Panelists

Clément Cid
Co-Founder and CEO, Mitico

Clément Cid is the Co-Founder and CEO of Mitico, an industrial carbon management company that offers fossil and non-fossil point source emitters to capture their CO2 emissions. Cid has amassed over 14 peer-reviewed articles, 3 pending patents, 2 patents as an experienced scientist and engineer, specializing in environmental engineering.

Prior to Mitico, Clément worked as an adjunct professor at California State University, Los Angeles, teaching environmental engineering fundamentals before moving on to spend 11 years at Caltech as a Senior Research Engineer and, later, Laboratory Manager.

 Clément has established and led international collaborations with NGOs, small and large companies, and universities to determine and conduct technology analysis metrics, FMEAs, field testing oversight, and implementation plans of environmental engineering technologies in India, China, South Africa, France, and the United States.

Clément has a bachelor's degree in physics and chemistry from École normale supérieure de Lyon in Lyon, France, as well as a master's in chemistry. He also has a master’s and Ph.D. from Caltech in Environmental Engineering.

Rajit Gadh
Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science 

Rajit Gadh, Ph.D., is a Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and the founding director of the UCLA Smart Grid Energy Research Center (SMERC), the UCLA Wireless Internet for Mobile Enterprise Consortium (WINMEC), and the Connected and Autonomous Electric Vehicles Consortium (CAEV).

Dr. Gadh has over 25 years of experience in research and development, creating technology and leading technology teams to performing R&D and leading all the way to advanced technologies and products. He has taught as a visiting researcher at UC Berkeley, has been an Assistant, Associate and Full Professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and did his sabbatical as a visiting researcher at Stanford University for a year.

He has won several awards from acclaimed organizations like the NSF (CAREER award, Research Initiation Award, NSF-Lucent Industry Ecology Award, GOAL-I award), ASME (Kodak Best Technical Paper award), AT&T (Industrial ecology fellow award), Engineering Education Foundation (Research Initiation Award), and many more.

He has a Doctorate degree from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), a Master's from Cornell University and a Bachelor’s degree from IIT Kanpur.

 

CJ Kim
Distinguished Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, UCLA

Chang-Jin “CJ” Kim is currently a Distinguished Professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, as well as bioengineering at the University of California, Los Angeles. With over three decades of experience as a professor at UCLA, Kim holds the Distinguished Professor title and acts as Volgenau Endowed Chair.

In his role at UCLA, he directs the Micro and Nano Manufacturing Lab to perform research in MEMS and Nanotechnology, including design and fabrication of micro/nano structures, actuators and systems, with a focus on the use of surface tension.

Kim has received many awards, such as the TRW Outstanding Young Teacher Award from UCLA, the Samueli Outstanding Teacher Award from UCLA, and the Ho-Am Prize in Engineering.

An American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Fellow, he is currently serving as Senior Editor of the IEEE Journal of MEMS and on the Editorial Advisory Board for IEEJ Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Engineering. He has also been active as a scientific advisor, consultant, and founder of start-up companies.

CJ holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Seoul National University, a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Iowa State University, and a Ph.D. in Microelectromechanical Systems and Mechanical Engineering from University of California at Berkeley.

 

Eric Lee
Senior Vice President, Aligned Climate Capitol

Eric Lee is Senior Vice President of Aligned Climate Capital, an asset manager that invests exclusively in the companies and real assets that are decarbonizing the global economy and its infrastructure. In this role, Eric leads Aligned’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) analysis of climate infrastructure and venture capital investment opportunities.

Previously, Eric was an investment professional at TriLinc Global, a global impact investing fund manager based in Los Angeles, CA. At TriLinc, Eric led the firm’s ESG & Impact efforts across all portfolios and served as a member of TriLinc’s Credit Committee and Sustainability & Impact Committee. Prior to TriLinc, Mr. Lee worked at Sustainable Insight Capital Management, an ESG public equities fund based in New York, NY.

Mr. Lee holds a B.S. from Cornell University and a M.S. in Sustainability Management with a concentration in Sustainable Finance from Columbia University.

Church Lewis
Managing Director, Atlas Technology Group LLC

Church is a career growth company investment banker interested in the intersection of capital and social and economic policy. Recognizing the urgency of the climate change problem and the large amount of public and private investment needed to support the innovation for solving it, he is advising promising companies in the climate action sector on corporate development and raising capital to achieve their goals. He is a member of the advisory boards of Mitico, Boundless Impact, Terra Global Capital and Bakken Energy, and of the Climate+Energy working group of the Xprize Foundation. His previous experience includes Managing Director at Needham & Company, where he started the internet and digital media investment banking practice and headed that group for nine years, Founder and President of Quartz Euromarkets, LLC, formed to represent clients in cross-border transactions, Head of Privatization for UNDP as a diplomat in Central Europe following the fall of the Berlin Wall, and Principal at Alex. Brown. He is a Managing Director with San Francisco based Atlas Technology Group and lives in Los Angeles. Church received his BA from Stanford University, his JD from Columbia Law School, and his MBA from Harvard Business School.

 

Vandana (Ana) Mangal, Ph.D.
Clinical Associate Professor of Information Systems and Business Analytics, LMU College of Business Administration

Professor Vandana (Ana) Mangal's academic experience includes working at UCLA Anderson School of Management, Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, and, Wisconsin School of Business, UW-Madison. At Pepperdine, she was Innovation Advisor to the Dean’s leadership team for strategic initiatives including program innovation and integration of 4IR (fourth industrial revolution) technologies. At UCLA, she led curriculum strategy, growth and corporate relations as Executive Director for the Easton Technology Management Center, leading to Easton becoming an endowed center. As a lead researcher in the global BIT (Business and Information Technologies) project, she received grant funding and published four books and several research papers. She has taught courses in Information Systems, Data, and Project Management at UW-Madison and at UCLA. Her industry experience includes Intel Corporation, Tata Group and AE Business Solutions consulting.

Professor Mangal has served as guest editor of a special issue of the International Journal of Engineering Management and Economics, as a reviewer for journals and as external advisor to several Ph.D. students.

Kayvon Moshiri
Ventures Associate, Plug and PLay Tech Center

Kayvon Moshiri is a ventures associate at Plug and Play Ventures and runs corporate and government sponsored accelerators in LA. Plug and Play is a venture capital and innovation platform, connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies. They also organize startup acceleration programs and have built an in-house VC with several successful exits including Dropbox, Guardant Health, Honey, Lending Club, N26, PayPal, and Rappi. At Plug and Play, Kayvon sources early stage startups that align across commerce, media, adtech, sportstech, and gaming.

 

Sunil Murthy
VP Strategic Marketing & Business Development - Transient Plasma Systems;  Clinical Associate Professor, Entrepreneurship & Director of MS in Entrepreneurship & Sustainable Innovation Program - LMU College of Business Administration

Sunil Murthy, PhD, MBA is an Adjunct Professor at Loyola Marymount University and a VP of Strategic Marketing & Business Development at Transient Plasma Systems. They began their career in 2001 as a Senior Product Marketing Manager with Between Markets Inc., proceeding to work their way through strategic consulting and marketing before they joined Transient Plasma Systems as a Consultant in 2017 while also holding a role as VP of Technical Marketing & Strategic Business Development for Dura Automotive Systems LLC, an Advisor for ZyenaLABS, and a Business Mentor for NC State Entrepreneurship Clinic.

Sunil Murthy holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, an MBA in Marketing from the University of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of Business, an M.Tech in Electrical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, and a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from National Institute of Technology Durgapur.

 

David Packer
Founder and Chief Innovator, WAE | Hydrogen On-Demand & AI-Energy Systems

David Packer is a visionary ClimateTech innovator pioneering the next generation of hydrogen on-demand energy systems. With over 18 years of experience in green electrolysis, energy autonomy, and real-time hydrogen production, David is driving a fundamental shift in sustainable transportation and power storage. His Mini Cube technology replenishes electric vehicle batteries on the move, eliminating the need for grid-based charging and redefining the future of clean mobility.

Beyond hydrogen innovation, David is leading the integration of AI-powered energy management systems to optimize fuel cell efficiency, dynamic pressure control, and real-time hydrogen generation. His AI-driven Siemens LOGO! PLC integration enables precise energy modulation, ensuring seamless automation, system resilience, and unparalleled energy efficiency across e-bikes, electric vehicles, and off-grid energy solutions.

David’s Magnetic Recapture Energy Drive (MRED) and real-time hydrogen fuel cell interfacing have secured CARB certification, multiple patents, and industry recognition. His work is setting new standards for autonomous, self-sustaining energy ecosystems, eliminating barriers to adoption and revolutionizing sustainability at scale.

As a thought leader in AI-driven clean energy, David is not just innovating—he is engineering a future where sustainability is frictionless, scalable, and truly independent.

 

Sourav Roy
Vice President, Speridian Technologies 

Sourav Roy is a technology and business leader, with 25 years of experience in helping clients across different industry verticals solve business problems through technology adoptions. Roy is an accomplished professional in Consulting, Digital Transformation, Business Management, Global Delivery and Customer Success.

Roy is currently the VP, Enterprise Solutions & Head of Delivery at Speridian Technologies. In this role, Roy sets the strategic direction of the business unit, promotes Speridian’s client-first culture and focuses on creating sustainable growth by bringing together the industry’s leading technology trends, capabilities, solutions, partnerships, and subject matter expertise into a single integrated unit. Beyond his practical vision on business modernization Roy works closely with Speridian clients to gain business advantage from large-scale digital transformation programs.

Prior to Speridian, Roy was the Client Partner for Life Sciences at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). He joined TCS from CloudVirga, a digital mortgage start up, where he served as Vice President of Customer Success from 2017 to 2019. Before joining CloudVirga, Roy spent 16 years at Cognizant in a variety of leadership positions in business management and technology consulting, including most recently as the Director, Cluster Head of Consumer Lending, North America West Coast.

Roy is an Advisory Board Member at MSBA Department, LMU and also serves on the Board of JUAA-SoCal, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which he cofounded to promote education within under privileged students in India.

Chris Stern '93
Head and Managing Director, Trimble Ventures

Chris Stern ‘93 is the current Head and Managing Director of Trimble Ventures, a subsection of the global technology company Trimble Inc. Stern acts as venture capital investor for Trimble and board member for the Trimble Foundation Fund, having spent over  16 years with the company. Stern also acts as a board member for OpenOceans Global, a  nonprofit working to solve ocean crises. Before he began working with Trimble, Stern founded, developed and sold multiple technology to startups to companies, taking leadership roles in various departments, from construction to sustainability and even interactive gaming. Stern holds spots on boards for both LMU and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). At LMU, he is a member of the Board of Regents, and at UCLA, he is a member of the Industry Advisory Board for the Samueli School of Engineering. Stern himself holds a B.S. from Loyola Marymount University and an M.S. from UCLA.

 

 

Eric Strauss
President's Professor of Biology - LMU; Founding Executive Director - LMU Center for Urban Resilience (CURes)

Dr. Eric Strauss is President’s Professor of Biology at Loyola Marymount University and Founding Executive Director of the LMU Center for Urban Resilience (CURes). Broadly trained in biology, ecology and multi-media communication, Eric has extended the model for traditional faculty scholarship through trans-disciplinary initiatives by co-founding the Urban Ecology Institute in Boston while he served as a faculty member at Boston College and CURes in Los Angeles, both of which provide interdisciplinary educational, community based research, green restoration programs  to neighborhoods and their residents. Supported by over 100 grants and contracts since 2010, his research includes collaborative studies of coyotes, crows, hummingbirds and urban forest ecology, with a specialty in understanding animal-human relationships, humane management responses to wildlife problems and urban greenspace program development.  He has co-written multi-media textbooks in biology (Biology The Web of Life) and urban ecology (Urban EcoLab) as well as hosting multiple video series on the life sciences and ecology.  Dr. Strauss received his Ph.D. from Tufts University and has held teaching and faculty appointments at Tufts University, The University of Massachusetts Boston and Boston College.

 

Scott "Will" Wollack
Vice President of Operations, Caelux Corporation 

Scott "Will" Wollack is an accomplished operations and manufacturing executive with a proven track record of driving innovation, scaling manufacturing, and leading transformative change across multiple industries, including advanced materials, sustainable technologies, and consumer goods. As Vice President of Operations at Caelux, he has played a pivotal role in building and scaling next-generation solar manufacturing, contributing to the development of high-performance photovoltaic technology.

With extensive expertise in technical project management, strategic procurement, and product development, Wollack has successfully led global initiatives that bridge the gap between R&D and large-scale production, ensuring efficiency, quality, and sustainability. His work includes launching carbon-negative products, spearheading biodegradable plastics standards with ASTM, and collaborating with Fortune 500 companies, startups, and academic institutions to drive impactful innovation.

A dedicated mentor and advisor, Wollack serves as a Coach at the Beall Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at UC Irvine, where he supports emerging founders in refining their go-to-market strategies and scaling their ventures. His deep understanding of manufacturing trends, compliance, and operational excellence makes him a sought-after speaker and thought leader on the future of industrial innovation.