KEVIN ACKLIN
Chief of Staff, Mayor William Peduto, Pittsburgh
Chairman of the Urban Redevelopment Authority

Kevin Acklin serves as Chief of Staff to the Mayor, and Chairman of the Urban Redevelopment Authority, the city's economic development agency. As Chief Development Officer, he oversees all development activities in the city, with responsibilities over City Planning, Urban Redevelopment Authority, Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority, Sports & Exhibition Authority, and the Stadium Authority. He graduated cum laude from Harvard University, and earned his law degree cum laude from Georgetown University. After beginning his law career in Boston, Kevin returned to Pittsburgh and was most recently a partner in the law firm Saul Ewing LLP, with extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, purchases and sales of businesses, and private equity and venture capital transactions. He also handled various matters for pro bono clients, with a focus on representing victims of domestic violence in protection from abuse matters. A native of Pittsburgh, Kevin resides in the city with his wife Erica and their three young children.

JAY AMARASEKERA, PHD
Senior Technology Manager
SABIC Ventures

Dr. Jay Amarasekera is a Senior Technology Manager attached SABIC Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation which is one of the world’s top petrochemical companies with more than 50B$ sales. It’ businesses are grouped into Chemicals, Polymers, Performance Chemicals, Fertilizers, Metals and Innovative Plastics with 17 dedicated Technology & Innovation facilities and 40,000 employees worldwide. Jay is looking to invest and/or partner in new and evolving technologies to support the growth of current and future businesses of the company. Prior to this role, he served as a Technology Manager for Performance Chemicals and Innovative Plastics business units. Before SABIC, Jay served in many managerial positions in General Electric’s former Plastics and Silicones businesses both in USA and China. Prior to joining GE, Jay worked as a Research Scientist in BASF Corporation's Colorant & Coatings and Performance Chemicals divisions. He was also a Research Associate in Michigan State University where his research was focused on clay composites for catalytic applications. Jay holds a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Master of Science in Chemistry from Bowling Green State University in Ohio and Bachelors in Science from University of Peradeniya Sri Lanka. Jay is a certified Six-Sigma Black Belt.

SCOTT ANDES
Senior Policy Analyst.Centennial Scholar Initiative
Brookings Institution

Scott Andes is a senior policy analyst at the Centennial Scholar Initiative at the Brookings Institution. His work focuses on advanced manufacturing, technology transfer and innovation policy, and economic growth. Prior to joining Brookings, he was a research analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation where he authored and co-authored reports on innovation and domestic economic policy. His work has been cited in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, NPR, and others. He was also Special Assistant to Senator Chuck Schumer at the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee and has worked on a number of state and national political campaigns. Andes received his B.A. in Government from the London School of Economics and a M.S. from Carnegie Mellon University.

BARBARA ARANEO, PHD
Director of Strategy and Sourcing, Diabetes Research Unit
Novo Nordisk

Barbara Araneo, Ph.D., serves Novo Nordisk, Inc as the Director of Strategy and Sourcing in the Diabetes Research Unit. Previously, she was a member of the JDRF Research team as the Director of the Diabetes Complications Therapeutic Area, where her role was to create and manage a portfolio of externally funded research grants aimed at translation of primary discovery along the path of new therapeutics and biomarkers. Dr. Araneo served on the faculty of the University of Utah’s Department of Pathology as Associate Professor and has over 70 publications and 30 patents. In addition to her academic career, Dr. Araneo was Vice President of Development at StemCells Inc., where she was responsible for directing the effort to bring the company’s neural cell-based product candidate from the exploratory and preclinical proof of principle stages into clinical development under the FDA regulatory process. Prior to joining StemCells, Dr. Araneo was a Scientific Co-Founder and Senior Vice President of Research and Development at Pharmadigm, a privately held biopharmaceutical company with a number of products discovered at the company and developed for various stages of clinical development for inflammatory conditions. Over her career Dr. Araneo specialized in translational research concentrating on bringing disease-modifying targets through validation and drug proof of concept. She has led project teams to enable filing of INDs, communicate with the FDA and initiate first in man clinical trials. Dr. Araneo obtained her doctorate in Cellular Immunology from the University of Rochester and completed postdoctoral training at Washington University School of Medicine and the Department of Microbiology at UCLA. In addition to a doctorate degree, Dr. Araneo holds certification in US Regulatory Affairs.

CHRISTOPHER AUSTIN, MD
Director
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)

Christopher Austin is Director of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) at the U.S. National Institutes of Health. NCATS’ mission is to catalyze the generation of innovative methods and technologies that will enhance the development, testing and implementation of diagnostics and therapeutics across a wide range of human diseases and conditions. Before becoming NCATS Director in September 2012, he was Director of the NCATS Division of Preclinical Innovation, which focuses on translating basic science discoveries into new treatments, particularly for rare and neglected diseases, and developing new technologies and paradigms to improve the efficiency of therapeutic and diagnostic development. In this role, he founded and directed numerous initiatives including the NIH Chemical Genomics Center (NCGC), the Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases (TRND) program, and the Toxicology in the 21st Century (Tox21) program. Before joining NIH in 2002, Dr. Austin directed research programs genomics-based target discovery, pharmacogenomics, and neuropsychiatric drug development at Merck, with a particular focus on schizophrenia. Austin earned an A.B. in biology from Princeton University and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School. He completed clinical training in internal medicine and neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, and a research fellowship in genetics at Harvard.

JUAN BECERRA
Vice President of Business Development
GE Ventures

Mr. Juan Becerra, Vice President of Business Development with GE Ventures, delivers perceptive insights to innovate and customize strategies for commercializing technology. He is skilled in intellectual property, business model innovation and customer engagement, particularly with complex and strategic matters, and has closed high value deals for GE. Prior to GE, Mr. Becerra also served as Vice President of Market and Business Development of MTI MicroFuel Cells Inc. He developed the market and business plans for MTI including product definition, strategy, alliances, and intellectual property. He led the breakthrough innovation of a passive micro-fuel cell technology platform at MTI. He has always been involved in leading new technologies from the laboratory to the marketplace - at Xerox Corporation, where he managed new inkjet printer programs, and at Digital Equipment Corporation where he started his career in high performance chip development. He is a named inventor on over 25 patents. Mr. Becerra received his BSEE from the Rochester Institute of Technology and an MSEE from North Carolina State University.

ERIC BREESE
Investment Manager
Evonik Venture Capital

Eric Breese is an Investment Manager at Evonik Venture Capital. Eric joined Evonik in 2006 and has held positions in Germany and the U.S. within the Advanced Intermediates Business Unit and Corporate Finance. Most recently as Director Innovation Americas and leading the global external growth activities, he successfully led projects in Asia, Europe and the Americas that resulted in acquisitions, relationships with startups, growth stage companies and university research projects supporting external growth of the Business Unit. Before joining Evonik, Eric worked held various positions including Chief Administrative Officer (legal), Vice President of Operations/Controller (high-tech & services) and consulting. His professional career began with 8 years in Public Accounting working in Certified Public Accounting and Consulting firms. Eric’s Bachelor’s degree is in accounting he is a Certified Public Accountant and additionally earned an MBA. Eric has previously been a Registered Representative holding both Series 7 and Series 63 securities licenses.

HENRY U. BRYANT, PHD
Distinguished Research Fellow, Lilly Research Laboratories
Eli Lilly and Co.

Henry U. Bryant, Ph.D., is a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly and Co., in Indianapolis, Indiana. After obtaining a BS in pharmacy and licensure as a pharmacist, he received a Ph.D. in pharmacology at Purdue University. He continued his training as a National Research Council post-doctoral fellow at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (Washington, D.C.) with a primary focus on neuroendocrine regulation of immunity. In 1988 he joined Lilly Research Labs and developed a research program focused on employing pharmacological strategies to understand diseases of the bone, muscle and connective tissue, with the ultimate goal of developing novel therapeutic agents for pathological conditions associated with the aging process. He was senior author of the first paper describing the selective estrogen receptor, or SERM, profile of raloxifene in pre-clinical models and maintains an active laboratory effort in this area. His research group conducted the pre-clinical drug discovery research that led to the registration of two marketed compounds for osteoporosis (Evista and Forteo), as well as moving numerous additional molecules into clinical trials for endocrine-associated indications. He currently leads the Autoimmune Drug Discovery Research Group at Lilly. Dr. Bryant has authored over 100 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals along with over 20 book chapters and monographs. He is an inventor on 85 US patents and has spoken at numerous international scientific conferences on his research efforts. He is a member of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET), the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR), the Endocrine Society, the Society for Neuroscience and the Indiana Academy of Science. He has served on various NIH study sections and is a reviewer for a number of pharmacology and physiology based journals.

KIRSTIE CHADWICK
President and CEO
International Business Innovation Association (INBIA)

Kirstie Chadwick is the President & CEO of the International Business Innovation Association, a global non-profit that serves over 2,100 small business incubators, technology accelerators and economic development agencies across 60 countries. Kirstie has over 25 years of experience at innovative technology companies including Sun Microsystems, Mentor Graphics and Lockheed Martin. She has also held executive roles at five venture-backed technology startups. She was the CEO and Co-founder of DigitalOwl, an Orlando-based educational software company, where she raised over $13M in venture capital and successfully navigated the company through the dot-com market crash. In 2004, Kirstie joined UCF as the Director of the Venture Lab where she facilitated the spin-out of three startup companies based on faculty inventions, and mentored hundreds of local entrepreneurs in business strategy and financing. In 2007, Kirstie was tapped to become the Executive Director of the Winter Park Angels, a 50+ member angel investment group. Kirstie also led the financing and management of Florida’s Igniting Innovation Accelerator program, which directly resulted in $43 million in follow-on capital by participating companies. Ms. Chadwick is the recipient of the Orlando Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business Award, the Working Woman Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, and the Dr. W. Judson King Entrepreneurship Memorial Award. Ms. Chadwick graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. in Computer Science from UCF, and holds an MBA from UCF.

MICHAEL CHAMBERS, PHD
Assistant Vice President for Research Innovation
University of South Alabama

In November 2015 the University of South Alabama (USA) named Dr. Michael Chambers to the newly created position of Assistant Vice President for Research Innovation. Before joining USA, Dr. Chambers founded and served as President and CEO of Swift Biotech, a company developing screens and diagnostics for gynecological cancers.The core technology received a substantial grant from the National Institutes of Health and was awarded in 2013 the Eugene Bricker Award for Best Global Research by the International Society of Pelvic Surgeons. Before Swift, Chambers helped found and led InnoRx Pharmaceuticals (ocular drug delivery) as CEO until negotiating its sale to SurModics (NASDAQ: SRDX). Prior Chairman of ProUroCare, a public company based in Minneapolis, he has also served on the boards of InQ Biosystems, Gene Capture, BioAlabama and the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama. He founded the Gulf Coast Angel Network, co-founded 1702 (an entrepreneurship and mentoring organization) and was named “Start-Up Executive of the Year” in 2014 by Alabama LaunchPad. He received B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Alabama and a Ph.D. from the University of Geneva in Switzerland where he was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar and a Swiss Confederation Fellow. He has previously been recognized in the Best Attorneys in the United States in Commercial Law and a Top Attorney in Health Care.

BRIAN CRONE, PHD
Los Alamos National Lab (LANL)
Congressional Fellow
Congressman Ben Ray Luján, NM

Brian Crone is currently the Los Alamos National Lab (LANL) Congressional Fellow in the office of Congressman Ben Ray Luján, NM District 03, where he covers issues including National Security, National Labs, Defense, Space, Intelligence, Technology Transfer, and Regional Economic Development. He received his PhD in Electrical Engineering in 1999 from Princeton University. He has over 15 years experience in research and development of electronic materials and devices for a broad variety of applications spanning displays, solid state lighting, photovoltaics, radiation detectors, photodiodes, and chemical sensors. He has over 30 peer reviewed publications, and over 2300 citations. He has worked at leading research institutions including LANL, Bell Labs, and IBM’s Zurich Research Lab. In addition to his technical work, Brian has worked with senior management at Los Alamos National Lab to develop and implement improvements to technology maturation processes.

CHARLES D'AGOSTINO
President
Association of University Research Parks

Charles D’Agostino, the founder and Executive Director of the Louisiana Business & Technology Center at Louisiana State University (1988), has been actively involved in entrepreneurship, economic development and small business issues for the last 25 years. He served on the Board of Directors of the Association of University Research Parks (1999-2005) and was re-elected to the board as Vice President (2011-2014) and 2015 President Elect. He also served on the board of the National Business Incubation Association (1991-1998). D’Agostino founded (1990) and served as chairman of the Louisiana Business Incubation Association. D’Agostino was given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Business Incubation Association in 2011. He was 2012 recipient of the Governor’s Leader in Technology Award. Under the Louisiana Business and Technology Center (LBTC), D’Agostino directs the Small Business Incubator, LSU Rural Entrepreneurship & Business Disaster programs and the Louisiana Technology Transfer Office (LTTO). The LTTO has offices located at LSU and the NASA’s Stennis Space Center. The LBTC is a 35,000 square foot high-tech business incubator at the LSU Innovation Park of Louisiana State University. D’Agostino has been charged with developing and managing this 200+ acre research park. As a Fulbright Specialist, D’Agostino was assigned to the Universita degli Studi dell’Aquila in Italy to assist in the development of an incubator and business disaster recovery after the 2009 Earthquake that destroyed the town and university. Under D’Agostino’s direction, the Louisiana Business & Technology Center was selected as the 2005 National Business Incubator of the Year and the 2009 EDA Excellence in Economic Development Program. The LSU Innovation Park was named the 2013 Emerging Research Park of the Year by the Association of University Research Parks. D’Agostino received his bachelor degree from Louisiana State University in 1970 (A&S– Chemistry) and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in 1972.

JASON DAY, PHD
Legislative Director
Congressman Daniel Lipinski, IL

Jason Day serves as the Legislative Director for Congressman Daniel Lipinski. Since 2012, he has advised the Congressman in his duties as the Ranking Member of the Research and Technology Subcommittee of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. His legislative work has principally focused on innovation policy, improving technology transfer from universities and national labs, renewable energy, STEM education, and assisting new technology startups. Prior to his role in the Congressman’s office, he served as an energy policy advisor to Senator Al Franken, and as a fellow at the National Science Foundation. He holds a B.S. in physics from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.A. and Ph.D. in atomic, molecular, and optical physics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

STEPHEN EZELL
Vice President, Global Innovation Policy
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF)

Stephen Ezell is the Vice President of Global Innovation Policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), with a focus on science and technology policy, international competitiveness, and trade, manufacturing, and services issues. He is the co-author with Dr. Robert Atkinson of Innovation Economics: The Race for Global Advantage (link is external)(Yale, September 2012). Mr. Ezell comes to ITIF from Peer Insight, an innovation research and consulting firm he co-founded in 2003 to study the practice of innovation in service industries. At Peer Insight, Mr. Ezell led the Global Service Innovation Consortium, published multiple research papers on service innovation, and researched national service innovation policies being implemented by governments worldwide. Prior to forming Peer Insight, Mr. Ezell worked in the New Service Development group at the NASDAQ Stock Market, where he spearheaded the creation of the NASDAQ Market Intelligence Desk and the NASDAQ Corporate Services Network, services for NASDAQ-listed corporations. Previously, Mr. Ezell co-founded two successful innovation ventures, the high-tech services firm Brivo Systems and Lynx Capital, a boutique investment bank. Stephen holds a B.S. from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, with an Honors Certificate from Georgetown’s Landegger International Business Diplomacy program.

TIMOTHY (TIM) FRANKLIN, PHD
Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII)

Timothy (Tim) V. Franklin, Ph.D., serves as Vice President and chief operating officer for the New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII), an NJIT corporation that applies the intellectual and technological resources of the state’s science and technology university to challenges identified by industry partners. Franklin contributed substantially to the design and rationale for this innovative, industry-facing university interface designed around innovation labs and services. In parallel, Franklin serves as Associate Vice President for Business and Economic Development and Special Advisor to the President for New Jersey Institute for Technology (NJIT). In this role, Franklin leads strategic initiatives, fosters institutional-scale programs, manages public and private partnerships, and articulates programs to advance the University’s economic development and research missions. Franklin convenes NJIT’s newly formed Business Engagement Team, which serves to integrate a range of university programs in deep, sustained, comprehensive partnerships with industry and government. Franklin is an expert in higher education policy, experienced strategic planner, trained Strategic Doing facilitator, and brings a history of starting new endeavors. Prior to coming to NJIT, Franklin founded and led TRE Networks, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the role of research universities in transformative regional engagement (TRE) efforts. He led national conferences and meetings of the TRE Roundtable, whose “partners” form an umbrella of leading national organizations and universities focused on accelerating policy and practice in regional development. While at Virginia Tech, Franklin led the University’s Southside Initiative, a broad-scale effort to define its 21st Century land-grant mission. In that role, Franklin was the founding Executive Director of the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR), a unique regional stewarding institution that received numerous regional, state, and national recognitions. Franklin is the former Director of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development for The Pennsylvania State University. Tim also served for eight years as Associate Vice President for Government Relations and Planning at Indiana State University.

STEVE FREDRICK
General Partner
Grotech Ventures

Steve Fredrick joined Grotech Ventures in 2005. Steve focuses on investment opportunities in software and services with a particular interest in security, mobility, and big data. Steve currently serves on the boards of CircleBack, Ryft, Invincea, Logi Analytics, Parse.ly, ThreatConnect, Urjanet and White Ops. Prior to Grotech, Steve was a partner with Novak Biddle Venture Partners, co-founded software company MartinScott, worked for venture-funded startup Vantage Solutions, and began his career at IBM. In collaboration with the National Venture Capital Association, Steve co-founded StartUpHire - an online job board for opportunities at venture-backed companies. He is the 2012 recipient of the NVCA's Outstanding Service Award for this work. Steve earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, Magna Cum Laude, from Virginia Tech and was an Eastman Kodak Scholar. He taught for several years as an Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business and sits on the College of Engineering Advisory Board at Virginia Tech.

LEE GROESCHL
Venture Executive-in-Residence
TechGROWTH Ohio and Ohio University

Lee Groeschl is an Venture Executive-in-Residence with TechGROWTH Ohio and Ohio University. TechGROWTH Ohio is part of the Ohio Third Frontier Program and is classified as part of the Entrepreneurial Signature Program for SE Ohio. As a venture executive-in-residence, Lee works with both Ohio University inventors and private technology inventors to commercialize their technologies through new venture formation and execution. Prior to joining TechGROWTH Ohio in February 2015, Lee spent five years at The University of Iowa as the Associate Director of Economic Development where he led technology commercialization, new venture formation, and venture financing activities. The also taught several technology commercialization courses in the Tippie College of Business and was a member of the Board of Directors for Veridian Credit Union, the largest credit union in The State of Iowa. Lee spent the first four years of his career at The University of North Dakota, where he was the North Dakota Field Agent for The Center for Innovation Foundation. Lee co-founded Dakota Venture Group and has led deal syndication for the four pooled angel funds in The State of North Dakota. In his career, Lee has been involved in over 100 technology ventures and has been led or been involved in over $65 million of syndicated venture financing. He focuses in life sciences, biotechnology, medical devices & diagnostics, and software.

NADER HALIM, PHD
Director, Centers for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI)
Pfizer

Nader Halim, Ph.D., is a Director at Pfizer’s Centers for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI) and CTI’s liaison to the NIH. Prior to joining Pfizer, he was a member of Genentech’s Commercial Assessments team. Nader began his career as a biologist at the National Institute of Mental Health, part of the National Institutes of Health. He has also worked as a consultant at Quintiles, Avalere Health, and Booz Allen. Nader graduated from San Diego State University with a B.S. in biology and holds a Ph.D. in molecular and cell biology from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, an M.P.H. in health economics and an M.B.A. in healthcare management from The Johns Hopkins University.

BRITTANY HARGEST
Performance Manager
Greenspring Associates

Brittany Hargest joined Greenspring Associates in 2014 as the Performance Manager. Brittany manages the internal and external performance reporting process, works to develop tools for portfolio construction and predictive data analytics and oversees the proprietary portfolio company tracking database. Previously, Brittany worked as a Manager in the tax practice for McGladrey, LLP, in Baltimore. In that role, Brittany served a variety of middle market clients with a focus in Partnership Tax and Private Client Services. A Certified Public Accountant, Brittany graduated with Honors and received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she currently serves as a board member on the Alumni Chapter Board.

SVEN HARMSEN, PHD
Principal
BASF Venture Capital America

JAKE HARRISON, PHD
Senior Manager, University Relations and Open Innovation
Samsung Strategy and Innovation Center (SSIC)

ERIKA HERZ
Director, Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
University of Virginia Darden School of Business

JEANNE HOSSENLOPP, PHD
Vice President for Research and Innovation
Marquette University

Jeanne Hossenlopp is Marquette University’s vice president for research and innovation. She is a professor of chemistry, served as vice provost for research and dean of the Graduate School from 2010-2015, was interim dean of the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences from 2008-2010, and was chair of the Department of Chemistry from 2004-2008. A native of Buffalo, NY, Hossenlopp received her B.A. in chemistry from Colgate University in 1981, M.A. in education from Siena Heights College in 1982, and Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Syracuse University in 1987. From 1987-1989 she was a postdoctoral research associate at Columbia University. She joined the faculty at Marquette University in 1989, the same year she received a Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation New Faculty Award, a national award given to 10 new faculty in chemistry, biochemistry, or chemical engineering departments annually. Hossenlopp has taught physical chemistry courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels as well as general (freshman) chemistry. She was awarded Marquette University's Rev. John P. Raynor, S.J., Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence in 2003. Her research career began by exploring the fundamental details of how energy flows during laser-induced chemical reactions. She later transitioned to studying factors that control structure and reactivity of nanodimensional materials and was involved in collaborative projects focused on developing and characterizing new materials for use in chemical sensors, polymer fire retardants, and water quality remediation applications. Work in her laboratory was funded by the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technology and the US Department of Agriculture. In her current role, Hossenlopp is charged with facilitating growth in campus research and scholarship as well as coordinating many of President Lovell’s new innovation initiatives. She oversees the work of the Offices of Research Compliance and Research and Sponsored Programs. She directs Marquette's participation in the Clinical and Translational Science Institute of Southeastern Wisconsin, serves on the Academic Advisory Board of The Commons, is a steering committee member for the Institute of Urban Agriculture and Nutrition, and is also on the steering council for Scale Up Milwaukee. Hossenlopp also serves as a co-investigator on a Milwaukee Area Technical College project, funded by National Science Foundation, to increase participation in the biochemical sciences.

BARRY JOHNSON, PHD
Director of the Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships, Directorate for Engineering
National Science Foundation (NSF)

Barry Johnson joined the University of Virginia in 1984 as an assistant professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering after working at Harris Corp. for several years. He rose steadily within the department and in 1998 became director of the Center for Safety-Critical Systems. From 2006 to 2011 Johnson was the Engineering School’s associate dean for research. While at Virginia, Johnson acted as a consultant to more than a dozen companies and government agencies. In 2001 he co-founded the biometric security company Privaris, Inc., where he served as chairman of the board of directors and, for nearly four years, as president and chief executive officer. In 2010, Johnson became the founding president and executive director of the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing -- a partnership between academia and industry to speed technology transfer. He served on the CCAM board of directors as chair for two years and then as a board member through the present. In 2012, he began serving as chairman of the board of directors for the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Logistics Systems. He also served as a board of directors member for the Commonwealth Center for Aerospace Propulsion Systems. Johnson earned his Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree, and Ph.D. in electrical engineering, all at the University of Virginia. His expertise is in techniques for the design and analysis of safety-critical systems. He has investigated architectures and algorithms to ensure the safety of hardware/software systems, and he has developed methods for modeling, analyzing, and predicting the safety of these systems. He has published more than 150 technical articles, and he is an inventor on 29 issued patents.

MARK S. KAMLET, PHD
University Professor of Economics and Public Policy and Provost Emeritus
Carnegie Mellon University

Mark S. Kamlet is University Professor of Economics and Public Policy and Provost Emeritus at Carnegie Mellon, with joint appointments in the H. John Heinz III College and in the Department of Social and Decision Science in Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences. He joined Carnegie Mellon as a faculty member in 1976. From 1990 to 1993 he served as department head of Social and Decision Sciences. From 1993 to 2000 he served as dean of the Heinz College (School of Information Systems; School of Public Policy and Management).
From 2000 to 2014, Kamlet served as provost (chief academic officer) and executive vice president. In this role, he was broadly involved in budgetary and resource allocation activities. He oversaw the research and educational activities of campus, as well as space, facilities, and computing infrastructures. He was especially engaged in the university’s technology commercialization activities, the growing internationalization of the university’s footprint, and the role of technology in education.
He serves on the boards of various for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, and has served on the board of five start-ups in the technology-enhanced learning space. Kamlet has served on study panels of the National Academy of Science, the National Institutes for Health, and the National Academy of Medicine. He is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Kamlet earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Stanford. He has a master’s in mathematical statistics, a masters in economics, and Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley.

WERNER KAUFMANN, PHD
Senior Manager Technology Scouting
BASF

Currently, Werner Kaufmann is responsible within BASF Corporation for the design and implementation of the North American Scouting Network. Werner has a doctorate in Chemistry from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich) and after completing his studies joined Ciba-Geigy in Switzerland. He has held various positions in Process Development, Production, Research & Development and New Business Development in Switzerland, Germany and the U.S. Prior to BASF’s acquisition of Ciba in 2009, Werner had global responsibility for Ciba’s Emerging Competencies and was also Head of R&D for Ciba North America. In addition, he managed Ciba’s venturing activities from 2006 – 2009.

LISA KUUTTILA
CEO & Chief Economic Development Officer, STC.UNM
The University of New Mexico

Lisa Kuuttila joined STC.UNM (STC), the University of New Mexico’s technology-transfer program, as President & CEO in 2003. She is currently CEO & Chief Economic Development Officer of the organization. She works with the STC.UNM Board of Directors in developing strategies for implementing STC's vision to play a vital role in New Mexico's economic development and to be a leader in technology commercialization. Under her leadership, STC.UNM is substantially growing its program using the Rainforest model to develop an innovation ecosystem in New Mexico. In 2013, STC.UNM was tasked by the University with implementing its economic development initiatives under Lisa’s leadership. Ms. Kuuttila has more than 30 years of prior leadership experience in technology commercialization and licensing. This includes positions as Assistant Vice President for Technology Commercialization at Purdue Research Foundation; Director, Technology Commercialization, University of Georgia; and Director, Office of Technology Commercialization, Center for Advanced Technology Development, Iowa State University. Her prior experience also includes a consulting practice that provided strategic marketing and technology-transfer consulting services for a wide variety of well-known technology corporations, universities and foundations, including Stanford University. She began her career in industry in several engineering and technology-marketing positions. Ms. Kuuttila has exhibited exceptional skills in the marketing and start-up company aspects of technology commercialization, having significantly increased the number of spin-off companies at each university she has served. She also has substantial expertise in university-based equity transactions and managed the seed-capital venture fund on behalf of Purdue Research Foundation. Ms. Kuuttila has published extensively in her field, is an active speaker and has made presentations throughout her career to many organizations, such as the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), the Association of University Related Research Parks (AURRP), the Licensing Executives Society (LES), and other national and international conferences and forums. Ms. Kuuttila serves on the boards of the New Mexico Angels, a private membership organization for qualified angel investors, and the Coronado Ventures Forum, a non-profit corporation focused on development, education and networking opportunities for entrepreneurs and angel and professional investors. She is also affiliated with a number of other initiatives. Lisa received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan and an M.S. in Public Administration from Iowa State University. She is also a graduate of the Venture Capital Institute.

JAKE LATCHAM
Venture Principal
Schlumberger

Jake Latcham is a venture principal with Schlumberger’s corporate venture capital group. His investment areas include the industrial internet of things, additive manufacturing, advanced materials, novel sensing, and energy efficiency. Previously, he served as a technology development manager for OneSubsea, Schlumberger’s subsea oil and gas joint venture. Prior to joining OneSubsea, Jake worked as a project engineer for ExxonMobil on an oil sands development project. Jake earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

MARK LEVINE
Managing Director
Core Capital Partners

Mark Levine is a Managing Director of Core Capital Partners, a venture capital investment fund with $350 million under management. Core Capital's portfolio companies are focused on Internet/telecommunications infrastructure technology, software and data analytics modeling. He serves or has served on the Boards of Directors of ZeroFOX, Staq, Medventive, buySAFE, Valen, Univa, UpdateLogic, FreedomPay, Roundbox, InPhonic, Vizbee and VocalData. His other activities include serving on the Boards of Trustees (Chair) of the Mid- Atlantic Venture Association (MAVA), the Board of Advisors of The George Washington University Business School and the Dingman Entrepreneur Center (University of Maryland). Mark received his M.B.A. from The George Washington University.

BILL LOO, MD
Founder and Board Member of TibaRay, Inc.
Stanford Cancer Institute

Dr. Loo is a physician-scientist Radiation Oncologist and Bioengineer who leads the Thoracic Radiation Oncology program at Stanford Cancer Institute. He received his MD from University of California, Davis and his PhD in Bioengineering from University of California, San Francisco and Berkeley. He completed his Radiation Oncology residency training at Stanford University where he is now Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology. He is certified by the American Board of Radiology in Radiation Oncology. His clinical specialties are state-of-the-art radiation therapy for lung/thoracic cancers, including stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) and 4-D image-guided radiation therapy for lung tumors. His research is in clinical trials and implementation of new treatment techniques for lung cancer, development of new medical imaging methods for measuring organ function and predicting response to cancer treatment, and development of next generation radiation treatment technologies and studying their unique biological effects. Dr. Loo is a recognized expert in thoracic cancers serving on multiple national committees (including as writing member, chair, or vice-chair) that publish clinical guidelines on the treatment of lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies, including the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), American College of Radiology (ACR), and American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). Dr. Loo is also a founder and board member of TibaRay, Inc., a startup whose mission is to commercially translate the Stanford-SLAC technology he co-invented: PHASER is next-generation compact, economical radiation therapy technology based on fundamentally new accelerator physics that achieves ultra-fast treatment for the ultimate accuracy and improved global access to curative cancer therapy.

DANA LOWELL
Director, Advanced Business Development
Faurecia xWorks

Dana Lowell is a graduate of Western Michigan University, where he received a B.B.S. degree in Business Management. He subsequently earned a MBA from Oakland University in 1986. Dana has served as Market Strategist at General Motors, Sales & Marketing Director of Stanley Tools, Marketing Director for Prince Automotive, as well as Director of Business Development for Johnson Controls before joining Faurecia in 2006. As Director of Advanced Business Development at Faurecia’s award winning xWorks Innovation Centers, Lowell is responsible for bringing new ideas to market and for identifying key partnership opportunities through open innovation models across a global network with facilities in Holland MI, Silicon Valley, Shanghai, and Munich. Faurecia xWorks is a cross functional product & business incubator focusing on strategic innovation. xWorks employs a “lean” pre-development activity heavily focused on leveraging technology partnerships and existing development initiatives. Primary focus is to develop an advantaged portfolio of consumer driven product solutions for the automotive market sector.

SANJIV MALHOTRA, PHD
Director, Clean Energy Investment Center (CEIC)
U.S. Department of Energy

Dr. Sanjiv Malhotra joins DOE as the first Director of the Clean Energy Investment Center (CEIC), located within the Office of Technology Transitions. As the center’s first Director, Dr. Malhotra will be responsible for standing up the CEIC, which will serve as a single point of contact for investors to access technical experts, acquire the latest reports on clean energy technology, and identify promising projects. He will also be instrumental in supporting Mission Innovation, an initiative that was announced at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris to dramatically accelerate public and private global clean energy innovation to address global climate change, provide affordable clean energy to consumers, including in the developing world, and create additional commercial opportunities in clean energy. Through the initiative, 20 countries, including the top five most populous nations, committed to double their respective clean energy research and development investment over five years. Previously, from 2005 to 2014, he served as the founder, President, and CEO of Oorja Protonics, a global leader in the design, development, and manufacturing of methanol fuel cells. During his time at the company, he attracted more than $32 million in investments from private sector equity firms, and he brought the company to profitability. Over the course of his diverse career, he has been an advisor at Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, served as part of the executive management team at DCH Technology and H Power Corp, and worked as a researcher at DOE’s Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory. Dr. Malhotra holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, and he holds a master’s degree in business administration and a doctoral degree in chemical and biochemical engineering from the University of Iowa.

LYDIA MCCLURE, PHD
Program Director, Innovation Corps (I-Corps),
Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships, National Science Foundation

Lydia McClure is the Program Director for the Innovation-Corps (I-Corps) program at the National Science Foundation (NSF). Prior to joining the NSF, Lydia was a national instructor for the I-Corps program based out of the Southwest I-Corps node. In addition to her work with I-Corps, Lydia was the Director of the university-focused, pre-seed portfolio at The Austin Technology Incubator (ATI). The capstone program of her portfolio was Student Entrepreneur Acceleration and Launch (S.E.A.L.) held in partnership with the Kauffman Foundation. Lydia spent 10 years with The University of Texas at Austin studying human disease, identifying ways to monetize university research, and as a Venture Partner with Texas Venture Labs. She earned a BA with a concentration in Biochemistry from Carleton College and PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Texas at Austin.

RICHARD MCCULLOUGH, PHD
Vice Provost for Research and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
Harvard University

Richard McCullough, Ph.D., is the Vice Provost for Research and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, working with the President and Provost to encourage, cultivate, and coordinate high impact academic research across all of Harvard's schools and affiliated institutions. The Office of the Vice Provost for Research (VPR), which Dr. McCullough leads, has broad responsibility and oversight for the review, development, and implementation of policies related to the organization and execution of academic research, especially in the sciences. He also oversees the University's relations with foundations and industry. The office portfolio also specifically includes interdisciplinary research, centers and initiatives, and research development. Led by Vice Provost McCullough, the Office of the VPR is particularly focused on removing barriers to collaboration, whether in University policies, or financial or administrative systems. Additionally, the Vice Provost for Research works with the President and Provost to foster and encourage entrepreneurship, whether by undergraduates, graduate students, or faculty members and is focused particularly on both academic and industry-partnership planning for the Allston campus. Prior to being named Vice Provost for Research, at Harvard, Richard McCullough was the Vice President for Research at Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh, where he also had served as the Dean of the Mellon College of Science, and head of the Department of Chemistry. The Thomas Lord Professor of Chemistry at Carnegie Mellon, McCullough, whose research has principally been focused on developing printable electronic materials, founded two companies: Plextronics Inc, and Liquid X Printed Metals. He is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for Advanced Materials. Richard McCullough has a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Texas, Dallas and earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in chemistry at Johns Hopkins University, and did his postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University.

BRIAN MCILROY, PHD
Corporate Innovation Strategic Advisor,
NCET2 Former GE Ventures

Brian led customer engagement for the GE Ventures Licensing group. He has more than 20 years' experience in all aspects of medical device development, together with management of clinical trials ranging from preclinical through phase III FDA controlled global trials. Brian, a world-renowned specialist in the area of PDT dosimetry, has published peer-reviewed articles, earned two issued patents, spoken at many international conferences, advised multiple boards and reviewed technology for several organizations.

MICHAEL MOLNAR
Director, Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office
National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce

Mike Molnar is the founding director of the interagency Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office (AMNPO), with a mission to foster industry-led partnerships and to form a "whole of government" approach to strengthen competitiveness and innovation in U.S. manufacturing. This interagency team is responsible for designing and establishing the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI), a Presidential and Congressionally authorized initiative with now seven established institutes, two more about to be awarded and an additional six new institutes planned for 2016. Mike also leads the NIST Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO), which coordinates extramural programs for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The AMO has now launched the first “open topic” NNMI Institutes competition, where any topic may be proposed.

ANDREW MOONEY
Legislative Assistant
Office of Rep. Randy Hultgren, IL

Andrew Mooney is a Legislative Assistant for Congressman Randy Hultgren (R-IL). In this capacity, he helps align the Congressman's legislative priorities with action in the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. He coordinates briefings for Members of Congress and Staff, and advocates for the basic scientific research, through the House Science and National Labs Caucus and the STEM Education Caucus. Andrew also advises Congressman Hultgren on federal issues concerning energy, the environment, natural resources and public lands.

OMAR MUHAMMAD
Director, Entrepreneurial Development & Assistance Center (EDAC)
Morgan State University

Omar is an “intrapreneur” for Morgan State University where he manages the Entrepreneurial Development & Assistance Center (EDAC). Through his tenure at EDAC, he has created several conferences offering resources to help youth and women start and expand entrepreneurial ventures. Each year, Mr. Muhammad develops content to teach youth and others how to create entrepreneurial ventures. Mr. Muhammad also has assisted several prime federal contractors and small businesses involved in the Department of Defense Mentor Protege Program for the last 12 years. Through Mr. Muhammad’s leadership, EDAC has provided services such as ISO9001 certification, capability maturity model, project management bootcamps, strategic planning, executive management training, branding strategy to name a few. He has been on 8 teams that have won the prestigious Department of Defense Nunn-Perry Award. Past work experience includes managing a $4 million small business loan fund (Development Credit Fund, Inc.), management of a magazine’s circulation department (Career Communications Group), and conducted entrepreneurial training for women business owners (Women Entrepreneurs of Baltimore). Mr. Muhammad was appointed by the Governor of Maryland to the board of directors of the Technology Development Corporation of Maryland. He is an Entrepreneurial Talent Coach using Gallup’s Entrepreneurial Profile 10 (EP10). EP10 is Gallup's newest talents-based assessment. In 30 minutes, the EP10 identifies the entrepreneurial talents of students and adults. Mr. Muhammad is also an authorized local expert for Constant Contact where he delivers presentations to help organizations and small businesses with customer acquisition and retention. He has received several awards from the United States Small Business Administration and community organizations. Omar is an active entrepreneur, writes a weekly column on entrepreneurship for the Baltimore Business Journal and host a weekly radio workshop (18 years on a Public Radio Station) that focuses on entrepreneurship. He also mentors startups (including his 27 year old daughter) and existing businesses. Mr. Muhammad is an active investor (time, money and other resources) in several startups. He advises nonprofit, academia, industry and government agencies on using entrepreneurship to solve community challenges while building an action plan for customer acquisition and retention. Mr. Muhammad has a Masters in Technology Entrepreneurship from the University of Maryland and Bachelors of Science degree in Accounting from Morgan State University. Mr. Muhammad is married and has four daughters who are entrepreneurial minded too. His mantra for life is “improve and progress.”

ANDREW O'BRIEN
Senior Vice President, Accounts and Markets
Jones Lang LaSalle

Mr. O’Brien, a Senior Vice President in Jones Lang LaSalle’s Washington, DC office, is a member of the Accounts & Markets Team. In addition to his work in representing the interests of tenants, Mr. O’Brien also helps JLL evaluate advances in technology and how it can be used to better serve clients. He is the co-founder of the HiRise, an online transactional marketplace for owners and occupiers that powers business growth using a deconstructed approach to the traditional leasing process. Mr. O’Brien also leads the High Growth Services Practice Group for the Americas which advises clients in real estate growth strategies and was the lead real estate advisor for the Startup America Partnership, a White House initiative created to give high growth companies the resources they need to succeed. Mr. O’Brien has advised clients that include technology, health care, law firms, Fortune 500 companies, government contracting, lobbying, news media, banking, professional staffing and industry associations. In this capacity, he represents clients’ needs in lease and purchase acquisitions, relocations, renegotiations and consolidations of commercial office space. He is a specialist in the Washington, DC and New York office markets. Mr. O’Brien has advised clients that include technology, health care, law firms, Fortune 500 companies, government contracting, lobbying, news media, banking, professional staffing and industry associations. In this capacity, he represents clients’ needs in lease and purchase acquisitions, relocations, renegotiations and consolidations of commercial office space. He is a specialist in the Washington, DC and New York office markets.

MARK PACELLE
Senior Director for Open Innovation
Philips Lighting

Mark Pacelle is Senior Director for Open Innovation for North America for Philips Lighting. In this capacity, he leads systematic scouting of innovation relevant for Philips Lighting in academia, industry, and start-ups. Prior to Philips, Pacelle provided business and product strategy consulting in the M2M and emerging Internet-of-Things segments. He has authored industry studies for Navigant Research and he is a regular contributor to O’Reilly Radar’s IoT blog. Pacelle has deep expertise in technology strategy, product management, marketing and business development across a number of industries. He has led strategy, product management and marketing at two early-stage IoT companies serving the industrial and building automation, energy management, and medical monitoring markets. Pacelle holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University and an MBA from Boston College’s Carroll School of Management.

SHRIRAM RAMANATHAN, PHD
Corporate Innovation
Evonik

Dr. Ramanathan is a member of the Corporate Innovation team at Evonik, a 13 billion Euro specialty chemicals company. He is responsible for driving innovation within Evonik by developing new processes, monitoring the latest developments in science & technology, and establishing collaborations with universities, government & early stage start-up companies. He obtained his Ph.D. from University of Minnesota following which he pursued a fellowship at Cornell University. His technical areas of specialization include polymers, interfacial phenomena, nanotechnology and electrochemistry. He is well-versed in business model innovation, lean innovation, design thinking and venture financing. Prior to joining Evonik, he worked in the clean energy sector, where he drove product development, managed customer & government funded projects, and assisted the senior management in developing an understanding of the technology & business landscape in the energy sector. He lives with his family near New York City.

MARK REDFERN, PHD
Vice Provost for Research and Professor of Bioengineering in the Swanson School of Engineering
University of Pittsburgh

Mark S. Redfern is the Vice Provost for Research at the University of Pittsburgh. As Vice Provost for Research, Dr. Redfern is responsible for the university’s strategic research development, planning and operations. He also works closely with the Innovation Institute, which is the University's hub for activities that promote and foster innovation and entrepreneurship on campus and throughout the Pittsburgh region. The goals of the Institute are to encourage and support innovation and entrepreneurship on campus and in the community, and to foster a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship at Pitt among faculty, staff, and students. Dr. Redfern is the William Kepler Whiteford Professor of Bioengineering in the Swanson School of Engineering and holds secondary appointments in otolaryngology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and physical therapy. Dr. Redfern earned the PhD degree in bioengineering (1988) from the University of Michigan, then joined the Pitt faculty as an assistant professor in the Department of Otolaryngology in the School of Medicine. In 2000, he joined the newly formed Department of Bioengineering, where he served as vice chair for undergraduate education. In 2008, he became Associate Dean for Research within the Swanson School of Engineering. Dr. Redfern’s research program focusses on human movement biomechanics and motor control, with foci on postural control and musculoskeletal injury prevention. These efforts have been funded from a variety of sources, including the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as from industry and foundations.

DONALD ROSE, PHD
Director, KickStart Venture Services
University of North Carolina

Don Rose is Director of UNC’s KickStart Venture Services, an entrepreneurial technology commercialization program in the Office of Commercialization and Economic Development. In addition, he is an Adjunct Professor at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. Prior to that, he held senior leadership roles at a number of life science startups: Metabolon (metabolomics, RTP), Deerac Fluidics (nanoliter dispensing, Dublin), and DataCentric Automation (high-throughput crystallography, Nashville). Before that, he was a general partner with Catalysta Partners (now Hatteras Venture Partners), a seed stage venture fund specializing in information technology and biotechnology start-ups. During this time, Don was co-founder and CEO of Phase Bioscience, a biomaterials start-up, spun out of Duke University. Prior to Catalysta, he was co-founder and VP of Research and Development for Cartesian Technologies, a leader in instrumentation for DNA microarrays and nanoliter dispensing. Prior to Cartesian, Dr. Rose was a research scientist at Glaxo Wellcome (now GSK) where he developed and promoted a number of technologies in bioanalytical chemistry, combinatorial chemistry and high-throughput screening. Prior to GW, Dr. Rose developed various aspects of capillary electrophoreses instrumentation at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories. Dr. Rose received his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry and BS in Nutrition from the University of North Carolina. He holds six US patents and has published eight papers, two book chapters, and one book (Research to Revenue: A Practical Guide to University Start-ups (UNC Press, 2016)).

VICTORIA SCARBOROUGH, PHD
Program Director Global External Technology Team
The Sherwin-Williams Company

Dr. Victoria Scarborough has been with The Sherwin-Williams Co. for more than thirty years and currently serves as the Program Director for the Global External Technology Team. This team has several responsibilities including identifying & leveraging technologies that address the global technical needs of Sherwin-Williams by scouting universities, the technical marketplace, search agencies, venture capital groups, and adjacent consumer product industries. Her lab team provides proof-of-concept research & data for technologies new to the paint & coatings industry. In addition, her team is responsible for seeking and maintaining government funding to support large multi-partner research projects both in the US and Europe. Dr. Scarborough has served as the Director of New Technology for the SW Diversified Brands Division, directed the R&D team for the Thompson’s ® Water Seal® brand and published and presented extensively on wood protection, water repellency and wood chemistry in addition to holding several patents in this area. More recently, she has widely presented on the Open Innovation program at Sherwin- Williams and is a sought-after speaker for companies seeking to start their own OI programs. Dr. Scarborough holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Tennessee.

RONALD K SCHEULE, PHD
Vice President of Rare Disease Research
Sanofi Genzyme

Ronald K. Scheule Ph.D. is a Vice President of Rare Disease Research at Sanofi Genzyme, where his responsibilities center around discovering new approaches to unmet medical needs in rare diseases and translating them to the clinic. His research interests span many disciplines. In addition to rare pulmonary indications such as autoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, his research group is also actively pursuing liver-based gene therapy and accessing the CNS through the blood-brain barrier as possible therapeutic approaches to rare diseases. Before coming to Genzyme, Dr. Scheule was on the faculty of the University of Texas Medical School at Houston where his research focused on membrane biophysics and alveolar macrophage biology. He obtained his Ph.D. in biophysical chemistry from Cornell University and performed postdoctoral research at Johns Hopkins. He is co-inventor on 36 patents and has co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed research publications.

ANDREW SCHWAB, PHD
President
First Flight Venture Center

Schwab is a successful entrepreneur with over 20 years experience building technology based startup companies. He has been an impactful mentor and advisor to dozens of companies throughout his career and he has been involved on multiple boards and committees designed to vet technology and executive teams. As a seasoned senior executive with proven management and startup skills, he has led two local companies featured in the Triangle Fast 50, which recognizes the 50 fastest growing, privately held companies in the Research Triangle area. His diverse background includes extensive knowledge of the Internet and related technologies, emerging technology evaluation and integration with existing business models as well as merger and acquisition experience. Currently, Schwab is President of the First Flight Venture Center, a technology incubator located in RTP, NC where he mentors a wide range of science based startups in strategic planning, technology evaluation and other business issues. He is also a founder and director at RTP Capital an angel network of accredited investors that invest in seed and early stage investments primarily in North Carolina. He received his BS degree in electrical engineering from Duke University and his MS and PhD degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Virginia.

RUTH SHUMAN, PHD
Program Director, SBIR/STTR
National Science Foundation

Ruth Shuman joined the National Science Foundation in August 2009. She is currently serving as Program Director for the Biology and Chemical Technologies (BC) Cluster in the SBIR/STTR Program, and was recently named Cluster Leader. Formerly, she was the founder, president, and CEO of a successful venture-backed life science company, Gentra Systems, Inc., that developed, manufactured, and sold products for genetic testing and research to clinical and research laboratories worldwide. Following Gentra’s acquisition, she held various consulting/advisory positions with start-up companies, and was CEO-In-Residence for Life Science with the University of Minnesota’s Venture Center evaluating the business potential of University-developed technology. Ruth began her career as a faculty member at North Carolina State University and was a pioneer in the development of gene transfer and genetic engineering technology. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in the area of Genetics and Cell Biology.

AJIT SINGH, PHD
Partner
Artiman Ventures

Ajit Singh focuses on early-stage Technology and Life Science investments. He currently represents Artiman on the Boards of Aditazz, CardioDx, Click Diagnostics, CORE Diagnostics and OncoStem. Ajit is also a Consulting Professor in the School of Medicine at Stanford University and serves on the Board of Directors of Max Healthcare based in New Delhi, India. Prior to joining Artiman, Ajit was the President and CEO of BioImagene, a Digital Pathology company specializing in Cancer Diagnostics, based in Sunnyvale, CA. BioImagene was acquired by Roche in September 2010. Before BioImagene, Ajit spent nearly twenty years at Siemens in various roles, most recently as the Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Radiology and Medical Informatics business of Siemens Healthcare, based in Germany. From 2001 to 2006, Ajit was the President and CEO of the Oncology Care Systems Group of Siemens, with global headquarters in Concord, California. Between 1996 and 2001, Ajit held the positions of Group Vice President of Siemens e-Health, and Vice President of Siemens Health Services based in Princeton, NJ, where he led the company's Healthcare IT business and Consulting Practice. Before transitioning to these business responsibilities, Ajit spent several years in R&D and academia. From 1989 to 1995, he was at Siemens Corporate Research in Princeton, responsible for research in the areas of artificial intelligence, robotics, computer vision, and image analysis. During this time, he concurrently served on the faculty at Princeton University. Ajit has a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Columbia University, a master's degree in Computer Engineering from Syracuse University and a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from Banaras Hindu University, India. He has published two books and numerous refereed articles, and holds five patents.

TOBIN (TOBY) SMITH
Vice President for Policy
Association of American Universities (AAU)

Tobin (Toby) Smith is Vice President for Policy at the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization of 62 leading U.S. and Canadian research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. Toby oversees and coordinates AAU’s policy and policy analysis activities. Among his specific areas of responsibility are issues relating to science and innovation policy; academic research; regulation, compliance and research costs; technology transfer; and openness and security. Toby also oversees AAU’s Undergraduate STEM Education Initiative. Prior to joining AAU in January 2003, Toby worked as a federal relations representative in the Washington D.C. Offices of the University of Michigan (1999-2002) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1992-1999). Toby began his Washington career on Capitol Hill as a legislative assistant to Congressman Bob Traxler (D-Michigan). Toby has written and spoken widely on science policy and funding issues. He is the co-author a book on national science policy published in 2008 by the University of Michigan Press titled, Beyond Sputnik – U.S. Science Policy in the 21st Century. He is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He holds a Masters Degree in Arts of Legislative Affairs from George Washington University, and a Bachelor Degree in General Studies from the University of Michigan.

TONY STANCO
Executive Director
National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer (NCET2)

Tony Stanco, Esq. is the executive director of the Angel Investors of Greater Washington, executive director of the National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer. Previously he was the director of the Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer and Commercialization (CET2C) of The George Washington University. Mr. Stanco was a senior attorney at the Securities and Exchange Commission, where he worked on more than two hundred IPOs. He also has worked on innovation policy, including start-up creation and funding by angel investors and VCs. At School of Engineering and Applied Science at The George Washington University, Mr. Stanco works with universities and governments around the world on innovation policy, start-up finance policy, software policy, Open Source, cyber-security, and e-Government issues. Mr. Stanco has appeared before the US Congress, various US defense and civilian agencies, the World Bank, the European Commission, United Nations, Inter-American Development Bank, Organization of American States, World Summit on Information Society, LinuxWorld, Advanced Computer and Internet Law Institute, and International Computer Law Association. Mr. Stanco teaches the Lab to IPO course dealing with start-up formation and funding. He has an LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center in securities regulation and is licensed as a lawyer in New York state.

WAYNE SZAFRANSKI
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Outreach and Economic Development
North Carolina A&T State University

A native of Western New York, Wayne graduated from Clarkson University and holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Chemistry and a certificate in Photographic Engineering. Over the past forty years he has held technical development, engineering and market management positions in companies such as Eastman Kodak, CIBA-Geigy, and Konica Manufacturing, USA. He has also developed markets and import-export businesses for smaller firms in the Southeast including his own wastewater treatment company which he founded in 1997. Prior to joining the staff at N.C. A&T, he directed a community-based technology transfer program: Technology Outreach at Nussbaum. As the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Outreach and Economic Development at North Carolina A&T State University, Wayne is responsible for overseeing the University’s intellectual property portfolio and technology transfer operations, new business formation, student entrepreneurial activities, as well as facilitating the University’s relationships with businesses in North Carolina. Since his arrival at N.C. A&T in 2007, he has expanded the University’s license and patent portfolio to include over 30 U.S. and international patents. Wayne has worked to develop several spin-off businesses based on University technologies and including the latest company, Alrgn Bio, that is commercializing a process to produce reduced-allergen peanuts. In addition to his duties in commercializing the University’s intellectual property, Wayne is responsible for forming and negotiating research relationships and contracts with both commercial and federal agency partners, is a member of the APLU CICEP Executive Board, is liaison to local and state economic development agencies, and provides entrepreneurial coaching to Greensboro area university students.

CARROLL THOMAS
Director of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)
National Institute of Standards and Technology

Ms. Carroll A. Thomas, Director of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) leads a nationwide network of centers focused on helping U.S. manufacturers strengthen their supply chain integration and access new technology thereby helping them to compete globally. MEP is a $300 million public-private partnership program leveraging federal support by teaming with industry as well as state and local organizations. With over 400 manufacturing extension offices located in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, MEP provides companies with services and access to resources that enhance growth, improve productivity and expand capacity. Prior to being selected as the MEP Director, Ms. Thomas was appointed as the Associate Administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) in November 2012. At SBA, Ms. Thomas was responsible for program and policy development, implementation and oversight of the $113 million grants program that funds the Small Business Development Centers located in every state plus the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands in more than 900 service locations. From 2000–2012, when Ms. Thomas was initially employed by MEP, she served as Program Manager for Supplier Scouting and as the Partnership Catalyst to help government service providers seamlessly assist small manufacturers. She implemented pilots to support Buy America procurement provisions by matching U.S. manufacturers with opportunities from publically-funded projects and co-founded the Interagency Network of Enterprise Assistance Providers. Earlier in her career, Ms. Thomas was a small business manufacturer/retail franchise owner; negotiated product deals with over 23,000 U.S. inventors and small manufacturers for electronic retailer QVC and directed marketing efforts for the National Gallery of Art’s vast reproduction portfolio. With more than 30 years of entrepreneurial and small business development experience, her accomplished public/ private sector career demonstrate her leadership expertise as a catalyst for creating innovative partnerships and advocating economic development by supporting dynamic innovation ecosystems. Ms. Thomas is a graduate of Leadership Washington and a former Regional Director of the Fashion Group International of Greater Washington, DC. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Drexel University in Design and a Master of Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University in International Business.

MEGAN THOMPSON
Legislative Assistant
Office of Rep. Derek Kilmer, WA

Megan Thompson grew up in Tacoma, Washington, part of the District Representative Kilmer now represents. She attended Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington and studied Business Administration. Following graduation, she joined the Jesuit Volunteer Corp and moved to Newark, New Jersey for a year to volunteer with Covenant House of New Jersey where she served as a legal advocate and taught GED classes. From there, she worked on former Congressman Norm Dick’s 2010 reelection campaign and came to back to work for Senator Maria Cantwell (WA) before joining Representative Derek Kilmer’s office as a Legislative Assistant. While working with Representative Derek Kilmer, Megan is also attending graduate school at Georgetown for her Master’s in Public Policy.

WALTER VALDIVIA, PHD
Fellow, Center for Technology Innovation
Brookings Institution

Walter D. Valdivia is a fellow in the Center for Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institution. He studies innovation, science, and technology policy and the governance of R&D and innovation. His recent research examines university technology transfer and the politics of federal R&D. Valdivia's published work includes studies of: public values of the Bayh-Dole Act, wage disparities resulting from the emergence of nanotechnologies, and the tensions between academic freedom and national security with respect to export controls. He has also co-authored a policy report assessing R&D investments in Arizona. His current research examines the distributional outcomes of various modes of university technology transfer, the institutional path-dependence of innovation, and the role of academic freedom in the governance of emerging technologies. Valdivia holds a B.S. in economics from Universidad Católica Boliviana, and an M.S. in economics and a Ph.D. in public administration from Arizona State University.

CHRIS VARLEY
External Science & Technology Programs
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company

A respected expert in technology commercialization and innovation, Chris has led new business creation efforts for several major corporations including AT&T, CompuServe, Prentice-Hall, and The Walt Disney Company. In his current position as Global Program Manager for Goodyear's External Science and Technology Programs, Chris focuses on building partnerships and alliances that enhance Goodyear's Open Innovation approach to developing new products and services - especially in the areas of environmental and condition-based sensing; data collection and analysis; and related consumer information service offerings. Previously, as New Market Development Vice President for AT&T Labs, Chris led a venture development and investment group that commercialized emerging technologies outside of the traditional AT&T markets. A two term Generation Foundation Fellow for Sustainable Development and former Vice President of NorTech, the Northeast Ohio Technology Coalition, Chris played a critical role in the early development of the clean energy movement in Northeast Ohio. In addition to his operational experience, Chris has written more than 50 film, television, and children's book projects, and served as a key advisor on start up funding and strategic partnering at New Media Partners, a digital media and technology consultancy based in Glasgow, Scotland.

GLENN VONK, PHD
Corporate Innovation Strategic Advisor, NCET2
Former Director Advanced Technology, BD Technologies

Glenn Vonk has over 30 years’ experience leading technology developments in diagnostics, drug delivery, and medical devices including immunoassays, molecular diagnostics, detection systems, and new chemical entities. He established life sciences R&D at BD BioVenture Centre in Singapore leading to several commercialization programs in developing world diagnostics and biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Glenn is inventor of BD intellectual property used in drug delivery and diagnostics products. While in Singapore, he was responsible for infectious disease proof of concept clinical research in Thailand. While Director of Advanced Technology Glenn coordinated innovation resources at corporate R&D and sourced key technologies for BD’s strategic business needs. Glenn rapidly connects new technology options to significant business needs and processes to accelerate their progress to market.

GRACE WANG, PHD
Deputy Assistant Director for Engineering
National Science Foundation (NSF)

Grace Wang was named Deputy Assistant Director for Engineering at the National Science Foundation in July 2014. Prior to that, Grace was the Division Director of the Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP) at NSF since February of 2012. Grace joined NSF in June 2009 as a Program Director for the SBIR/STTR Program. She also served as the Cluster Leader for the Nanotechnology, Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (NM) Cluster in SBIR/STTR Program. Before joining NSF, Grace was a Senior Development Scientist at Hitachi, where she led a team to successfully develop and launch a few generations of products into the market. While in Hitachi, Grace also led task forces both in the US and overseas that identified and executed effective and viable solutions to major technical crises, and helped mitigate impact on revenue generation. Grace started her career as an Advisory Development Scientist at IBM. Grace is the recipient of many leadership and technical achievement awards. Grace holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern University.

GRANT WARNER, PHD
Managing Director, HowU Innovate Initiative
Howard University

Dr. Grant Warner is the Managing Director of the HowU Innovate initiative which is administered by the College of Engineering, Architecture, and Computer Sciences at Howard University. HowU Innovate is an interdisciplinary initiative which provides campus-wide innovation programming, including the Bison Startup and Bison Accelerate courses, in which students are guided through the process of founding technology startups. He also directs the Howard University – Hampton University I-Corps Site which focuses on commercializing university research from HBCUs in the DMV area. Additionally, Dr. Warner is a member of the core faculty of the NSF I-Corps program. In that role, has provided innovation and entrepreneurship training to 100+ teams and companies from across the nation. Dr. Warner is an established technology entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of ConnectYard, a social analytics platform integrated into leading learning management systems and e-learning platforms. He is also a co-founder of XediaLabs, a DC-based incubation firm that provides training and technical consulting to local startups. Dr. Warner received a B.S. degree from Cornell University, an M.S. degree from Penn State University, and a Ph.D. from Columbia University all in Mechanical Engineering.

MICHAEL WEINGARTEN
Director, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Development Center
National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Michael Weingarten is the Director for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Development Center at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD. In this role, Mr. Weingarten leads a team of nine Program Directors who manage all aspects of the NCI SBIR & STTR Programs including a portfolio of $120M in grants and contracts annually. The SBIR & STTR programs are NCI’s engine of innovation for developing and commercializing novel technologies and products to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer. Mr. Weingarten has implemented a set of key initiatives for optimizing the performance of the NCI SBIR Program at the NIH. These include the establishment of a new model at the NCI for managing the program – the SBIR Development Center. Under Mr. Weingarten’s leadership, the NCI SBIR Development Center has launched a range of new initiatives to facilitate the success of small businesses developing cancer-related technologies. Recent initiatives include the launch of the NIH I-Corps™ pilot program in which teams of budding entrepreneurs engage in a hypothesis-driven approach to validate their proposed business models by conducting over 100 interviews with potential customers. Companies adjust their strategies based on direct customer feedback and analyze the information they collect to determine if there is a product/market fit. Other NCI SBIR initiatives introduced under Mr. Weingarten's leadership include the NCI SBIR Investor Forums, the NCI SBIR Phase II Bridge Award, and the workshop titled Federal Resources to Accelerate Commercialization (FRAC). Thus far, NCI SBIR has held three investor forums that in total have facilitated the closing of deals valued at over $300M. The NCI SBIR Phase II Bridge Award, which was launched in 2009, incentivizes partnerships between NIH’s SBIR Phase II awardees and third-party investors and/or strategic partners to help small businesses bridge the funding gap between the end of their SBIR Phase II awards and the next round of financing needed to advance a promising cancer therapy or imaging technology.

NORA YANG, PHD
Director, Portfolio Management and Strategic Operations
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)

Nora Yang is the Director of Portfolio Management and Strategic Operations at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), NIH. In this role, Nora is responsible for selecting and managing collaborative partnerships, developing new business models to improve efficiency and effectiveness of therapeutic development, building NCATS portfolio and project management capabilities, and implementing best practices for managing therapeutic development programs. Nora led the initiative of building and managing the rare and neglected disease drug development portfolio at NCATS. Prior to NIH, Dr. Yang led global teams to develop novel therapeutics at Eli Lilly & Co. and Amgen, Inc. She also worked with entrepreneurs and VCs to build startup companies. Nora holds a PhD degree in chemistry from the University of California, San Diego, and a Master’s degree in business management from Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.

DEAN ZERBE
National Managing Director
Alliant Group

Dean Zerbe is alliantgroup’s National Managing Director based in the firm’s Washington D.C. office. Prior to joining alliantgroup, Mr. Zerbe was Senior Counsel and Tax Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. He worked closely with then-Chairman and current Ranking Member of the Finance Committee, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), on tax legislation. During his tenure on the Finance Committee, Mr. Zerbe was intimately involved with nearly every major piece of tax legislation that was signed into law – including the 2001 and 2003 tax reconciliation bills, the JOBS bill in 2004 (corporate tax reform), and the Pension Protection Act. He was was invited by Senator Coons (D-DE) to testify before the U.S. Senate Small Business Committee regarding the Start-Up Act. Mr. Zerbe is a frequent speaker and author on the outlook for short-term and long-term changes in tax policy, as well as ways accounting firms can help their clients lower their tax bill. He holds an LL.M. in Taxation from NYU and a J.D. from George Mason University.

PAUL ZIELINSKI
Director, Technology Partnerships Office
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Paul Zielinski is the Director of the Technology Partnerships Office (TPO) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). TPO serves as the Office of Technology and Research Applications for NIST and is responsible for NIST technology transfer activities including patents, licenses, cooperative research, and small business innovation research. In addition, Paul is the current Chair of the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer and coordinates the Interagency Workgroup on Technology Transfer that addresses technology transfer policy issues. Prior to joining NIST, Paul worked at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, private industry, and served on active duty as a commissioned officer in the United States Army. Paul has Master of Science degree in engineering and Master of Business Administration.