Do you ever wonder how the really BIG ideas happen? From DaVinci and
Einstein to Edison and Henry Ford: all made monumental advances through
revolutionary thinking. Whether you're a scientist, intrepreneur, entrepreneur
or corporate strategist, real success and real impact will come from your
organization's ability to deliver quantum leap-style thinking that promotes
advances in technological innovation and products that boost bottom line
results. But how do you do this? How can you become a REVOLUTIONARY thinker?
The MIT Enterprise Forum, Inc. and the MIT
Enterprise Forum of Dallas / Fort Worth present a unique program that
looks at how cutting-edge technologies are invented and how these technologies
move from laboratory curiosity to real commercial adoption.
"The Power of Revolutionary Thinking" will
feature a panel of visionary researchers who will explore how organizations,
both large and small, can use revolutionary thinking to enhance the innovation
process, and show us how advanced concepts go from far-off vision to becoming
part of our everyday lives.
Program attendees and viewers will learn:
-
How ultra-light golf clubs, advanced prosthetics and new wonder drugs
are inspired by exotic technologies such as ultra-strong carbon nanotubes,
electroactive polymers, and so-called 'extreme environment'
microorganisms;
-
How cutting-edge laboratory technology gets commercialized and what you
can learn about developing innovations that drive revenue in your company;
-
How revolutionary thinking is fostered and can be driven into your
organization.
Featured panelists include
-
Dr. Robert Cassanova, Director of the NASA
Institute for Advanced Concepts;
-
Dr. Penelope J. Boston, Director and Professor,
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and Director of Research
for Complex Systems Research, Inc.;
-
Dr. Bradley Carl Edwards, President and Founder
of Carbon Designs, and development leader for the Space Elevator project
;
-
Dr. Dava Newman AA '89, Professor of Aeronautics
and Astronautics at MIT and a MacVicar Fellow;
-
Atlanta program moderator Alf Nucifora,
Chairman, Nucifora Consulting Group, and a syndicated columnist on
marketing.
-
and local moderator Wayne Stargardt, Director Marketing, RF Monolithics
Speaker Biographies
Dr. Robert A. Cassanova is the Director of the NASA
Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) in Atlanta, Georgia . The NIAC is
focused on the development of revolutionary, advanced systems and
architectures in the fields of aeronautics and space. He is the recipient of
the NASA Public Service Medal for exceptional contributions to the Mission of
NASA. Prior to becoming the Director of NIAC, Cassanova was Director of the Aerospace
and Transportation Laboratory in the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI).
While in GTRI and in the School of Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Tech, he
performed research in biofluid mechanics, solar thermal energy, acoustics,
combustion and rarefied gas dynamics. He received a PhD in Aerospace
Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology; an MS in Space Aerospace
Engineering from the University of Tennessee; and a BS in Aerospace
Engineering from North Carolina State University.
Dr. Penelope J. Boston is Director
of Cave and Karst Studies and Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences
at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology; and Director of Research
for Complex Systems Research, Inc., Boulder, Colorado. Boston specializes in
cave microbiology, microbial life in extreme environments, astrobiology and
the search for life beyond Earth, human life support in space, Mars research
and human exploration of the solar system. One of the founders of The
Case for Mars series of conferences, she is the author of more than 70
papers and an upcoming book on extreme life forms. She earned a PhD in
Environmental, Population from the University of Colorado and the National
Center for Atmospheric Research; an MS in Microbiology and Atmospheric
Chemistry, and a BS in Microbiology, Geology, and Psychology, from the
University of Colorado, Boulder.
Dr. Bradley Carl Edwards is President and Founder of Carbon
Designs, a developer of high strength materials. He has led development of
the space
elevator project, organized three conferences, led a research staff of 70
people at the Institute for
Scientific Research, and written the definitive book on the space
elevator. Previously, Edwards spent 11 years as a staff member at Los
Alamos National laboratory (LANL) leading advanced technology efforts for
lunar missions, optical cryocooler development, and a Europa orbiter mission.
He has over 50 publications, with three books and eight papers in the works,
and has appeared on the cover of Discover and Science News.
Edwards received his PhD in Physics in 1990. He is a NIAC Phase II Fellow.
Dr. Dava Newman AA '89 is an Associate
Professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT, and
faculty in the Harvard-MIT
Health Sciences and Technology Program (an MD and PhD program between
Harvard and MIT). Newman specializes in investigating astronaut performance
across the spectrum of gravity. She is currently the Principal Investigator
(PI) on the MICR0-G
space flight experiment to quantify astronaut intravehicular activity (IVA)
onboard the International
Space Station. Previously, Dr. Newman has been the PI for Space Shuttle
experiments dealing with load sensors and astronaut workloads. Newman earned a
PhD from MIT in Aeronautics, Biomed and Engineering. She is a NIAC Phase II
Fellow.
Alf Nucifora (moderator) is the Chairman of Nucifora
Consulting Group, specializing in strategic planning and marketing
services consultation. He is also a marketing
columnist, syndicated in 40+ business publications across the country. A
native of Brisbane, Australia, Nucifora entered the advertising and marketing
business on the corporate side working for two Fortune 500 companies, first in
Australia and then in the United States. He then made the move to the
advertising business and later advanced into agency management as Chairman of
the Southeast office of a $310 million advertising agency. He earned an MBA
from the Harvard Business School , and a BA from the University of Queensland,
Australia.
