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The Spark: Where Industrial AI Gets Real

April 15 @ 1:00 pm - 7:30 pm

Free

📍 Venue: Depaul University — The Spark Center — 1E Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60604 – 8th Floor Rm 8010

📅 Date & Time: April 15th | 1:00 – 5:00 PM CDT

The Spark: AI in Industry brings together the operators, architects, and researchers who are actually doing the work, not talking about it. Across three hard-hitting panels, we move from what’s delivering measurable value on the plant floor today,
to designing agentic systems that survive contact with real industrial constraints, to what the next operating model looks like when AI becomes part of the job. No keynote theater, no vendor pitches. Just the honest conversations that turn pilot projects into production reality.

The Spark: Where Industrial AI Gets Real

Martin Gonzalez Senior Manager, Refining Technology BP	Nezih Altay Director of the Master of Science in Supply Chain Management Program Depaul University	Jungwoo Ryoo Chancellor Penn State

Konrad Konarski Chairperson AI Applied Consortium / Prolifics Inc.	Elias Brown North American Data Manager Vallourec	Jobi Abraham Data Governance Manager Illinois Department of Public Health

Michael Burgess VP Operations Crenlo Engineered Cabs	Dr. James Kulich Director of MS in Data Science Elmhurst University	John Thompson Author and Innovation Fellow University of Michigan

Marco Chou Adjunct Professor Oakton College

Time	Session	Speakers	Details
1:00 – 1:15 PM	OPENING REMARKS	Dr. Nezih Altay — Director of MS in Supply Chain Management, DePaul University Konrad Konarski — Chairman at AI Applied Consortium	Opening remarks. Speaking about the collaboration between DePaul University and the Ai Applied Consortium. Introduction to the AI Applied Consortium and the importance of this symposium.
1:15 – 2:00 PM	Fireside Chat: AI in industry – what is working right now ?	Dr. Martin Gonzalez — Senior Manager, Refining Technology at BP Marco Chou — Adjunct Professor, DePaul University	Hear directly from industry leaders on where AI is delivering measurable value today and where progress still stalls. This panel focuses on real adoption experience in energy and manufacturing, including the operational realities that determine whether AI scales or stops at the pilot stage. Topics High value AI use cases in operations and production Why some pilots scale and others do not Data readiness and system integration realities Change management and frontline adoption Trust, safety, and decision support in industrial settings What leaders are prioritizing next Outcomes Practical examples of measurable AI value creation Better understanding of common scale barriers Clearer picture of near term priorities in industry adoption
2:00 – 2:15 PM	COFFEE BREAK
2:15 – 3:00 PM	PANEL 2: Agentic Ai in industry – move beyond the hype	Konrad Konarski — Chairman at AI Applied Consortium Jobi Abrahams — Data Governance Manager at Illinois Dept of Public Health Dr. James Kulich — Director of MS in Data Science at Elmhurst University	Move beyond the hype and into practical design. This session explores how agentic AI can support troubleshooting, decision making, and workflow coordination in complex industrial settings, with a focus on what it takes to make these systems useful, trusted, and scalable. Topics What agentic AI means in industrial operations Practical use cases in energy and manufacturing workflows Context, retrieval, and semantic grounding Reasoning, orchestration, and task coordination Human oversight, exception handling, and trust Designing for legacy systems and real operational constraints What breaks at scale and how to plan for it Outcomes Practical framework for evaluating agentic AI opportunities Better understanding of design choices that affect success Clearer path from concept to scalable industrial implementation
3:00 – 3:15 PM	COFFEE BREAK
3:15 – 4:00 PM	PANEL 3: The next operating model: Humans, AI, and industrial intelligence	Elias Brown — Data Manager at Vallourec Dr. Nezih Altay — Director of MS in Supply Chain Management, DePaul University John Thompson — Author and Innovation Fellow at U of Michigan	What happens when AI becomes part of everyday industrial work? This forward looking session explores how energy and manufacturing organizations may evolve over the next 3 to 5 years across frontline support, knowledge transfer, training, operational decision making, and workforce roles. Topics AI enabled frontline and plant support Knowledge capture and transfer before expertise retires Training and upskilling in AI enabled environments Human plus AI decision support models Operating model shifts across plants and enterprises What is emerging now versus what is still overhyped Outcomes Grounded view of where industrial AI is heading next Better distinction between near term reality and longer term hype Clearer priorities for technology, talent, and operating model change
4:00 – 4:45 PM	STUDENT VOICE SESSION	Moderator: Konrad Konarski, AI Applied Consortium	In this session students will have an opportunity to voice their concerns and expectations regarding AI. The AI Applied Consortium will then summarize their feedback into a report which will be included in the Consortium’s AI policy posture document that will be submitted to the US Congress.
4:45 – 5:00 PM	CLOSING TAKEAWAYS AND NEXT STEPS

Details

Date: April 15
Time:
1:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Cost: Free