2025 Raleigh Seminar

The Raleigh Seminar is held in December will be an in-person event this year! We welcome members and non-members for continuing education, networking and fellowship.

• Date: December 8-10, 2025
  
• Location: McKimmon Conference & Training Center (Raleigh, NC)
  
• Format: Monday and Tuesday - Full Days In Person; Wednesday - Half Day In Person

Call for Abstracts

We are looking for passionate speakers to contribute to our December program. If you have valuable insights, best practices, or leadership skills to share with fellow engineers, we want to hear from you! 

Presentation Guidelines

• Your session should provide value to a diverse audience of professional engineers.
• Sessions will be 60-minutes; we encourage you to allow for 10-15 minutes of Q&A at the end of your presentation.
• Include learner outcomes, topic, session focus, and which engineering discipline might benefit most from your presentation in your proposal.
• Complete the online speaker application (click here)! 
  
• Proposals will be reviewed by the Raleigh Seminar Planning Committee
  

If your proposal is accepted, you'll enjoy the following benefits:

• Discounted rates to attend the full seminar.
• The opportunity to showcase your expertise to a diverse audience of professional engineers.
• Networking opportunities with industry leaders.

Featured Keynote Speaker - Monday, December 8

Jim Pfaendtner
Louis Martin-Vega Dean of Engineering
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina

With more than 12,500 students, 750 faculty and staff members and more than $260M in annual research expenditures, NC State’s College of Engineering is internationally recognized for the excellence of its research, education and outreach programs.

Pfaendtner is the 10th permanent dean to lead the College of Engineering. He joined NC State from the University of Washington (UW), where he served as the Connie and Steve Rogel Endowed Professor and chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering.

As chair, he led departmental scholarly and educational activities, including the implementation of a broad strategic initiative in infusing research and teaching with machine learning, AI and data science; expanding and strengthening the visibility and role of the department’s diversity, equity and inclusion committee; expanding the department’s philanthropic work; raising more than $10 million in major gifts including five new graduate fellowships; and elevating the UW College of Engineering’s efforts in faculty affairs and postdoctoral development.

He also held appointments at UW as professor of chemistry, associate vice provost for research computing and senior data science fellow at the university’s eScience Institute, and at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory as a senior scientist.

Pfaendtner serves on the Northwestern University Chemical and Biological Engineering External Advisory Board and is senior editor for the Journal of Physical Chemistry. In 2022, he became a member of the Washington State Academy of Sciences and received the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Computational Molecular Science and Engineering Forum Impact Award. Other awards and honors he has received include the University of Washington College of Engineering Faculty Junior Innovator Award, the University of Washington Presidential Distinguished Teaching Award, the American Chemical Society OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award, a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Award, and he was named a U.S. National Academy of Science Kavli Fellow.

Pfaendtner’s research has focused on using computer simulations to understand and control molecular scale driving forces for a wide range of applications spanning biotechnology to advanced materials. His lab at UW helped develop new methods to expand the capabilities of molecular simulation and use advanced research computing resources to solve challenging problems in the area of computational molecular science. 

Pfaendtner holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Northwestern University. He completed a National Science Foundation international postdoctoral fellowship with a focus on “multiscale modeling of conformational change in macromolecular assemblies.”

Featured Off Site Tour: Dorothea Dix Park Tour

Monday, December 8 at 1:30 PM - 2 PDH!

Limited to 25. Add this ticket to your Raleigh Seminar registration. Purchase of an in-person day or full package is required.

At 308-acres, the creation of Dix Park is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create an amazing public space in the heart of Raleigh. Once complete, Dix Park will feature amazing play areas for the young and young at heart, places to unwind, relax and rejuvenate in nature, trails to run, walk and bike, areas to splash in water, spots for our four-legged friends to run and play, and so much more. But creating a park like this doesn’t happen overnight.  It will take careful planning, dedicated supporters (like you) and great partners to turn the already beautiful Dix Park campus into the park of our future.

Sponsorship Opportunities

PENC Partners are in the spotlight at our events, providing you access to network with industry decision-makers and engineering professionals. Your investment will help support the invaluable contributions made by PENC members, our volunteer leadership, and the engineering community. Partners are given name and logo recognition on all our conference marketing – which includes PENC’s website, email, social media, and print marketing. All partners are acknowledged during the program and have visibility on the welcome slide presentation. Deadline: Friday, November 14, 2025.

Registration Fees

Government Rate: Looking for a Government Rate to attend this year's program? Contact PENC for your government rate promo code! [email protected].

Registration includes: Breakfast, coffee, lunch, and afternoon snacks!