Keynote Speaker

Sir Harry Kroto was one of three recipients of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1996, the same year that he was knighted for his contributions to chemistry. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London, and holds an emeritus professorship at the University of Sussex in Brighton, United Kingdom. He is currently on the faculty at Florida State University, where he started an educational initiative known as the Global Educational Outreach for Science, Engineer­ing, and Technology, or GEOSET. This initiative seeks to exploit the revolutionary creative dynamics (what Harry Kroto calls the GYW – Google, YouTube and Wikipedia world,) of the Internet to improve the general level of science teaching worldwide.

Other Speakers

Jim G. Batterson has taught physics and mathematics at Menchville High School in Newport News, worked as a scientific programmer for LTV Corporation, and, from 1980 until his retirement in 2008, was a research engineer at NASA Langley Research Center.  While at NASA, he carried out assignments to the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, NASA Headquarters, and to the Office of Virginia’s Secretary of Education.  He currently serves as Senior Advisor to the Commonwealth (VA) for STEM Initiatives.

Marlene Bourne is internationally recognized as one of the leading experts on MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) and its convergence with Nanotechnology. With nearly 15 years of expertise as an industry analyst, her technology and market insight extends from the chip to the end-use product, with both broad and deep knowledge of countless products, companies, markets and applications.

Dr. Wade Adams is the Director of the Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology at Rice University. The Smalley Institute is devoted to the development of new innovations on the nanometer scale by coordinating and supporting nanoscience and nanoengineering research of over 150 faculty members. Some current thrusts include research in carbon nanotubes, nanoporous membranes, molecular electronics and computing, and diagnostic and therapeutic medical applications of buckyballs and nanoshells. The Smalley Institute is part of a major initiative at Rice to expand activities in nano, bio, info and energy and enviro science and engineering.

Dr. Lisa Regalla is the Science Editor for DragonflyTV and developed science content for this season of DragonflyTV Nano. She was in charge of the scientific accuracy of the production as well as the accompanying educational materials in collaboration with science museums and research institutes. Lisa obtained her PhD in Chemistry in 2007 from the University of Florida. She has had several years of experience in science outreach. Prior to graduate school, she was employed for two years as the Manager of School Partnerships and Outreach Program Coordinator at The Discovery Center of Science & Technology in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Following her graduate career, she was an Education Associate at the Museum of Science, Boston, specializing in educating the public in nanoscale science and technology.