INEC/iSCSS 2024

RAdm Thomas Anderson

Program Executive Officer, Ships

RAdm JJ Bailey FIMarEST

INEC Chair

Jeremy Bailey has had a varied career in the Royal Navy since 1992. He joined as a Marine Engineer Officer where he has served on Type 23 surface ships conducting operations; serving in the MOD Naval Staff during SDSR 2010; been the Team Lead for engineering support to Type 23 Frigates and developing the support solution for Type 45 Destroyers and Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers.

In 2019, he assumed Command of HMNB Portsmouth and led the mobilisation of the Carrier Base capability, delivered all Naval Base outputs through the COVID Pandemic, acquired and delivered the Portsmouth Future Maritime Support Programme transformation and led the Naval Base Net Zero Carbon programme to set a long-term commitment to achieving Net Zero by 2050.  From June 2022 he served as Commandant of the Defence College of Technical Training delivering military engineers and technicians for all 3 services. 

Promoted to Rear Admiral in February 2023, he joined the Submarine Delivery Agency as the Director Submarine Support responsible for the delivery of available and capable Submarines to the Royal Navy, disposal of the legacy Submarine fleet and Maritime Technical Infrastructure portfolio to deliver sovereign submarine support.

Vice Admiral Martin Connell CBE, Second Sea Lord

Royal Navy

No bio provided

RAdm Rachel Durbin

Head of Navy Engineering, Royal Australian Navy

Rear Admiral Rachel Durbin, CSC, RAN, grew up in the NSW Snowy Mountains and joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1993 through the Australian Defence Force Academy as a Marine Engineer. She spent her sea-time onboard HMA Ships Westralia, Anzac, Canberra and Perth deployed on operations in the Persian Gulf, conducting exercises in North and South East Asia, fisheries operations in the Southern Ocean and border protection off Northern Australia.

Following promotion to Captain in 2013, RADM Durbin enjoyed strategic roles within the Rizzo Reform Program, Major Surface Ships Sustainment (CASG) and Navy Capability Division. On promotion to CDRE in 2021, RADM Durbin served as Director General Engineering—Navy from 2021–2023. In March 2023 RADM Durbin was promoted to Rear Admiral and assumed the role of Head Navy Engineering. She has also served within the Navy Leadership and Culture Program and Navy Workforce Management responsible for engineering workforce requirements and remediation.

RADM Durbin was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in 2013. She holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical), Master in Engineering Management, Master in Arts in Strategy and Management, is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology. She is also a graduate of both the Australian Command and Staff Course and the Defence Strategic Studies Course.

Captain Rinze Geertsma FIMarEST

iSCSS Chair, TU Delft and NLDA

No bio provided

Sarah Kenny OBE

Chief Executive, BMT

Sarah Kenny is the Chief Executive for BMT; a leading international scientific and engineering technical services business, with deep specialism in maritime.  A marine environmental scientist by background, Sarah has worked in maritime science and technology businesses throughout her career. 

Sarah has just finished her tenure as Chair of Maritime UK, she is a board member of Maritime London, and a Trustee Director of the National Oceanography Centre.  She is also a member of the UK Defence Innovation Advisory Panel, and the National Shipbuilding Office SEG group. 

Sarah is proud to be an Honorary Captain of the Royal Navy, an Honorary member of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors, and a Younger Brother of Trinity House.

Sarah was awarded an OBE in the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours list, for services to the Maritime Industry and Diversity.  

Marnix Krikke

Deputy Program Director International Maritime Materiel Cooperation, Netherlands Ministry of Defence

Lino Magnoni

Head of Unmanned Integration Department, Fincantieri

With my present role in Fincantieri and the previous experience in Leonardo Helicopters Division I have spent more than twenty years in the development and integration of complex systems, of which more than ten years spent in unmanned systems.

My experience was obtained at first in the aeronautical sector (up to take the role of head of the AWHERO Rotary Wing UAS Avionics Systems Design and Development) and, subsequently, in the multi-domain Maritime Unmanned System (air, surface and underwater).

In the Naval Vessel business unit of Fincantieri, I am responsible for the Integration of Unmanned Systems on Fincantieri assets.

The role is aimed at using unmanned systems and their technologies to expand or add capabilities to surface vessels and submarines and ensure effective integration from concept definition up to the delivery of the solution to the customer.

Vice Admiral Paul Marshall CB CBE

Director General Gateway

Paul Marshall was born and schooled in the West Midlands before joining the Royal Navy in 1988. He studied Engineering (BEng(Hons) 1992) at the Royal Naval Engineering College, Manadon and at University College, London (MSc 1997); and he is a graduate of the Advanced Command and Staff Course (2001) and Higher Command and Staff Course (2015) at the Joint Command and Staff College, Shrivenham. He is a graduate of UK/US Rising Leaders Programme (2014) and the Major Projects Leadership Academy (2018). 

His operational career at sea has seen tours in the Far East (1992, 1997) including the handover of Hong Kong, counter-narcotics duties in the Caribbean (1994), the Gulf (1997), the South Atlantic (2002), Africa (1989, 2002) and in support of Operation TELIC (2nd Gulf War, 2003). From 2010-2012 he was the Staff Marine Engineer Officer of the Portsmouth Flotilla, super-intending the operational engineering activity across half of the RN’s surface fleet. Roles ashore have included helping to establish the UK’s Joint Forces Command as the Principal Staff Officer to the 4* Commander, for which he was appointed CBE (2015), as well as, Advisor to the Head of the Iraqi Navy (2006-2007) when he was awarded the US Bronze Star for Meritorious Service; and the Assistant Naval Attaché in Washington DC (2007-2010).

He has served in major programme delivery roles, mainly in engineering transformation and shipbuilding which also involved delivering T26 frigates from design to manufacture and international export as Senior Responsible Owner.  On promotion to Rear Admiral, he became the first Director of the Naval Acquisition portfolio which included acting as SRO for delivery of the T31 Frigate and Fleet Solid Support Programme.

In 2022 he moved from Navy Command to Defence Equipment and Support, assuming the role of Director General Ships, responsible for the acquisition and support of the surface Fleet. In July 2024, under the DE&S Transformation, he assumed the role of Director General Gateway, responsible for the single point of entry for all Defence requirements into DE&S.

He was appointed CB in the 2023 New Year Honours list is also the MOD’s Defence Engineering Champion and Head of Profession (Engineering) and President of RN Rugby League. Paul left the Regular Royal Navy in June 2023 and is now employed as a Senior Civil Servant and a Royal Naval Reservist. He is DE&S Reserves Champion, Sustainability Champion, and Co-Chair of the DE&S Race and Culture Network.

Paul enjoys keeping fit, listening to, and playing music, is an avid reader (of anything but especially history and philosophy), DIY reluctant participant, enthusiastic photographer and (sometimes) poet. 

RAdm Steve McCarthy FIMarEST

Director Ships Operations and Capability Integration, UK Defence Equipment and Support

Steve McCarthy is married to Odette, a Physics teacher and is father to twins Kieran and Tristan. They share their family home near Bath (UK) with Tala the Border Collie.
He took up his current role in UK Defence Equipment and Support as Director Ships Operations and Capability Integration in March 2023. He is responsible for the Portfolio Management of through life availability and capability integration of Royal Navy Ships, Royal Fleet Auxiliary Ships and UK Ministry of Defence Boats.
Steve joined the Royal Navy in 1990 and graduated as a Marine Engineer Officer in 1994 after training at sea and at the Royal Naval Engineering College, Manadon. He read for a Master of Science degree in Marine Engineering at University College London in 1998, is a Chartered Marine Engineer and a Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology.
Steve is a graduate of the UK Defence Academy Advanced Command and Staff Course, a Member of the Association of Project Management and a Member of the Royal College of Defence Studies.
His seagoing appointments include: Deputy Marine Engineer Officer in the Type 23 Frigate HMS Marlborough, Senior Engineer in the Helicopter and Commando Carrier HMS Ocean, Commander E in the Aircraft Carrier HMS Illustrious and Staff Marine Engineer Officer to Flag Officer Sea Training (South).
His project leadership experience includes: Programme Manager for the Surface Ship Support Programme; Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers Chief Engineer; Capital Ships Support Team Leader; and Head of Naval Ships Support. Away from Engineering, Steve has worked on the staff of Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth and as Deputy Chief of Staff in the UK Permanent Joint Headquarters Forward staff in Pakistan.
Steve was appointed Chief Naval Engineer Officer in October 2023, with responsibility to implement the Naval Engineering Strategy and to champion the Profession’s vital contribution to the Royal Navy’s operational success.

Younus Abbas

Principal Mechanical Engineer, Babcock International

Maria Acanfora

Researcher, University of Naples "Federico II"

No bio provided

Gaurav Achha

Co-Founder, BonV Aero

No bio provided

Dr Nitin Agarwala

Senior Fellow, Centre for Joint Warfare Studies

No bio provided

Quentin Ageneau

Software Architect, Sirehna

No bio provided

Sultan Alam Khan

Co-Founder, BonV Aero

No bio provided

Dr Talal Alhajeri

Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Mekhtaf Design and Engineering

Marco Altosole

Full Professor, University of Naples "Federico II"

No bio provided

Mohan Anantharaman

Senior Lecturer, Australian Maritime College

No bio provided

Christian Høyem Andersen

Mathematic Model Engineer, Kongsberg Digital

No bio provided

RAdm Thomas Anderson

Program Executive Officer, Ships

Lars Appelstroem

ABB

No bio provided

Dr Myo Aung

Naval Architect & PhD student, Strathclyde University

No bio provided

Ms Kylie Austin

Deputy Director Safety Analysis, Royal Australian Navy

William Ayliffe

Senior Naval Engineer, BMT

No bio provided

Mr Chris Baker

Naval Architect, MOD

Mr William Balfour

Naval Architect & Marine Engineer, MOD

Flavio Balsamo

Associate Professor, University of Naples "Federico II"

No bio provided

Gethin Barden

Mechanical Engineer, Royal Australian Navy

Dr Thomas Beard

Senior Analysis Engineer, BMT

Dr Daniele Belvisi

PhD researcher, University of Genoa

Dan Bernasconi

Emirates Team New Zealand

No bio provided

Erik-Jan Boonen

Principal Research Engineer, DAMEN

No bio provided

Professor Evangelos Boulougouris

Professor, University of Strathclyde

No bio provided

Charles Brooking

Defence Equipment & Support

No bio provided

Daisy Brooks

SubSea Craft

No bio provided

Gabriele Bruzzone

Research manager, CNR-INM

No bio provided

John Buckingham

Chief Mechanical Engineer, BMT

John Buckingham is the Chief Mechanical Engineer at BMT. A Fellow of the IMechE, he has over 39 years’ experience in marine engineering systems design.  He has designed and analysed hybrid power and propulsion systems for naval and commercial vessels and is currently involved with the modelling and analysis of marine energy saving technologies, and how they can improve energy efficiency indices.  He has been the technical lead for a wide range of technology studies and concept development work, specifically on studies relating to energy saving technologies and heat management systems.  He is currently looking at how absorption chiller plant can benefit the efficiency of ships’ air conditioning systems.

Massimo Caccia

Senior Researcher, CNR-INM

Marie Cahillane

Cranfield University

No bio provided

Professor Paolo Castaldi

Associate Professor, University of Bologna

Levi Catton

Gibbs and Cox Australia

No bio provided

Alessandro Caviglia

System Engineer, Fincantieri NexTech

Lev Chernyshev

PhD student, University of Canterbury

Sanjay Chhabra

Independent Consultant

No bio provided

Roberto Chiti

Deputy of Engineering, Project Leader of U212 NFS (Automation), Fincantieri NexTech

Joseph Cole

Director of Naval Ship Concept Design, Royal Australian Navy

Vice Admiral Martin Connell CBE, Second Sea Lord

Royal Navy

No bio provided

Dr Andrea Coraddu

Associate Professor, TU Delft

No bio provided

Simon Corkery

Emirates Team New Zealand

No bio provided

Dennis Curvers

Data Acquisition, Royal Netherlands Navy

Professor Fabio D'Agostino

Tenure Track Professor, University of Genoa

No bio provided

Robert Damerius

Research Assistant, University of Rostock

Professor Luca De Marchi

Associate Professor, University of Bologna

Donatas Dembinskas

Energy/Naval Consultant, RH Marine

No bio provided

Jacques Julien Deroualle

Project Engineer, Royal IHC

Silvia Donnarumma

Post Doc Position, University of Genoa

No bio provided

Matthew Dunn

Senior Consultant, Occam Group Ltd

Matthew is a Senior Consultant with Occam Group, a Bristol based Engineering Consultancy.

Prior to taking up his role at Occam, Matthew was an employee of UK Defence Equipment and Support holding various roles over an 11-year period with the focus of his time integrating Weapons and Explosives onto Naval Ships. Matthew was awarded a commendation by Director Ship Support for his implementation of a Safety Management System to manage explosive hazards on board the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships.

Matthew is a graduate of The Open University and Cranfield University where he achieved an MSc in Advanced Materials, which began his interest in novel materials and their applications to solve problems such as those found in Molten Salt Reactors. Matt is a Chartered Engineer and a member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.

RAdm Rachel Durbin

Head of Navy Engineering, Royal Australian Navy

Rear Admiral Rachel Durbin, CSC, RAN, grew up in the NSW Snowy Mountains and joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1993 through the Australian Defence Force Academy as a Marine Engineer. She spent her sea-time onboard HMA Ships Westralia, Anzac, Canberra and Perth deployed on operations in the Persian Gulf, conducting exercises in North and South East Asia, fisheries operations in the Southern Ocean and border protection off Northern Australia.

Following promotion to Captain in 2013, RADM Durbin enjoyed strategic roles within the Rizzo Reform Program, Major Surface Ships Sustainment (CASG) and Navy Capability Division. On promotion to CDRE in 2021, RADM Durbin served as Director General Engineering—Navy from 2021–2023. In March 2023 RADM Durbin was promoted to Rear Admiral and assumed the role of Head Navy Engineering. She has also served within the Navy Leadership and Culture Program and Navy Workforce Management responsible for engineering workforce requirements and remediation.

RADM Durbin was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in 2013. She holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical), Master in Engineering Management, Master in Arts in Strategy and Management, is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology. She is also a graduate of both the Australian Command and Staff Course and the Defence Strategic Studies Course.

Nick Eisenblätter

Research Assistant, University of Rostock

Lt James Ellis

Royal Navy

Jake was raised in Porlock, West Somerset where he joined 1^st Watchet Sea Scouts RN 63 piquing his interest in the Royal Navy and subsequently assisting in his attendance at Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College before reading BEng Marine Technology with Honours in Small Craft Design at Newcastle University.

His Naval training has included Common Fleet Time onboard HMS Severn conducting operations within UK waters and Specialist Fleet Time onboard HMS Richmond conducting Westlant 22 and HMS Kent in Anti-Submarine operations. On completion of his Marine Engineering Qualification in July 2023 he has been appointed to SURFLOT conducting the MEGS Operating Model Implementation and development to improve the lived experience of Marine Engineers in front line units.

He enjoys sailing, both dinghy sailing and the maintenance of his own 19 foot day-sailor, and is a goalkeeper in field hockey.

Professor John Ahmet Erkoyuncu

Head of the Digital Engineering and Manufacturing Centre, Cranfield University

Nicolò Faggioni

System Engineer, Fincantieri NexTech

Henrique Faria

Senior Naval Architect, SubSea Craft

No bio provided

Professor Massimo Figari

Professor, University of Genoa

Mr Simon Fleisher

Principal Mechanical Engineer, Gibbs & Cox (Australia)

Simon joined Gibbs and Cox (Australia) as a Principal Mechanical Engineer in January 2021. Prior to this, he held senior roles as a General Manager and Non-Executive Director in New Zealand and the UK. He is a Marine Engineer by background and served over 20 years in the Royal Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy. His naval career included roles as the Marine Engineering Officer of a Type 23 Frigate and supporting the Type 45 Destroyer acquisition project. In the RNZN, his credits include Project Protector, ANZAC Frigate upgrades and acquisition work on the RNZN AOR. Subsequent roles after leaving the RNZN included Project Management, General Management, Emergency Management and Non-Executive Director positions. In 2019, he joined Strategic Sourcing Consultancy working for the RNZN on the Future Maritime Support Construct and the ANZAC Frigate Systems Upgrade programmes. Simon holds an MBA from Victoria University of Wellington and is a graduate of the NZDF Joint Staff Course. He is a Chartered Professional Engineer and a Fellow of Engineering New Zealand and the UK-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Camilla Fruzzetti

Research Fellow, University of Genoa

Marco Gallo

PhD Student, University of Genoa

No bio provided

Fernando Gamboa

Consultant Naval Architect, BAE Systems

No bio provided

Vikram Garaniya

Australian Maritime College

No bio provided

Daniel Gardner

Defence Equipment & Support

No bio provided

Pramod Ghimire

Senior Software Engineer, Kongsberg Digital

Pramod Ghimire received the Ph.D. degree in Marine Technology from Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway, in 2022. He is with Kongsberg Group since 2012, and currently working as a senior software engineer at the Department of Maritime Simulation, Kongsberg Digital, Norway. His current research interests include mathematical modeling and simulation of various ship systems, hybridization of ship power systems, and analyzing energy efficiency and emissions in different marine vessels.

Francesco Ghio

University of Genoa

No bio provided

Gianluca Giurco

MARIN

No bio provided

Jim Goodship

Environmental Manager, Ministry of Defence

Jim Goodship is a senior environmental manager within the acquisition organisation of the Ministry of Defence. He is responsible for developing the environmental management system and demonstrating that platforms are environmentally sustainable to operate.

Mr Suraj Goswami

Junior Research Fellow, Banaras Hindu University

Federico Graffione

Student, University of Genoa

No bio provided

Alex Grasman

Specialist, MARIN

No bio provided

Ian Greening

Naval Architect, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory

Bojan Grenko

PhD Candidate, Delft University of Technology

Rhod Griffiths

Senior Naval Engineer, BMT

No bio provided

Mr Scott Grimley

Deputy Director Flag Administration, Royal Australian Navy

Nicola Guarnera

Machine Learning Engineer, Argo IT

Nicola Guarnera was born in Italy in 1990. He earned a Master degree in Automation Engineering and control of complex systems in 2019, from the University of Catania. Currently, he is employed at Argo IT s.r.l., where he focuses on research and developing Machine Learning solutions and Data analysis on industrial problems. His primary research interests include modelling plants through mathematical, statistical and data driven approaches.

Peter Hart

GE Power Conversion

No bio provided

John Heinzel

Naval Surface Warfare Center

No bio provided

Matt Hood

Head of Practice, Nova Systems

No bio provided

: https://www.novasystems.com/uk

Ms Courtney Hopkins

Policy and Project Manager, Royal Australian Navy

Dr Rachel Horne

Director Regulation and Advocacy, Royal Australian Navy

Dr Rachel Horne is an experienced leader, maritime lawyer and programme manager, with particular professional and academic expertise in the regulation of emerging technology. Dr Horne’s career has spanned the defence, commercial and government spheres. Dr Horne currently leads the Regulation and Advocacy Directorate within the Office of the Defence Seaworthiness Regulator. Dr Horne’s Directorate comprises a team of Australian Defence Force and Australian Public Service personnel with responsibility for stewardship of the Defence Seaworthiness Management System, identification of emerging hazards and risks, and flag administration.

Dr Horne holds a PhD from the Queensland University of Technology titled “Navigating to Smoother Regulatory Waters for Australian Commercial Vessels Capable of Remote or Autonomous Operation”. Dr Horne also holds a Graduate Certificate in Maritime Studies from the Australian Maritime College, and a Masters of Law, Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice, and a Bachelor of Law with Honours from the Australian National University.

Matt Howard

Shipbuild Technical Director, Babcock International Group

Shipbuilding Technical Director responsible for the Babcock’s international and UK ship build programmes, including Type 31 and Arrowhead 140 which has been selected for both the Indonesia and Poland (Miecznik) programmes. His previous roles include the Type 31 Frigate Chief Engineer, 2017 to April 2022, which included Design Authority responsibility for the platform and gun systems. His tenure as Type 31 Chief Engineer included the Competitive, Basic, Functional and Detailed Design phases.

Gail Hughes

BAE Systems

No bio provided

James Inge

Defence Equipment & Support

No bio provided

Rabiul Islam

Australian Maritime College

No bio provided

Mr Robert Jackson

Deputy Director Safety Analysis, Royal Australian Navy

Dr Torsten Jeinsch

Professor, Chair of Control Engineering, University of Rostock

No bio provided

Professor Mark Jermy

Professor, University of Canterbury

No bio provided

Warren Johnson

Marine Industry Manager, Rockwell Automation

Alexander Johnston

UT Arlington

No bio provided

Henry Jones

Lead Model-Based Systems Engineer, Herren Associates

Henry L. Jones III is a lead model-based systems engineer at Herren Associates, Inc. in Washington, D.C., focused on advanced naval power and energy systems. He began his career as a valve engineer, specializing on Nimitz-class aircraft carrier design, before moving onto roles of increasing responsibility as a marine engineer designing auxiliary systems and providing direct support to U.S. Navy Ship Design Managers. Mr. Jones holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, focused on Mechanical Systems Design.

Dr Natalia Kabaliuk

Senior Lecturer, University of Canterbury

Austin Kana

Delft University of Technology

No bio provided

Neil Kapoor

Undergraduate, UCL

Neil Kapoor is a Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Student at UCL, currently in his fourth and final year of an integrated masters degree. As part of his 3rd year undergraduate project, he undertook research in the use of a micro nuclear reactor in generating electrofuels in a marine environment. Alongside engineering, Neil is also interested in geopolitics and defence, and has attended work experiences at companies such as Leonardo and Deutsche Bank. He is currently enrolled in the DSUS (Defence STEM Undergraduate Sponsorship) Scheme and as part of this, has also attended a summer internship

Dr Fuat Kara

Associate Professor, Sheffield Hallam University

Philip Knight

University of Strathclyde

No bio provided

Hans Krattiger

ABB

No bio provided

Moritz Krijgsman

Team Leader Marine Power Systems, MARIN

Rahul Kumar

Co-Founder, BonV Aero

No bio provided

Umang Kumar Rathi

Co-Founder, BonV Aero

No bio provided

Ernesto La Colla

Product Engineer, Feadship

I am Ernesto La Colla. I grew up in San Chirico Raparo, a small town in the south of Italy. As a teenager I travelled to UK for summer classes, maturing the idea of pursuing a master abroad. Before this, I enrolled for the BSc in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering in Genova, curious about the maritime world, a far reality from my mountainous village. Conversations with local pharmers during visits back home, highlighted the growing effects of climate change on remote communities, igniting my desire to contribute to the maritime decarbonization. Concurrently, my passion for nuclear energy grew steadily over the years. I combined these interests during my Marine Technology MSc at TU Delft, exploring alternative fuels for ships. At TU Delft I was part of a study association and students’ representative for the IMarEST Benelux. Currently, I am employed at Feadship where I work on the superyachts’ decarbonization.

Laura Lacey

Cranfield University

No bio provided

Mr Grant Langlands

Deputy Director Environment Analysis, Royal Australian Navy

Dr James Langston

Research Faculty II, Florida State University

Igor Lapin

Software Lead, L3MAPPS

Software Lead

Marine Systems Simulation and Data Analytics Group

L3MAPPS, subsidiary of L3HARRIS

Montreal, Canada

Igor is a holder of BSc in Marine Engineering from State Marine Academy in Odessa, Ukraine and certificate in Machine Learning and Data Science from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

His carrier as marine and power plant engineer includes 18 years onboard as a marine engineer and 8 years as Ship Technical Superintendent and Senior Power Plant Engineer.

He is a holder of First class marine engineer certificate.

Author’s current research interests include modelling and simulation of ship equipment processes, using SCADA generated sensors time series data and data analytic tools, focusing on application of machine learning in equipment maintenance optimization, fuel and energy efficiency improvement, development of marine and power generation equipment digital twins, and digitalization of marine operations.

Michael Lathrope

Graduate Naval Architect, Steller Systems Ltd

No bio provided

Dr Joseph Lee

Environment Analysis Officer, Royal Australian Navy

Anna-Maria Lekka

Transport Engineer specialised in maritime transport, Gates Ltd

No bio provided

Youri Linden

Senior System Engineer, Material and IT Command Netherlands

Youri Linden has a diverse background in maritime engineering and system automation. Since 2021, he has served as a Senior System Engineer Automation at the Netherlands Material and IT Command, where he identifies software requirements aimed at enhancing operational efficiency and crew support. Prior to his current role, Youri spent three years as the Head of the Marine- and Weapons Engineering Department aboard the Air Defense and Command Frigate HNLMS De Ruyter. He holds a Master's degree from Delft University of Technology, with his thesis focusing on NO-emission prediction in diesel engines.

Giedo Loeff

Head of Research and Development, Feadship

Siva Kumar Mallipeddi

PhD Student, University of Bologna

Dr Luca Maloberti

PhD student, University of Genoa

Anastasios Manos

CEO, Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator

No bio provided

Vice Admiral Paul Marshall CB CBE

Director General Gateway

Paul Marshall was born and schooled in the West Midlands before joining the Royal Navy in 1988. He studied Engineering (BEng(Hons) 1992) at the Royal Naval Engineering College, Manadon and at University College, London (MSc 1997); and he is a graduate of the Advanced Command and Staff Course (2001) and Higher Command and Staff Course (2015) at the Joint Command and Staff College, Shrivenham. He is a graduate of UK/US Rising Leaders Programme (2014) and the Major Projects Leadership Academy (2018). 

His operational career at sea has seen tours in the Far East (1992, 1997) including the handover of Hong Kong, counter-narcotics duties in the Caribbean (1994), the Gulf (1997), the South Atlantic (2002), Africa (1989, 2002) and in support of Operation TELIC (2nd Gulf War, 2003). From 2010-2012 he was the Staff Marine Engineer Officer of the Portsmouth Flotilla, super-intending the operational engineering activity across half of the RN’s surface fleet. Roles ashore have included helping to establish the UK’s Joint Forces Command as the Principal Staff Officer to the 4* Commander, for which he was appointed CBE (2015), as well as, Advisor to the Head of the Iraqi Navy (2006-2007) when he was awarded the US Bronze Star for Meritorious Service; and the Assistant Naval Attaché in Washington DC (2007-2010).

He has served in major programme delivery roles, mainly in engineering transformation and shipbuilding which also involved delivering T26 frigates from design to manufacture and international export as Senior Responsible Owner.  On promotion to Rear Admiral, he became the first Director of the Naval Acquisition portfolio which included acting as SRO for delivery of the T31 Frigate and Fleet Solid Support Programme.

In 2022 he moved from Navy Command to Defence Equipment and Support, assuming the role of Director General Ships, responsible for the acquisition and support of the surface Fleet. In July 2024, under the DE&S Transformation, he assumed the role of Director General Gateway, responsible for the single point of entry for all Defence requirements into DE&S.

He was appointed CB in the 2023 New Year Honours list is also the MOD’s Defence Engineering Champion and Head of Profession (Engineering) and President of RN Rugby League. Paul left the Regular Royal Navy in June 2023 and is now employed as a Senior Civil Servant and a Royal Naval Reservist. He is DE&S Reserves Champion, Sustainability Champion, and Co-Chair of the DE&S Race and Culture Network.

Paul enjoys keeping fit, listening to, and playing music, is an avid reader (of anything but especially history and philosophy), DIY reluctant participant, enthusiastic photographer and (sometimes) poet. 

Michele Martelli

Associate Professor, University of Genoa

No bio provided

Dennis Mathai

Lead Mechanical Engineer, GE Power Conversion

No bio provided

Tom Mathew Klakeel FIMarEST, CEng, MIMarEST

EL1- Engineering Professional, Royal Australian Navy

No bio provided

Damien Mazeas

PhD Student, Cranfield University

RAdm Steve McCarthy FIMarEST

Director Ships Operations and Capability Integration, UK Defence Equipment and Support

Steve McCarthy is married to Odette, a Physics teacher and is father to twins Kieran and Tristan. They share their family home near Bath (UK) with Tala the Border Collie.
He took up his current role in UK Defence Equipment and Support as Director Ships Operations and Capability Integration in March 2023. He is responsible for the Portfolio Management of through life availability and capability integration of Royal Navy Ships, Royal Fleet Auxiliary Ships and UK Ministry of Defence Boats.
Steve joined the Royal Navy in 1990 and graduated as a Marine Engineer Officer in 1994 after training at sea and at the Royal Naval Engineering College, Manadon. He read for a Master of Science degree in Marine Engineering at University College London in 1998, is a Chartered Marine Engineer and a Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology.
Steve is a graduate of the UK Defence Academy Advanced Command and Staff Course, a Member of the Association of Project Management and a Member of the Royal College of Defence Studies.
His seagoing appointments include: Deputy Marine Engineer Officer in the Type 23 Frigate HMS Marlborough, Senior Engineer in the Helicopter and Commando Carrier HMS Ocean, Commander E in the Aircraft Carrier HMS Illustrious and Staff Marine Engineer Officer to Flag Officer Sea Training (South).
His project leadership experience includes: Programme Manager for the Surface Ship Support Programme; Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers Chief Engineer; Capital Ships Support Team Leader; and Head of Naval Ships Support. Away from Engineering, Steve has worked on the staff of Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth and as Deputy Chief of Staff in the UK Permanent Joint Headquarters Forward staff in Pakistan.
Steve was appointed Chief Naval Engineer Officer in October 2023, with responsibility to implement the Naval Engineering Strategy and to champion the Profession’s vital contribution to the Royal Navy’s operational success.

Gert-Jan Meijn

Innovation Lead, Damen Naval

Gert-Jan Meijn, age 32, is currently the innovation lead for marine and electrical systems at the Research Development and Innovation department of Damen Naval. He received his BSc. and MSc. in mechanical engineering at Delft University of Technology in 2013 and 2015 respectively. In his current role he is responsible for identifying new technology, initiating innovation projects, and ensuring that new technology is embedded in products and future projects. Experiences in previous roles include the concept design of propulsion plants, vessel performance evaluation, simulation of system dynamics, and participating in the development of a novel control algorithm to reduce cavitation of naval vessels under operational conditions. His research interests include the development of novel power and propulsion systems, holistic system simulation, control systems, energy management and sustainable power generation.

Dr Massimiliano Menghini

PhD researcher, University of Bologna

Menno Merts

Powertrain specialist, MARIN

No bio provided

Tianlei Miao

Consultant Trainee, RH Marine

No bio provided

Despoina Mitropoulou

Manager Power Systems, RH Marine

No bio provided

Joost Moulijn

Senior Researcher, MARIN

No bio provided

Ben Mound

GE Power Conversion

No bio provided

Krishna Kumar Nagalingam

Product Advisor, Kongsberg Maritime AS

No bio provided

Amin Nazemian

Naval Architect & PhD student, Strathclyde University

No bio provided

Dr Rudy R. Negenborn

Professor, Delft University of Technology

No bio provided

Thanh Nguyen

Clarkson University

No bio provided

Professor Frédéric Noël

Director, Grenoble INP

Guillaume Nulac

System Architect, Sirehna

No bio provided

Angelo Odetti

Research Associate, CNR-INM

No bio provided

Reece Oliver MIMarEST

Experimentation Plans Team Leader, NavyX, Royal Navy

Reece is a chartered marine engineer who is employed as NavyX’s experimentation planning and project team lead. He has a MSc in Marine Engineering, a career that started as a sea going marine engineering officer before moving ashore working at Wartsila later moving to Lloyds Register in the engineering systems team. Areas of interest include alternative fuels, marine autonomy and the application of novel technology for the maritime.

Johan Padding

Delft University of Technology

No bio provided

Dr Yusong Pang

Delft University of Technology

No bio provided

Giota Paparistodimou

Model Based Systems Engineer, BAE Systems

Alex Pardoe

Senior Naval Architect, Steller Systems Ltd

No bio provided

Nicola Paterson

Senior Naval Architect, BAE Systems

No bio provided

Dr Rachel Pawling

Lecturer in Ship Design, UCL

Adrian Payne

Chief Technical Officer, Safeguard Engineering Limited

No bio provided

Emily Pence

US Naval Engineer, US Navy

Edward Penn

Marine Engineer - Power and Propulsion Systems, Rolls-Royce

Edward Penn is a Marine Engineer specialising in power and propulsion systems for Rolls-Royce PLC. He has over a decade of engineering experience in the maritime sector and holds a STCW unlimited chief engineers CoC. Before joining Rolls-Royce Defence, Edward spent a number of years working on new build projects and as a seafarer in the cruise industry. 

Mr Shankab Jyoti Phukan

Junior Research Fellow, Banaras Hindu University

John Polglaze FIMarEST FRINA CMarSci

Director, PGM Environment

Cdr Bart Pollmann

Royal Netherlands Navy

Filippo Ponzini

PhD student, University of Genoa

Dr Jas Powell

Head of Engineering, Global Maritime Services

John Prousalidis

Professor of marine electrical engineering, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA)

John Prousalidis is a professor of marine electrical engineering at the School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering of NTUA.

Dr Eshan Rajabally

Maritime Autonomy Technology Lead, BMT

Eshan Rajabally is the Maritime Autonomy Technology Lead at BMT. Here he acts as authority on autonomy enabling technologies, identifying and seeding related BMT consultancy and other service offerings. Eshan is a chartered engineer with over twenty years of experience in research and innovation, technology development, and demonstrator prototyping.

Rakesh Rana

Independent Consultant

No bio provided

Harsha Ravindra

Associate in Research, Florida State University

No bio provided

Srinivas Revuru

Indian Register of Shipping

Mr. R. Srinivas is working  as Vice President  & Senior Principal Surveyor at Indian Register of Shipping (IRS).  He has 41 years of Maritime experience, spanning ship building, ship designs, maritime consultancy and Classification.  Mr Srinivas  was   the Chairman of,   IACS Cyber Systems Panel and   IACS Joint Industry Working Group on Cyber systems. Presently he is IRS member for  IACS Safe digital transformation panel. Mr Srinivas specialises in control & automation systems, System integration and Maritime Cyber risk management.

Michael Roa

Engineering Manager, NAVSEA

Michael J. Roa earned a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from The Citadel (1986) and later earned a M.S. degree in Information Systems at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (2009).  He has 38 years of experience in naval and commercial marine machinery control, electrical power, navigation and interior communication systems.  He is currently assigned as Engineering Manager for Unmanned Surface Vessel Machinery Control Systems at Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

Malcolm Robb

BAE Systems

No bio provided

Andrea Rudan

Project Manager - Electrical and Automation, Carnival

No bio provided

Nicola Sabatino

PhD student, University of Genoa

Alistair Saddington

Cranfield University

No bio provided

Abinash Sahoo

Co-Founder, BonV Aero

No bio provided

Nikolaos Sakellaridis

Research Engineer, DAMEN

No bio provided

Mohammed Shahid Sanghar

Research Assistant, Sheffield Hallam University

No bio provided

Emanuele Sansebastiano

Senior Engineering Project Manager, Fincantieri NexTech

Satyabrata Satapathy

Co-Founder and CEO, BonV Aero

No bio provided

Filippo Scamardella

University of Naples "Federico II"

No bio provided

Evelien Scheffers

PhD Candidate, Delft University of Technology

No bio provided

Christian Schegan

Electrical Engineer, Naval Surface Warfare Center

No bio provided

Emilio Schininà

Automation Engineer & Software Developer, Argo IT

Dr Karl Schoder

Research Faculty II, Florida State University

No bio provided

Dr Agnes U. Schubert

Research Assistant, University of Rostock

Harry Schweidler

Senior Engineering Manager, Babcock International Group

Benjamin Scott

Graduate Naval Architect, BMT

No bio provided

Jade Sheasby

Sustainability and Environmental Protection Consultant, BMT

Udai Shipurkar

Specialist, MARIN

No bio provided

Federico Silvestro

Full Professor, University of Genoa

Dr Yogang Singh

Assistant Professor, Sheffield Hallam University

No bio provided

Simeon Slagter

PhD Candidate, Delft University of Technology

Simeon Slagter is a PhD Candidate at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the department of Maritime and Transport Technology. His research contributes to the maritime energy transition, focussing on optimization, control, modelling and analyses of green inland shipping. His research activities include developing intelligent control systems for ship operations, integrating energy management systems and voyage planning methods, and integrating state-of-the-art data-driven and model-based control methods. His academic background includes a BSc degree in Industrial Engineering and Management from the University of Groningen, and a MSc degree in Mechanical Engineering - Multi-Machine Engineering track - at TU Delft. Simeon currently conducts his research under the Dutch Research Council (NWO) funded program PATH2ZERO.

Bart-Peter Smit

GEO-ICT consultant, CGI Netherlands BV

No bio provided

Alistair Smith

Naval Architect, Royal Australian Navy

Nicholas Smith

Executive: Global Systems Product and Technology Leader, GE Power Conversion

Responsible for proposing, developing, and executing Advanced System and Product Solutions, as well as managing system NPIs to support system offerings.

Nick has more than 30 years’ technical leadership experience with the Marine & Power Conversion Business, including more than 25 years in commercial, offshore and Military Marine solutions. 

Responsible for the Design, build and setting to work of Many Naval Power and Propulsion Systems including Type 23 Frigates, Type 45 Destroyers, Albion Class LPDs, Zumwalt Class Destroyers, the Electric Ship Technology Demonstrator, and the Queen Elizabeth Class Power System, as well as numerous commercial marine platforms.

Has also spent significant periods of time in Mining Systems, and in Power Electronics and system engineering for onshore and offshore wind applications around the world.

He has significant experience of customer technical solution development, project execution, site work, commissioning and after sales support, both onshore and offshore, in Africa, Asia, US and Europe.  Nick has also held significant technical leadership roles in volume power electronics manufacturing and global software production.

Nick has an Honours degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, sits on the Lloyds Register Technical Committee for Naval and Offshore, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering & Technology

Victor Sorrentino

US Navy

No bio provided

Warrant Officer Peter Spayne

Weapon Engineer, Royal Navy

Warrant Officer Pete Spayne is a Weapon Engineer in the Royal Navy, serving predominantly in Mine Hunters as the Head of Weapon Engineering for multiple deployments to the Middle East and Baltics. He attained a first-class Bachelor of Engineering degree with honours, from sea, with a thesis majoring on autonomous underwater vehicle design. This was followed by a Master of Science majoring on weaponisation of underwater vehicles utilising high powered ultrasound to agitate organic explosive compounds. He is still serving at sea alongside duties as a part time PhD student with Cranfield University, researching and developing an assurance framework for Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems. Pete is a Chartered Engineer, a winner of the Chief Scientific Advisors commendation, a First Sealords Fellow and formerly the Royal Navy representative to Future NEST. He lives in Lancaster with his partner Rachel and their 4 boys, alongside a small heard of cats and chickens.

Mark Stanovich

Florida State Unversity

No bio provided

Jørgen Stavnesli

Project Engineer, ABB

Jørgen Hagset Stavnesli joined ABB in 2020 and is currently working as a Project Engineer in the ABB Marine and Ports division. His main field of work is the integration of energy storage systems and variable speed generators for ABB’s Onboard DC Grid deliveries, in addition to noise and vibration related topics for marine projects. His background is in Electric Power Engineering, having completed a master’s degree with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in 2020.

Ashley Stehr

Director and Principal Consultant, Stehr Consulting Ltd

Oliver Streit

Graduate Naval Architect, Steller Systems Ltd

No bio provided

Lt Cdr Liam Talbot

Royal Navy

Andy Tate

Senior Principle Marine Systems Engineer, Dstl

No bio provided

Aiyelari Temilolorun

Graduate Research Assistant, Sheffield Hallam University

No bio provided

Sophie Ten Zeldam

Royal Netherlands Navy

Tomas Tengner

Global Product Manager, ABB

No bio provided

Jarle Thorstensen

Kongsberg Digital

No bio provided

Dr Wieger Tiddens

Predictive Maintenance, Royal Netherlands Navy

Cole Tschritter

UT Arlington

No bio provided

Georgios Tsourakis

National Technical University of Athens

No bio provided

Elliot Tucker

Environmental Manager, Ministry of Defence

Dr Lindert van Biert

Assistant Professor, Delft University of Technology

Jan-Kees van der Ven

Consultant, RH Marine

No bio provided

Erin van Rheenen

Delft University of Technology

No bio provided

Lesley van Zijl

Product Owner, RH Marine

No bio provided

Christian Veldhuis

Team Leader Ships - Simulation & Development, MARIN

No bio provided

Jack Vermeulen

Scientist, TNO

Jack Vermeulen has an MSc and studied mathematics at the University of Eindhoven. Since 1989, he has been working as a (senior) scientist at the Defense, Safety and Security department of TNO (Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research) in The Hague. He is an expert in Operations Research in the field of Under Water Warfare, including MCM and ASW. He is also a member of several NATO working groups.

Klaas Visser

Delft University of Technology

No bio provided

Jasper Vollbrandt

Researcher, TU Delft and NLDA

Jasper Vollbrandt is currently working on his PhD thesis at the department of Maritime and Transport Technology at the Delft University of Technology and the Netherlands Defence Academy of the Dutch Ministry of Defence. His research focuses on dynamic performance of marine internal combustion engines running on natural gas and methanol. After receiving a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Delft University of Technology he worked at the Dutch Ministry of Defence, Command Material and IT, gaining experience in the design and simulation of naval propulsion systems. Before returning to the Delft University of Technology, he fulfilled the role of project engineer hydraulics at Netherlands largest steel mill TATA Steel and was mainly involved in the revamp of the cold mill plant.

Jeffrey Voth

President, Herren Associates, Inc.

Robert Voûte

Junior Research Associate, Delft University of Technology

No bio provided

Linh Vu

Ph.D. Candidate, Clarkson University

Tuyen Vu

Clarkson University

No bio provided

Johnny Walker

President, Thor Solutions

No bio provided

Alexandra Ward

Royal Navy

Born and raised on the North Yorkshire coast, Alex enjoyed the sciences and music at school, as well as spending time in and on the water. Continuing with technical subjects at A Level, she went on to study Aeronautical Engineering at Loughborough University before joining the Royal Navy after graduation. On completion of training as an Air Engineering Officer, she was assigned to 814 Naval Air Squadron at RNAS Culdrose, Cornwall, and then to NavyX. Following two shore-based posts, she is currently a member of HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH ship’s company. 

Having settled at the edge of Mounts Bay during her time at RNAS Culdrose, Alex continues to spend time outdoors as a member of the local sailing club and keen (albeit not very good) triathlete and runner. 

Dr David Wetz

Professor, UT Arlington

Sub-Lieutenant Tom Wien

Masters Student, Delft University of Technology

Sub-Lieutenant (Engineering) Tom Wien, age 24, is a Naval Officer who graduated at the Netherlands Defence Academy for a BSc. in Military Systems and Technology. He is currently pursuing a MSc. in mechanical engineering at Delft University of Technology, with a specialization in Energy, Flow and Process technologies. As part of his MSc. thesis, Tom’s research is dedicated to Nuclear Propulsion for naval vessels, especially investigating the dynamic behaviour of a nuclear reactor and its power conversion cycle.

Djurre Wikkerink

Consultant Power Systems, RH Marine

No bio provided

Rowan Wilkinson

Environmental Consultant, BMT

No bio provided

Bart Wingelaar

R&D engineer , Royal IHC

Bart Wingelaar is a R&D engineer at Royal IHC. He studied at the Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands, and has a background in control engineering, dynamical systems, optimization, and optimal control strategies

Nathan Witztum

Submarine Ship Control System Engineer, NAVSEA

Nathan Witztum is a Submarine Ship Control System Engineer for the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) of the US Department of Navy. Previously, he worked in the aerospace industry, developing and testing controls software for military projects and the private space sector. He holds a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Florida Atlantic University and an MS degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Matt Wylie

Senior Safety Consultant, BMT

No bio provided

Professor Raphael Zaccone

Assistant Professor, University of Genoa

Dr Mehdi Zadeh

Professor, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

LtCdr Jan Zegers

Royal Netherlands Navy