Keynote Speakers

Moulay Akhloufi

Moulay Akhloufi is a Professor of Computer Science at the Université de Moncton, where he leads the Perception, Robotics and Intelligent Machines (PRIME) research group and holds the Research Chair in Artificial Intelligence for Healthcare.

He earned a Ph.D. and a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Laval University and École Polytechnique de Montréal, respectively. He also holds an MBA from Laval University. Before joining academia, he gained extensive experience in industry and technology transfer. His research interests include artificial intelligence, computer vision, and intelligent robotic systems.

Professor Akhloufi has authored more than 200 scientific papers and has received several prestigious distinctions throughout his career. He is ranked among the top 2% of the world’s most influential researchers in artificial intelligence according to the Stanford University-Elsevier list. He is the recipient of the 2025 InnovateNB Award for Innovation in Academia & Research and the Excellence in Research award 2026 from Université de Moncton.

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Kyle Tousignant

Dr. Kyle Tousignant is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil & Resource Engineering at Dalhousie University. His research interests lie primarily in the field of steel structures.

He is the Vice Chair of the Canadian Standard Association (CSA) Technical Committee on Design and Construction of Steel Structures, a Voting Member of the CSA Technical Committee on Welding of Bridges, Buildings and Machinery, and a Member of both the CISC Education and Research Council and the Structural Engineering Institute Committee on Connections (SEI).

Dr. Tousignant has been a three-time recipient of the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction H.A. Krentz Research Award, a recipient of the 2025 Canadian Standards Association Young Professional Award, the 2023 Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) Casimir Gzowski Medal, the 2019 International Symposium on Tubular Structures Young Researcher Award, and 2018 International Institute of Welding Henry Granjon Prize.

In 2023, he earned the Sexton Award for Teaching Excellence at Dalhousie University.