Ilya is a V-level leader and expert in polymeric composites manufacturing and production, with a strong background in process automation and digitalization. He successfully implemented numerous thermoset and thermoplastic composite projects in a wide spectrum of industries, from construction to automotive, and applications, from conventional manufacturing control to virtualized factory (“Digital Twin”). Ilya can manage high-risk, uncertain TRL, and general corporate challenges while providing a clear roadmap, guidance, and support-style leadership to his teams.

Passionate about innovation, Ilya is able to model, develop, and build business, technology, and industrial solutions from square one. He has a proven track record of building solid, motivated, and well-aligned teams of achievers poised for success.

Dr. Vesna Savic is a Senior Materials Engineer at General Motors with the responsibility to develop material characterization strategies for material modeling in-vehicle computer simulations and to conduct research in advanced material deformation measurement techniques. She holds a BSME degree from the University of Belgrade in Serbia, and MS and PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington.

Early in her career, Dr. Savic pioneered a transformation of the structural design process in GM by introducing and integrating multi-disciplinary optimization techniques and tools into the design process. Recently, Dr. Savic has been focusing on establishing material characterization and modeling standards across material types with a special emphasis on foams, elastomers, and textiles.

Dr. Savic has authored and co-authored over fifty archival papers and internal reports on advanced materials characterization and property variation estimates, concept design development and optimization, and design tools integration and development.

Jose Luis Galaviz holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering in Mexico, 1994 and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico in 1998. He began his career in product development & design of pressure vessels. He has worked previously as a CAE Product Development Engineer with a vast experience of more than 15 years in truck frame durability fatigue and safety impact simulation for Ram and Jeep Truck programs as well as prior experience on CFRP manufacturing and design. He currently takes the role of Structural Technical Lead in the RAM/Jeep Truck Frames for testing and advanced developments spearheading the Lightweighting initiatives for structural truck frames. He has participated in several Conferences and Seminars in Lightweighting and he is technically interested in vehicle structure Durability, NVH, and Safety simulation and testing utilizing CAE, DFSS, and other technical tools primarily for the development and application of new materials and processes for the lightweighting of the Truck Frame structures.

Ahmed Elsayed holds an M.Sc. in mechanical engineering. His expertise is mostly in FE modelling, material characterization, and sheet metal forming processes. He is now working on and overseeing projects that involve the development of lightweight materials for the automotive and aerospace industries, advanced sheet metal forming testing, and the development of forming technologies for the automobile industry.

Mark worked in Body Engineering for Jaguar Land Rover for nearly 30 years, after graduating from Coventry University. Starting in Jaguar BIW, he was promoted: to Sports car BIW Manager, then all Jaguar BIW Programs & then took responsibility for the whole JLR BIW team in 2002, he was appointed by Ford as Chief Technical Specialist for Body Light-weighting in 2004 & finally Body Complete Chief Engineer in 2012, retiring from JLR in 2016.

Mark started work on Aluminium Intensive Vehicle (AIV) Programs with Jaguar & Ford in the mid 1990’s, launching the Jaguar XJ AIV in 2002, the World’s first production aluminium Riv-bonded Monocoque BIW. When JLR separated from Ford, Mark developed the AIV D7u & D7a platforms to replace JLR & Ford legacy models to reduce emissions & improve performance. 

Mark pioneered JLR’s drive to reduce weight, focused on reductions in body systems, he was awarded a Doctor of Engineering by Brunel University 2011 & was made a Professor at Brunel in 2019.

Mark is also the Technical Director of Alumobility, an organisation focused on the application of aluminium to vehicle body & chassis systems to improve light-weighting & sustainability.

I am a Research Associate at Maryland Energy Innovation Institute, University of Maryland, USA. My research interests are in the area of energy storage and conversion, focusing on the synthesis of novel solid electrolyte materials, interface engineering, design and development of various solid-state batteries. At UMD, my focus of work is towards improving the energy density of the solid state battery. As such, I am working on the synthesis of 3D structured thin garnet type solid electrolyte with the aim to bridge the gap between lab developed solid-state batteries and the industrial requirements. Apart from being a research associate I also serve as the Managing Editor for Ionics (Springer).

Neeshel Dullabh is a competent and vivacious professional with more than ten years of experience in design engineering, product development, process planning, and manufacturing in the automotive business. He possesses strong analytical and problem-solving abilities as well as extensive knowledge of structural components, including chassis, suspension, and Body-In-White, as evidenced by significant engineering projects.

Accomplished and dynamic Engineering Professional with demonstrated success leading projects with multiple technologies. Over several years of experience in the Materials Science, Product Development (Heavy Duty), Industrial & Automotive industries 
Extensive knowledge and skills in Manufacturing/Product development /Design/Team Management Processes for high-end products and process control for complex processes

Color & Material Design Expert with over 15 years experience in the automotive industry includes 7 years of creative leadership for a wide range of projects from entry-level brands to premium, across India, France, Korea, Romania, and China. This diverse background increased my sensitivity to changing trends and market differences as well as my agility and adaptability to new contexts, cultures, and complex projects.

Sustainable by heart, with strong knowledge of production, materials with related technical challenges, design principles of aerodynamics, and functionality to improve the style and appearance by applying right.

Dedicated and motivated professional with a clear goal in mind: to rise to the top echelons of a worldwide organisation and become an invaluable asset to it. His experience in the field of "Polymers & Elastomers" and his propensity for quickly picking up new thoughts and ideas place me in this field as a subject matter authority.

His importance goes beyond knowledge because of the enormous contributions he has made to engineering research and the process of developing new products. My strategy is based on innovative thinking, as shown by my capacity to develop and put into practise weight- and cost-reduction solutions using cutting-edge material technologies and specialised processing methods.

Dr Liu is a Manufacturing Engineering of Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC), University of Strathclyde in the UK. His background is metallic materials and manufacturing engineering, mainly on sheet metal forming technologies. He received his PhD degree in 2013, with a focus on development of a novel superplastic forming process using aluminium and titanium alloys at lower-temperature and faster forming conditions. Before joining AFRC, he was at Imperial College as a post-doctoral researcher working on hot stamping technologies for lightweight applications. He has rich expertise in Materials Characterisation, Microstructure, Forming Processes, FE simulation, etc. Research and Knowledge Exchange Keywords: Lightweight manufacturing Sheet metal forming Aluminium, titanium Finite element modelling Microstructure and texture

Amit Ranjan is an industry expert with over 15 years of experience in automotive propulsion systems focusing on emission reduction technologies spanning from Selective Catalytic Reductions for Diesel engines to electric propulsion in battery electric vehicles.

In previous roles, Amit led the systems engineering of Ultra-high efficiency Single Module exhaust after-treatment systems for the global engine leader Cummins Inc. His contribution to the technology has enabled diesel vehicle makers Daimler, Paccar, DAF trucks & Stellantis to meet EPA emissions targets. Amit played a notable role in the propulsion system development of STLA Large BEV architecture of Stellantis enabling premium European brands Alfa Romeo & Maserati & iconic American brands Chrysler, Dodge & Jeep to achieve industry-leading range, efficiency, and charging speeds.

In his current role, Amit is leading the engineering development of battery manufacturing technologies for the distinguished EV startup Canoo. Amit comes with a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. Outside of Canoo, he is contributing to the legislation & policy development by United States congressmen as a constituent voice & a technology expert in the battery safety area.

Ph.D., in Automobile Engineering, from the University of Michigan and Shanghai Jiaotong University. ASME/SAE Member. He had worked on the core technology research and product development at Ford Global Research and Innovation Center in North American and Great Motor R&D in China, mainly responsible for vehicle integration, virtual digital prototype, vehicle lightweight and architecture development, etc. He has published more than 20 research papers and has been invited as a keynote speaker more than 30 times to present at home and abroad in cross-disciplinary fields of the automotive industry and mechanical engineering communities. He served as reviewer of the internationally renowned journal SAE WORLD CONGRESS/ENG. OPTIMIZE/STRUCT. MULTIDISCIP. OPTIMIZE/INT.J CRASHWOETHINESS etc., won the SAE International Technical Awards several times, obtained the technology achievement award of “Reliability-based technology for vehicle lightweight design” in Ford Motor Global Research, and Innovation Center and award for “Excellent Mentor” in R&D center of Great Wall Motor. Additionally, he has published two books: “Vehicle Materials and Lightweight Trend” and “Vehicle Safety Simulation and Design Optimization”.

He is a seasoned professional with a proven track record in the field of National and International Research & Development (R&D) Project Coordination and Initiation. With a deep expertise in various cutting-edge areas, he has spearheaded endeavors in Structural Durability Analyses, encompassing damage assessment and fatigue life calculations. Their innovative approach extends to Geometrical Optimizations, yielding optimized designs that push the boundaries of efficiency.

A true visionary in their domain, okan excels in the initiation and coordination of International R&D Projects under renowned frameworks like H2020, Eureka, and ERA-Net programs. They possess a unique blend of theoretical prowess and hands-on experience, driving advancements in the realm of Composite & Hybrid Structures through meticulous Simulation and Testing.

With responsibility for design of vehicles and products across the entire Plasan group. His role involves creating and leading our vision for future vehicles and technologies with a focus as ever on cost effective manufacture of composite based vehicles for all market sectors. Coordinating efforts between all Plasan companies in developing new designs and supporting technologies using the broad range of expertise that the Plasan group has to offer.

Elangovan Parameswaran currently works at the Design, Manufacture and Engineering Management, Advanced Forming Research Centre, University of Strathclyde. Elangovan does research in Sheet metal forming

Dr Nan Li is a Senior Lecturer and the Research Leader of the Advanced Manufacturing Group, at the Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London. Her team on Lightweight Design for Manufacturing addresses a major challenge facing the transport industry worldwide: developing technological breakthroughs in the manufacturing and design of high-performance lightweight vehicles for a more environmentally friendly footprint. Dr. Nan Li has more than sixty publications and ten patents, and extensive experience in applied research projects with industry, funded by multiple research councils and companies. She was awarded the ‘Rowbotham Medal’ by the Institute of Materials, Minerals, and Mining (IOM3) for her outstanding contribution to the innovative use of materials for automotive applications.

Svetlana Yelchaninova is Director Commercial Sustainability at Alcoa. She keeps track of sustainability-related market trends and customer requirements through the entire Aluminium value chain, develops product development strategy for Alcoa’s Sustana™ line of low-carbon products, runs the program to raise awareness of Alcoa-developed break-through technologies, including Elysis™ and Astraea™, and contributes to Alcoa climate change strategy and policies.
Svetlana also represents Alcoa in various climate-related task forces at regional and global Aluminium associations.
Svetlana joined Alcoa in 2017, as a global marketing manager for aluminium value-added products, coming from ferrous industry. She holds an MBA from ESADE Business School (Spain) and Master in IT degree from Dnipro State University (Ukraine).