Proud Innovation 2022, part one: From ideas to innovations

Arianna T. Morales, Ph.D., was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela. She graduated as a Metallurgical Engineer from the Universidad Simon Bolivar and went on to graduate from the Universidad Simon Bolivar Master of Engineering (Materials Science) program. Later, she was hired by the Instituto de Ingenieria de Venezuela (Venezuelan Institute of Engineering) to work on a project with the Venezuelan Oil Industry Research Institute (INTEVEP). After the Institute of Engineering, Morales returned to the Universidad Simon Bolivar as an Assistant Professor. She later joined the Materials Science and Engineering Ph.D. program at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After completion of her Ph.D., Morales accepted a postdoctoral position (Research Assistant) at the Materials Science and Engineering Department in Carnegie Mellon University in Professor Richard Fruehan’s group, where she worked directly with graduate students from Taiwan, Japan, China, and the United States, gaining hands-on experience in a wide range of topics related to ironmaking and steelmaking.

Morales was hired as a Research Engineer at the General Motors (GM) Research and Development Center in Warren, Michigan. She joined a special R&D team dedicated to the design, build, and startup of a first-of-its-kind plant dedicated to the manufacturing of automotive aluminum parts using the Quick Plastic Forming Method. Morales maximized her international experiences, teaming with colleagues from around the world in GM's highly diverse and multicultural Global Research and Development Center and working both with peers and leadership to implement ideas by using her expertise and multicultural sensibility. Her work at GM R&D relates to many issues. Morales is now a Staff Research Scientist at General Motors Global Research and Development. She develops novel materials and material processing techniques primarily to reduce the weight of vehicles, improving their efficiency either through fuel economy or electric range, without sacrificing safety or increasing cost.

Morales is a regular supporter of not-for-profit organizations focused on diversity and inclusion, focusing on LGBTQ equality in the state of Michigan. She specially understands the impact of “coming out” in the corporate world as a way to pursue equality, tolerance, and respect for all. She actively participated in the fight for LGBTQ rights in Michigan in several capacities, including serving as a board member in GM PLUS (People Like Us), the employee resource group for LGBTQ employees and allies at GM. GM PLUS generates awareness throughout GM for LGBTQ issues and the value to GM of adopting employee policies to support equality. She also served for nine years on the board of Affirmations LGBTQ Community Center, which provides a safe space for the community and allies in the Metro Detroit Area.

Morales is proud of being a Latina, first generation immigrant, and member of the LGBTQ community. Her background and life experiences have granted her a unique perspective on economic and social issues facing businesses today. A particular qualification is her extensive work in R&D at a time when science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are so critical to the U.S. and global economies.

Suma Reddy is the Co-Founder and CEO of Future Acres, a company that builds advanced mobility and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for farms, starting with Carry, an autonomous harvest companion that increases production efficiency, improves farmworker safety, and provides real-time data and analytics. She is a three-time Agriculture Tech + Climate Tech founder, having built companies and projects in indoor farming, anaerobic digestion, and renewable energy. She has also built and is active in inclusive tech communities, has been awarded the White House Champion of Change for her Asian and Pacific Islander LGBTQ+ advocacy work, is on the advisory board of Scale for ClimateTech, and is a Board Member of GrainPro. She teaches “Future of Food and Climate: Models of Just Entrepreneurship” at the New York City School of Visual Arts. She started her career at a microfinance startup-turned-unicorn in India and was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali. She is a graduate of the Wharton School (MBA), Flatiron School (iOS), General Assembly (UX Design), and University of Rochester (B.A.).

Dr. TJ Ronningen has two roles related to innovation, invention, and building a better tomorrow. In his day job, Ronningen is a Research Scientist at The Ohio State University in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. In a volunteer capacity, Ronningen is the chair of Out to Innovate, a professional society that supports lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer people in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Ronningen earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Physics at Ohio State. He then joined Battelle, a contract research and development firm, and worked as a Research Scientist for about 12 years. At Battelle, he applied spectroscopy, optical sensing, and data analysis to detecting hazardous materials. He worked with a team of scientists and engineers to bring an all-optical biological sensor from laboratory concept to manufactured product. In conjunction with his work at Battelle, he has been awarded eight patents.

Ronningen currently works for Ohio State as a Research Scientist in Electrical Engineering. Ronningen continues to lead and support research projects in optical sensing, now with a focus on developing infrared detectors and imagers. Ronningen mentors students and postdoctoral researchers, and he supports cross-disciplinary research teams to implement large scale, multi-year development projects. One ongoing project is a collaboration between Ohio State and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) in Mumbai, India to promote international research collaborations. Ronningen’s work has led to several patent applications.

Ronningen joined the board of Out to Innovate in 2017 and was elected chair in 2020. With Out to Innovate, Ronningen works to support LGBTQ+ people by advocating for inclusive policies in scientific societies, government, academia, and industry; celebrating outstanding work by LGBTQ+ people with annual recognition awards, fellowships, and scholarships; hosting meetings and events to support networking and skill building; and bringing information on science and technology to the LGBTQ+ community.

David Taubenheim joined NVIDIA in 2019 as a Senior Data Scientist and focuses on accelerated computing and artificial intelligence enablers for startup companies. Taubenheim’s current areas of technical focus are natural language processing and real-time conversational artificial intelligence (AI). Prior to his work at NVIDIA, Taubenheim led a program area of engineers, scientists, and technical managers supporting U.S. government sponsors through specialized technology programs and emergent initiatives at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). Taubenheim joined APL’s application-specific integrated circuit team in 2009 to engineer embedded digital signal processing capabilities for miniaturized applications, later achieving the distinction of Principal Professional Staff. Between 1996 and 2009, Taubenheim worked at Motorola, where his contributions included the design of bespoke digital signal processing systems using custom software-defined radio platforms, earning him the company’s Distinguished Innovator Award. While at Motorola, Taubenheim also moonlighted as an instructor for Xilinx, Inc., teaching digital signal processing design using field-programmable gate arrays. Taubenheim graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering and later completed his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the National Technology University, studying during his employment at Motorola. He has been granted 17 patents for a variety of technical inventions.