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Tuesday,
March 18, 2008
Robotics - One Leg Up on the Competition
Meeting
Overview
Robotics as a
science has tugged powerfully on the human imagination for many years
and has often served as a visible front-end for broader movements within
technology and science. As academics and entrepreneurs have
expanded the frontier of what robots are and what they are capable of,
the field has broadened and now incorporates multiple sub-disciplines
such as: distributed sensor networks, robotic-aided surgery,
search and rescue, autonomous vehicles, nanoscale robots, and
biorobotics. While the popular imagination of robots remains
largely settled on humanoid forms, robots can be more broadly classed as
agents of automation across multiple industries and applications, and
cutting edge research into robotics is as or more likely to be
software-application driven than linked to bio-mechanics.
The future of
robotics suggests an ongoing broadening of the roles attributed to
robots, and a deepening of the science in applications where it has
already established itself. The March 18th EntreTech Forum focuses
on understanding the future of Robotics, with a focus on the
commercialization of academic research in the area.
Moderator:
Holly Heine, Partner,
Weingarten Shurgin Gagnebin & Lebovici
Dr. Holly
Heine is a partner with Weingarten Shurgin Gagnebin & Lebovici,
focused on intellectual property transactions and protections. Her
practice is supported by a technical background mechanical
engineering and materials science, with particular emphasis in the
areas of biotechnology and biochemistry. Dr. Heine began her
professional career as a research biochemist at MIT and
Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Heine holds both a BS in biology
and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, and a Juris Doctorate degree from Suffolk University Law
School.
Keynote Speaker:
Scott E. Kamholz, M.D., Ph.D., Foley
Hoag
Dr. Scott Kamholz obtains patent protection for clients in all
fields, with an emphasis on applications in medical devices,
biotechnology, mechanical engineering, and biomedical engineering.
He uses his technical training in engineering, medicine and
biomedical research to help clients assess the patentability of
inventions and to evaluate infringement and product clearance
concerns. He represents clients in patent licensing transactions and
provides patent due diligence guidance in mergers and acquisitions.
In addition, he manages and coordinates foreign patent portfolios.
As the
holder of both M.D. and Ph.D. degrees, Scott’s scientific expertise
encompasses developmental biology, transgenic mouse creation and
analysis, hematopoietic stem cell biology, medical informatics,
signal processing, and computational modeling. During graduate
school and medical school he studied developmental biology, focusing
on mechanisms by which hematopoietic stem cells and progenitor cells
migrate during embryonic development. As part of his research work
he created and analyzed several lines of transgenic mice to study
the function of Steel Factor as a guidance signal for migrating stem
cells. Scott also acquired expertise in a wide variety of
biotechnology techniques, including cloning, genetic engineering,
nucleic acid hybridization, immunoblotting, immunohistochemistry,
flow cytometry, and FACS analysis.
Speakers:
Joseph Ayers, Professor of Biology,
Northeastern University - Department of Biology and Marine Science
Center
Professor Ayers is tenured Professor of Biology at Northeastern
University, where he teaches a range of courses primarily organized
around neurobiology and related technological/engineering applications.
Through his work with the internationally recognized Marine Science
Center in Nahant, Professor Ayers’ work and research focuses on the
ocean environment, marine life and its diversity, ecology, and
discovering biotechnological and medical potentials in the sea. His
current projects include work as diverse as: Underwater biomimetic
robots; Electronic nervous systems and neurotechnology for biomimetic
robots, and biomechanisms for swimming and flying. He received his BA in
Biology from UC-Riverside, his PhD in Biology from UC-Santa Cruz, and
has done extensive post-doctoral work with the Centre National de la
Recherche Scientifique in Marseilles, France and UC-San Diego.
Tony Aponick, Vice President of
Advanced Programs, Foster Miller
Mr. Aponick is Vice President Advanced Programs of Foster Miller, a
major technology and product development company with a long history of
success in the robotics field. Mr. Aponick oversees Foster Miller’s
relationships with the military venture community and the academic
research community, matching university-level talent to the research
process. Much of Mr. Aponick’s time is spent working with DARPA and the
Naval Research Lab, focused on theoretically challenging systems that
represent the cutting edge of robotics technology. Mr. Aponick did his
PhD work at MIT and Yale University.
Ed Godere, Vice President of
Technology Group, Foster Miller
Mr. Godere is a well known executive in the robotics business both
regionally and nationally, and heads up Foster Miller’s Robotics
operations, which is largest business division within the firm. Mr.
Godere focuses on the business applications of technology developed
within Foster Miller, and thus is an expert on the commercialization
process of robotic technologies. Mr. Godere earned his MBA from the
University of New Have and received his BS in Mechanical Engineering
from the University of Connecticut.
Daniel Theobald, President &
CTO, Vecna Technologies
Daniel Theobald is the inventor of the BEAR (“Battlefield Extraction
Assist Robot”) robot, and is well versed in the engineering sciences
with extensive experience in software architecture, artificial
intelligence (AI), electromechanical engineering and mobile robotics.
His interests and expertise include robot control and mobility systems,
object-oriented design, enterprise system architecture, and system
integration. His graduate work at the MIT AI Laboratory included
developing web-based control algorithms for a robotic Mars explorer, a
progenitor of Spirit and Opportunity. Graduating at the top of his class
at MIT, Daniel is the recipient of the Henry Ford II Scholar Award and
the Hertz Foundation Award, as well as a fellowship from the National
Science Foundation. Daniel holds BS and MS degrees in Mechanical
Engineering from MIT.
Robert Hughes, Vice President,
Black-I Robotics
Mr. Robert Hughes is Vice President of Black-I Robotics, where he
handles a broad range of operations and marketing functions. Black-I
Robotics invented and is commercializing the “Landshark” robot. The
Landshark is an UGV (“Unmanned Ground Vehicle”) which is designed for
remotely managed combat operations, perimeter security, hazmat handling,
bomb detection and demolition and personnel recovery operations among
other potential uses. Black-I Robotics was founded as a response to the
loss of the son of one of the firm’s founders in combat in Iraq. The
firm has been working since 2006 with the US government to commercialize
the Landshark.
Hermano Igo Krebs, MIT/Cornell
Researcher/Lecturer and Founder, Interactive Motion Technologies
Hermano Igo
Krebs joined MIT’s Mechanical Engineering Department in 1997 where
he is a Principal Research Scientist and Lecturer – Newman
Laboratory for Biomechanics and Human Rehabilitation. He also holds
an affiliate position as an Adjunct Research Professor of
Neuroscience a Weill Medical College of
Cornell University. He is one of the founders of Interactive Motion
Technologies, a Cambridge-based start-up company commercializing
robot technology for rehabilitation. His present goal is to
revolutionize the way rehabilitation medicine is practiced today by
applying robotics and information technology to assist, enhance, and
quantify rehabilitation; particularly neuro-rehabilitation.
This goal translates into research interests in
neuro-rehabilitation, functional imaging, human-machine
interactions, robotics, and dynamic systems modeling & control.
Dr. Igo Krebs received his BS/MS in naval engineering from
University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, an MS in ocean engineering from Yokohama National University, Japan, and a PhD in Ocean
Engineering from MIT.
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