Keynotes

Christina Ernst is a senior software engineer at Google and the fashioneering content creator behind shebuildsrobots.com. Her tech-fashion crossover work has been featured in CNN Style, Make: Magazine, Forbes, Entertainment Weekly, CBC, and Popular Science. She was a recurring engineering correspondent on Season 6 of the educational STEM show 'Mission Unstoppable with Miranda Cosgrove' and also served as the 2024 Maker-in-Residence at Chicago Public Library.

Dr. Aadeel Akhtar, CEO of PSYONIC, founded the company to create advanced, accessible bionic limbs after meeting a young girl missing a limb in Pakistan. PSYONIC's bionic Ability Hand is the fastest on the market, impact-resistant, and the first to provide a sense of touch. It is also covered by Medicare and is being used by humans and robotics companies globally, including NASA, Meta, Mercedes, and Google. Dr. Akhtar earned a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and an M.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois, along with a B.S. in Biology and an M.S. in Computer Science from Loyola University Chicago. He’s been recognized by MIT Technology Review and Newsweek and secured a 3-shark deal on Shark Tank.