Laboratory of the Future 2025

Sid Rao brings over two decades of technology leadership to his role as CEO of Positron Networks. Previously, he spent over a decade as Director and General Manager at AWS, where he pioneered real-time communication services and launched the Amazon Chime SDK. This technology now supports over 18 million daily active users across applications by Slack (Huddles), Intuit (TurboTax Live), and PayPal (customer service). During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sid scaled his services by an impressive 1,274% in just one week and led an applied science team in developing cutting-edge machine learning models for image segmentation, tonal sentiment detection, packet loss concealment, and audio super-resolution. Prior to AWS, Sid served as CTO at CTI Group (Holdings), Inc., where his leadership helped transform the company, developing carrier-grade real time communication applications, including a widely deployed call recording application used by major carriers such as Verizon, Vodafone, TDC, and Comcast. Under his guidance, CTI Group achieved a successful exit valued at $25 million. Sid began his career at Nortel Networks, distinguishing himself as the youngest employee at age 14. His career also includes a tenure as a program manager at Microsoft Corporation, where he contributed to strategic initiatives. Based in Seattle, Sid is known for his passion for technology, innovation, and his love for dogs (second only to his wife).

Dr. Jericho McLeod, Principal Data Scientist at Elder Research, has more than 10 years of expertise in AI, machine learning, and data science, with a focus on developing innovative and impactful solutions for government oversight and public policy. He combines technical expertise with a passion for mentoring and innovation to establish and enhance AI capabilities. Dr. McLeod is actively involved in academia, both by conducting research leveraging AI to enable novel analytics and as an adjunct professor at George Mason University.

Eric Vaughan is the Chief Executive Officer of IgniteTech, a leading enterprise technology company at the forefront of the AI revolution and of GFI Software, an IT solutions marketplace for small and medium businesses deploying network management and performance, security and collaboration offerings. Eric is responsible for setting and executing the company's strategic vision and leading the global IgniteTech team as they leverage transformative AI technologies to drive continued business success and deliver exceptional customer value. With over 20 years of experience as a technology and M&A executive, Eric is widely recognized as an innovative force in the enterprise software space. He was the founder and CEO of three enterprise software companies, selling his last company and joining the acquirer as Chief Integration Officer, who was embarking on an acquisition binge, helping them successfully navigate 23 different acquisitions, including public companies, private firms, and several divisions from IBM. This experience gave Eric deep insights into driving seamless post-close integration and taking on CxO-level accountabilities for acquired businesses. As CEO, Eric is leading IgniteTech's transformation into an AI-first organization. Over the past 18 months, he has built a talented, future-ready team - upgrading skill sets and onboarding individuals passionate about embracing AI. This empowered, AI-focused workforce is developing revolutionary technology that positions IgniteTech as a leader in helping customers transition into the AI era. Under Eric's vision, the company equips clients with the tools and expertise to thrive in this transformative landscape. By aligning the entire organization around the promise of AI, Eric has cultivated an agile, innovative culture that delivers exceptional value through cutting-edge, AI-powered solutions.

Yoshitaka Ushiku is a Principal Investigator at OMRON SINIC X and Chief Research Officer at Ridge-i. He received his B.E., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Tokyo in 2009, 2011, and 2014, respectively. In 2014, he joined NTT CS Labs, Japan, where he was involved in research on image recognition. From 2016 to 2018, he was an Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo, Japan. Since 2022, he is also the managing partner of Nine Bulls, LLC. Currently, he is Vice President for Research at OMRON SINIC X and Chief Executive Officer at NexaScience, Inc. since 2024. His research interests lie in cross-media understanding through machine learning, mainly for computer vision and natural language processing, and AI for Science. He received ACM Mutlimedia Grand Challenge Special Prize in 2011, ACM Multimedia Open Source Software Competition Honorable Mention in 2017, NVIDIA Pioneering Research Awards in 2017 and 2018, and NISTEP Nice Step Researcher in 2023.

A seasoned technology executive, Shoeb brings broad experience in intelligent automation, process intelligence, and enterprise software. Shoeb loves to collaborate with digital transformation leaders to deliver meaningful business outcomes through process intelligence and digital twin of an organization (DTO) solutions such as Process360 Live.

Dr. Jacqueline Libby is an Assistant Professor at Stevens in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. She has an interdisciplinary background, with expertise in Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Machine Learning, and Rehabilitation Engineering. She received her B.Sc. from Brown University in Computer Science and her M.Sc. from Carnegie Mellon University in Mechanical Engineering. She earned her Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute, with a focus on field robotics. Dr. Libby was awarded a two-year fellowship for her post-doctorate research from NYU's Center for Urban Science and Progress. This fellowship enabled her to pursue her interest in interdisciplinary research at the intersection of engineering and rehabilitation medicine.   Now at Stevens, she directs the Robotic Systems for Health Lab, where she works with a dynamic, interdisciplinary team of PhD, Masters, and Undergraduate Students. She has also taught graduate- and undergraduate-level courses in Mechanical Engineering, Applied Machine Learning, and Software Engineering Design. She hopes to combine her background in soft robotics, mechanical design, machine learning, robotic perception, biosensing, and software engineering to build fully integrated systems that are ready for clinical translation.

Zhong-Lin Lu is a Professor of Neuroscience at NYU Shanghai and a Global Network Professor at NYU. He earned a B.S. in theoretical physics from the University of Science and Technology of China in 1989 and a Ph.D. in physics from NYU in 1992. After a postdoctoral fellowship at UC Irvine, he joined USC as an Assistant Professor in 1996, later becoming a Professor of Psychology and Biomedical Engineering and the William M. Keck Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience. Lu also co-founded the Dana and David Dornsife Cognitive Neuroscience Imaging Center at USC before moving to Ohio State University (OSU) in 2011. At OSU, he was a Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Director of both the Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences and the Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Brain Imaging. He joined NYU Shanghai in 2019. Lu’s research centers on computational models of perception and cognition, aiming to translate lab findings into clinical applications. He explores visual and auditory perception, attention, perceptual learning, vision testing, brain imaging technologies, language acquisition, memory, and decision-making, focusing on conditions such as myopia, dyslexia, amblyopia, and Alzheimer’s disease. A prolific scientist, Lu has published over 350 papers, co-authored two books, and holds several patents. As an entrepreneur, he co-founded Adaptive Sensory Technology, Inc., which develops advanced vision tests, and Juehua Medical Technology, Ltd., focused on eye disease treatment through perceptual learning. Lu’s work is funded by the NIH, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and the National Science Foundation. He is a fellow of the Society of Experimental Psychologists and the Association for Psychological Science.

Hector Garcia Martin was born in Bilbao, part of the Basque region in Spain. He studied physics and specialized in solid state physics at the University of the Basque Country. His doctoral studies in condensed matter physics were performed at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. His interest in biocomplexity and predicting microbial ecology drove him to work at the Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, where he worked on metagenomics as a postdoctoral fellow. Seeking a more predictive framework for biology, he has worked at the Joint BioEnergy Institute, the Agile BioFoundry and Berkeley Lab for the last sixteen years, developing a variety of methods to make synthetic biology a more predictive discipline. In this role, he combines mechanistic models with machine learning approaches, microfluidics and genetic editing techniques to significantly improve our ability to predict the behavior of biological systems.

Michelle Ottey, PhD, is the Vice President, Labs and Centers, US for CIC Labs + Innovation Campuses. With nearly two decades of experience in lab management and an impressive education in genetics, Michelle has significantly contributed to the life sciences field. Michelle honed her leadership skills over 16 years at Fairfax Cryobank and Cryogenic Laboratories, where she held the role of laboratory director. As CIC’s Vice President of US Labs and Centers, she cultivates an innovative space for hundreds of clients. She has a PhD in Genetics from Thomas Jefferson University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania.