--- title: Transcend Houston 2024 image: https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Transcend-houston-thumbnail.png --- [Skip to content](https://insight.imubit.com/transcend-houston-2024-0#main-content) Search - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. # Transcend | Houston ### AI TECHNOLOGY SUMMIT & TRAINING September 11-12, 2024 | Omni Houston Hotel [BLOG RECAP](https://imubit.com/the-process-industrys-first-reinforcement-learning-powered-closed-loop-ai-optimization/) #### SHARE Network with your peers in optimization, controls, engineering, operations, and planning & economics. Join this dynamic community and sharpen your skills. ####   LEARN Be a part of the first ever full-day hands-on AI optimization training including model building, evaluation, monitoring, and more in our expert-led workshops.  ####   INNOVATE Hear firsthand how users are leveraging Imubit's new capabilities for operator training, planning tool augmentation, and process degradation insights. # Transcend Houston Agenda Uniting Change Makers for the Future of Industrial Processing --- ![Screenshot 2025-04-01 at 1.25.21 PM](https://insight.imubit.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202025-04-01%20at%201.25.21%20PM.png?quality=high&width=1260&height=214&name=Screenshot%202025-04-01%20at%201.25.21%20PM.png "Screenshot 2025-04-01 at 1.25.21 PM") ### AI TECH SUMMIT: Weds, Sept 11th  DAY 1: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm: Immerse yourself in customer-led sessions, panels, and industry expert keynotes. --- ![small star](https://insight.imubit.com/hs-fs/hubfs/small%20star.png?width=46&height=38&name=small%20star.png "small star") OPENING KEYNOTE ### Redefining Refining with a New Class of Optimization Technologies Harness the power of Imubit’s Optimizing Brain solution to drive your plant's strategic objectives. This game-changing approach to process optimization goes beyond traditional closed loop control and optimization. We will discuss how Imubit’s users are leveraging the technology for new capabilities such as operator optimization training, planning tool augmentation, and process degradation insights. **Speaker: Gil Cohen, Co-Founder and CEO, Imubit** CUSTOMER USE CASE SPOTLIGHT ### Optimizing Brain for Operator Optimization Training No more generic training simulators. Hear how Big West Oil operators and engineers learn optimization strategies on a simulator built on their data and challenges. **Speaker: Bobby Hammer, Operations Supervisor, Big West Oil** CUSTOMER USE CASE SPOTLIGHT ### Optimizing Brain for Planning Tool Augmentation From monthly updates to real-time. Learn how HF Sinclair is leveraging process relationships learned by Imubit's deep learning model to augment LP vectors.  **Speaker: Kevin Daines, Engineering Technical Specialist, HF Sinclair** CUSTOMER PANEL ### Democratizing AI Through One-Model Collaboration A panel of process industry leaders from Marathon Petroleum, Delek, and Oxbow explore how modern AI technologies are transforming the way their plants operate and their teams work. This session will cover all aspects of the AI transformation journey, from how to set the right evaluation criteria through how to continue capturing value through all phases of the project lifecycle. **Moderator:** **Peter Reynolds, Analyst for Industrial Manufacturing, ARC Advisory Group**   **Panelists:**   **Joe Boyce, Process Controls Technologist, Marathon Petroleum Corporation LP**   **Kris Kissel-Weir, VP Manufacturing Systems & Data Analytics, Oxbow **   **Kyle Kuchta, Sr Director of Business Transformation, Delek US** CUSTOMER KEYNOTE ### Driving Down Coker Giveaway with AI-based Process Control Marathon Petroleum APC Engineer Chris Harrison shares their journey of exploring AI technologies to reliably calculate coke rate and ensure coke drums are filled to the optimal level each cycle. Learn how they reduced giveaway and eliminated the burden of tedious manual tasks from operations. **Speaker: Chris Harrison, Advanced Process Control Engineer, Marathon Petroleum Corporation LP** ![small star](https://insight.imubit.com/hs-fs/hubfs/small%20star.png?width=46&height=38&name=small%20star.png "small star") CUSTOMER PANEL ### How will the Optimizing Brain work for you? Platform use for all personas The Imubit Industrial AI Platform was built with every plant user in mind. Hear from a panel of your peers in P&E, Controls, Operations, and Process Engineering at leading refining companies on how their use of Imubit's platform is transforming the way they view and act on insights from their process relationships. **Moderator:** **Allison Buenemann, Product Marketing Manager, Imubit**   **Panelists:**   **Blake Branham, Lead Process Engineer, Big West Oil**   **Binhan Nguyen, Process Manager, Oxbow Calcining, LLC**   **Justin Peninger, Console Operator, Citgo** CUSTOMER INNOVATION ### A Logical Approach to Integration of AI in the Cement Industry A leading global cement manufacturer shares the pilot, justification, and roll-out strategies that are concreting their place as an AI-innovator in the industry. **Speaker: Bryan Cook, Corporate Senior Automation Engineer, Ash Grove Cement** MARKET ANALYST INSIGHTS ### A New Category of Optimization & Control Technology Discover how Closed Loop AI Optimization is revolutionizing the refining industry, breaking 40-year-old paradigms and gain actionable strategies to optimize your operations, reduce inefficiencies, and stay ahead of industry trends. Speaker: Peter Reynolds, ARC Advisor Group, Analyst for Industrial Manufacturing ![small star](https://insight.imubit.com/hs-fs/hubfs/small%20star.png?width=46&height=38&name=small%20star.png "small star") THE LEADING EDGE OF AI RESEARCH ### A Taxonomy of Process Control and Optimization: From Model Predictive Control to Reinforcement Learning Reinforcement Learning (RL) has emerged as a powerful alternative to Model Predictive Control (MPC). The industry has vast experience with MPC, and has gotten used to its pros and cons. RL on the other hand builds on recent developments in AI, and is now emerging in various domains (e.g. Large Language Models such as ChatGPT). In this session, Imubit CTO and President Nadav Cohen will analyze the strengths and weaknesses of MPC and RL for process control and optimization. **Speaker: Professor Nadav Cohen, CTO & President, Imubit** OKTOBERFEST-INSPIRED WELCOME RECEPTION ### Prost to new connections and celebrating the change makers!  Unwind with hearty food, cold brews, and lively conversations—join us for a fun-filled evening! ### TRAINING: Thurs, Sept 12th DAY 2: 9:00 am - 4:30 pm: Hone your skills with hands-on training, covering model building, evaluation, and inferentials. --- KEYNOTE: Imubit Platform Innovation ### Introducing the Imubit Industrial AI Platform Join us for an in-depth look at the new Imubit AI Industrial Platform, the underlying technology that powers our Optimizing Brain. Learn how this user-friendly platform allows domain experts to build and evaluate models with ease, enhancing the capabilities of our core optimization engine. We'll showcase our latest developments in model explainability, helping your team gain confidence in AI-driven insights from the Optimizing Brain. Discover how our platform's flexible architecture enables us to develop additional applications, expanding our ability to solve diverse challenges across your entire site. This session will provide practical insights into how Imubit's evolving technology can drive tangible improvements in your plant's performance and decision-making processes. **Speaker: Ran Rosin, VP of Product, Imubit** TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW ### From Algorithms to Explainability An overview of the technology powering the Imubit platform. From supervised learning to reinforcement learning to closed loop control, this session will lay the foundation for deep dives into each component of the Imubit software later in the day. Examine some of the explainability metrics and visualizations and the critical process of guiding AI models with domain expertise. **Trainer: Aaron Durke, Senior Product Manager, Imubit** ALGO DEEP DIVE TECH SESSION ### The Imubit Algo Engine - Enhancing AI-Human Collaboration Join Imubit Data Science Team Lead, Matanya Beery, as he explores the synergy between AI and human expertise. Along with insights into the mathematical foundations of Imubit's models, this session will focus on how AI and human operators can collaborate to overcome challenges and optimize processes for your plant. Discover practical strategies to harness the full potential of AI while empowering your team to drive continuous improvement. **Trainer: Matanya Beery, Data Science Group Manager, Imubit** HANDS-ON TRAINING ### Imubit Inferentials and How They Work Inferentials are critical to maximizing the value of optimizing technology with your existing process measurement capabilities. Learn how the Imubit Industrial AI Platform can be used to build, evaluate, and monitor the performance of your inferentials. Use advanced analytics to gain a deeper understanding than standard metrics. We'll thoroughly explore inferential algorithms and how we account for things like dead time, missing input data, and correlation without causation. **Trainers:** **Aaron Durke, Senior Product Manager, Imubit** **Matanya Beery, Data Science Group Manager, Imubit** HANDS-ON TRAINING ### Exploring Process Relationships - Imubit Deep Learning Predictor (DLP) Learn about the algorithms that underly Imubit's DLP models and the theory and techniques behind the model building process. Leverage the DLP Evaluation tools to better understand your process variable relationships, identify data quality issues, and detect DV and CV misspecification. Visualize whether the model learned critical 1st Principles concepts well and use domain expertise to guide it if not. You'll leave this session with an improved understanding of your process relationships and their many behaviors over historical and simulated scenarios. **Trainers:** **Aaron Durke, Senior Product Manager, Imubit** **Matanya Beery, Data Science Group Manager, Imubit** HANDS-ON TRAINING ### What-if Scenarios with the Imubit Deep Learning Controller (DLC) Learn how the Imubit DLP is used to train the DLC neural network and deep dive into the evaluation workflow and thought process. Explore why the model employs various strategies and which operational and economical conditions influence it to change strategies. Learn how to use the DLC as a simulator to test what-if scenarios by manipulating different input variables, constraints, or objectives. You'll leave this session with a better understanding of how Reinforcement Learning enables "experience based intuition" as opposed to assuming the underlying process model is completely accurate. **Trainers:** **Aaron Durke, Senior Product Manager, Imubit** **Matanya Beery, Data Science Group Manager, Imubit** CLOSING THE LOOP TECH SESSION ### Deep Dive Into Deep Learning Process Control With the launch of the Imubit Industrial AI Platform operating alongside our heritage Deep Learning Process Control application, Imubit's technologies not only execute your plant’s key optimization strategies in closed loop, but democratize AI modeling, enable one-model collaboration of technical staff and sustain measurable value for years to come. **Speaker: Rex Tan, Product Manager, Imubit** ONE-MODEL COLLABORATION TECH SESSION ### Performance Dashboards and Continuous Improvement In this tech session, you’ll learn how to customize your performance dashboards to deliver fast, real-time insights into key performance metrics such as availability, engagement, and uptime. Discover how these dashboards provide a single, unified view, empowering teams across your plant to collaborate more effectively. By enabling cross-functional teams to investigate issues together, see how these dashboards help you quickly uncover insights and drive continuous improvement in your operations. **Speaker: Mitch McCloud, Customer Success Manager, Imubit** ### Closing Q&A Session [BLOG RECAP](https://imubit.com/the-process-industrys-first-reinforcement-learning-powered-closed-loop-ai-optimization/) This unique experience is on us (at no cost to you) and brought to you in collaboration with our high-caliber community of process industry change makers. SHARE. LEARN. INNOVATE. ![quote-icon](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/quote-icon.svg "quote-icon") ## It opened my eyes to the possibilities that lay ahead. Not only for my plant but also for the industry. ####   – John Latimer      HF Sinclair, Director of Process Engineering and Technology REASONS THIS IS A MUST-ATTEND EVENT ### Don't take our word for it. Hear what past attendees said ... It opened my eyes to the possibilities ahead, not only for my plant but also for the industry.   --- I gained insights into the process, which gave us the confidence to try changes—changes we wouldn’t have been able to make without costly trial and error.   ---   Learning how the Optimizing Brain works made me realize how we can expand its use for training.   ---   Seeing what different moves can do on units in terms of value provided, understanding our units better, and impacting the process.   Watch Now #### SHARE Network with your peers, discuss process optimization best practices, and how to maximize value. #### LEARN Experience a full day of expert-led AI optimization training and learn how to build your own model. #### INNOVATE See what's new in the platform and how to fast-track operator training and cross-team collaboration. LEARN FROM # The Change Makers Gain exclusive access to keynote sessions, user panels, customer case studies, and fireside chats led by industry trailblazers harnessing the power of the Optimizing Brain™ for plant success. And we'll leave plenty of time to engage in comprehensive Q&As to discuss what matters most to you.   Be among the leaders to think outside the black box! ![joe boyce](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/joe%20boyce.jpg) ### Joe Boyce Process Controls Operations Supervisor, Marathon Petroleum Corporation LP ![joe boyce](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/joe%20boyce.jpg) Joe Boyce Process Controls Operations Supervisor, Marathon Petroleum Corporation LP ![Marathon logo-1](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Marathon%20logo-1.jpg) Joe Boyce is a Process Controls Operations Supervisor for Marathon Petroleum Corporation LP and is located at their Refinery in Canton Ohio. Joe has been employed by Marathon for 22 years, serving most of his career as the process controls supervisor for Canton. Prior to Marathon, Joe worked for the Foxboro Company and Aspen Technology.   Joe received his Master's in Chemical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University. Joe’s primary focus is optimization technology and HMI for all MPC refinery operations. ![Chris harrison](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Chris%20harrison.jpeg) ### Chris Harrison Advanced Process Control Engineer, Marathon Petroleum Corporation LP ![Chris harrison](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Chris%20harrison.jpeg) Chris Harrison Advanced Process Control Engineer, Marathon Petroleum Corporation LP ![Marathon logo](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Marathon%20logo.jpg) Chris is an APC Engineer for Marathon Petroleum Corporation LP. He is based at the Garyville Refinery and supports applications at Garyville and virtual support for other sites. During his time with Marathon Petroleum Corporation LP, Chris has served as a process control engineer and supervisor. Chris has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.  ![Kris Kissel Headshot](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Kris%20Kissel%20Headshot.png) ### Kris Kissel-Weir VP of Manufacturing Systems & Data Analytics ![Kris Kissel Headshot](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Kris%20Kissel%20Headshot.png) Kris Kissel-Weir VP of Manufacturing Systems & Data Analytics ![oxbow logo](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/oxbow%20logo.jpeg) Kris is Vice President of Manufacturing Systems & Data Analytics at Oxbow Group. She leads the global digital transformation effort across all divisions, plants and geographies improving the efficiency of production operations in a traditionally heavy industrial domain. Artificial Intelligence, Edge Technologies and optimized internal applications are all tools utilized by Kris and her team. In addition to Industry 4.0 ventures, Kris is leveraging Oxbow’s mining roots to venture into cryptocurrencies by leading a green Bitcoin initiative. Kris holds a BSME from GMI Engineering & Management Institute, an MBA from Harvard Business School, speaks German and draws on 35 years of global manufacturing experience. As a mentor for the American Heritage School Robotics Team, she enjoys working with the next generation of technical trailblazers. Kris is happily married for 27 years and the proud mother of a daughter who graduated from The Ohio State University and a son who graduated from the University of Florida. ![Blake Branham](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/IMG_3913-1.jpg) ### [Blake Branham](https://insight.imubit.com/noopener?hsLang=en) Lead Process Engineer, Big West Oil ![Blake Branham](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/IMG_3913-1.jpg) Blake Branham Lead Process Engineer, Big West Oil ![Kyle Kuchta](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/kyle%20k.jpeg) ### Kyle Kuchta Sr Director of Business Transformation, Delek US ![Kyle Kuchta](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/kyle%20k.jpeg) Kyle Kuchta Sr Director of Business Transformation, Delek US ![Kevin Daines](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/kevin%20d.jpg) ### Kevin Daines Engineering Specialist, HF Sinclair ![Kevin Daines](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/kevin%20d.jpg) Kevin Daines Engineering Specialist, HF Sinclair ![Bobby Hammer](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/missing%20headshot.png) ### Bobby Hammer Operations Supervisor, Big West Oil ![Bobby Hammer](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/missing%20headshot.png) Bobby Hammer Operations Supervisor, Big West Oil ![Binhan Nguyen](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Binhan%20Nguyen.png) ### Binhan Nguyen Process Manager, Oxbow Calcining, LLC ![Binhan Nguyen](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Binhan%20Nguyen.png) Binhan Nguyen Process Manager, Oxbow Calcining, LLC ![Bryan Cook](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Bryan%20Cook.jpeg) ### Bryan Cook Sr Corporate Automation Engineer, Ash Grove Cement ![Bryan Cook](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Bryan%20Cook.jpeg) Bryan Cook Sr Corporate Automation Engineer, Ash Grove Cement ![Peter Reynolds](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Peter%20Reynolds.jpeg) ### Peter Reynolds Analyst for Industrial Manufacturing, ARC Advisory Group ![Peter Reynolds](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Peter%20Reynolds.jpeg) Peter Reynolds Analyst for Industrial Manufacturing, ARC Advisory Group ![ARC logo-1](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/ARC%20logo-1.jpg) Peter is an Analyst and Consultant for the Energy and Chemicals sector. He brings nearly 30 years of professional experience in manufacturing automation, optimization and technology strategy. Peter publishes market studies and papers covering industrial software and consults with oil & gas and chemicals companies to advance digitalization initiatives on diverse topics such as sustainability, process optimization, and asset performance management. ![Gil_headshot_12.2021](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Gil_headshot_12.2021.jpg) ### Gil Cohen Co-Founder and CEO, Imubit ![Gil_headshot_12.2021](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Gil_headshot_12.2021.jpg) Gil Cohen Co-Founder and CEO, Imubit ![imubit-logo (3)-1](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/imubit-logo%20(3)-1.jpg) Gil Cohen is Co-Founder and CEO of Imubit and has led the company from its inception to its massive growth in the global refining and chemical market. Formerly a mathematician (BSc Math) and a control engineer (MSc Electrical Engineering), Gil has leveraged his diverse expertise in engineering and passion for bringing to market new concepts to lead various budding business ventures to success. ![Nadav_headshot_12.2021](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Nadav_headshot_12.2021.jpg) ### Nadav Cohen CTO & President, Imubit ![Nadav_headshot_12.2021](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Nadav_headshot_12.2021.jpg) Nadav Cohen CTO & President, Imubit ![imubit-logo (3)-1](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/imubit-logo%20(3)-1.jpg) Nadav is the inventor and scientific leader behind Imubit’s Deep Learning Process Control® technology. For over 15 years, he has been one of the leaders advancing the fields of AI and ML. He has won numerous awards, including the Google Doctoral Fellowship in Machine Learning. He is also currently a professor at Tel Aviv University. ![Harred_headshot_12.2021](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Harred_headshot_12.2021.jpg) ### [Kelly Harred](https://insight.imubit.com/noopener?hsLang=en) Chief Customer Officer, Imubit ![Harred_headshot_12.2021](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Harred_headshot_12.2021.jpg) Kelly Harred Chief Customer Officer, Imubit ![imubit-logo (3)](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/imubit-logo%20(3).jpg) Kelly leads the customer success team, ensuring clients are successful in accelerating, maximizing, and sustaining value through Imubit's technology and solutions. She brings 30 years of industry and software experience serving customers, building high-performance teams and fostering operational excellence. Prior to Imubit, Kelly held Senior Vice President positions at AspenTech. ![Allison headshot](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Allison%20headshot.jpeg) ### Allison Buenneman Product Marketing Manager, Imubit ![Allison headshot](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Allison%20headshot.jpeg) Allison Buenneman Product Marketing Manager, Imubit Allison Buenemann leads Product Marketing at Imubit. She leverages a decade of experience in process engineering (ExxonMobil), solution engineering, and B2B SaaS marketing (Seeq) to bring closed loop optimization solutions to the refining and petrochemicals markets. ![Aaron Durke Grey Headshot](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Aaron%20Durke%20Grey%20Headshot.png) ### Aaron Durke Senior Product Manager, Imubit ![Aaron Durke Grey Headshot](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Aaron%20Durke%20Grey%20Headshot.png) Aaron Durke Senior Product Manager, Imubit ![Aaron Durke Grey Headshot](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Aaron%20Durke%20Grey%20Headshot.png) Aaron is a lead Product Manager, heading the development and design of Imubit's Platform. Aaron has been with Imubit from the start, originally the first implementation engineer hired at Imubit, to leading the entire Implementation team. Prior to Imubit, Aaron worked as a process engineer designing distillation and hydrotreating systems in refineries and petrochemical plants. Aaron has a BS in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M. ![Rosin_headshot_12.2021](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Rosin_headshot_12.2021.jpg) ### Ran Rosin Vice President of Product, Imubit ![Rosin_headshot_12.2021](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Rosin_headshot_12.2021.jpg) Ran Rosin Vice President of Product, Imubit ![Rosin_headshot_12.2021](https://insight.imubit.com/hubfs/Rosin_headshot_12.2021.jpg) Ran leads the company's product group, setting the product vision and growth strategy. He has more than 20 years of experience. Before joining Imubit, Ran was the Director of Product Management at Imperva, where he initiated and led Imperva’s cloud data security SaaS platform.   --- ![Hotel Icon](https://insight.imubit.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Hotel%20Icon.png?width=150&height=150&name=Hotel%20Icon.png "Hotel Icon") #### Event Hotel Venue Omni Houston Hotel 4 Riverway Drive Houston, TX 77056 Event room rate: $189 per night Reservations: (713) 871-8181 **Online reservations:** [https://bookings.omnihotels.com/event/houston/imubit-transcend-houston](https://bookings.omnihotels.com/event/houston/imubit-transcend-houston)   ![information icon](https://insight.imubit.com/hs-fs/hubfs/information%20icon.png?width=150&height=150&name=information%20icon.png "information icon") #### Event Information Don't hesitate to contact  us with questions or suggestions.  **Registration information:** [marketing-info@imubit.com](mailto:marketing-info@imubit.com) **Travel information:** [jordan.jenkins@imubit.com](mailto:jordan.jenkins@imubit.com) **Dress Code:** Business Casual ![speaker icon](https://insight.imubit.com/hs-fs/hubfs/speaker%20icon.png?width=150&height=150&name=speaker%20icon.png "speaker icon") #### Share Your Story Have an AI success story you want to share? We would love to hear from you.  Speaker requests: [allison.buenemann@imubit.com](mailto:allison.buenneman@imubit.com) HURRY UP! ## Book Your Seat BUY TICKET SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER ## Want Something Extra? [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com) [Follow us on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com) [Follow us on Twitter](https://www.twitter.com) [Follow us on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com) - Menu Item 1 - Sub-menu Item 1 - Another Item - Sub-menu Item 2 - Menu Item 2 - Yet Another Item - Menu Item 3 - Menu Item 4 © 2023 EventMax. All rights reserved