Oxford Speaker List

Pramod Khargonekar, University of California, Irvine

Khargonekar was Chairman of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from 1997 to 2001 and held the position of Claude E. Shannon Professor of Engineering Science at The University of Michigan.  From 2001 to 2009, he was Dean of the College of Engineering and was Eckis Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Florida till 2016. He also served briefly as Deputy Director of Technology at ARPA-E, U. S. Department of Energy in 2012-13. He was appointed by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to serve as Assistant Director for the Directorate of Engineering (ENG) in March 2013, a position he held till June 2016. In this position, Khargonekar led the ENG Directorate with an annual budget of more than $910 million. In June 2016, he assumed his current position as Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of California, Irvine.

Chris Ramming, VMware

Chris Ramming is a technology strategist and research manager with a passion for working at the intersection of theory and practice. He recently joined VMware Inc. as senior director of research & innovation, with responsibility for an incubator program (XLR8) that explores disruptive technologies to generate new lines of business for the company. Chris is also the incoming chair of DARPA’s Information Science and Technology (ISAT) study group, which helps DARPA identify and understand emerging technological disruptions. During his much-enjoyed career he has been privileged to work with several leading research organizations including Intel Labs, DARPA, AT&T Research, and Bell Labs. At Intel, he was responsible for the Intel Labs University Collaboration Office, where some of the key challenges included strategic topic selection and systematic technology/insight transfer of key ideas. At DARPA, he led a number of programs related to mobile ad-hoc networking and distributed decision support systems. At AT&T/Bell Labs Research he focused on telecommunications-related software, services, and languages. Chris has a background in computer science with degrees from Yale and UNC Chapel Hill.

Phil Clare, University of Oxford

Phil Clare is the Deputy Director of Research Services at the University of Oxford. He is a Research England Council Member, Director of PraxisAuril and Fluvial Innovations and a Member of the Institute of Directors. His career spans the breadth of Research Management and Knowledge Exchange, working mostly in UK universities.

Walt Copan, NIST

Dr. Walter G. Copan was confirmed by Congress as Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director on October 5, 2017. As NIST Director, Dr. Copan provides high-level oversight and direction for NIST. He has had a distinguished and diverse career as a science and technology executive in large and small corporations, U.S.  government, nonprofit and other public-sector settings.

Sir Mark Walport, UKRI

Sir Mark Walport is the Chief Executive of the newly formed UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), which is responsible for the public funding of research and innovation. He was Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA) and Head of the Government Office for Science from April 2013 to September 2017. His previous career highlights include: Director of the Wellcome Trust Professor of Medicine and Head of the Division of Medicine at Imperial College London, member of the India-UK CEO Forum and UK-India Round Table, member of the advisory board of Infrastructure UK non-executive, member of the Office for Strategic Coordination of Health Research. Mark received a knighthood in the 2009 New Year Honours List for services to medical research and was elected a Fellow of The Royal Society in 2011.

Anna-Marie Greenaway, BP International

Anna-Marie Greenaway is BP’s Director of University Relations with worldwide accountability for BP’s Strategic University Partnerships.  She is also VP for Science and Technology at the University of Cambridge, which encompasses a wide range of multidisciplinary research programmes and strategic collaborations. Prior to this, she led the BP’s 2030 Energy Pathways research programmes in the US, EU, China and India. Anna-Marie has an Earth Sciences background, holding a BSc (Hons) from the University of London and a master’s degree from the University of Cambridge focused on Technology Roadmapping for CCS.  She serves on several Advisory Boards and Committees including the BP Institute, Cambridge Centre for Risk Studies and the Scott Polar Research Institute.

Karl Koster, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Karl F. Koster is the Executive Director of the MIT Office of Corporate Relations. The Office of Corporate Relations includes the MIT Industrial Liaison Program, which celebrated 68 years of service to the Institute and its corporate partners in 2016. In that capacity, Mr. Koster and his staff work with the faculty leadership of MIT and senior corporate executives to design and implement strategies for corporate partnerships with the Institute. Mr. Koster and his team have also worked to identify and design several major international programs for MIT, which have been characterized by the establishment of strong, programmatic linkages among universities, industry, and governments. Mr. Koster serves as the Immediate Past Chair of UIDP.Mr. Koster graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in geology and economics in 1974 and received a M.S. from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 1980.

Nicky Athanassopoulou, IfM Education and Consultancy Services

Nicky Athanassopoulou is the Head of Solution Development at IfM Education and Consultancy Services (IfM ECS). She is responsible for developing custom-designed services to support the strategy and innovation activities of companies and universities.   She has worked with many organisations across different sectors, including engineering, oil and gas, food, defense, software and telecoms. She has helped numerous companies to develop their strategy, innovation, technology and product-development processes. She has also managed and participated in several European consortia to develop strategic research and technology roadmaps to facilitate the commercialisation of novel technologies and new engineering approaches. Nicky has worked with several Universities internationally including the University of Cambridge in strategy development and planning. Nicky is an experienced facilitator, and she has co-developed, co-authored and delivered tools and methodologies in innovation strategy, roadmapping, creativity, portfolio and project selection. Prior to joining IfM ECS, Nicky spent 12 years working in high-tech companies in Cambridge, UK, in diverse high technology areas such as optical bio-sensing and organic electronics. She commercially managed two product lines, generated and delivered several commercial contracts and organised and managed large training courses as part of technology-transfer activities. Nicky has a BSc in Physics from Athens University and an MPhil and PhD in Solid State Physics from the University of Cambridge. She holds a CMI Level 5 Award in Management Coaching and Mentoring and is a qualified PRINCE2 project manager.

Ramtin Attar, Autodesk

Ramtin is the Head of Technology Pathfinding & Strategic Relations at Autodesk; with over 13+ years of experience in developing transformative technologies, leading complex research initiatives and building innovation ecosystems. Previously, Ramtin worked as a Sr. Principal Research Scientist for over 8 years at Autodesk Research where he also led the strategic vision, implementation and operation of Autodesk Technology Centre in Canada. Ramtin holds an honorary research professorship at Carleton University and has received various awards including the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s Gold Medal and Grand Prize from Association of Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA). An integrative thinker, city builder and mission-driven leader, Ramtin has a strong track record in spanning multiple domains of design, technology, education, and civic leadership. He is a DiverseCity Fellow alumnus: The Greater Toronto Rising Leaders Project funded by Government of Ontario. As a passionate city-builder, he also holds several advisory roles at Google Sidewalk Labs, City of Toronto Economic Development & Culture, and Toronto Public Library.

Paul Beasley, Siemens PLC

Paul Beasley is Head of the Siemens R&D UK with the responsibility for managing and developing the local research network. Here Paul coordinates research and innovation activities across Siemens Divisions, CT and strategic partners, supporting the development of technology roadmaps, university and institute partnerships, customer collaborations and research opportunities. Previously he was Head of Strategic Development for Siemens Technology & Concepts Group, for 6 years, responsible for identifying new technologies and concepts for Siemens AG’s future portfolio, developing relationships with key universities in support of these developments. He joined Oxford Magnet Technology in 1999, initially heading the Magnet Design and Applications Team and then was appointed Deputy Engineering Director/Strategic Development Manager when Siemens acquired the business in 2004. During this time he was awarded Principal Innovator status within Siemens AG. Prior to working for Siemens Paul had worked for The Welding Institute and various Oxford Instruments groups. Paul is also Chartered Engineer and Physicist, with visiting professorships at the Universities of Sheffield and Huddersfield.

Alison Campbell, Knowledge Transfer Ireland

Alison is Director of Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI), the national office, responsible for policy, practice and the performance of the Irish knowledge & technology transfer (KTT) system. Having started her career in the biotech industry, she then occupied a variety of academic-industry interface positions, most significantly as CEO at Medical Research Council Technology, UK, and at King’s College London where she led technology transfer and research support. Alison is Immediate Past Chair of AUTM and a founder and immediate past-Chair of ATTP, the body that sets the global standards for the profession and awards the Registered Technology Transfer Professional (RTTP) credential. Alison has served as a non-executive director on several companies and acted as an international advisor to government departments. Alison was awarded an OBE in 2010 (UK) in recognition of her contribution to Knowledge Transfer. She received the 2018 Global University Venturing Lifetime Achievement Award.

Sandra Brown, UC San Diego

Sandra Ann Brown, Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, and Vice Chancellor for Research at UC San Diego. Vice Chancellor Brown oversees the Office of Research Affairs, which is charged with creating opportunities, enhancing the research experience, developing tools and training to improve research administration, and supporting and promoting university innovations.

Rick Delbridge, Cardiff University

Rick Delbridge is Dean of Research, Innovation & Enterprise at Cardiff University and Professor of Organizational Analysis at Cardiff Business School. He has led the development of the world’s first social science research park (SPARK, https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/social-science-research-park). His research interests include the organization and management of innovation.

Mark Jefferies, Rolls-Royce

Mark is accountable for the overall effectiveness, delivery, and strategic development of key academic research partnerships for the Rolls-Royce Group. This includes leading the company’s highly successful network of University Technology Centres, which engages hundreds of academics and over 500 doctorate students at any one time.

Neeta Khurana, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University

Dr. Neeta Avtar Khurana is a Senior Faculty in the Department of Languages, Literature & Aesthetics at School of Liberal Studies, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU). She is currently heading the rural internship at PDPU collaborating with over 200 NGOs across India. She is also Chairperson of the General Board of Studies for General Studies, Program Chair for Study in India short term program of PDPU and in-charge of International Exposure Programs for SLS. Her 24 years of experience comprises of 15 years as a career bureaucrat with Government of Gujarat, she has been with PDPU since last 9 years. She has been researching in the area of Gender Studies, Rural and underprivileged communities in partnership with Government, NGOs, Industry and Private Organizations. She has authored 3 books and published her own autobiography in verse titled ‘Soulful Whispers’ in April 2016. She was awarded two international awards in New York and Boston and one National Award towards her contribution to creating a more sustainable future through education and research.

Joe Marshall, NCUB

Dr Joe Marshall is Chief Executive of the National Centre for Universities and Business, a higher education and industry network committed to enhancing the impact of university-business collaboration. He has also held senior positions at UNESCO, the World Health Organisation, UK Sport and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Daniel Sui, University of Arkansas

Dr. Daniel Sui is a distinguished professor of geography and vice chancellor for research and innovation at the University of Arkansas – Fayetteville in the U.S. His research interests include environmental implications of the emerging sharing economy, location-based social media, open/alternative GIS, and legal/ethical issues of using geospatial technology in society.

Grace Wang, The State University of New York (SUNY)

Appointed by SUNY Board of Trustees, Dr. Wang has served as Senior Vice Chancellor and previously as Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development since January 2017. In this role, Dr. Wang plays a lead role in designing, directing, and expanding the footprint of SUNY’s research, industry relations, and economic development activities. She supports the SUNY Chancellor in advancing SUNY’s overall strategy and mission and serves as a liaison to the SUNY Board of Trustees in the areas of research and economic development. She is committed to supporting SUNY research faculty and chairs the SUNY Research Council, and Vice Presidents for Research Council. She works with the Research Foundation for SUNY (SUNY RF), providing the research vision and strategic directions SUNY RF operationally supports. In June 2018, SUNY Board of Trustees and SUNY Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson also appointed Dr. Wang as SUNY Polytechnic Institute Interim President. Prior to SUNY, Dr. Wang served as acting Assistant Director for Engineering at the National Science Foundation (NSF). In this role, she led the Engineering Directorate at NSF, managing a funding portfolio of over $900 million dedicated to investments in frontier engineering research, supporting engineering education, and fostering innovation and technology commercialization. Dr. Wang began her career at IBM/Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, focusing on research and development of magnetic thin film and carbon overcoat for data storage. She holds seven U.S. patents. Dr. Wang received her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern University.

James Wilkie, University of Birmingham Enterprise Ltd

James joined The University of Birmingham in 2007 after 20 years in Europe and the US delivering research, innovation and corporate venture investment within large multinational companies. As well as being CEO of University of Birmingham Enterprise Ltd, he currently holds several Non-Executive Directorships and Advisory Board positions in high-growth companies and early stage investment funds. In addition to his Doctorate, he is a Chartered Engineer with an MBA.

Emmo Meijer

Emmo Meijer (1951) studied chemistry in Amsterdam (Vrije Universiteit), where he obtained his doctorate in 1979. He served DSM,Unilever, and FrieslandCampina in leading R&D management positions and was also a part-time professor at the Eindhoven University of Technology. He was /is involved as chairman/member in numerous Dutch and European organizations in the field of science and innovation. Currently, his main activities are the chairmanship of the board of the Utrecht University, the membership of the board of the Leuven University, ambassador of the Dutch Top Sector Chemistry, councilor for the Dutch government on science and innovation matters and advisor to various venture capital funds. Recently he was appointed chairperson of the EIT Raw Materials.

He is an honorary member of the Royal Netherlands Chemical Society and was awarded the Academy Medal of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2012. In 2015 he was appointed an officer in the order of Oranje-Nassau.

Wade Brown, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research

Wade Brown is the Global Head of External Research Collaborations, Academic Partnerships & External Innovation at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Inc. He currently leads a global team responsible for providing business guidance and transactional support to enable external scientific partnerships across Novartis’s research organization.

Rebecca Wilson, Imperial College London

Rebecca leads the Faculty’s Industry Partnerships and Commercialisation team in maximising the impact of Imperial’s academic discoveries by developing research and technologies through industry collaboration and commercialisation. Rebecca has worked in academia and industry in the UK, Australia and USA and holds a PhD in microbiology from Imperial.

David Neal, Elsevier

David Neal works for Elsevier (RELX) to provide a perspective as a senior researcher and clinician on delivering a strategy to provide better informatic tools for researchers and clinicians, improved research data management; and in developing stronger partnerships with academia. I also work on digital health solutions, clinical decision-support tools, and precision medicine. He led the Research Collaboration Unit in Elsevier. David has more than 38 years of clinical and research expertise in clinical and translational studies of urological cancers; molecular abnormalities of androgen receptor signaling and gene alterations in prostate cancer; and in the clinical and surgical treatment of patients with urological cancers.

Jay Walsh, Northwestern University

Jay Walsh is the Vice President for Research and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University. He holds appointments as Chair of the UIDP Board of Directors and member of the Board of Governors at Argonne National Lab, the MxD Board of Directors and the MIT Corporation Sponsored Research Committee.

Malcolm Skingle, GSK

Malcolm has BSc in Pharmacology/Biochemistry and PhD in Neuropharmacology. He has worked in the pharmaceutical industry his entire career, was formerly a neuropharmacologist and has over 60 publications including articles on the interface between industry and academia.

David Bembo, Cardiff University

David leads Cardiff University’s central Research & Innovation Services department. A former chair of the UK Association for University Research and Industry Links (AURIL), David recently chaired the merger process to form PraxisAuril. He is a member of the Government’s Steering Group for the Knowledge Exchange Framework KEF.

David Gann, Imperial College Business School

Professor David Gann CBE CEng FICE FCGI is a university and business leader with extensive international experience in innovation strategy and technology management. He is Professor of Innovation and Technology Management at Imperial College Business School and Chairman, UK Atomic Energy Authority. David’s research explores why and how innovation happens, the ways it continually transforms the world we live in, and how it can be managed.

Nafiz Karabudak, Lockheed Martin Corporation

Nafiz Karabudak is responsible for Corporate Global Science and Technology Strategy Development and Management for University Science & Technology (S&T) Research Programs for Lockheed Martin Corporation. Mr. Karabudak provides leadership by building Strategic Partnerships and developing Advanced Technology Research Programs with Universities, R&D Centers, Academia-Industry-Government Consortiums, and SMEs. Mr. Karabudak has proven track record in Technology Development and Management globally also in Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Pete Rai, Cisco

Pete is a Principal Engineer in Cisco’s Chief Technology and Architecture Office. He works on a variety of innovation projects and has a background in complex and large-scale data management solutions. He is part of a team helping to define Cisco’s internal processes around the ethical use of data and AI.

Angela Kukula, The Institute of Cancer Research

Angela Kukula is an experienced senior management executive and internationally recognised technology transfer specialist. Angela directs the Enterprise Unit at the Institute of Cancer Research, London. The ICR is a leader in its interactions with industry frequently featuring in global rankings and generates more invention income than any other UK higher education institution.

Bridget Sealey, University of Exeter

Dr. Bridget Sealey is a senior member of the University of Exeter’s Innovation, Impact and Business team. She specialises in building partnerships between the social sciences and external organisations and leads the sector-focused Government and Society team. Bridget has over 9 years of experience working in knowledge transfer roles building partnerships with businesses, government and NGOs.

Frank Fripon, KBC Insurance

Frank Fripon is a strong engaged professional with broad experience in different functions in banking and insurance ranging from sales and marketing, over credit mgt, product mgt and operations mgt (front and back) to finance and risk mgt.  Experience built up in 5 different countries. More than 10 years of experience in executive functions as CFO, CRO and COO/CCS.  

From education Frank is a Commercial Engineer complemented with a Master in Financial Management (VLEKHO – 1992/1993), a Middle Management Program (Vlerick Management School – 2002), different programs at INSEAD (2006,2007), a Top Management Program at IESE (2008/2009) as well several short track trainings and workshops in a broad range of topics.

Jackie Hunter, BenevolentAI

Professor Jackie Hunter is Chief Executive, Clinical Programmes & Strategic Relationships. She held senior positions at global pharmaceutical organisations including GSK, Proximagen and OI Pharma Partners before joining BenevolentAI as a Director in 2016. She brings vast academic and business experience in the biomedical and pharmaceutical sectors. She directs the application of BenevolentAI’s technology for clinical development and gives the company the insight it needs to operate its unique business model – one which sees it not only researching, but also developing the blueprint for new drugs.

Tomas Coates Ulrichsen, University of Cambridge

Tomas Coates Ulrichsen joined the Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Policy at the University of Cambridge in May 2012 as a Research Associate. His overall research interest lies in understanding how a nation’s university base, through its partnerships with industry, can drive technological innovation, industrial transformation and economic growth. He is an expert adviser to government funding agencies on knowledge exchange, and his work on the impact of knowledge exchange funding has been instrumental in providing a robust evidence base to support their policy development and evaluation work.

Chas Bountra, University of Oxford

Chas is Pro-Vice Chancellor for Innovation at the University of Oxford, Professor of Translational Medicine in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, CSO for the SGC, academic lead for the Dementia Drug Discovery Institute and Professorial Fellow at Keble College, Oxford. Chas is an invited expert on several government and charitable research funding bodies, and an advisor for many academic, biotech and pharma drug discovery programmes. He has given over 400 invited lectures. In 2012 he was voted one of the “top innovators in the industry”, in 2014 received the “Rita and John Cornforth Award” from the Royal Society of Chemistry, in 2017 and 2018 was voted “Master of the Bench” from the Medicine Maker Power List, and in 2018 was awarded the “Order of the British Empire” in the New Years Honours List.

Dominik Dahlem

Dominik is a technologist with an eye for innovation and a passion for Artificial Intelligence. His professional aims are to understand vertical business domains through the lens of data, improve data capture, write better algorithms, and ultimately deliver better products generating meaningful actionable insights. He cares deeply about a human-centric approach to AI taking into account human- and socio-centric considerations as well as ethically sound foundations of AI deployments.

Kate Ronayne, Science and Technology Facilities Council

Until her appointment as Executive Director, Kate was Director of Business Development, Space, Technology and Facilities at STFC. She joined STFC in 2004 as a Laser Instrument Scientist in the Central Laser Facility after completing her PhD in physical chemistry at Queen’s University Belfast. Responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Ultrafast Spectroscopy Laboratory, she worked closely with the multi-disciplinary user community over a four-year period before moving to the technology transfer team within STFC. As an Innovation Manager and then later as Head of Innovation, she was responsible for the exploitation of the Intellectual Property portfolio from across STFC’s National Laboratories through the creation of new ventures and licensing of technology, particularly in detectors and instrumentation. She is a Director of Keit Ltd., The Electrospinning Company Ltd. and Scitech Precision.

Rob Wilmot, Crowdicity

Rob believes that buried deep within every organisation and community there are potentially transformational ideas that never see the light of day. His mission with Crowdicity is to unlock this potential and let it shine. Rob is an entrepreneur with a background in technology innovation. In 1998 he was one of the founding execs of Freeserve the Internet service provider launched by Dixons Stores Group. After an IPO that valued the business at £1.6 billion, Rob became one of the youngest ever Executive Officers of a FTSE 100 company at the age of 28. Rob has continued to divide his time with investments in, and the start-up of, several tech ventures as well as working in the public sector. He recently spent three years as the Crown Representative for Software and he is a NED and Chairman of the Technology and Digital Transformation Committee of the Crown Commercial Services. As part of his philanthropic work, he is an Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of York where he helps researchers to think commercially, and he is an experienced business mentor assisting candidates through the Innovate UK ICURe programme. He was made an FRSA in 2007 for his work in technology and education and holds two honorary doctorates. But after 27 years of starting it, he still hasn’t completed his PhD.

Greg Autry, University of Southern California

Greg Autry is a professor of entrepreneurship in the Lloyd Greif Center at the University of Southern California. He teaches technology commercialization and studies the influence of government on emerging industries. Dr. Autry served as White House Liaison at NASA and is a member of the U.S. Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee. He also serves as the Vice President of Space Development for the National Space Society and as Chair of this year’s International Space Development Conference in Washington DC. Dr. Autry holds an MBA and PhD from the Merage School of Business at UC Irvine. He researches the influence of government on industry emergence. He publishes regularly in Space News, Foreign Policy and Forbes. He has been a repeated guest on CNN as well as BBC TV and radio.