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Meet the Keynotes
Avinash Balachandran, Ph.D.
Senior Director, Human Interactive Driving
Toyota Research Institute
Dr. Avinash Balachandran is the senior director of the Human Interactive Driving (HID) division at Toyota Research Institute (TRI). The goal of the HID division is to create AI-driven capabilities and tools empowering humans and increasingly automated vehicles to interact more effectively and naturally. The department blends competencies in machine learning, human-machine interaction and robotics to create novel and innovative technologies for the intelligent vehicles of the future.
Prior to TRI, Dr. Balachandran was one of the early engineers on Uber's self-driving program and was instrumental in developing their first autonomous service in Pittsburgh, PA (2016). He also led engineering teams focused on autonomous driving development at EV startup Faraday Future. He is passionate about bringing cutting-edge research closer to commercialization. He is also a noted public speaker, expert, and adviser on topics around autonomy and human-centric research.
Dr. Balachandran holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering and a minor in computer science from Cornell University. He also holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from Stanford University focusing on autonomous technologies, performance driving and human interaction. He is also a recipient of the prestigious Stanford Graduate Fellowship.
Sripriya Raghunathan
VP of Engineering,
Qualcomm Technologies Inc.
Sripriya Raghunathan serves as Vice President of Engineering at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., where she leads software development for the company’s automotive product portfolio, the Snapdragon Digital Chassis. In this role, she is responsible for developing and integrating automotive solutions on the Snapdragon reference platform and delivering it to customers
Most recently, under her leadership, Sripriya and her team have been developing Qualcomm Technologies’ Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) strategy – enhancing the Snapdragon Digital Chassis portfolio to further establish the company as a leading technology partner and innovator in the auto industry, helping OEMs redefine the driving experience and bring generative AI to vehicles.
Prior to joining Qualcomm Technologies in 2022, Sripriya spent 17 years at Harman where she focused on developing platforms and customer programs for the digital cockpit. In her most recent role as SVP of Automotive Services, she was responsible for Engineering Services and Cloud, with a focus on Over-the- Air Updates (OTA) and App Store businesses. Prior to her work in automotive at Harman, she worked in the data communication field.
Sripriya holds a B.S in Computer Engineering degree from India.
Doug Field
Chief EV, Digital and Design Officer
Ford Motor Company
Doug Field is chief EV, digital and design officer, reporting to Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO.
In this role, Field drives innovation at startup speed in developing electric vehicles, creating digital platforms and software for Ford’s entire product lineup, and leading the company’s vehicle and digital design studios.
Field’s team is responsible for delivering seamless, delightful and always-on experiences, carrying responsibility for infotainment, navigation, driver-assist technology, connected services and vehicle cybersecurity. His team develops and delivers scalable technology platforms to be deployed across Ford global products, leads the relationships with key technology partners and Ford’s digital developer ecosystem, and is responsible for Ford over-the-air software updates which deliver new experiences, improve quality and reduce costs.
Field joined Ford from Apple, where he served as vice president, Special Projects. Before that, he was senior vice president of Engineering at Tesla, where he led the development of the Model 3. At Apple, he had overall responsibility for development of Apple’s Mac hardware. He was the first employee and vice president, Design and Engineering, at Segway. Field began his career as a development engineer at Ford from 1987 to 1993.
Field earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University. He also holds master’s degrees in engineering and management science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Field and his wife, Cathy, have three children.
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