Keynote Speakers
Alessandra Costa
Senior Vice President, Synopsys
Anu Ramamurthy
Associate Fellow, Design at Microchip Technology
Vanitha Kumar
Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Qualcomm Technologies Inc.
Janice Casagrande
Vice President, North America Enterprise at Ansys
Cecilia Metra
Professor, University of Bologna
Jyotika Athavale
CTO Director of Engineering Architecture, Synopsys
Dr. Yanni Zhong
IEEE IAS
Susan Graham
Director, Arm
Michaela Blott
Senior Fellow, AMD
Alessandra Costa, PhD, Senior Vice President, Synopsys
Leading the Charge in an AI powered world
Thursday, May 15 | 9:00 – 9:50
To be introduced by Jyotika Athavale, 2025 IEEE WIE ILC Chair, Synopsys
About: Jyotika is a CTO Director of Engineering Architecture at Synopsys. With a rich background in technology, she has held key leadership roles at Intel Corporation and NVIDIA over her 25+ years in the semiconductor industry. In 2024, Jyotika led as President of the IEEE Computer Society. She serves as chair of the IEEE P2851 standards, is co-founder of the IEEE RAS Summits, and is General Chair of the 2025 IEEE WIE ILC.
About
About: Alessandra Costa is senior vice president (SVP) of strategic management and a part of the executive leadership team at Synopsys. In this capacity, Costa oversees the company operations supporting the CEO and his staff. Costa is a passionate mentor to children in underprivileged communities and is actively developing high tech curriculum for high schools.
Abstract: Every few hundred years, a renaissance of innovation occurs and the world is never the same. We are seeing this now in the era of pervasive intelligence, where a re-engineering of how products are engineered is required to address the growing complexity and cost that comes with an accelerated pace of innovation. The need for talented engineers has never been greater and together, we must foster the next generation of engineering talent.
Jyotika Athavale, CTO Director of Engineering Architecture, Synopsys
Designing Your Future: Strategies for Lifelong Career Growth
Thursday, May 15 | 13:00 – 13:30
To be introduced by Vickie Ozburn, IEEE WIE ILC Vice Chair
About:Vickie is an IEEE Senior Member and active volunteer. Having served in several leadership positions across IEEE, she has successfully set various strategies and goals for the benefit of the organization and its members. Vickie has dedicated her efforts to help encourage and support women in both their professional and personal endeavors.
About
About:Jyotika is a CTO Director of Engineering Architecture at Synopsys. With a rich background in technology, she has held key leadership roles at Intel Corporation and NVIDIA over her 25+ years in the semiconductor industry.
In 2024, Jyotika led as President of the IEEE Computer Society. She has earned multiple IEEE awards for her significant contributions to women in technology, her impactful service to the community and her dedication to driving international standards in functional safety.
Abstract: Career development is a continuous journey encompassing learning and transitions to reach professional goals. Key aspects include goal setting, skill acquisition, mentorship, and experience accumulation. Adaptability and ongoing learning are vital in the dynamic AI landscape of today. Networking, self-assessment, and goal setting aid in staying focused on our aspirations. Ultimately, career development enables informed decisions, proactive pursuit of opportunities, and growth in our chosen domains.
Janice Casagrande, Vice President, North America Enterprise at Ansys
Embracing Future Technologies and Building a Supportive Network
Thursday, May 15 | 19:00 – 19:30
To be introduced by Thomas Coughlin, Past President, IEEE 2025
About: Tom Coughlin, President, Coughlin Associates is a digital storage analyst and business/ technology consultant. He has over 40 years in the data storage industry with engineering and senior management positions. Coughlin Associates consults, publishes books and market and technology reports and puts on digital storage and memory-oriented events. He is a regular contributor for forbes.com and M&E organization websites. He is an IEEE Fellow, 2025 IEEE Past President, Past-President IEEE-USA, Past Director IEEE Region 6 and Past Chair Santa Clara Valley IEEE Section, and is also active with SNIA and SMPTE. For more information on Tom Coughlin go to www.tomcoughlin.com.
About
About: Janice Casagrande is a seasoned professional with an exemplary track record spanning over 30 years in the technology industry, including 16 years at Ansys, where she currently serves as the Vice President of North America Enterprise. Janice leads the Ansys teams toward unparalleled success by forging innovative engineering solutions for clients across diverse industries, including federal aerospace, defense, automotive, energy, and industrial sectors.
Abstract: AI solutions in product development integrate simulation with AI to enhance innovation, leveraging previously simulated results to train AI algorithms for efficient and reliable performance predictions. These technologies are expected to dramatically transform product development processes. As these new technologies are adopted, it is important to prioritize continued learning, building support networks, and enhancing leadership to ensure women are at the forefront. Our support for each other will foster continued advancement for women in technology.
Anu Ramamurthy, Associate Fellow, Design at Microchip Technology
Professional and Personal growth in the AI Age
Friday, May 16 | 8:15 – 9:00
To be introduced by Mary Ellen Randall, President-Elect, IEEE 2025
About: Mary Ellen Randall is an IEEE Fellow and member of the IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu honor society.
She held technical and management positions in IBM, including an international assignment, hardware and software development, digital video chips, client/server services, network management, operating systems, and test design automation. She routinely managed projects on an international scale.She served on the IEEE Board of Directors as IEEE Treasurer, IEEE Vice President of MGA, and Region 3 Director, and served as IEEE WIE Committee Chair among other leadership positions. She created and developed the IEEE MOVE International Community Outreach Program for Disaster Relief and STEM education. She received awards for this work, including the IEEE Haraden Pratt Award. Ms. Randall is founder/CEO of Ascot Technologies, Inc., an award-winning software company which develops enterprise applications utilizing mobile delivery technologies. As a result, she was named a top “Woman In Business” in the Research Triangle North Carolina area and made Business Leader Magazine’s “Impact 100” List. She holds a M.S. Computer Science and a B.A. Mathematics from Binghamton University.
About
About: Anu Ramamurthy has been in the semiconductor industry for over 25 years. She is currently an Associate Fellow, Design at Microchip Technology. Her interests lie in the area of advanced packaging and heterogeneous integration. This includes all aspects of the ecosystem, starting with the technology, packaging, architecture, test, system integration and cost modelling of such designs. She is co-lead of the Open Chiplet Economy subgroup of the Open Compute Project. Anu is also very interested in mentoring women in engineering, has been part of the TechWomen program run by the U.S State department and also actively involved in the mentoring programs at Microchip.
Abstract: The AI age is reshaping professional and personal growth, offering unprecedented opportunities and challenges. As professionals and technical leaders, we need to develop the ability to use the advancements to improve our efficiency while adapting to the changing environment. While AI changes the landscape of jobs and careers it also provides tremendous benefits for self-improvement and growth. Learning to navigate our professional and personal lives through these changing times is a very interesting challenge.
Dr. Yanni Zhong, IEEE IAS
Begin with the end in mind – professional and personal development in the wind industry
Friday, May 16 | 9:00 – 9:45
To be introduced by Antonio Luque, VP IEEE MGA
About: Antonio Luque is the 2025 IEEE Vice President for Member and Geographic Activities. He is also a Professor of Electronics Engineering at the University of Seville, Spain.
About
About: Dr. Yanni Zhong is an advisory engineer at Siemens Gamesa, UK, with 13 years of expertise in power electronics, including 9 years in the wind industry. Her experience spans the entire Technology Readiness Level (TRL) spectrum, developing innovative engineering solutions that enhance the efficiency and reliability of power converters, from the initial concept to the final production. Currently, she serves as the IEEE IAS WiE representative.
Abstract: In a world increasingly dominated by AI technology, constant emails, and virtual meetings, the principle of “begin with the end in mind” is crucial for both product design and navigating our daily lives. In this presentation, I will share insights from my engineering design experiences in wind turbine applications, demonstrating how this approach fosters effective solutions. I will also discuss how embracing this mindset could empower individuals to prioritise what truly matters in their personal and professional lives, amidst the chaos of work demands, social media engagements, self-care routines, and family commitments.
Susan Graham, Director, Arm
Engineering Change: Leading Inclusive Innovation in the Age of AI
Friday, May 16 | 9:45 – 10:30
To be introduced by Jyotika Athavale, 2025 IEEE WIE ILC Chair, Synopsys
About: Jyotika is a CTO Director of Engineering Architecture at Synopsys. With a rich background in technology, she has held key leadership roles at Intel Corporation and NVIDIA over her 25+ years in the semiconductor industry. In 2024, Jyotika led as President of the IEEE Computer Society. She serves as chair of the IEEE P2851 standards, is co-founder of the IEEE RAS Summits, and is General Chair of the 2025 IEEE WIE ILC.
About
About: Susan Graham leads the Technology Enablement and Analysis (TEA) team within Arm’s Solutions Engineering group and is responsible for validating Foundry partners process entitlement and projecting impact on Arm compute through Advanced Node Design/Technology Co-Optimization (DTCO) and physical implementation benchmarking. Her team works collaboratively with partners and internal compute IP designers to drive power efficient, high performing solutions. Susan has more than 30 years of experience across a variety of technology and engineering functions. She draws on a diverse knowledge base, grown out of working on many different teams throughout her career spanning CPU RF/SRAM circuit design, high speed I/O design, standard cell IP development, product quality & reliability, post silicon engineering, RTL logic validation, manufacturing, and assembly/test.
Abstract: The session explores how leaders in engineering and beyond can drive meaningful progress in the age of AI. We’ll discuss what it takes to lead through transformation, how to navigate demands in talent and innovation and why building a connected, inclusive, and empowered ecosystem is key to seeing the opportunities of tomorrow.
Cecilia Metra, Professor, University of Bologna
AI Reliability and Security Challenges to enable a Trustworthy Metaverse
Friday, May 16 | 11:00 – 11:30
To be introduced by Vicke Ozburn, 2025 IEEE WIE ILC Vice Chair
About: Vickie is an IEEE Senior Member and active volunteer. Having served in several leadership positions across IEEE, she has successfully set various strategies and goals for the benefit of the organization and its members. Vickie has dedicated her efforts to help encourage and support women in both their professional and personal endeavors.
About
About: Cecilia Metra, FIEEE, is a Full Professor at the University of Bologna (Italy), from which she received the degree in Electronic Engineering and the PhD in Electronic Engineering and Computer Science. She was Vice-President and President of the School of Engineering of the University of Bologna, and Visiting Faculty Consultant for Intel Corporation (Santa Clara, California). She is IEEE Director, Division VIII. She was IEEE Director, Division V, and the 2019 President of the IEEE Computer Society.
Abstract: The Metaverse is emerging as a new layer connecting the digital and the real worlds into a unified environment, offering enhanced opportunities to a huge variety of application fields, with potentials for inclusive accessibility to all. AI plays a key role in enabling the metaverse, by providing humans’ interaction with the metaverse, and allowing a personalized experience in the metaverse. AI reliability, safety and security challenges to enable a trustworthy metaverse will be discussed.
Vanitha Kumar, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering at Qualcomm Technologies Inc.
Connectivity & AI Symbiosis : Leadership in the Era of Connected Intelligence
Friday, May 16 | 13:00 – 13:30
To be introduced by Timothy Lee, President, IEEE USA 2025
About:
About
About: Vanitha Kumar is a Senior Vice President of Software Engineering at Qualcomm Technologies Incorporated. Vanitha has over 25 years of experience in the wireless telecommunications industry and in embedded software architecture, design, and development. In her current role at Qualcomm, Vanitha leads the modem & connectivity SW technology team which includes 5G, 4G-LTE, WLAN, Bluetooth, Satellite Techs, Wireless ML, Gen-AI and automotive technologies across multiple global locations.
Abstract: We are at an extremely interesting inflection point. The technologies that have been independently evolving over the last two decades are entering a stage where they will be feeding each other, opening doors for new use cases and industries to see big evolutions. With these big opportunities come big responsibilities to make sure we are building these technologies the right way with increased focus on security, privacy and greater good while making sure we leave no one behind.
Michaela Blott, Senior Fellow, AMD
Enabling the AI Revolution
Friday, May 16 | 16:50 – 17:35
To be introduced by Cecilia Metra, University of Bologna
About: Cecilia Metra, FIEEE, is a Full Professor at the University of Bologna (Italy), from which she received the degree in Electronic Engineering and the PhD in Electronic Engineering and Computer Science. She was Vice-President and President of the School of Engineering of the University of Bologna, and Visiting Faculty Consultant for Intel Corporation (Santa Clara, California). She is IEEE Director, Division VIII. She was IEEE Director, Division V, and the 2019 President of the IEEE Computer Society.
About
About: Dr. Michaela Blott is a Senior Fellow at AMD Research. She heads a team of international scientists driving groundbreaking research in computer architectures for AI, green AI, model optimizations and agile compiler stacks. Her academic journey includes a Ph.D. from Trinity College Dublin and a Master’s degree from the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany, and brings over 25 years of experience in leading-edge computer architecture and advanced FPGA design, in research institutions (ETH Zurich and Bell Labs) and development organizations. She is highly active in the research community as industrial advisor to numerous EU projects and research centres, serves on technical program committees and was recognized through multiple Women in Tech Awards.
Abstract: The hype surrounding AI has reached unprecedented levels, with governments and industries engaged in an arm’s race towards Artificial General Intelligence. As AI permeates every aspect of our lives, from smart sensors and hearing aids to automotive, robotics, and high-energy particle physics, we face a diverse range of challenges that extend far beyond the widely discussed performance scalability and sustainability.These challenges include demanding requirements such as nanosecond latency, tiny footprints, functional safety, and a high degree of customization. This talk provides insights into the broad emerging spectrum of AI applications and discusses our latest research demonstrating how these challenges, ranging from bag tagging to 6G, can be addressed with a comprehensive portfolio of compute fabrics, agile AI stacks and innovative solutions.