Plenary Speakers
We are very pleased to welcome the following Plenary Speakers to the 2026 APSRC
Ahmad Amiruddin
Ahmad Amiruddin is Director of Electricity Program Development at Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), where he contributes to national electricity planning and the development of policies and programs for Indonesia’s power sector. His professional and research interests include renewable energy integration, solar PV, energy storage, transmission development, electricity system modelling, rural electrification, and the transition toward low-carbon power systems. His research has explored pathways for integrating high shares of renewable energy into Indonesia’s geographically dispersed electricity system, including the role of energy storage and transmission interconnection. In his current role, Ahmad is involved in the development of Indonesia’s electricity programs and planning, including generation, renewable energy and transmission development. His work supports the government’s efforts to develop a reliable, adequate and sustainable electricity system to meet Indonesia’s growing electricity needs.
Hamish McKenzie is the Deputy Program Director of Grattan Institute’s Energy and Climate Change program. With diverse experiences across academia, the electricity sector, and policy, he brings a practical approach to his work at Grattan. He has particular interests in electricity markets, gas policy, consumer participation in the energy transition, and Australia’s fuel security. He has worked at the Boston Consulting Group, as an advisor to an Independent Federal MP and at AGL, where he led the Virtual Power Plant strategy. Hamish holds a Diploma of French and Bachelor of Arts with a major in Anthropology from the University of Melbourne, a Masters in Public Policy and a Masters in Environmental Change and Management from Oxford University where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.
Laura Jones is a co-founder and director of Circular PV Alliance (CPVA), and an accomplished researcher at the ANU. CPVA started in 2021 as a grassroots industry-led body with an objective to ensure that all solar panels in Australia see their maximum potential as producers of low-carbon energy. Since then, CPVA has become a leading voice in circularity in Australia. At CPVA Laura led development the CPVA Certified solar farm circularity certification, uniquely centering solar farms as locations for place-based circular economy. CPVA also hosts a growing number of local government members, reflecting growing recognition that circularity is as much a local government challenge as an industry one. Based at the ANU Centre for Energy Systems, Laura sits at the intersection of clean energy strategy, policy, and on-the-ground implementation, working closely with government, installers, equipment manufacturers, and industry bodies to bridge the gap between policy ambition and practical deployment. She brings an evidence-based, challenge-oriented approach to industry problems, using primary research and direct stakeholder engagement to surface practical, implementable solutions.
Lauren Mellor is the Clean Energy Communities Co-Director at Original Power, a not-for-profit renewable energy developer and capacity partner for First Nations communities working to innovate and implement clean energy solutions. Over the last seven years she has led programs and teams of people in the design, delivery and evaluation of community-driven energy projects across the Northern Territory and QLD. She works across community development, research and policy for First Nations’-led renewable energy innovation and recently led the national Right to Power project investigating opportunities to improve outcomes for First Nations’ and prepayment customers in energy systems, consumer and legal protections.
Ramteen Sioshansi is a professor in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. He also serves as the director of Carnegie Mellon Electricity Industry CenterOpens in new window and is a faculty affiliate of Carnegie Mellon Scott Institute for Energy InnovationOpens in new window. Prior to joining CMU, Sioshansi was a professor in the Department of Integrated Systems Engineering and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, founding director of the EmPOWERment National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Traineeship (NRT) Program, and an associate fellow in the Center for Automotive Research at The Ohio State University. His research focuses on the integration of advanced energy technologies, including renewable energy, energy storage, and electric transportation, into energy systems. He works also in energy policy and electricity-market design, especially as they pertain to advanced energy technologies. He is an IEEE Fellow and served three two-year terms on the Electricity Advisory Committee, a federal advisory committee to the U.S. Secretary of Energy, and chaired its Energy Storage (Technologies) Subcommittee.
Prof. Dr. Stefan W. Glunz is Professor of Photovoltaic Energy Conversion at the University of Freiburg and Director of the Photovoltaics Division at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE. His research focuses on the development and characterization of high-efficiency solar cells based on crystalline silicon, III-V, organic, and perovskite materials. His group pioneered the TOPCon technology and achieved several international record efficiencies in silicon and III-V solar cells. Recent work on perovskite/silicon tandem cells has set new efficiency benchmarks and advanced scalable industrial processes.
Dr Scott Dwyer is an Associate Professor and Research Director at the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) at the University of Technology Sydney. He is an industry-focussed leader in sustainability research and engagement with 20 years of experience across multiple jurisdictions. His research interests revolve around the opportunities and challenges posed by disruption in the energy and transport sectors, especially those linked to markets, customers, technologies, policy, and business models. He undertakes applied research with its primary aim being to inform policy and practice. Dr Dwyer has a long track record of leading, managing, and contributing to transdisciplinary teams involved in complex, innovative research projects for the public and private sectors. During this time he has worked closely to collaborate with a diverse range of organisations, from energy utilities, manufacturers and start-ups to industry bodies, communities, businesses, and government.