We hand-pick all invited speakers each year from a growing list of potential speakers. We strive to have representation from speakers at different career stages who work in distinct research areas and who beckon from a larger region (spanning the Western portions of Canada and the United States). One of our aims is to bring together a diverse lineup of speakers to offer a unique ecosystem of learning and discussions, as well as to support a broad networking opportunity for all attendees, whether to look for a collaboration, a job, a position for graduate studies, an internship, or a chance to meet other scientists and engineers.