"Dr. Zhengrong Shi, Suntech’s founder, chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer.
Dr. Zhengrong Shi is Suntech’s founder, chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer. Prior to founding Suntech in 2001, he was a research director and executive director of Pacific Solar Pty., Ltd., an Australian PV company engaged in the commercialization of next-generation thin film technology. From 1992 to 1995, he was a senior research scientist and the leader of the Thin Film Solar Cells Research Group in the Centre of Excellence for Photovoltaic Engineering at the University of New South Wales in Australia.
Dr. Shi holds 11 patents in PV technologies and has published a number of articles and papers in PV-related scientific magazines and at conferences. Dr. Shi received a bachelor's degree in optical science from Chang Chun University of Science and Technology in China in 1983, a master's degree in laser physics from the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1986, and a Ph.D degree in electrical engineering from the University of New South Wales in Australia in 1992.
Awards and Milestones
July 2008- Dr. Shi won the Banksia International Award for Environmental Leadship
Dec 2007-Dr. Shi was included in the Guardian ranking of ""50 people who could save the planet""
Dec 2007 – Dr. Shi was named one of the Green People of China of the Year
October 2007 – Dr. Shi was named one of TIME magazine's 2007 ""Heroes of the Environment”
September 20, 2007 – Dr. Shi was awarded selected as the Corporate Citizen of the Year for his contribution to the development of the solar industry at the China Business Leaders Awards 2007
August 8, 2006 – Dr. Shi was appointed as member of advisory board of NYSE.
May 25, 2006 – Dr. Shi was awarded the “Best Entrepreneur Prize” by the Southern California Asian Society.
December 14, 2005 – Suntech successfully completed its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to become China’s first private high-tech company to list on a U.S. stock exchange, and the highest market value PV pure play company in the world.
October 2005 – Dr Shi was awarded the “PV-SEC Prize” at the International Photovoltaic Science and Engineering Conference in recognition of Dr. Shi’s contribution to the international PV industry.
"
"Ian Sands, Director of Envisioning, Microsoft
Ian Sands is the Director of Envisioning for Microsoft Office Labs, an R&D organization in Redmond, Washington. In this role, Ian is responsible for driving Microsoft’s 10 year productivity vision and strategy, working with thought-leaders across industries and throughout Microsoft to explore the intersection of customer challenges and emerging technologies.
A key component of the team’s strategy is to envision scenarios for how leading edge technologies might be used in real world settings over the next 5-10 years. In collaboration with the business and technical leaders of Microsoft’s Business Division, the team produces forward-looking prototypes, videos and physical installations that help internal teams to align for future investment and external audiences to glimpse areas of exploration.
In driving the Envisioning effort, Ian builds upon his prior experience as the founding Director of the Industry Innovations Group, a thought-leadership organization that he formed in 2003 with the goal of helping customers and partners understand the potential behind Microsoft’s R&D.
A fourteen year Microsoft veteran, Ian began his career in the Research organization, exploring interactive TV concepts with a creative think-tank called the Blender. Following that, he spent several years holding key roles in the launch of several Microsoft Internet businesses – including Slate, MSNBC, and MSN. Following which, Ian spent four years in the Microsoft Consulting Services division holding a leadership role with the Advanced Technology group. During this time, he founded a team and built a business that was focused on providing user interaction expertise for strategic customer engagements world-wide.
Ian works as a strategic advisor to Fortune 100 companies and thought-leadership institutions world-wide, participating on advisory boards, forums and future think-tank initiatives. His education includes the University of California, Davis and the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, where he graduated with honors and holds a bachelor of science in Industrial Design."
"James Potter, Director, Mayo Clinic Medical Devices
Mr. Potter has 27 years of business experience in the medical market. He came to Mayo Clinic after 17 years with W. L. Gore and Associates. During his time with Gore, he went from a technical sales person to a Global MRI Products Manager. He joined Mayo Clinic in 2000 as a Licensing Manager. He was responsible for managing the MRI portfolio of patents and has successfully licensed a majority of the patents to 90% of the market place. In 2004 Jim became General Manager of Mayo Clinic Medical Devices. Most recently he has embarked on a new challenge of commercializing MR Elastography."
"David Post, Founder and Chairman, Next Island LLC
David Post is founder and Chairman of Next Island LLC. He has been best known for not just developing new companies that went on to become industry leaders but also changing the course of those markets. After several years as a leading Wall Street analyst researching and forecasting new industries, he took the plunge and founded Page America, the first national paging/messaging company. His vision was to create a consumer market for pocket communications which he did guiding Page America to the leader position in the industry. He developed the first travel paging service with Hilton and Hertz, the first retail specialty stores for communications, and became internationally known for putting the first inflight telephone service on a commercial airliner (Sky-Tel on United Airlines). Post also founded Cellular Systems Inc. a consortium company that went on to win the New York City cellular telephone license. Both of his companies were acquired by majors with a huge return for initial investors. Subsequently he ran a broadcast television network and developed internet applications for artificial intelligence. Since being first is second nature to Post, he brought his creative juices to the emerging virtual worlds industry, creating Next Island to be the first virtual world for the masses. Next Island launches in October 2009, with features and experiences never seen before in the space – or anywhere else."
"Ulf Nehrbass, CEO, Institut Pasteur Korea
After studying Biochemistry at Cambridge University (UK), Ulf Nehrbass moved to EMBL (Heidelberg, Germany) and obtained his PhD from Heidelberg University. His graduate work under Prof E.C. Hurt led to the functional determination of the first nucleoporin. This study was thematically followed in his postdoctoral work with Nobel Price Laureate Günter Blobel at Rockefeller University (New York, USA), where Dr. Nehrbass focused on the molecular mechanisms of nuclear transport, as well as the structural organization of nuclear envelope components. In 1998, Dr. Nehrbass started an independent group at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, where he began working on nuclear structure function relationship. In a number of publications featuring advanced microscopy and imaging approaches, his group zoomed in on nuclear structure function relations, showing that the spatial organization of the nucleus constitutes an integrated level of gene regulation. Employing molecular genetics and live tracking of genes during activation stages, the Nehrbass group eventually provided formal proof of Blobel's gene-gating hypothesis, which he first proposed in 1985. After becoming the Chef d'Unite and Directeur de Recherche in the Paris Institute, in 2004 Dr. Nehrbass became Director and CEO of the newly founded Institut Pasteur Korea located in Seoul. Addressing infectious and chronic disease models at the level of the cell, Institut Pasteur Korea exploits advanced visualization and imaging tools for therapy development and systems biology. Featuring a chemical genetics platform, screening facilities and a medicinal chemistry department, Institut Pasteur Korea has developed into a world leading translational research center discovering both the molecular underpinnings of disease and new therapeutic interventions."
"Ron A. Nabarro, Designer
Industrial designer, entrepreneur, researcher and educator. At present founding chairman and CEO of design4all international design consortium, co-founder and president of Senior-Touch ltd. and co-founder of Scentcom ltd. Currently he is co-founding and CEO of the China age friendly design research, development and design center in Shunde.
Nabarro is a practicing designer since 1970 and designed more than 700 products mainly in the field of advanced technologies. He is a professor of Industrial design at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology where he founded and was the former head of the graduate program in advanced design studies and design management. He was an executive board member of ICSID, the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design 1999-2003 and acts now as a regional advisor for ICSID.
Nabarro is the recipient of 23 Design awards and his design work has been exhibited in design exhibitions around the world.
Principle areas of research and interest are design for older people, design management and design education. He is a frequent presenter in design and management conferences and seminars and the writer of articles on design for older adults and design management. Nabarro lectures and conducts workshops seminars and lectures on age friendly design in design and management schools around the world.
He is a jury member for many international design competitions like Red dot Germany, Red dot concept Singapore, India financial times design award, Over 60 design award Singapore, the designers association award in Shenzhen, China and more.
He has appeared in many print publications over the years, and speaks regularly to a wide variety of audiences and has consulted to a wide variety of organizations."
"Sarah McCue, Founder and Board Chair, BluMail Dr. Sarah McCue started her career in Washington, DC in 1988 writing speeches and serving as media liaison for the United States Trade Ombudsman, later serving as Communications Director and adviser to small businesses on their foreign market entry and e-commerce strategies for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Small Business Development Center program. As a result of national business and e-commerce initiatives she developed, Sarah was invited by the United Nations International Trade Centre in Geneva to replicate these programs globally. Since 1996, she has served as senior adviser to several United Nations and World Bank organizations on small business, trade, information and communications technology and women's empowerment issues. She is also the author of eight business and technology books. Dr. McCue advocates for the innovative use of technologies for global communication, commerce, education, women’s mentorship, mobilizing, and giving voice to the voiceless throughout our world. For example, she is the creator of several websites including an online story-sharing platform for women to share their personal experiences and viewpoints; The Remembering Site, an online memoir-writing platform to write and preserve our life stories; and she mostly recently led the creation of BluMail. BluMail provides free e-mail accounts, educational content, employment leads, entrepreneurship, networking, mentoring, and volunteering opportunities to youth in developed and developing countries who are coming online and new to the Internet. She is the founder of the non-profit organization, Women with 2020 Vision; served as the youngest elected president of the North American Association of Trade Educators; and is immediate past president of the women’s empowerment organization Peace X Peace. Sarah has served on several boards including the United Nations Information and Communications Technology Task Force; United Nations Development Fund for Women New York Chapter; Editorial Board of the International Journal of Business Advancement in South Asia; and Microsoft Corporation Community Technology Learning Centers Advisory Board, and currently serves on the Board of Advisors to the World Computer Exchange; United Nations Global Alliance for Information and Communications Technology for Development; International Commission on Workforce Development; and the International Four Freedoms Forum, a human rights NGO she and David Roosevelt co-founded. Sarah is a University of Michigan undergraduate, and holds a Master's in Public Administration from George Washington University and a Ph.D. in Public Administration and International Business from Wayne State University."
http://scsonline.georgetown.edu/programs/masters-technology-management/faculty
"John Maraganore, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
Dr. Maraganore brings over 25 years of experience in Research and Development, and business roles with biotechnology companies. Prior to joining Alnylam in December 2002, he served as an officer and a member of the management team for Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. As Senior Vice President, Strategic Product Development for Millennium, he was responsible for the company's product franchises in Oncology, Cardiovascular, Inflammation, and Metabolic Diseases. He was previously Vice President, Strategic Planning and M&A and prior to that he was General Manager of Millennium BioTherapeutics, Inc., a former subsidiary of Millennium. Before Millennium, he served as Director of Molecular Biology and Director of Market and Business Development at Biogen, Inc. (now Biogen Idec, Inc.). At Biogen, Dr. Maraganore invented and led the discovery and development of Angiomax™ (bivalirudin for injection, formerly Hirulog™) currently marketed by The Medicines Company. Prior to Biogen, Dr. Maraganore was a scientist at ZymoGenetics, Inc., and The Upjohn Company. Dr. Maraganore received his M.S. and Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Chicago. Dr. Maraganore is Chairman of Regulus Therapeutics, LLC, and a Director for Archemix, Inc., and Macrogenics, Inc. He is also a member of the Research Advisory Board of the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital and a member of the Biotechnology Industry Organization Board."
Jeremiah D. Jackson, Senior Principal Engineer, Kleinfelder
With over 35 years experience as an environmental engineer, Dr. Jackson provides technical and managerial leadership on a wide variety of engineering projects. His experience includes advanced technology water and wastewater treatment facilities, and innovative solutions for low-cost sustainable applications. Dr. Jackson’s responsibilities range from giving expert testimony in civil lawsuits to providing program management and technical direction on major projects, including those for large corporations and the Department of Defense.
Complementing his consulting assignments, Dr. Jackson also teaches at the University of California, and is a professor of business at John Paul Catholic University in San Diego. He has lectured internationally with the Air and Waste Management Association, and with the American Society of Civil Engineers. Dr. Jackson has testified before Congress on environmental issues, and has traveled with the US Secretary of Commerce on international trade missions representing the US environmental industry.
Dr. Jackson’s technical papers have included many innovative water and wastewater treatment processes; examples are: Treating Industrial Wastewaters Using Artificial Wetlands, presented in Denver (2008), Treatment of Arsenic Contaminated Water Using Aquatic Macrophytes presented in New Delhi, India (2006), Industrial Wastewater Reuse Using Soft Technology, presented in Florida (2001), and Border Environmental Compliance Issues in Mexico, presented in Arizona (1998). His master’s thesis involved the use of the eurohaline unicellular alga Platymonas as an indicator of nutrient load in water; his doctoral dissertation involved the optimization of aquatic macrophytes in the treatment of wastewater.
Dr. Jackson has been on the faculty of six universities in the United States and overseas, is a licensed professional civil engineer in seven States, and is an avid runner, surfer, sky diver, and pilot. His BS and MS degrees were in civil engineering from the University of California (Irvine), and his PhD was in civil engineering from the University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia). He lives in Del Mar, California, with his wife Nina and daughter Julia.
"Suzanne Grant Lewis Coordinator, Partnership for Higher Education in Africa.
Dr. Grant Lewis joined the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa (PHEA) as Coordinator in February 2006. She is responsible for coordinating the joint activities of the seven U.S. foundations in the Partnership and providing intellectual leadership in the Partnership's focal areas. She is engaged in the conceptualization and coordination of the new focal area, the development and retention of the Next Generation of Academics, as well as the mid-term and final evaluations of Partnership activities. She designs and puts into operation consultative mechanisms with African higher education partners. She convenes the Executive and Steering Committees and sets time frames for decision-making and implementation of joint efforts. Sue is responsible for Partnership communications and visibility, serving as a principal contact for external resource persons, consultants, and other actors with whom the Partnership is engaged. She manages the Partnership Office at NYU, including budget, staff, graduate interns and consultants, and supervises the multi-year Partnership fund at the Institute of International Education.
Prior to joining the Partnership, Dr. Grant Lewis was a Harvard University faculty member from 1997, where she co-developed and directed the International Education Policy Program. She served on the Board of Directors of the Radcliffe Consortium for Women's Studies and speaks frequently on gender and education issues in the developing world. Prior to joining the Harvard faculty, Dr. Grant Lewis spent over five years in southern Africa, serving as an advisor on research, policy, and planning to the Namibian and Malawian ministries of education. In Malawi she was Team Leader of a girls' education project focused on policy, planning and curriculum. She has also lived and worked in Kenya and Tanzania for six years. Her research focuses on policy efforts to address educational inequalities in sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Grant Lewis's recent publications are on concepts of participation in school governance, education decentralization, and graduate teaching of international education. In 2006 she published Education in Africa, a volume inthe African Issues Reference Series for Grades 8-12 students in the US. Dr. Grant Lewis earned her Ph D from Stanford University and has been awarded Fulbright fellowships for research (Tanzania) and teaching (South Africa).
"Pratibha L. Gai, Yorkshire Forward Professor of Electron Microscopy and Nanotechnology, Co-Director of the York JEOL Nanocentre, University of York.
Pratibha L. Gai is Professor in the Department of Chemistry, Professor in the Department of Physics, JEOL and Yorkshire Forward Chair of Electron Microscopy and Nanotechnology and Co-Director of the Nanoscience Centre at the University of York, U.K. After graduating with a PhD in Physics from the University of Cambridge, she founded and became Head of the Surface Reactions Group in the Department of Materials, University of Oxford and a Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. She subsequently held positions as Research Fellow (a rare honor) at DuPont, USA and concurrently as an adjunct Professor of Materials Science at the University of Delaware, USA, before moving to York. At Oxford, she was awarded the Royal Society’s Paul instrument fund award, Science and Engineering Research Council and BP awards to develop in situ electron microscopy (EM) to directly probe catalytic materials under reaction conditions. She has pioneered the development of atomic resolution-in situ environmental transmission electron microscopy (ETEM) to witness catalysts in action at atomic level, enabling the human eye to watch atoms work. This research has led to novel nanomaterials and process developments. She received the DuPont Global Engineering Excellence award for the invention of commercial ceramic nanocoating technology for new polymers and plastics and the Metaserv EM grand prize by the Institution of Metallurgists. She has published over 220 papers, 9 books, patents including novel nanomaterials for fiber technology, polymers, hydrogen energy and climate control. She has served on editorial boards of journals, and review committees of U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation and American Chemical Society (PRF). She has presented over 100 keynote lectures internationally. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, Fellow of Royal Microscopical Society and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry."
Feidner began playing the piano at age 3 and developing her teaching skills at the age of 9 at ""Sonatina,"" the renowned piano program run by her family of pianists and teachers. She was awarded a scholarship to attend the Juilliard School (Prep) which required weekly travel from her home in Vermont to NYC. Erica made her first of nine solo engagements with orchestra at age 11. While continuing her concert and teaching career, Erica worked toward a BFA at SUNY Purchase. During her sophomore year, she entered the Miss Vermont Scholarship Pageant and, performing a Liszt Concert Etude, won the state title. Four months later, on the Miss America stage, she won the preliminary talent award and subsequently purchased her first piano. Following graduation from SUNY, Erica established a successful piano teaching practice in NYC.
In 1987, she injured her thumb and - for the first time - could not play the piano. This gave her time to re-evaluate her career. As a result, Erica sold her teaching practice, stopped playing the piano entirely, and sold her “Miss America” piano. Having jettisoned from the only career path she’d ever traveled, Erica enrolled at Baruch College and earned an MBA in Marketing. While in school, she began selling pianos for a Bosendorfer piano dealership in NYC. It was then that she discovered her gift for matching persons to pianos and pianos to persons.
Following graduation, she joined Steinway & Sons in NYC where she quickly became the top sales representative worldwide for eight consecutive years. Her novel approach to matching people to pianos was featured in a story by James B. Stewart in ""The New Yorker"" Magazine, a cover shot on Inc. Magazine, with spots on A&E, CNN, and PBS, among others. Erica's wish to match clients to high-end pianos of all makes inspired her to found her own company, ""Piano Matchmaker LLC,"" in 2005 and she has been the single driving force behind it since its inception.
And yet, something was still not quite right. Erica felt an unrelenting longing to introduce music to those who perhaps had not yet experienced the joys and enrichment that music can add to one's life. This became her real passion and focus. In fact, it inspired her to create a patent-pending new music video game that has players (ages 5-105) reading music and playing the piano in minutes. Erica's published patent for her unique approach to reading music and playing the piano in one lesson is fully embedded in the game. Players can transfer the game experience to a real instrument - immediately. No more pretending to play an instrument, no more color-coded reading, no more tedious practicing. The game is inherently intuitive with enduring results because the design is based on reason - not memorization. The game can be played on virtually any platform: PC, console, handheld. Erica’s game is not intended for educational purposes alone – indeed, the beauty of the game is that during play, the potent music educational component takes a back seat to the appealing and entertaining nature of the game. The player may not even be cognizant of the fact that they are reading music!
Erica's game has the capacity to revolutionize the way the general public worldwide reads music…“It will change the way the world reads music because it is brilliantly simple, engaging and fun. This elegant simplicity is the true genius behind the game”.~George Stonbely, Founder, Spectacolor
IMAGINE a time when adults and children actually enjoy reading music and playing the piano. IMAGINE a time when families once again gather together and enjoy music. IMAGINE a time when non-gamers dare to enter the world of video games. IMAGINE THE TIME IS NOW.
Erica lives in Wilton, CT with her two children, where piano and music continue to be an important part of family life."
"Johannes Britz, Dean and Professor, School of Information Studies / Interim Dean, College of Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Johannes Britz holds two doctoral degrees from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He obtained his first doctoral degree (Doctor Divinitatis) in Christian Philosophy and Ethics and the second (Doctor Philosophia) in Information Science. He is one of the founders of Information Ethics in Africa and started teaching Information Ethics in 1990 at the University of Pretoria. He played a key role in organizing the first ever Africa Information Ethics conference that took place in Pretoria during February 2007. He is currently Dean and Professor at the School of Information Studies and interim Dean of the College of Health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, USA and Professor Extraordinary at the School of Information Technology at the University of Pretoria. He is also visiting scholar at the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) where he lectured Information Ethics since 1994. Dr. Britz is co-editor of the International Review of Information Ethics (IRIE) and serves on the editorial board of the Library and Information Science Research Journal of the University of Bucharest. He is a member of the advisory board of the South Africa Journal of Library and Information Science. Dr. Britz also acted as consultant for the European Union (2004), the South African Government (1996, 2006) and the Namibian Government (1998). He also developed an information policy for the ABSA banking group in South Africa in 1997. He is a member of the advisory board of the International Research Foundation for Development . Dr. Britz is author of numerous articles in the field of Information Ethics and his latest research focuses on information poverty and social justice."
"Andrew Beck, Vice President for Public Affairs, PetroAlgae, LLC.
Andrew Beck is currently the Vice President for Public Affairs at PetroAlgae, LLC. In addition to serving as a spokesperson, he manages the company’s strategic communications, public outreach and media relations operations. Most recently, Mr. Beck was the Director of Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and served as the government’s top energy spokesperson and communication strategist. In that role he directed the Department’s press, public outreach, marketing, web and speechwriting operations and was the senior communications advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Energy. Prior to joining DOE, Mr. Beck worked as the Deputy Associate Administrator for Public Affairs at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and as the Communications Director for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Mr. Beck also worked for several trade associations including the National Automobile Dealers Association and the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America.
Mr. Beck is a graduate of the University of the South (Sewanee) in Tennessee where he received a Bachelors of Science degree in environmental science and political science"
"James Barrett, R&D Manager, Venture Design Services
James Barrett began his career in electronics engineering and computer science with Hewlett-Packard in 1980. For 24 years he held various positions with Hewlett-Packard and Agilent Technologies including Manufacturing Engineering Manager, R&D Manager, and Cellular Network Test Business-Unit Manager. Jim has managed the invention/creation of 8 products for Hewlett-Packard/Agilent in the wireless communications test arena, and sales of those products have collectively exceeded $300Million dollars. In 2004 Agilent spun off their Wireless Sensor Networks R&D unit to Venture Design Services, Inc. and Jim has been the R&D Manager and Business-Unit Manager of that organization since. The first commercial product invented by the Venture team is the MineTracer wireless underground communication and location tracking system, which is helping revolutionize worker safety and productivity in the hazardous environments of underground mining. The innovation embodied in MineTracer was selected as a nominee for a 2009 World Technology Award (www.ventureminetracer.com/intro.html contains a brief video clip). Jim has applied for worldwide patent claims covering 36 unique inventions, and he has written many papers that advance the state of the art in wireless communications and distributed computing."
