You have probably heard a lot about invention and innovation in the course of your career. IEEE Schenectady Section would like to invite you to hear a first-hand account from someone who has worked with invention and innovation as a process and means to generate new ideas.

PRESENTED BY: Dr. Ahmed Elasser

DATE and TIME: November 14th, 2019, Thursday, 12 to 1:00 PM

LOCATION: Niskayuna Reformed Church Room, 3041 Troy Schenectady Rd, Niskayuna, NY 12309

SPONSORED BY: IEEE Industry Applications Society, IEEE Schenectady Section

LUNCH: Lunch will be provided.

RESERVATIONS:

Please contact Supriya Tawde, at tawdessupriya@ieee.org by Wednesday, November 13th, 2019 to reserve. This event is free for IEEE members.  There is a $10 fee for non-members.

ABSTRACT: In this presentation, Dr. Ahmed Elasser will talk about invention and innovation from an industrial perspective, define what invention and innovation are discuss the various innovation models (open, closed, architectural, etc.). The talk will touch upon topics like Sustaining and Disruptive Innovations and cover questions like – ‘What is all this innovation Stuff anyhow?’ He will also talk about his own experience at GE running the Disruptive Technology Council and seeding new ideas. A view on innovation from three prominent experts, on how to innovate in large organizations, disruptive innovation (Clayton Christensen), and how thinking different and using sophisticated marketing goes hand in hand with innovation, will be presented.

THE SPEAKER:

Dr. Ahmed Elasser received his Engineering Degree (Ingenieur D’Etat) from L’Ecole Mohammadia D’Ingenieurs, Rabat, Morocco in 1985 in Electric Power and Power Electronics. He spent seven years in Morocco working for industry and academia as a maintenance and laboratory engineer. He joined Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY on a Fulbright Scholarship in 1992 and completed his MS and PhD degrees in Electric Power and Power Electronics in 1993 and 1996 respectively.  He joined GE Global Research Center in 1995 as a summer intern and is currently a Principal Systems Engineer in the areas of Electric Power, Power Electronics, and Power Semiconductor Devices. He worked on Silicon Power Devices such as IGBTs and IGCTs, Solar Energy, Silicon Carbide, Gallium Nitride, Power Conversion Systems Modeling and Simulation, and Innovation. He is currently leading the GE Renewable Reservoir Power Conversion components testing and qualification. He published over 40 papers and has 32 patents issued with several pending. Dr. Elasser is a Senior Member of IEEE and a regular reviewer for many IEEE journals and conferences in his area of expertise. Dr. Ahmed Elasser is the recipient of numerous GE Awards for his contributions and innovations over his 24 years GE career.