Anne-Isabelle ETIENVRE

CEA, Chairman

Anne-Isabelle Etienvre is graduated from École Normale Supérieure de Paris-Saclay with a degree in physics and later obtained a Ph.D. in particle physics. She was appointed in 2012 as the coordinator of the Laboratory of Excellence P2IO (Physique des 2 Infinis et des Origines). She joined the CEA in 2003 at the Department of Particle Physics. In 2016, she was appointed Director of the Institute for Research on the Fundamental Laws of the Universe. From 2022 to 2023, she served as a Research Adviser to the French Minister of Research. From 2023 to 2025, she has been the Director of Fundamental Research at the CEA. She was appointed Chairman of the CEA by the Council of Ministers on July 11, 2025.

Dr. Rian BAHRAN

DOE, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Reactors

Rian Bahran is a senior U.S. nuclear policy leader serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Reactors, where he oversees advanced reactor technologies, from research to deployment, while supporting the sustainability of the existing nuclear fleet. He previously worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory and served in senior advisory roles at the Department of Defense and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He holds a Ph.D. in nuclear science and engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy. Dr Barhan received the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service.

Philippe STOHR,

CEA, Director of Energy Division

Former graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique, ingénieur des Ponts, Philippe Stohr holds a DEA in environmental sciences and techniques from the University of Paris XII. He began his career in the Ministry of Research and Technology before joining ANDRA (French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency). He then held several senior management positions in Dalkia group and Fortum. In 2018, he joined CEA as Director of Nuclear Energy and was appointed Director of Energy Division in 2020. Philippe Stohr is board member of GIFEN (French nuclear industry association) and Supernova Invest. He is administrator for GENVIA.

Dr. Patrick BLANC-TRANCHANT,

CEA, Deputy Director of Energy Programs

With a Ph.D in neutronics following an engineering degree from Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Physique de Grenoble in France, he has a background in reactor physics and energy systems, and has held through his career several leadership roles at CEA/DES, including Head of the Systems and Structures Modelling R&D Department and Head of the Program dedicated to Numerical Simulation, as well as positions in International Affairs.

Janelle EDDINS,

DOE, Acting Director, Office of Advanced Reactors

While being Acting Director for the Office of Advanced Reactors, Ms. Eddins is also appointed as the Federal Manager for the Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) program while representing the United States at the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA). Ms. Eddins has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Egineering from the University of Maryland along with a Master’s Degree in Materials Engineering from the University of Southern California.

DR. Jérôme BUCALOSSI,

CEA, Director of IRFM

Jérôme Bucalossi obtained a PhD in plasma physics on negative ion beams for fusion at the CEA-IRFM and a post-doctorate at IPP Garching (Germany). He joined CEA-IRFM as a ‘pilot’ for the Tore Supra tokamak. Seconded to Culham (United Kingdom) in 2000, he worked on neutral beam systems and fuel retention in the JET tokamak. Back to IRFM, he was appointed head of the plasma operations group at Tore Supra. He then became head of the plasma-wall integration department. In 2013, he was appointed head of the WEST project. He is member of the ITER Scientific and Advisory Committee.

Dr. Jean-Paul ALLAIN,

DOE, Associate Director for Fusion Energy Sciences, Office of Science

Dr. Jean-Paul Allain is Associate Director of Science for Fusion Energy Sciences in the DOE Office of Science, overseeing a program with an annual budget exceeding $760M. He leads activities spanning advanced tokamaks, long-pulse plasmas, U.S. participation in ITER, and public-private partnerships. Prior to joining FES in July 2023, he was Professor and Head of Nuclear Engineering at Penn State, following 20 years of research and teaching at institutions including Argonne National Laboratory, Purdue University, and the University of Illinois.

Dr. Catalin MIRON,

CEA, Director of Research Infrastructures, 
European and International Affairs

Moderator

Catalin Miron is a physicist specializing in light-matter interactions, laser, and X-ray science, he led the PLEIADES soft X-ray facility at SOLEIL (France) and held senior roles at the pan-European Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI). He now oversees the CEA’s Fundamental Research Division (DRF) strategy for research infrastructures and international partnerships. He holds a PhD in Physics and a DSc in Chemistry from Paris-Sud University (France) and an Executive Master in Management from SDA Bocconi (Italy).

Dr. Romina ARON BADIN,

CEA, Director of MIRCen

After a BSc in human genetics (University of Leeds), an MSc in neuroscience (University of Edinburgh), a PhD (University College of London) and a post-doc at the Institute of Child Health, Romina ARON BADIN joined the Molecular Imaging research Center (MIRCen) at CEA, France. Her expertise lies in the assessment of cognitive and motor functions applied to the design and execution of preclinical protocols for brain disease modeling or delivery of drugs, viral vectors and cells. In 2021, she was appointed president of NECTAR and lead of EHDN’s Advanced therapies working group and has directed MIRCen since 2019.

Dr. Kamil Uğurbil,

University of Minnesota, 
Director, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research

After completing his B.A. and Ph.D. at Columbia University, New York, N.Y., Prof. Uğurbil joined Bell Laboratories in 1977, returned to Columbia as a faculty member in 1979, and was recruited to the University of Minnesota in 1982 where he currently holds the McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair Professorship. He is a member of the US National Academy of Medicine, National Academy of Inventors, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the recipient of several awards and two honorary doctorates.

Dr. Xiaodi Felix Chen,

Brown Medical School, Associate Professor of Pediatrics

Xiaodi (Felix) Chen, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island and Brown University (USA), where his laboratory develops neuroprotective strategies for neonatal hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy and related perinatal brain injuries. His research integrates neonatal rodent in vivo models, primary neuronal and glial cultures, and stem cell–derived blood–brain barrier platforms to define mechanisms of neuroinflammation, blood–brain barrier dysfunction, and cell death and to advance translational therapies. Dr. Chen earned his MD from Shanghai Medical College (Fudan University) and completed graduate training in Neurobiology (MS) and Human Biology (PhD) at Philipps University of Marburg in Germany. He is a member of the Society for Pediatric Research and the Society for Neuroscience. With 15+ years of experience spanning pharmacology, drug discovery, and neurobiology, he focuses on therapies that can improve outcomes in vulnerable newborns.

DR. Selim OLCUM,

Travera, Co-Founder and VP of Engineering

Travera, is a pioneering biotechnology company in functional precision medicine in cancer. He is one of the inventors of Travera’s 2-day Rapid Therapy Guidance Test that measures the ex vivo growth response of live tumor cells to treatment. Dr. Olcum has completed his post-doctoral training in Biological Engineering at MIT and was a researcher at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. He has co-authored over 50 papers and is an inventor of 15 issued and pending patents in bioinstrumentation, medical devices, microfluidics, sensors, micro-devices, and their biotechnology and healthcare applications.

Dr. Sujai SHIVAKUMAR,

Center for Strategic and International Studies, 
Senior Fellow and Director, Renewing American Innovation, 

Moderator

Sujai Shivakumar directs Renewing American Innovation at CSIS and serves as a senior fellow, bringing over 20 years of experience in U.S. competitiveness and innovation policy. Previously, he led the Innovation Policy Forum at the National Academies and contributed to landmark studies on entrepreneurship, technology transfer, and regional innovation ecosystems. He has testified before the U.S. Senate and holds a PhD in economics from George Mason University. He is the author of The Constitution of Development and coauthor, with Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom, of The Samaritan’s Dilemma.

Julie GALLAND

CEA, Director of the Technological Research Division

Julie Galland graduated from the Ecole polytechnique, as chief engineer from Ecoles des Mines and holds a doctorate in solid state physics. She held several positions within the Directorate General for Enterprise, working in the Digital Economy Service and the Industry Service, being appointed Deputy Director for Space, Electronics, and Software. She led, pivotal initiatives promoting innovation and productive investment in the fields of electronic components, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, Cloud computing, High-Performance Computing (HPC), and Space.

Erik HADLAND,

Semiconductor Industry Association, 
Director of Technology Policy

In this role, he works with the White House, Federal agencies, and Congress to inform policymakers about the needs and functions of the diverse segments of the semiconductor industry. Prior to SIA, Erik was a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy, where he served as Advisor to the Director of the Office of Science. Prior to the DOE, Erik was a Senior Logic Technology Development Engineer at Intel. Erik earned his PhD in Solid State Chemistry from the University of Oregon.

David ANDERSON,

NY CREATES, President

A semiconductor industry veteran of 35 years, NY CREATES President David Anderson provides strategic leadership to grow and achieve the organization’s mission of fostering innovation that leads to job creation in New York State. He oversees a program portfolio with expenditures exceeding $350 million annually from industry and state partners.
Previously, David was President of SEMI Americas, leading SEMI’s programs and visibility in the Americas. Before that, he founded and was President and CEO of Novati Technologies, Inc., with the world’s largest portfolio of product development materials.

Sébastien DAUVÉ,

CEA, Director of CEA-Leti

Sébastien Dauvé is a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique and the Institut Supérieur de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace (ISAE-SUPAERO). He began his career at the French Armament Electronics Center, where he worked on the development of synthetic-aperture radar, before joining CEA-Leti in 2003. With more than twenty years of experience in microelectronics technologies and their applications—including clean mobility, future medicine, cybersecurity, and power electronics—Sébastien Dauvé was appointed Director of CEA-Leti in 2021.

Charles WESSNER,

Center for Strategic and International Studies, 
Senior Advisor

Charles Wessner is currently a research professor at Georgetown University, where he teaches global innovation policy. He served for two decades in the National Academy of Sciences, where he achieved the distinguished position of a National Academies scholar. He founded and directed the National Academies Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Program and its Innovation Forum. Charles Wessner is also a U.S. expert on Sematech, the U.S. semiconductor consortium, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, and the Small Business Innovation Research program. He was awarded the Order of Merit by the president of France.

Doug BLACK,

Inside HPC, Editor-in-chief

Moderator

A long-time technology journalist and business writer, Doug Black has been involved in the HPC community for more than 30 years, working with Intel, SGI and other organizations in the HPC ecosystem. Before joining insideHPC, Doug Black was managing editor of EnterpriseAI (formerly EnterpriseTech), a publication of Tabor Communications, where he covered the convergence of HPC and AI in commercial and industrial organizations.

DR. Christophe Calvin,

CEA, Research Data and Code Administrator

Christophe Calvin, PhD in applied mathematics from Grenoble, is a research director at the CEA. He began his career developing massively parallel CFD codes, then led major simulation projects for new generation nuclear reactors. He later headed laboratories and research programs in reactor physics, thermohydraulics and supercomputing, with strong international HPC collaborations. Since 2015, he has overseen digital simulation, intensive computing, AI, data and IT in fundamental research. He now serves as Research Data and Code Administrator and recognized senior fellow at the CEA.

Denis VACEK,

CEA, Director of Simulation Program

Denis Vacek graduated from the Ecole Polytechnique and National Aerospace Engineering School. He began as a strategic missile inflight-test manager for French test range, and joined CEA in 2002 as deputy project manager for a nuclear warhead. He created then a simulation department for stealth, atmospheric reentry, hardening and thermo-mechanics. After 2 years working as Human Resources deputy director, he was appointed head of architecture division in 2019. Since 2023, he is Simulation program director, coordinating physics, numerical simulation, high performance computing and facilities for experimental validation, to certify safety and effectiveness of nuclear weapons.

Damien LEBRUN-GRANDIÉ,

Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Senior Computational Scientist

Damien Lebrun-Grandié is a Senior Computational Scientist at ORNL, focusing on algorithms and enabling technologies for large-scale engineering and scientific problems on the world's fastest supercomputers. He co-leads the Kokkos C++ project for performance portability and is an ORNL representative to the C++ Standards Committee, where he contributed features like std::mdspan and std::linalg. He is also a founding member of the High-Performance Software Foundation.

Christian TROTT,

Sandia National Laboratories, Computational Scientist

Christian Trott is a high-performance computing expert with exceptional experience in designing and implementing scientific software for GPU and ManyCore architectures. He leads the Kokkos C++ Performance Portability Programming Model development team and is a member of the ISO C++ Standards Committee focusing on future C++ capabilities for parallel and heterogeneous computing. His previous scientific work focused on computational material research using ab-initio calculations, molecular dynamic simulations and Monte Carlo methods for investigations of ion-conducting glass materials.

DR. Jean-Luc VAY,

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 
 Senior Scientist and Head of Advanced Modeling Program

Jean-Luc Vay is the head of the Advanced Modeling Program in the Accelerator Technology and Applied Physics Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (joined in 1996 after his PhD in Paris, France). Within the U.S. DOE Exascale Computing Project (ECP), for which he shared the 2025 DOE Secretary of Energy achievement award as part of the ECP Leadership Team, he led the application project WarpX, which was awarded the 2022 ACM Gordon Bell Prize, in collaboration with researchers from CEA.

Laurent BILI,

Ambassador of France to the United States

A graduate of the French National School of Public Administration (ENA), Laurent Bili joined the French Foreign Ministry’s Strategic Affairs and Disarmament Directorate in 1991. Seconded to the Defence Ministry as Deputy Diplomatic Adviser (1993-95), he then held several positions at the Quai d’Orsay. In 2002, he was Director of the Private Office of the Minister Delegate for European Affairs and became technical adviser at the Diplomatic Unit of the Presidency of the French Republic. He successively held the positions of Ambassador to Thailand, Director of the Defence Minister’s Civilian and Military Office, Ambassador to Turkey and then to Brazil. Laurent Bili was then Director-General for Global Affairs at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and G7/G20 Sous-Sherpa. Laurent Bili was Ambassador to China from September 2019 until January 2023.