Technology Transfer and Innovation Forum Series Cafritz Conference Center/The Marvin Center George Washington University 800 21st Street, NW (Room 301) April 11, 2007 12:00 N - 2:00 PM Co-organizers: Technology Transfer Society, Washington Chapter (T2SDC.org) George Washington University - Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer & Commercialization The Federal Laboratory Consortium The Angel Investors of Greater Washington (AIoGW.org) The Entrepreneur Center @ The Northern Virginia Technology Council TEDCO Rockville Economic Development, Inc. The Washington DC Technology Council Topic: NASA’s Centennial Challenge Initiative Speaker: Ken Davidian, Innovative Partnerships Program, NASA Registration: Free, but registration is required. To register, email: stanco@gwu.edu or call 202 994-5513. For more information, see http://seas.gwu.edu/cet2c Presentation Abstract: Ken Davidian will provide a background overview, and program performance information about NASA's prize program, Centennial Challenges. Many organizations have utilized, or are considering, prize competition as a means of stimulating innovation to serve as a catalyst for technology development. A historical justification for the prize methodology as a catalyst for technology development will also be presented. A current status of the Centennial Challenges program will be briefly presented with video from the most recent competitions. The Speaker: Ken Davidian is a NASA contractor currently supporting the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) and Centennial Challenges at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Within ESMD, he is charged with conducting and promoting commercialization efforts related to the Vision for Space Exploration and the Global Exploration Strategy. He is also the principal driver of Centennial Challenges, NASA's prize program modeled on past and ongoing prize competitions. Centennial Challenges was established to stimulate technology developments from private industry, universities, and individual innovators that support of the Vision for Space Exploration and ongoing NASA programs. Prior to his current position, Mr. Davidian served as Director of Operations for the X PRIZE Foundation. Responsibilities in this position included managing the registration process, team information and relations, and many aspects of flight attempt validation, judging, and event coordination. In addition to his prize-related experience, he has worked for Paragon Space Development Corp. as Program Manager and also as Director of Operations consulting to Cargo Lifter Development. Mr. Davidian spent the first 18 years of his career working for NASA Glenn Research Center in the area of analytical and experimental research on the performance of liquid rocket engines. For a three-year period, NASA Glenn loaned Mr. Davidian to work at the International Space University as the Assistant Director of Operations for the 1997-1999 Summer Session Programs. He is an alumnus of the International Space University, earned a B.S. degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the Ohio State University and a M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering (Fluid and Thermal Sciences) from Case Western Reserve University. |
