SIU System Technology & Innovation Expo to Spotlight AI, Data Centers, Research and Industry Partnerships
Free expo – October 21st – SIUE Health Sciences Complex
October 7, 2026
(Edwardsville) The SIU System Technology & Innovation Expo will take place Wednesday, October 21, 2026, from 12:30 to 6:00 p.m. at SIU Edwardsville’s Health Sciences Complex.
The event showcases extraordinary innovators and the research capacity across the SIU System featuring a broad cross-disciplinary approach to research in the high-tech space. The expo gives industry partners and potential investors the opportunity to learn about the inventions and products of its top researchers.
Greg Ritter of Amazon Web Services (AWS) will give the keynote presentation on the topic, “Using AI to Support the Research Lifecycle and the Impact of the Changing Federal Funding Landscape.” Ritter has been with AWS since 2019 and is the Senior Business Development Manager for Higher Education. He serves as the Strategy Lead for Research Data, Scholarly Communication & Libraries.
A panel on data centers will feature Brad Tietz, Director of State Government Affairs-Midwest for Data Center Coalition; Cheryl (Cheri) R. Welge, Manager of Economic Development, Ameren Illinois; and Jessica Garcia, Policy Director, Illinois Environmental Council.
One featured presentation will be given by Dr. Richard Selinfreund, Associate Professor and Director of Pathology Education in the Department of Medical Microbiology at the SIU School of Medicine, on the topic, “AI-Simulated Patient Platform for Training and Education.” His work centers on building photorealistic, voice-interactive AI patient simulations that give resident physicians real-time, structured feedback on clinical decision-making.
That is just one of more than a dozen presenters on a variety of technology-related topics in different academic disciplines.
The SIU System is comprised of three campuses: SIU Carbondale, SIU Edwardsville and the Springfield-based SIU School of Medicine. Sponsors of the Technology & Innovation Expo are the three SIU campuses, SIU Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, AWS, Dell, Husch Blackwell and OSF HealthCare.
The event is free, but registration is required. It takes place at the SIUE Health Sciences Complex, 200 University Park Drive, Edwardsville, where there will be free parking. For more information, go to tie.siu.edu.
