Name: Central Massachusetts Climate Tech Summit
Start: 2025-04-01T08:00:00-0400
End: 2025-04-01T17:00:00-0400
Location: Rubin Campus Center

REGISTER

The Central Massachusetts Climate Tech Summit will be held on Tuesday, April 1, 2025 the day-long event will focus on exploring topics related to climate tech research solutions, technology innovations, education and workforce training, existing or being developed in Central Massachusetts.

Participants will represent Central Massachusetts higher education institutions, including WPI, corporations, startups and City of Worcester and Commonwealth officials to provide context on the current development initiatives.

Tuesday, April 1, 2025
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Rubin Campus Center, WPI Campus

Join us for the whole day, or only the sessions that interest you most.

Advanced registration is requested and encouraged.

Time	Agenda Topic
8:00am to 8:30am	Registration - Refreshments & Networking
8:30am to 8:35am	Welcome - President Grace Wang - WPI
8:35am to 8:45am	Welcome - City Manager Eric Batista – City of Worcester
8:45am to 8:55am	Welcome - State Senator Robyn Kennedy
9:00am to 9:15am	Keynote Address - Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll
9:15am to 10:15am	Panel – Central Massachusetts Startup Ecosystem Panelists Andrew Aberdale '89, P'18, CFO - Ascend Elements Amelia Thomas, Chief Executive Officer - River Otter Renewables, Inc. Andrew Teixeira, Co-Founder - CemCycle David Hsu, Founder and CEO - Respire Energy Emily Molstad BS/MS '19, CEO & Co-Founder - VALIS Insights Moderator: Renuka Babu Brown, Advisor, Faculty Innovation & Startup Incubation - WPI
10:15am to 11:00am	Climate Tech Discovery & Solutions Presentations Phil Robinson, Senior Director Engineering, Advanced Technology Alternative Power - Honeywell Aerospace Technologies Christopher Williams, Professor, Geography - Clark University Berk Calli – Associate Professor, Robotics – WPI Emcee – Bogdan Vernescu, Vice President and Vice Provost for Research and Innovation - WPI
11:00am to 12:00pm	Fireside Chat with President Grace Wang Panelists: Todd DiNoia '95, Vice President, Innovation and R&D – Saint-Gobain Research North America Yvonne Hao, Secretary of the Executive Office of Economic Development, Commonwealth of Massachusetts Dr. Jenn Le Blond, Managing Director of Emerging Climatetech – Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Moderator: Grace Wang, President – WPI
12:00pm to 1:00pm	Lunch
1:00pm to 1:30pm	Special Research Presentation Jamal Yagoobi, George F. Fuller Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering - WPI Recipient of the Outstanding Research and Creative Scholarship 2024 Trustees Award
1:30pm to 2:30pm	Panel - Workforce Development Challenges and Opportunities Panelists: David Willens '09, MS'10, PhD'20, Director, Research & Development, – Kinefac Corporation Jennifer Hanselman, Associate Provost and Dean of Research – Clark University Anita Soracco, Professor of Environmental Science & Physics, Department Chair Natural Sciences – Quinsigamond Community College Moderator: Jennifer Applebaum, Managing Director of Workforce Development – Massachusetts Clean Energy Center
2:30pm to 3:30pm	Panel - Creating the Right Environment for a Thriving Industry Ecosystem Panelists: Peter Abair, Executive Director - MassEcon Morgan Steacy '08, VP, Connections & Strategic Accounts, MA - National Grid Zachary Dutton, Executive Director – Auxilium Pamela Lynch '05, Founder & Consultant - BlueWave Strategy Moderator: Jay Ash, President & CEO - Massachusetts Competitive Partnerships
3:30pm to 3:40pm	Break
3:40pm to 4:50pm	Climate Tech Discovery & Solutions Presentations Nima Rahbar, White Family Distinguished Professor & Department Head, Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering - WPI Laura Reynolds, Assistant Professor of Earth Science - Worcester State University Michael Timko, Professor, Chemical Engineering – WPI Emcee – Bogdan Vernescu, Vice President and Vice Provost for Research and Innovation – WPI
4:50pm to 5:00pm	Closing Remarks
5:00pm	Poster Reception