2026 Annual Conference: Research Workshop Speakers

Dr. Joe Elabd is the Vice Chancellor for Research at The Texas A&M University System; a system of 12 universities and 8 state agencies with externally funded research expenditures of $1.5 billion annually. As the leader of the A&M System Office of Research, Dr. Elabd is responsible for providing research leadership and services to support all 20 system members and oversees numerous offices and initiatives, including Texas A&M Innovation, Bush Combat Development Complex, Texas A&M Semiconductor Institute, Center for Applied Communications & Networks, Research & Innovation Security & Competitiveness Institute, Research Security Office, Research Compliance Office, Research Administration Office, and the Research Development Office.

Prior to these roles, Dr. Elabd has served in several administrative roles at Texas A&M University, including the Interim Vice Chancellor and Dean of Engineering, Interim Director of the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, Associate Dean for Research of Engineering, and Associate Department Head of Chemical Engineering.

Dr. Elabd is also currently a Professor and the Axalta Coating Systems Chair II in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and served as a Senior Fellow at the Instituto di Studi Avanzati, Università di Bologna and a Scholar in Residence at the Food & Drug Administration. He has received numerous research awards including the NSF CAREER Award, the ARO Young Investigator Award, and the DuPont Science and Engineering Award. His research focuses on electrochemical energy (batteries, capacitors, fuel cells) and materials and polymer science. Dr. Elabd has taught chemical engineering courses at all levels (freshmen, sophomore, junior, senior, and graduate).

Dr. Elabd received his Ph.D. and B.S. both in chemical engineering from Johns Hopkins University and University of Maryland, Baltimore County, respectively, and was a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory.

Elisa Gleeson serves as Deputy Director of the Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Office (TANEO) within the Office of the Governor, where she supports the development and implementation of Texas’ advanced nuclear energy strategy. In this role, she leads the design and administration of a $350 million grant program to advance the development of the nuclear energy industry in Texas.

Prior to her current position, Gleeson served as Quality Assurance Manager at the Texas Division of Emergency Management, where she led program quality, compliance and continuous improvement efforts supporting statewide emergency preparedness and response activities. She brings more than 18 years of experience in training and technical assistance and federal grant management, having served in various leadership roles with America’s Service Commissions and the OneStar Foundation.

A native Texan, Elisa holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree in public service and administration from the George H.W. Bush School of Government and Public Service. She resides in Pflugerville, Texas, with her husband, Thomas, and their three sons, William, Jacob and Benjamin.

Mr. Mark Papermaster is the Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President at AMD, overseeing the company’s technology vision, strategy and product roadmap. He joined AMD in 2011 and led the engineering overhaul that produced AMD’s award-winning “Zen” CPUs, high-performance GPUs and Infinity Architecture. With over 40 years of experience, Mr. Papermaster previously held senior roles at Cisco, Apple and IBM, contributing to innovations in microprocessors, mobile devices and high-performance servers. In 2024, he was named Vice Chair of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Industrial Advisory Committee for the CHIPS for America program. He serves on several boards, including the Global Semiconductor Alliance, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Industry Advisory Board and advisory boards at The University of Texas at Austin and Purdue University.

Dr. David S. Sholl is the Executive Vice President for Research at Rice University. He is an internationally recognized expert in research strategy, clean energy, and scientific leadership. Dr. Sholl brings decades of experience across academia, national laboratories, and the federal government. His research primarily focuses on using materials modeling methods to develop new materials and processes for chemical separations and energy applications. He previously directed the Transformational Decarbonization Initiative at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and chaired Georgia Tech’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. An accomplished scholar, he has authored over 400 publications and several books. He also serves as editor-in-chief of the AIChE Journal and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

Dr. Charles “Charley” Taylor, is a pioneer in applying computational science and artificial intelligence to medicine, helping establish the field of simulation-based, predictive cardiology. He co-founded HeartFlow, where he developed the first AI-enabled, noninvasive technology to assess coronary blood flow, now widely adopted in United States healthcare and included in cardiology clinical guidelines. He began his career at Stanford University, where he earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and served as a founding faculty member of the Department of Bioengineering, with joint roles in surgery, radiology and engineering. Dr. Taylor has authored over 450 peer-reviewed publications and holds more than 300 patents. His research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Food and Drug Administration, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the American Heart Association.