Keynote Speakers
Day 1 – December 20 (Saturday), 2025
9:00 am, December 20 – Opening
9:30 am, December 20 – Keynote 1:
10:00 am, December 20 – Keynote 2:
10:30 am, December 20 – Keynote 3:
Dr Navid Saleh
UT Provost’s Teaching Fellow
Chevron Centennial Fellow in Engineering #1
Professor
Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
University of Texas at Austin
Editor, Journal of Hazardous Materials
Editor, Total Environmental Engineering
Navid Saleh is a Professor at the Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering department. He is an environmental engineering faculty member with a passion for teaching. His mission as an educator and researcher has been to engage with the community and co-create knowledge. He has developed modules utilizing problem-based learning (PBL) pedagogy, conducted detailed and systematic evaluation, and devoted himself to student learning at UT. He intends to commit to the PTF community by continuing his dedication and passion for teaching, innovating transformative pedagogic approaches that fit UT students, and engaging with the PTF community across campus. His research has three thrust areas that he calls the 3Es; i.e., Evaluate, Engage, and Engineer. Evaluate—mechanistic studies on fate of emerging contaminants like nanomaterials, illicit drugs, plastic waste, etc., Engage—community-engaged research, and Engineer—community-embedded effective treatment solutions, will allow his research to contribute toward solving significant water issues for our less-fortunate communities. Saleh’s research has produced more than 85 journal publications and 8 book chapters with more than 8500 citations and an h-index of 36. Saleh is one of the Associate Editors of Journal of Hazardous Materials, a top environmental science and engineering journal with an impact factor of 9.038, and is the President of Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization. At the undergraduate level, Saleh teaches the “Introduction to Environmental Engineering” and two newly developed courses on nanotechnology: “Designing Sustainable Nanomaterials” and “Nanotechnology Laboratory”. At the graduate level, he teaches “Physical and Chemical Treatment” and “Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology”.
11:00 am – Break
11:30 am, December 20 – Keynote 4
Dr Ahsan Habib, PhD
Professor, School of Planning, and Dept. of Civil and Resource Engineering (cross)
Dalhousie University
Scientific Director, Climate Action Research for Transportation (CART) Network
Director, Dalhousie Transportation Collaboratory (DalTRAC)
5217 Morris Street, Halifax, NS, B3J 1B6
Canada
Ahsan Habib is a transportation professor at Dalhousie University. He received a PhD degree in civil engineering from the University of Toronto in 2009. He held a professional position at the Ministry of Transportation Ontario (MTO) prior to joining Dalhousie University in 2010. He is the founder of the Dalhousie Transportation Collaboratory (DalTRAC) under the Leaders Opportunity Grant program of the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI). His research interests include travel behavior analysis, travel demand forecasting, and the microsimulation of urban systems. Dr. Habib believes multi-modal mobility options are the key to ensuring sustainability for Canadian cities.
Major Grants
- NSERC Discovery Grant, “Developing Longitudinal Bottom-up Models of Land Use, Transport and Energy Use” (PI: Dr. Habib)
- Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness, “Evaluation of Active Transportation Interventions in Nova Scotia Communities” (PI: Dr. Habib)
- Nova Scotia Department of Energy (NS DoE), “Nova Scotia Travel Activity and Emission Study” (PI: Dr. Habib)
- Marine Environmental Observation, Prediction and Response Network, “Evacuating the Halifax Peninsula: Multidisciplinary Analysis and Training to Improve Evacuation from Coastal Floods” (PI: Dr. Quigley, Co-PI: Dr. Habib)
- SSHRC Insight Grants, “Adapting to Vulnerabilities in the Transportation System’s Critical Infrastructure: Drawing Lessons for Risk Governance from the Redecking of the Macdonald Suspension Bridge in Halifax” (PI: Dr. Quigley, Co-PI: Dr Habib & Dr. Pelot [Dalhousie] and Dr. Grutz [Ryerson])
- The Province of Nova Scotia, NS DoE, “Sustainable Transportation Indicators: Transportation Data Collection and Modelling”, (PI: Dr. Habib)
- Leaders Opportunity Fund (LOF), Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), “Dalhousie Transportation Collaboratory (DalTRAC) Infrastructure Project”, (funding partners: NSRIT and HRM), (PI: Dr. Habib)
- SSHRC Insight Grants, “Coordinating Land Use Planning in the Context of Multiple Plans”, Awarded, (PI: Dr. Grant, [Dalhousie]; Co-PIs: Drs. Habib, Manuel & Rapaport [Dalhousie] and Dr. Filion [Waterloo])
Education
- BURP, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
- MURP, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
- MASc, University of Toronto
- PhD, University of Toronto
12:00 pm, December 20 – Keynote 5:
Ms. Vaibhavi V. Chavan
Senior Lecturer in Project Management
Department: Computing and Business – Project Management
Ravensbourne University London
Greenwich Peninsula, London, UK
Vaibhavi Chavan works as a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) at Ravensbourne University London. Currently, she is also working as an External Examiner for MSc Project Management programme at Leeds Trinity University, UK. In past, she worked as a Deputy Programme Manager and Lecturer in Project Management & Engineering Management at the University of Sunderland in London. She holds an industrial experience working as a Business Consultant on client’s project at the Renfrewshire Council, Glasgow, Project Management Assistant serving two IT projects in Canberra, Australia, and a one-month Business Analytics apprentice at Simul 8 corporation in Glasgow.
Vaibhabi is a Doctoral Researcher in Project Management at Alma Mater Europaea University, Austria & Slovenia. She did her second Master’s in Business Analysis & Consulting at the University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom and completed her first Master’s degree in Project Management at the Australian National University, Australia. She has a background in Bachelor’s in Electronics & Telecomm Engineering at Shivaji University, India. She has completed her UK teaching qualifications namely, Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCE) at University of Sunderland, UK and has a Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), UK.
In past, she worked as a Project Lead for an Innovative Research Project in HE at Alma Mater Europaea University, Assistant Professor for the MBA department teaching International Business, Project Management, & Business Analytics specialisations, and guided all specialization mini-projects, master’s dissertation projects. She also worked as a Lecturer teaching Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering specialisation subjects to undergraduate students.
12:30 pm, December 20 – Keynote 6:
Day 21 – December 21 (Sunday), 2025
9:30 am, December 21 – Keynote 7:
Dr Ahm Shamsuzzoha
Associate Professor (Tenure track)
Industrial Systems Analytics
School of Technology and Innovations
Digital Economy Research Platform
University of Vaasa
Finland
Ahm Shamsuzzoha is working as an Associate Professor (Tenure track), Industrial Systems Analytics, School of Technology and Innovations, Digital Economy Research Platform, University of Vaasa, Finland since 01 June 2023. He is also working as an Adjunct Professor (Docent) at Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at University of Turku, Finland and Visiting Professor, Daffodil International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Dr. Shamsuzzoha worked as an Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman and Associate Professor at Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rajshahi University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh, Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering, University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom and Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and Management, University of Vaasa, Finland. He published/accepted 104 refereed journal articles and 99 conference articles so far. His research interests are mainly focused on green and sustainable innovation, eco-friendly logistics and supply chain management, digitalization of entrepreneurship, etc.
10:00 am, December 21 – Keynote 8:
Dr Shamim Ahamed, PhD
Assistant Professor
Controlled Environment Engineering Lab
Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering
University of California, Davis
Davis, California, USA
Dr. Shamim Ahamed is currently working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis). Dr. Ahamed is leading the Controlled Environment Engineering lab at UC Davis and has been working on achieving net-zero food production with Controlled Environments Agricultural (CEA) systems like greenhouses, indoor vertical farming, and livestock barns. His research mainly focuses on thermal environment modeling, energy-efficient controls, and optimization of the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, dehumidification (HVACD), lighting, and hydroponic watering systems for precision control of indoor microclimates and root zone environments. His research area also spans automated fault detection and diagnosis of automatic control of HVACD systems and other control systems like nutrient management and CO2 enrichment, as well as lighting. The research goal is to provide sustainable and green solutions to increase economic viability and decrease the environmental impact of indoor food production.
Education and Professional Preparation
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, 2019-2020
- Postdoctoral Fellow, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2018-2019
- Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, 2018
- Master’s of Science in Farm Power and Machinery, Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), Bangladesh, 2012
- Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering, Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), Bangladesh, 2010
10:30 am, December 21 – Keynote 9:
Dr Shakil Quayes
Chair
Department of Economics
University of Massachusetts Lowell
Health & Social Sciences Building 339
Lowell, MA, USA
Shakil Quayes is a Professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell based in Lowell, Massachusetts. Previously, Shakil was an Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. After earning his Ph.D., Shakil Quayes taught at Arizona State University, Georgia Southern University, Southeastern Louisiana University, and the Rochester Institute of Technology. He also worked for the Australia New Zealand Bank for a period of three years prior while pursuing his graduate studies. He has published 36 journal articles, and has presented research papers 36 national and international conferences.
Education
- Ph.D: Economics, University of Illinois, 2000
- M.S.: Economics, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, 1994
- B.S.S.; Economics, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, 1986
11:00 am, December 21 – Break
11:30 am, December 21 – Keynote 10:
Dr. Shameem Ahmed
Associate Professor
Department of Computer Science
Western Washington University
Bellingham, Washington, USA
Dr. Shameem Ahmed is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Western Washington University (WWU). He co-founded WWU’s Neurodiversity Center and established the NEAT (Next Generation Effective Affective Technology) research lab in 2016, alongside Dr. Moushumi Sharmin. NEAT is an interdisciplinary group focused on designing technology for neurodiverse individuals through Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) approaches. The lab has graduated 59 students, including neurodiverse individuals now working at top organizations like Microsoft, Amazon, and Boeing. Currently, Dr. Ahmed co-directs the NEAT lab, guiding research on using AI, wearables, and mobile technology to understand and address challenges faced by neurodiverse individuals. His work has been published in leading computer science conferences such as ACM SIGCHI, ACM CSCW, and ACM ASSETS. Dr. Ahmed earned his B.S. in Computer Science and Engineering from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), followed by two M.S. degrees in Math and Computer Science from Marquette University and Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). He completed his Ph.D. in Information Science at UIUC under the guidance of Professor Kate Williams. He joined WWU as an Assistant Professor in 2015.
12:00 pm, December 21 – Keynote 11:
12:30 pm, December 21 – Keynote 12: