TechConnect World 2026 Program - Thursday March 12

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7:30	Registration	RCC Main Lobby
8:30	SBIR/STTR Innovator Training Workshop 8:30am-4:30pm (Additional Registration Required)	RCC 201
8:30	Extraction of Critical Minerals from Diverse Sources	Marriott State D
	Session chair: Alison Fritz, National Energy Technology Laboratory
	From Bottlenecks to Breakthroughs: Scaling a Domestic Rare Earth Industry K. Stoll, Critical Materials Recycling, US
	Electrochemical Separation For Chemical-Free Lithium Extraction From Geothermal Brines: Prospects and Challenges L. Kong, Y. Yu, K. Hu, X. Liu, George Washington University, US
	Direct lithium extraction from brines, minerals, and batter leachates M.P. Paranthaman, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US
	Membrane Solvent Extraction for the Recovery of Rare Earths from Phosphate Mining Process Streams G.G. Jang, H. Liang, A. Medley, P. Zhang, P. Paranthaman, C. Tsouris, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US
	Rare Earth Element (REE) Recovery from Coal Waste and Byproducts Using a Simple Weak Acid Dissolution Process T.I. Pfeiffer, D.A. Bagdonas, M.S. Behrens, University of Wyoming, US
	*STUDENT BEST ABSTRACT HONORABLE MENTION* Scrub n’ Sort: Producing A Dry Rare-Earth Mineral Concentrate Through Preferential Breakage, Ore Scrubbing, And Rock Sortation At The Bear Lodge Rare Earth Deposit C. Gorski, Colorado School of Mines, US
	A Novel Energy-Efficient Scalable Membrane Process for Separation and Recovery of High Purity Rare Earth and Battery Materials from Concentrated and Dilute Domestic Resources S.Z. Islam, D.A. Kang, B. Trusty, S. Dangwal, R. Bhave, P. Paranthaman, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US
9:00	SBIR/STTR Session TBA	RCC 305B
9:00	PFAS and Emerging Contaminant Remediation	Marriott Congressional B
	Session chair: Meng Wang, University of Houston, & Zhe Qiang, University of Southern Mississippi
	AI-Aided Inverse Membrane Design for Minimizing PFAS and Emerging Contaminants Y. Chen, Georgia Institute of Technology, US
	Supercritical water oxidation for the destruction of PFAS-impacted waste streams R. Schmitz, 374Water, US
	Electrochemical degradation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl acids using titanium suboxide anodes Q. Huang, University of Georgia, US
	UV-Based PFAS Destruction from Bench-Scale to Pilot-Scale at an Industrial Manufacturing Site Z. Liu, Claros Technologies Inc., US
	Catalytic Destruction of Persistent Gas-phase PFAS P.M. Kester, Guild Associates, Inc., US
	Novel Surface Modified Clay for PFAS Remediation in Groundwater M.S. Donovan, R. Dickman, Minerals Technologies, Inc, US
	Decoding PFOS Fate and System Design for Fe-Electrocoagulation G. Kadarkarai, B.K. Mayer, P.J. McNamara, Marquette University, US
	PFAS Treatment Market: Incumbent And Emerging Technologies, Key Players, And Trends S. Selim, C. O'Brien, IDTechEx, UK
9:00	Molecular and Physiological Sensors for Precision Health	Marriott University A
	Session chair: Amay Bandodkar, North Carolina State University
	Advanced Wearable Microfluidic Systems for Remote Hydration and Health Management R. Ghaffari, Northwestern University, US
	Monitoring the Movement of Molecules in the Body via Real- time Aptamer-based Sensors N. Arroyo-Curras, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, US
	Integrated Point-of-Care Biosensors for Pharmacological Adherence and Pathogen Biomarker Monitoring M.F. Smiechowski, E. Akkari, Guild BioSciences, US
9:00	Advanced Manufacturing Innovation	Marriott University B
	Session chair: Ani Sumant, Argonne National Laboratory
	Scalable manufacturing of nanostructured surfaces that manipulate visible and IR light N.C. Scott, L. Micklow, R. McDonald, S. Furst, Smart Material Solutions, LLC, US
	Data-Driven Design of Job-Specific Insoles for Construction Roofers R. Kayastha, K. Kisi, J. Tate, Texas State University, US
	Process–Structure–Property Control in Laser-Induced Graphene Composite Manufacturing P. Kang, B.G. Kim, George Mason University, US
	A Multimodal Agentic RAG System for Real-Time Guidance in Composite Manufacturing Facilities K. Chawla, K. Mora-Gonzalez, T. Ghosal, W. Halsey, V. Paquit, A.A. Hassen, S. Kim, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US
	Improving Manufacturing with Adaptive Learning in Industry 4.0: Challenges, and Policy Implications B. Doskenov, O. Adaji, R. Dosumu, Pacific Seafood, US
9:00	AI Innovations	Marriott State E
	Session chair: Bart Romanowicz, TechConnect Division, ATI
	Dependence-Aware Multi-Agent Intelligence for Adaptive Fraud Detection T. Ekin, K. Mandadapu, L. Shaw, Texas State University, US
	GENESIS: Self‑Organizing Orchestration of Agents and Foundation Models over DDS J. Upchurch, Real-Time Innovations, US
	PATHOS AI: A Secure, Institution-Specific AI Platform for Personalized Academic Advising E.C. Zhu Fainman, Texas State University, US
	Operationalizing Adversarial AI Resilience: A Framework for Trustworthy and Secure AI in Critical Sectors M. Kumar, Guidehouse, US
	Incorporating the Assessment Process into Actions Owned by All, Not Just Safety S. Larson, H. Chapman, Inseer, US
	Integrated Digital Engineering for National Security Advantage V. Perumal, A. Stein, UHV3D, Inc. (dba CAMINNO), US
9:00	Polymer-Based Material Design  and Fabrication Innovations Positioned to Improve Healthcare	Marriott State B
	Session chair: Pat Brant, ExxonMobil (retired), & Kim Chaffin, Medtronic
	Advances in Elastomeric Material Design with RX-AM(TM) Reactive Additive Manufacturing C.M. Leibig, Chromatic 3D Materials Inc., US
	A Hydrogel-Elastomer Composite Approach to Elastomer Lubricity, Hydrogel Durability, and Biomechanically Accurate Soft-Tissue Mimics T.S. Bailey, J.G. Luther, A.J. Gebhardt, R.D. Duquette, K.D. Denef, Gelastomerics LLC | Colorado State University, US
	Encapsulation of small molecules in polymer nanoparticles through kinetic trapping E. Van Keuren, M. Mugnai, O. Bulgin, F. Diaz Ruiz, Y. Chung, A. Stevens, M. Mullin, E. Bird, K. Jeon, M. Snideman, Georgetown University, US
	PCANS: A Multi-Modal Nasal Spray for Enhanced Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Against Respiratory Infections A. Banerjee, Brigham and Women's Hospital, US
	Designing for Degradation: the Next Frontier of 3D Printing Resorbable Medical Devices M.L. Becker, Duke University, US
	Demystifying the Hype and Promise of AI in Materials G.J. Mulholland, Citrine Informatics, US
	Fractomer™: Harnessing An Intrinsically Disordered Protein Polymer Platform for Soft-Tissue Reconstruction S. Roberts, M. Anderson, E. Budziszewski, R. Putnam, S. Hollenbeck, A. Chilkoti, inSoma Bio, Inc., US
9:00	Precision Health and Diagnostics	Marriott University C
	Session chair: Prakash Nallathamby, Notre Dame University
	A Novel Cell Deformability Measurement for Rapid Sepsis Detection K. Liu, S. Du, NaMi Diagnostics, US
	RapiSep: A Plasma Separator Enabling Rapid and Decentralized Blood Processing and Diagnostics M. Sun, H. Feng, J. Zhiguo Zhou, MicroFAST Dx, US
	Ambient Intelligent Infrastructure™: A Voice-to-Visual Edge AI Platform for Precision Guidance in Clinical Environments R. Schmid, Intelligent Clinical Systems, US
	A Portable, Field-Ready Intubation Stylet to Enhance Airway Access and First-Pass Success in Critical and Austere Settings M.J. Peck, D. Alias, fpaBIO,LLC, US
	A handheld photoacoustic imaging probe for real-time deep tissue oxygenation mapping V.D. Vincely, M. Dickerson, C.L. Bayer, LumaWave, US
	SCRIPTURE: Neuro Sensor Diagnostics for Human Performance and Recovery (Sensor Enabled, Closed Loop, Rapid Interventions and Performance Training for Ultimate Readiness Enhancement) D. Sten, R. Wareham, K. Loh, S10 Neuro, US
9:00	SPM: Nanomechanics	RCC 306C
	Session chair: Ricardo Garcia, CSIC
	Unraveling the Nanoscale Mechanical and Rheological Properties of Hydrogels through Colloid-Probe Force Spectroscopy P.C. Nalam, University at Buffalo, US
	Atomic Force Microscopy-based modes for nanoscale elastic-plastic characterization of materials used in hybrid bonding G. Stan, N.A. Alderete, C.V. Ciobanu, National Institute of Standards and Technology, US
	Surface nanomechanical mapping of glassy gels: Between network and glass B. Chen, I. Saito, R.J. Sheridan, K.J. Kwon, L.C. Brinson, M.D. Dickey, Duke University, US
	Structural and functional characterization of single mitochondria using atomic force microscopy I. Rosenhek-Goldian, E.O. Zorikova, S. Chourasia, S.R. Cohen, S.V. Nesterov, A. Gross, Weizmann Institute of Science, IL
	AFM-nanoDMA for Measuring Nanoscale Viscoelastic Properties in Industrial Research H. Lee, B. Fu, H. Lechuga, E. Imbertson, 3M, US
	Quantitative Contact-Resonance AFM in High-Damping Materials: Accurate Extraction of Stiffness and Dissipation N. Zimron-Politi, R.C. Tung, University of Nevada, Reno, US
9:00	Keys to Storage Commercialization and Deployment	RCC 306B
	Session chair: Erik Spoerke, Department of Energy, Will McNamara, Sandia National Laboratories, & Xiaolin Li, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
	Can New York state realize its long-duration energy storage (LDES) goal of 600MW by 2030? N. Trivedi, B. Xavier, Vrinda Inc., US
	Mobilizing Investment to Spur LDES Technologies K. Johnston, NextGen Energy, US
	Design for Manufacturing as the Bridge to Scalable Long-Duration Energy Storage K.P. Meagher, The BESSt Company, US
	Leveling Up: Advancing how Future Storage will Turbocharge Economic Value E. Hsieh, Department of Energy, US
	Storage Innovations 2030: A Path to Storage Abundance by Bridging Gaps V. Durvasulu, W.H. Balliet, P. Balducci, B. Shrager, Idaho National Laboratory, US
	EverBESS: a tool for assessing the end-of-life management costs of sodium-ion battery energy storage systems A. Baby, J.R. Elias, Q. Dai, J.S. Spangenberger, Argonne National Laboratory, US
	Community-Scale Battery Storage Demonstrations for Grid Resilience in Puerto Rico D.L. Troche, Boriken Futuro, US
9:00	Semiconductor Industry: Challenges and Opportunities	Marriott State F
	Session chair: Alex Norman, Princeton University
	Materials on Demand: A Computational Framework for Accelerated ab initio Material and Device Simulation D. Hill, Y. Gong, S. Rakheja, A. Tunga, A. Janotti, R. Hu, M. Grupen, SRI International, US
	AYRSORB™ MOF-derived Gallium Oxides (Ga₂O₃) in 3D Heterogeneous Integration R.O.K. Ozdemir, D. Young, C. Ybanez, framergy, Inc., US
	Security Through Geometry P. Bayley, K. Jackson, D. Henderson, R. Nuguru, Forward Edge-AI, Inc., US
	Engineering Atomic-Ternary Semiconductors from TRL-3 Materials to TRL-4 Resilient Power Modules S. Bashir, J.L. Liu, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, US
	A Comparative Study of Isotropic (XeF₂) and Anisotropic (KOH) Etching Techniques for the Fabrication and Release of MEMS Thermal Actuators T. Le, A. Dahal, T. Garcia, L. Majid, University of New Mexico, US
	Thermal Characterization of Thin-Film Aluminum Oxynitride (AlON) Using a Dual-Loop Liquid Heat Exchange Method B.J. Soller, M. Romero, J. Schmitt, D. Huitink, W. Vinson, M. Norris, T. Akintunde, Nitride Global, Inc., University of Arkansas, US
	Scaling Novel Photonic Materials: Lessons from Barium Titanate for the Semiconductor Industry A. Demkov, A. Posadas, La Luce Cristallina, Inc., US
	Metrology-Integrated Microfabrication Course: Closing the Loop Between Process, Measurement and SPC for Workforce Readiness M.W. Pleil, N. Jackson, University of New Mexico, US
	Effective solutions for semiconductor technician education in the community college setting T.J. Pennell, S. Georgiakaki, Tompkins Cortland Community College, US
9:00	TechConnect Innovation Spotlights: Advanced Materials, AI, Biotech, and Defense	RCC 305A
	Session chair: Jonathan Jakischa, TechConnect Division, ATI
	Review Panelist E. Runge, Launch Chapel Hill, US
	Review Panelist J. Hardin, North Carolina Department of Commerce, US
	Review Panelist J. Bindra, University of Ottawa, CA
	Review Panelist S. Vohnout, OppsSpot, US
	Review Panelist O. Buchan, Lockheed Martin, US
	Durable, Non-Wetting Surface Solutions K. Nithyanandam, Impact Innovations LLC, US
	Plasmonic Cooling for Spacecraft Components Through Ultrafast Laser Surface Structuring K. Campbell, Quantum Qool, US
	The Vision-to-Motion (V2M) Engine A. Sharotry, Texas State University, US
	Fungal Sphaeropsidin A for Refractory Cancer A. Kornienko, Texas State University, US
	Rare-Earth-Free Magnets Via Field Assisted 3D Printing P. Karkhanis, Texas State University-San Marcos, US
	Smart Catheter M. Keelen, Tessefi Medical Solutions, US
9:00	TechConnect Horizons Workforce Development Program, Supporting Emerging Technology Manufacturing Workforce and Development	Marriott State C
	Session chair: Jared Ashcroft, Pasadena City College
	Digital Twin and AI (DTAI) Based Training Content Capture, Creation, and Customization Skills Lab for All A. Ahmadi, Mercer County Community College, US
10:00	Wearable Sensor Technologies for Extreme Environments	Marriott University A
	Session chair: Amay Bandodkar, North Carolina State University
	Wearable Ultrasound for Personalized Physiology Monitoring in Extreme Environments F.Y. Yamaner A.O. Biliroglu, J. Currens, V. Papadopoulou, R. Moon, O. Oralkan, Clearsens Inc., US
	Using Wearable Sensors to Measure the Thermal Burden of Protective Garments M. Hegarty-Craver, H.J. Walls, RTI International, US
	Multimodal Haptic Feedback Device for Environment Monitoring B.E. Uzunoglu, O. Ojuade, M. Aleem, L.C. Hsiao, V. Misra, A.J. Bandodkar, North Carolina State University, US
	Automated, Dynamic Optical Biosensing Device for Continuous Organ Assessment During Machine Perfusion A. Anzum, S. Nelluri, A. Lewandowski, A.D. Ortega-Zambrano, A. Vazquez-Guardado, North Carolina State University, US
10:00	TechConnect Horizons Workforce Development Program, Supporting Emerging Technology Manufacturing Workforce and Development	Marriott Chancellor
	Session chair: Jared Ashcroft, Pasadena City College
	VR/AR Session for Semiconductor Manufacturing Educational Tools
10:00	TechConnect Innovation Spotlights: Advanced Materials, AI, Biotech, and Defense	RCC 305A
	Session chair: Emma Mooney, TechConnect Division, ATI
	Review Panelist D. Horn, Greenville ENC Alliance, US
	Review Panelist S. Davis, NCInnovation, US
	Review Panelist M. Fiscus, NCInnovation, US
	Review Panelist A. Monteza, North Carolina State University, US
	Review Panelist D. Putnam, Town of Chapel Hill, US
	Review Panelist J. Bowers, Lockheed Martin, US
	Safer, Extreme Temperature Tolerant, Sodium-Ion Batteries for Military Microgrid Applications T. Vosburgh, Coulomb Technology, Inc., US
	Advanced thermal technology T. Sehnem, Innovative Thermal Labs, Inc., US
	Novel, Transformative Neurosensing Materials R. Cooley, Nuream, Inc, US
	Fibrosis-preventing, vascularizing, non-degrading materials for implantable device encapsulation K. Papas, Procyon Technologies, US
	GENESIS: A Fully Distributed Self Organizing Agentic Framework J. Upchurch, Real-Time Innovations, US
	LATCHES (Large-Area Transactive Cooling & Heat Energy Storage) S. Birch, ThermoVerse, US
	AI-Powered Fiber Composition Identification R. Geppert, Refiberd, US
10:00	SBIR/STTR Session TBA	RCC 305B
11:00	SBA (Private Meeting)	RCC 305B
12:00	Lunch Break	On own
1:15	Critical Materials - Workshop (open to all conference attendees)	Marriott State D
	Session chair: Santa Jansone Popova, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
	Rare Earths and Permanent Magnets: TEA, Life Cycle, and Supply Chain B.J. Smith, Argonne National Laboratory, US
	From Mine to Concentrate: Extraction, Processing, and Separation C. Anderson, Colorado School of Mines, US
	Rare Earth Separation Technologies: History, Progress, and Current Practice S. Jansone Popova, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US
	Turning Waste into Resource: Secondary and Unconventional Feedstocks A. Fritz, National Energy Technology Laboratory, US
	Permanent Magnets: From Fundamentals to Recycling A. Palasyuk, Ames National Laboratory, US

• All Sessions
• Tuesday
• Wednesday
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