3rd Grid of Tomorrow Consortium Event
Following the success of the 2025 workshops, members and friends of Purdue's Grid of Tomorrow Consortium will reconvene on February 26, 2026. This event is kindly hosted by Pacific Gas & Electric at the San Ramon Conference Center in San Ramon, California. Thank you, PG&E!
EVENT DETAILS
Date
February 26, 2026
Hosted by PG&E
San Ramon Valley Conference Center
3301 Crow Canyon Rd
San Ramon, CA 94583
Hotel Recommendations
San Ramon Marriott
2600 Bishop Dr
San Ramon, CA 94583
1 (925) 867-9200
Hyatt House San Ramon
2323 San Ramon Valley Blvd
San Ramon, CA 94583
1 (925) 743-1882
Sonesta Select San Ramon
18090 San Ramon Valley Blvd
San Ramon, CA 94583
1 (925) 866-2900
Event attendees are responsible for their own transportation to the event.
Grid of Tomorrow Consortium
For more information on the Grid of Tomorrow Consortium and previous events, please see here: https://engineering.purdue.edu/GridOfTomorrow
WORKSHOP GOALS
The rapidly evolving energy landscape requires a smarter, more resilient, and more innovative grid. This third workshop builds on the first-year momentum, uniting utilities, technology innovators, and academic leaders in a shared mission to shape the future of energy. Together, we will tackle priority challenges, accelerate breakthrough solutions, and empower the workforce to meet the grid's evolving demands.
The summit will include Purdue-led lightning research presentations, industry panel discussions, and plenary talks that address key consortium challenges, complemented by strategic discussions on opportunities for innovation in data center modeling, expediting interconnections, and AI at the grid edge. These sessions are designed to harness the power of our collective communities and drive progress for generations to come.
Presenters
Raj Beasla
Sr. Director Transmission and Substation Engineering
Pacific Gas & Electric
Joe Bentley
Senior Vice President, Electric Engineering
Pacific Gas & Electric
Patrick Bogle
Director, Data Center Strategy
Arizona Public Service (APS)
AJ Booth
Senior Director Energy Products Engineering
Tesla
Nicholas Domich
Principal, Innovation Partnerships - Large Load/Capacity Strategy
Pacific Gas & Electric
Suzanne Jaworowski
Secretary of Energy and Natural Resources
State of Indiana
Avnaesh Jayantilal
Chief Technology Officer, Grid Innovation
GE Vernova
Vassilis Kekatos
Associate Professor, Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Purdue University
Prithpal Khajuria
Segment Leader - Energy & Utilities Sector
Intel Corporation
Mark Lauby
Senior Vice President and Chief Engineer
North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC)
Andrew Liu
Associate Professor, Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering
Purdue University
Xiaonan Lu
Associate Professor, School of Engineering Technology
Purdue University
John McDonald
Founder and CEO
JDM Associates, LLC
Neil Millar
Vice President, Infrastructure and Operations Planning
CAISO
Damir Novosel
President
Danovo (Quanta Technology)
DL Oates
Executive Director of Markets and Grid Research
MISO
Mark Ortiz
Senior Director and Chief Architect - Power and Grid
Schneider Electric
Alex Papalexopoulos
President & CEO
ECCO International, Inc.
Junjie Qin
Assistant Professor, Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Purdue University
Arvind Raman
John A. Edwardson Dean, College of Engineering
Robert V. Adams Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Purdue University
Todd Ramey
Senior Vice President, Markets and Digital Strategy
MISO
Fabio Ribeiro
William Nicholas and Elizabeth Holstein Delgass Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering; Director, CISTAR; Executive Director, Purdue Institute for Energy Innovation (IEI), College of Engineering
Purdue University
Siva Seetharaman
Assistant Professor, Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering
Purdue University
Marc Spieler
Senior Managing Director
NVIDIA
AGENDA FOR THE DAY
The agenda below is preliminary. Additional details and confirmed speakers will be added soon, please check back for updates.
Photography and video recording will take place during this event. By attending, you consent to being photographed and recorded. Event recordings and photos may be shared or posted following the event.
| Wednesday, February 25, 2026 | |
|---|---|
| Check in: 1:30 PM Tour Start: 2:00 PM Tour Conclusion: 3:00 PM |
PG&E's Hazard Awareness & Warning Center (HAWC) (Optional) Reserve your spot, space is limited. Register here. |
| Thursday, February 26, 2026 | |
|---|---|
| Master of Ceremonies: Nicholas Domich, Principal, Innovation Partnerships - Large Load/Capacity Strategy, Pacific Gas & Electric | |
| 8:00-8:30 AM (All times PST) |
Arrival/Breakfast/Networking San Ramon Valley Conference Center 3301 Crow Canyon Road, San Ramon, CA 94583 |
| 8:30-8:35 AM | Safety Briefing |
| 8:35-9:15 AM | Welcome by PG&E and Purdue University Joe Bentley, Senior Vice President, Electric Engineering, Pacific Gas & Electric Arvind Raman, John A. Edwardson Dean, College of Engineering Robert V. Adams Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University Fabio Ribeiro, William Nicholas and Elizabeth Holstein Delgass Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering; Director, CISTAR; Executive Director, Purdue Institute for Energy Innovation (IEI), College of Engineering |
| 9:20-9:45 AM | Keynote: Secretary Suzanne Jaworowski, Indiana Secretary of Energy and Natural Resources |
| 9:45-10:00 AM | Break |
| 10:00-11:35 AM | Purdue Grid of Tomorrow Team Lightning Talks
Vassilis Kekatos, Associate Professor, Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University Andrew Liu, Associate Professor, Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University Xiaonan Lu, Associate Professor, School of Engineering Technology, Purdue University Junjie Qin, Assistant Professor, Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University Siva Seetharaman, Assistant Professor, Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University |
| 11:35-11:45 AM | Call to Action - Purdue Consortium and Beyond |
| 11:45 AM-1:00 PM | Lunch and Informal Networking |
| 1:05-1:30 PM | Keynote: Todd Ramey, Senior Vice President, Markets and Digital Strategy, MISO |
| 1:30-2:20 PM | Spotlight Panel #1 - Reliability and System Adequacy Under Rapid Load Growth Moderator: Alex Papalexopoulos, CEO & Founder, ECCO International Patrick Bogle, Director, Data Center Strategy, Arizona Public Service (APS) Mark Lauby, Senior Vice President and Chief Engineer, North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Neil Millar, Vice President, Infrastructure and Operations Planning, CAISO DL Oates, Executive Director, Markets and Grid Research, MISO |
| 2:20-2:30 PM | Break |
| 2:30-3:20 PM | Spotlight Panel #2 - The AI-Power Grid Technology Nexus Moderator: Raj Beasla, Sr. Director Transmission and Substation Engineering, Pacific Gas & Electric AJ Booth, Senior Director Energy Products Engineering, Tesla Damir Novosel, President, Danovo (Quanta Technology) Mark Ortiz, Senior Director and Chief Architect - Power and Grid, Schneider Electric Marc Spieler, Senior Managing Director for Global Energy Industry, NVIDIA |
| 3:20-3:30 PM | Break |
| 3:30-4:20 PM | Spotlight Panel #3 - Enabling Innovation Across Distribution Systems and the Grid Edge Moderator: Sivaranjani Seetharaman, Assistant Professor, Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University Avnaesh Jayantilal, Chief Technology Officer Applied Grid Innovation, Grid Software, GE Vernova Prithpal Khajuria, Director, Energy Segment, Intel Corporation John McDonald, Founder and CEO, JDM Associates, LLC |
| 4:20-4:30 PM | Closing Remarks |
PARTICIPATING INDUSTRY PARTNERS
