Dr. Birgitte Ahring, an internationally recognized microbiologist, joined Washington State University in August 2008 as director of the Center for Bioproducts and Bioenergy and as the Battelle Distinguished Professor and holds a joint appointment with Aalborg University in Denmark.

Dr. Ahring received her Ph.D. in microbiology in 1986 from the University of Copenhagen and previously was at The Technical University of Denmark. She is an authority in the use of anaerobic bacteria - bacteria that exist in an oxygen-free environment - to biodegrade waste.
 
She was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of BioGasol, an engineering and technology company that designs and develops technologies for second-generation bioethanol production.  BioGasol is involved in demonstration activities at Bornholm in Denmark and at Boardman OR.

Birgitte Ahring is currently actively involved in the new CleanTech Energy Park under establishment at the Hanford site in Richland WA.  The park will host renewable energy demonstrations and show the benefit of integrating different renewable energy technologies in an innovative fashion.

Dr. Badegruber holds a PhD in finance and has been co-founder of an e-learning company. Most recently he has been Engagement Manager with McKinsey & Company, Inc. in Vienna for four years. He has advised several top-tier private equity firms in strategic due diligences and has extensive experience in organizational and operational matters in various process industries including steel, chemicals, and pulp & paper.

David R. Baker covers energy for the San Francisco Chronicle, writing about oil, gasoline, electricity, alternative fuels and renewable power. He also focuses on local energy companies Chevron Corp. and Pacific Gas and Electric, Co. In addition, Baker spent August, 2003 in Iraq, writing about reconstruction and the daily lives of Iraqis after the invasion.

Carsten Bech joined Floating Power Plant A/S as CEO in 2008 with the objectives of overseeing the construction and piloting of the first hybrid wind and wave solution and commercializing the concept. The Poseidon technology consists of a floating foundation for off-shore wind turbines, three standard off-shore wind turbines and a wave energy component where floats extract the enormous amounts of energy in the waves.  Poseidon 37 was launched in September 2008 for the first off-shore test phase.

Carsten Bech has a strong experience and long track record within Project and Program Management and was PMP certified in 1997. He has been part of the international Project Management professional network ever since. His has developed several training program and has been key note speaker.

Carsten has spent his career to date working with leading edge technologies, innovation and projects within the IT, biotech and now the renewable off-shore industry. Carsten has held executive positions in international engineering and consultancy companies since 1998. Over that time he has worked as trusted advisor to companies ranging from startups with less than a handful of employees to global companies with market leading positions.

Carsten holds an engineering degree from the Copenhagen Technical College and Business degrees from Copenhagen Business School and IMD in Switzerland. Furthermore he holds a Marine engineering degree from the College of Copenhagen. 

Kolbeinn Bjornsson has over ten years executive management experience from the  medical device, project management and engineering industry. Kolbeinn was the CEO of the largest engineering consortium in Iceland;  HRV Engineering  which is specialized on servicing the aluminum industry in Iceland and abroad with clients ranging from Rio Tinto Alcan, Alcoa, Rusal and Century Aluminum. Prior to joining HRV Engineering, Kolbeinn was a managing director at Ossur Hf.,  a world leading manufacturer of prosthetic & orthotic devices. During this time at Ossur hf., he was responsible for sales, marketing and business development in Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, Africa, South America and South Europe. Kolbeinn holds a Diplom Kaufmann degree in Marketing and Production controlling from University of Mannheim, Germany and Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo as well a  MA degree in Japanese studies. For the last five years  Kolbeinn has been teaching and overseeing the program of economical studies at the Department of Japanese Studies at the University of Iceland.

Alf Bjørseth earned his Doctorate degree in physical chemistry from the University of Oslo, Norway in 1979. He started his professional career as an associated professor at the Universities of Oslo and Bergen and subsequently worked for contract research organizations in Norway (SI – today SINTEF) and in the US (Battelle Labs.). Dr. Bjørseth then moved into industrial research and worked in the capacity of Corporate Director for Research within Norsk Hydro and Director of Technology for Elkem.

In 1994, Dr. Bjørseth set up ScanWafer, a company within the global solar industry that specialised in the production of multi-crystalline silicon wafers. He later established a further three companies related to solar cell and module production, as well as a solar module installation company. He thereafter merged these companies into one holding company known as Renewable Energy Corporation (REC), of which Dr. Bjørseth served as President from the onset. Today REC is one of the largest solar energy companies in the world.

In 2005, Dr. Bjørseth retired as President of REC. He is now running his private company Scatec AS, and establishing new companies within based on the latest technologies in the areas of renewable energy and advanced materials.

Dr. Bjørseth is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and The Norwegian Academy of Technical Sciences, and has been honoured as Commander of The Royal Order of St. Olav.

Greg joined Genencor in 2008 to become part of the biochemicals business development team engaged in commercializing BioIsoprene^TM. His roles in business development include establishing a bio-based feedstock supply for BioIsoprene^TM and also developing the market with current isoprene consumers in the tire and adhesive industries. Prior to joining Genencor in 2008, he was a key member of the internationally renowned Process Economics Program (PEP) at SRI Consulting. He developed the industrial biotech core competency within PEP and led major studies in the biofuels segment on topics such as cellulosic ethanol and biobutanol. Greg received degrees from Purdue University in chemical engineering (B.S.Ch.E., 1977) and the University of North Carolina in business (M.B.A., 1988).

Ms. Burks is the leader of Pillsbury's Clean Technology Group. Her practice focuses on the representation of established and emerging companies in the areas of corporate, securities, finance, mergers, acquisitions and strategic alliances, intellectual property protection and general corporate representation. She has deep experience in handling transactions for European clients, having studied and practiced law outside of the U.S.

Stephen Ciesinski is a corporate officer with SRI International, and is Vice President of Strategic Business Development. He has overall responsibility for SRI's commercial business development, international operations, innovation programs, corporate energy and industrial sector initiatives, strategic marketing and other corporate programs.

Steve's professional experience includes a number of industries and businesses: consumer products, semiconductor capital equipment, telecommunications, mobile/wireless, applications software, Web 2.0, open source, medical devices, and many others. As a corporate officer, board member, advisor and investor, he has participated in or managed numerous strategic events, including new business formation, major product launches, private financings, IPOs, M&A transactions and leveraged buy-outs.

Steve is past Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Union College and is a lifetime trustee. He is also Chairman of The President's Cabinet at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), and a member of two advisory boards at Stanford University.

Steve is an active angel investor, and assists several Silicon Valley-based private companies as advisor and board member.

He is a graduate of Union College with a double major in Electrical Engineering and Modern Languages, and received an MBA from Stanford University.

Marco DeMiroz is an experienced technology executive and global investor in the cleantech and IT sectors. Mr. DeMiroz currently serves as COO and CFO of Soliant Energy, where he was previously interim CEO.

Prior to Soliant Energy, Mr. DeMiroz helped create nearly $1 billion in shareholder value. He was previously a member of the investment staff at Trinity Ventures where he focused on solar, energy storage, energy efficiency and smart grid sectors. Earlier, he served as managing director at Selby Ventures and invested in both technology and cleantech companies. Prior to Selby, he held the position of managing director at GameChange-Europe and U.S., a venture fund founded by Accenture and SOFTBANK/Mobius Venture Capital, and at U.S. Bancorp-Piper Jaffray Ventures where he managed its Technology Fund with a portfolio of 15 companies.

Previously Mr. DeMiroz helped raised close to $200 million in private and public financing from global institutions. He served as senior vice president, business development, at Fujitsu Business Systems, the second largest systems integrator in Japan with sales over $5 billion. As CFO of General Magic, he raised $88 million in its IPO with an initial market capitalization exceeding $800 million. He had management roles at leading technology and Internet companies such as Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Silicon Graphics and BigBook.

Mr. DeMiroz earned an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University, a post-graduate Engineer Degree in Aeronautics/Astronautics from Stanford University, an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from San Jose State University; and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.

Mr. DeMiroz is a member of the Advisory Board of Innovation Center Denmark Silicon Valley, and a member of the International Solar Energy Society and American Solar Energy Society.

Charles joined Solazyme in March of 2008.  His group's focus is corporate strategy, fundraising, and commercial partnerships.  In 2008, he was instrumental in the company's Series C fundraising of over $55 million.  In 2009, Charles was the acting general manager of Solazyme Health Sciences, the company's health and wellness business unit.  Under his tenure, the business unit launched two nutraceutical products (Golden Chlorella^TM Omega and Golden Chlorella^TM High Protein) and developed a skin care beauty brand (Altruest^TM), which is formulated with proprietary ingredients.   Prior to joining Solazyme, Charles was the General Manager of Geron BioMed, Ltd., the UK-based wholly-owned subsidiary of Geron Corporation. Under his leadership, Geron BioMed raised non-dilutive financing of over $9.0 million, transitioned two products from basic research to preclinical stage, and established partnerships with a major pharmaceutical company and two leading universities (University of Edinburgh and Birmingham University).  Charles was also involved in strategic planning, negotiating license agreements, mergers and acquisitions, and completed multiple financings ranging from private placements to public equity offerings with a combined value exceeding $130 million.  Charles began his career at Peter J. Solomon in New York City as an investment banker focused on mergers, acquisitions, strategic advisory and financing engagements.  Today, Charles remains active in his community with Building Futures Now, a mentorship program for underprivileged youth in East Palo Alto; and as an Operations Leader of the Bay Area Mountain Rescue Unit, under the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.  He earned his BA at Columbia University, and his MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Mark Duvall is the Director of Electric Transportation at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), an independent, non-profit center for public interest energy and environmental collaborative research. He is responsible for EPRI's research and development program for electric transportation, including electric, plug-in hybrid, and fuel cell vehicle programs and related advanced infrastructure. He oversees a number of partnerships and collaborations between EPRI and electric utilities, automotive companies, local, state, and federal agencies, national laboratories, and academic research institutions.

Mark's work is currently focused on: (1) plug-in hybrid electric vehicle research, development, and demonstrations in collaboration with major automotive manufacturers like the EPRI-DaimlerChrysler PHEV Sprinter Van Program; (2) advanced battery system development and testing; (3) electric charging infrastructure; and (4) environmental analysis of the air quality and greenhouse gas emissions characteristics of plug-in hybrids and other electric transportation technologies.

Prior to joining EPRI, Mark held the position of Principal Development Engineer at the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Center of the University of California, Davis. He has worked in the field of advanced transportation since 1990 and has led the development of several prototype advanced vehicles. He holds B.S and M.S degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Davis and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University.

Areas of Expertise: Electric Transportation, Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles, Advanced Batteries, Energy Efficiency, Mobile Emissions, Truck Stop Electrification

Tor-Geir Engebretsen joined Nordic Power Systems in 2006 as Managing Director and part owner.

Prior Engebretsen was with the Norsk Hydro group for 19 years. As Senior VP, he was a member of the top management team and responsible for organization and HR for a number of large restructuring and M&A/integration projects. He left the Hydro Group in 2002 in order to start his own consulting bussiness. With a main focus on business development, M&A and restructuring, Engebretsen provided strategic consultancy services to large clients like Hydro Oil and Energy, Hydro Aluminum, Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) and Scandinavian Airlines.

Engebretsen holds a degree in BA and has completed a number of Hydro's top management programs, including executive management training at IMD, Lausanne.

Hans G. Enggrob is head of innovation at DHI Denmark. His has extensive international project management experience within water sectors in Asia, Europe, Africa, South and North America. His track of records further includes coordination of large scale EU research projects (nanotechnologies for water sector), founding of cleantech spin-off companies from DHI, venture capital raising for water companies, research coordinator within urban water in DHI Singapore, heading of Danish centre for environmental technology verification, facilitator of water partnerships etc.

Mr. Enggrob's expertise in innovation mechanisms at different levels in the hypercomplex, multi-stakeholders water sector markets with many barriers and opportunities has leaded him into numerous Danish water business cluster initiatives and international collaborations.

Enggrob holds a MSc in Maritime Civil Engineering from Aalborg and Liverpool University and an MBA degree from Technical University of Denmark.

Zeropex offer technologies for free, pure and predictable renewable micro-gen. Our energy efficient solutions are cutting your carbon footprint whilst improving your bottom line. Zeropex' technology is a pressure-reducing system generating pure power from the pressure drop in fluids. It combines the pressure control from chokes and electricity generation from hydroturbines. DIFGEN is a cost effective replacement of pressure chokes in all types of systems where pressure control is vital.

CEO of Zeropex is Tor Albert Ersdal. Tor Albert is an economist by training and has spent most of his professional career working with start ups either as an entrepreneur or in the venture business. His previous engagements spans from incubating business with no plan, no employees, just a vague idea, and all the way to companies going through public listing, trade sales and other transactions. In these companies Tor Albert held roles as board member or part of management team. Tor Albert is now very happy to be "home" in a new start up with a great team and lots of challenges ahead.

Matt Golden is the co-founder and president of Recurve. Prior to founding the company in 2004, Matt worked as an Energy Consultant, helping homeowners and businesses develop solar power systems. He soon realized that he was offering only a point solution and was not truly addressing most homeowners' desires to make their homes and lives more sustainable. Matt developed the concept for Recurve to meet this market demand by providing a single, full-service resource and a brand homeowners can trust to help them improve the comfort, health, and efficiency of their home.

Matt was recently recognized by the Building Performance Institute as the first ever recipient of the Tony Woods Award for Excellence in Advancing the Home Performance Industry. He speaks extensively on building science and integrated green design to groups such as the AIA (American Institute of Architects), West Coast Green, Build It Green, and others. He is author of a number of articles for Home Energy Magazine and has been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle, USA Today, Forbes, New York Times, and the Ellen Degeneres Show. Matt currently resides on the following boards: Department of Energy (DOE) Home Performance Council, Building Performance Institute (BPI), California Building Performance Contractors Association (CBPCA), Build It Green, and, Fine Home Building Magazine Green Building Advisory Board, and Efficiency First.

Matt holds a bachelors degree in foreign relations from Georgetown University.

Christopher Guzy joined Ballard as Vice President and Chief Technology Officer in February 2005. Dr. Guzy's areas of responsibility include product development and technology research and development.

Prior to joining Ballard, Dr. Guzy was General Manager of GE Healthcare's product development and supply chain operations in Hungary. During his 17 years at General Electric in the United States and Europe, he also held a number of other senior technology and product development leadership positions including Global General Manager of Linear Fluorescent Technology and Vice President and Director of Quality and Technology, Europe for GE Lighting. Prior to joining GE, he led a process development section at Nestlé in Switzerland.

Dr. Guzy began his career as Station Director of the School of Chemical Engineering Practice and Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1983 to 1986. He holds Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Chemical Engineering from Clarkson University and a Doctorate in Chemical Engineering from the University of New Mexico.

Barbara Heydorn leads SRI's Center of Excellence in Energy. In that role, she directs SRI's business development opportunities in the energy arena, shaping the strategy that links SRI's R&D capabilities to market needs. SRI's Center of Excellence in Energy enables multidisciplinary efforts to address important energy problems, from developing alternative energy sources to using conventional resources in a more sustainable manner.

Previously, Heydorn was part of SRI Consulting Business Intelligence, where she tracked developments in fuel cells for the Explorer program. Explorer analyzes commercial opportunities arising from technology developments and evaluates them along six commercialization vectors.

While at SRI Consulting, she conducted single-client studies and was an active contributor to several chemical marketing-research programs, including the Chemical Economics Handbook Program, the Specialty Chemicals Update Program, and China Report: Chemical Product Trends.

In addition, Heydorn's past experience includes conducting market research and competitive-analysis studies and in formulating competitive strategy. She has lead teams to conduct technical due diligence, strategic studies for companies considering entering new business areas, and scenarios to help companies plan their technology strategies. Analyses have included industry structure and market dynamics, market share, competitor profiles, technology sourcing, and quantification of the existing market and growth opportunities.

Heydorn received her M.B.A. from Santa Clara University, with a concentration in quantitative approaches to business problems, and holds a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Redlands.

Mr. Santtu Hulkkonen has over ten years of experience in cleantech business development. Currently Mr. Hulkkonen is the Executive Director of Cleantech Finland, which is a marketing platform uniting top Finnish cleantech companies. Prior to Cleantech Finland, Mr. Hulkkonen worked for Finpro as the Head of Finland Trade Center in Romania. Hulkkonen has also worked as consultant in Finpro Austria for Finnish cleantech companies to develop and expand business in new markets. Hulkkonen has served the UN as an Environmental Consultant for the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in Thailand and in the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) in Hungary.  

Mr. Hulkkonen´s cleantech competences include advisory services such as business
strategy, marketing & branding, market assessment, market entry strategy, sales channel development, Mergers & Acquisition, Venture Capital and international project financing as well as carbon funding. Mr. Hulkkonen has successfully advised a wide range of top-tier Finnish cleantech companies such GreenStream Network, Preseco and Pöyry to enter new markets and/or strengthen their market position in existing markets, particularly in Central & Eastern Europe, and in the Benelux countries, India and the Middle East. He has experience from various cleantech segments such as waste and water management, renewable energies like biomass and wind and energy efficiency.   

Mr. Hulkkonen holds M.Sc. in Environmental Technology from University of Greenwich, UK.

Rob Hitchcock is an independent consultant in Building Information Modeling (BIM) software development and utilization, with a focus on building energy performance.  Current clients of Hitchcock Consulting include Olof Granlund Oy of Helsinki, Finland, the California Energy Commission (CEC), and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Prior to forming Hitchcock Consulting, Rob was a researcher in the Building Technologies Department of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory).  Rob worked at the Berkeley Lab for over 20 years where his research focused on the development of computer simulation tools for daylighting and whole-building energy systems, and on making these tools interoperable with other building industry software to enable improved information management across the complete life cycle of a facility.

Rob is an active member of ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-conditioning Engineers) and is current vice-chair of the Documenting HVAC&R Work Processes and Data Exchange Requirements Guideline Project Committee, past chair of the Computer Applications Technical Committee, and a member of the Building Information Modeling Technology Council Subcommittee.  He has also previously served as Chair of the Facility Information Council of the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), and Chair of the Building Services Domain Committee of the North American Chapter of the International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI/buildingSmart).

Rob holds a M.S. degree in Energy Systems Design (combining Environmental Studies and Cybernetic Systems) from San Jose State University, and a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

Preben Jørgensen holds a MSc in electrical engineering and a Ph.D. from the Technical University of Denmark and a HD(O) in organization and management from the Copenhagen Business School. Preben Jørgensen is manager for Technology (within the unit Vattenfall Heat Nordic) with approximately 90 employees working with investment projects, operational support, development activities and R&D. Vattenfall has approximately 39.000 employees and has the vision to be a leading European energy company with the main products of electricity and heat.

Preben Jørgensen has a broad experience within energy planning, electric power distribution and transmission, production of power and heat, R&D as well as management. Preben Jørgensen is a member of the Danish Programme Commission on Sustainable Energy and Environment (with reference to the Danish Council for Strategic Research) which allocates research funds within energy systems of the future and climate and climate adaptation (approximately $61 mil USD in 2010).

Preben Jørgensen has been a member of the DEFU's board, chairman of the Elkraft Committee for transmission, member of the Nordel Planning Committee and member of the Steering Committee of the R&D project "Increased utilisation of the Nordic power transmission system". Preben Jørgensen is external examiner at universities (MSc and Ph.D.) and has been the chairman for the committee to evaluate the Centre for Electric Technology at the Technical University of Denmark.

Steve Jurvetson is a Managing Director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, a leading venture capital firm with affiliate offices around the world. He was the founding VC investor in Hotmail (MSFT), Interwoven (IWOV), and Kana (KANA). He also led the firm's investments in Tradex and Cyras, acquired for $8 billion. Current Board positions include Synthetic Genomics, SpaceX, NeoPhotonics, Tesla Motors, and Wowd. Previously, Steve was an R&D Engineer at Hewlett-Packard, where seven of his communications chip designs were fabricated. His prior technical experience also includes programming, materials science research (TEM atomic imaging of GaAs), and computer design at HP's PC Division, the Center for Materials Research, and Mostek. He has also worked in product marketing at Apple and NeXT Software. As a Consultant with Bain & Company, Steve developed executive marketing, sales, engineering and business strategies for a wide range of companies in the software, networking and semiconductor industries. At Stanford University, he finished his BSEE in 2.5 years and graduated #1 in his class, as the Henry Ford Scholar. Steve also holds an MS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford. He received his MBA from the Stanford Business School, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar. He also serves on the Advisory Boards of SRI International, STVP, and the Stanford Engineering Venture Fund and is Co-Chair of the NanoBusiness Alliance. He was honored as "The Valley's Sharpest VC" on the cover of Business 2.0 and chosen by the SF Chronicle and SF Examiner as one of "the ten people expected to have the greatest impact on the Bay Area in the early part of the 21st Century." He was profiled in the New York Times Magazine and featured on the covers of Worth, Red Herring, and Fortune magazines. Steve was chosen by Forbes as one of "Tech's Best Venture Investors", by the VC Journal as one of the "Ten Most Influential VCs", and by Fortune as part of their "Brain Trust of Top Ten Minds." In 2005, Steve was honored as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and a Distinguished Alumnus by St. Mark's.

Michael Kanellos covers emerging technologies and companies in the green world. Prior to joining the company in 2008, he worked for CNET Network's News.com for eleven years. Among other jobs at CNET, he launched the company's push into clean technology. He has appeared on NPR, CBS, CNBC, Fox News and other media outlets and has spoken at CES, the Japan Business Strategy Summit, Ceatec, the Irish Software Association, Stanford, U.C. Berkeley, the Flash Memory Summit and Clean Energy Venture Summit. A graduate of Cornell University and the University of California (Hastings), he has worked as an attorney, a travel writer and a busboy at a pancake house.

Isaac Kato is responsible for the company's finances, Icelandic governmental affairs and corporate development. Before joining Verne Global as a full-time employee, Mr. Kato was part of the team at General Catalyst Partners that initially conceived of and formed the venture. Prior to Verne Global, Mr. Kato was a Principal at General Catalyst Partners, a venture capital and private equity firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with over $2 billion USD under management. At GCP, he led the firm's investments in a number of technology-enabled services companies. Earlier in his career, Mr. Kato worked as an investor at Summit Partners, a global private equity fund, and Shamrock Holdings, Inc., the Roy E. Disney family's private equity firm. Mr. Kato holds an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School and BA and MS degrees in Economics and Engineering-Economic Systems from Stanford University.

Ron Kent is the Strategic Technologies RD&D Manager for the Sempra Energy Utilities -- Southern California Gas Company and San Diego Gas & Electric. In this capacity, Ron helps to develop and commercialize new energy technologies that minimize energy consumption, emissions, climate impacts and water consumption.

Ron's current projects include the development of a wide variety of innovative new technologies, including oxy-fuel power plants for carbon capture and sequestration, digester gas clean-up, petcoke and biomass gasification, algae energy cycles, microbial generators, advanced microwave devices, chiller and flue gas energy and water conservation and smart systems for building fault detection, diagnostics and optimization.  

Jim first recognized the value of partnering with great visionaries during the 3rd grade while building a snow fort in his parents' front yard in Fishkill, NY. That theme has persisted throughout his career and has led to his working with some extraordinary entrepreneurs in the Energy sector.

Jim first became exposed to energy by accident when GE Structured Finance was reorganized into industry verticals. Instead of pursuing opportunities in other sectors, Jim followed his mentor to GE Energy Financial Services (EFS). While at EFS Jim worked on project finance opportunities across the energy value chain. After helping to structure several renewable energy projects, Jim partnered with a colleague to found the Energy Technology Ventures group. His investments included A123Systems, China High Speed Transmission, Ocean Power Delivery, and several later stage companies across diverse Cleantech sectors.

Most recently, Jim worked as a Senior Partner in the Energy & Materials practice at CMEA Capital, where he collaborated with entrepreneurs from such firms as A123Systems (AONE), Danotek, Solyndra, Foro Energy, and a number of university spinouts.

Jim received his undergraduate degrees in Computer Science & Electrical Engineering and Political Science from MIT, where he also founded an Internet infrastructure start-up at the height of the technology bubble. He received his MBA and a Masters in Quantitative Methods from Columbia University.

Dr. Zen Kishimoto is in charge of Green IT at Alta Terra. His broad technology background and diverse functional roles at individual-contributor and executive levels in large corporations and start-ups is a strong basis for conducting research in the greening of IT. Both strategic and tactical insights based on these experiences are necessary to make IT and its related technologies greener, since both a holistic and component-level view are necessary. This is specifically so in his first area of concentration—data centers—in which a large number of software, computer hardware, and networking components as well as facility elements are interrelated and configured in a complex manner.

After working for Fortune 100 companies, Zen has been a successful entrepreneur and software business consultant specializing in product management, turning technologies to viable business and covering each phase of product management. This includes market research, technology assessment, project management, technical marketing, promotion, product launch, business development and sales. In addition, he produced numerous research papers for his clients in the areas of software and telecommunication as a consultant.

In addition, Zen, originally from Japan, has a web of business contacts and relationships in Japan and is keen on the green IT/Technology market outside of the US, bridging language, culture and business practice for his clients. As greening of IT and its related technologies require a global view, he can give appropriate advices and comments not confined to the US domestic view but global ones for his clients.

Finally, before joining Alta Terra, he has played CTO, COO and other executive roles in Silicon Valley startups, including Cardsoft. Earlier he served as functional general manager and Senior Director at NEC Technologies, where he started the Internet business unit. He has held technical positions at NEC, Hewlett Packard and GTE. He is also the principal of IP Devices, a software business and market research consultancy specializing in IT infrastructure.

Currently, Executive Vice President, Tapio Koivu has the responsibility over IP business of VTT.

This includes management of IP portfolio of VTT ( over 1, 000 patents plus other assets), portfolio of start-up companies (17 in Dec. 2009). Licensing and sales of  IP is also part of IP Business at VTT.
Prior to his current responsibilities he established the VTT Silicon Valley operations, was a research fellow at the Center for Integrated Facility Engineering at Stanford and before moving to the U.S., he headed a division called Strategic Technology Development at the VTT Building and Transport with responsibilities covering industry collaboration and technology strategies for partnership level customers. He holds a Ph.D. in construction management from Tampere University of Technology. 

Kenneth Koyama has worked at the California Energy Commission for 31 years, primarily in managing emerging energy technologies. Currently he manages the Energy Generation Research Office overseeing our renewable energy, advanced generation, and geothermal programs.  He has also managed demonstration programs for heavy duty vehicles and advanced transportation technologies and authored papers on fuel cell infrastructure issues for California, alternative fuel infrastructure networks, methanol supply and demand issues for California, and potential for low cost methanol to California.  Kenneth received his bachelor's degree at the University of California, Davis and masters at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Sindre H. Kvalheim is CEO and one of the founders of LocalHost AS, a Norwegian based datacenter specializing in products related to virtualized environments, green datacenter solutions and innovation.  Mr. Kvalheim has a broad technical background as a system engineer and programmer. He has 7 years of experience as head of development and started LocalHost in 2007. Mr. Kvalheim has for the last years been a central part of the green it community in Norway and his company LocalHost AS was in 2007 the greenest datacenter in Norway.

Dr. LaDuca is part of the Business Development Team within the Genencor Division of Danisco US, Inc. He has over 25 years of experience in the development of biotechnology- based products and new business initiatives. He has played an active role in establishing partnering relationships in the biochemicals and biomaterials science areas with companies such as Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Eastman Chemical Co., Dow Corning and The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.  Dr. LaDuca received his Ph. D. from Roswell Park Memorial Institute (SUNY at Buffalo) in 1981. His formal training is in the field of microbial cell physiology and biochemistry.  Following a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Rochester Department of Biochemistry, Dr. LaDuca joined the Central Research Laboratories of the Eastman Kodak Company in 1984.  His work at Kodak focused on the development of microbial systems and the engineering of metabolic pathways for the production of primary and secondary metabolites.  Dr. LaDuca joined Genencor International when it was founded in 1990 and has continued to work in the area of metabolic pathway engineering.  He served as the Project author and Coordinator (1995-2000) for a multi-company, $31.3 million joint technology effort co-sponsored by ATP NIST that was focused on the development of Continuous Biocatalytic Systems for the Production of Chemicals from Renewable Resources.  Dr. LaDuca's current efforts as Senior Director Business Development are focused on the development of technology and business platforms that will establish strategic new growth opportunities for Genencor.  He is the business lead for the BioIsoprene^TM effort and research collaboration with The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and leads commercial development activities for Genencor in biochemicals and biofuels.

Marianna joined the Innovation Center Denmark in August, 2008. As director of ICDK it is her responsibility continuously to develop the offerings of the center as a whole, to support her team members in pursuing their tasks, and to look for new opportunities for Danish and US companies and researchers in the Valley and in Denmark. Marianna's main initiative is in developing and implementing new innovative projects that can create new windows of opportunity for innovative Danish solutions and technologies in the US.

Prior to joining ICDK, Marianna has had a long track record of management and front end innovation, most recently as Development Director at Mandag Morgen, a Danish think tank. At Mandag Morgen Marianna was the head of the Danish Innovation Council, and among others things headed the so-called Billion Dollar Industries Partnership Program, where Danish companies and researchers together look for new innovative solutions to today´s challenges within health, climate, environment, and education among other things.

Marianna has been part of two start ups before that, and has had her own consultancy company for 7 years. She has working experience all over the world including in Eastern Europe, Central America, Africa and the US.

Marianna received her MBA from Copenhagen Business School in 1991. During her studies she was already part of one start up and while simultaneously working for a Swedish company as a consultant on a front end research project in Industrial Marketing.

Jens-Peter Lynov has responsibility for Risøs innovation strategy including both technology driven and market driven innovation. In particular, he is responsible for developing a new demonstration facility at Risø focused on the interaction between different sustainable technologies when they combined in a complete energy system including production, storage, transmission and end-use.

Jens-Peter's professional experience includes fundamental energy research as well as science management. He has been Head of the Optics and Plasma Physics Department at Risø and Vice President for Research and Innovation at the University of Copenhagen. Jens-Peter holds a PhD degree in Plasma Physics from the Technical University of Denmark and a MBA degree in Technology, Market and Organization from Copenhagen Business School.

David Martin is responsible for Dantherm Power in North America in addition to leading the Advanced Products team.  Key accounts in Canada and the USA include several large telecom operators, data storage and management companies and emergency services users.

Dantherm Power is a joint venture between Ballard Power Systems Inc., Danfoss A/S and Dantherm A/S and delivers clean energy systems to telecom and other industries.  With over 2 million hours of fuel cell power availability, Dantherm Power has established itself as a leading partner for OEMs and operators across the globe.  With extensive manufacturing capabilities and unique product value in combined Power/HVAC systems, Dantherm can solve the most challenging problems for networks with Focus. Trust. Initiative.

David has a Bachelors degree in Engineering and Industrial Design from the University of Toronto and Ontario College of Art and Design. He has 20 years in the clean energy and technology sector working with companies like Enbridge Gas, Sulzer, Stuart Energy, Ballard and other groups like the US DOE, IEA, and standards writing for the ISO.

Hans-Martin Friis Møller has a background within hydrogeology and is currently Water Director for Grontmij | Carl Bro, with responsibility for leading this important business area in Denmark and ensuring business development and innovation across the Grontmij Group in Europe and globally.  

Hans-Martin Friis Møller has vast hands-on experience as a project manager on a large number of projects in Denmark and abroad, comprising all facets of groundwater, wastewater and environmental issues, i.e. groundwater control and management of infrastructure projects, potable water catchments, groundwater resource management, protection and remediation, as well as wastewater treatment.

He also has broad expertise in environmental administration and has been involved in several projects regarding public administration and outsourcing of municipal services, public private partnership, and infrastructure projects.  

Other fields of specialisation include corporate leadership, coaching management, administration and planning.

He is a member of Danish Geological Society, International Association of Hydrogeologists, Association of Engineering Geology, EVA, Society for Use of IT in Water and Wastewater, Danish Water Supply Association, Institute for Corporate Governance, Confederation of Danish Industry, and serves on the board of directors for Danish Energy.

Niels Christian Nielsen is the chairman and CEO of Q. He is also a non-executive director of a number of companies, including Codan, Unimerco, MondayMorning, Prophet and Development Alternatives Inc (DAI). During the '90s he was a key member of the team which created DTI through a sequence of mergers and acquisitions and took the company through a significant turn-around towards its present status as one of the larger and more profitable companies in that sector in Europe. He was the Chairman of 2M Invest A/S from 1995 to its successful IPO in 2000. He was behind the creation of the Danish government's Learning Lab. Before conceiving Q, Niels created Catenas, a global network of specialist consulting firms. Niels is also a leading thinker on knowledge, innovation and networks. He is an adjunct professor of Copenhagen Business School and a Visiting Scholar at UC Berkeley.

Enn Õunpuu has over two decades of experience in energy services and equipment, construction, real estate and banking industry.  As a serial entrepreneur, Enn has experience of several successful mergers and trade sales of founded companies. He currently holds non-executive director positions in several companies.

Enn Õunpuu was one of the initiators for founding the Estonian Power and Heat Association, a NGO uniting most of Estonia's power and heat companies. He served as the Head of the Revision Committee and was a Member of the Board for more than eight years.

In 2001, Mr. Õunpuu founded AS Elcogen, a company developing solid oxide fuel cell technology.

Enn Õunpuu holds a degree from the Tallinn University (Estonia) in the field of Physics and Technology.

Dag Øvrebø joined Nordic Power Systems in 2007 as Technical Director.

Øvrebø was a Research Scientist at the Norsk Hydro Group, Corporate Research Centre, working on projects related to inert cathodes for aluminum electrolysis, fuel cells, battery materials and catalysts for the fertilizer industry. In 2002 he joined Hydro Technology Ventures as their Technology Director, with a focus on startups within the energy field, in particular fuel cells and renewable energy. He returned to Hydro Resaearch Centre in 2005 serving as their Chief Engineer for a number of different projects, one being resonsible for sourcing batteries and the completion of the Smart electrical vehicle prototype for "Miljøbil Grenland".

Øvrebø holds a BSc in Mechanical Energineering from Strathclyde University, Scotland, and a MSc and PhD in ceramic materials for Leeds University, England.

Pekka Parnanen brings more than 20 years experience in international business in IT and Communitcations industries. He has been helping companies to establish or re-establish themselves in the international markets with specially deep experience in establishing companies and partnerships in North America, Japan Europe and Asia. Pekka's experience has enabled companies to go through accellerated learning curves in establishing successful business and technology strategies driving successful international market penetration. Pekka is currently the Head of Finpro Silicon Valley where he also was key in extablising the FinNode office in 2007. FinNode is the first of the joint Finpro/Tekes innovation centers in the world and other FinNode centers are currently being established following the Silicon Valley model Pekka helped establish.Prior to Finpro, Pekka was Director for Global Business Development for Solid Information Technology, priot to Solid, he was VP Global Marketing and Sales for Cybelius Software and also set up the company in the US, prior to Cybelius he was President for T.V.I - TEMET Vision Industry in Helsinki and Atlanta, GA, USA. Pekka holds a Master of Science in Marketing and Business Development, and Material Science degree from the Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo, Finland.

Ken Pearlman's 30 years of experience includes research and investments in materials, chemicals, electronics and technology industries. Prior to co-founding Oceanshore , he managed private equity investment activities for Firsthand Capital, where he focused on early stage deals in semiconductors and green technology. Before that, Ken was with CIBC World Markets, where he was Executive Director of Semiconductor Research. While at CIBC, he achieved the distinction of becoming one of the Wall Street Journal's All-Star Analysts in 1999 and 2000.

Prior to joining CIBC, Ken's semiconductor research experience included tenures at Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc.; Robertson, Stephens & Company; and Dataquest. Ken's technology industry experience includes eight years in engineering positions at Raychem Corporation, 3M Company, and Exxon Office Systems. He holds two patents.

Ken has a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of California at Riverside and a master's degree in business administration from Santa Clara University, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. He currently serves on the boards of Confluence Solar, Lumiette and our Solar Energy stealth company, and works with the team on evaluating new technologies and industry relations. Previously, he led early rounds and sat on the boards of Global Locate, Silicon Genesis, Solaicx, SoloPower, and UCT Coatings.

Kimmo Pentikäinen is in charge of environmental affairs and cleantech business development in Elisa Corporation, a leading Nordic communications services provider and a publicly listed Eurotop-500 company.

Kimmo's business experience includes a variety of different fields, besides green technology, business communication solutions, telecommunications, public safety communication, field force management, agile SaaS software development, mobile software development, marketing and advertising.

Kimmo is a past startup entrepreneur with years of experience from business to business solutions including government customers from Europe and Southwest Asia. His experience covers organizing industry alliances with several companies e.g. EADS, Nokia and Logica.

Kimmo has a master's degree in philosophy from the University of Helsinki (Finland). Kimmo also holds a college diploma in video and visual communications from Lahti Design Institute (Finland). He has been a visiting associate at the UC Berkley (USA), studied philosophy, semiotic studies and information  processing at the University of St. Andrews (Scotland) and cultural history at the University of Turku (Finland).

Rodrigo Prudencio joined Nth Power in 2000 and is involved in all aspects of the firm's operations including investments, investor relations and portfolio management. Rodrigo is responsible for leading Nth Power's investments in Synapsense, Topanga Technologies, Hara Software and Terrapass.

Earlier in his career, Rodrigo worked for the Department of State where he focused on a variety of global environmental negotiations, including preparations for the Kyoto round of the Climate Change Convention. Rodrigo was also Director of the international trade program at the National Wildlife Federation where he led NWF's environmental advocacy to reform the rules of international trade.

Rodrigo received his MBA from the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley where he served as president of his class and concentrated on energy markets including outside research at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. His bachelor's degree in international relations was earned from Middlebury College in Vermont.

Prakash is a finance professional with over 25 years experience in USA and Asia. Prakash is currently Chief Financial Officer of Nordic Windpower, a company that provides two bladed utility scale turbines to the wind energy industry. Prakash recently raised $38 million in Series C financing for Nordic from investors such as Khosla Ventures, NEA and Novus Energy Partners. He has also successfully raised a $16 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy (the only wind turbine company to have got the DOE loan guarantee under the stimulus program). The Company is based in Berkeley, CA with offices in UK, Sweden and manufacturing operations in Pocatello, Idaho. Prakash is responsible for all financial matters of the company including corporate financing as well as project financing.

Prior to Nordic, Prakash spent 5 years as CFO at Novariant that supplied GPS based machine control products to industrial markets like agriculture and mining. During his tenure at Novariant, he raised over $40 million in venture equity & debt and closed two key strategic acquisitions and the company grew its revenues more than ten-fold.

Prior to Novariant, Prakash was Head of Finance for 2 years at Sonicity, a software company with multi casting technology for internet streaming and funded by Sony Corp. Previously, Prakash spent 10 years in Hong Kong in various financial roles including 5.5 years as CFO of Sonex Group, where the revenues grew from $100 million to $300 million during his tenure by expanding into a number of new countries in Asia and Latin America.

Prakash has a masters' degree in Management from Stanford Business School (Sloan Fellows Program). He is a Chartered Accountant from India and is also a Chartered Management Accountant of U.K.

Anders Rydaker was named president of District Energy St. Paul and District Cooling St. Paul in September 1993.  He is also the president/chief executive officer of the affiliate Ever-Green Energy Company.  Rydaker has more than 30 years of experience in the district energy field.

A native of Sweden, he spent more than 15 years holding numerous management positions at the Uppsala power and district energy utility. He also introduced district cooling to the Swedish market in 1990 and successfully developed the innovative cooling system for Stockholm using deep lake water cooling. 

Rydaker's commitment to renewable energy resulted in the development of a biomass-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plant that became operational in 2003. Using renewable energy in the form of wood residue from the Twin Cities metro area, the CHP plant produces up to 33 MW of electricity and up to 65 MW of thermal energy. The plant burns clean, urban wood residue: a sustainable, renewable, green energy resource.

He has authored numerous papers and is an active member and former Chair of the International District Energy Association. 

Gopal Shankar is currently the Operations Director & Treasurer at REC Technology US Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of REC Group, Sandvika, Norway. Gopal has worked  in the field of Finance, Project Management, Engineering & Business Development in    Photovoltaic, Semiconductor & Power Generation industries. Gopal has lived and worked in Asia, Europe & North America. His past experience includes ib vogt, Veeco, Applied Materials, Westinghouse & Navy.

Gopal is co-chair of Clean Technology industry group of German American Business Association. He is the founding advisory board member of International Photovoltaic Equipment Association. He is also a member of Bob Graham Award Committee at SEMI.

Gopal holds a B. Tech in Mechanical Engineering from India, MS in Technology Management from SUNY at Stony Brook, NY, MBA in Finance from St. John's University, NY and Doctorate in Business Administration  from Golden Gate University, San Francisco, CA.

Laura Shenkar, Founder and Principal of The Artemis Project, is one of the foremost global experts on corporate water strategy and the application of advanced water technologies in commercial and industrial markets.

Ms. Shenkar works with leading global corporations - including Wal-Mart, IBM and Novozymes - on the development and execution of their water management strategies. She also assists advanced water technology companies in bringing new innovations to market, such as smart irrigation, advanced cooling towers, high-efficiency filtration, on-site recycling and water capture systems.

Ms. Shenkar advises the venture capital community on emerging investment opportunities through her work with Going Green clean-tech investment conference, the VC Taskforce and Astia. She is also actively involved with leading policy, advocacy and certification organizations, including the Alliance for Water Efficiency, the Water Reuse Association, the Water Environment Federation, the American Water Works Association, the National Sanitation Foundation, the Denmark Innovation Centre, the Israeli Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Water Netherlands Partnership.

A graduate of Yale University, Ms. Shenkar holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. She has lived throughout the world and currently resides in San Francisco, California.

Thorsteinn Sigfusson is an internationally recognised physicist educated in Copenhagen and Cambrigde UK. He is professor of physics at the University of Iceland and Director General of the Icelandic Innovation Centre which belongs to the Ministry of Industry and Energy in Iceland. He has been a key figure in the introduction of new ideas and opportunities in the further greening of Icelandic society through the energy industry.

He has started over a dozen spin-off companies from research in Iceland and chaired various international societies and actions in alternative energy. He has published over 200 scientific papers and received a number of awards for his work and is a laureate of the international Global Energy Prize awarded to him in St. Petersburg Russia in 2007.

Dennis Symanski currently serves as a senior project manager in the Energy Efficiency Program within the Power Delivery and Utilization Sector the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), an independent, non-profit center for public interest energy and environmental collaborative research.

Dennis is investigating ways to make data centers more energy efficient. Specifically, research areas include coordinating demonstrations of emerging technologies such as the use of high voltage direct current (380VDC) to run the data center hardware, as well as evangelizing the adoption of best practices for the design and operation of data centers such as airflow management and virtualization. Additional work includes data center server, storage array and uninterruptable power supply specifications and test protocols for adoption by the EPA Energy Star and the Ecos 80 PLUS Programs.

Before joining EPRI in March 2009, Dennis worked on power quality standards and data center operation at Sun Microsystems and Data General, worked on relay coordination, electric vehicles and windmills at New England Electric System and worked on electric power generation, transmission and distribution systems at Exxon Research and Engineering.

Dennis holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University and a Master of Engineering Degree in Electric Power Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic University and is a Registered Professional Engineer in California and Massachusetts.

Erik Teetzel is Google's "GreenKeeper" for computing infrastructure, being an advocate for reducing both energy and carbon intensity of Google's web-based services. Additionally Erik works to reduce client energy use through improved system design and change of user behavior. 

Prior to joining Google Erik worked for Hewlett Packard's Industry Standard Server group. He holds mechanical engineering degrees from Stanford University and the University of California, Davis.

Sven Thesen leads business-development efforts for Better Place in California. In this role, he works with state and local government entities as well as business and non-governmental stakeholders to make the vision of zero-emission EVs powered by renewable energy a reality. He leverages his technical expertise in electric transportation and environmental engineering to forge strategic partnerships within the energy and transportation ecosystems.

Before joining Better Place, Thesen managed the Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) Electric Drive Group within the utility's Clean Air Transportation Department. Under his direction, PG&E secured its EV leadership position through a number of initiatives, including the first demonstration of vehicle-to-grid (V2G)
technology by a utility and the secondary use of transportation batteries in the utility sector.

Prior to managing the Electric Drive Group, Thesen directed PG&E's sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) emission reduction team and assisted the United Nations in revising the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. As a result of his SF6 work for the IPCC, he and the other contributing engineers and scientists were awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

Thesen has a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University. The Schwarzenegger Administration recognized him with the 2006 Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Award for his efforts in reducing criteria and greenhouse-gas emissions from agricultural equipment.

Greg Towsley is Innovation Intent Director for Grundfos Pumps Corporation, located in Olathe, Kansas.  In this role, he is responsible for developing and driving the portfolio of activities for Grundfos' involvement of supporting Zero-Impact Commercial Buildings in the USA.  He has been with Grundfos since 2001 involved with product management, business development, and sales management. 

He has served on various working committees of the Hydraulic Institute, and most recently for American Society of Mechanical Engineers' Energy Assessment for Pumping Systems committee.  Currently he is the Learning Institute Coordinator for ASHRAE Technical Committee 6.1.  He is an Advisory Board Member for the Mechanical Engineering Department and Engineering Management Department at the University of Kansas.

Greg is a U.S. Department of Energy Qualified Pump System Specialist and a LEED Accredited Professional.  He received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Master of Science in Engineering Management from the University of Kansas. 

Since August 2007 at CET/DTU Elektro responsible for managing a project on Virtual Power Plants (PSO 7572) and part time affiliated with Ultera/nkt cables working on commercialising superconducting cables. He teacges classes on experimental measurements on wind turbines and is a supervisor for PhD and master students.

From 2002-2007 his work at Ultera/nkt cables included all aspects of work with design, construction, testing and reporting on commercial prototype superconducting cables, termination, splices and cooling systems, the websites www.ultera.net and www.supercables.com, patents (IP) and the installation 200 m superconducting cable in Columbus, Ohio, conferences as well as guest teaching at DTU.

The preceding 5 years were spent on experimental work on superconducting cables, cryogenics, measurement systems and high power in the high voltage laboratory of the Department of Electric Power Engineering on the Technical University of Denmark.

From 1988-1997 served as a researcher in materials science, semiconductor, superconductors and electron microscopy at the Technical University of Denmark and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.

Chresten holds a Masters of Science in electrical engineering and a PHD in applied physics, both from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU)

Anna is working as Business Development Director at Pöyry Architects Oy in Helsinki. 
She has 25 years of experience in various building projects such as office, hotel, residential and interior design projects.
 She has also worked as Workplace consultant advising companies how to create efficient office spaces that support the functios and strategies of an organization.
Anna is also chairman of Pöyry Green Building Task Group.

Leadership, management, sales and marketing, and engineering career at Westinghouse Electric Corporation and Thermo Electron Corporation. Company unit chief  executive of multidivisional manufacturers of systems for real time measurement of industrial processes with customers in 40 developed and developing countries, for nuclear and coal utilities, basic industries and the US Departments - Defense, Energy, and Customs.

Master of Science, Sloan Management and Nuclear Engineering, MIT. Bachelor of Science, Nuclear Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. US NRC Research and Graduate Studies, Dartmouth College.

Trond Unneland, PhD, is vice president of the Venture Capital business unit of Chevron Technology Ventures. In this capacity, he is responsible for identifying and investing in promising new technology that can deliver a clear competitive advantage and superior financial returns for Chevron.

A native of Norway, Unneland graduated from Stavanger University where he earned a bachelor of science degree in petroleum engineer and a master of science degree in reservoir engineering. He later received his doctor of technical sciences from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He also served as a visiting scholar at Stanford University, and has worked for the Norwegian Industry Attaché at the Royal Norwegian Consulate General, San Francisco, CA. 

In 1984, Unneland began his professional career as a petroleum engineer with Statoil in Bergen, Norway, working in offshore oil production operations. After serving in various positions of increasing responsibility, he was named vice president of information technology in 1998.

Unneland joined Chevron in 2000 as technology account manager for Chevron Energy Technology Company. In 2004, he was named managing director and country manager for Chevron Denmark, where he was responsible for leading all of the company's upstream operations and serving on the executive leadership team for all of Chevron's European upstream business.

In 2006, he returned home as managing director and country manager for Chevron Norway with management responsibility for technical, financial, personnel, planning, and reporting for the company's upstream business. Unneland assumed his current post in August 2007.

The author of numerous articles on reservoir management and well dynamics, Unneland has been cited as an expert source in more than 100 international technical papers. He has been recognized three times by the Society of Petroleum Engineers for his service to the organization.

Unneland is currently a board observer for the four portfolio companies Brightsource Energy, DynaPump, RealityMobile and Southwest Windpower.

Christopher Vargas has been an internet entrepreneur since the late 1980s. He began his career as a Captain in the US Air Force from 1988-1991 where he was Project Manager for building secure elements of DARPANET at multiple locations around the world. From 1991-1999 he was a senior executive at Cisco Systems, in sales and marketing. Following that, he was President of F-Secure Ltd from 1999-2001, a Helsinki-based internet security company, then CEO of Proficient Networks from 2002-2003, a San Francisco-based networking infrastructure company.

In 2003 he founded Generations Investments LLC, a private investment company. From 2005-2008 he was a member of The Angels Forum, an early stage venture capital group in Palo Alto, California. In 2007, Vargas co-founded The Cleantech Circle LLC, an early stage Cleantech investment partnership. Today, he is an active Cleantech private investor and is a member and supporter of several environmental and philanthropic organizations.

Christopher was a Fulbright scholar to Finland from 1987-88 and received a M.S. Electrical Engineering ('87) and B.S. Computer Engineering ('85) from the University of Notre Dame.

Priit Vimberg is CEO, a Founder and a Member of the Board at Yoga LLC, and is steering the development of Yoga's intelligent building system. Priit is a serial entrepreneur since 1997 and has extensive experience and knowledge in Estonian and international business affairs. In addition to being educated in NC and CNC programmable fully automatic machines for the metal industry, Priit has studied international business at Concordia University, and through the Executive MBA program at the Estonian Business School.

Since joining SRI in 1982, Dr. Wilson has made significant contributions in the areas of catalysis and chemical processes. As Director of the Catalysis & Analytical Chemistry Unit, he focuses on project work involving organometallic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, physical inorganic chemistry, and homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis.

Dr. Wilson is a member of the American Chemical Society, Inorganic Division, Organometallic Subdivision, and has served as secretary-treasurer for the California Catalysis Society. He belongs to the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has served as treasurer for the group's Santa Clara Valley Section. Additionally, he has served as chairman of the National ACS Meeting Site Selection Subcommittee (1990) and the Nominations and Election Committee of the SCVS-ACS (1988-1990.) Dr. Wilson has 40 professional publications to his credit and holds two patents.

Dr. Wilson earned a B.S. in chemistry from Ohio State University in 1977 as well as an M.S. in chemistry in 1979 and a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry in 1982, both from the University of Michigan.

Seppo is currently Principal Innovator at Nokia Siemens Networks. Seppo has been with Nokia & Nokia  Siemens Networks for 22 years. He started working in the cable industry which was a backbone of Nokia for many years before the wireless challenge took over. During the next nine years at Nokia Mobile Phones and Industrial Electronics (LK-Products) his passion was to make radios happen for the 1st  and 2nd generation mobile systems holding a variety of positions from researcher to R&D and  business management. About 12 years ago the great technological challenge and opportunities in 3G  networks inspired him to join Nokia Networks R&D were in recent years he led the wireless technology research group.

During the Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) merger he took a new challenge in NSN's Innovation team to
scout for the best technology-driven business adventures and help turn them into NSN success stories. His current focus is innovating in the area of energy & environment with eEnergy & Smart Grid  disruption as an important aspect to scout.

Seppo's current mission is not so much to see what no one yet has seen, but to think what nobody yet  has thought about that which everybody sees - Discovering, transforming, incubating and accelerating  into new NSN businesses.

He holds a ms degree in electrical engineering from the University of Oulu and has done his post graduate studies in the area of telecommunication and radio technology. He holds several patents in radio technology and enjoys discussing with the research community through lecturing and project collaboration.