ADVISORY BOARD
(alphabetical order)
Vinton G. Cerf
Vinton G. Cerf is vice president and Chief Internet Evangelist for Google. He contributes to global policy development and continued spread of the Internet. Widely known as one of the “Fathers of the Internet,” Cerf is the co-designer of the TCP/IP protocols and the architecture of the Internet. He has served in executive positions at MCI, the Corporation for National Research Initiatives and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and on the faculty of Stanford University.
Vint Cerf served as chairman of the board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) from 2000-2007 and has been a Visiting Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory since 1998. Cerf served as founding president of the Internet Society (ISOC) from 1992-1995. Cerf is a Fellow of the IEEE, ACM, and American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the International Engineering Consortium, the Computer History Museum, the British Computer Society, the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists, the Worshipful Company of Stationers and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He currently serves as Past President of the Association for Computing Machinery, chairman of the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) and completed a term as Chairman of the Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology for the US National Institute of Standards and Technology. President Obama appointed him to the National Science Board in 2012.
Cerf is a recipient of numerous awards and commendations in connection with his work on the Internet, including the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, US National Medal of Technology, the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, the Prince of Asturias Award, the Tunisian National Medal of Science, the Japan Prize, the Charles Stark Draper award, the ACM Turing Award, Officer of the Legion d’Honneur and 25 honorary degrees. In December 1994, People magazine identified Cerf as one of that year’s “25 Most Intriguing People.”
His personal interests include fine wine, gourmet cooking and science fiction. Cerf and his wife, Sigrid, were married in 1966 and have two sons, David and Bennett.
Daniel Friel
Daniel Friel has more than 25 years experience in the financial services sector with a strong focus on business development, strategic investments, alliance management and working with early stage technology companies. Mr. Friel has served as a founder, director, and/or advisor to several companies, including 6fusion, aPersona, CapitalStream, InQuira, Moneta Corporation, Net Direct Systems, Opmantek, rFactr, and Virtual Strong Box. Mr. Friel founded Bank of America’s Strategic Alliances and Investments group charged with identifying emerging technologies and enabling business unit adoption. As President of Banc of America Technology Investments, Inc. and Banc of America Ecommerce Holdings, Inc., Mr. Friel managed the investment of over $125 million in more than 40 early stage venture capital backed companies in the payments, payment processing, security and authentication, and billing sectors. Notable early stage venture equity investments ($1 billion + exits) included Signio, an electronic payments gateway which was acquired by VeriSign, Shopping.com, which pioneered online comparison shopping and is now owned by eBay, and Archipelago, the nation’s first totally open, all-electronic stock exchange which merged with the New York Stock Exchange. Mr. Friel was SVP and Director of Financial and Economic Analysis at Bank of America, and taught economics at North Carolina State University.
Igor Jablokov
Igor is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) for Blackstone NC, a regional initiative focused on accelerating the commercialization of academic research backed by the Blackstone Foundation, Duke University, NC State University, and The University of North Carolina. To support that endeavor, he serves on the board for the Council for Entrepreneurial Development and as a Venture Partner at Rubicon Venture Capital. Igor also advises Penn State’s College of Engineering and the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers. He was awarded Eisenhower and Truman National Security Fellowships to deepen collaboration between government and industry.
Previously, Igor was founder and CEO of Yap, an institutionally-funded venture that pioneered cloud-based speech recognition. Its technology was deployed by numerous customers, including Microsoft and Sprint, and received accolades for their innovations, including being named North Carolina’s Early Stage Company of the Year and as a finalist at the first ever TechCrunch Disrupt conference. The startup was subsequently acquired by Amazon and is integrated into successful products such as the Alexa Voice Service platform, the Echo speaker, and the Fire TV set top box.
As Program Director of IBM’s multimodal research group, Igor led the team that invented the world’s first ever speech-enabled Web browser. With over two dozen patents issued and pending, he was named an industry luminary by Speech Technology Magazine and an outstanding engineering alumnus of Penn State. Igor holds a BS in Computer Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University and an MBA from The University of North Carolina.
Thomas R. Kurfess
Thomas R. Kurfess is a chaired professor at the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech. Dr. Kurfess received his S.B., S.M. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from M.I.T. in 1986, 1987 and 1989, respectively. He also received an S.M. degree from M.I.T. in electrical engineering and computer science in 1988. Following graduation, he joined Carnegie Mellon University where he rose to the rank of Associate Professor. In 1994 he moved to the Georgia Institute of Technology where he rose to the rank of Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. In 2005 he was named Professor and BMW Chair of Manufacturing in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research. In 2012 he returned to Georgia Tech where he was appointed the HUSCO/Ramirez Distinguished Chair in Fluid Power and Motion Control and Professor of Mechanical Engineering. During 2012-2013 he was on leave serving as the Assistant Director for Advanced Manufacturing at the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President of the United States of America. In this position he had responsibility for engaging the Federal sector and the greater scientific community to identify possible areas for policy actions related to manufacturing. He was responsible for coordinating Federal advanced manufacturing R&D, addressing issues related to technology commercialization, identifying gaps in current Federal R&D in advanced manufacturing, and developing strategies to address these gaps. He has served as a special consultant of the United Nations to the Government of Malaysia in the area of applied mechatronics and manufacturing, and as a participating guest at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in their Precision Engineering Program. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining, and the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences, and on the Board of Trustees for the MT Connect Institute. His research focuses on the design and development of advanced manufacturing systems targeting digital manufacturing, additive and subtractive processes, and large scale production enterprises. He has significant experience in high precision manufacturing and metrology systems. He has received numerous awards including a National Science Foundation (NSF) Young Investigator Award, an NSF Presidential Faculty Fellowship Award, the ASME Pi Tau Sigma Award, SME Young Manufacturing Engineer of the Year Award, the ASME Blackall Machine Tool and Gage Award, the ASME Gustus L. Larson Award, an ASME Swanson Federal Award, and the SME Education Award. He is a Fellow of ASME, AAAS, and SME.
Phillip Lacombe
Phillip Lacombe successfully co-founded and led the creation and exit of Secure Missions Solutions (SMS), an equity firm-backed company formed via acquisition under Phil’s leadership as President and COO. In 2014, he served as the head of Cyber Initiative at Parsons Corporation which acquired SMS. Mr. Lacombe has 20 years of experience in developing and managing security services businesses. Previously Mr. Lacombe was President at Veridian Corporation’s cyber sector, Vice President and manager of GD’s cyber security business line, Senior Vice President and General Manager of SAIC’s integrated security business unit and Executive Vice President of Integrated Security Solutions of Olive Group FZ-LLC. Phil also served as the Director of the President’s Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection, where he led the commission staff in documenting the vulnerability of the nation’s critical infrastructure, providing recommendations to the President and supporting the government’s initial critical infrastructure and nationwide cyber protection actions. He was also a founding director and President of the Information Technology – Information Sharing and Analysis Center (IT-ISAC). Phil is a retired US Air Force Colonel, a graduate of the National War College, the University of North Carolina (MA) and the University of Massachusetts.
Alton D. Romig, Jr
Alton D. Romig, Jr. is the Executive Officer of the National Academy of Engineering. Under Congressional charter, the Academy provides advice to the federal government, when requested, on matters of engineering and technology. As Executive Officer, Dr. Romig is the Chief Operating Officer responsible for the program, financial and membership operations of the Academy, reporting to the President. Prior to joining the Academy, he served as Vice President and General Manager of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company Advanced Development Programs, better known as the Skunk Works ®. Dr. Romig spent the majority of his career at Sandia National Laboratories, operated by the Lockheed Martin Corporation. He joined Sandia as a Member of the Technical Staff in 1979 and moved through a succession of R&D management positions leading to appointment as Executive Vice President in 2005. He served as the Deputy Laboratories Director and Chief Operating Officer until 2010 when he transferred to the Skunk Works.
Dr. Romig graduated from Lehigh University in 1975 with a BS in Materials Science and Engineering. He received his MS and PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Lehigh University in 1977 and 1979, respectively. Dr. Romig is a Fellow of ASM International, TMS, IEEE, AIAA and AAAS. Dr. Romig was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2003 and the Council of Foreign Relations in 2008. He was awarded the ASM Silver Medal for Materials Research in 1988.
TECHNICAL ADVISORS
David J. Kasik
Dave Kasik was Boeing’s Senior Technical Fellow in visualization and interactive techniques until his 2016 retirement. He developed the first user interface management system to simplify application programming. His work with 3D graphics ranges from computer animation to device drivers to massive model visualization tools and techniques. He pioneered the use of visual analytics to help extract more business insight from complex non-geometric data. Mr. Kasik also has extensive experience in the digital management of manufacturing data.
Dave earned his Masters in Computer Science from the University of Colorado in 1972 and a Bachelor’s in Quantitative Studies from the Johns Hopkins University in 1970. He’s an ACM Fellow and involved in professional activities with ACM and IEEE and have served on impactful committees at the National Academy of Sciences.
Michael Maher
Mick Maher founded Maher & Associates, LLC in September 2016 after 5 years as a program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). He focuses on key insights, analysis, and evaluations to assist in making better, critical, strategic, and tactical decisions, as well as developing transition paths in areas concerning new material and manufacturing technologies. Mr. Maher joined DARPA as a program manager in September 2011. He managed a portfolio of programs specializing in advanced materials and manufacturing that included the Tailorable Feedstock and Forming, Materials Development for Platforms, and Open Manufacturing programs. While at DARPA his programs developed new technologies that enabled rapid qualification of new manufacturing technologies and developed revolutionary new composite technologies, novel lightweight multifunctional and specialty material systems. Mr. Maher came to DARPA from the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) where he was Chief of the Composite and Hybrid Materials Branch and Materials Applications Branch. While at ARL, Mr. Maher oversaw the research and development programs in the areas of armor material, coatings, composite technologies, failure analysis, hybrid material systems, processing and material transitions. Prior to his work at ARL, Mr. Maher served in various technology and management positions over a 20-year span at companies such as Martin Marietta, AAI, and DuPont. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Loyola College in Maryland.
BENNETT ADVANCED RESEARCH
CEO
Douglas Bennett
Douglas Bennett is founder and CEO of Bennett Advanced Research. Mr. Bennett was previously the sole founder of Bennett Aerospace, which he successfully grew to a $180 million dollar, global enterprise operating across 11 time zones around the world. Mr. Bennett departed in 2015 to start Bennett Advanced Research, where he focuses more fully on his core R&D passion.
Douglas Bennett has previously served as the U.S. National Academy of Sciences liaison to the New Zealand Royal Society. He has also served as a Study Director for the National Academy of Science’s / National Research Council’s Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board. In the role, he crafted public policy for the U.S. federal and state governments that shape the United State’s future technology development. While at the NRC, he directed numerous studies. Most notably, a committee on Mars exploration, the recommendations of which are being used by NASA to plan for Mars robotic exploration. Mr. Bennett’s other work at the National Academies included directing committees that assessed the technical quality of $2 billion worth of annual funding for research and development under NASA’s research program. The program covered all aspects of aeronautics and space applications including information technology, data management, nanotechnology, power and propulsion, aircraft design, bio-inspired design, and communications. For State-level efforts, Douglas directed committees that determined in which technologies the State of Ohio invested $40 million when establishing Ohio’s Wright Centers of Excellence in the fields of nanotechnology, information technology, power generation, and aircraft propulsion.
He has served as a consultant to NASA, the US Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare (SpaWar) Systems Center, the US Air Force Laboratory, and DARPA. For DARPA Mr. Bennett created visions of technological impact on complex battle spaces where computers read human bio-signs, including brain signatures, eye tracking and other physiological responses, to gauge a human’s mental operational capacity and adjust information flow accordingly.
Mr. Bennett has worked as a consultant for NEC Corporation in Japan, and a sales engineer in advanced electronics manufacturing for German-based Heraeus GmbH. He has spent over a year of his life on ships, some in oceanographic research and the majority working for the Marine Division of Schlumberger, Inc., as a navigator for oil exploration in the West Indies and the Gulf of Mexico. His work has included extensive international collaborations with Europe, Latin America, North America, Australasia, Japan, and the West Indies, including intensive “international relations immersion training” while working on oil exploration ships, the crews of which represented 10 nationalities speaking 7 languages.
Douglas Bennett received a Mechanical Engineering Degree from Georgia Tech. He also holds a Master’s in English – Creative Writing – from Iowa State University, and a second Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies – concentrating on Astrophysics, English, and Political Science with an emphasis on Technology, Policy, and Culture, also from Iowa State. He is a designated outstanding alumni from Iowa State and was credited with penning the first, and perhaps only, fictional short story used in a National Academy of Sciences report.