Annual Summit 2026

International Workshop on Data Science in the Chemical Industry

Thursday, May 14^th 2026

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

8:00 – 8:30 AM | Breakfast & Attendee Registration

Morning Cluster: AI in Chemical Industry

Session Chair: Meenesh R Singh

8:30 – 8:45 AM
Opening Remarks – UIC Catalyst Center Introduction and Progress
Meenesh R Singh, Director of UIC CAT

8:50 – 9:15 AM
Overview of Data Science Research at UIC
Karl Rockne, Associate Dean of Research

9:20 – 9:45 AM
How AI is Reshaping Energy & Infrastructure Industry
Saurabh Chaugule, Sr. Global Manager – Strategy & Business Development for Energy & Utilities, AWS

9:50 – 10:15 AM
Closing the Loop: How AI Agents are Reinventing R&D in the Chemical Industry
Kushal Sinha, Founder & CEO, Kortana AI

10:20 – 10:45 AM
AI/ML Usage towards Decarbonization and Environmental Resilience: A few case studies (Online)
Vimal Srivastava, Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee

Cluster 2: Process Systems Engineering (PSE)

10:50 – 11:15 AM
Advanced Methods for Addressing Missing Components and Information in Process Systems Engineering
Urmila Diwekar, Founder, Stochastic Research Technologies LLC

11:20 – 11:45 AM
Advanced Model-based Reaction Engineering for Circular Economy
Udit Gupta, Technical Account Manager, Siemens

12:00 – 1:00 PM | Lunch & Networking

Cluster 3: Biopharma & Digital Manufacturing

1:00 – 1:25 PM
Agentic AI to Accelerate R&D Workflows: From Molecular Modelling to Process Design
Antarip Halder, Senior Scientist, Aganitha AI

1:30 – 1:55 PM
Utilizing Digital Twins and Advanced Kinetic Modeling to Derisk Biologics Development
Eric Murphy, Senior Scientist II, AbbVie

2:00 – 2:25 PM
Applications of Machine Learning Enabled Prediction and Process Design in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing: Case Studies in Spray Drying and Crystallization
Ankur Kapil, Technology Leader, Veranova

2:30 – 2:55 PM
Role of Data Science and AI in Re-shaping the Clinical Trial Operations and Execution
Gian Prakash, Global Head of Data & Analytics, AbbVie

3:00 – 3:20 PM | Coffee Break

Cluster 4: High-Throughput Systems (HTS) & Automation

3:20 – 3:45 PM
Autonomous Discovery at Argonne and Beyond
Ilke Arslan, Scientist, Argonne National Lab

3:50 – 4:15 PM
Breaking the Experimental Data Barrier in Materials Discovery
Andrey Ivankin, Co-Founder and CTO, Mattiq

4:20 – 4:45 PM
Catalyst System Optimization for Refinery Units Using Automated Workflows and Digital Tools
Nan Chen, Senior Researcher, Chevron

4:50 – 5:10 PM
Design and Performance of Composite Structures using AI/ML
Swati Neogi, Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

5:15 – 6:00 PM | Panel Discussion

Theme: From Data to Decisions: AI in Chemical Industry

Panelists: Mike Caracotsios, Athena;  Vijay Murugesan, AWS; Jordan Swisher, Amber Industrials; and All Speakers.

Parallel Activities

2:00 – 4:00 PM | Siemens Workshop (Optional)
Chemical Reaction Engineering Framework in Siemens gPROMS Process: From Fundamentals to Advanced Insights
Lead: Udit Gupta, Room- EIB 271

2:00 – 4:00 PM | Automated Biopharma Experiments Workshop (Optional)
Demonstration of Enabling Technology Consortium (etconsortium.org) funded High Throughput Systems – eN-XTAL for solid form screening and eN-LNP for Lipid Nanoparticle Screening
Lead: Samagra Dvivedi and Dr. Nitin Minocha, Room – EIB 251

4:00 – 5:00 PM | Poster Session (Optional)
Lead: Brian Chaplin, Room – Lobby in Front of EIB 124

6:30 – 7:30 PM | Dinner @ Tuscany