Speakers
Dr. Jay Amarasekera
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 diversified chemical company. Prior to this role, he served as the Technology Manager for Performance Chemicals and Innovative Plastics business units of the company. 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. Jay holds a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, USA.
Dr. Jay Amarasekera
Errol Arkilic
Errol Arkilic is a Founder of M34 Capital. M34 is an investment company that focuses on seed and early-stage projects being spun out of academic and corporate research labs. Typical investments range from $750,000 to $1,000,000 and usually represent the first outside capital deployed. M34 focuses on turning science projects into companies and does so across a broad spectrum of technologies and geographies. Previously, Errol was the founding and lead program director for the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps program. He led the I-Corps effort from its inception until July 2013. Prior to this, he was the lead software and services Program Director for the NSF SBIR program. Before his government service, Errol was founder and CEO at StrataGent Lifesciences (Acquired by Corium International: CORI) and Manager of Product Engineering at Redwood Microsystems. He received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from The George Washington University and his Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Aero/Astro Engineering from MIT.
Errol Arkilic
John Bacon
John Bacon is a founder of GrowthPilot, a company which mitigates risk in corporate decision making for new revenue projects. The company’s focus is on robotics, sustainable energy and environmental technologies applied to manufacturing environments. John has spent his entire career involved with early stage technology, creating early markets for emerging technologies. Bacon worked for 17 years with Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. (now Cisco), in a variety of roles including serving as Managing Director of the company’s UK operation, manufacturing and marketing satellite communications equipment in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and Group Executive of Satellite Communications. During his tenure at Scientific-Atlanta, revenues increased from approximately $10M to $1B. He was a software entrepreneur for more than 15 years, running several venture capital-backed companies and leading the IPO teams to take two of them public, one in the United States and one in Europe, after raising close to $40 million from venture capital firms. John was CEO at a company which was based entirely upon IP which had been invented at a major research university. His experience there in creating a roadmap into commercial markets created the understanding which led to the founding of GrowthPilot. There, John has worked with university researchers all over the world and F -1000 companies to help them break the “Innovation Logjam”. He has delivered seminars from Seoul to Copenhagen to help corporations understand how to break through the barriers which prevent the innovation essential to survival. John is faculty for Georgia Tech’s NSF I-Corps South node.
John Bacon
Prakash Balan
Prakash Balan joined NSF in 2011 as a Program Director leading the Chemical and Environmental Technology funding focus with the Small Business Innovation Research Program. He has 20 years of broad experience spanning R&D, new technology development and commercialization in both large and small entrepreneurial company environments, as well as research funding experience. After a career with ARCO Chemical and Lyondell Chemical Company where he led innovation with several large scale chemical process technologies and was recognized with technology achievement awards for his significant contributions, he co-founded two successful companies, first an environmental engineering technology company and thereafter a biofuels company. Through these companies he successfully commercialized his patents related to industrial multiphase reactors applicable to chemical and biochemical production, as well as energy efficient patented oxygenation technologies for biological wastewater treatment. In energy-intensive biological secondary wastewater treatment, his technology is installed in major metropolitan treatment facilities in the US and overseas, achieving 20-30% energy efficiency improvements in each installation. In the biofuels arena, he led the development, engineering design and commercialization of a proprietary process technology and directed the successful construction and commissioning of a grass roots chemical plant with capacity to produce 15 million gallons per year of biodiesel from waste oils and animal fats. Prakash currently manages the Industry University Cooperative Research Centers Program (IUCRC), Grants Opportunity for Academic Liaison with industry Program (GOALI) and the INTERN program for non-academic grad student internships, all focused on developing industry-academia collaboration, knowledge transfer into industrial use and STEM workforce development. Prakash holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University.
Prakash Balan
Tony Boccanfuso
As the UIDP’s President, Tony Boccanfuso is a leading expert on university-industry relations and over the past 29 years, he has gained significant experience and insights by working in the academic, corporate, government and non-profit sectors. Tony believes that when done right, academic-corporate partnerships are beneficial to both parties and more importantly, improves the human condition through the development of new medicines, treatments, products and services that help people in their day lives. A PhD chemist by training, he serves as a consultant and board member for a diverse set of academic, corporate. government, non-profit organizations. Tony is married to Dr. Laura Boccanfuso, who founded Van Robotics; along with their three children, they reside in Columbia, SC.
Tony Boccanfuso
Mark Brinkerhoff
Mark Brinkerhoff, PE (CA), is president and owner of Fusion Design, Inc. in Campbell, Calif. Mark has obtained ten patents for mechanical devices and systems. Previously, Brinkerhoff was an engineering and model shop manager at Amdahl Corporation and a manufacturing engineer at Hewlett Packard Company. He has 35 years of experience developing both products and production machines. While earning his BSME degree at California Polytechnic State University and the College of the Siskiyous, Brinkerhoff participated in a co-op program at Schlage Lock company. He has been an active direct and indirect developer of mechanical systems and products. His company has done in excess of 1000 projects to date in all different major industries. These projects include design, analysis, DFM, DFT, DFA, Cost down, prototyping and project management. Since joining the Society of Manufacturing Engineers in 1995, he has been active in Silicon Valley Chapter 98, where he previously served as treasurer and has coordinated many factory tours throughout the Bay Area. Brinkerhoff is an Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America.
Mark Brinkerhoff
Howard Edelman is a medical device executive accomplished in all phases of medical product development and operations in a variety of organizational structures. Current, Mr. Edelman is CEO of Advanced Resin Therapeutics (www.advancedresin.com), a broad-based drug delivery platform based on medical grade plant resins. Previously, Mr. Edelman was General Manager of Cothera, a division of United Orthopedic Group, a global orthopedic company which provides medical devices and patient services into the secondary orthopedic market. Cothera was recently purchased by Breg in November of 2014. Mr. Edelman advises a variety of medical device and biotech companies and is an Expert Advisor with the California Life Sciences Association (BayBio), a mentor at the UCSF Lean Launchpad, and a coach at the Alchemist Accelerator. He is also co-chair of the medical device and digital health screening committee of Life Science Angels, the premier angel investment group investing in medical devices, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and digital health. Previously, Howard Edelman was the Founder and CEO of VitalWear, a leader in thermal and compression therapy. In 2009, VitalWear was named on the INC 500 list of fastest growing private companies and on the San Francisco Business Times Fast 100. In 2010, Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry listed VitalWear as one of the top 50 medical device companies to watch. Mr. Edelman has served in management roles in firms such as Johnson & Johnson, Zeiss, CooperVision, and Bio-Rad Laboratories and various startup companies in the Bay Area. Mr. Edelman sat on the Research Committee for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Mr. Edelman holds a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University.
Howard Edelman
Joe Fox is the Director of Emerging & External Technologies for Ashland, a global diversified specialty chemical company. He is a key member of the Global Business Development group that supports Ashland’s Composites business unit, a leading supplier of thermosetting resins for polymer composite applications. Joe is responsible for identifying significant growth opportunities for Ashland’s composite resins’ business by finding new applications for composites and by developing partnerships throughout the value chain. He is the focal point for Composites’ open innovation initiatives and for identifying technology at other companies, universities and federal laboratories that can impact Ashland. Joe has served on the board of the Innovation Research Interchange, Polymer Ohio and the Ohio Bioproducts Innovation Center. He also serves as director of the Miracle League of Central Ohio, a baseball league for special needs children in Dublin, Ohio.
Joe Fox
Patricia Glaza is a Senior Vice President of Invest Detroit, and the Managing Director of Invest Detroit Ventures. Ms. Glaza joined Invest Detroit in 2014 with more than 20 years of experience in the development, implementation and commercialization of advanced technologies. She manages Invest Detroit’s early-stage venture funds investing in technology start-ups. These funds are part of the organization’s investment platform accelerating business expansion in the Midwest. Ms. Glaza’s responsibilities include: sourcing and facilitating the development of early-stage and high-growth companies by providing guidance and investment capital. She promotes and engages in outreach activities supported by a diverse network of experienced entrepreneurs to support inclusion efforts to help ensure women and minority entrepreneurs are proactively mentored to build their high potential tech startups. Prior to joining Invest Detroit, Ms. Glaza was a Principal at Arsenal Venture Partners, Inc. where she was responsible for Arsenal’s Michigan and Hawaii venture activities, including deal sourcing and portfolio management. Ms. Glaza previously served as the Chief Executive Officer/ the Executive Director of the Clean Technology and Sustainable Industries Organization (CTSI). Ms. Glaza helped build and execute the organization’s policy strategy, start-up programs, and corporate development activities. Working with the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, utilities, defense contractors and energy companies, CTSI developed energy challenges to identify pilot-ready technologies for commercial demonstration. Ms. Glaza served as the CEO of a nanotechnology information services company, Small Times Media, as well as the head of business development and marketing for HealthMedia, a healthcare IT company later sold to Johnson & Johnson. Ms. Glaza started her career at Accenture, last serving as a manager in the supply chain logistics group. Ms. Glaza leverages her broad industry/government relationships and operational experience to serve as a resource to start-ups and the community. Her non-profit board roles include: Michigan Venture Capital Association, UM Advanced Transportation M-TRAC Oversight Committee, Next Energy, the Great Lakes Protection Fund, and GreenLight Detroit. In addition, she is a certified instructor for the National Science Foundation I-Corps for NSF, SBIR, & NIH programs, and facilitates women-based entrepreneurship training for Inforum. She has a BA in International Relations & Economics from Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI and a Masters of Business Administration from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Patricia Glaza
Michael Horten is a US and European educated lawyer with over 40 years’ experience as a practicing attorney. Mr. Horten began his legal career with Sullivan & Cromwell in New York and Paris. He then spent 25 years with King & Spalding in Atlanta. At the end of 1999, he retired from the King & Spalding partnership to launch Horten CC, a corporate law firm specializing in the representation of entrepreneurial growth companies of all sizes from inception through exit, along with the investors that finance them. Horten CC employs a non-traditional practice model aimed at the needs entrepreneurial growth companies: First, clients pay only for a highly experienced legal advisor, not unnecessary overhead typically associated with traditional law firms, such as lavish office space, junior associate training, and other expenses that offer little direct value to clients. As a result, the firm’s fees are considerably lower than those charged by firms of comparable ability and quality. Second, Horten CC bills its clients for the value delivered and not for the time spent by the attorney. The firm does not keep track of every “six minutes,” as is the norm in most law firms. Our clients purchase skill, not our time. We provide our services for a fixed fee and maintain pricelists for some of the services that typically are needed by early-stage companies. Mr. Horten did his undergraduate studies at Washington State University. He received his law degree from the University of Copenhagen and his graduate law degree from Columbia University and he did doctoral studies in EU law at the University of Paris. A native of Copenhagen, Denmark, Mr. Horten speaks (at varying levels of fluency) Danish, French, German, Norwegian and Swedish.
Michael Horten
Michael Keer, Founder and CEO, Product Realization Group, has over 25 years of experience bringing high tech electronic hardware products to market. Product Realization Group is a consortium of Silicon Valley companies that takes hardware products from idea to scale. One source for prototype design and build, cost-reducing insights, and scalable manufacturing. Our 500+ aggregate clients include medical device, industrial, consumer electronics, and high technology start-ups, SMBs, and large companies such as GoPro, EMC, and Intuitive Surgical. Prior to PRG, Michael held Engineering and Management positions at both OEM and CM’s such as NCR, Ericsson and Paramit Technologies, where he participated in the introduction of over 100 new products. His product commercialization experience spans the entire lifecycle including: Product Feasibility, Prototyping, and Development — Regulatory Compliance — Test, and Reliability — Supply Chain and Operations — Business Systems and Scalability — Channel Development and Distribution — Logistics, Reverse Logistics and Repair. Michael received a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and Masters in Manufacturing Engineering from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. He has lectured at Stanford University, University of California at Berkeley, Northwestern University, University of Santa Clara, University of California at San Francisco, BioMed Device Show, SME, ASQE, HardwareCon, and Lemnos Labs, and has mentored startup companies at Stanford University’s StartX, Lemnos Labs, and Berkeley Foundry.
Michael Keer
Jeff Klunzinger guides strategic investments and coordinates operations for OS Fund’s team of researchers and associates. He also supports the portfolio companies with strategy, execution, partnership and operational expertise. Jeff has two decades of experience in the investment business, both leading and participating in over 100 venture deals in that time. Prior to OS Fund, Jeff was a founding member and CFO of West Family Investments. There he led a team of seasoned investment professionals and achieved tremendous results during one of the most difficult times in financial market history. He currently serves on the Boards of Arzeda and NuMat Technologies.
Jeff Klunzinger
Kelly Monterroso
Kelly Monterroso joined the National Science Foundation in April 2016 as the Communications Specialist for the Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships. She manages the strategic communications, marketing and outreach for America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF, I-Corps, Partnerships for Innovation and the Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers programs. Prior to NSF, Kelly was the Lead Public Affairs Specialist for the Peace Corps’ Office of Recruitment and Diversity where she oversaw strategic communications and directed national marketing campaigns. She also was a Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Office and the Office of Communications at the Peace Corps. Kelly served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the western highlands of Guatemala from 2007 to 2009. Before joining the Peace Corps, Kelly was a reporter for The Hill newspaper, where she covered Congress, writing both news and features stories for several years. Kelly graduated from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA with a double major in Political Science and Spanish and holds a Master of Public Administration and International Management from George Mason University.
Kelly Monterroso
Mark Nicolson coaches and mentors CEOs and other top executives in the journey of creating lasting value for their organizations and deep fulfillment in their lives. Through a deep process of exploring the unique vision and capacities of the leader, Nicolson helps them to discover their authentic values and discover their greatest strengths. As a Stanford MBA and former investment banker, he can support leaders as they confront the most important decisions that determine the success or failure of their ventures. As a highly trained coach and mentor, with a masters in depth psychology, he also helps leaders discover their truth and their voice and to lead from a place of authenticity, which is the only place to achieve true success, deep meaning, and lasting joy. It is through the alignment of this outer and inner journey that truly great leaders are made and are able to have the greatest impact on their organizations, their families, and the world.
Mark Nicolson
Hemai Parthasarathy is the Scientific Director of Breakout Labs, a philanthropic fund and program to support radical, science-based, startup companies. She is responsible for establishing the scientific priorities of Breakout Labs, evaluating submitted proposals, and advising portfolio companies. She is also a Partner in Breakout Ventures, a new, early stage fund that backs bold scientist-entrepreneurs working at the intersections of technology, biology, materials, and energy. Previously, Hemai served as the North American Editor for Nature and was a founding editor of PLOS, the open-access publisher of PLOS ONE. As a consultant, she has also advised research institutes, non-profits, and biotechnology companies on the development and communication of their scientific portfolios. She holds a Ph.D. in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.A. in Biophysics from The Johns Hopkins University.
Hemai Parthasarathy
Blake Patton is the founder and Managing Partner of Tech Square Ventures. He represents Tech Square Ventures on the boards of Cypress.io (Chairman), Pointivo (Chairman), PreTel Health, Sequr, and UserIQ and is a board observer of Haste and Salesfusion. Blake also serves as Tech Square Venture’s fund manager for Engage, an innovative accelerator and venture fund in partnership with 10 leading corporations and Georgia Tech. Prior to founding Tech Square Ventures, Blake was General Manager of the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) at Georgia Tech – named by Forbes as one of the “Top 12 Incubators Changing the World”. Prior to leading ATDC, he served as President & COO of Interactive Advisory Software and EVP of iXL, an internet services company that he joined through the acquisition of Swan Media and was part of the executive team that grew the company from startup to over $400 million in annualized revenue and an IPO. Blake also founded Siteman – one of the first cloud offerings in the online content management space. He started his career as an Associate at SEI Corporation. Blake is an active leader in the technology community, serving on the boards of Georgia Advanced Technology Ventures (GATV), the Southern Capital Forum, and as Chairman of the Center for American Entrepreneurship. He is a member of the Advisory Boards of ATDC, Georgia Tech’s Cowan-Turner Center for Servant Leadership, and Georgia Tech’s Center for the Development and Application of Internet of Things (CDAIT). Blake is a former Chairman of Venture Atlanta, a Georgia Tech Alumni Association Trustee, a Georgia Research Alliance Industry Fellow, a member of the selection committee for the NC State Chancellor’s Innovation Fund, and an instructor at Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business where he teaches Entrepreneurial Finance. Blake earned a Bachelor of Industrial and Systems Engineering degree from Georgia Tech, where he was captain of the swim team. He was inducted into the Georgia Tech College of Engineering’s Council of Outstanding Young Engineering Alumni and previously served on the Georgia Tech Advisory Board.
Blake Patton
Edmund Pendleton is a technology entrepreneur, innovation practitioner, and startup mentor / investor. He currently serves as the Director of the DC I-Corps program at the University of Maryland. In addition, he is a Lead Instructor and Assistant National Faculty Director for the National Science Foundation (NSF) I Corps™ and SBIR Beat-the-Odds Bootcamp programs. Edmund also develops and leads innovation training programs for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), NASA, other federal agencies, leading national and international universities, and the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. In these various roles, he has provided innovation and entrepreneurship training to well over 2,000 teams and companies. Edmund co-founded a technology company that developed and sold a high accuracy “Indoor GPS” system, which was used by Boeing, Airbus, and other aerospace companies to streamline aircraft assembly. This company was ultimately acquired by Nikon Corporation. He earned an S.M. in Management from the Sloan School of Management at MIT, and an S.M. in Civil Engineering from MIT. He also holds a B.S. in Physics & Mathematics from the College of William and Mary.
Edmund Pendleton
Susan Preston is the Managing Partner of the Seattle Angel Fund, committed to fostering entrepreneurial growth in the Pacific Northwest through early-stage investments, as well as Co-Manager for the Element 8 Fund, focused on cleantech investments. She is also the General Partner for the CalCEF Clean Energy Angel Fund, which is focused on seed/start-up stage investments in clean energy technology. Susan has taught in the MBA program and was the Buerk Endowed Fellow for Entrepreneurship at the University of Washington. Susan also serves as immediate past chair and a lead instructor for the Angel Resource Institute, a global investor and entrepreneur education organization. Susan is the author of numerous articles, white papers and books on angel financing. She is a contributing author to Impact with Wings. In addition, she authored, Angel Financing for Entrepreneurs, Early-stage Funding for Long-Term Success was released by Wiley Publishing in March 2007, and her first book, Angel Investment Groups, Networks and Funds: A Guidebook to Developing the Right Angel Organization for Your Community, a comprehensive guidebook on the establishment and operation of angel investment groups, for which she has received numerous accolades, was published by the Kauffman Foundation in 2004. Susan is a world-recognized expert in angel financing and angel organizations. She is a national and international consultant and speaker on economic development, angel and venture financing for numerous countries and NGOs including the EU, OECD, USAID, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Australia, Industry Canada and EBAN. She was an Entrepreneur-in-Residence with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation for several years focusing on initiatives supporting the growth and success of women entrepreneurs and initiatives related to angel investing and angel organizations. Susan has held more than 30 board positions with public and privately held corporations, and has served on numerous non-profit boards. She has been profiled in Red Herring, Inc. magazine, Smart Money, Worth and other local and national publications; and has contributed to numerous nationally published articles on angel investing. Susan spent much of her earlier career in senior management positions in public and private companies, from general counsel to CEO. She was also a partner in two national law-firms, and is a licensed patent attorney. Susan is a recent recipient of the Angel Capital Association prestigious Hans Severiens Award, given each year to an individual whose actions advance the role of angel investing, expand entrepreneurship and benefit the angel investing industry as a whole. In 2014 Susan received the Small Business Person of the Year for 2014 from the Small Business Council of America. She was honored along with five Congressional representatives in the nation’s capital. Susan also recently received Senator Cantwell’s Women of Valor award, which was presented by then Vice President Joe Biden. Ms. Preston received her JD, cum laude, from Seattle University School of Law and her BS, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, in Microbiology and Public Health from Washington State University.
Susan Preston
Jose A. Colucci Rios
José A. Colucci Ríos is the NIST MEP Southeast Regional Manager that includes nine states along the east coast and the gulf of Mexico from North Carolina to Louisiana, inland Tennessee and the island of Puerto Rico. Previously, he was a professor and held several administrative positions at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez such as Department Director, Associate R&D Dean and R&D Center Director. In addition, he worked for Union Carbide for eight years from Research Engineer to Market Manager in the Polymers, Specialty Chemicals and Solvents & Coatings divisions.
Jose A. Colucci Rios
Jenny Rooke brings a combination of strategy, operating, and investing experience to her work with life sciences companies, specializing in research tools, diagnostics, and synthetic biology. Dr. Rooke is founder and Managing Director of Genoa Ventures, which invests in early-stage companies innovating at the intersection of biology and technology. Her previous investing roles include Venture Partner at F-Prime Capital (formerly Fidelity Biosciences), where she also served her Kauffman Fellowship, and Anterra Capital, the world’s largest food and Ag-focused fund. Previously, Jenny served as a Senior Program Officer of the Global Health Discovery group at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Operationally, she held multiple executive positions at U.S. Genomics, a venture-backed biotech start-up advancing single molecule detection technologies for diagnostics, biodefense, and research. Jenny made her transition from the lab to business as a management consultant with McKinsey & Co., where she advised leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies on business strategy. Jenny earned her Ph.D. in genetics from Yale University and her B.S. in physics from Georgia Tech.
Jenny Rooke
Gene Slowinski is the Director of Strategic Alliance and Open Innovation Research at the Graduate School of Management, Rutgers University and Managing Partner of the Alliance Management Group, a consulting firm devoted to the formation and management of strategic alliances. For the last 25 years Dr. Slowinski has consulted and conducted research on the formation and management of strategic alliances, joint development agreements and marketing alliances. His articles on managing strategic alliances can be found in Research*Technology Management, Mergers and Acquisitions, Economic Development Quarterly, Les Nouvelles, Cooperative Strategies in International Business, The Journal of Advanced Management, and Managing the High Technology Firm. His new book, Reinventing Corporate Growth is the leading book on growing the corporation through Open Innovation.
Gene Slowinski
Jesus Soriano
Jesus Soriano is a Program Director in the NSF Partnerships for Innovation program. Previously, Jesus served as SBIR/STTR Program Director for Biomedical and Smart Health Technologies since 2012, when he joined NSF after 20 years of international experience in executive leadership in the biopharmaceutical and non-profit sectors, start-up formation and funding, technology commercialization, and academic teaching and research. Prior to NSF, he was the Senior Advisor to the Puerto Rico Trust for Science, Technology and Research, a technology-based development organization. Previously, he was Executive Vice President at QRxPharma, Ltd., a clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company focused in pain management and central nervous system disorders. Before, he was Senior Director of Business Development at Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. Previously, he held several executive leadership positions at the global bioresource center ATCC, including Vice President for IP, Licensing and International Business Development, and was Associate Director for R&D Operations and Business Development at Entremed, Inc, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. Jesus began his career as a family doctor in Spain; he then worked at the University of Geneva Medical School, Switzerland initially as Research Scientist and then as Assistant Professor. He initially came to the US as a visiting scientist to the National Cancer Institute (NIH) under an advanced researcher fellowship from the Swiss National Science Foundation. He holds a MBA in Corporate Finance from the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School; a Ph.D. in Medical Sciences from the University of Geneva, Switzerland; and a M.D. from the University of Alicante, Spain.
Jesus Soriano
Dawn Tilbury
Dawn Tilbury is the assistant director for the Directorate for Engineering (ENG) at the National Science Foundation (NSF). The ENG Directorate supports engineering research and education critical to the nation’s future and fosters innovations that benefit society. Tilbury comes to NSF from the University of Michigan (U-M), where she is a professor of mechanical engineering and served as associate dean for research in the College of Engineering. As associate dean, Tilbury led the development of interdisciplinary research teams to advance both large- and small-scale projects. A professor at U-M since 1995 in both mechanical and electrical engineering, Tilbury has a background in systems and control engineering. As the first chair of the Robotics Steering Committee at U-M, she identified and capitalized on opportunities to advance robotics research at the university. In 2016, the U-M Board of Regents approved a $75 million building for research and teaching facilities, including laboratories for walking and flying robots and autonomous cars. She has written or co-authored more than 60 peer-reviewed papers, reports, book chapters and books, and holds a patent with two other researchers for logic controllers for machining systems. Tilbury has been active in professional society and academic leadership positions, and has received numerous honors and awards for outstanding research and leadership. She has acted as a principal investigator on dozens of highly competitive federal awards, including an NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) grant in 1998. She has supervised dozens of graduate students and planned the Big 10 Women’s Workshops, a multi-university mentoring and networking workshop series for junior women faculty in engineering.
Dawn Tilbury
Adam Tilton studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Illinois for his BS, MS, and PhD. In 2013, Tilton was awarded the National Science Foundation Innovation-Corps award to pursue opportunities to commercialize a new methodology for learning and classifying patterns in time series data. In 2014, Tilton was a finalist for the UofI’s Illinois Innovation Prize and won the 2014 COZAD New Venture Competition. Tilton left his Ph.D. in 2014 to pursue his startup Rithmio, a software company for wearable motion sensing devices. Rithmio was acquired by Bosch in 2017, and Tilton is now a machine learning and data science consultant in Chicago.
Adam Tilton
Marlon Walker
Marlon Walker is a physical scientist in the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program (MEP) at NIST. He is the manager for the MEP-Assisted Technology and Technical Resource (MATTR) Program, helping small and mid-sized manufacturers by connecting them, through the MEP centers, with the technical expertise of staff, laboratory facilities, and other resources of NIST. Prior to joining MEP, he was a research chemist in the Material Measurement Science Division in the Material Measurement Laboratory at NIST, with scientific interests in the direction of creation and non-destructive characterization of engineered “soft-surfaces” such as those made involving self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and thin organic films. Recent efforts centered around surface modification strategies using oligo (ethylene oxide)-based self-assembled monolayers for resistance of non-specific protein adsorption. Past studies included using in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry to explore the interactions of certain additives critical to the copper electrodeposition process, research relevant to the microelectronic industry. He is heavily involved in STEM-related outreach efforts to organizations such as NOBCChE.
Marlon Walker
Grant M. Warner is the Director of Innovation for the College of Engineering & Architecture, and the Graduate School on Howard University’s campus. In that role, he has deployed campus-wide programming in innovation, 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. Dr. Warner is a certified Lean Launchpad Educator and a nationally trained I-Corps Instructor. 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. He 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.
Grant M. Warner
Bill Weber is the President of GrowthPilot, an innovation consulting firm which helps its clients—global manufacturing companies—achieve more consistent success moving ideas from the drawing board to revenue. Prior to joining GrowthPilot he was the general counsel at Cbeyond, a public telecommunications company which he helped take private in 2014. In his varied career he served as a Marine officer for 12 years and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat “V” for actions taken while leading a Light Armored Infantry platoon during Operation Desert Storm; he spent several years as a criminal defense attorney in the Marine Corps, was a faculty member at the University of Georgia School of Law, practiced commercial litigation at a large corporate firm, and held various executive positions with Covad Communications. Bill has testified before Congress twice, argued cases before state public utility commissions in 28 states, and is a past Board Chair of the Georgia Innocence Project. He holds a B.S. (with honors) from the United States Naval Academy and a J.D. (cum laude) from the University of Georgia.
Bill Weber
Dan Widmaier has led the growth of Bolt Threads since 2009, using his passion and expertise to lead the company through technology development, expansion, and financing. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry and Chemical Biology from UC San Francisco, where his graduate research involved designing genetic circuits to control microbial organelles.
Dan Widmaier
Rhys L. Williams is the Managing Director of FAU Tech Runway (Florida Atlantic University’s incubator/accelerator/innovation hub) and an Associate Vice President within FAU’s Division of Research. He is also Chairman, Co-founder, and Immediate Past President of New World Angels, Inc., a member-managed, structured angel investor group with chapters in seven cities throughout the State of Florida, now into its fifteenth year. Mr. Williams has also been active in efforts to commercialize biotechnologies from Florida’s research universities and institutes, having co-founded several biotechnology spinout ventures. Previously he was a venture capitalist with SI Ventures (Gartner Group-affiliated fund) and held executive positions with Ixion Biotechnology (stem cells), Smith Barney, American Express, and the U.S. Army Special Forces (Commander, combat diver detachment; “Green Beret”). He presently serves on the Boards of the Florida Venture Forum; the Angel Resource Institute; the New World Angels, Inc. (Chairman), the University of Miami’s Coulter Center Technology Review Committee; the South Florida Science Center & Aquarium (Executive Committee & Immediate Past Chairman); The LeMieux Center at Palm Beach Atlantic University; Univ. of Florida’s Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation; Synkt Games (observer), and the Harvard Club of the Palm Beaches (President). Past Board service includes Florida Atlantic University Foundation (investment and audit committees), the Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research (gubernatorial appointee; Treasurer – Board and Seed Fund), Aplicor, Inc., and Leadership Florida (Advisory Board). Mr. Williams testified before the U.S. Senate’s Subcommittee on Competitiveness and Innovation. He was named to the “TechWeek 100” list of South Florida leaders having the greatest impact on technology and business (2014). He earned his bachelor’s degree from Harvard College magna cum laude (with coursework at Universidad de los Andes [Bogotá, Colombia]) and both MBA and J.D. degrees from Univ. of Florida (MBA class president; Florida Blue Key inductee). He is admitted to legal practice in FL & NY. Mr. Williams is a graduate of the Venture Capital Institute. A fifth generation South Floridian, Rhys lives in Delray Beach with his wife Dr. Lorna Sohn Williams and their two children. Rhys and Lorna are active philanthropic supporters of the South Florida Science Center & Aquarium, the Florida Atlantic University Foundation, Harvard University, Wellesley College, and past supporters of the JFK Medical Center Foundation and Hospice of the Palm Beaches (Annual Fundraising Event and Underwriting Committee Co-chairs). They are members of First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach and previously served on the Missions Committee of Grace Community Church in Boca Raton.