Speakers: 2008 Confirmed Speakers
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Susan Athey Economic Theorist Harvard Professor of Economics and the first woman to win the prestigious American Economic Association’s John Bates Clark medal, awarded to the most accomplished American economist under age 40, for her contributions to industrial organization, econometrics, microeconomic theory and auctions. |
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Joseph Ayers Biomimetic Roboticist Professor of Biology and former Director of Northeastern’s Marine Science Center best known for his RoboLobster, whose recent research using technology to mimic biological organisms and processes may someday help rehabilitate people with traumatic brain injuries. |
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Robin Bowman Photojournalist A photojournalist devoted to documenting social and political issues at home and abroad, whose 2007 book, “It’s Complicated: The American Teenager” chronicles her 5 year journey across America to explore the shape of this generation and the country that formed them. |
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David Edwards Art/Science Innovator Founder of Le Laboratoire, an artscience center in Paris dedicated to experimental collaboration between artists and scientists, author and Harvard Professor of Biomedical Engineering interested in developing new cultural and educational environments for innovation. |
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Noah Feldman Constitutional Law Scholar Harvard Law professor, author and lecturer who specializes in constitutional studies with particular emphasis on the relationship between law and religion, constitutional design and history of legal theory, whose book, “The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State” was published in April 2008. |
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Paul Goodnight African Cultural Artist A world renowned painter, known for his colorful realism that captures the extraordinary in the lives of ordinary people around the world, whose recent commissions include a triathlon triptych for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. |
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Sheila Kennedy Architect and Inventor Principal of Kennedy & Violich Architecture, an inter-disciplinary practice that explores relationships between architecture, technology and emerging public needs. Kennedy creates design concepts and building projects that accelerate the implementation of energy harvesting nano-materials in architecture, textiles and building materials. |
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Vikram Sheel Kumar Healthcare Technology Entrepreneur Co-Founder of Dimagi, a healthcare informatics consultancy, and a pioneer in the field of community-based chronic disease management, who focuses on creating technologies specially customized for the conditions encountered in the developing world. |
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John Lester Pathfinder Linden – Second Life Avatar Boston Operations Director for Linden Lab, creator of the online world, Second Life, where he leads the company’s efforts supporting use of Second Life as a platform for education and academic research, focusing on strategies for success. |
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John Maeda Designer, Creative Innovator and Academic President of the Rhode Island School of Design, and a world-renowned designer, visual artist, computer scientist and author known for his philosophy of humanizing technology. |
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Dava Newman 21st Century Space Suit Designer MIT Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems, whose BioSuit™ advanced spacesuit research was named by “Time” Magazine as one of the Best Inventions of 2007, and was part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 2008 “Superheroes” exhibit. |
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David Rattner Trailblazing Surgeon David Rattner believes an innovative natural orifice approach to surgery is imminent. Chief of General and GI Surgery at MGH, Dr. Rattner serves as co-chair of the national organization, NOSCAR, a research consortium of world-renowned surgeons and endoscopists who are working together on perfecting surgical approaches that will hasten recovery and be less painful for the patient. |
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Daniel Schrag Climate Scientist Harvard Professor and Geochemist who studies climate changes over the Earth's history, currently working with economists and engineers on technological approaches to mitigating future climate change. |
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Sara Seager Astrophysicist MIT Associate Professor of Planetary Science and Physics is known for her research on exoplanets – planets orbiting stars other than the sun. Her research focuses on the search for Earth-like planets and signs of life on them. |
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Paul Watanabe Political Science/Race and Immigration Specialist Director of the University of Mass Boston Institute for Asian American Studies and Professor of political, cultural, and socioeconomic implications of the nation’s growing diversity shaped largely by immigration. |
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Martin Wattenberg New Media Artist - Information Visualization An IBM mathematician whose work focuses on information visualization and its application to collaborative computing, journalism, bioinformatics and art. |
