Azzam Abu-Rayash is an Assistant Professor at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (Qatar), Governor and Research Associate at Ontario Tech University (Canada), and the CEO of Polaris Energy Sustainability Solutions. Dr. Abu-Rayash has over a decade of industrial and research experience in the energy industry and sustainability field and has published numerous books and peer-reviewed articles on the topics of energy sustainability and smart cities. He has also presented research at national and international conferences. He authored the energy plan for the City of Oshawa, which was recognized by the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) by receiving the Institutional Energy Management Award for 2020. Currently, he leads a research project on district energy that involves multiple municipalities, the Regional Municipality of Durham as well as OPG. He is licensed as a Certified Energy Manager (CEM) by the Association of Energy Engineers.