The 2027 AI x Energy Summit will feature five expert panels to be announced.
The 2026 AI x Energy Summit featured six expert panels below:
Panel #1: Is Solid-State Transformer the Solution?
Chair:
Ted Bohn, Argonne National Lab
Panelist:
Vipin Bothra , Vice President, Navitas Semiconductor
Cheng Wang, CEO, Xenerpower
Susan Linwood, CEO, Novos Power
Fernando Palma, Program Manager, DOE
George Santamaria, Director of Power Systems, RockeTruck
Panel #2: Energy for AI Data Centers
Chair:
Ping Liu, Professor, UCSD and Former ARPA-E Director
Panelist:
Sean Hauze, Chief Operating Officer, SDSU
Dinghuan Zhu, FOVA Energy
Maiga Habib, Manager, SDGE
Saeed Manshadi, Associate Professor, SDSU
Tong Huang, Assistant Professor, SDSU
Panel #3: Energy Innovations for an AI Era
Chair:
Lingping Kong, Assistant Professor, San Diego State University
Panelist:
Ching-mingled Lai, Distinguished Professor, National Chunghsing University
Shyue Ping Ong, Provost’s Chair Professor, National University of Singapore
Tim Lin, CEO, Solid Energies
Junbo Zhao, Todd M. Cook and Elizabeth Donohoe Cook Associate Professor, Dartmouth College
Panel #4: Fusion for Data Centers: What Would It Take?
Chair:
Dr. Moein Borghei, Lead High Voltage Scientist, Avalanche Energy
Panelist:
Maria Sushko, Fusion Sector Lead, PNNL
Javier Garay, Professor and Director, UCSD
Brian S. Sammuli, Director, General Atomics
Peter Panfil, Vice President, Vertiv
Gregory Smedley, CEO, One Cycle Control
John Sines, Principal Electrical Engineer, Lambda
Panel #5: AI in Energy and Microgrids
Chair:
Tong Huang, Assistant Professor, San Diego State University
Panelist:
Lei Chen, Associate Professor, UMich-Dearborn
Di Shi, Distinguished Professor, New Mexico State University
Yuanyuan Shi, Assistant Professor, UCSD
Wotao Yin, Director, Alibaba DAMO Academy
Keyue Smedley, Professor, University of California, Irvine
Panel #6: Build an Engineering Research Center in AI Energy
Chair:
Dr. Chris Mi, Distinguished Professor, San Diego State University
Panelist:
Fernando Palma, Program Manager, DOE
Anna Stefanopoulou, Distinguished Professor, University of Michigan
Maria Ilic, Professor and NAE Member, MIT
Ping Liu, Professor UCSD & Former ARPA-e Director, DOE
Regan Rane, Professor and ASPIRE ERC Director, Utah State University