Panels
June 17, 2025, 2:00 pm
Panel 1:
“The Power of Operations Research and AI: Success Stories and Emerging Trends”
Moderator
- Edgar Gutierrez (Externado – Colombia)
Panelists:
- Christian Coronado (Monterrey Tech)
- Johanna Trujillo (Universidad Javeriana)
- Ali Elkamel (UAE)
- Kriss Mejia (MIT)
June 17, 2025, 4:00 pm
Panel 2:
“Navigating the Future: Industry 4.0 and 5.0 for Smart and Sustainable Manufacturing and Services”
Moderator
- Ahmad Elshennawy (UCF)
Panelists:
- Daniel Zavala – Mexico (Monterrey Tech)
- Celso Alvarado (USA)
- Quintal Battle (USA)
- Johnson Olaitan (USA)
- Rena Lewis (USA)
- Lina Khan (USA)
June 18, 2025, 2:00 pm
Panel 3:
“Integrating AI into Engineering Curricula: Current Trends and Future Directions”
Moderator
- Hamid Parsei (Texas A&M College Station)
Panelists:
- Maria Cannarozzo (Brazil)
- Lancheros (Colombia)
- Daniel Eilen (UCF)
- Wilkistar Otieno (UWM, Milwaukee)
- Maj Dean Mirmirani (Lawrence Tech)
June 18, 2025, 4:00 pm
Panel 4:
“Bridging Disciplines: Advancing Project Management, Systems Engineering, and Engineering Management Education & Certification”
This panel will explore the convergence of Project Management, Systems Engineering, and Engineering Management, analyzing how these disciplines complement each other in both industry and academia. The discussion will address the value of certifications such as PMP, CSEP, ASEP, and PgMP compared to university programs and how these credentials can be integrated into higher education. Additionally, we will examine the impact of artificial intelligence and digital transformation on project and systems management, as well as the growing importance of soft skills in technical leadership. Other key topics include bridging the gap between academia and industry, the rise of micro-credentials and modular learning, and the need to incorporate sustainability and resilience into the training of engineers and managers.
We would like to invite you to be a panelist and also encourage you to submit a paper. One of the panelists will be Mr. Lambert (the founder of PMI), and the moderator will be Dr. Tim Kotnour (Director of our Engineering Management programs), making this an excellent opportunity to discuss these topics.
Moderator
- Tim Kotnour
Panelists:
- Lee Lambert
- Sven Guzman
- Tom O’Neal
- Manuel Figueredo
- Mark Calabrese
- Tony Prensa
- Flor Diaz
June 19, 2025, 1:30 pm
Panel 5:
“Teaching Discrete-Event Simulation in Industrial Engineering: A Comparative Study of North and South American Approaches”
Moderator
- Carlos Paternina (San Diego State University)
Panelists:
- Walter Silva Sotillo (USF)
- Sven Guzmán (Escuela Superior de Economía y Negocios, El Salvador)
- Eldon Caldwell (University of Costa Rica)
- Karina Perez (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico)
- Mario Marin (UCF)
- John Pastrana (UCF)
- Chris Schneider (ITA, Brazil)
- Yuvraj Gajpal (University of Manitoba)
June 19, 2025, 3:00 pm
Panel 6:
“Future Spaceports and Aerospace Operations: Integrating AI, Space Logistics, and Innovative Technologies”
Moderator:
- Charles Major
Panelists:
- Mansooreh Mollaghasemi (Space Logistics, UCF)
- Tarek Elgohary (University of Central Florida)
- Michael Kinzel (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University)
- Marwen Elkamel (UCF)
- Satyar Foroughi (AI Expert)