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Keynote Speakers Announced for Industry Tech Days 2021

August 04, 2021 by Kate Smith

Check out who's headlining Industry Tech Days 2021. You won't want to miss these conversations with some of the most influential engineers in the world.

Last year, Industry Tech Days (ITD) 2020 boasted keynotes with Amazon Web Services, edX, Roborace, Qualcomm, Digi-Key, Mouser, and Jabil. 

This year's lineup is another collection of all-stars joining to chat with Daniel Bogdanoff—EE, Test Gear Geek at Keysight Technologies, and host extraordinaire. Here's a sneak peek at the topics we'll cover in each session when ITD 2021 goes live the week of September 13th–17th. 

Click here to register for Industry Tech Days 2021

 

Massimo Banzi, Co-Founder and CTO of Arduino

 

 

I'd bet money that everyone in our community has heard of Arduino and many of you have actively used an Arduino board, whether it was for fun or to test a design. But did you know that Arduino's going pro?

Massimo Banzi is a fascinating conversationalist, as proved by our Moore's Lobby podcast episode with him this year, and he's an open book about his philosophies concerning open-source innovation in the hardware world.

In this keynote, Banzi will share insider insights into Arduino's brand new shift into the world of industrial hardware. This is a shift that few can say they saw coming as Arduino branches away from projects like wall-following robots and sets its sights on projects like industrial robots assembling cars in a factory. 

Register for Massimo Banzi's Keynote Session


 

Victor Glover and Michael Hopkins, NASA Astronauts

 

 

Yeah, that's right. We're talking to engineers who have been to space.

There are engineers currently hurtling 17,000 mph 250 miles above the Earth on the International Space Station. Two of these astronauts were until very recently Victor J. Glover, Jr. and Michael S. Hopkins, who landed back planet-side after Crew-1 of SpaceX Crew Dragon ("Resilience") touched down in May.

Victor and Michael will speak with us about spacewalks, being hands-on with cutting-edge technologies, and what it's like to engineer in the vacuum of space.

Register for Michael Hopkins and Victor Glover's Keynote Session

 

Brandon Moak, Co-Founder and CTO of Embark

 

 

What happened with your engineering projects from university? Odds are good that, no matter how interesting they were, none of them segued into a $5 billion business. 

Brandon Moak is the CTO of Embark, an autonomous semi-trucking company that developed the first vehicle of its kind to complete an autonomous route from coast-to-coast in the US. At a strikingly young age, Moak and co-founder/CEO Alex Rodrigues, designed an autonomous golf cart transportation system at the University of Waterloo. They soon launched Embark and joined the Y Combinator accelerator program. Five years later, Moak is leading the engineering team that aims to revolutionize autonomous trucking at scale.

Hear the wild story of developing some of the world's biggest robots.

Register for Brandon Moaks's Keynote Session

 

Dr. Jeffrey Welser, Vice President of Exploratory Science and University Partnerships of IBM Research

 

 

IBM Research is one of the leading research institutions in the technology sector. Their latest milestone, the 2 nm chip, stands to push back the seemingly eternally impending death of Moore's law. They're also leading the charge in advancing quantum computing and cloud-based artificial intelligence. 

So how does IBM Research decide what to pursue? And how do we go from the R&D process to putting technology into the hands of designers? This keynote with Dr. Jeffrey Welser (whose Ph.D. is in Electrical Engineering) will pull apart the pieces of lofty research goals and help us understand the engineering needs and techniques at their center.

Register for Dr. Jeffrey Welser's Keynote Session
 

Industry Panel

  • Dave Doherty, President and COO of Digi-Key Electronics
  • Steve Sanghi, Executive Chair of Microchip Technology
  • Michael Knight, Senior Vice President of TTI’s Corporate Business Development

 

 

The global chip shortage is still affecting designers, manufacturers, and distributors around the globe. This conversation features three unique perspectives from distributors and semiconductor manufacturers about what shapes chip demands, how shortages change the way the industry functions, and what we can learn about seeing them coming or at least insulating against their effects.

Register for the Industry Panel Keynote Session
 

See you in September!