SPEAKERS


    Dr. Hyeon Ju Kim 
Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering
 

Dr. Kim is the Principal Researcher at the Offshore Plant and Marine Energy Research division of the Korean Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISO). He is also the Project Manager of the Korean OTEC program.
Dr Kim received his Ph.D. from the Dept. of Ocean Engineering, Pukyong National University. His fields of specialization are systems technology of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion and Mineral Extraction, Seawater Desalination and applied technology for Deep Ocean Water for Food, Energy and Water.
He is Vice Chairman of the Korean Society for Power System Engineering and a Member of the board of directors of the Korean Society for Marine Environment and Energy, The Korean Society of Ocean Engineering.

 
 
    Dr. Purnima Jalihal
NationaL Institute of Ocean Technology
 

Dr. Purnima heads the Energy and Fresh Water group in the National Institute of Ocean Technology, India. She has coordinated many first – ever projects in ocean energy and desalination.
She has a tremendous contribution in the setting up of the first ever ocean thermal gradient based desalination plant at Kavaratti island in the Lakshadweep group in the Arabian Sea which has helped transform the lives of the small island community which had a serious lack of drinking water. For this work she was awarded the Vishwakarma Medal in 2006 by the Indian National Science Academy. This success led to more plants in islands and offshore. Dr Purnima is now attempting to scale up the technology and power such plants using ocean renewable energies. She has a PhD in Civil Engineering from Duke University, USA. She is on many committees of the Indian Government, related to water and renewable energy.

 
 
    Dr. Rodolfo Silva
Mexican Centre for Innovation in Ocean Energy (CEMIE-Océano) 
 

Dr. Silva heads the Mexican Centre for Innovation in Ocean Energy (CEMIE-Océano, México). He is a professor in the Department of Hydraulics and the Environment of the Engineering Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He is a specialist in coastal protection and maritime structures, coastal orphodynamics, operational oceanography, coastal zone management and renewable energy. Dr. Silva has published more than 400 scientific publications in national and international journals and has supervised more than 80 master's and doctorates in coastal engineering in Mexico, the Netherlands, and Spain.

 
 
    Eng. Manuel A. J. Laboy
Secretary of Economic Development and Commerce of Puerto Rico
 

Manuel Lamboy, MBA is Secretary of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC) and Executive Director of the Industrial Development Company (FOMENTO) of Puerto Rico.
As an engineer, with 20 years of experience in industry, construction, renewable energy and project management, he is currently also the leader of the PROTECH project that investigates the implementation of OTEC technology. In the port of Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, a 500 kW power generation plant is planned, as well as a regional industrial park integrating applied research, innovation and economic development through the new industries based on the use of deep sea waters.

 
 
    Ir. Dr. Sanjayan Velautham
Former CEO of Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) Malaysia
 

YBrs. Ir. Dr. Sanjayan Velautham was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of SEDA effective of 9th January 2019. He has more than 30 years of experience in the industry, international organisation, an academia and research institutes. A professional engineer (P.Eng.) with a doctoral degree in Engineering and a Senior Member at the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia. He is also an Advisory Board Member for the Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre (APERC), Japan and an Adjunct Professor with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Maintains a mix of appointments and engagements in several countries within the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, working with decision makers in government, academia, industry and civil society.
Prior to his present appointment he was the Executive Director of the ASEAN Centre for Energy in Indonesia. He had started his career at Tenaga Nasional Bhd. (TNB) in Malaysia within the Power Generations Division, including several years as an Assoc. Prof. at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). He had moved to Singapore in 2008 initially as the Deputy Director with the Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and then with General Electric as Region Manager for the Power Generation Services business. He had also served as the National Project Manager for the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP Malaysia) BioGen Project. Ir. Dr. Sanjayan has authored several publications in international journals/ books and subject modules particularly in the field of energy. His interest among others is to continue to engage in the strategy and policy research related to sustainable energy development within the region.