PowerUp Podcast

PowerUp Podcast

by Trevor Scullion & Cory Byrnes
Business NewsTech News
Season 25
Shrirang Abhyankar shares some of his amazing research and project work
Shrirang “Shri” Abhyankar—formerly at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory—now serves as Grid Transformation Principal at ERCOT. In this episode, Shri explains how grid modeling, simulation, applied mathematics, and AI converge in real operations. We also explore the open-source tools his work helped shape, including Exascale Grid Optimization (ExaGO), ChatGrid, and Grid coPilot, and what these innovations mean for the future of grid planning and control. Shrirang Abhyankar Principal - AI & Optimization | IEEE senior member https://www.linkedin.com/in/shrirang-abhyankar-59018144/ some project links https://www.pnnl.gov/publications/grid-modeling-tool-successfully-launches-worlds-fastest-supercomputer https://www.pnnl.gov/news-media/chatgridtm-new-generative-ai-tool-power-grid-visualization https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202504.1464
S25 · E5
Oct 29, 2025
49:37
Nelson Antunes joins us from Eversource to talk Revit ideas and plans
Nelson is the Supervisor of Substation Design and Drafting at Eversource Energy. He joins Cory and I on this episode to talk about his experience with Revit, the Eversource team, attending the SDSIC and much much more. Enjoy! Nelson Antunes Supervisor of Substation Design and Drafting at Eversource Energy https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelson-antunes-64a46374/
S25 · E4
Oct 20, 2025
41:23
We meet up with Shabnam Pazooki live at our Chattanooga conference 2025
Shabnam has been pushing the envelope of Revit at Power Engineers (now WSP) and sharing that knowledge with the SDSIC members for the past three conferences. We are privileged to have her join our podcast and share her knowledge, experience, and just the pure joy of her personality! Join us and listen in to some of her great advice. Shabnam Pazooki, Senior Technical Manager at WSP https://www.linkedin.com/in/shabnampazooki/
S25 · E3
Oct 16, 2025
24:57
Interview with the Duke Energy team live from our Chattanooga conference 2025
Trevor and Cory sit down for a conversation with the Duke Energy team live from our SDSIC conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee. joining us from Duke are: Crystal Myers, P.E. Manager | PGO Grid Ops Perf & Tech | Design Automation Tools & Support (DATS) crystal.myers@duke-energy.com Peter Coffey Director of Operational Performance & Technology peter.coffey@duke-energy.com Mark Thomas Design Automation Tool Support Specialist at Duke Energy Corporation mark.thomas@duke-energy.com Justin Martin justin.martin@duke-energy.com ACADE SME | Design Automation Tools & Support (DATS) group Duke Energy has been with the SDSIC since day one and have helped shape the consortium, and various products over the years. Their team is always engaged with members and provide outstanding presentations and content to help guide others in their journey towards design automation.
S25 · E2
Aug 29, 2025
37:17
Interview with the ePlan team live from our Chattanooga conference 2025
Trevor and Cory sit down for a conversation with the ePlan team live from our SDSIC conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee. joining us from ePlan are: Adrian Melendez Energy Enthusiast | Business Development Professional | Grid Resiliency Advocate melendez.a@eplanusa.com Jan Oliver Kammesheidt Global Vertical Market Manager Energy - building a sustainable future energy system based on efficient engineering processes and industrialized energy solutions. Kammesheidt.J@eplan.de Adrian and Jan 'Ollie' Oliver are big supporters of the SDSIC, sponsoring our live annual events and presenting great content to keep our members up to date on the latest technology.
S25 · E1
Aug 12, 2025
25:06
Season 24
Jeff Danley and Michael Bussinger from Burns & McDonnell join me to talk Innovation
Jeff and Michael join me to talk about Innovation at Burns & McDonnell including; Establishing a structured innovation program focused on Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). Importance of aligning innovation efforts with corporate goals. The role of AI in transforming multiple business functions, including construction, finance, and software development. ==================================== Get in touch with our guests: Jeff Danley – Director of Innovation at Burns & McDonaldjdanley@burnsmcd.com Michael Businger – Assistant Department Manager at Burns & McDonald, Co-Chair for the Civil Committee of the SDS-ICmlbussinger@burnsmcd.com
S24 · E24
Feb 7, 2025
42:12
Bonus Episode from our series on AI in the electric utility space.
Special guests including: Michael Bussinger from Burns & McDonnell, Cory Byrnes from Beta Engineering, Anthony Contino from SBS, Ben Ferneau from Black & Veatch, Josue Sanchez from Quanta Technology, and Shawn Weekly from POWER Engineers join me to talk about AI in the electric utility industry. ==================================== Get in touch with our guests: Anthony Contino anthony.contino@spatialbiz.com Ben Ferneau ferneaubj@bv.com Cory Byrnes cory.byrnes@betaengineering.com Josue Sanchez jsanchez1@quanta-technology.com Michael Bussinger mlbussinger@burnsmcd.com Shawn Weekly shawn.weekly@powereng.com
S24 · E23
Jan 31, 2025
1:08:02
Episode 3 of our 3 part series on AI in the electric utility space.
Special guests including: Michael Bussinger from Burns & McDonnell, Cory Byrnes from Beta Engineering, Anthony Contino from SBS, Ben Ferneau from Black & Veatch, Josue Sanchez from Quanta Technology, and Shawn Weekly from POWER Engineers join me to talk about AI in the electric utility industry. Note that this ended up NOT being our final episode in the series as we needed one more. Look for our bonus episode on this series next. ==================================== Get in touch with our guests: Anthony Contino anthony.contino@spatialbiz.com Ben Ferneau ferneaubj@bv.com Cory Byrnes cory.byrnes@betaengineering.com Josue Sanchez jsanchez1@quanta-technology.com Michael Bussinger mlbussinger@burnsmcd.com Shawn Weekly shawn.weekly@powereng.com
S24 · E22
Jan 31, 2025
53:07
Episode 2 of our 3 episode series on AI in the electric utility space.
Special guests including: Michael Bussinger from Burns & McDonnell, Cory Byrnes from Beta Engineering, Anthony Contino from SBS, Ben Ferneau from Black & Veatch, Josue Sanchez from Quanta Technology, and Shawn Weekly from POWER Engineers join me to talk about AI in the electric utility industry. ==================================== Get in touch with our guests: Anthony Contino anthony.contino@spatialbiz.com Ben Ferneau ferneaubj@bv.com Cory Byrnes cory.byrnes@betaengineering.com Josue Sanchez jsanchez1@quanta-technology.com Michael Bussinger mlbussinger@burnsmcd.com Shawn Weekly shawn.weekly@powereng.com
S24 · E21
Jan 13, 2025
1:04:49
Episode 1 of our 3 episode series on AI in the electric utility space.
Special guests including: Michael Bussinger from Burns & McDonnell, Cory Byrnes from Beta Engineering, Anthony Contino from SBS, Ben Ferneau from Black & Veatch, Josue Sanchez from Quanta Technology, and Shawn Weekly from POWER Engineers join me to talk about AI in the electric utility industry. ==================================== Get in touch with our guests: Anthony Contino anthony.contino@spatialbiz.com Ben Ferneau ferneaubj@bv.com Cory Byrnes cory.byrnes@betaengineering.com Josue Sanchez jsanchez1@quanta-technology.com Michael Bussinger mlbussinger@burnsmcd.com Shawn Weekly shawn.weekly@powereng.com
S24 · E20
Dec 2, 2024
1:05:23
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