in the energy sector. Her ability to extract actionable insights from complex datasets has been instrumental in informing strategic decisions at GTI Energy. Ellie's work centers on methane emissions research and optimizing operations for local distribution companies. She holds a B.S. in statistics and a B.A. in economics from Colorado State University.
Rachel Mattix serves as a Product Manager in the Natural Gas Business Unit supporting a team that is building a data and analytics platform to measure methane emissions as well as a team dedicated to building artificial intelligence solutions to Business Unit use cases. As part of these efforts, Rachel closely collaborates internally with Change Management, AI Solutions, Digital Portfolio teams, Gas Operations, and Customer Care Operations as well as externally with vendors, regulators, and industry groups.
She joined Piedmont Natural Gas in 2015 as part of the Leadership Development Program, working in Risk Management and SOX. During her time in the Natural Gas Business Unit, Rachel provided regulatory and gas accounting process improvement support before joining Gas Data Performance and Analytics. In the past several years, Rachel has partnered with groups across the business to optimize the disconnect for non-pay process, develop a mechanism for the field to track weekly performance and respond to customer needs, and is currently supporting the effort to achieve net-zero methane emissions by 2030. Additionally, as part of the effort to apply AI solutions to business challenges, Rachel is working with a team to optimize and automate the process of assigning, scheduling, and completing field work to improve customer satisfaction.
Rachel holds a Master of Business Administration from Queens University of Charlotte and a Master of Arts in Communication from University of North Carolina in Charlotte. She holds various certifications in Product Management, Scrum/Agile, Design Thinking, and Lean Six Sigma.
Alex McAvoy is an Analyst II on the Distribution Integrity team at Nicor Gas primarily focusing on probabilistic risk modeling. Prior to the DIMP Analyst role, he worked as a GIS Specialist at Nicor for two years. In total, he have four years of experience in the natural gas utility industry. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology and an Associate of Science degree in Mathematics from Pennsylvania Western University.
Ansh Nasta is a Principal Energy Systems Analyst at GTI Energy, where he researches and analyzes low-carbon solutions to transition to the net-zero energy system of tomorrow. He also serves as the Deputy Director of HyRes, a hydrogen emissions research consortium that he co-founded. His areas of expertise include energy systems modeling, GIS, hydrogen, and life cycle assessment.
Ansh is passionate about energy and climate issues and has been in this space for ten years. Prior to his current role, he was an Analyst working on the energy and climate portfolio at the Energy Futures Initiative.
Ansh received a B.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He earned his M.S. in Energy Science, Technology and Policy from Carnegie Mellon University.
Yannik Roell is a Data Scientist at GTI Energy, where he leverages his interdisciplinary background in science and data analytics to tackle challenges in the energy sector. His work spans a range of projects, applying programming and spatial analysis techniques to address issues within the natural gas industry. Yannik holds a PhD in Digital Soil Mapping from Aarhus University and brings a strong foundation in geospatial modeling and environmental data science to his role.ves.
François Rongere joined Picarro in 2022 and has focused on developing methods to help customers enhance the safety of their natural gas networks, reduce their methane emissions, and optimize their modernization efforts by leveraging the expansive data sets collected through vehicle-based surveys. Prior to joining Picarro François led the R&D and Innovation team for Gas Operations at PG&E. He received the John B. McGowan, Sr. Research Award from the American Gas Association in 2018.
Dr. Shadi Salahshoor is a Senior Manager of System Integration and Digital Strategy at GTI Energy, where she leads high-impact R&D initiatives to advance low-carbon energy systems and accelerate technology deployment. She is also the founder and Executive Director of SUSTAIN H₂, a GTI-led coalition advancing long-duration hydrogen storage and cross-sector collaboration.
With a Ph.D. in Petroleum Engineering and a minor in Data Science from the University of Oklahoma, Shadi has held technical and leadership roles of increasing responsibility across research, consulting, engineering, and strategy. In her current role, she develops and drives strategic R&D programs, oversees project execution, leads multidisciplinary teams, and manages stakeholder engagement and funding strategies aligned with long-term growth objectives.
Shadi serves on advisory boards and committees across several industry associations, where she contributes to advancing innovation, equity, and collaboration in the energy sector.
Kate Smits is a professor in SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering and the Maguire Energy Institute, serving as the Solomon Professor for Global Development. Kate is an expert in underground gas transport and has extensively investigated gas migration from NG pipelines leaks along with leak detection and quantification in both the lab and field. She holds joint appointments at CSU’s Energy Institute and is currently a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserves.
Zach Weller is a Senior Manager, Data Science at GTI Energy where he uses statistics and data science to address applied problems in the energy domain. He specializes in working with subject matter experts and communicating technical concepts in a relatable way. He has authored or co-authored over 30 peer-reviewed publications and produced several white papers and educational videos around the topic of uncertainty. A major focus of his current work is improving the understanding of methane emissions from oil and gas operations. He holds a PhD in statistics from Colorado State University.
Interested in sponsoring?
Get the right people interested in your organization, technologies, and services by becoming a sponsor. Discuss your products and services with the right audience, and network with other industry innovators and manufacturers.
