Tyler Dinwoodie is President and Executive Director of Innovation Metals Corp., a critical-materials technology company based in Toronto, Canada. A senior corporate strategic advisor with an extensive background in market and industry analysis for the global critical-materials supply chains, Mr. Dinwoodie specializes in rare earths (rare-earth elements, rare-earth oxides, rare-earth metals, and rare-earth permanent magnets) and Li-ion battery materials (lithium, graphite, manganese, nickel, and cobalt) — with a particular focus on North American security of supply and downstream transformational installed capacity. He has served as an executive officer and senior advisor for several private and public technology and advanced materials companies, including IMC — in North America, Europe and Australia.
Previously, Mr. Dinwoodie served as President and Corporate Secretary of TSXV-listed Alabama Graphite Corp. prior to arranging, negotiating and overseeing the company's acquisition by a NASDAQ-listed company in 2018. He also served as Chief Marketing Officer for additive-manufacturing metal-powders producer Equispheres Inc., where he was instrumental in the company's founding, development of its business strategy and commercialization of its proprietary atomization technology. Mr. Dinwoodie is the Chairman of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence's annual Benchmark Summit in Washington D.C., sits on the Board of Directors of the National Alliance for Advanced Technology Batteries (NAATBatt International) and is an active member of REIA (Rare Earth Industry Association), the Canadian Rare Earth Elements Network (CREEN)/the Canadian Critical Minerals & Materials Association (C2M2A), the United States Energy Association (USEA), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), the Governance Professionals of Canada (GPC), the Canadian Investor Relations Institute (CIRI), and the U.S. based National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI).
Alireza Haghighat is a Professor of Nuclear Engineering at Virginia Tech, a Fellow at the American Nuclear Society, Director of the Nuclear Engineering Program, and Director of the Mechanical Engineering Program at the Greater Washington Metro Area Campus.
Sonja Schmid is an associate professor of Science and Technology Studies (STS), and serves as the co-director of the STS graduate program in Northern Virginia. For her first book, she studied the history and organization of the emerging Soviet nuclear industry. In other research, she traced the results of Soviet nuclear technology transfer to Central and East European nations that have since joined the European Union. She is particularly interested in examining the interface of national energy policies, technological choices, and nonproliferation concerns. For her most recent NSF-supported research project on the challenges of globalizing nuclear emergency response, she has worked with postdoctoral scholars Davide Orsini (2015-16, Ph.D. University of Michigan) and Başak Saraç Lesavre (2017-18, Ph.D. École des Mines, Paris), and has hosted a monthly speaker series (SIREN) that is now available as an online archive. She teaches courses in social studies of technology, science and technology policy, socio-cultural studies of risk, energy policy, and nuclear nonproliferation. Together with the Nuclear Engineering Program and the School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech, she developed and launched an interdisciplinary graduate certificate in "Nuclear Science, Technology, and Policy".
Kyle Vargas is a Master of Engineering student in Nuclear Engineering at Virginia Tech. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nuclear Engineering at the United States Naval Academy.
Bokki Min is a Ph.D. student at Virginia Tech, with a B.S. from Purdue University and M.S. from Iowa State University.
Taylor Loy is a Ph.D. student in Science and Technology Studies with a focus on Nuclear Energy Policy at Virginia Tech. Taylor attended University of Tennessee at Chattanooga as a Brock Scholar in the University Honors program. In five years, he completed dual degrees BA/BS and four majors. From 2006-2008, he completed dual graduate degrees, an MA in English Literature and MS in Science and Technology Studies. From 2012-2019, he worked in the nuclear power industry in operations, as an Assistant Unit Operator, and in operations training, as a Senior Reactor Operator Certified Instructor.
Gaoshan Li is a Ph.D. student in chemical engineering at Virginia Tech. She received her master's degree in chemical engineering at the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering and bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Taylor Loy is a Ph.D. student in Science and Technology Studies with a focus on Nuclear Energy Policy at Virginia Tech. Taylor attended University of Tennessee at Chattanooga as a Brock Scholar in the University Honors program. In five years, he completed dual degrees BA/BS and four majors. From 2006-2008, he completed dual graduate degrees, an MA in English Literature and MS in Science and Technology Studies. From 2012-2019, he worked in the nuclear power industry in operations, as an Assistant Unit Operator, and in operations training, as a Senior Reactor Operator Certified Instructor. Bokki Min is a Ph.D. student at Virginia Tech, with a B.S. from Purdue University and M.S. from Iowa State University. Kyle Vargas is a Master of Engineering student in Nuclear Engineering at Virginia Tech. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nuclear Engineering at the United States Naval Academy. Sonja Schmid is an associate professor of Science and Technology Studies (STS), and serves as the co-director of the STS graduate program in Northern Virginia. For her first book, she studied the history and organization of the emerging Soviet nuclear industry. In other research, she traced the results of Soviet nuclear technology transfer to Central and East European nations that have since joined the European Union. She is particularly interested in examining the interface of national energy policies, technological choices, and nonproliferation concerns. For her most recent NSF-supported research project on the challenges of globalizing nuclear emergency response, she has worked with postdoctoral scholars Davide Orsini (2015-16, Ph.D. University of Michigan) and Başak Saraç Lesavre (2017-18, Ph.D. École des Mines, Paris), and has hosted a monthly speaker series (SIREN) that is now available as an online archive. She teaches courses in social studies of technology, science and technology policy, socio-cultural studies of risk, energy policy, and nuclear nonproliferation. Together with the Nuclear Engineering Program and the School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech, she developed and launched an interdisciplinary graduate certificate in "Nuclear Science, Technology, and Policy". Alireza Haghighat is a Professor of Nuclear Engineering at Virginia Tech, a Fellow at the American Nuclear Society, Director of the Nuclear Engineering Program, and Director of the Mechanical Engineering Program at the Greater Washington Metro Area Campus.
