Keynote Speakers

Jocelyn Bell Burnell is best known for her discovery of pulsars in 1967, considered one of the most significant astronomical discoveries of the twentieth century. She has won a multitude of awards for her pioneering work on pulsars, including the fourth ever Special Breakthrough Prize In Fundamental Physics, awarded to her in 2018. Since then, Dr. Bell Burnell has held prominent roles in physics and astronomy, including the presidency of the Institute of the Royal Astronomical Society, and the presidency of the Institute of Physics. She has also been a role model for young students and women in physics, speaking on the difficulties of being a minority in the scientific community, and the reality of imposter syndrome. She is currently a visiting professor of astrophysics at the University of Oxford.

Jeff Dahn is a Dalhousie University professor, recognized as one of the pioneering developers of the lithium-ion battery that is now used worldwide in laptop computers and cell-phones. His recent work has concentrated on increasing the energy density, improving the lifetime and lowering the cost of lithium ion batteries. Before taking up his faculty position at Dalhousie, he worked at the National Research Council of Canada, and at Moli Energy Limited. Throughout his career, he has received numerous awards and honours, and has held numerous prestigious positions. Previously, he was the NSERC/3M Canada Industrial Research Chair in Materials for Advanced Batteries. Currently, he is partnered with Tesla Motors/Energy as an NSERC/Tesla Canada Industrial Research Chair. 

John Dutcher is a professor at the University of Guelph. His lab performs cutting edge research on the fundamental soft matter and biological physics of systems. His group has discovered a novel type of polysaccharide nanoparticle, PhytoSpherix, which they have developed into a promising industrial technology. His group interacts strongly with industry, and currently has several exciting collaborations with companies. Their own spinoff company, Mirexus Biotechnologies, commercializes their group's novel nanotechnology for markets including biomedical and nutraceutical applications. Dr. Dutcher currently holds the position of Canada Research Chair in Soft Matter and Biological Physics. 

Themos Kallos is the co-founder and Chief Science Officer of META. He is an experienced electrical engineer with expertise in applied physics, metamaterials, wireless communications, and electromagnetic simulations. Dr. Kallos leads the innovation, research, and the team of scientists at MTI. He has worked toward pioneering commercially viable metamaterial technologies in solar, optical filters, and LED and technologies. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California, and has over 10 years’ experience in applied physics, engineering, and technical project management. Dr. Kallos was the winner of the 2009 IEEE Doctoral Thesis Prize of the Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society. He has filed 28 patent applications, and has authored over 50 publications in applied physics, electromagnetics and metamaterials.