Markus J. Buehler is the McAfee Professor of Engineering at MIT. Professor Buehler pursues new modeling, design and manufacturing approaches for advanced bio-inspired materials that offer greater resilience and a wide range of controllable properties from the nano- to the macroscale. He received many distinguished awards, including the Feynman Prize, the Drucker Medal, the J.R. Rice Medal, the Leonardo da Vinci Award, the Washington Award, and many others. Buehler is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. 

Bruce Cameron is the Director of the System Architecture Lab at MIT and a co-founder of Technology Strategy Partners, a consultancy. His research interests include technology strategy, system architecture, and the management of product platforms.

Timothy Simpson is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University. His research interests include product family design and platform-based product development, multidisciplinary design optimization, trade space exploration, and additive manufacturing.

Prof. de Weck is a leader in systems engineering research. He focuses on how complex man-made systems such as aircraft, spacecraft, automobiles, printers, and critical infrastructures are designed and how they evolve over time. His main emphasis is on strategic properties that have the potential to maximize lifecycle value (a.k.a the “iIities”).

Dusan Sekulic is a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Kentucky, Lexington. Professor Sekulic’s research has been on thermodynamics aspects of energy and non-energy producing systems. 

Bhavik Bakshi received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a minor in technology and environmental policy. Currently, he is a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, and civil environmental and geodetic engineering at The Ohio State University (OSU). Professor Bakshi’s research is developing systematic and scientifically rigorous methods for improving the sustainability and efficiency of engineering activities.

Blade is an innovation and user-experience expert & Senior Lecturer at MIT on Design-Thinking and Innovation. Blade provides consulting service in Design-Thinking and helps top brands to innovate radically on their product and services, and teaches corporate teams how to create solutions that customers love. Customers include Bose, CPI International, Whirlpool, Lufthansa, The D.C. Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and others.

Vern D. Wedeven is President of Wedeven Associates, Inc., an engineering consulting firm specializing in tribology research and development. He pioneered a novel tribology-by-design (T/D) approach, encompassing theory, tools, methodology, and solutions, and has made significant contributions to jet engine oil qualification and space propulsion systems. The author of more than 60 technical papers, Wedeven holds three patents and has received multiple prestigious awards for his work in tribology.

Dr. Nicholas X. Randall is a Chartered Engineer (CEng MIM) who has published extensively in the field of surface mechanical properties testing, especially related to scratch (adhesion) testing, nanoindentation, and tribology testing. He is chairman of ASTM committee G02.40, responsible for developing tribological test standards for non-abrasive wear. 

Dr. Said Jahanmir is Assistant Director of Federal Partnerships in the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office. His research in tribology and machining of advanced materials is widely recognized in the scientific and engineering communities.