19th Annual Energy Conference

As president of the Long Island Chapter of the Association of Energy Engineers, Amundsen is actively involved in local events that showcase new trends and technologies in the energy field. He is a past recipient of the Environmental Educator of the Year Award, and the Energy Professional Development Award. He served as the engineering faculty advisor for the New York Tech Solar Decathlon Team.

Amundsen earned a B.S. in physics and astronomy and a B.S. in engineering and applied science at the University of Rochester, followed by an M.S. and a Ph.D. in energy management and policy at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2018, he was elected to the AEE Energy Managers Hall of Fame, which recognizes “outstanding leaders in the energy industry who over their lifetimes have made significant contributions in the field of energy management.” He is among a small number of energy professionals who have been accepted as a fellow of the AEE.

In addition, he has led the college through its fastest climb in national rankings: in 2021 a climb of 13 places (since 2020) in the U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings in Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs (National – no doctorate), and #49 in Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs (National – no doctorate) in the 2022-2023 rankings.In line with the career-oriented mission of New York Tech, Beheshti has led the College of Engineering and Computing Sciences in building a strong partnership with industry and government organizations, including NASA, Zscaler, IBM Red Hat, Xilinx, Soter Technologies, and Zebra Technologies. In 2022, he also led the College in launching its first, cooperative education (co-op) track for students in two undergraduate programs: computer science and information technology. The experiential education program allows students to alternate a period of academic study in the classroom with full-time co-op employment in positions directly related to their academic and/or career interests.

Beheshti has served as a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Board of Directors (2018-19) and the Board of Directors of Long Island Software and Technology Network (LISTnet). In 2022, he served as a member of the Educational Activities board and the chair of the Continuing Education Committee. He also serves on the board of IgniteLI—Long Island Manufacturing Consortium and is a member of the International Association of Transportation Regulators advisory board.

He is a recipient of IEEE’s MGA Leadership Award, IEEE Millennium Medal, the IEEE LI Section Athanasios Papoulis Outstanding Educator Award, and three IEEE Region 1 Awards, including the 2008 IEEE Northeastern Region Technical Innovation Award.

Beheshti received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, and his master’s and bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering at Stony Brook University.

Bonakdarpour earned his undergraduate degree from UBC and completed his graduate degrees (M.Sc./Ph.D.) at Dalhousie University, specializing in advanced lithium-ion battery and hydrogen fuel cell technologies. After obtaining his Ph.D., he conducted postdoctoral research at UIUC and UBC, focusing on electrocatalysis and hydrogen storage. For over ten years, he worked on many collaborative research projects in the areas of clean energy at UBC (Clean Energy Research Centre) as a research scientist. Bonakdarpour has an extensive R&D background in clean energy technologies, spanning various areas such as advanced batteries, hydrogen energy technologies, water treatment, and carbon dioxode conversion. His contributions in these fields have resulted in over 80 peer-reviewed publications and several patents. Bonakdarpour is a co-founder and technical advisor at Mangrove Lithium and maintains an affiliation with UBC’s Deptartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering.

After finishing his master’s studies on liquid desiccant air conditioning in 2012, he spent two years working in Singapore at the Energy Research Institute @ Nanyang Tech University. Since 2014, he has worked at Big Ladder Software in Denver, where he has developed and delivered building simulation training workshops as well as honed computer programming and software development skills. Boranian received the BEMP (Building Energy Modeling Professional) certification from ASHRAE in 2017.

This software is the world’s leading clean energy decision-support tool and is available in 38 languages covering two-thirds the Earth’s population. RETScreen is used by more than 850,000+ energy professionals and decision-makers in every country, as well as by professors at 1,500+ universities and colleges for teaching and research. RETScreen can be downloaded at retscreen.net.

Leng is also a fellow at the Payne Institute, Colorado School of Mines, in Golden, Colo. His career is focused on the clean energy market, technology, finance and policy interface, and he has been working in the renewable energy and energy efficiency fields since 1987. Prior to joining NRCan, he was based in Hyderabad, India, as the India country manager (dLA consultant) for the International Fund for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (IFREE).

Leng obtained a master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Lowell in energy engineering (solar energy engineering option) and a Bachelor of Commerce degree (marketing and international business option) from McGill University.

Paraschiv’s experience in energy management includes design of commercial building electrical and mechanical systems, central plant retrofit projects, as well as development of community energy management plans and pilot projects. He has gained experience in all aspects of energy-related projects, including auditing, design, performance measurement and verification, contract administration and project management. Paraschiv has a bachelor’s in electrical engineering and a Ph.D. in power engineering.