Keynote Speakers


Dr. Michio Kaku Theoretical Physicist, Bestselling Author and Science Popularizer Tuesday, April 27 9:30am - 10:30am Dr. Michio Kaku holds the Henry Semat Professorship in Theoretical Physics at the City College of New York and also the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He graduated summa cum laude, and first in his physics class, from Harvard, and received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the University of Calif. at Berkeley. He has taught at Harvard, Princeton, and for over 30 years at the City Univ. of New York. He has been a visiting professor at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. He is the co-founder of string field theory. His Ph.D. level textbooks on string theory are required reading at many of the world's leading physics laboratories. He has appeared on the Larry King Show, 60 Minutes, 20/20, Good Morning America, CNN, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, and BBC World. He has done numerous interviews with PBS's Nova, the Discovery Channel, the Science Channel, the History Channel, the National Geographic Channel. Dr. Kaku has also hosted numerous science specials. He hosted a 4-part series about Time for the Science Channel. He hosted a 3-part series about the future called 2057 for the Discovery Channel. He hosted a 3-hour series called Visions of the Future for BBC, soon to air in the U.S. on Science Channel. Dr. Kaku has written a number of highly acclaimed science books, including the best-seller Hyperspace (voted as one of the best books in science by both the New York Times and the Washington Post), Visions, Parallel Worlds, Beyond Einstein, Einstein's Cosmos and his latest Physics of the Impossible. Parallel Worlds was a finalist for the prestigious Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction in the U.K. His latest book, Physics of the Impossible, was on the New York Times Best Seller's list for 5 weeks and is earning glowing reviews. He is currently hosting on the Science Channel a 12 part series based on his best-seller, Physics of the Impossible. Dr. Kaku also hosts two national weekly science radio programs, called Explorations and Science Fantastic. Together, they reach 130 cities around the U.S. Science Fantastic is the only nationally-syndicated science radio show on commercial radio. Dr. Kaku has written for Time, The Wall St. Journal, Discover Magazine, New Scientist, Scientific American, Astronomy Magazine, Focus Magazine and many others. Dr. Kaku's goal in life is to help complete Einstein's dreams of a "theory of everything,"a single equation which will unify all the fundamental laws of physics.
Jason Wolf Vice President, North America Better Place Thursday, April 29 9:30am-10:30am Jason Wolf is vice president of North America for Better Place. His responsibilities include overseeing the company’s efforts in California, Hawaii and Ontario and developing other North American markets. Within the energy and transportation ecosystems, Wolf works with federal, state and local governments as well as utility, business and non-governmental stakeholders to make the vision of zero-emission EVs powered by renewable energy a reality. Wolf built a strong management track record in the IT industry before joining Better Place. His experience includes various positions in senior management, strategic planning, product launch, sales and professional services. He most recently served as president of Sterna Technologies USA, the pioneer of Business Positioning Systems software. Before joining Sterna, Wolf held a number of positions during a 10-year career at SAP AG, including senior vice president of Strategic Initiatives and senior vice president of New Product Introductions. Wolf has a B.A. in Economics and Psychology from the University of Tel-Aviv and an MBA from San Jose State University.
Admiral T.K. Mattingly, USN Retired Apollo 13 Astronaut, Former Shuttle Commander and Accomplished Aerospace Executive Tuesday, March 31 9:30am – 10:30am Civic Audtorium One of the real-life heroes of Apollo 13, veteran Apollo and space shuttle astronaut Ken Mattingly shares the true story behind the most inspiring example of crisis management in recent memory. Portrayed in the hit film by Academy Award-nominee Gary Sinise, Mattingly is the Command Module Pilot who was pulled from the flight at the last minute for medical reasons, only to spearhead the ground crew's efforts to save his friends and fellow astronauts once their moon mission went horribly wrong. At the lecture podium, he recounts his training and camaraderie with fellow Apollo 13 astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise, his horror when the mission went awry, and his role in coordinating the ground crew's frantic race against time to save them. He also brings the story full circle with a look at the space program today and the emerging role of private industry in satellite communications. As Mattingly notes, the miracle of the Apollo 13 story was not in one person rising to the occasion, but in hundreds and thousands working at peak performance to do the impossible. Setting the stage with footage from the movie, Mattingly's lecture, available exclusively through GTN, is a must for any organization emphasizing team building and personal achievement. Beginning his career as a Naval officer and aviator, T.K. Mattingly became one of the select individuals chosen for the Apollo Space Program in 1966. He was responsible for the development of the lunar space suit and back-pack, and served on the support crews for Apollo 8 (the first lunar orbit) and Apollo 11 (the first lunar landing). Designated as Command Module Pilot (CMP) for Apollo 13, he was pulled from the flight for medical reasons, but later flew as CMP for Apollo 16, the next-to-last lunar mission. In 1973 Mattingly became a key member of the fledgling Space Shuttle Program. He served as lead astronaut for the Shuttle Design Support Team and provided lead astronaut support in preparing for the first shuttle flight. He served as back up Commander for STS missions 2 and 3, and as Commander for the last orbital test flight, STS 4. He led the development of national security missions to be flown on the Shuttle and Commanded the first classified shuttle mission, STS-51C. Promoted to Rear Admiral in 1985, he pioneered the use of commercial contracting procedures for military space systems, overseeing a billion dollar budget spread over 200 contracts. In 1989, he retired from government service to focus on the commercialization of space. He led the highly successful Atlas program in providing commercial launch services for the private sector and planning for a fully reusable launch system. As President of the Rocket Development Company, he was leading development of low cost commercial launch systems that maintained constellations of satellites and helped revolutionize global communications at the turn of the century.
Richard Templeton Chairman, President Chief Executive Officer Texas Instruments Wednesday, April 28 9:30am - 10:30am Rich Templeton is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Texas Instruments. He became chairman of the board in April 2008, and president and chief executive officer in May 2004. He has served on the company’s board of directors since July 2003. From April 2000 through April 2004, Templeton was chief operating officer of TI. He was executive vice president of the company and president of TI's Semiconductor business from June 1996 through April 2004. Templeton is credited with helping to define and execute TI’s strategy to focus on semiconductors for signal processing. Operationally, he guided TI during the worst downturn in semiconductor history, while maintaining the company’s strategic investments in R&D and advanced manufacturing. His leadership helped TI to emerge in stronger strategic, technological and product positions, and as a result the company has gained market share in its core technologies of analog and DSP for each of the last six years. Templeton joined the company in 1980 after earning a bachelor’s of science degree in electrical engineering from Union College in New York. He spent his operational career in the company's Semiconductor business, beginning in sales and eventually becoming president of the entire business. He recently topped the list of Institutional Investor’s Best Semiconductor CEOs in America for 2007 and 2008. In addition to his TI duties, Templeton serves on the board of the Semiconductor Industry Association, the board of directors of Catalyst, and the board of trustees of Southern Methodist University. He is also a member of the Business Roundtable and the Dallas Chief Executive Roundtable.