Protima Banerjee, Ph.D.

ASRC Federal, Technology Fellow

Dr. Protima Basnerjee has held technical and leadership positions designing and developing high performance data and computing systems in the DoD and commercial sectors for almost 30 years.  Protima is currently a Technology Fellow at ASRC Federal, an Alaskan-Native corporation whose Mission Systems division is headquartered in Moorestown, NJ. She has held previous positions as an Associate Fellow at Lockheed-Martin, Principal Research Engineer at Real-Time Innovations and Principal Consultant at Oracle Corporation. She is an Adjunct Professor of Computer Science at Rowan University where she has developed and teaches graduate classes in software engineering and data science. Protima is a Lifetime Member of the Society of Women Engineers and is passionate about encouraging women and other under-represented groups to pursue careers in the sciences.

Gregory Hollows

VP, Product Strategy at Edmund Optics

Greg Hollows is the Senior Vice President of the Imaging and Optical Assemblies Business Group at Edmund Optics.  Edmund Optics is focused on developing optical component and system level solutions for Life Sciences, Industrial Automation, Metrology, and Defense industries.  Greg is responsible for leading the strategy and product development for assemblies and systems across Edmund’s global organization. He has 27 years in the optics and photonics industry, serving on multiple Board of Directors for Imaging, Automation, AI, and Photonics.  Additionally, he has led the development of industry education programs in these spaces. 

William "Billy" Ding, M.D.

Medical Director, Summit Health

Dr. Ding is the medical director of the Summit Health Cancer Center in Lawrenceville, NJ.  He specializes in GU malignancies with expertise in prostate cancer treatment using radiotherapy.  Prior to his current position, he served as an attending physician and a clinical investigator at the Crozer-Fox Chase cancer center in Chester, PA. He attended Drexel University College of Medicine — class of 2007— where he served as the class president.  He lives in the neighborhood of Queen Village in Philadelphia with his wonderful wife and 3 kids.

Tonya Le Blanc, Ph.D.

Medical Director, J & J

Dr. Tonya Le Blanc is a Medical Director at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine. Holding a BS in Chemistry from Vanderbilt University and earning her PhD in Pharmacology at Duke University, Dr. Le Blanc went on to complete a post-doctoral fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. She has spent her entire career at J&J, serving initially as a bench scientist and subsequently in various leadership roles. Dr. Le Blanc also holds a patent for methods she developed for detecting glucose absorption and excretion. She is passionate about mentoring girls and people of color who are interested in STEM.

Leonard McMullen, Ph.D.

Retired Director Dev Chem & Research, FMC

Dr. Leonard McMullen (Chemistry Alumnus, 1985) is currently retired after a distinguished 30-year career at FMC. Dr. McMullen earned his doctorate in Organic Chemistry at the University of Maryland and completed his post-doctoral studies at MIT as well as completing Harvard University’s Advanced Management Program (AMP164). At FMC, Dr. McMullen held multiple leadership roles with a primary focus on the Agricultural Sciences business. His titles at FMC included Director of Global Research & Development, Director of FMC Agriculture Products International, Director of Global Supply Chain, Director of Global Procurement, among others. Dr. McMullen traveled for 25 years to Asia, to establish R&D centers, key business relationships and lived in Hong Kong and Singapore for a combined 7 years. Over his career at FMC, Dr. McMullen also implemented a Center Led Procurement Organization, Supply and Operations Planning, an Asset Light Manufacturing Strategy, and oversaw the launch of several new crop protection products.

Dr. McMullen has been married 34 years and has a daughter. As a local in the region, raised in Philadelphia and residing in Yardley PA, Dr. McMullen is committed to giving back to the region and Rowan University, his alma mater. He enjoys international travel, gardening, and fitness training.

Ralph Neuneier, Ph.D.

Technology Manager, Siemens Corporate Research & Technology

Dr. Ralph Neuneier is the Head of Research at Siemens Technology US, the American hub of Siemens’ central research division. He mentors multiple research teams specializing in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Intelligent Software Architectures, Sustainability, and Advanced Manufacturing-Circularity. As a key member of the leadership team, he also represents core technologies including automation, simulation, and digital twin.

With 30 years of global experience at Siemens, Dr. Neuneier has cultivated a deep understanding of how research and development drive product and service innovation in today’s dynamic landscape. At Siemens, he champions the essential digitalization of industry by seamlessly integrating the physical and digital worlds. Ralph also knows that technology is only one side of the coin, having the right pool of diverse talents and continuously develop them further is equally important.

Eve Perris, Ph.D.

Fellow, Principal Human Factors Engineer - Lockheed Martin

Eve Perris is a Lockheed Martin Fellow in RMS Global Sustainment, specializing in Human Factors Engineering and User Experience (UX) Research. Dr. Perris’ career has focused on optimizing human performance. She currently leads UX research on innovative products and new defense platforms to optimize usability, and to support operators and maintainers. Prior to joining Lockheed Martin, Dr. Perris conducted research to develop innovative technologies and services in the telecommunications industry. She has served on FCCs Network Reliability Sub-Committees and has written Best Practices for the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security. Dr. Perris the Chair of the Lockheed Martin Women Fellows Network and is the Chair of the LM Women’s Impact Network Mentoring Committee in New Jersey. She is a member of the Human Factors & Ergonomic Society (HFES) and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).  

Susan Harkness Regli, Ph.D.

Human Factors Scientist, University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Susan Harkness Regli is the Human Factors Scientist at the University of Pennsylvania Health System. She is a founder of Penn Medicine’s Center for Applied Health Informatics and a leader in the office of the Chief Medical Information Officer and the department of Clinical Effectiveness and Quality Improvement. She works to promote best practices in safety using human factors methodologies and to implement effective EHR and predictive healthcare solutions using human-computer interaction design and evaluation techniques.

Dr. Regli has published on topics such as delivery of targeted palliative care and of cancer care through use of an EHR mortality prediction model; improvements in patient safety for use of single-patient insulin pens in hospital settings; and improving continuity of care documentation between acute and outpatient settings, as well as an influential article on expertise in technical writing (in Professional Writing and Rhetoric: Readings from the Field) and a book of poetry called Her Arms Can Hold Me. Dr. Regli earned her doctorate in Rhetoric from Carnegie Mellon University, where she was affiliated with the Human-Computer Interaction Institute.  

Ahmed Salahuddin, MBA

Assistant VP of Lab Services, Virtua Health

Ahmed Salahuddin has held a variety of leadership roles in hospital administration over the past 20 years. Currently he serves as the Assistant Vice President of Lab Services at Virtua Health. He completed a BS in Pharmacy from the University of Karachi in Pakistan. He earned an MS in Clinical Chemistry from West Chester University and an MBA from Philadelphia University (now Jefferson University). 

Ahmed is committed to his field and cultivating the rising generation of lab professionals. He has been instrumental in launching important workforce educational initiatives and is committed to recruiting and training those in the field. In addition to his work in hospital administration, he is a successful entrepreneur and has operated various business in the Philadelphia and South Jersey areas.  Outside of his professional endeavors he is a committed to his family and enjoys activities with them such as fishing and coaching various sports

Sam Thevanagam, MBA

President, CEO – Parts Life, Inc., DeVal Lifecycle Support, and LC Engineers, Inc.

Sam Thevanayagam is the President and CEO of two aerospace and defense companies. After a career as an executive in the automotive aftermarket, he pursued his entrepreneurial aspirations and founded Parts Life, Inc. in Moorestown, NJ, in 2007. Parts Life, Inc. is a certified AS9100D engineering service provider and supplier of parts and components for major military assets, including the B-52, for the Department of Defense. In 2017, Sam acquired DeVal Lifecycle Support, a Philadelphia-based manufacturer of armament and ground support equipment for the Department of Defense.

Raised in a Christian home in Sri Lanka, Sam’s parents instilled in him a strong faith and work ethic, teaching him the value of perseverance through unconditional love. He moved to the U.S. in his early 20s to attend community college and earned a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Oral Roberts University. As a TEDx speaker and author of "The First 10 Runs in Singles: Life Lessons from the Game of Cricket," Sam uses his book to teach leadership, business, and faith on a global scale. With a focus on servant leadership and goal of creating God-honoring content, Sam’s leadership philosophy is to create an environment where others can achieve their God-given potential.

Carolina Zingale, Ph.D.

Engineering Research Psychologist at FAA

Dr. Carolina Zingale is an Engineering Research Psychologist with the FAA Human-Systems Integration Branch at the FAA Technical Center for Advanced Aerospace in Atlantic City, NJ.  Her work focuses on investigating ways to maximize efficiency and safety and minimize errors in aviation. She has led numerous high-fidelity simulation studies, the results of which guided concept modifications and system requirements. Carolina serves as the technical point of contact for projects investigating cognitive biases in aviation and is leading a project to measure ambient sound levels in air traffic facilities to enhance the effectiveness of alarms and alerts. She received the FAA Vanguard Award for leadership and excellence in executing UAS research and certificates of excellence for research in air traffic concept validation.  Before joining the FAA, Carolina was a Human Factors Engineer at Lucent Technologies/Bell Labs, where she won awards for user interface, website, and telephone system designs. She also held a faculty position at Rutgers/Robert Wood Johnson Medical School where she developed programs to enhance learning and teaching of medical information.  She brings a wealth of experience from both industry and academia.

Carolina is passionate about serving students and her professional communities. At the FAA Technical Center she has served as both an intern mentor, Chair of the local Institutional Review Board (IRB), and as a board member providing advisement in the development of a new electronic IRB (eIRB) website. In her free time she enjoys reading, the outdoors, attending concerts, watching baseball and hockey games, and spending time with family and friends.