Key Note Speakers
Prof. Eleftheria (Ria) Kontou, PhD
Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA
Biography
Dr. Kontou is assistant professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on sustainable and electrified transportation systems planning and management. She received her PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida, her M.Sc. from Virginia Tech, and a diploma from the National Technical University of Athens. She was a postdoctoral research associate at the Transportation and Hydrogen Systems Center of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the City and Regional Planning Department of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a member of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee on Alternative Fuels and Technologies (AMS40). Dr. Kontou is a 2023 NSF CAREER awardee, a 2023 Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC)-Cambridge Systematics New Faculty Award recipient, a 2022 Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Faculty Scholar, a 2021 US Frontiers of Engineering invited participant, and a Levenick Sustainability Teaching Fellow at the University of Illinois. She is Associate Editor of the Transportation Research Part D journal and Early Career Advisory Board member of the Transportation Research Part C journal. She serves on the steering committee of the Illinois Alliance for Clean Transportation.
Prof. Dr. ir. Joeri Van Mierlo
Director of MOBI - Electromobility research centre
Head of ETEC - Department of Electrical Engineering and Energy Technology
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
Biography
Joeri Van Mierlo is a key player in the electromobility scene. He is professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussels, one of the top universities in this field. He leads the MOBI – Electromobility Research Centre and is head of ETEC - Electric Engineering and Energy Technology department. 2012, Prof. Van Mierlo was visiting professor at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. He is an expert in the field of Electric and Hybrid vehicles (batteries, power converters, energy management simulations) as well as to the environmental and economical comparison of vehicles with different drive trains and fuels (LCA, TCO). From 2013-2019, Prof. Van Mierlo was vice-president of AVERE (European Electric Vehicle Association) and from 2015-2019 vice-president of its Belgian section "EV-Belgium". He is editor in chief of World Electric Vehicle Journal, author of more than 500 scientific publications and was named "Highly Cited Researcher 2023” by Clarivate - Web of Science.
Memberships
- appointed member of KVAB (Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts)
- active member of EARPA (European Automotive Research Partner Association)
- EGVIA (European Green Vehicle Initiative Association)
- Executive Council of EPE, the Core lab committee of Flanders Make
- IEEE Senior Member
- IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS)
- IEEE Vehicular Technology Society (VTS)
- IEEE Transportation Electrification Community
Franz Loogen
President of the State Agency for New Mobility Solutions and Automotive (e-mobil BW)
Stuttgart, Germany
Biography
Franz Loogen (born 1963) has been president of the State Agency for New Mobility Solutions and Automotive, e-mobil BW, since 2010. Previously, he had been working in the automotive industry for twenty years. His professional career took him along the entire automotive added-value chain. Franz Loogen campaigns for the further development of climate-friendly mobility solutions. His focus here is on modern drives, regenerative energy technology and digital solutions, international networks and social developments.
Education and profession
- 1982 School graduation in Aachen
- 1988 Graduated in Mechanical Engineering from the RWTH University in Aachen
- 1988 - 2010 Employee at Daimler AG (DaimlerChrysler AG, Mercedes-Benz AG) including in the divisions Van and Lorry at various locations (Düsseldorf plant, After Sales Stuttgart, Lorry testing)
- Since 2010 President of the State Agency for New Mobility Solutions and Automotive, e-mobil BW