PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 9, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Board of Directors for Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania (BFTP/SEP) (www.sep.benfranklin.org) -- an innovative economic development organization that grows the region's economy through science, technology and entrepreneurship -- has elected Dr. Joseph Bordogna, Alfred Fitler Moore Professor and Dean Emeritus of Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, and Peter S. Linder, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Mid-Atlantic Angel Group (MAG) Fund, to serve on the Board. Their terms expire in January 2009.
In addition, the following individuals have been reappointed as BFTP/SEP Corporate Officers to a one year term to expire January 2007: Martin S. Dorph, Chairman of the Board; Robert E. Keith, Jr., Vice Chairman of the Board; RoseAnn B. Rosenthal, President and Chief Executive Officer for BFTP/SEP; Thomas M. Balderston, Treasurer and Chairman of the Finance Committee; and Brenda D. Gavin, D.V.M, Corporate Secretary.
New BFTP/SEP Corporate Officers are Terrence H. Hicks, BFTP/SEP's Vice President for Investment, who has been appointed as the Board's Assistant Treasurer; and Roy S. Chaleff, Ph.D., BFTP/SEP's Senior Vice President for Regional Technology Initiatives, who will serve as the Board's Assistant Corporate Secretary. Their terms expire January 2007.
"Ben Franklin Technology Partners is very pleased to add two new members as distinguished as Dr. Joseph Bordogna and Peter S. Linder to the Board of Directors," Board Chairman Martin S. Dorph said. "As a founding member of the team that shaped the Ben Franklin Technology Partners here in the southeast back in 1982, Dr. Bordogna is well acquainted with and very supportive of our mission and vision. Dr. Bordogna also brings a national perspective from his recent years as the Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer for the National Science Foundation (NSF). His work at the Foundation in support of partnerships and a comprehensive approach to the work of scientific discovery to commercialization positioned the NSF as a true agent of change."
Dorph added: "Mr. Linder brings additional perspective to BFTP/SEP as a successful entrepreneur and private investor. His work nurturing young companies, his leadership in the angel community as chairman of LORE, one of the oldest angel investment groups in the nation, past chairman of the Pennsylvania Angel Network, and advisory role with the Ben Franklin Investment Partners, as well as his work educating young students at Muhlenberg College through his course on venture investing are practical strengths Mr. Linder brings to our organization."
Joseph Bordogna, Ph.D.
Joseph Bordogna, Ph.D., is Alfred Fitler Moore Professor and Dean Emeritus of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania where he served also as Director of The Moore School of Electrical Engineering, Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and resident Faculty Master of Stouffer College House, a living-learning student residence at the University. His career includes experience as a line officer in the U.S. Navy and an engineer in industry at RCA. He was a founder of PRIME (Philadelphia Regional Introduction for Minorities to Engineering) and served on the Board of The Philadelphia Partnership for Education, community coalitions providing, respectively, supportive academic programs for K-12 students and teachers with an emphasis on diversity. He also was a member of the team that created the Ben Franklin Partnership for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1982.
From 1991 to 2005, Dr. Bordogna served at the National Science Foundation, first as head of the Directorate for Engineering, then as the U.S. President's appointed Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of NSF. Complementary to these tasks he was a member of the President's Management Council and chaired committees on Manufacturing, Environmental Technologies, and Automotive Technologies in the President's National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). He also served on the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science, the U.S. Government's Technology Reinvestment Project, the U.S.-Japan Joint Optoelectronics Project, the NSTC Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, and the NSTC Committee on Technological Innovation.
Dr. Bordogna has made contributions to the engineering profession in a variety of areas including optical and radio communications, early laser communication systems, electro-optic recording materials, holographic video playback systems, educational innovation, management of technological innovation, and was awarded a commendation as Operations Officer of the Flagship of the naval unit which achieved the world's first space capsule recovery.
Dr. Bordogna is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), the International Engineering Consortium (IEC), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He is the 1974 recipient of the George Westinghouse Award of ASEE as the top engineering teacher nationally and was named to the ASEE Hall of Fame of Engineering Educators in 1993 (one of 40 during preceding 100 years). He received the American Industrial Modernization Leadership Award of the National Coalition for Advanced Manufacturing in 1993, the Chairman's Award of the American Association of Engineering Societies in 1994 for national engineering leadership, and the Gold Medal of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers in 2001 for published literature and formulation of national policy.
In addition, he received the Leadership in Technology Management Award of the International Conference on Management of Engineering and Technology in 2003 and in 2004 was awarded the Semiconductor Industry Association Federal Government Administration Leadership Award for efforts to ensure a healthy and competitive U.S. semiconductor industry. Recently, he was elected Eminent Member of Eta Kappa Nu, the Electrical Engineering Honor Society, one of 100 in the history of the society, and received the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)/Johnson and Johnson Medal for the highest level of leadership and support throughout an outstanding career in fostering equity in the U.S. engineering workforce. During 1998, he served as worldwide President of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Dr. Bordogna earned his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and the Master of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He holds four honorary degrees in engineering, science, and humanities.
Peter S. Linder
Peter S. Linder is Chairman of the Executive Committee of the MAG Fund, a new member managed fund that bridges the gap between angel funding and institutional venture capital funding. For five years he was Chairman of LORE (Loosely Organized Retired Executives), one of the oldest angel investment groups in the country. He is Chairman, Investor Resources Group, Ben Franklin Investment Partners, providing guarantees to qualified angel investors, and a member of the Advisory Committee of Edison Venture Fund V.
In addition, Linder is Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Muhlenberg College, a member of the faculty, and teaches courses in venture capital and entrepreneurship. He is a member of the Board of Governing Trustees of The Jackson Laboratory -- the premier genetics research and resources institution in the world. He was president of ETHIX, a managed care company operating HMOs and PPOs in 13 states. He founded the company in 1984 and grew the health plan membership to over 500,000 and revenues of $50 million. He also founded American Interactive, a company specializing in hospital laboratory data processing systems. The company operated in the United States and Europe. Earlier in his career he served as Manager, Federal Government Marketing, for Burroughs Corporation.
Linder has a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Pennsylvania State University and a Master's degree in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
About Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania
Since 1982, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania (BFTP/SEP) has helped grow the region through science, technology and entrepreneurship. Part of a statewide network in Pennsylvania, BFTP/SEP provides entrepreneurs and established businesses the capital, talent, and expertise they need to compete in the global marketplace. BFTP/SEP has provided more than $110 million to over 1,400 regional enterprises through various funding means. BFTP/SEP is a founding partner of the Nanotechnology Institute(tm) (NTI) and the Mid-Atlantic Nanotechnology Alliance (MANA(r)) and is funded by Pennsylvania's Department of Community and Economic Development.