Annual Emerging Technology Conference Powered By Roanoke Blacksburg Technology Council
October 30 – 31, 2025
Hotel Roanoke, Roanoke, VA
The Roanoke Blacksburg Technology Council (RBTC) continues our annual conference to share global knowledge and resources with the ecosystem surrounding emerging technologies. The October conference will deliver a variety of keynotes, panels and breakout sessions through specialized tracks.
Featured Speakers
CHRIS HEIVLY
Co-Founder
MapQuest
STEFANI QUARLES
Microsoft
DR. MIKE FRIEDLANDER
VP for Health Sciences & Technology
Virginia Tech
DR. NATHAN KUPPERMANN
Executive VP & CAO
Children’s National Hospital
RACHEL YOST
Executive Director
Blue Ridge Innovation Corridor
PATRICK THEAN
Co-Founder
Rhythm Systems
BEN KELLIE
Former Engineer
SpaceX
LYNDA FOSTER
CEO
Cortex Leadership
What to Expect
Agenda
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Registration, Breakfast, & Networking
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM
Roanoke Foyer
Enjoy a complimentary breakfast and connect with other attendees.
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Keynote Kick-Off
9:00 AM – 9:45 AM
Roanoke Ballroom
Speaker: Chris Heivly (MapQuest)
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Accelerating Time to Talent: Revolutionizing 21st Century Education and Workforce Development Through Industry-Aligned Experiential Learning
10:00 AM – 10:35 AM
Washington Lecture Hall
Speaker: Mark Buckner (Oak Ridge High School)
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Securing the Future: National Security, Emerging Tech, & the Role of Rural America
10:00 AM – 10:45 AM
Crystal Ballroom D/E
Speaker: William Amos (Go Virginia)
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Interactive Live Session with Carilion Clinic Innovation & Human Factors – Life Cycle of a Medical Device
10:00 AM – 10:35 AM
Crystal Ballroom A
Speakers: Pete Larkin (Carilion Clinic), Dr. Aileen Helsel (Carilion Clinic Innovation), Dr. Robert Trestman (Carilion Clinic), Dr. Nate Jones (Carilion Clinic Center for Simulation, Research and Patient Safety)
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Tech HUB’s Additive Manufacturing: Continuing the Conversation
10:00 AM – 10:35 AM
Crystal Ballroom B
Speakers: John Provo (Virginia Tech), Katie Boswell (Onward NRV), Francisco Gonzalez (GENEDGE), Dr. Chase Cox (MELD Manufacturing), John Rehak (P1 Technologies)
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Expanding the Clinical Innovation Frontier: Strategies Beyond Major Hubs
10:00 AM – 10:35 AM
Crystal Ballroom C
Speakers: Matt Gevaert (Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, VCOM)
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Catalyzing Innovation: Accelerating Life Sciences from Lab to Market
10:00 AM – 10:35 AM
Roanoke Ballroom H
Speakers: Dr. Jim Pannucci (Activation Capital), Nicholas Farrell and Erica Peterson (BioPlatinum)
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D&A Talk Tech – A Conversation on a Human- Centered Approach to Emerging Tech
10:35 AM – 11:00 AM
Shared Foyer
Speakers: Doug Pitzer (Strokes of Genius) & Amethyst Edmond (Daydreamin Ventures)
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The Agility Advantage: How Emerging Ecosystems Compete and Win
11:00 AM – 11:35 AM
Washington Lecture Hall
Speakers: Mike Springer (Nissha Medical Technologis), Duane Mancini (Project Medtech)
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From Silicon Valley to Main Street: The AI Implementation Reality Check
11:00 AM – 11:35 AM
Crystal Ballroom A
Speaker: Nathan Powell (ArcCrest)
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Career Trajectories in Cybersecurity: Pathways for CTE Educators & Learners
11:00 AM – 11:45 AM
Crystal Ballroom D/E
Speakers: Megan Atkinson (Montgomery County Public Schools), Rob Graham (Pulaski County), Uma Marques (Roanoke County), Bob Burton (Radford University), Robert Garbee (Carilion Clinic)
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From Data to Decisions: Leveraging E2E APM for Commercial Impact
11:00 AM – 11:35 AM
Crystal Ballroom C
Speakers: Joy Polefrone (Alliance for Building Better Medicine), John Milton-Benoit (CCAM), Jim Pannucci (Activation Capital)
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The Competitive Edge of Startup Funding: How to Attract Investors and Secure Capital
11:00 AM – 11:35 AM
Crystal Ballroom B
Speakers: Moderated by Braden Croy (Dominion Energy Innovation Center), Featuring and Joe Benevento (VIPC)
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Trailblazers: Charting a Course for A Career in Innovation
11:00 AM – 11:45 AM
Roanoke Ballroom H
Speakers: Stuart Mease (RBIA), Doug Anderson, Phillip Ramus, and Trip Humphrey (Carilion Clinic), and Julia Boas (Roanoke Regional Partnership)
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Lunch
11:45 AM – 1:00 PM
Roanoke Ballroom
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Lunch Keynote – Short Adoption Change Management
12:00 PM – 12:15 PM
Roanoke Ballroom
Speaker: Stefani Quarles (Microsoft)
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Keynote: From Blueprint to Breakthrough: Envisioning the Future of Cell & Gene Therapy
12:45 PM – 1:15 PM
Roanoke Ballroom
Speakers: Mike Friedlander (Virginia Tech), Nathan Kuppermann (Children’s National Hospital)
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WoTech x RVA Tech: Women in Technology – Excel-erate Your AI Strategy – Zoom In
1:00 PM – 1:45 PM
Washington Lecture Hall
Speaker: Lori Mazor (Synthetivity)
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Keynote: The Blue Ridge Innovation Corridor: Accelerating Virginia’s 4th Economic Engine
1:20 PM – 1:35 PM
Roanoke Ballroom
Speaker: Rachel Yost (Blue Ridge Innovation)
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Cybersecurity is Everyone’s Business: Building Talent Pipelines from Classroom to Career
1:30 PM – 2:15 PM
Crystal Ballroom D/E
Speakers: Prem Uppuluri (Radford Unviersity), William Amos (Go Virginia), Dr. David Raymond (Virginia Tech), Shannon Beck (Virginia Tech Cyber Range), Chris Huntington (Curriculum Associates)
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Landscape of Investing
1:45 PM – 2:15 PM
Washington Lecture Hall
Speakers: Marty Rosendale (Common Wealth Angels), Dustin Dunbar (VIPC), James Ramey (VTC Ventures), Phill Graham (Pappas Capital), Lister Delgado (Idea Fund Partners)
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Smart Healthcare by Design: Lessons from the ICU and Beyond
1:45 PM – 2:15 PM
Crystal Ballroom C
Speaker: Dr. Sarah Parker and Thomas Martin (Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine)
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Mapping the Future: Advancing Brain Cancer Care
1:45 PM – 2:15 PM
Crystal Ballroom A
Speakers: Dr. Fred Wu (Virginia Tech) & Dr. Wynn Legon (Virginia Tech)
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Strategic Research Alliance
1:45 PM – 2:15 PM
Crystal Ballroom B
Speakers: Jon Porter (Virginia Tech Strategic Research Alliances), Steven McKnight (Virginia Tech Strategic Research Alliances), John Provo (Virginia Tech), and Dr. Christopher Williams (Virginia Tech)
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Shaping What’s Next: Student Discoveries in Additive Manufacturing
2:15 PM – 2:45 PM
Shared Foyer
Speakers: Sam Pratt (Virginia Tech) and Tadesuz Kosmal (Virginia Tech) with Dr. Christopher Williams as Moderator
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Cybersecurity CBE in Action: Simulation
2:30 PM – 3:15 PM
Crystal Ballroom D/E
Speaker: Prem Uppuluri (Radford University)
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AI in Pharma
2:45 PM – 3:15 PM
Washington Lecture Hall
Speakers: Joy Polefrone (Alliance for Building Better Medicine), Dennis Hall (USP), John Milton-Benoit (CCAM), Andrew Schoka (Hardshell)
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Prompt. Build. Deploy. Your First AI Agent Starts Here.
2:45 PM – 3:15 PM
Crystal Ballroom B
Speaker: Stefani Quarles
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Emerging Tech Talent Roundtable
2:45 PM – 3:15 PM
Crystal Ballroom A
Speakers: Mark Buckner (Oak Ridge High School), Amy White (Virginia Western Community College), and Jason Suhr (Roanoke County Public Schools)
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Leveraging Seamless In-Home Patient Monitoring to Prevent Diabetic Foot Amputations
2:45 PM – 3:15 PM
Crystal Ballroom C
Speaker: Anuj Khandelwal (Empo Health)
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Get More from Local Innovators
3:15 PM – 4:15 PM
Roanoke Ballroom H
Speakers: Stuart Mease (RBIA), Steve Parker (Intuitive Surgical), Jared Heffron and Bill Throndset (Novonessis), Guy DeCorte (KlariVis), Peter Hall and Meredith Hudson (Integer), Ryan Flanary, David Raymond, and Shannon Beck (Virginia Tech), Mark Miskovic (Carilion Clinic)
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Part 1: Hands-On Training in Small Volume Metrology, pre-certification course
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Crystal Ballroom A
Speaker: Dr. Kristylea Ojeda (Virginia Western Community College)
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Statewide Biotech Roundtable
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Crystal Ballroom B
Speakers: John Newby (Virginia Bio) , Nikki Hastings (CvilleBioHub), Jim Pannucci (Activation Capital), Erin Burcham (RBIA), Amy Adams (George Mason University), Kevin Leslie (Old Dominion University), Joy Polefrone (Alliance for Building Better Medicine), Joe Benevento (VIPC)
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AI Weatherman Workshop
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Crystal Ballroom C
Speaker: David Bates (Ozmo)
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Uncommon Pairings
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Crystal Ballroom D/E
Speaker: Debbie Irwin (Lighthouse Labs)
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The Hidden Costs of Turnover: Data-Driven Solutions for a Healthier Workforce
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Washington Lecture Hall
Speaker: Tiffany Chan (Atalan) and James Ramey (VTC Ventures)
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Keynote: Make AI Your Unfair Advantage: Turning Strategy into Intelligent Execution
4:15 PM – 5:00 PM
Roanoke Ballroom
Speaker: Patrick Thean
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Happy Hour & Immersive Alley
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Roanoke Foyer
Explore hands-on demos at Immersive Alley, enjoy a drink at Happy Hour, and take time to connect with other attendees.
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Keynote | Engineering the Impossible: From Rockets to Revolutionary Startups
8:30 AM – 9:15 AM
Roanoke Ballroom
Speaker: Ben Kellie (Applied Atomics)
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Part 2: Microcredentialing in Small Volume Metrology, certification test
9:15 AM – 10:45 AM
Roanoke Ballroom H
Dr. Heather Lindberg (Virginia Western Community College) and Dr. Len Pysh (Roanoke College)
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From Prompt to Prototype: Building with Custom GPTs and AI Agents
9:30 AM – 10:05 AM
Washington Lecture Hall
Speaker: Samantha Steidle (Radford University)
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Breaking Ground in Orthobiologics
9:30 AM – 10:05 AM
Crystal Ballroom A
Speaker: Jessica Gilbertie (Qentoros)
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Smarter, Faster, Stronger: AI in Advanced Manufacturing
9:30 AM – 10:05 AM
Crystal Ballroom C
Speakers: Chase Cox (MELD Manufacturing)
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Federated Future of Freight: Deploying Hermes Assistant for Scalable Supply Chain Visibility
9:30 AM – 10:05 AM
Crystal Ballroom B
Speaker: Kaitlyn Bedwell (Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, VTTI)
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Drug Discovery: Showcase a Drug to Replace Exercise
9:30 AM – 10:05 AM
Crystal Ballroom E
Speaker: Webster Santos (Virginia Tech, Department of Chemistry) and his PhD Students
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Solving Data Privacy: Encryption for the Future
9:30 AM – 10:05 AM
Crystal Ballroom D
Speaker: Parker Pearson (Donoma Software)
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Opportunities and Risks for AI: 2025 and Beyond
10:15 AM – 10:50 AM
Crystal Ballroom A
Speakers: Dayal Bhagat (CMIT Solutions), Dr. Andrew Kulak (Triple Point Security), and Doug Turpin (Tight Technologies)
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Purpose Under Pressure: A Founders’ Fireside with Code One on Change and Growth
10:15 AM – 10:50 AM
Crystal Ballroom C
Speakers: Allison and Rich Shok (CodeOne) & Mike Abbott (Cambrian Design and Development)
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Elevating Manufacturing Through Emerging Technology: Lessons from nuclear innovation
10:15 AM – 10:50 AM
Crystal Ballroom D
Speakers: Matt Levasseur (BWXT Advanced Technologies), John Smith (BWXT Advanced Technologies), and Francisco Gonzalez (GENEDGE)
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Beyond the Tech Roadmap: Building Senior Leadership Teams to Move at the Speed of Innovation
10:15 AM – 10:50 AM
Crystal Ballroom B
Speaker: Kimberley Lewis Parsons (Bamboo Teaming)
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Emerging Topics in AI Safety and Security
10:15 AM – 10:50 AM
Washington Lecture Hall
Speakers: Andrew Schoka (Hardshell), Dr. Hunter Moore (Hardshell), Emma Meno (VTNSI), John Elder V (Elder Research Inc.)
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Breaking the Mold: Innovative Pathways from Classroom to Career
10:15 AM – 10:50 AM
Crystal Ballroom E
Speakers: Joel Scharlat (STEAMBridge, Inc.) and Mark Levy (Roanoke Valley Governor’s School for Science and Technology)
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Investor Readiness Lab: Impact of Long-Term Mentor Relationships
10:15 AM – 10:50 AM
Idea & Innovation Lab
Speaker: Heather Fay (SBDC) and Dan Myers (ICAP)
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Keynote: The New Rules of Leadership in the Age of AI: Mastering Time, Teams, and Tools
11:05 AM – 11:50 AM
Roanoke Ballroom
Speaker: Lynda Foster (Cortex Leadership)
Hotel Info
The Hotel Roanoke will offer exclusive rates to attendees of the Emerging Tech Conference. Book now, as these rooms are in limited supply. Our event rate will be available until October 10, 2025.
Join the RBTC Discord Server
Keep up with all things RBTC in the official Discord Server! Our server can be used to network, find opportunities, and stay up-to-date on RBTC happenings. It’s the perfect place to keep up with conference announcements and connect with other attendees.
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