John Register

Keynote | 23 October | 4:00 p.m.

Amputate Fear and Embrace Your New Normal Mindset

Do you want to gain more clarity in crises? Do you desire more control in uncertain times? Well, get rid of the perception that we overcome adversity and embrace the mindset that we create new normals.

John Register, Paralympic Silver Medalist, Gulf Veteran, and U.S. Department of State Sports Envoy, is a maximizer. Register was an elite world-class athlete and on his way to Officer Candidate School, when a training accident caused an above the knee amputation. This injury would cause many people to give up. Still, Register Hurdled the Adversity by amputating his fear and embracing his new reality. Through grit and determination, he went on to represent the United States at two-Paralympic Games, winning the silver medal in Sydney Australia.

Keynote Sponsored By:

Bader Busbait

Featured Talk | 24 October | 3:30 p.m.

Inspection Technologies Evolution Fueled by the Industrial Revolution 4.0

Inspection technologies play a vital role in ensuring oil and gas asset integrity, operation safety and product quality. In this featured talk, Mr. Busbait will give an overview of inspection technology evolution starting from basic human senses techniques to the advanced digitalized and robotized solutions.

Bader Busbait is the Director of the Inspection Department at Saudi Aramco. He is a board member of The Saudi Council of Engineers (SCE) and has over 25 years of experience in engineering and professional development. He's led several engineering organizations at Saudi Aramco, including the Engineering and Technology Department at the Aramco Overseas Company in the Netherlands.

Dr. Brent Seales

Closing Keynote | 26 October | 12:00 p.m.

Computed Tomography and Unwrapping of the Herculaneum Scroll

Progress over the past decade in the digitization and analysis of text found in cultural objects (inscriptions, manuscripts, scrolls) has led to new methods for reading the “invisible library”.  This talk explains the development of non-invasive methods, showing results from restoration projects on Homeric manuscripts, Herculaneum material, and Dead Sea scrolls.  Premised on “virtual unwrapping” as an engine for discovery, the presentation culminates in a new approach that may indeed be the pathway for rescuing still-readable text from some of the most stubbornly damaged materials, like the enigmatic Herculaneum scrolls.

Brent Seales, PhD, is the Stanley and Karen Pigman Heritage Science Professor and Professor of Computer Science at the University of Kentucky. He has been a visiting scientist at the Google Cultural Institute in Paris and a scholar in residence at the Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles.  Dr. Seales' research program centers on computer vision, artificial intelligence, and visualization applied to challenges in Heritage Science. His work focuses on the digital restoration of badly damaged artifacts, especially those containing writing. His research produced the discovery and revelation of the Hebrew text of Leviticus from within the Scroll from En-Gedi. The text was revealed non-invasively without physically opening the damaged parchment of the scroll, proving it to be one of the oldest known copies of the Levitical text. Seales’ work in developing virtual unwrapping has led to numerous other applications and research efforts, helping to inspire a new generation of innovation and creativity in Heritage Science.