CAMBRIDGE, MA--(Marketwire - October 21, 2010) - On October 26, the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge will present an evening of presentations by four leading technology entrepreneurs to discuss how pop culture imagination has impacted technology, leading to the development of products once unimaginable.
The session will feature Bob Allard, co-founder of I-Nalysis and CEO and managing partner of extensionEngine; Carl Dietrich, CEO, CTO and co-founder of Terrafugia; Eric Giler, CEO of WiTricity; and Dr. Tom Wagner, CTO of iRobot. Mass High Tech Publisher Douglas Banks will moderate the evening.
Each of the companies represented has developed a product that, perhaps, can best be explained by its reference to a pop culture icon. In reality, each is bound by the constraints of technology, regulation, customer demand and financing. This session will discuss how the companies were built, and the role pop culture imagination played in their success.
Presenters:
Bob Allard is co-founder of i-Nalysis and CEO and managing partner of extensionEngine, a software development firm. His technology career includes experience in software sales, product marketing and strategic business development across disciplines including high-performance computing, wide-area networking, database development and mobile applications. In 2006, he authored "The Care and Feeding of your Network," which outlines his ideas about networking. Allard sits on the boards of i-Nalysis and iSpecimen, which he co-founded.
Carl Dietrich is CEO, CTO and co-founder of Terrafugia, a personal aviation innovator. He received his Bachelor's, Master's and Ph.D. from the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT, shortly after being selected as the 2006 winner of the prestigious Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for Innovation. Dietrich was recognized by the Aero/Astro Department at MIT as one of 16 exceptional graduates under the age of 35.
Eric Giler is CEO of WiTricity, a company commercializing a new technology for wireless electricity. Prior to WiTricity, he was chairman and CEO of Groove Mobile and founder, CEO and president of Brooktrout Inc. Giler serves on the board of directors at SoundBite Communications and Muse Research, and on the national board of directors of the American Electronics Association. He has also served on the board of the Massachusetts Telecommunications Council since its founding, most recently as chairman.
Tom Wagner is CTO of iRobot, a leader in robotic technology solutions, where his areas of responsibility include technology, software and research. Previously he served as VP and technical director of iRobot's Government and Industrial Robots division. Prior to joining iRobot, Wagner was a program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
Moderator:
Douglas Banks is the publisher of Mass High Tech. He joined MHT as editor in 2005 and became publisher in January 2010. Doug was formerly an editor at the Boston Business Journal and Fast Company Magazine.
Sponsor: PricewaterhouseCoopers
When: Tuesday, October 26, 2010
5:30pm: Networking mixer & appetizers
6:15-8:00pm: Program
8:00-9:00pm: Networking reception
Where: MIT Stata Center (Building 32), Kirsch Auditorium, 32 Vassar St., Cambridge, MA
Registration and information: http://www.mitforumcambridge.org/events/innovation-series-event-they-said-it-couldnt-be-done/
Pricing: Forum members: $25, Non-members: $40. Students from all universities are free with college ID. Pre-registration is encouraged.
Contact Information:
MIT ENTERPRISE FORUM OF CAMBRIDGE CONTACT:
Trish Fleming
MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge
617-253-8240