2017 Summer Workshop

The 2017 summer workshop helped build relationships among Hertz Fellows and colleagues at all stages of their careers.

Dario Amodei, Hertz Fellow
Research Scientist, OpenAI

Dario is a research scientist at OpenAI where he concentrates on reinforcement learning and safety. Prior to that he worked at Google and Baidu. He is the co-author of Concrete Problems in AI Safety, which explores practical issues in making modern machine learning systems behave in a safe and reliable manner. Dario also helped lead the project that developed Baidu’s Deep Speech 2, a human-level speech recognition system which was named one of 10 “Breakthrough Technologies of 2016” by MIT Technology Review. He has also done work in natural language processing and computational biology. Dario is also a scientific advisor for the Open Philanthropy Project, where he advises on the societal impacts of machine learning technologies. In addition he sits on the board of the Partnership on AI, a nonprofit-industry partnership dedicated to ensuring AI technologies benefit society. Dario holds a PhD in physics from Princeton University, where he was awarded the Hertz Foundation doctoral thesis prize.

Wanda M. Austin
Former President and CEO, The Aerospace Corporation
Co-Founder, MakingSpace, Inc.

Dr. Wanda M. Austin is an American businesswoman who is internationally recognized for her work in aeronautics and systems engineering. She is a systems engineering and leadership development consultant, motivational speaker and co-founder of MakingSpace, Inc. She is the former president and CEO of The Aerospace Corporation, an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to the application of science and technology toward critical issues affecting the nation's space program. From January 2008 until October 2016, Austin led the organization's 3600 employees and managed annual revenues of $950 million at 17 U.S. locations. As the sixth president, she was the first woman and the first African American in the 57-year history of the organization.

Austin served on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology until January 2017, advising the President of the United States in areas where an understanding of science, technology and innovation was key to forming effective U.S. policy. Austin is a member of the Defense Science Board and the NASA Advisory Council. She is an honorary fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), a counselor of the National Academy of Engineering, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is a trustee for the University of Southern California and on the Board of Directors for the Chevron Corporation.

Growing up in New York City, Austin attended The Bronx High School of Science, then earned a B.A. in mathematics from Franklin & Marshall College, M.S. degrees in systems engineering and mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh and a Ph.D. in systems engineering from the University of Southern California.

Austin professional achievements and honors include the National Intelligence Medallion for Meritorious Service, the Air Force Scroll of Achievement, the National Reconnaissance Office Gold Medal, the AIAA Godard Astronautics Award, the Career Communications Group Black Engineer of the Year Award, the Horatio Alger Award, the Bob Hope Distinguished Citizen Award, the National Defense Industrial Association Peter B. Teets Industry Award, University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award, and the University of Southern California Distinguished Alumni Award.

Austin is committed to inspiring the next generation to study the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) disciplines and to focus on careers in science and engineering. She is the author of Making Space: Strategic Leadership for a Complex World, which explores the leadership principles she learned during her decades-long journey as an engineer, space industry executive, daughter, wife and mother.

David Galas
Principal Scientist, Pacific Northwest Research Institute (PNRI)
Chairman of the Board, Fannie and John Hertz Foundation

David J. Galas is the principal scientist for the Pacific Northwest Research Institute (PNRI) and the chair of the board for the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation. He is an internationally recognized expert in molecular biology and human genetics. Prior to PNRI, David worked at the Institute for Systems Biology, Battelle Memorial Institute, Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the University of Southern California and the University of California’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He is a lifetime associate of the National Academy of Sciences and received the Smithsonian Institution-Computer World Pioneer award. David received his undergraduate degree in physics from the University of California, Berkeley and his MS and PhD degrees in physics from the University of California, Davis-Livermore.

Galas leads research studies in genetics and molecular biology in support of the Institute’s long-standing goal of understanding the mechanisms of diabetes and its consequences and the fight against the global diabetes epidemic. He is particularly interested in devising new approaches that use modern technology, like full sequencing humans and mice genomes, to find the gene and environmental interactions that can be related to the pantheon of pathologies around diabetes. Using new sequencing methods he recently discovered a range of RNA molecules from the bacteria of our symbiotic microbiome circulating in the blood. He hopes to exploit this new insight in new kinds of diagnostics and therapeutics. His research interests include many aspects of molecular biology, human genetics, the computational analysis of complex biological networks and the development of new technologies for the life sciences.

Irwin M. Jacobs
Founding Chairman and CEO Emeritus of Qualcomm

Irwin Mark Jacobs is founding chairman and CEO Emeritus of Qualcomm, a company he co-founded in 1985. As CEO through 2005 and chairman through 2009, he led its growth from startup to Fortune 500 Company.  Qualcomm pioneered the CDMA wireless technology used by all third-generation cellular networks to deliver broadband Internet access to over 3 billion customers, and is the leader in supplying fourth-generation technology.  Through continuing innovation, Qualcomm has become the world’s largest semiconductor supplier for mobile devices.

Dr. Jacobs previously served as co-founder, CEO and chairman of LINKABIT Corporation, leading the development of Very Small Aperture Earth Terminals (VSATs) and the VideoCipher® satellite-to-home TV system. LINKABIT merged with M/A-COM in August 1980, and Dr. Jacobs served as executive vice president and board member until his resignation in April 1985.  Over 50 San Diego communications companies trace their roots to LINKABIT.

From 1959 to 1966, Dr. Jacobs was an assistant, then associate professor of electrical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  From 1966 to 1972 he served as professor of computer science and engineering at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). While at MIT, Dr. Jacobs co-authored with Jack Wozencraft a textbook on digital communications, Principles of Communication Engineering.  First published in 1965, the book remains in use today.

Dr. Jacobs received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1956 from Cornell University and Master of Science and Doctor of Science degrees in electrical engineering from MIT in 1957 and 1959, respectively.  He holds fourteen CDMA patents.

Dr. Jacobs has chaired the Board of Trustees of the Salk Institute since 2006, was chair of the National Academy of Engineering from 2008 to 2012, has served on the advisory board of the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management since 2000, and currently serves on the Cornell NYC Tech steering committee and the Lang Lang International Music Foundation.

Thomas Kalil
Senior Advisor, Eric and Wendy Schmidt Group and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at UC Berkeley

Thomas Kalil is a senior advisor to the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Group and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at UC Berkeley.

Previously, Thomas Kalil served as the deputy director for technology and innovation for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and senior advisor for Science, Technology and Innovation for the National Economic Council. Working with agencies across the federal government, OSTP’s Technology and Innovation Division developed dozens of White House initiatives that are designed to foster American leadership in innovation, emerging technologies, and the industries of the future.

From 2001 to 2008, Kalil was special assistant to the chancellor for Science and Technology at UC Berkeley. In 2007 and 2008, Kalil was the chair of the Global Health Working Group for the Clinton Global Initiative, where he developed new public and private sector initiatives in areas such as maternal and child health, under-nutrition, and vaccines. Previously, Thomas Kalil served as the deputy assistant to President Clinton for Technology and Economic Policy, and the Deputy Director of the White House National Economic Council. He was the NEC's "point person" on a wide range of technology and telecommunications issues, such as the liberalization of Cold War export controls, the allocation of spectrum for new wireless services, and investments in upgrading America's high-tech workforce. He led a number of White House technology initiatives, such as the National Nanotechnology Initiative, the Next Generation Internet, bridging the digital divide, e-learning, increasing funding for long-term information technology research, making IT more accessible to people with disabilities, and addressing the growing imbalance between support for biomedical research and for the physical sciences and engineering. He was also appointed by President Clinton to serve on the G-8 Digital Opportunity Task Force (dot force).

Prior to joining the White House, Tom was a trade specialist at the Washington offices of Dewey Ballantine, where he represented the Semiconductor Industry Association on U.S.-Japan trade issues and technology policy. He also served as the principal staffer to Gordon Moore in his capacity as chair of the SIA Technology Committee. Tom received a BA in political science and international economics from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and completed graduate work at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He is the author of articles and op-eds on S&T policy, the use of prizes as a tool for stimulating innovation, nanotechnology, nuclear strategy, newborn health, vaccines, the impact of mobile communications in developing countries, U.S.-Japan trade negotiations, U.S.-Japan cooperation in science and technology, the National Information Infrastructure, distributed learning, and electronic commerce.

Pradeep K. Khosla
Eighth Chancellor, University of California San Diego

Pradeep K. Khosla is chancellor of University of California San Diego. He leads a campus with 35,000 students, six undergraduate colleges, five academic divisions, and five graduate and professional schools. Khosla initiated UC San Diego’s first-ever strategic planning process, which created a unifying vision for the university’s future. An internationally renowned electrical and computer engineer, Khosla is an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Association for Advancement of Science, American Association of Artificial Intelligence and Indian Academy of Engineering. He has received numerous awards for his leadership, teaching and research, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and George Westinghouse Award for contributions to the teaching of engineering. He earned his BA in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology and his master's and doctoral degrees in electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.

Adam Marblestone, Hertz Fellow
Chief Strategy Officer, Kernel
Research Scientist, Synthetic Neurobiology

Adam Marblestone is chief strategy officer of Kernel, and a part-time research scientist with the Synthetic Neurobiology group at MIT. He received his PhD as a Hertz Fellow in biophysics at Harvard, with George Church and colleagues, and co-authored experimental and theoretical papers on molecular recording devices and road-mapped approaches for whole-brain mapping. He also participated in the development of new epigenomic readout technologies, genome engineering methods, nano-fabrication methods and nano-manipulation systems. More recently, Adam has co-authored papers analyzing our understanding of cortical computation, seeking strategies to integrate deep learning and neuroscience, and proposing new designs for neural interfaces. In his work with Ed Boyden at MIT, he helped to initiate the field of optical connectomics using the combination of expansion microscopy, in-situ sequencing, and machine learning. At MIT, he is an investigator on an IARPA-funded project to map the neural connectome through in-situ sequencing of RNA barcodes. Prior to my work in brain science, I studied quantum nonlocality, showing how quantum entanglement can exponentially enhance certain forms of distributed computation, and assisted in the early development of caDNAno, a graphical software tool for design of 3D DNA origami nanostructures, now the standard for the field of structural DNA nanotechnology. Adam is also a co-founder of BioBright, a company aiming to create a "smart lab" to improve biological experimentation, and a scientific advisor to the Open Philanthropy Project and to OccamzRazor. He has co-taught courses at the MIT Media Lab on Revolutionary Ventures: How to Invent and Deploy Transformative Technologies, and Cognitive Integration.

Martine Rothblatt
Chairman and CEO, United Therapeutics
Founder and Former CEO, Sirius XM

Martine Rothblatt is CEO of United Therapeutics (UTHR) and its Lung Biotechnology public benefit company. She previously created and led Sirius XM as its Chairman & CEO. She has JD and MBA degrees from UCLA, and a PhD in Medical Ethics from the Royal London School of Medicine & Dentistry. Her patented inventions cover aspects of satellite radio, prostacyclin biochemistry and cognitive software. She created the world’s first electric helicopter and in 2017 used it to set dual‐pilot electric helicopter speed, altitude and endurance records. Dr. Rothblatt’s recent books are on xenotransplantation (Your Life or Mine) and cyberethics (Virtually Human).

Davor Sutija, Hertz Fellow
CEO, Thin Films Electronics ASA

Dr. Davor Sutija is CEO of Thin Film Electronics ASA. Prior to joining Thinfilm in January 2010, he was Senior Vice President, Product Marketing, at FAST (a Microsoft subsidiary) and founding CEO at SiNOR AS, a producer of electronic and PV-grade silicon ingots.

He was a board member for the Organic Electronics Association (OE-A) from 2012 through 2015, and has also served on the BoD of technology firms SensoNor, Birdstep, and Owera. He is currently a member of the Orbotech Advisory Board.

Dr. Sutija is a highly sought-after speaker and presents around the globe on topics including the Internet of Things, the convergence of the physical and digital worlds, and the future of smart packaging. He was a keynote speaker at Mobile World Congress 2015. Dr. Sutija graduated from the Jerome Fisher Management and Technology program at the Wharton School, and has a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, in Chemical Engineering. He was a Hertz Fellow at Lawrence Berkeley Labs.

Charles Wilson, Hertz Fellow 
President and CEO of Unum Therapeutics

Charles (‘Chuck’) Wilson is president and CEO of Unum Therapeutics, a company developing a novel cellular immunotherapy platform for the treatment of cancer.

Immediately prior to starting Unum, Chuck served as vice president, Global Head of Strategic Alliances for the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR), the research and early development division of Novartis. In this role he was responsible for leading partnering efforts to support Novartis across all disease areas up through clinical proof-of-concept. His efforts included academic and biotech collaborations, equity investing in early stage companies, in-licensing of compounds, and spin-out of assets/technologies to start ups.

Prior to joining Novartis, Chuck co-founded Archemix, a Cambridge, MA biotech company focused on the development of aptamers as therapeutics. At Archemix, Chuck served as chief technology officer, responsible for both developing the company’s technology platform and managing its drug discovery efforts. As part of the senior management team, Chuck helped the company raise over $100 million in equity financing and grow to approximately 100 employees, advancing multiple programs into clinical development in the process.

Before moving into industry, Chuck was a professor in the Markey Center for the Molecular Biology of RNA at the University of California, Santa Cruz. There he determined the first x-ray crystal structures of RNA aptamers bound to their targets and developed such molecules as tools for regulating gene expression. Trained in structural biology and molecular biology, Chuck received his PhD with David Agard (UCSF, HHMI) and did his postdoctoral training with Nobelist Jack Szostak (Havard University Massachusetts General Hospital).

Troy Wilson, Hertz Fellow
Co-Founder, President and CEO of Kura Oncology, Inc.

Troy Wilson is a successful, serial entrepreneur. His passion is to build exceptional companies that create significant value for employees, investors and, most importantly, patients. He is a co-founder of Kura Oncology, Inc., and he has served as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the board of directors since August 2014. Dr. Wilson has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Wellspring Biosciences LLC, a private biopharmaceutical company, and its parent company Araxes Pharma LLC since July 2012 and as President and Chief Executive Officer of Avidity Biosciences LLC, a private biopharmaceutical company, since November 2012. Dr. Wilson served as the President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of Intellikine, Inc., a private biopharmaceutical company, from April 2007 to January 2012 and from August 2007 to January 2012, respectively, until its acquisition by Takeda Pharmaceuticals. He has also been a member of the board of directors of Puma Biotechnology, Inc., a public biopharmaceutical company, since October 2013, a member of the board of directors of Zosano Pharma, Inc., a public biopharmaceutical company, since June 2014, and a member of the board of managers of Araxes Pharma LLC, a private biopharmaceutical company, since May 2012, a member of the board of managers of Avidity Biosciences LLC since November 2012 and a member of the board of managers of Wellspring Biosciences LLC since May 2012. Troy holds a PhD in bioorganic chemistry and a BA in biophysics from the University of California, Berkeley and a JD from New York University School of Law.