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.

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

Photo of Raj Beasla.

Raj Beasla

Sr. Director Transmission and Substation Engineering

Pacific Gas & Electric

Photo of Joe Bentley.

Joe Bentley

Senior Vice President, Electric Engineering

Pacific Gas & Electric

Photo of AJ Booth.

AJ Booth

Senior Director Energy Products Engineering

Tesla

Photo of Nicholas Domich.

Nicholas Domich

Principal, Innovation Partnerships - Large Load/Capacity Strategy

Pacific Gas & Electric

Photo of Suzanne Jaworowski.

Suzanne Jaworowski

Secretary of Energy and Natural Resources

State of Indiana

Photo of Avnaesh Jayantilal.

Avnaesh Jayantilal

Chief Technology Officer, Grid Innovation

GE Vernova

Photo of Vassilis Kekatos.

Vassilis Kekatos

Associate Professor, Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Purdue University

Photo of Prithpal Khajuria.

Prithpal Khajuria

Segment Leader - Energy & Utilities Sector

Intel Corporation

Photo of Mark Lauby.

Mark Lauby

Senior Vice President and Chief Engineer

North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC)

Photo of Andrew Liu.

Andrew Liu

Associate Professor, Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering

Purdue University

Photo of Xiaonan Lu.

Xiaonan Lu

Associate Professor, School of Engineering Technology

Purdue University

Photo of Aidan Mallamo.

Aidan Mallamo

Launch Industry Specialist: Utilities

NTT Data

Photo of John McDonald.

John McDonald

Founder and CEO

JDM Associates, LLC

Photo of Neil Millar.

Neil Millar

Vice President, Infrastructure and Operations Planning

CAISO

Photo of Damir Novosel.

Damir Novosel

President

Danovo (Quanta Technology)

Photo of DL Oates.

DL Oates

Executive Director of Markets and Grid Research

MISO

Photo of Mark Ortiz.

Mark Ortiz

Senior Director and Chief Architect - Power and Grid

Schneider Electric

Photo of Alex Papalexopoulos.

Alex Papalexopoulos

President & CEO

ECCO International, Inc.

Photo of Junjie Qin.

Junjie Qin

Assistant Professor, Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Purdue University

Arvind Raman Profile

Arvind Raman

John A. Edwardson Dean, College of Engineering
Robert V. Adams Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Purdue University

Photo of Todd Ramey.

Todd Ramey

Senior Vice President, Markets and Digital Strategy

MISO

Photo of Fabio Ribeiro.

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

Photo of Siva Seetharaman.

Siva Seetharaman

Assistant Professor, Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering

Purdue University

Photo of Marc Spieler.

Marc Spieler

Senior Managing Director

NVIDIA

Agenda

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)
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
View the Recording
9:20-9:45 AM Keynote: Secretary Suzanne Jaworowski, Indiana Secretary of Energy and Natural Resources
View the Recording
9:45-10:00 AM Break
10:00-11:35 AM Purdue Grid of Tomorrow Team Lightning Talks
  • Data center dynamic modeling and control
  • Large load flexibility
  • AI/ML at the grid edge
Presented by:
Vassilis Kekatos, Associate Professor, Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University
Xiaonan Lu, Associate Professor, School of Engineering Technology, Purdue University
Siva Seetharaman, Assistant Professor, Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University
View the Recording

Andrew Liu, Associate Professor, Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University
Junjie Qin, Assistant Professor, Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University
View the Recording
11:35-11:45 AM Call to Action - Purdue Consortium and Beyond
View the Recording
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
View the Recording
1:30-2:20 PM Spotlight Panel #1 - Reliability and System Adequacy Under Rapid Load Growth
Moderator: Alex Papalexopoulos, CEO & Founder, ECCO International
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
View the Recording
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
View the Recording
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
Aidan Mallamo, Launch Industry Specialist: Utilities, NTT Data
John McDonald, Founder and CEO, JDM Associates, LLC
View the Recording
4:20-4:30 PM Closing Remarks

Participating Industry Partners

CAISO logo.
Constellation logo.
ECCO International, Inc. logo.
GE Vernova logo.
Intel logo.
MISO logo.
NERC logo.
NTT DATA logo.
NVIDIA logo.
PG&E logo.
Quanta logo.
Schneider logo.
Tesla Logo