US-Poland Science and Technology Symposium 2023

HONORARY PATRONAGE

Partner Co-Organizer

ACADEMIC PARTNERS

SPONSORS & PARTNERS

FRIENDS

Speakers

Prof. Piotr Moncarz Chairman, USPTC; Adjunct Professor, Stanford University
Jerzy Orkiszewki President, US-Polish Trade Council; VP of Engineering, Cutera
Steven Chu Professor of Physics Molecular and Cellular Physiology and Energy Science and Engineering, Stanford University
Marek Konarzewski President, Polish Academy of Sciences
Beata Drzazga President, BetaMed
Mark Chandler Director, International Relations, San Francisco City Hall

He graduated from the Surveying and Road Technology School in Poznań in 1968 and from the School of Engineering in the Stanford University with Ph.D. in 1981. He is an Adjunct Professor at Stanford University, where for 30 years he has been teaching post-license level. Since 1980 he has been an employee of the world’s leading Exponent Failure Analysis Associates (www.exponent.com), where today he holds the highest professional title of Senior Fellow.  In 2017 he was admitted to the National Academy of Engineering in the United States. He specializes in research and prevention of engineering and scientific disasters.  He is an author of dozens of publications, lectures and speeches. Renewable energy, including especially goetermistry, is the goal of his many years of work (www.geothermicsolution.com). He is the Co-founder and Chairman of the US-Polish Trade Council (www.usptc.org), an organization of professionals working pro-bono on knowledge transfer and strengthening cooperation between Poland and the United States. He is vice-president of the Council of Polish Engineers of North America. Member of the 1st Council of NCBiR. Co-organizer and academic director at Stanford University of the MNiSW Top 500 Innovators programme. Co-founder of the Polish electromobility programme, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Electromobility Poland SA. Engineer, entrepreneur and academic teacher, actively involved in the activities of the Polish diaspora for Poland.

Mr. Jerzy Orkiszewski was born and raised in Poland. He holds an M.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering from the Warsaw Technical University, Department of Fine Mechanics (currently Department of Mechatronics) and École Nationale Supérieure de l’Electronique et de ses Application in Cergy, France and submitted his PhD thesis at the Warsaw University of Technology. Since 1989 he resides in California with his wife, a practicing medical doctor from Warsaw, and their daughter who after completing her medical education in Poznan, Poland, practices medicine in the USA. In Silicon Valley he has been working for variety of product development biomedical device companies: Cutera, Inc., Ellex Medical, Lumenis, Inc. and Medical Group of Coherent, Inc., where he has been providing the technology and business leadership serving in various engineering, management and executive positions. Jerzy used to be on Polish national modern pentathlon team and plays classical guitar. He is also a pilot with commercial and instrument ratings.Jerzy is a contributing editor of “Przeglad Lotniczy – Aviation Review” aviation magazine in Poland. He provides to USPTC a strong link to the US biomedical technology sector.

Steven Chu is Professor of Physics, Molecular and Cellular Physiology, and Energy Science and Engineering at Stanford University. He received the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics for laser cooling and trapping of atoms. Other contributions include the first optical tweezers manipulation of biomolecules, precision atom interferometry based on optical pulses of light, and single molecule FRET of biomolecules tethered to surfaces. He is now developing and applying new methods in molecular biology and medical imaging, materials science, and batteries. Previously he was U.S. Secretary of Energy, where he began ARPA-E, the Energy Innovation Hubs, and was tasked by President Obama to help BP stop the Macondo Oil spill. Previously, he was director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Stanford, and help initiate Bio-X, that linked the physical and biological sciences with engineering and medicine. Before Stanford, he was a department head at Bell Laboratories. He was past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Senior Advisor to the Directors of the NIH and the NNSA. He received an A.B. degree in mathematics and a B.S. degree in physics from the University of Rochester, a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley, has 34 honorary degrees, and is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and 8 foreign academies.

Prof. Konarzewski is a biologist. He deals with the borderline issues of ecology, evolutionary biology, physiology, and animal evolution. He works at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Białystok and at the Faculty “Artes Liberales” of the University of Warsaw. He is a correspondent member of the Polish Academy of Sciences since 2010 from the Division II of Biological and Agricultural Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences. In 2022, he was elected by the General Assembly of the Polish Academy of Sciences to become the President of the Academy for the 2023–2026 term.

In 1991–1993 he was a post-doc researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), at the lab of the prominent American biologist, geographer, and historian Jared M. Diamond. Since 2010 he has been a Corresponding Member of the Polish Academy of Sciences. In 2008–2013 he held the post of Minister-Counselor for Science and Technology at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland to the United States of America. In 2017–2021 he served as Science and Technology Advisor to the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Beata Drzazga, President of BetaMed S.A., founder and owner of Poland’s largest medical company offering home nursing services. After years of work in the national health care system, she set up her own business and now helps about 5,000 patients and employs more than 3,000 people. Currently, BetaMed S.A. is the largest medical company in Poland, providing long-term care and mechanical ventilation services, both in the patient’s home and in a stationary facility in Chorzów. Beata Drzazga is an expert in the field of healthcare management.

Mark Chandler is the Director of the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of International Trade and Commerce. Mark has been a member of the Mayor’s Office for over thirty years and eight mayors. Mark is responsible for the international programs of the City of San Francisco, including innovation and technology exchange, Smart City dialogue, trade missions, investment promotion, sister city partnerships, diplomatic relations and global policy formation. Mark has coordinated over thirty overseas missions to locations diverse as Mexico, China, India, France, Israel, Vietnam, Ireland, Australia, The Philippines, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Canada and Japan. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Global Trade Council, Advisory Board for San Francisco State University International Business Department and is Co-President of the San Mateo High School Foundation and is a recipient of the National Jefferson Award. In June of 2017 he was named “Citizen Diplomat of the Year” by the Northern California World Trade Center. He has a BA in Economics from U.C. Davis and an MBA in International Marketing from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and studied at the Tokyo Academy of Japanese. Mark is married to Carolyn and has one daughter Lea, who is in University.

Michael Lepech Professor, Stanford University; Vice-Chair, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department
Danuta Zawadzka Rector, Koszalin University of Technology
Michał Banaszak Vice-Rector, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Director of School of Science
Wojciech Kamieniecki CEO, InSeqr sp. z o.o
Adam B. Czyżewski Chief Economist, PKN ORLEN S.A.
Andrzej Dybczyński President, Łukasiewicz Research Network

Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University. Professor Lepech’s research focuses on the integration of sustainability indicators into engineering design, ranging from materials design, structural design, system design, to operations management. Such sustainability indicators include a comprehensive set of environmental, economic, and social costs. Recently his research has focused on the design of sustainable high-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites (HPFRCCs) and fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs), the impacts of sustainable materials on building and infrastructure design and operation, and the development of new life cycle assessment (LCA) applications for building systems, transportation systems, water systems, consumer products. Along with this, he is studying the effects that slowly diffusing sustainable civil engineering innovations, and the social networks they diffuse through can have on achieving long-term sustainability goals.

Dr. hab. Danuta Zawadzka is the associate professor, the rector of the Koszalin University of Technology, and the head of the Department of Finance at the Faculty of Economic Sciences. In the years 2012 – 2020 she was the Vice-Rector for Education at the Koszalin University of Technology and chaired the University Council for Education Quality. In the years 2002 – 2012 she was the coordinator of the Socrates – Erasmus Program (currently LLP – Erasmus Departamental Coordinator). She was a member of the Quality Committee, and currently she is the chairwoman of the Program Council in the field of Finance and Accounting.

Michał Banaszak graduated in 1985 with a degree in physics from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan. He received his PhD degree in Physics, under the guidance of Professor Mark Whitmore in 1991 from Memorial University in St. John’s, Canada, specializing in polymer physics and went on to work as postdoctoral fellow with Professor Maciej Radosz in Exxon Research & Engineering Co. in Annandale, USA, from 1992 to 1995 on the theory and modeling of polymer solutions. From 1995 to 1997 he worked as a research associate with Professor Julian Clarke at the Chemistry Department of UMIST in Manchester, UK, specializing in large-scale computer simulations of ionic copolymers. In 1997, he joined the associate faculty of the Adam Mickiewicz University, obtaining a DSc degree in Physics in 2004 with a specialty in soft matter and computer simulations. He is currently a Professor and Head of the High Pressure Physics Division of the Faculty of Physics and Professor of the NanoBioMedical Centre at Adam Mickiewicz University. His main interests are in developing new models and theories for nanoscale self-assembly of various copolymer systems. He also works with experimentalists in order to verify computational predictions and develop novel efficient algorithms and codes.

A graduate of the Faculty of Automatic Control and Computer Science at the Silesian University of Technology, Doctor of Economic Sciences in the Management Science Discipline of the University of Szczecin.
Manager with many-year experience in managing enterprises and large projects in the telecommunications and cybersecurity industry. Expert in the field of modern technologies and management. Author of a number of scientific publications in the field of development strategies, companies management and shaping the value of companies.
Long-term head of key institutions responsible for cybersecurity and technological development in Poland, including the Scientific and Academic Computer Network (NASK) and the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR). At the time he was in charge of this agency, the NCBR was granted the European Commission award for the best institution in the EU implementing orders for innovation.
Expert in the field of modern technologies and management. Author of a number of scientific publications in the field of development strategies, companies management and shaping the value of companies. For the last few years, he has been involved in introducing modern and innovative solutions connecting the world of science and business in the Polish and European markets.
Currently, he is the President of Inseqr sp. z o.o.

Dr, Adam B. Czyżewski has been the chief economist at PKN ORLEN S.A. since 2007. He specializes in
the energy transition driven by economic policies and revolutionary innovations. He shares its expert
knowledge by publishing articles and substantive reports. Previously, he headed economic research
and forecasts at the National Bank of Poland, was a macroeconomist at the World Bank and a
researcher at the University of Lodz and the Polish Academy of Sciences. He graduated in
econometrics (PhD) at the University of Lodz, Poland and at Stanford University in the USA. He is the
author of over 50 scientific articles and publications and co-author of several books.

He gained over fifteen years of experience in management in research units and in the public and private sector. He held managerial positions at the University of Wrocław, KGHM Cuprum and IBM. He worked at the Łukasiewicz – PORT from 2018 to Febueary 2023 as the managing director of the company.
He holds a Ph.D. in humanities and an MBA from Franklin University in the USA. He also completed an internship in the area of managing scientific organisations at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

Arkadiusz Mężyk Rector, Silesian University of Technology; President, CRASP
Paul Marca Principal, Parallax Global Advisors, LLC
Lech Grzesiak Dean, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology
Agnieszka Filipiak-Florkiewicz Vice Rector for Science, University of Agriculture in Krakow
Tomasz Głowacki PhD, Head of Data Science at Żabka Polska
Robert Hryniewicz Director of Product Marketing, Cloudera

Rector, Silesian University of Technology; President, CRASP. Rector of the Silesian University of Technology in years 2016-2020 and 2020-2024, dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Technological in the years 2012-2016. Graduated in mechanics and mechanical engineering at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Silesian University of Technology in 1987. In 1994, he defended with honors a doctoral dissertation in the discipline of construction and operation of machines, and a dissertation habilitation, also with honors, in 2002. In 2007, the President of the Republic of Poland gave him the title of professor in the field of technical sciences. Prof.  Arkadiusz Mężyk PhD. Eng. is an outstanding specialist in many areas – from issues dynamic mechanics of continuous media, through the use of numerical methods in the analysis stereomechanical machine structures, including hybrid vehicles, to construction high-speed military vehicles.

Mr. Paul Marca is Principal at Parallax Global Advisors, LLC a firm which provides strategic consulting for those seeking to leverage education to make an impact in the workforce. As former Associate Vice Provost at Stanford University, Paul was responsible for an extensive industry education portfolio of hundreds of courses annually. He has been instrumental in extending Stanford’s impact internationally including developing programs in Singapore, China, India, Korea, Malaysia, Brazil, Thailand, the Middle East and in numerous other countries. He has been a keynote speaker around the globe on the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship as well as the role technology is playing in redefining education and employment in the workplace.

As the leader of Parallax Global Advisors, Paul provides strategic advice to universities, corporations and governmental organizations on how to develop and extend education as a means to sustain organizational vitality and innovation. His keynotes and workshops have focused on connecting innovation, strategy and education. Paul is a co-founder of the DT.School, a Hong Kiong based organization providing world-class education to the globe. He also serves as an advisor to numerous companies including the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, Eightfold.AI, Youtopian World, Leadernomics, Draper University, Apollidon and Cahoot Learning.  He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees for the American University of Phnom Penh. Paul has B.A. in Communication, with emphasis in Television & Film production, from Stanford University.

Lech M. Grzesiak (Senior Member, IEEE) received the M.Sc., Ph.D., and D.Sc. degrees in electrical engineering from the Warsaw University of Technology (WUT), Warsaw, Poland, in 1976, 1985, and 2002, respectively. In 1977, he joined WUT, where he is currently a Full Professor and holds the position of the Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering. His research interests include applications of artificial intelligence in control systems, generally dedicated to adjustable-speed drives, servo drives, power electronic converters, and electrical energy generating systems.

Professor Agnieszka Filipiak-Florkiewicz, PhD, is an engineer, food technologist and human nutritionist. She is a professor of agricultural sciences at the Hugo Kołłątaj Agricultural University in Kraków (affiliated with the university since 1997) and its vice-rector since 2020. She graduated in 1997 with a degree in food technology and human nutrition from the University of Agriculture in Cracow. She received her doctorate in 2001 at her alma mater. She received her postdoctoral degree in 2011 at the same university, and her professorship in 2019. From 2012 to 2016, she served as vice dean of the Faculty of Food Technology, while from 2016 to 2020 she was dean of the faculty. Her research includes functional foods and evaluation of health-promoting compounds in vegetables. She has held two scientific internships at the Universität für Bodenkultur in Vienna, and study visits to Paris, Lviv, Nitra, Plovdiv, among others. She has published more than 180 papers, including more than 60 original creative works. Agnieszka Filipiak-Florkiewicz is a member of the Committee on Food and Nutrition Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Polish Society of Food Technologists and the Polish Society of Nutritional Sciences. In 2019, she was awarded the Medal of the Commission of National Education.

Tomasz Głowacki, PhD, Head of Data Science at Żabka Polska, where he is responsible for data science and machine learning strategy. He also implements the above strategy, being responsible for many products and projects, as well as internal Data Science and Machine-Learning Operations teams and many vendors. Since 2014, he has been affiliated with WSB Merito University in Poznan (formerly Wyższa Szkoła Bankowa), where he conducts interdisciplinary research on mathematical and computer methods for solving problems of modern biology.

 

He is the author or co-author of 16 peer-reviewed scientific articles. He has published in such journals as Nature, Discrete Applied Mathematics and Journal of Biomedical Informatics.  Tomasz Glowacki has 14 years of professional experience in the IT industry, gained at companies such as Accenture, BAE Systems Applied Intelligence, Procter & Gamble and Analyx. He has worked as a system analyst, technical manager, product owner and Scrum Master, among others. The results of research and development work in which Tomasz Glowacki has participated have been commercialized in more than twenty implementations and several business applications.

 

Dr. Eng. Glowacki completed a doctoral internship at the European Bioinformatics Institute in Cambridge, UK. He is a winner of the government’s TOP 500 Innovators program, which included a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California in the United States. He is a winner of a scholarship program for doctoral students implemented under the European Social Fund program of the European Union. In 2015, he received the main prize for his doctoral thesis in a Competition organized by the City of Poznań.

Robert is the Director of Product Marketing at Cloudera driving messaging and technical content on the Enterprise Data Cloud (EDC) and the integrated data lifecycle. Prior to Cloudera, Robert was an AI evangelist at Hortonworks, CTO at Authentise (a 3D printing security & analytics startup at Singularity Labs), Software Engineer at Cisco, NASA et al. Robert’s graduate work at Case Western Reserve University focused on AI & robotics, including early work on autonomous vehicles. He is a frequent speaker at enterprise data conferences.

Michał Kosiński Associate Professor, Stanford Graduate School of Business
Ghazal Izadi Vice-President, Geothermic Solution
Marek Pawełczyk Head, Department of Measurements and Control Systems, Vice-Rector for Science and Development, Silesian University of Technology
Grzegorz Grabiec Head of US-Poland Investments & Initiatives at US-Polish Trade Council; Major Incident Manager at Sopra Steria
Anna Budzanowska University of Silesia, Ministry of Education and Science, Champion ESOF European City of Science Katowice 2024
Marek Kisiel-Dorohinicki Director, Computer Science, AGH University of Science and Technology

Associate Professor in Organizational Behavior at Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He studies humans in a digital environment using cutting-edge computational methods, AI and Big Data. He has co-authored Modern Psychometrics, a popular textbook, and published over 90 peer-reviewed papers in leading journals including Nature Scientific Reports, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Psychological Science, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JPSP), and Machine Learning, that have been cited over 14,000 times. His research inspired a cover of The Economist, a 2014 theatre play “Privacy”, multiple TED talks, a video game, and was discussed in thousands of books, press articles, podcasts, and documentaries.

 

Michał was behind the first press article warning against Cambridge Analytica, research warning against the privacy risks that they have exploited, and research examining the efficiency of the methods they used.

 

Michał Kosiński holds a doctorate in psychology from the University of Cambridge and master’s degrees in psychometrics and in social psychology. He was the Deputy Director of the University of Cambridge Psychometrics Centre, a researcher at Microsoft Research, and a post-doctoral scholar at Stanford’s Computer Science Department.

Ghazal Izadi lead and manage the Geoscience & Petroleum Engineering team from a discipline and business perspective. Advise customers on specific solutions to drive improved outcomes in well construction as well as field production and recovery. Provide subsurface related advice and input to multi-disciplinary projects, from exploration through discovery and appraisal to field development and production.

Marek Pawelczyk obtained his M.Sc. in 1995, Ph.D. in 1999, D.Sc. (habilitation) in 2005, and the scientific title of professor in 2014. He is currently a Full Titular Professor at the Silesian University of Technology. He also gained professional experience at a number of universities in Germany, UK, and Denmark.

He is an author of 3 books on active control, about 150 journal and proceeding papers, 10 user’s manuals, co-author of three academic textbooks and co-author of 5 patent applications. He has served about 600 times as a reviewer for several international journals, book publishers, international conferences, and grants. He reviewed 11 Ph.D. theses (in Poland, Australia, India, Sweden, Spain) and 2 D.Sc. theses. He also closely cooperates with international industrial companies. He is a co-author of several projects including: ultrasonic monitoring of petroleum fractions; supervisory systems localizations; safety monitoring in copper mines by analysis of acoustic and vibration responses; active personal hearing protections systems; active noise control in industrial halls; active control of machinery and device noise; noise reduction in large-scale HVAC systems; active noise control in headrests; semi-active control of vehicle suspension; control of electromagnetic mills. Many of his project results are commercially available.

For his research he has received many prizes from domestic and international organizations, including: Medal for the Best Silesian University of Technology graduate; Foundation for Polish Science Award for Young Scientists; British Council Fellowship; FIAT Award for the Best Ph.D. Thesis; Individual and Group Awards of the Ministry of National Education for Scientific Achievements; Award of the Technical Sciences Department of the Polish Academy of Sciences for the Best D.Sc. Thesis in Computer Science; SIEMENS Scientific Award; and 11 Awards of the Rector of the Silesian University of Technology.

In 2007-2011 he was the Vice-President, and then in 2012-2014 the President of the International Institute of Acoustics and Vibration.

Jak nadal za dużo to możemy jeszcze to wyciąć

Gregory Grabiec is a consultative problem solver with a creative, analytical and agile mind. He has a 25-year career managing global projects of $300,000,000+ for corporations, foundations, NGOs, and high-net-worth clients.

His expertise is in creating bespoke strategic and operational solutions to drive market impact for the transportation, logistics, healthcare, biotech, non-profit, financial and IT sectors in both the United States and Europe.

For the past 12 years, Gregory has focused on integrating business paradigms between US and Polish markets through consulting, coaching and engaging with innovative companies. Most recently, he is enabling IT/ICT projects between Poland and Silicon Valley with startup endeavors.

Gregory holds a BA in Biology (& Minor in Chemistry) and MBA in Finance from the University of Houston, and a Masters of International Management (MIM) degree from Thunderbird School of Global Management in Phoenix, AZ, where he was a Presidential Scholar.

Gregory serves as Head of US-Poland Investments and Initiatives at the US-Polish Trade Council (USPTC) where he is a member of the Board of Directors in Silicon Valley.

He is also a Founding Member of the Center for Economic and Technological Analysis in Poland. Gregory strives to convey a personal touch in all his endeavors.

Currently, Gregory is engaged as a dedicated Incident Manager for Sopra Steria’s global client, the largest RORO shipping magnate in the world.

Since the beginning of her professional career, she has worked in public institutions at the government level. She gained professional experience in the field of higher education system as Director General of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in 2016-2019 and then as Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in 2019-2021 during which she was responsible for the strategy of implementation of structural reform in cooperation with higher education institutions, student and doctoral organization in the framework of National Congress of Science 2016-2020. Co-author of the model of doctoral schools and the Research University – Excellence Initiative.

Champion of ESOF 2024 – EuroScience Open Forum and Plenipotentiary for European Science City Katowice 2024.

Research profiles: political doctrines and philosophy of law, public policies, and political systems.

In the field of political doctrines: French political thought with interest on the doctrine of eighteenth-century – French women’s free-thinkers as ancestors of the feminist movement in philosophical, political and social terms.

In the public policymaking: the deliberative processes, climate change and governance in higher education and science, of academic institutions, university systems, with reference to the European University Initiative (EUI), university councils and academic freedom.

Author of books on French political thought and numerous scientific articles published in Polish and international scientific journals.

Member of the Council of the Polish-American Fulbright Commission (2018-2021).

Winner of the Pro Juvenes award of the Parliament of Students of the Republic of Poland in the category – friend of student self-government. Scholarship holder of the French government.

Marek Kisiel-Dorohinicki, Ph.D., professor at AGH, director of the Institute of Computer Science. He is an academic teacher, computer engineer and researcher associated with the Stanislaw Staszic Academy of Mining and Metallurgy in Krakow for more than 20 years. He received his doctorate and habilitation in the area of computational intelligence applications. He is the author of more than 150 scientific publications on the borderline of artificial intelligence and software engineering. Actively collaborates with industry.

Marek Kisiel-Dorohinicki is the founder and head of the Forensic Software Lab and the Center for Cyber Security at AGH. Manager of many research and development projects, the results of which have found real application in the work of a number of institutions related to public security. Honored with Polish decorations: Medal of the Commission of National Education, Silver Medal for Meritorious Service to the Police and Gold Cross of Merit.

Luke Kowalski Vice President, Oracle
Michał Kurtyka 2018-2021 Minister of Climate and Environment of Poland, President COP XXIV - 2018
Rafał Stroiński Managing Partner, B2RLaw
Joanna Jaworek-Korjakowska Associate professor, AGH University of Science and Technology
Michał Łakomski Director of the Digitization and Cybersecurity, Mayor’s Proxy for Smart, City of PoznanCity
Magdalena Diering Assistant Professor, Poznan University of Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

Vice President, Oracle. Luke Kowalski is recognized for his loyalty and pragmatism, but he also excels in his ability to work across disciplines. He has executed projects involving legal issues (antitrust, IP, audits, litigation), acquisitions (due diligence, integration, or divestitures), technical standards (document formats), government affairs (EU/USA trade, IP reform, repatriation), and even managed functions like physical security, user interface design and accessibility. He currently serves as a VP in the corporate architecture group at Oracle reporting to one of Larry Ellison’s EVPs. Before coming to Oracle, he worked for various startups in technical, design, and business roles, as well as for Netscape’s Server and E-commerce divisions. He holds several patents and professional certifications, serves as an ISO representative for the US through ANSI, and lectures frequently at conferences and universities. His educational background includes advanced degrees from UTA, Pratt Institute, and Columbia University. He is currently teaching a blockchain challenge lab at UC Berkeley’s Engineering School on Mondays and pursuing a distance learning PhD at the University of Leicester in his free time.

Michał Kurtyka was the Minister of Climate and Environment of Poland in 2018-2021. In April 2018, he was appointed as Government Plenipotentiary for the Presidency of COP24 – the United Nations Climate Summit in Poland. In December 2018, he became the COP24 President, which ended with a success. At the 24th UN climate summit, the international community agreed on the Katowice Rulebook, implementing the Paris Agreement. He is a graduate of the prestigious Parisian École Polytechnique and a scholarship holder in the field of quantum optics of the National Institute of Standards and Technologies, located near Washington, D.C., where he worked under the leadership of Nobel laureate in physics William D. Phillips. During the course of his studies, he also specialised in economics, with particular focus on market organisation, studying under Professor Jean Tirole, the 2014 Nobel laureate in economics. In the field of international economics, he studied at the University in Louvain-la-Neuve and he acquired his master’s degree at the SGH Warsaw School of Economics. He defended his doctoral dissertation at the University of Warsaw. He was a lecturer in the field of change management, economics, market organization and industrial strategy at the University of Warsaw, the Collegium Civitas and the Oxford Programme On Modern Poland. He is a co-author of the concept of implementation of effective changes in an enterprise, described in the book Change Management. From Strategy to Action, as well as the author of the book From Restructuring to Modernisation. Delayed Transformation of the Polish Power Sector in 1990–2009. He began his professional career in the Office of the Committee for European Integration, in the team of Minister Jan Kułakowski – responsible for conducting accession negotiations with the European Union – where he led the analytical team and was directly responsible for the field of energy and transport. Later, he oversaw the modernisation of many Polish companies by supporting them in adapting to the challenges of the European and global markets. He was a promoter of European cooperation in the area of industrial change and adjustment of the European industry to the challenges of globalisation at, among others, the European University of Labour and the Dublin Foundation.

Rafał Stroiński is an advocate registered with the District Bar Association in Warsaw and a US-qualified attorney admitted in the state of New York. He holds an LL.M. degree from Harvard Law School and a Ph.D. in Law from the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Warsaw. He was also a Fulbright Commission and Polish Science Foundation Visiting Scholar at Stanford Law School. Rafał is one of the three founding and senior partners of B2RLaw. He has over twenty years of experience in the practice of law.

Prior to establishing B2R legacy firm JS Legal, for several years he was a partner at the Warsaw office of a leading international law firm where he set up and managed the capital markets practice and was one of the leaders of the private equity practice. Rafał has held positions on various Supervisory Boards (including Vice Chairman of PFRVentures, the largest Polish fund of funds (2016-2018)), and is a founding and board member of the Harvard Club of Poland.

Joanna Jaworek-Korjakowska received her MSc in computer science and PhD in biocybernetics and biomedical engineering from the AGH-UST, Krakow, Poland in 2010 and 2013, respectively. In 2019 she obtained Habilitation in the field of technical sciences with emphasis in artificial intelligence. Currently, she is working as an associate professor at the Department of Automatic Control and Robotics. She is a member of IEEE, Polish Artificial Intelligence Society, and International Dermoscopy Society as well as an alumnus of the TOP 500 Innovator programme at Stanford University, USA. She is a laureate of the Top 500 Innovators scholarship sponsored by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education at Stanford University. She has been involved in several national and international research projects including NCN and DAAD. Her main research interests focus on image processing and analysis, statistical analysis, artificial intelligence especially deep learning methods, and machine learning solutions. She is an author and co-author of over 70 publications with IF 24. J. Jaworek has been awarded MNiSW Scholarships for outstanding young scienticts 2017-2020, Individual award from the AGH-UST Rector for scientific achievements 2017-2019, and Honorable Mention Award during the CVPR’19 conference (ISIC workshop).

Michal Lakomski is the Mayor’s Proxy for Smart City and the Director of Digitalization and Cybersecurity for the city of Poznan. A graduate of the Poznan University and a respected smart city expert. Michal has been the driving force behind Poznan’s digital transformation since 2017. Responsible for the implementation of innovative systems and e-services for both the residents of Poznan and the employees of Poznan City Hall. Michal is a champion of innovation with a keen interest in open data and new technologies. He is a regular speaker at national and international conferences.

Her main research interests are quality engineering and measurement system analysis. She is a trainer in SixSigma. Her professional interests also include project management, science commercialization and quality of education. She is an expert for the European Commission and a reviewer in several journals in the field of mechanical engineering. She has extensive experience in organizational, scientific and structural project management. Currently (2022-2023) she manages R&D projects with a total value of over PLN 10 million. She works in multidisciplinary, international teams and at work she promotes a culture of teamwork, design thinking and innovation. She is a coordinator and a member of the Steering Committee of the international conferences – MANUFACTURING and ICIE. She is a graduate of the Top 500 Innovators program at Stanford University (2012). She was a coordinator of the US-Poland Innovation HUB program, USPTC (2012-2017). Associated with the US-Polish Trade Council since 2012.

Cezary Mazurek, PhD Director of Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center (PSNC) affiliated to the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences in Poznan, Poland.
PhD. DSc. Eng. Paweł Malinowski Associate professor AGH University of Krakow
Renata Piechocka SR HR Manager, Egnyte
Paweł Morkisz Deep Learning Algorithms Manager, NVIDIA
Linda Anh Nguyen, MD Clinical Professor of Medicine and Vice Chief of Clinical Operations, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Stanford University School of Medicine
Mariusz Tomaka President, US-Polish Trade Council, Poland

For over 25 years of professional activity at PSNC, Cezary has been involved in building Polish eInfrastructure. He has participated in many national and international research and development projects, focused on advancing technologies and services as well as fostering the digital transformation of science, industry and society. In his R&D activity, Cezary is mainly focused on integrating a variety of specialized software components into consistent systems for scientific experiments and end-user network services. His scientific interests are focused on big data analysis in the model of digital twins.

 

He launched in 2016 the operations of HPC4Poland Digital Innovation Hub at PSNC with the focus on deployment of services based on High Performance Computing technologies for Polish enterprises in leading industries.

 

Author or co-author of over 100 papers in professional journals and conference proceedings. Currently, the member of GÉANT Program Planning Committee. Since 2020 he is the President of Wielkopolska ICT Cluster.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cezarymazurek/

Associate professor in Department of Foundry Processes Engineering, Faculty of Foundry Engineering, AGH University of Krakow. His main research interests are optimization production process using Machine Learning and Deep Learning, design dedicated AI systems for industry. Inventor of SimulationDB system for collecting and optimizing production process using simulation software – Magmasoft implemented in Alstom Power – Poland, Kimura Foundry – Japan. Project associated at CERN – European Organization for Nuclear Research, Geneva, Switzerland. International Exkursion TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany. Manager of 3 European projects, included KIC Raw-Materials. Awards: Statuette of Innovation Ambassador 2015 – XXIII Inventions Exchange, Warsaw, (2016), Minister of Science and Higher Education, Vice-President of the Council of Ministers Jarosław Gowin, (2016), Silver medal at Kaohsiung International Invention & Design EXPO “KIDE 2015”, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, (2015), Special award granted by International Intellectual Property Networking Forum (IIPNF) na Kaohsiung International Invention & Design EXPO “KIDE 2015”, Kaohsiung, Tajwan, (2015), The “Innovation of the Year Double Gold” statuette at the British Inventiveness Fair “BIS 2015” in the category “INDUSTRIAL”, London, Great Britain, (2015), Gold medal at the British Inventiveness Fair “BIS 2015” in the category „INDUSTRIAL”, London, Great Britain, (2015), Silver medal at the 17th Moscow Salon of Inventions and Innovative Technologies – „ARCHIMEDES 2014”, Moscow, Russia, (2014), Distinction by „Association Russian House for International Scientific and Technological Cooperation, Seoul, South Korea, (2014), Bronze medal at the International Invention Fair – “SIIF 2014 – Seoul International Invention Fair”, Seoul, South Korea, (2014), Minister of Science and Higher Education, Prof. Barbara Kudrycka for the project “Casting method using casting process simulation, casting system using casting process simulation and database”, (2013), Silver medal at the 61st International Fair of Inventiveness, Scientific Research and New Techniques – „Brussels Innova 2012”, Brussels, Belgium, (2012), AGH Rector’s Awards (2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2020, 2022).

Renata Piechocka works with Egynte’s HQ in the US, HR department, and members of the board every day. Her main responsibilities include the development and implementation of personnel policies in the company’s office in Poznań. Among the processes, HR such as recruitment, onboarding, compensation reviews, performance reviews, career paths, succession plans, development plans, change management, and crisis management, the most important thing for her is to maintain satisfaction and engagement so that retention levels are good.

Previously Renata Piechocka worked for Żabka Polska from 2012 to 2022. As HR Business Partner she supported the departments: IT, Digital (which created the zaapka application), Business Analysis (Data Science & Data Engineering), Finance, Legal, and PMO. In the last year of her employment, she co-founded the SSC. The last project she managed was: Żabka anytime anywhere – the implementation of a hybrid work model at HQ in Poznań (there are about 1200 people working in this office).

Renata Piechocka is a graduate of psychology (UAM) and economics (WSB Poznań). In 2018 she obtained a mentor certificate and in 2022 she completed postgraduate studies at ALK in Warsaw – Professional Coaching.

Assistant professor at the AGH Department of Applied Mathematics, an expert in computational methods and deep machine learning, researcher, and manager. He transfers theoretical concepts from computational mathematics to practical applications. The most significant results of his scientific research concern applying artificial intelligence methods to practical problems and the numerical approximation of stochastic differential equations, which was the topic of his Ph.D. in Mathematics.

Currently, as Senior Deep Learning Algorithms Manager, he leads a team at NVIDIA responsible for the research and development of deep learning methods and their optimization, including LLM, GenAI, time-series, and Graph Neural Networks.

Dr. Linda Nguyen is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at Stanford University and Clinic Chief in the Digestive Health Center. Dr. Nguyen completed medical school at UCLA School of Medicine and GI fellowship training at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, CA.

Her clinical and research interests include GI motility disorders and disorders of gut brain interaction, with an emphasis on gastroparesis, functional dyspepsia and chronic abdominal pain. She was a member of the NIH/NIDDK Gastroparesis Clinical Research Consortium from 2007-2016. Her current research includes identifying biomarkers to better diagnose motility disorders, understanding the role/impact of physiologic testing on clinical care and exploring novel therapies for treatment of motility disorders. She is especially interested in developing cross disciplinary collaborations to expand the role of bioelectric medicine in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic digestive disorders. She is also passionate about quality of life, professional development and physician wellness.

 

Dr. Nguyen has served on and chaired numerous Abstract Review Committees and two ad-hoc committees for the National Academy of Science (IOM). She currently serves as a member of the American Gastroenterology Association Research Awards Panel and Councilor for the AGA Neurogastrenterology and Motility section and American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society (ANMS) Council and Chair of the Membership, Mentoring, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Mariusz Tomaka is active as organizer, co-founder, and CEO of innovative electronic and software companies in Poland focused on local and international markets. He specializes in building and running innovative companies – startups and medium size companies– focused on international markets and leading teams of engineers and managers to achieve challenging technology and business objectives. Prior to current activities at TRITEM (the guru company in Industrial Digital Twin and automated testing for critical systems) and EUVIC he worked as  CEO (PL) for DisplayLink in Poland and VP in Cambridge UK, at Neubloc,LLC  board adviser – share holder at ABF. Mariusz is a President of US-Polish Trade Council in Poland and extended board member in USA, Silicon Valley, Mariusz is Vice-president of OG at  Polish Information Processing Society.

Krzysztof Dyczkowski Associate professor, Dean of Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań
Vitalii Naumov Associate Professor, Cracow University of Technology
Dominik Schmidt President,Translarity
Marcin Seniuk Director of Startups Development Department at Polish Agency for Enterprise Development
Alojzy Nowak Rector, Warsaw University
Marcin Krupa President, Katowice

His main research interests are computational intelligence methods in decision making, computer vision, and natural language modeling. Co-author of an intelligent decision system supporting the diagnosis of ovarian cancer – OvaExpert. Currently actively involved in cooperation with a football club Lech Poznań on sports data analysis. He received Microsoft Research Azure Award (2015) and IBM Faculty Award (2010). Senior Member of IEEE Computational Intelligence Society and European Society for Fuzzy Logic and Tech­nology (EUSFLAT). Vice President of Polish Fuzzy Sets Society (POLFUZZ). He has many years of experience in IT project management. Co-founder and longtime CEO of an IT company producing and implementing an ERP class system. He is a graduate of the Top 500 Innovators program at Stanford University (2012). He was a co-organizer of US-Poland Innovation HUB.

Vitalii is a professor of the Transport Systems Department at Cracow University of Technology. He obtained his master’s degree in Transportation Management at Kharkiv National Automobile and Highway University in 2003, master’s degree in Software Engineering at Kharkiv National University of Radio and Electronics in 2012, Master’s Degree in Applied Computer Science at Jagiellonian University in 2019. In 2006 he defended his doctoral dissertation “Shaping fleet structure under conditions of stochastic demand for transport services”. He participated in numerous international scholar programs, in 2010/2011 he was a grantee of the Lane Kirkland Scholarship Program of the Polish-American Freedom Foundation and Fulbright Commission, and in 2014/2015 he was a visiting researcher in Duisburg-Essen University as a scholar of German Academic Exchange Service. Since 2005, data analysis is one of the main directions of his studies: he uses data mining techniques and artificial intelligence methods for his research in the field of logistics and transportation. Vitalii is an author of more than 160 scientific publications, including 3 books on information technologies in transport and logistics. He teaches mathematical statistics and applied mathematics for master students, and artificial intelligence methods and techniques of simulation for doctoral students at Krakow University of Technology and Dnipro University of Technology.

Dr. Schmidt heads QVT’s Palo Alto office. He focuses primarily on technological investments. Prior to joining QVT in May 2013, Dr. Schmidt was employed by Intel Corporation as Senior Director of Wireless Engineering from 2004 to 2010 and as Chief Technology Officer in the Intel Foundry from 2010 to 2013. Between 2000 and 2004, Dr. Schmidt co-founded and was the Chief Executive Officer of Airify Communications Corporation, a wireless multi-protocol semiconductor company, which was sold to Intel in August 2004. Prior to that he also co-founded Pixel Devices International, a CMOS imaging company, in 1997, which was sold to Agilent in 2002 and served as Vice President of Technology there until 1999. In addition, Dr. Schmidt has worked at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center/Argonne National Labs (from 1999 to 2004) and at Altera Corporation (as a Senior Engineer from 1989 to 1997). He has taught at U.C. Berkeley, Tsinghua University in Beijing and the International Technological University and written more than 70 technical papers and has over 90 patents. Dr. Schmidt earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering/Materials Science from U.C., Berkeley in 1989, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1995, an M.S. Management in 1998, a Ph.D. minor in Aeronautical Engineering, in 1999 and a Ph.D., Electrical Engineering in 2003 all from Stanford University.

Graduated from the Collegium Civitas (Warsaw) in 2003 with MA degree in International Relations and University of Warsaw in 2009 in Evaluation of EU projects. For several years professionally related with European funds programs for entrepreneurs and local governments. At Polish Agency for Enterprise Development has been co-creating and implementing enterprise support instruments based on new products and cooperation with innovation centers creating the national startup ecosystem since 2008.

 

Currently participates in the creation of startups support programs under the 2021-2027 EU cohesion funds.

Prof. Alojzy Z. Nowak graduated from the SGH Warsaw School of Economics in 1984. He is affiliated to UW as of 1984.

In 1991, he earned his doctoral degree in Economic Sciences at the University of Warsaw. He received tenure in Economic Sciences in 1995 there. Between 1996 and 2002, he held the position of an associate professor. By the decision of Poland’s President, he received professor degree in 2002.

 

Prof. Alojzy Z. Nowak has held a variety of leadership roles including Head of the Academic Subunit for International Economics and the Academic Unit for Economics at the Faculty of Management, Director of European Center. In years 1999-2006, Prof. Nowak was Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Management, and in 2006-2012 Dean of this unit. Next four years, he spent at UW working as Vice-Rector in charge of research and cooperation. In 2016, he was elected as Dean of the Faculty of Management. During his academic career, he was delivering lectures at universities in France, UK, USA, Russia, China and Korea.

 

He also studied at the University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign (USA), the University of Exeter (UK), in Antwerp and the Free University of Berlin (Germany).

 

As of 2018, Prof. Alojzy Z. Nowak chairs the Academic Sports Association (Akademicki Związek Sportowy, AZS) – a mass students’ sport organisation, one of the biggest sports associations in Poland.

A graduate of the Faculty of Transport of the Silesian University of Technology (doctoral dissertation in the field of Machine Construction and Operation). He worked as an assistant professor at the same university. He also completed postgraduate studies in Organization Management. Mr. Krupa is a tax expert for means of car transport and Vice-Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Koleje Śląskie. In the years 2006–2010 he was a councilor of the Katowice City Council, and in 2010–2014 he was the deputy mayor of Katowice. In 2014, he announced his election program – “Agreement with the inhabitants of Katowice”, and was elected the president of Katowice. In 2018, after winning the first round of the elections, he was re-elected to the office of president. He was the Plenipotentiary for the creation of a metropolitan union in the Silesian Voivodeship, with statutory rights to prepare the organizational and legal union. He is a member of the board of the Union of Communes and Poviats of the Central Subregion of the Silesian Voivodeship and the co-chairman of the team for infrastructure, local development, regional policy and the environment at the Joint Government and Local Government Committee of which he is a member.

Karolina Nowak Director, Innovation and Biotechnology Development, Medical Research Agency.
Sally Shepard Chief Human Resources Officer, Exponent
Paweł Śniatała Vice-Rector, Poznan University of Technology; EUNICE project leader
Zbigniew Nawrat Professor, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice
Paweł Poszytek, PhD, DSc General Director FRSE, National Agency of the Erasmus + Program and the European Solidarity Corps
Sabina Ratajczak Vice-Rector, Director, Center for Quality and Innovation, WSB University

She was a visiting scientist at Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She received a prestigious scholarship at Stanford University and did an Internship at Stanford Biomaterials and Advanced Drug Delivery Laboratory. Doctor Nowak is a graduate of Executive MBA at ESG University of Quebec at Montreal and SGH She is a patent inventor of new pharmaceutical drug formulation dedicated for patients with alveolar osteitis.

Ms. Shepard rejoined Exponent, Inc. in September of 2014 as Vice President Human Resources and was promoted to Chief Human Resources Officer in 2017. From 2012 to 2014, she served as Vice President Human Resources at 41st Parameter, a Division of Experian.

From 2002 to 2009 Ms. Shepard served as Vice President Human Resources at CoWare, Inc. which was acquired by Synopsys. From 2000 to 2001 Ms. Shepard served as Vice President Human Resources at Lutris Technologies. She also provided Human Resources consulting services for a variety of companies across the Bay Area between roles. From 1981 to 1999 Ms. Shepard held a variety of roles at Exponent joining originally as an Engineering Intern and continuing into roles as Managing Engineer, Business Manager, Director of Human Resources and Information Technology and Vice President of Corporate Human Resources. Ms. Shepard holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.

Prof. PUT, PhD, DSc Paweł Śniatała Vice-Rector of Poznan University of Technology for International Relations (2020-2024) and the Coordinator for EUNICE European University project (https://eunice-university.eu/ ). He received the M.S. degree in Telecommunication, M.S. degree in Computer Science and Ph.D. degree in Microelectronics – all from Poznan University of Technology, Poland. He obtained the habilitation degree (D.Sc.) in electronics in 2016. From 1998 to 2002 he worked at the Department of Computer Engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology (USA). He returned to Poznan University of Technology to take a position at the Faculty of Computing. He holds a position of the Vice-Dean for Industrial Cooperation in the period 2016-2020. He has also graduated from the international MBA study in joint programme George State University and Poznan University of Economics. His area of interests focuses on VLSI circuits for digital and mixed analog-digital signal processing systems: Ultra-Low Power ASIC design, Implantable IC, Signal/Image processing hardware-software co-design, Hardware accelerators. However, following his computing science background, he is also involved in research projects related to the eHealth area and Cybersecurity issues. He was involved in several industrial projects e.g.: control and monitoring systems for gas mine systems, control systems for water treatment plant and teletechniques systems for airports. Currently he is involved in H2020 project CAPABLE – “CAncer PAtients Better Life Experience” (https://capable-project.eu/). He served in several international PhD and MS committees (Portugal, USA). He was a visiting professor in several universities outside Poland in: USA, Portugal, Peru, Taiwan. He is an author and co-author of over 100 papers including three monographs:

  • Śniatała P., „CMOS Current Mode ΣΔ Modulators”, Poznan Monographs in Computing and Its Applications, Poznań 2016;
  • Śniatała P., Amini, M. H., Boroojeni K. G. “Fundamentals of Brooks–Iyengar Distributed Sensing Algorithm; Trends, Advances, and Future Prospects”, Springer 2020.

Śniatała P., Iyengar S.S., Ramani S. K., „Evolution of Smart Sensing Ecosystems with Tamper Evident Security”, Springer 2021.

Professor, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice. Zbigniew Nawrat is a theoretical physicist, who devoted his professional life to advancing the field of medical robotics and artificial organs. He pioneered research in the artificial organs domain, especially heart valve prostheses and blood pumps (POLVAD), and created the Robin Heart surgical robot. He developed the application of computer simulation in surgical planning and founded the International Society for Medical Robotics and Bio-Cybernetics Laboratory.

Director General of the Foundation for the Development of the Education System, Director of the National Agency of the Erasmus+ Programme and the European Solidarity Corps. Member of advisory and consultative groups to the European Commission. Between 2005 and 2007 member of the board of EALTA, a European association for quality improvement in language proficiency testing.

 

Coordinator of the Country Profile project implemented by the Council of Europe. Since 2014, expert of the Horizon 2020 programme. Author of articles on management and language education published in Poland and abroad, including by renowned publishers such as Cambridge University Press, Multilingual Matters and MDPI. Author of the book The Competences 4.0 as Facilitators in the Realisation, Management and Sustainability of Erasmus+ Projects in the Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic, published in 2021. From 2016 to 2021 member of governmental Polish-Ukrainian Board of Youth Exchange. Member of the Scientific Council of the International Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies, USA. Member of the Working Group for Artificial Intelligence of the GovTech programme at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland. WorldSkills Poland Official Delegate and deputy chairman of the Mazovia Regional Council for Future Industry.

 

Doctorate in humanities in the discipline of linguistics in 2007 at the University of Warsaw and habilitation in social sciences in the discipline of management and quality in 2022 at the Silesian University of Technology.

 

Musician, composer, author and member of the Society of Authors ZAiKS.

Sabina Ratajczak has 15 years of experience as a trainer, teacher, and manager. She has a coaching certificate, Design Thinking moderator, and a license to conduct mental resistance tests with the MTQ48 test and conducted over 2,000 hours of training and workshop classes in the field of team building, leadership, interpersonal communication, coaching, Desing Thinking, and negotiations. In her career at WSB University, she performed the following functions: Head of the Academic Career Office, marketing manager, Vice-dean, Vice-Rector for Development, and director of the Center for Quality and Innovation. Sabina Ratajczak engages in the design of modern teaching programs, taking part in the process of their evaluation and further development, and actively supports the development of modern teaching methods at the university such as tutoring, problem-solving, PBL, and design thinking. As part of her job, she gained practical experience in conducting classes: coaching, Design Thinking, development of mental toughness, and building self-organizing teams.

Andrzej Nowak President, Council of Polish Eng. in N.A., Chair, CEE Dept. Auburn University
Jacek Chmielewski PhD, Associate Professor, Cracow University of Technology
John Townsend VP Technology, Policy Velodyne Lidar Inc.
Marek Garniewski President of the Management Board of ORLEN VC
Michał Bańka Assistant Professor at Warsaw University of Technology; Visiting Scholar at Stanford University
Prof. Wojciech Sumelka Full Professor, Vice-Rector for Research, Poznan University of Technology;

A graduate of the Warsaw University of Technology, in the United States since 1976, currently the dean of Civil Faculty Engineering at Auburn University. Before that, he was a professor at the University of Nebraska, University of Michigan and the State University of New York. His main scientific field is the theory of reliability and its applications. He made a fundamental contribution to the development of the American AASHTO bridge standard and ACI 318. Prof. Nowak is an honorary doctor of the Warsaw University of Technology, an honorary professor of the Cracow University of Technology, he received the title of professor from the hands of the President of the Republic of Poland. He is the president of the Polish Council Engineers in North America and was awarded the Officer’s Order of Polonia Restituta, Moisseiff Medal (American Society of Civil Engineers), Bene Merentibus Medal (Warsaw University of Technology), and Casimir Gzowski Medal (Canadian Society of Civil Engineering). Prof. Andrzej S. Nowak is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and Fellow of the American Concrete Institute. He is the supervisor of 41 doctoral students.

He is a Research Fellow at Auburn University, academic teacher, researcher in: transportation network planning, road safety improvement and implementation, bridge live load and fatigue analysis in the USA, Weigh-in-motion data processing and analysis, big data processing, SQL databases developer. He is a Bentley MicroStation user and application developer (MDL and VB.Net), and software developer: C++, Visual Studio, VBA, MATLAB. He prepared a few four-stage transport demand models in PTV VISUM, microsimulation in PTV VISSIM for cities and counties. He was involved in Florida, California, and Montana Department of Transportation research projects. Lots of professional projects for private companies and public sectors in the field of transport were prepared by him, mainly in the field of road safety improvement, road network planning, traffic prediction, and feasibility studies.

Former: VP of Technology and Policy. Responsible for communication and education regarding Lidar for Autonomous vehicle and ADAS. Engaging with government Concretional leaders and regulatory policies agencies both in US government, Europe, and China. Also, was an active member of the CAV Working Group, responsible for developing recommendations regarding autonomous vehicle policy in China. Velodyne is one of many members which also include GM, Ford, Tesla, Goodyear, Nvidia, etc. Ongoing projects, include development of the Smart City applications, University prototype development programs, Manage University collaboorations both in India and the US.  Security Programs using lidar vision systems bundled with machine learning, Military Programs,  Autonomous Maritime programs, Autonomous Trucking and smart trafic IOT.

Past projects have included a wide variety of technology and management skills including a (Full Ocean Depth Submarine Project) for Schmidt Ocean Foundation, Full ocean depth Autonomous Underwater Vehicle early stages research and development prototype build. Enabling’s programs for deep ocean mapping, Autonomous Sail drones, IOT, IMCI. Also, I was one of the founders of the Earth Air and Space Educational Foundation. I have work for Google, IBM, NASA, University Associates, Intel, Applied Materials, AMD

Manager associated with the capital market for more than a dozen years, he gained experience in
banks and investment funds. In ORLEN Capital Group involved in the area of Strategy and Innovation
and Investor Relations. Since 2021, responsible for the development and management of one of the
largest Corporate Venture Capital fund in CEE – ORLEN VC, investing in such areas as Energy, Circular
Economy, New Mobility, Advanced Materials, Future Retail, Digital and New generation of fuels.

Creator of the Polish start-up capital investment market. One of Poland’s most highly esteemed experts in cooperation between start-ups, accelerators, seed capital, venture capital funds and public institutions. His research focus on Open Innovation, commercialization of science and technology R&D activities, including the determinants of investments by commercial funding in innovative companies. Development of start-up projects; Start-up Accelerator, Corporate Accelerator, Venture capital investments.

Professor, Civil and Mechanical Engineering and Fellow at the Institute of Structural Analysis, Poznan University of Technology (PUT). He received M.Sc. degree in Civil Engineering, Ph.D. degree in Mechanics of Materials, and a habilitation degree (D.Sc.) in Mathematical Modelling of Multifield Phenomena – all at Poznan University of Technology. He received a full professor title from the President of Poland in 2021. His main fields of interest are constitutive modeling, non-local models, extreme dynamics, damage mechanics, and general theoretical mechanics. Author and co-author of 110+ papers in scientific journals, 1 monograph, 10+ chapters in monographs, 100+ conference proceedings, and co-Editor of 5 conference books of abstracts and handbooks; leader and main contractor in many scientific and R&D projects. He is also a co-author of 3 patents. Since 2016 he is a Head of Division of Computer Aided Design of PUT, and since 2020 he is a Vice-Rector for Research of PUT. Professor Sumelka is also an active member of many scientific and engineering associations, including nowadays the position of the President of the Polish Association for Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Chairman of the Board Łukasiewicz Research Network – Poznań Institute of Technology, and member of the Committee on Mechanics, Polish Academy of Science.

Małgorzata Tomaka Ph.D. Candidate, University of Silesia
Mariusz Jankowski Director, Investor Assistance Department, Katowice City Hall
Robert Barski PhD, Assistant Professor, Academia Jacob of Paradies in Gorzów Wielkopolski
Bartłomiej Grzelak Head, Scientific Department, KKS Lech Poznan
Marek Kozikowski, Ph.D. Director, XGS Energy
Julia Stroińska B2RLaw

Małgorzata Tomaka is a PHD Candidate at the doctoral school of the University of Silesia, preparing a dissertation in the field of intellectual property law. As a Junior Associate at B2R Law she provides day-to-day legal services to Polish and foreign companies in the areas of intellectual property law, labor law and commercial law. Since 2015, she has been an active member of US-Polish Trade Council.

A graduate of Inter – faculty Individual Studies in the Humanities at the University of Silesia in Katowice. An M.A. in Political Science and Sociology, a PhD Student. Currently a local government employee and a social activist. A distinguished advocate of downtown revitalization and the return to city centers. Before the EU accession referendum, he had worked at the Regional Center of European Information in Katowice. Following his studies in Germany, he was involved in the creation of the Silesian Metropolis at the office of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Association. A scholarship beneficiary of the “Carl Friedrich Goerdeler Kolleg für Good Government” Program, Robert Bosh Foundation. Mayor’s Representative in charge for Investors’ Service at Chorzów City Hall since 2015 and the Director of Investors Assistance Department at Katowice City Hall since 2019.

Since 2016 assistant professor at Jacob of Paradies University located in Gorzów Wielkopolski. Graduate TOP 500 Innovators Program of Ministry of Science and Higher Education. Graduate of Technical University in Zielona Góra Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Doctor of technical sciences in the field of construction and operation of machines. In the years 1990-2015, an assistant professor at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Zielona Góra. In the years 2006-2015 Director of the Academic Enterprise Incubator at the University of Zielona Góra. CEO at Smart Data Lights Sp. z o.o. in Katowice. Has many years of experience related to entrepreneurship, technology transfer and vehicle construction. Associate of the Center for and Technology Transfer of the University of Zielona Góra. Scientific interests: academic entrepreneurship, ecological aspects of the use of internal combustion engines, methods for measuring and limiting the toxicity of internal combustion engines, electromobility and IoT. Member of the US-Polish Trade Council, member of the Polish Business and Innovation Centres Association in Poland and member of the Polish Scientific Society of Combustions Engines.

Bartlomiej Grzelak, Head of Scientific Department, KKS Lech Poznan. He is considered one of the pioneers in the field of data analysis in Polish sports.

His main task as head of the Scientific Department at KKS Lech Poznań football club is to use the latest advances in data analysis, machine learning and artificial intelligence to optimize game strategy, recruit players and evaluate their performance on the field.

He graduated from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan with a master’s degree in data analysis and processing.

In addition to his work at KKS Lech Poznań, Grzelak is also academically active and has published articles on data analysis in sports. His work is an inspiration to many young scientists and sports enthusiasts who see the potential of data analysis in improving performance and results in soccer.

Helps organizations commercialize new products and services. Although he has extensive experience in large Oil and Gas organizations like Halliburton and NOV, where he successfully delivered multidivisional projects and products, he transitioned to green energy and is developing innovative solutions for geothermal space with XGS Energy.

He is a problem solver with extensive experience in delivering outstanding products, results and engineered solutions, by managing technical personnel, operations, and projects.

He received his M.Sc. in Civil Engineering from Warsaw University of Technology and his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Nebraska under prof. Andrzej Nowak.

Julia Stroinska is a master’s graduate with honors from the University of Warsaw School of Law, specializing in intellectual property (IP) and artificial intelligence (AI). With a strong connection to the United States and a deep passion for the intersection of AI and IP, Julia serves as a paralegal and marketing specialist at B2R Law. She is connected to USPTC since a few years and an active member of the USPTC organizing committee since 2022.

Konrad Sowa Kozminski University

Konrad is currently pursuing a PhD on the groundbreaking concept of human-
AI collaboration at Kozminski University, the top business school in CEE. With
supervision of prof. Aleksandra Przegalinska, he leads the research aiming at
empirically proving that collaboration, rather than competition, is the way to go
for developing advanced AI agents.
Konrad is also affiliated with SMOK Ventures, a leading Polish-American
venture capital fund, dedicated to empowering early-stage startups.
As a lecturer, startup mentor, and advisor, Konrad shares his knowledge and
experience by teaching courses on startups, venture capital, business
modeling, and artificial intelligence in business. He supported numerous
startups across various acceleration programs.
In his personal life, Konrad loves spending time with his two mixed-breed
dogs. He’s a specialty coffee freak, scuba-diver and DIYer.

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Prof. Piotr Moncarz Chairman, USPTC; Adjunct Professor, Stanford University
Jerzy Orkiszewki President, US-Polish Trade Council; VP of Engineering, Cutera
Mariusz Tomaka President, USPTC Poland; Board Member at TRITEM, Board Advisor Euvic
Jacek Chmielewski Research Scholar, Auburn University
Beata Drzazga Founder, BetaMed
Magdalena Diering Assistant Professor, Poznan University of Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

Piotr D. Moncarz, Ph.D., P.E., NAE, born and raised in Poland, graduated from vocational high school program in road and bridge construction in Poznan, Poland, receives Ph.D. degree in earthquake engineering at Stanford University. Registered professional engineer in civil engineering in numerous U.S. states and Canadian provinces; member of the National Academy of Engineers.  Adjunct Professor, Stanford University; Senior Fellow and Principal Engineer, Exponent, Inc., an international science and technology public corporation initiated in Silicon Valley; President and CEO, Geothermic Solution LLC, green energy, disruptive technology company. With an engineering career focused on failure analysis and failure prevention led and participated in hundreds of studies, remediation and research projects. He is active in academic programs, consulting work, and international business from power plant development projects, energy technologies and economics, electro-mobility, to high-tech ventures. former  Board member of the of the Polish National Center for Research and Development, formerly Academic Director and co-organizer of Top 500 Innovators program at Stanford University; co-organizer and leader of Stanford University/ Silicon Valley workshops for Polish industry and government leaders.  Decorated by the President of Poland with the Officer Cross of Polonia Restituta. He is a frequent speaker in venues pertaining to system safety and performance, engineering knowledge transfer, trends in technologies, innovativeness, sustainable development, and stimulation of international cooperation and competitiveness.

Mr. Jerzy Orkiszewski was born and raised in Poland. He holds an M.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering from the
Warsaw Technical University, Department of Fine Mechanics (currently Department of Mechatronics) and École Nationale
Supérieure de l’Electronique et de ses Application in Cergy, France and submitted his PhD thesis at the Warsaw University
of Technology. Since 1989 he resides in California with his wife, a practicing medical doctor from Warsaw, and their daughter
who after completing her medical education in Poznan, Poland, practices medicine in the USA. In Silicon Valley he has been
working for variety of product development biomedical device companies: Cutera, Inc., Ellex Medical, Lumenis, Inc. and
Medical Group of Coherent, Inc., where he has been providing the technology and business leadership serving in various
engineering, management and executive positions. Jerzy used to be on Polish national modern pentathlon team and plays
classical guitar. He is also a pilot with commercial and instrument ratings.Jerzy is a contributing editor of “Przeglad Lotniczy
– Aviation Review” aviation magazine in Poland. He provides to USPTC a strong link to the US biomedical technology sector.

Mariusz Tomaka is active as organizer, co-founder, and CEO of innovative electronic and software companies in Poland focused on local and international markets. He specializes in building and running innovative companies – startups and medium size companies– focused on international markets and leading teams of engineers and managers to achieve challenging technology and business objectives. Prior to current activities at TRITEM (the guru company in Industrial Digital Twin and automated testing for critical systems) and EUVIC he worked as  CEO (PL) for DisplayLink in Poland and VP in Cambridge UK, at Neubloc,LLC  board adviser – share holder at ABF. Mariusz is a President of US-Polish Trade Council in Poland and extended board member in USA, Silicon Valley, Mariusz is Vice-president of OG at  Polish Information Processing Society.

He is a Postdoctoral Researcher in Auburn University, academic teacher, researcher in: transportation network planning, road safety improvement and implementation, bridge live load and fatigue analysis in the USA, Weigh-in-motion data processing and analysis, big data processing, SQL databases developer. He is a Bentley MicroStation user and application developer (MDL and VB.Net), and software developer: C++, Visual Studio, VBA, MATLAB. He prepared few four stage transport demand models in PTV VISUM, microsimulation in PTV VISSIM for cities and counties. He was involved in Florida, California, and Montana Department of Transportation research projects. Lots of professional projects for private companies and public sectors in the field of transport were prepared by him, mainly in the field of road safety improvement, road network planning, traffic prediction, and feasibility studies.

Founder and President of the largest medical company in Poland, BetaMed SA, providing medical services in the patient’s home and in the Medical Center Clinic in Chorzów. Employs approx. 3,200 people, takes care of over 6,000 patients. It has 91 branches of home care in the 11 voivodships in Poland.

The owner and President of BetaMed International in Las Vegas.

The owner of the Drzazga Clinic brand – the Laser Therapy and Aesthetic Medicine Clinic offering exclusive facial and body treatments using state-of-the-art lasers.

The owner of the “Dono de Scheggia” store, an exclusive fashion store offering the latest collections from world fashion capitals such as Milan, London, Paris or Vienna.
Beata Drzazga is a speaker at many Polish and international economic and medical conferences. Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at GWSH in Katowice. Expert in the field of health service management. Participant of many economic missions e.g. to Nevada, California, Peru, Chile, China, Germany, Czech Republic, France.

Winner of over 200 prestigious awards and distinctions awarded in Poland as well as internationally.
She owes her success to passion, self-denial, self-discipline and loveing people. Her life sentence is: “Success is to be successful, but always remain yourself”.

Her main research interests are quality engineering and measurement system analysis. She is a trainer in SixSigma. Her professional interests also include project management, science commercialization and quality of education. She is an expert for the European Commission and a reviewer in several journals in the field of mechanical engineering. She has extensive experience in organizational, scientific and structural project management. Currently (2022-2023) she manages R&D projects with a total value of over PLN 10 million. She works in multidisciplinary, international teams and at work she promotes a culture of teamwork, design thinking and innovation. She is a coordinator and a member of the Steering Committee of the international conferences – MANUFACTURING and ICIE. She is a graduate of the Top 500 Innovators program at Stanford University (2012). She was a coordinator of the US-Poland Innovation HUB program, USPTC (2012-2017). Associated with the US-Polish Trade Council since 2012.

Prof. Krzysztof Dyczkowski Associate Professor, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań
Kamila Krawiec Program Coordinator, USPTC
Prof. Andrzej Nowak Chair, Dep. Civil Faculty Engineering, Auburn University
Michał Bańka Assistant Professor, Warsaw University of Technology
Julia Stroińska Senior Partner, B2RLaw
Małgorzata Tomaka Ph.D. Candidate, University of Silesia

Dean of Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.

Associate professor in Department of Artificial Intelligence, Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. His main research interests are computational intelligence methods in decision making, computer vision and natural language modeling. Co-author of an intelligent decision system supporting the diagnosis of ovarian cancer – OvaExpert.Currently actively involved in cooperation with a football club Lech Poznań on sports data analysis. He received Microsoft Research Azure Award (2015) and IBM Faculty Award (2010). Member of IEEE Computational Intelligence Society and European Society for Fuzzy Logic and Tech­nology (EUSFLAT). He has many years of experience in IT project management. Co-founder and longtime CEO of an IT company producing and implementing an ERP class system. He is a graduate of the Top 500 Innovators program at Stanford University (2012). He was a co-organizer of US-Poland Innovation HUB.

BA – graduated from the Silesian University of Technology in the field of Public Administration. Between 2012-2017 Kamila had worked for InPost Finance, a subsidiary of Integer.pl Capital Group, and Wiewiorka.pl LLC, a start-up in the environmental sector where she was responsible, inter alia, for obtaining EU funds. Currently, she works as an eCommerce Consultant for several start-ups. Her professional interests include e-commerce, shipping, and innovations. Associated with the US-Polish Trade Council since 2017.

A graduate of the Warsaw University of Technology, in the United States since 1976, currently the dean of Civil Faculty Engineering at Auburn University. Before that, he was a professor at the University of Nebraska, University of Michigan and the State University of New York. His main scientific field is the theory of reliability and its applications. He made a fundamental contribution to the development of the American AASHTO bridge standard and ACI 318. Prof. Nowak is an honorary doctor of the Warsaw University of Technology, an honorary professor of the Cracow University of Technology, he received the title of professor from the hands of the President of the Republic of Poland. He is the president of the Polish Council Engineers in North America, and was awarded the Officer’s Order of Polonia Restituta, Moisseiff Medal (American Society of Civil Engineers), Bene Merentibus Medal (Warsaw University of Technology) and Casimir Gzowski Medal (Canadian Society of Civil Engineering). Prof. Andrzej S. Nowak is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and Fellow of the American Concrete Institute. He is the supervisor of 41 doctoral students.

Assistant Professor at Warsaw University of Technology

Visiting Scholar at Stanford University in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering in the School of Engineering

(ex) CEO & Co-founder at Accelerator Accelpoint (www.accelpoint.com)

Creator of the Polish start-up capital investment market. One of Poland’s most highly esteemed experts in cooperation between start-ups, accelerators, seed capital, venture capital funds and public institutions. His research focus on Open Innovation, commercialization of science and technology R&D activities, including the determinants of investments by commercial funding in innovative companies. Development of start-up projects; Start-up Accelerator, Corporate Accelerator, Venture capital investments.

Julia Stroińska is a master’s graduate with honors from the University of Warsaw School of Law, specializing in intellectual property (IP) and artificial intelligence (AI). With a strong connection to the United States and a deep passion for the intersection of AI and IP, Julia serves as a paralegal and marketing specialist at B2R Law. She is connected to USPTC since a few years and an active member of the USPTC organizing committee since 2022.

Małgorzata Tomaka is a PHD Candidate at the doctoral school of the University of Silesia, preparing a dissertation in the field of intellectual property law. As a Junior Associate at B2R Law she provides day-to-day legal services to Polish and foreign companies in the areas of intellectual property law, labor law and commercial law. Since 2015, she has been an active member of US-Polish Trade Council.

Krzysztof Dyczkowski Associate professor, Dean of Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań
Joanna Jaworek-Korjakowska Univ. Professor, Director of the Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence
Alicja Orkiszewska MD – Mesa, AZ | Anesthesiology

His main research interests are computational intelligence methods in decision making, computer vision, and natural language modeling. Co-author of an intelligent decision system supporting the diagnosis of ovarian cancer – OvaExpert. Currently actively involved in cooperation with a football club Lech Poznań on sports data analysis. He received Microsoft Research Azure Award (2015) and IBM Faculty Award (2010). Senior Member of IEEE Computational Intelligence Society and European Society for Fuzzy Logic and Tech­nology (EUSFLAT). Vice President of Polish Fuzzy Sets Society (POLFUZZ). He has many years of experience in IT project management. Co-founder and longtime CEO of an IT company producing and implementing an ERP class system. He is a graduate of the Top 500 Innovators program at Stanford University (2012). He was a co-organizer of US-Poland Innovation HUB.

Joanna Jaworek-Korjakowska, Univ. Professor, Director of the Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence and Deputy Head of the Department of Automatic Control and Robotics at the AGH University in Kracow, Poland. In 2019 she obtained Habilitation in the field of technical sciences with emphasis in artificial intelligence. She is an expert at the Confederation of Laboratories for Artificial Intelligence Research in Europe (CLAIRE), member of IEEE, Polish Artificial Intelligence Society, and International Dermoscopy Society as well as an alumnus of the TOP 500 Innovator programme at Stanford University, USA.  Her main research interests focus on computer vision, data mining, artificial intelligence especially deep learning methods, anomaly detection as well as clustering. J. Jaworek has been awarded Honorable Mention Award during the CVPR’19 conference (ISIC workshop) and Bekker Fellowship’22 to conduct research at the Stanford University, USA.

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