Greening Your Ride: Entrepreneurial Opportunities in the Transportation Sector
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Event Preview
Our program will explore how entrepreneurs can interact with utilities, government and the private sector to promote innovative ideas to cut traffic congestion, emissions and transportation. Entrepreneurial opportunities exist in many spaces, including extended range electric vehicles, charging technologies, “Smart Grid” interfaces, “first mile/last-mile” vehicles (electric bikes, scooters, or shared transportation) and software to manage the devices at home and on the road.
Come to this Enterprise Forum to meet representatives from all these sectors – business, local government, and academia – to brainstorm how to really change the world, one less parking spot at a time. Public-sector foresight can create alluring opportunities for the private sector entrepreneur. Getting in touch with the right people and being creative can help lead you to many opportunities.
Keynote Speaker
Geoff Wardle
Director, Advanced Mobility Research
Art Center College of Design
www.artcenter.edu
Co-founder
OnGoing Transportation
www.ongoingtransportation.com
Geoff Wardle has had a worldwide influence on transportation design. He has worked as a professional designer with British Leyland (UK); Chrysler (UK & USA); International Automotive Design (UK); SAAB (Sweden); Ford (Australia); Abtech (UK); Tatra (Czech Republic) and TVS Motor Company (India).
In his current position as Director of Advanced Mobility Research at Art Center College of Design, Wardle lectures and leads investigations into all kinds of transportation. Research projects have included the future of urban bus travel (Santa Monica Big Blue Bus Company), new categories of personal commuting vehicles, personal rapid transit systems and holistic approaches to urban development and integrated transportation systems.
In December 2008, he testified on the future of the automotive industry before the Congressional Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, chaired by Rep. Edward J. Markey. Wardle has served on the board of advisors for the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE.
Wardle also is a partner in OnGoingTransportation, a consultancy which researches and advocates innovative design-based processes to create future, sustainable transportation solutions.
Mr. Wardle has a B.S. Vehicle and Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Hertfordshire (UK) and a M.Des.RCA in Automotive Design from the Royal College of Art, London.
Venture Capital Outlook
Randy Churchill
Director, Emerging Company Services
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
www.socaltech.com/pwc
For over 25 years, Randy Churchill has served the entrepreneurial community in a variety of roles, including stints as a commercial lender, securities lawyer, financial printer, Internet entrepreneur and, for the past 10 years, Director of Emerging Company Services for PwC’s Southern California Technology practice. In addition to identifying promising venture-backed companies as potential clients, during his tenure with PwC, Randy consistently has worked to connect investors, entrepreneurs and others to promote investment and innovation within the Southern California technology ecosystem. Randy also manages and presents PwC’s Southern California MoneyTreeTM Report, a quarterly survey of venture capital investment across the nation.
Randy was named Technology Leader of the Year in 2009 by Los Angeles County’s TechWeek, and he currently sits on the advisory boards of several organizations, including: the Los Angeles Venture Association, Caltech MIT Enterprise Forum (past chair), Los Angeles Business Technology Center, USC’s Center for Technology Commercialization, SoCal Tech Group, and the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation’s Green Task Force. Additionally, Randy is an inactive member of the State Bar of California.
Randy received his B.B.A., cum laude, from Western Michigan University, and his J.D., magna cum laude, from Indiana University School of Law.
Panelists
Whitney Pitkanen
Project manager
CALSTART
www.calstart.org
Whitney manages projects in CALSTART’s First Mile Program, which fosters the efficiency of community transportation systems by evaluating and implementing new multi-modal choices that enhance system connectivity. Her work has included the deployment of a variety of demonstration projects including MyGo-Pasadena, a financial incentive program that provides significant rebates and cash rewards to commuters who purchase and use an electric bicycle or electric scooter to connect to local transit stations. Whitney also focuses on small zero or near zero emission vehicles including city class and neighborhood class vehicles.
Whitney obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from U.C. Berkeley and a Juris Doctorate degree from Tulane University Law School, where she received a certificate of specialization in environmental law and was the Notes and Comments Editor of the Environmental Law Journal. While at Tulane, Whitney published several articles on sustainable resource issues, including brownfield/infill redevelopment and sustainable business management. Prior to joining CALSTART, Whitney worked as a legal analyst for the California Department of Justice in the Natural Resources Section, and for the City Attorney of Glendale with regard to water and power issues.
Dick Cromie
Senior Program Manager, Advanced Technology
Southern California Edison Co.
www.sce.com
Dick Cromie has worked for Southern California Edison since 1994, first in Major Accounts Management and then Electric Transportation / Advanced Technology. He manages various SCE partnerships, programs and collaborations among automakers, infrastructure providers and US DOE FreedomCAR to advance plug-in vehicle acceptance, grid integration and PEV readiness.
Dick graduated from Lehigh University in Engineering, and received his MBA from Indiana University. His experience with electric power system design, advanced metering and communications came from assignments with Westinghouse and Scientific Atlanta.
He is past chairman of the Los Angeles chapter of the IEEE Power Engineering Society, and has authored papers and technical reports for the Electric Power Research Institute on load management reliability, non-road EV load shifting, transport electrification, PEV-Grid Integration and PEV consumer research.
John Simpson
President & CEO
Trikke Tech, Inc
www.trikke.com
As a young entrepreneur, Simpson launched his first business in his parent’s Pasadena basement, and went on to develop and/or market some of the country’s most recognizable children’s products, including the “Wackers!” brand of POGS and the Razor scooter. In 2002 Simpson partnered with inventor Gildo Beleski and created a new revolution in recreation and fitness with Trikke’s “cambering” vehicle, landing it on the cover of Time magazine as one of the best inventions of the year.
As CEO of Trikke, Simpson now finds himself at the leading edge of the electric vehicle movement, an emerging role he passionately embraces. With the electrification of Trikke’s popular three wheeler, Trikke now offers a compellingly stable and portable transportation solution capable of contributing significantly to reductions in short distance auto trips. The Trikke electric is now available, and is being introduced not only for recreation and commuting, but for commercial and municipal fleet use in meter reading, efficient staff mobility, and law enforcement.
Simpson is passionate about furthering public and private support of light electric vehicles as part of the transportation solution. He resides in the Santa Ynez Valley, California with his wife and young daughter. When Simpson isn’t running Trikke or thoroughly enjoying his green commute to the office, his favorite pastime is playing music. Simpson has been in local Los Angeles-based bands such as “The Traffic Jammers” and “Filthmobile” and currently plays with “The Mobile Homeboys” (playing Earth Day 2011 at Descanso Gardens).
Moderator
Bill Bogaard
Mayor
City of Pasadena
www.ci.pasadena.ca.us
Bill Bogaard has just been re-elected to his fourth term as Mayor of Pasadena, after taking office in 1999 as the City’s first directly elected Mayor. The subsequent time has been an active period in the City’s history, involving the arrival of the Gold Line light rail transit system; significant investment in new housing; construction of a new convention center; establishment of new arts institutions; and reform of the public schools.
He serves as chair of Pasadena Bioscience Collaborative, a technology enterprise incubator and workforce development program, and the Emergency Services Council, City of Pasadena. He is a member of the Gold Line Foothill Construction Authority and the Urban Land Institute.
Mayor Bogaard graduated from Loyola Marymount University. After serving as a U.S. Air Force Captain, he graduated from Michigan Law School. He is a Board member of the Pasadena Educational Foundation and the Pasadena YMCA. In 1997, the City of Pasadena granted him its highest civic recognition, the Arthur Noble Award.
In the private sector, Mayor Bogaard engaged in private law practice, and then served as Executive Vice President of First Interstate Bancorp. He serves as an arbitrator of business disputes and has taught law at the University of Michigan and USC Law School.
Producers
Sarah Gavit
Aerospace Consultant
System Engineering & Project Management
Sarah Gavit is currently a private consultant to NASA for spacecraft system engineering and project management. Sarah has spent most of her planetary exploration career at Lockheed Martin and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Positions held include the Project Manager for Dawn, a mission to study main belt asteroids Vesta and Ceres, the Project Manager for Deep Space 2, a microprobe mission to Mars, Project System Engineer for Kepler, a space observatory currently detecting planets around other stars, and the Project System Engineer for Prometheus, a mission to Jupiter. Early in her career, Sarah worked as a mission and system engineer for the Magellan mission to Venus and as the Fault Protection System Engineer for the Cassini mission to Saturn.
Sarah graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with both a Bachelor and Master of Science degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering.
Joan Horvath
National University Community Research Institute Fellow
National University Community Research Institute
www.nu.edu/Community/NUCRI.html
Joan Horvath is an educator and management consultant. Currently, she has several different roles, including interdisciplinary science curriculum development as a National University Community Research Institute (NUCRI) Fellow. Ms. Horvath also has teaching experience at several institutions, including National University’s College of Letters and Science. Prior to being a consultant and educator, she spent sixteen years at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, where she worked in programs ranging from the technology transfer office to the Magellan and TOPEX/Poseidon flight projects.
Ms. Horvath is a botanical docent at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, a judge for FIRST Robotics, and is involved in other volunteer activities which encourage science literacy and education. She is a member of the Caltech/MIT Enterprise Forum Executive Committee. Her undergraduate degree is from MIT, in Aeronautics and Astronautics, and her engineering Master’s degree is from UCLA.
Andre M. Ramirez
Advanced Technology
Southern California Edison Co.
www.sce.com
Andre Ramirez currently works in a Strategy & Planning rotational position at Southern California Edison. He has worked on operations, regulatory and business strategies in the areas of electric vehicles, energy storage, R&D and rate design. Prior to joining SCE, Andre led or consulted on several projects on the supply and demand side of the energy space including work on technological competitive analysis, market entry strategies for new technology, and energy efficiency program development.
Andre earned a MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management and bachelor degrees in Economics and Political Science from UC Irvine. He can be followed @AndreMRamirez.
Lawrence Wnuk, Ph.D.
Senior Director
CALSTART
www.calstart.org
Dr. Wnuk, supporting the California High Efficiency Advanced Truck (CalHEAT) Research Center, is studying barriers to deployment of Alternative Fuel Hybrid drives in the market place. He also manages hydrogen program activities including the Federal Transit Administration’s National Fuel Cell Bus Program in transit. He has performed studies for transit-enhancing services such as FTA Bus Rapid Transit Program for U.S. BRT Communities. Dr. Wnuk has been involved with Alternative Fuel Vehicle development and infrastructure for the past nineteen years. He has worked at General Motors Advanced Technology Vehicles (GMATV) in Torrance, California, forging strategic alliances, capturing funds and leading the development and the demonstration of advanced propulsion and charging technologies for electric and hybrid electric vehicles. Programs culminated in successful product demonstrations in Europe and in the US for various bus manufacturers and other customers.
Prior to GMATV, Dr. Wnuk worked at Hughes Electronics where he managed programs involving analog and digital control systems, spread spectrum RF systems, electro-optical and laser systems. Lawrence holds a BS, an MS and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of California Los Angeles. He is a board member of the Caltech/MIT Enterprise Forum, producing and volunteering in monthly programs at Caltech that encourage the growth and success of technology-based entrepreneurial ventures in Southern California.
Date
Saturday morning, April 16, 2011
Registration and Continental Breakfast:
8:00 a.m. Baxter Lecture Hall
Program:
9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at Baxter Lecture Hall
Networking:
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Baxter Lecture Hall
Location
Baxter Lecture Hall
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, CA
Directions/Maps: Directions to the Forum
Cost
$40 on-line registration fee. $50 at-the-door. $10 for students with full-time student ID (must show at door).
Registrations are taken on-line until 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 14, 2011. There are no refunds for no-shows.
Event Sponsor
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K&L Gates LLP |
Supporting Partner
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OnGreen |
Founding Sponsors
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Caltech Industrial Relations Center |
| Caltech Alumni Association | |
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MIT Alumni Association |
Operating Sponsor
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Caltech Office of Technology Transfer |
