Conference Speakers

Alivisatos attended the University of Chicago and received a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry with Honors in 1981. He continued his graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley, where he worked under the supervision of Charles Harris. His Ph.D. thesis concerned the photophysics of electronically excited molecules near metal and semiconductor surfaces. In 1986, he went to AT&T Bell Labs where he worked with Louis Brus as a postdoctoral, and it was at this time that he first became involved in research related to Nanotechnology. In 1988, he joined the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley.

He has received the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation fellowship, the ACS Exxon Solid State Chemistry Fellowship, the Coblentz Award, the Wilson Prize at Harvard, the Materials Research Society Outstanding Young Investigator Award, the ACS Award in Colloid and Surface Chemistry (2004), the Rank Prize (2006), the University of Chicago Distinguished Alumni Award (2006), the Eni Italgas Prize (2007), the E.O. Lawrence Award (2007), and the MRS Fred Kavli Distinguished Lectureship in Nanoscience Award (2008). He is a Fellow of both the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2004, he was elected into the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is the Editor of the American Chemical Society Journal and Nano Letters.

Alivisatos is a leader of the Helios solar research initiative at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where he is spearheading potentially transformational research into artificial photosynthesis, and the creation of new photovoltaic technology through the creation of nanoinspired devices. His research generally concerns the structural, thermodynamic, optical, and electrical properties of colloidal inorganic nanocrystals. He investigates the fundamental physical and chemical properties of nanocrystals and also works to develop practical applications of these new materials in biomedicine and renewable energy.

He earned his bachelor's degree at St. John's University, Jamaica, N.Y., and his doctorate in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to his appointment at NDSU, he held a Teaching and Research Fellowship at the University of California at Davis.

He has more than 130 refereed publications in international journals and holds 19 patents. Boudjouk has been a guest lecturer at over 40 universities in Europe and Asia. From 1992-2000, Boudjouk served as Project Director for the North Dakota Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (ND EPSCoR). The ND EPSCoR program is widely recognized for its success in promoting and administering millions of dollars in federal contracts with research faculty throughout the North Dakota University System.

Boudjouk has received numerous awards for teaching and research, including being named the Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Professor (1985) and University Faculty Lecturer (1985). He received the first annual Research Award from the College of Science and Mathematics (1992) and in 1998 he was named the Jordan A. Engberg Scholar, the first endowed professorship at NDSU.

Doug Burgum is a visionary who led Great Plains Software to international presence, an initial public offering in 1997 and a $1.1 billion acquisition by Microsoft Corporation in 2001.

Under Mr. Burgum’s leadership, Great Plains was named four times to FORTUNE magazine’s list of “100 Best Companies to Work for in America,” a distinction also held by Microsoft Corporation during his tenure there as senior vice president.

He has established the Doug Burgum Family Fund, which focuses its charitable giving on youth and education. He currently serves on the advisory council for the Stanford Graduate School of Business and is co-founder and chairman of Arthur Ventures, a technology venture fund. He serves on the board of directors for Arthur Companies, Inc., a privately-held diversified agribusiness, and for SuccessFactors, Inc., one of the fastest growing public software companies and the leading provider of on-demand employee performance and talent management solutions.

In 2006, Mr. Burgum founded the Kilbourne Group, whose mission is to save and restore historic buildings in downtown Fargo, North Dakota through green initiatives.

Joseph A. Chapman took over his duties as North Dakota State University’s 13th president in June 1999. Noted for his ability to coordinate collaborative efforts and his commitment to enhance and integrate research programs, Chapman has guided the university to its current “Research Universities (high research activity)” ranking in the Carnegie Foundation’s classification system.

Under Chapman’s leadership, research expenditures exceed $100 million. This more than doubles the amount spent in 1999 when Chapman came to NDSU, and makes NDSU the largest research enterprise in North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. He sought partnerships from the private sector to enable expansion of NDSU’s Research and Technology Park—partnerships that almost immediately generated results.

In addition, Chapman’s goal of 12,000 enrolled students was met in fall 2005, and doctoral degree programs have increased from 18 in 1999 to 38 in 2005. He is the recipient of the 2006 North Dakota Chamber of Commerce Greater North Dakotan Award, and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators prestigious national President’s Award in 2005.

Chapman earned his bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and doctorate from Oregon State University, Corvallis. He lists 11 books and editorships, eight monographs, 31 book chapters and symposia proceedings, 67 journal publications and more than 100 reports and popular articles.

Joseph and Gale Chapman have two daughters, Valerie and Jennifer.

This prestigious prize is awarded once every three years; Dr. Crabtree is its second recipient. He has won the University of Chicago Award for Distinguished Performance at Argonne twice, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Award for Outstanding Scientific Accomplishment in Solid State Physics four times, a notable accomplishment. He has an R&D 100 Award for his pioneering development of Magnetic Flux Imaging Systems. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a charter member of ISI’s Highly Cited Researchers in Physics, and a Member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Crabtree has served as Chairman of the Division of Condensed Matter of the American Physical Society, as a Founding Editor of the scientific journal Physica C, as Divisional Associate Editor of Physical Review Letters, as Chair of the Advisory Committee for the National Magnet Laboratory in Tallahassee, Florida, and as Editor of several review issues of Physica C devoted to superconductivity. He has published more than 400 papers in leading scientific journals, has collected over 13,000 career citations, and has given approximately 100 invited talks at national and international scientific conferences. His research interests include materials science, nanoscale superconductors and magnets, vortex matter in superconductors, highly correlated electrons in metals and non-fossil sources of energy. He has led workshops for the Department of Energy on hydrogen, solar energy, superconductivity, and materials under extreme environments, co-chaired the Undersecretary of Energy’s assessment of DOE’s Applied Energy Programs, and testified before Congress on the hydrogen economy.

Byron L. Dorgan was re–elected to a third term in the U.S. Senate in November 2004 with nearly 70 percent of the vote after serving two previous terms in the Senate and six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Since 1996, he has served in the Democratic Leadership as an Assistant Democratic Floor Leader, and since 1998, also as Chairman of the Senate Democratic Policy committee. He is the first North Dakotan to serve in the Senate Leadership.

In addition, Senator Dorgan serves on four other Senate Committees. He is Chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, Chairman of the Energy & Water Appropriations Subcommittee within the Appropriations Committee. Also, he is Chairman of the Energy Subcommittee within the Energy & Natural Resources Committee, and he is a senior member of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee where he chairs the Interstate Commerce, Trade and Tourism Subcommittee.

Throughout his career in both the House and Senate, Senator Dorgan has worked to advance the interests of rural America. Top priorities have been creating good–paying jobs and greater economic opportunity in North Dakota.

Senator Dorgan conceived and created the Red River Valley Research Corridor, an effort to connect North Dakota’s world class colleges and universities to federal high tech research and training efforts. The effort not only strengthens the nation, but also expands economic growth in North Dakota by bringing high tech federal research and training projects to North Dakota’s institutions of higher learning.

Using his position on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Dorgan has secured more than $480 million in federal funding for Research Corridor projects. The funding has created or expanded world class research centers, attracted high tech companies, and created good-paying jobs in North Dakota.

Through Senator Dorgan’s Research Corridor investments, North Dakota has advanced to become the fastest growing state in federal research and development, according to the National Science Foundation. The Milken Institute’s 2008 State Technology and Science Index study reported North Dakota’s “meteoric rise” in technology, research and development, as the state moved up 14 positions in four years.

A 2006 study found that, since its creation in 2002, the Red River Valley Research Corridor has generated $759 million in positive economic impact and added thousands of jobs to the regional economy.

Senator Dorgan is also working to position North Dakota to play a vital role in the nation’s effort to achieve energy independence by reducing the nation’s dependence on foreign oil. He has aggressively supported further oil production in North Dakota. Earlier this year, he asked the U.S. Geological Survey to conduct an up-to-date study regarding the Bakken Shale Formation, which is thousands of feet underneath western North Dakota and eastern Montana. Their study found up to 4.3 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil. He is working to make significant long–term investment in renewable fuels, such as bio–fuels, wind energy and ethanol. He is also working to develop clean coal technology, increase energy efficiency, and the use of hydrogen.

Senator Dorgan is the author of the New York Times bestseller, Take This Job and Ship It: How Corporate Greed and Brain–Dead Politics Are Selling Out America. This book, released in July of 2006, makes the case that exporting American jobs is a flawed long–term economic strategy that is turning into an economic disaster.

Senator Dorgan was raised in the farming community of Regent, North Dakota. His family worked in the farm equipment and petroleum business and raised cattle and horses. He graduated from a high school class of nine students. He is married to Kim Dorgan and has four children: Scott, Shelly (deceased), Brendon and Haley.

He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of North Dakota and earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Denver. He later worked for a Denver–based aerospace firm.

Senator Dorgan’s public service career began at age 26, when he was appointed to the office of State Tax Commissioner in North Dakota. He was the youngest constitutional officer in North Dakota’s history. He was re–elected to that office by large margins in 1972 and 1976, and was chosen one of “Ten Outstanding State Officials” in the United States by the Washington Monthly magazine.

A native of Egypt, Hesham El-Rewini served as professor and chair of the computer science and engineering department at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, from 2001 until his UND appointment in July 2008. That department, along with SMU, was designated a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education by the National Security Agency. Before serving at SMU, he was professor and interim chair of the Computer Science Department at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where he spent 11 years.

He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science and automatic control from the University of Alexandria Faculty of Engineering in Egypt in 1982 and 1985, respectively. His doctorate in computer science is from Oregon State University in Corvallis, 1989.

The research he's conducted has resulted in grant and funding awards from industry and federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Defense Army Research Office. He also has been a principal investigator of international projects to develop training programs for universities in Mexico and the Middle East. Those efforts were funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

El-Rewini also has general interests in strategic planning, assessment and academic training.

Previously Brian founded Vtrenz in 2001 and served as Chief Executive Officer for most of that time. Vtrenz is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company focused on creating marketing automation and execution technologies. Vtrenz grew from 0 employees in 2002 to over 35 at the beginning of 2007; experienced 10 straight quarters of revenue growth from 2004 to March of 2007; had over 100% compounded annual growth rate from 2003 through 2006; currently works with over 300 companies around the world; and was acquired in May of 2007 by Silverpop Corporation out of Atlanta, GA.

Brian became an Entrepreneur in 1999, at which point he started his first company, AnyCollege.com. AnyCollege.com is an international niche search engine that helps high school students look for colleges at the beginning of their college search process. AnyCollege became cash flow positive after 6 months and profitable after its first full year of existence, 2001, and has been growing and profitable ever since. Brian hired a management team to run AnyCollege and left AnyCollege on a fulltime basis in 2001 to start Vtrenz, remaining on as Chairman of theBoard.

Since 1987 when he was named Director, the EERC has undergone a total cultural change from a former federal research and development facility to a practical, entrepreneurial, market-driven organization with national and international clientele, emphasizing joint venture partnerships with government, industry, and the research community. During the past two decades, the EERC has had contracts with over 1000 clients from 51 countries and all 50 states. Over 760 of those clients have been from the private sector, including many Fortune 500 companies. The EERC’s research portfolio totals $227 million.

Under Dr. Groenewold’s direction, the EERC, with its long tradition of fossil fuel-related R&D, has broadened its scope to include a wide array of strategic energy and environmental issues, including zero-emission coal conversion; CO2 capture and sequestration; energy and water sustainability; hydrogen and fuel cells; advanced air emission control technologies, emphasizing SOx, NOx, air toxics, fine particulate, CO2 capture and sequestration, and mercury control; renewable energy; wind energy; water management; flood prevention; global climate change; waste utilization; energy efficiency; and contaminant cleanup. The EERC has ten Centers of Excellence.

Dr. Groenewold is particularly interested in assisting our nation in achieving its energy security goals. He has also been a strong advocate for the development of technologies that address the critical issue of energy and water sustainability.

Dean Kamen is an inventor, entrepreneur and tireless advocate for science and technology. He is the founder and president of DEKA Research & Development Corporation, where he develops internally-generated inventions and provides research and development for major corporate clients. He holds more than 440 U.S. and foreign patents for innovative devices that have expanded the frontiers of healthcare worldwide.

His many notable inventions include the first wearable insulin pump for diabetics, the HomeChoice™ portable peritoneal dialysis machine, the INDEPENDENCE® IBOT® Mobility System, and the Segway® Human Transporter.

Among Mr. Kamen’s proudest accomplishments is founding FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), an organization dedicated to motivating the next generation to understand, use and enjoy science and technology.

Mr. Kamen was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1997, received the Heinz Award in 1998, and was awarded the National Medal of Technology in 2000. He received the Lemelson-MIT Prize in 2002 and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame™ in May 2005.

Dr. Robert Kelley, began serving as the 11th president of the University of North Dakota July 1, 2008.

Kelley had served as the Dean of the College of Health Sciences and as professor of medical education and public health at the University of Wyoming, since 1999.

Kelley earned his bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry from Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas, in 1965, and his master's degree in 1966 and doctorate in 1969, both in cell and developmental biology from the University of California, Berkeley.

He has been in his present position since 1999. Prior to that, he was associate vice chancellor for research and executive associate dean of the graduate college at the University of Illinois at Chicago, professor of biological sciences at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and professor of anatomy and cell biology at the College of Medicine, both at the University of Illinois at Chicago. At the University of New Mexico, he served as chair of anatomy and senior executive associate dean, as well as other faculty capacities. He has also taught at the University of California, Berkeley.

Kelley has served as chair of the Assembly for the Association of American Medical Colleges, chaired the Council of Academic Societies for the AAMC, and was a member of the executive board of the National Board of Medical Examiners, which is responsible for the U.S. medical licensure examination. In addition, he has served the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on several study sections, served on the director's advisory board for NIH strategic planning, and chaired the Minority Biomedical Research Support Program advisory committee in the NIH Division of Research Resources. That program helped support research for historically black universities, tribal colleges, and "minority-majority" institutions. He is currently principal investigator for the University of Wyoming/Northern Rockies INBRE (IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence), an NIH program which promotes biomedical research and connects the state's community colleges with the University of Wyoming.

He and his wife, Marcia Jean, have four children.

Mundie joined Microsoft in 1992 to create and run the Consumer Platforms Division, which developed non-PC platforms such as the Windows CE operating system; software for the Handheld PC, Pocket PC and Auto PC; and early console-gaming products. Mundie also started Microsoft's digital TV efforts, acquiring and managing its WebTV Networks Inc. subsidiary. He championed the Trustworthy Computing tenet, which has significantly improved the security of Microsoft's products by using new software development practices.

Since August 2000, when President Clinton named Mundie to the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, he has advised White House staff on issues affecting the security of the nation's telecommunications infrastructure. In April 2002, Mundie joined the Task Force on National Security in the Information Age to help develop a strategy for using technology to address new security challenges. Since February 2002, Mundie has been a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to increasing America's understanding of the world and contributing ideas to U.S. foreign policy.

As Under Secretary for Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Dr. Orbach serves as Secretary Samuel W. Bodman’s advisor on science policy as well as on the scientific aspects of all that DOE does, from basic research, to nuclear energy, to the environmental clean-up of Cold War legacy sites, to defense programs. He is responsible for planning, coordinating and overseeing the Department’s research and development programs and its 17 national laboratories as well as its scientific and engineering education activities.

Secretary Bodman has tasked Dr. Orbach with leading the Department’s efforts to transfer technologies from DOE national laboratories and facilities to the global marketplace, naming Dr. Orbach as the Department’s Technology Transfer Coordinator and as chair of the DOE Technology Transfer Policy Board.

Dr. Orbach is a fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has held numerous visiting professorships at universities around the world and serves as a member of 20 scientific, professional and civic boards.

A Professor at the Institute for Hepatitis and Virus Research, a Pennsylvania-based non-profit organization. Until recently, he was the Chief Operating Officer and Chief scientific Officer at Nucleonics, an RNAi-based biotechnology company. Through in-licensing of patents and technologies from Wyeth that were based on his early discoveries in RNAi, he co-founded Nucleonics with Dr. Catherine Pachuk. At Nucleonics, he led the efforts to develop an RNAi-based drug molecule that acts against Hepatitis-B which was advanced into the clinic and led the preclinical programs in HCV, Influenza and for prostate & ovarian cancers to various stages of development. Both at Wyeth and at Nucleonics, Satishchandran advanced the first-in-human studies of novel drug product concepts with novel mechanisms of action.

Primarily, his research interests over the last 14 years have been in the areas of gene expression, nucleic acid delivery. Prior to founding Nucleonics he headed up the DNA Vaccine Division of Wyeth Vaccines, where he led 7 programs in infectious diseases and cancer into clinical studies. Following which, he was a faculty member at the Thomas Jefferson University where he ran research programs in RNAi and DNA delivery. At this time he was also the Co-Team Leader for the Drug Delivery Team of the Pennsylvania Nanotechnology Institute, to develop and commercialize nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems.

Satish has produced numerous publications and several patents in diverse areas of biotechnology research and development, and is also a scientific advisor & consultant to Pharmaceutical companies and several biotechnology companies in several areas of discovery, technology assessment and licensing, product development, manufacturing, clinical research and regulatory affairs.

He is a graduate of UND with a double major in Mathematics and Education. He was an all North Central Conference and All American in football at UND and a member of the UND Athletic Hall of fame.

His career in Aerospace began in UND’s first two aircraft leading to becoming a US Air Force Pilot. He served in the faculty of the US Air Force Academy, and later in senior and executive management positions in the aerospace industry.

His return to UND eight years ago brought resurgence to the Odegard School following the death of its founder, John D. Odegard. In addition to his duties as the Dean, he is a charter member of North Dakota Governor John Hoeven’s Military Task Force and a member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the Governor’s Foundation for Economic Development. He received the North Dakota Meritorious Service Medal from Governor Hoeven in 2006.

Dr. Smith also serves as President and CEO of the UND Aerospace Foundation, providing leadership for business ventures undertaken with the United States and International entities to support the Odegard School academically and financially.

J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., is regarded as one of the leading scientists of the 21st century for his invaluable contributions to genomic research. He is founder, chairman and president of the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), a not-for-profit, research organization with more than 400 scientists and staff dedicated to genomic research as well as the exploration of social and ethical issues in genomics.

Dr. Venter is also founder and CEO of Synthetic Genomics Inc., a privately held company dedicated to developing and commercializing synthetic genomic advances. The company is currently focused on solving pressing societal needs such as producing new alternative energies and biochemicals.

In 1992 Dr. Venter founded The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR), a not-for-profit research institute, where in 1995 he and his team decoded the genome of the first free-living organism, the bacterium Haemophilus influenzae.

His human genome research was published in February 2001 in the journal Science. He and his teams continue to blaze new trails in genomics research and have published more than 50 genomes and numerous important papers on environmental genomics, synthetic genomics and the first complete diploid genome.

Has extensive experience in multiple aspects of academic health care systems (including activities at the divisional, departmental, hospital, medical school, university and medical center level). M.B.A., University of Chicago and M.P.H. degree in Health Management and Policy from the School of Public Health, University of Michigan

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

• Departmental representative on the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) Physician System Organization that served as the clearing house for negotiating, implementing and monitoring all managed care products of the seven hospital DMC system
• Participated in and provided key input to multiple and diverse system-wide committees, including the Finance, Capital Equipment, Bylaws, Information Services, Cardiovascular Services Planning, and Strategic Plan for Primary Care Committees
• Held multiple leadership positions within the American Heart Association Michigan Affiliate, including Chair of the Research Fellowship, Research Forum, and Research Committees; appointed Treasurer, Vice-President, and President-Elect
• Member of the American Heart Association Transition team and Joint Operating Committee that managed the integration and downsizing of four affiliates into one functional unit (Midwest Affiliate)
• Participated in one dean search, eight departmental chair searches, and three internal departmental reviews
• Over 200 publications, including 73 papers, 19 review articles, 39 book chapters (e.g., Braunwald, Harrison's, Cecil), and 72 abstracts
• 19 grants
• Over 250 talks and presentations to medical and lay public in the local region, state, nation and internationally (international talks in Ireland, France, Poland, Hungary, India, Thailand, Dominican Republic)
• Board Certified - Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Diseases
• Fellow, American College of Cardiology

The research has ranged from fundamental surface chemical and spectroscopic studies of mineral-microbe suspensions in the laboratory, to comprehensive studies of solute mobilization and transport in the field. He has been active in evaluating complex biogeochemical interactions that occur in contaminant mixtures and in applying multi-component reacton and microbiologic models to contaminant adsorption and precipitation/dissolution in complex natural environments. He has made important contributions to understanding how microorganisms interact with mineral surfaces and mediate geochemical processes through his long-term collaboration with microbiologist Dr. Jim Fredrickson.

Dr. Zachara's current research is focused on the biogeochemical behavior of metals and radionuclides with emphasis on the Hanford site, the influence of subsurface microbial processes on mineral surface chemistry and mineralization, and reactive transport chemistry. His research is assisted by applications of electron microscopy, scanning probe microscopy, Mössbauer spectroscopy, laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy, and x-ray absorption spectroscopy. Dr. Zachara has been committed to identifying and performing fundamental research that provides basis for remedial action and closure decisions at the Hanford site. He is principal investigator of a large field project investigating the biogeochemical dynamics of uranium in groundwater near the Columbia River.

Dr. Zachara is a former coordinator of the DOE/OBER co-contaminant chemistry research subprogram, former associate director of the William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory at PNNL, current chief scientist for Hanford’s Science and Technology program, and co-coordinator of the PNNL/EMSL Biogeochemistry Grand Challenge along with Dr. Jim Fredrickson.

Zimmerman has served as COO and CFO of several companies, including Dakota Technologies, Wamnet, and Great Plains Software. At Wamnet, she raised $300M, enabling the company to build one of the world's largest intranets and secure a $900M government contract. While CFO at Great Plains Software, she had a leadership role in growing revenue from $25M to $200M and executing a successful initial public offering. Zimmerman was appointed to an economic development board by John Hoeven, Governor of North Dakota. Also, with a group of business leaders Zimmerman established a new venture fund.