Dr. Deval Pandya believes that artificial intelligence must be developed and deployed in ways that are safe, responsible, and ultimately in service of societal good. He sees AI not as an end in itself, but as a tool to address humanity’s most pressing challenges—from accelerating the energy transition to tackling climate change and strengthening national competitiveness. Guided by this conviction, his work focuses on translating AI breakthroughs into practical applications that create meaningful impact for people, communities, and society.

Deval acts on these beliefs through both leadership and governance. He serves on the Safe and Secure AI Advisory Group for the Government of Canada and the Research Council of the Canadian AI Safety Institute (CAISI) at CIFAR, where he helps shape the future of AI safety and governance. Professionally, he is Vice President and Head of AI Engineering at the Vector Institute, enabling and scaling AI innovations in partnership with industry, government, and academia.

Previously, he was a founding member of Shell’s Data Science Centre of Excellence, leading teams that applied machine learning across predictive maintenance, greenhouse gas accounting, biofuels, hydrogen, and nature-based solutions. His contributions have been recognized globally, including as a Top Tech Leader in 2025 by The Globe and Mail, a Future Energy Leader by the World Energy Council, one of the Top 100 Global AI Innovators by World Summit AI, and a Top AI Executive by the Canada-India Tech Council.

Deval holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington, and a Bachelor of Engineering from Sardar Patel University.