I2P International: 2005 Judges

2007 I2P® International Judges

Mr. Isaac Barchas took over as the head of ATI in April, 2006. He works with companies across all of the ATI verticals – IT, Wireless, and Clean Energy. In addition, he is responsible for ATI’s strategic direction and for evolving the ATI economic model. He also supports the global commercialization programs run out of the IC2 Institute. Isaac serves on the Executive Committee of the Austin Technology Council, the Board of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, and the Board of the AusTech Alliance. Isaac did his undergraduate work at Stanford University, and then went on to the University of Chicago for his master’s and law degrees.

Dr. Dave Bonner is CEO of Regenetech, Inc., an adult stem cell biotech company based in Houston, Texas. He has led 8 venture companies and has been a faculty member at a large chemical engineering department and a senior officer of several specialty chemical companies. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California and his B.S.Ch.E. and M.S.Ch.E. degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. He was named a Distinguished Engineering Graduate of the University of Texas in 2001.

Dr. Bob Bridge has worked for five high-tech start-up companies, the last three as founding CEO. He has extensive experience in company creation and in raising venture capital financing. Currently he is CEO of Zilker Labs, Inc., a company offering advanced power management ICs. Prior to Zilker Labs, he founded two storage technology startups: FlowEngines, Inc., which closed a $1.3M seed round in 2000, and Copan Systems, Inc., which closed a $12M series A in 2002. Prior to Flow Engines, Bob was an Entrepreneur in Residence at Austin Ventures. He earned a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas, and BA in Computer Science from Rice University.

Mr. Brett Cornwell Brett Cornwell is the Director of Commercialization Services for the Office of Technology Commercialization at The Texas A&M University System. He develops business plans and strategic plans around the major commercial initiatives of the System. He is also a faculty member at the IC2 Institute at the University of Texas at Austin and teaches in the Masters of Science and Technology Commercialization Program. He has 15 years of experience in technology commercialization, including 10 years with the NASA Mid-Continent Technology Transfer Center.

Mr. Michael Davis is Founder & President of Davis Law Group, a professional corporation. His practice includes a comprehensive array of technology transactions & intellectual property matters for developing, protecting & commercializing technology. During his 16-year legal career, he has represented numerous clients, and several have obtained large investments of venture capital. Before attending law school, he received his bachelor’s degree from MIT’s school of engineering and worked in the fields of electronic instrumentation, automated control systems, and computer programming.

Mr. Ross Garsson is a Principal in Fish & Richardson’s Austin office. His practice focuses on intellectual property litigation and patent prosecution across a full range of technologies, including chemical, biochemical, nanotechnology, semiconductor, and computer technologies. He has worked closely with nanotechnologists to procure and license their technologies. His work assisting scientists at the Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology at Rice University has resulted in some of the most important patents for producing and manipulating carbon nanotubes. Ross is also experienced in counseling clients on patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets and providing advice on various aspects of intellectual property law. Ross received his BSChE and BA in Mathematics from Rice University and his JD from The University of Texas School of Law.

Ms. Aruni Gunasegaram is the founder/president of Babble Soft, LLC (www.babblesoft.com) which provides software solutions that help make the transition into parenthood a little easier. She has taught entrepreneurship on an adjunct basis at The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business. She was also the founder and former CEO of Isochron (www.isochron.com) which provides web-based enterprise software solutions with a wireless component for the soft drink bottling industry. She has a BBA and MBA from The University of Texas at Austin.

Mr. Eric Hennenhoefer is CEO and Founder of Obsidian, Software, an engineering software start up company based in Austin, Texas. Obsidian is the market leader in microprocessor functional verification software and has been recognized as part of the INC500. This is an market niche Obsidian helped create. Eric founded the DV Club in Austin and is the past president of the Austin Chapter of the Entrepreneur’s Organization. Eric holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Computer Engineering from Penn State University.

Mr. Lee Jones is an Engineering Manager for Nuventix, Inc. In addition, he works with seed stage companies to help them advance their technology and personal growth to prepare for venture financing. He is also active with the Clean Energy Incubator at the Austin Technology Incubator, and is committed to creating challenging, hi-tech jobs in Austin. He received a BSME from Rochester Institute of Technology and an MSME from The University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Norman Kaderlan is President of Technology Innovation Group, Inc., an international organization that assists clients in transforming knowledge into wealth using science and technology as drivers of economic development. He also is editor of InnovationMatters, an electronic newsletter covering innovation and technology transfer and commercialization for international subscribers. Dr. Kaderlan is Adjunct Professor at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) where he designed and taught “The Enterprise of Technology.” Prior to that, he was Associate Director of Non-Degree Educational Programs for UT’s IC2 Institute; he also was Director of the Austin Technology Incubator.

Mr. LorenKirkpatrick is VPof Development Services at Texas Realty Partners, LLC, a boutique real estatebrokerage and developmentfirm based in Austin, Texas. In addition to his real estate practice, Mr. Kirkpatrick is afounderand board member of Voicepeer, Inc (a graduate company of the Idea to Product Competition). He has advisedseveral technology based start ups including Bulldog Solutions andHillcast,Inc.He is currently working through theideation phase with local start up Tunefilter.Mr. Kirkpatrickis a member of Bootstrap Austin, and he continues to works with seed stage companies to help them advance theirproof of concept and market validationto prepare forseed and growth capital.Hewas a founding team member of the first International Idea to Product competition.He received a MBA from The University of Texas at Austinand an BBA in Finance and Real Estate from the University of Texas.

Mr. Kevin Klein is currently the Global Automotive Marketing Manager for Freescale Semiconductor’s Microcontroller Division. Kevin has a B.S. in Physics from Texas A&M University and an MBA and a Ph. D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He has held various positions of increasing responsibility in manufacturing, R&D, product engineering, and marketing in both start up and large company environments, and has taught at the university level. Kevin has authored or co-authored over 50 publications and holds 2 patents.

Mr. Phong Le Phong Le is the Director of the North Texas Enterprise Center for Medical Technology (NTEC). In addition to his regular activities, Phong is involved with the Center for Space Nuclear Research and various volunteer projects including the Prison Entrepreneurship Program. Furthermore, Phong is an author, having published LIVING IN PARADOX, Perspectives of a Refugee Made in America. Phong received a BBA in Business Management and a Master of Science in Science and Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas at Austin.

Mr. Richard V. Lebovitz is founder and CEO of FactoryDNA, Inc. and a manufacturing expert working in the areas of manufacturing design strategy and the practical implementation of Lean Production techniques. Mr. Lebovitz has co-founded several technology start-ups focused on web-based manufacturing and supply chain software. Prior to FactoryDNA, Mr. Lebovitz was the founder and CEO of Austin based Factory Logic, Inc., which he built into a leading provider of software that models the Toyota Production System, and won the Shingo Prize for Manufacturing excellence in 2001. Currently, Mr. Lebovitz is also a regional VP for the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME), and is an Entrepreneur-In-Residence with The University of Texas at Austin.

Mr. Hall Martin is Hall T. Martin is the Executive Director of the Central Texas Angel Network based in Austin, Texas, providing funding for startup and early stage companies in a broad range of areas. He serves on the board of several startups. Hall T. Martin has worked at National Instruments for twenty years in various positions including Product Strategy in which he developed the Lead User process. Prior to that he worked as the Corporate Development Director, Emerging Technologies in which he focused on research into new technologies. Previous to that he worked as Market Development Director, International Marketing Manager, and European Sales Manager. He joined the company in 1986 as an Applications Engineer. He holds a B.A. in computer science from Baylor University and an M.B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a member of Upsilon Phi Epsilon, the Computer Science Honor Society.

Dr. Mark Melliar-Smith is the Chief Executive Officer for Molecular Imprints, a start-up company located in Austin, Texas, which develops and manufactures step and flash imprint lithography tools. Prior to joining Molecular Imprints, Mark was a Venture Partner with Austin Ventures (2002-2003), a venture capital firm located in Austin, Texas, and before that he was the President and CEO of SEMATECH (1997 to 2001) and the Chief Technical Officer for Lucent Technologies Microelectronics, the forerunner of Agere Systems, from 1990 through 1996. In his thirty five year career in high technology, Mark has held a wide variety of technical and management positions in R&D, manufacturing and business management, including Executive Director of the Bell Laboratories Photonics and Integrated Circuit Division, and also as the VP and General Manager of the AT&T Lightwave Business Unit. Mark holds BS, PhD and MBA degrees and lives in Austin with his Pat.

Mr. Robert Meyer: Robert H. Meyer holds graduate degrees in business administration, technology commercialization, real property law and intellectual property law, and, is an attorney admitted to practice in Texas, California, Colorado and Florida. Robert acts as corporate counsel to start up company executive management and consults with entrepreneurs to resolve business development issues particularly with intellectual property strategies. As a former university technology licensing and commercialization officer his duties included serving as a board member of the university incubator and as a mentor of the university venture capital forum. Mr. Meyer has extensive international experience that includes Canada, Bulgaria, Croatia, Australia, the Maldives, England, India and Portugal.

Dr. J. Strother Moore is J Strother Moore holds the Admiral B.R. Inman Centennial Chair in Computing Theory at the University of Texas at Austin. He is also chair of the Computer Sciences department. He got his PhD in 1973 at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He shared the 2005 ACM Software System Award for his work in mechanized verification of safety-critical hardware and software and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

Mr. Mark Murdock is a Technology Lawyer with over 35 years of experience, including over 30 years with IBM as a corporate lawyer and managing attorney, specializing in technology and product development, manufacturing and licensing, and over 5 years at Thompson & Knight, L.L.P. working closely with early stage technology, biotech and life sciences companies in Austin in the development of their business plans, their team building and their introduction to key angel and equity capital investors. Mark is an Entrepreneur In Residence at the UT- Austin School of Engineering and has judged both I2P and MOOT CORP competitions. He holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from Texas Tech University and a Law Degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

Mr. Michael E. Palmer isaSenior Engineering Manager for Dell.Michael's responsibilities include supply chain strategy and competitive analysis. In addition, he is alicensed professional engineer,a board certified ergonomist, and an active business development consultant. He received hisM.S. in Science and Technology Commercializationfrom UT in 2005 andhis BS in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Ms. Jerri Paul is an independent consultant for strategy, operations, and marketing. She was recently a President and Chief Executive Officer of a small software company providing an electronic health record solution for a niche healthcare industry where she executed a turn-around leading to the sale of the company. Prior to that position, Jerri served as a consultant with several start-up companies, venture capitalists, and angel investors to adjust investment strategies and business models for changes in the economic environment. Jerri honed her business savvy as a business and product strategy specialist with Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan . She holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, M.S. in Manufacturing Systems Engineering, and M.B.A. in Operations Management from the University of Texas at Austin.

Ms. Jennifer Gill Roberts has spent over a twelve years investing in communications, enterprise and internet infrastructure. Before founding Maven Venture Partners in 2005, an early-stage venture fund focused on Mobility software, Jennifer was a General Partner at top tier venture capital firm, Sevin Rosen Funds. During her nine year tenure at the firm, Jennifer invested in numerous market leading companies with a focus on the evolutionary capabilities of the network, including access, scaling the network, and the mobility platforms required to dynamically provision and deploy data services. Jennifer earned a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from Stanford, a Masters in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MBA from Stanford Business School. Before earning her MBA and pursuing a venture capital career, Jennifer worked for close to a decade in engineering and management positions at Apple Computer, Hewlett-Packard Company, and Sun Microsystems.

Mr. Charles Shields Charles Shields is a graduate of the University of Texas, Austin and Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management. He has served as a consultant to the World Bank, 5 foreign governments and has worked in over 60 countries. His international career includes service as a diplomat in Germany, senior executive for German and Swedish multinationals as well as founding several engineering firms specializing in Six Sigma factory automation. Over the past 10 years, he has advised more than 70 high tech and bio tech firms around the world.

Ms. Rebecca Taylor is President and board member for TD Partners, Inc. She has co-founded several technology-based software and semiconductor related startups. In addition, she works with seed stage companies to help them advance their technology and personal growth to prepare for venture financing. She currently serves as chair of the ACC Foundation Board Development Committee as her contribution to creating (and filling) challenging technology jobs in Austin. She received a BSCS from Iowa State University.

Mr. Bruce Thornton Bruce Thornton is an Entrepreneur in Residence at UT Austin and a 1970 graduate with a BS in chemical engineering. He is President of CMS Technology, Inc., a petrochemical consulting company, Chairman of Landscape Depot, LLC (green waste recycling and horticultural products) and Chairman of Advanced Laser Materials, LLC, a rapid prototyping materials start-up company.

Mr. Donnie Vanelli is the President and Co-founder of Advanced Laser Materials, LLC. ALM is a start-up company using UT technology in the rapid manufacturing industry. Prior to his involvement in ALM Donnie was a Ph.D. student at UT in electrical engineering. He competed in the 2002 and 2003 I2P UT Competitions and in the first I2P Global Competition in 2003.

Dr. Timothy S. Westbyis a Director/Shareholder resident in the Houston office of the intellectual property law firm Conley Rose, PC. Dr. Westby specializes in the litigation and prosecution of patents for the chemical and petrochemical industries, and provides intellectual property counseling for process and product development such as patent opinion preparation, patent portfolio development, and pre-litigation management. Dr. Westby holds an SB in chemical engineering from MIT, a PhD in chemical engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, and a JD from the University of Houston Law Center specializing in patent law. Dr. Westby held various positions at the Shell Development Company's Westhollow Research Center prior to his current position. His IP clients have ranged from startups to Fortune 100 petrochemical companies.

Ms. Carol Williams is the President for Trendsetter Electronics, an electronics distributor. She founded Trendsetter in 1995 and has organically grown the organiation to expand to a national and international company.

Dr. Dennis Wilson is CTO, Chairman, and co-founder of Nanotechnologies and co-inventor of the company’s proprietary process. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas in 1977. Prior to starting Nanotechnologies he was a professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Texas at Austin where he taught courses and conducted research in thermal fluid sciences. He has authored over fifty technical papers, four patents and has over twenty-five years of experience in academia, government and industry.

Hosts

Partners and Sponsors

Selig Fund in Entrepreneurial Studies

Roden Center of Entrepreneurship