Yi Bao
Stevens Institute of Technology, USA

Biography: Yi Bao is an Associate Professor of Civil Engineering and the Founding Director of the Smart Infrastructure Laboratory at Stevens Institute of Technology. Dr. Bao’s interests include smart structures and structural monitoring and management. He leads a group developing innovative solutions based on AI-powered structural design and smart sensors and robots for next-generation civil structures. To date, he has authored/coauthored over 230 journal articles which have been cited over 10,000 times with a H-index of 62. Since 2022, he has been listed as a Top 2% Highly Cited Scientist by Standard University and Elsevier. He received the 2025 Rising Star Award from Research.com. He was listed as a Top 0.05% Highly Ranked Scholar according to ScholarGPS. He is an Associate Editor for Engineering Structures, ASCE’s Journal of Bridge Engineering, Frontiers in Physics, and Innovative Infrastructure Solutions. His research has been funded by government agencies, such as the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Transportation, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of Agriculture, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as private companies.

Ergun Kuru
University of Alberta, Canada

Biography: Dr. Ergun Kuru is Professor of Petroleum Engineering at the University of Alberta. He received his B.Sc. degree from Middle East Technical University, M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from Louisiana State University all in Petroleum Engineering.
For more than 30 years, Dr. Kuru has been teaching courses and conducting research on oil and gas well drilling and well completion engineering related subjects. He has authored/co-authored more than 230 technical papers.
Dr. Kuru served several SPE committees in the past including SPE ATCE Drilling Engineering Program Committee, SPE Global Training Committee, SPE Education and Accreditation Committee, Editorial Review Board member of SPE Drilling and Completion Journal, Associate Editor of SPE Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology, Editorial board member of Journal of Petroleum Technology and Associate editor of ASME Journal of Energy Resources and Technology.
Dr. Kuru is 2017 recipient of SPE Canada Region Distinguished Achievement Award for Petroleum Engineering Faculty and 2021 SPE International Distinguished Member Award.